¹𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀. percy jackson

XII.

ｔｈｅ　ｔｉｔａｎｓ　ｃｕｒｓｅ

THE FIRST THING LUCIA REGISTERED WAS THE PAIN. Her throat was scratchy and raw, her chest ached and her head felt like someone grabbed two cymbals and slammed them against her ears. When she managed to sit up from where she was her stomach turned, and she grabbed the closest thing to her.

"Careful Luz" Percy whispered, his hand reached for hers untangling it from his shirt to cradle in his own.

"What happened" She croaked

"You used too much energy out there Lu" Grover said, Lucia blinked realizing she was in the bed of a moving pickup truck. While Zoe sat inside with Thalia, Percy and Grover were next to her. "Too much in too little time."

"I didn't know I could do that....the light and the yelling. it's like... it just came out of me."

"The blessing from Apollo," Grover explained "The rest of it was probably set off from... by the..."

It was like someone threw cold water in Lucia's face, waking her up and forcing her into a cruel reality.

"Luz?" Percy asked, he drew circles on her palm

Lucia's other hand squeezed around something. She looked down to see she held the little figurine that had cost Bianca her life. She couldn't even tell what god it was supposed to be.

Neeks would know.

Nico.

Nico.

oh, gods how was she supposed to tell Nico.

Lucia wished she could ignorantly believe Bianca was still alive out there, but she knew she was gone for good. And with her, she took part of Lucia that she would never get back.

"It should've been me," Lucia whispered. "I should've gone into the giant."

"Don't say that!" Grover panicked. "It's bad enough Annabeth is gone, and now Bianca. Do you think I could stand it if..." He sniffled.

"Grover's right." Percy kept drawing circles. Unlike Grover, he spoke to her calmly "Your life matters too. Plus do you think anybody else would want to be our best friend?"

Lucia stayed silent. it hurt her too much to think and come up with a response. no matter what Grover and Percy told her, deep down she would always wish it were her.

"Ah, Grover..." Percy frowned "Don't cry"

Grover wiped under his eyes with an oily cloth that left his face grimy like he had on war paint. "I'm... I'm okay."

Grover was lying. Ever since the encounter in New Mexico—whatever had happened when that wild wind blew through—he seemed really fragile, even more, emotional than usual. Lucia could tell Percy was hesitant to talk to him about it, because he might start bawling.

Usually, Lucia would be able to set aside her emotions to comfort him, but she couldn't. All she could think about was bronze, flying sparks, the figurine in her hand, and screaming out Bianca's name but getting no response.

All she could think about was that she lost her friend.

☼

THE TOW TRUCK RAN OUT OF GAS AT THE EDGE OF A RIVER CANYON. That was just as well because the road dead-ended.

Thalia got out and slammed the door. Immediately, one of the tires blew. "Great. What now?"

Lucia scanned the horizon. There wasn't much to see. Desert in all directions, occasional clumps of barren mountains plopped here and there. The canyon was the only thing interesting. The river itself wasn't very big, maybe fifty yards across, green water with a few rapids, but it carved a huge scar out of the desert. The rock cliffs dropped away below them.