the winemaker's daughter [ percy jackson & the olympians ]

chapter fifty-three

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙸𝙽𝙴𝙼𝙰𝙺𝙴𝚁'𝚂 𝙳𝙰𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝙴𝚁༉‧₊˚.[𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙲𝚈 𝙹𝙰𝙲𝙺𝚂𝙾𝙽 & 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙾𝙻𝚈𝙼𝙿𝙸𝙰𝙽𝚂]

chapter fifty-three: i wanted to call this when pigs fly, but it felt too on the nose
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SHE WOKE up with a gasp, sitting up so quickly, her forehead met percy's.

"ow!" they complained in perfect unison, ashanti's hand coming up to cradle her forehead as percy fixed her with a bit of a glare, "who wakes up like that?" the green eyed boy had been leaning over her, and apparently had been trying to wake her before her dream done it for him. annabeth was off to the side, a small smirk tugging her lips as she held her laughter in at their comical scene.

"weird dream," ashanti tried to explain sheepishly, trying to clear the numerous dreams that invaded her thoughts. jason. . . he knew about her. somehow, he knew about her being a demigoddess, but he wasn't surprised, or anything. he'd looked her in the eyes, and instead of being scared, fearful of her, or what their new conundrum could mean, all she could detect was fear for her. the entire thing sent an odd shiver down her spine. that didn't even cover the majority of the strangeness she'd experience. beckendorf. . . she looked over her shoulder, as if she'd be able to pinpoint his spirit standing in the room with her, watching, hoping.

"you alright, shanti?" annabeth asked, a small frown on her lips. once she drew the attention, percy was also watching her curiously.

the dionysus demigoddess was suddenly very aware of the troubled expression she wore, the frown, the furrowed eyebrows, no wonder annabeth had asked. she quickly dispersed the appearance of negative emotions on her face, opting to look more neutral, "uh, yeah, i'm all good." her eyes scanned the athenian for literally any other topic she could switch the conversation over to. after all, the things she was dealing with had her tied down by oath, they don't make the best conversation topics. "why are you dressed for battle?" she accidentally answered her own question, her eyes going out the window to find a purplish-red sky, the sky of an afternoon fading to sunset.

"i looked in my shield," annabeth started, her face grim as if she hated to be the one to deliver the news. ashanti guessed she'd been the one sent to come, and wake them. "it's bad. there's an army–"

"heading south into central park?" percy finished for her, then shared a nod with the dionysus girl. "we already know." they went in detail sharing their vision of ethan, and the titans' makeshift lair they'd adopted from medusa. when they'd finished, the couple looked at one another curiously, not bringing up the other dreams they didn't share. ashanti averted her eyes, fearing he'd simply know what she was keeping from willpower alone. his piercing eyes seemed to draw out her words without even trying, and it was the one thing she didn't need at the moment. not at the speed problems were already gathering on her plate.

"do you think ethan suspects about your weak spot?" annabeth asked, then gave a roll of her eyes at their mouths dropping open in shock. "maybe you guys do doubt my intelligence. i don't think anyone else would've figured it out, let alone ethan nakamura."

"i think. . ." ashanti wanted to say she thought ethan did know. he knew they were there last night in their lair, too. he met her eyes, looked her dead in the face. he knew, but didn't give them up, give away their weakness. but, she was still trying to figure out why. if she admitted to percy, and annabeth that ethan did know, and what had happened in that split-second, they'd panic. ". . . i don't think he does. he couldn't remember where he was aiming." sure, it was a white-lie. the son of nemesis felt it the moment he aimed for percy's lower back, the undeniable air of death that surrounded them, and when ashanti deflected his blow, the genuine fear in his features was a tell. ethan nakamura knew their weak-points, and lied to the titan lord.