Gone Girl.¹

𝟬𝟮𝟵. we are not the heroes

gone girl.
━━━ chapter twenty nine

❀

Amaryllis wasn't okay.

She was laying down, with Annabeth above her giving her another piece of ambrosia. The last one she could give her, before the medicine turned deadly and burnt her alive from the inside. None of them could be really sure if she had lost consciousness or if she was just taking a long well-deserved nap and honestly, it didn't really matter. Percy had ordered everyone to let her rest.

He stood right next to her, once in a while glancing at Annabeth like he was wondering if they were supposed to talk about it. So much had happened since Amaryllis lost consciousness - his weird break-up that wasn't a break-up with Rachel, giving Pandora's jar to Hestia, talking to his father after risking his life by sitting on his throne - and yet all he could think about was her.

"If it wasn't for Achilles' curse, she would be dead," Percy said and Annabeth nodded. "What she did was..."

Terrifying. It was as if her brain turned off and couldn't listen to anyone as she was trying to bring Silena back from the dead. Percy witnessed her cheeks get hollow and her flesh go almost transparent as she breathed life into a dead person that still didn't look alive. As if that wasn't enough proof that she was overusing her powers, when she finally snapped out of it, she accidentally caused an earthquake. For a few seconds, he truly didn't think she would make it. They had been the most terrifying seconds of his life.

The last time she did that was when they had visited her mother last summer. It was back when she had no idea what she was truly capable of and thinking back to that moment, Percy doesn't understand how he didn't pick up on the signs. Maybe if he had, things would have turned out different.

"She'll be fine," Annabeth said. "It's just that... Silena meant a lot to her. To all of us."

Percy nodded, agreeing. The situation became incredibly complex the moment it was revealed that Silena was the spy - if he was being completely honest, he thought that was what drove Amaryllis to completely lose it. Betrayal paired with grief; the daughter of Hades had really lost more than anyone and yet, she never gave up. She was one of the most admirable people he had ever the honour of meeting.

That's what he had been thinking as he was watching her sleep. She looked like an angel, finally at peace. He couldn't help but fantasize how life would be if they weren't demigods, rather just normal teenagers - it was a habit he had picked on during the year. To dream of a better life. He could see them exchaning mp3's to listen to each other's playlists, go for car rides around the town. He'd teach her how to skate and she'd teach him how to dance or sketch. Their biggest problems would be last-minute cramming for history exams and getting through gym class. They'd be okay, because they'd be together and they'd have all the time in the world.

He watched as Amaryllis opened her eyes and looked around in utter confusion. "What- Where are we?" Then, with a panicked expression on her face, she asked, "Is the war over?"

"Far from it," Annabeth replied. "We're in Olympus."

"How long have I been sleeping for...?"

"A few hours," Percy replied. "And before you give me one of your lectures, you really needed to rest. You almost died back there."