WORLDS BEYOND ( pjo )

𝐱𝐢𝐯. running up that hill

"One of you will die."

Shouts of outrage erupted from all over the hall in reaction to what Kia said. She herself did not react to any of the harsh words directed at her now, only staring vacantly at the wooden table in front of her. None of what was said made her even flinch. Calmly, she went on: "We must prepare for the very real inevitability of the fact that Jason or Leo will die."

A brunette from the left side of the table slammed her fist on the table. "They won't! Neither of them will! We can prepare for it!"

"You can't run from prophecies," Kia continued relentlessly, ignoring the fact that the girl looked like she was about to cry. Percy and Annabeth glared at her, obviously not happy with how she was making the entire table feel. They looked older—around seventeen or eighteen. "Avoiding them only weaves the actions that follow it to the end."

"Kia," Annabeth said, distinct tremors running through the table, "I'll have to remind you that we don't know exactly what the prophecy says. We never do. It might mean something entirely different than what we think."

Kia finally looked up, meeting Annabeth's eyes from across the table with a kind of steeled resolve that made Annabeth's breath hitch. Her hand automatically went to Percy's, holding onto it as Kia spoke to her. "Blind optimism won't save them, but we can cut our losses by discussing it beforehand. You're a daughter of Athena, aren't you? You should know that, by now, accepting reality and planning ahead is best."

The expression of betrayal on Annabeth's face was impossible to miss. Ever since her quest to find the Athena Parthenos, her mother had always been a sore topic for her; Annabeth had told Kia in confidence about how Athena made her feel now, and Kia had accepted it so kindly back then. Just what the hell was wrong with her?

"Kia!" Percy shouted, anger evident in his eyes. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Annabeth was shaking now, both embarrassed and upset by the scene that was being caused. She didn't want to be the loser who cried over her mom, but it was hard to keep together her composure. Her mother, from whom all she had ever wanted was love and respect, had abandoned her and tossed her out without a care into one of the most dangerous quests known to demigod kind, and Kia was using the feelings she had told her about in private against her and exposing them in front of everybody to see.

Kia didn't seem very sorry. "We don't have time for Annabeth's mommy issues now, Percy. Nor do we have time to entertain your protective tendencies. We have to address the problem at hand."

"No, Kia." Percy's eyes started swimming like hurricanes in each eye, darkening in rage. "You've been acting like an asshole ever since we got back. You're not the only one dealing with this prophecy bullshit. I don't know why you're being like this, but we've also got our own shit to deal with. Annabeth is right. We don't have a goddamn fucking clue what the prophecy is actually saying."

Kia calmly placed her elbows on the table, easily ignoring everything Percy said about herself, leaning her chin on her laced fingers and closed her eyes. "I'm just saying, we definitely can't handle what happens if we don't prepare for it. If you all want to be ignorant in favour of protecting your feelings: go ahead. It's not my business, and frankly, I couldn't give a shit. But I'm not going to be the one who ends up crying at one of their funerals."

"Kia..." a voice murmured from beside her. She glanced in the direction, finding an older version of Ethan. He had a look on his face like he didn't know who he was looking at. It sent a pang through Kia's chest, and it felt like something inside her was crumbling into dust.

Dutifully, she ignored it and turned back, meeting everyone else's eyes coldly. Her eyes eventually settled back on Annabeth. "Decidedly, you're the leader of this quest. You make all the major decisions; it's time for you to choose, Annabeth: your feelings, or your quest."