𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 ! [percy jackson]¹

C H A P T E R ⬩ E I G H T E E N

L ' A M O U R

C H A P T E R   E I G H T E E N

( the rise of kronos )

⟶⬩♡⬩⟵

          HAVE YOU EVER seen the movie The Sword in the Stone? Well, if you haven't, there is a scene in the movie where the warlock Merlin turns Arthur into a sparrow to teach him a lesson about flying. In the scene, when Arthur first attempts flying, he plummets right away and needs Archimedes, the owl, to help him learn the correct way to fly.

Well, I didn't have an intelligent talking owl to help me learn how to fly. Instead, I had three screaming demigods and one incredibly brave mortal who could see way too much for her own good. That would have to do.

I plummeted toward the valley and the red rocks below. I was pretty sure I was going to become a grease spot in the Garden of the Gods, as Annabeth yelled from somewhere above me, "Spread your arms! Keep them extended."

The small part of my brain that wasn't engulfed in panic heard her, and my arms responded. As soon as I spread them out, the wings stiffened, caught the wind, and my descent slowed. I soared downward, but at a controlled angle, like a kite in a dive.

I allowed the wind to carry me up and in between Nico and Rachel, Annabeth on Rachel's right while Percy flew around, swooping low and soaring high into the sky like an actual bird. He had a big smile plastered on his face that made my own terrified scowl turn into a carefree laugh.

Behind us, smoke was billowing out of Daedalus's workshop, and I could faintly hear the grunts of the giants and the barks of Mrs. O'Leary. I hoped they made it out. Even though Daedalus betrayed us and this quest was for nothing, he meant something to Mrs. O'Leary, who had not done any of those things.

"Land!" Annabeth yelled. "These wings won't last forever."

"How long?" Rachel cried.

"Let's not find out!" I shouted.

We swooped down toward the Garden of the Gods. Percy freaked out a few climbers before the five of us soared across the valley, over a road, and landed on the terrace of the visitor center. It was late afternoon and the place looked pretty empty, but we ripped off our wings as quickly as we could. Looking at them, I could see Annabeth was right. The self-adhesive seals that bound the wings to our backs were already melting, and we were shedding bronze feathers. It seemed a shame, but we couldn't fix them, and couldn't leave them around for the mortals, so we stuffed the wings in the trash bin outside the cafeteria.

Percy used the tourist binocular camera to look up at the hill were Daedalus's workshop had been, and he told us that it had vanished. No more smoke. No broken windows. Just the side of a hill.