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chapter ninety-three. ☄︎. *. ⋆
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AS CLARISSE CRADLED SILENA'S HEAD IN HER LAP, I couldn't believe what I was looking at. Silena shouldn't have been dying. She was so young; only a year older than me. I didn't want to believe it.
"What were you thinking?" Clarisse asked, her voice the gentlest I'd ever heard it to be.
Silena tried to swallow, but her lips were dry and cracked. "Wouldn't... listen. Cabin would... only follow you."
"So you stole my armor," Clarisse said in disbelief. "You waited until Chris and I went out on patrol; you stole my armor and pretended to be me." She glared at her siblings. "And none of you noticed?"
The Ares campers developed a sudden interest in their combat boots.
"Don't blame them," Silena said. "They wanted to... to believe I was you."
"All my fault," Silena said, a tear streaking the side of her face. "The drakon, Charlie's death... camp endangered—"
"Stop it!" Clarisse said. "That's not true."
Silena opened her hand. In her palm was a silver bracelet with a scythe charm, the mark of Kronos.
My shoulders sunk. "You're a spy."
Silena tried to nod. "Before... before I liked Charlie, Luke was nice to me. He was so.. charming. Handsome. Later, I wanted to stop helping him, but he threatened to tell. He promised... he promised I was saving lives. Fewer people would get hurt. He told me he wouldn't hurt Charlie. He lied to me."
Behind us, the battle raged.
Clarisse scowled at her cabinmates. "Go, help the centaurs. Protect the doors. GO!"
They scrambled off to join to fight. I looked back to Silena—and was surprised to find her eyes on me. She lifted a hand weakly, and I took it, confused.
She took a heavy, painful breath. "Don't fall.. into the same trap as me, Theo. You can.. s–save yourself."
I shook my head, my cheeks and nose stinging with tears. I gulped, my lip quivering. "Silena, you're not dying. You'll be okay."
Even as I said it, I knew it wasn't true. Silena's eyes were a million miles away. "I see Charlie.."
And she didn't speak again.
Clarisse held her and wept. Chris put a hand on her shoulder. Finally Percy closed Silena's eyes.
"We have to fight." His voice was brittle. "She gave her life to help us. We have to honor her."
