¹𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀. percy jackson

LII.

ｔｈｅ ｌａｓｔ ｏｌｙｍｐｉａｎ

LUCIA WOKE UP WITH A GASP.  She stared at the pure white ceiling of the cella with deliberation. After a few seconds, she forced herself up from the ground and winced. She rubbed the back of her head, her back aching from laying on the hard marble.

She looked around to find an empty temple. Olympus was silent. Way too silent.

When she exited the temple she found that there was still no movement besides her siblings and the nature spirits tending to the wounded. She made sure to avoid them and the parks. She instead made a B-line to the elevators.

For the first time, In a long time, Lucia had a clear mind. And she knew exactly what her choice was...

☼

BY THE TIME SHE GOT TO THE STREET, Camp Half-Blood was doing terribly.

Campers and Hunters lay wounded on the ground. Clarisse must've lost a fight with a Hyperborean giant, because she and her chariot were frozen in a block of ice. The centaurs were nowhere to be seen. Either they'd panicked and ran or they'd been disintegrated.

The Titan army ringed the building, standing maybe twenty feet from the doors. Kronos's vanguard was in the lead: Ethan, the dracaena queen in her green armor, and two Hyperboreans.

Kronos himself stood right in front with his scythe in hand and the only thing stopping him from making it to Olympus was Chiron. Chiron's quiver was several feet away, Instead, he fought with a sword in hand. Lucia knew he hated fighting with a sword. It was never his favorite weapon.

Lucia looked to the side. Annabeth, Thalia, Grover, and Percy were all frozen in time.

"Chiron!," Annabeth cried, her voice trembling.

Kronos chuckled. He advanced a step, and Chiron's horse half-skittered nervously. His tail flicked back and forth.

"You're a teacher," Kronos sneered. "Not a hero."

"Luke was a hero," Chiron said. "He was a good one until you corrupted him."

"FOOL!" Kronos's voice shook the city. "You filled his head with empty promises. You said the gods cared about me!"

"Me," Chiron noticed. "You said me."

Kronos looked confused, and at that moment, Chiron struck. It was a good maneuver—a feint followed by a strike to the face. But Kronos was quick. He had all of Lukes's fighting skills, which was a lot. He knocked aside Chiron's blade and yelled, "BACK!"

A blinding white light exploded between the Titan and the centaur. Chiron flew into the side of the building with such force the wall crumbled and collapsed on top of him.

"No!" Annabeth wailed.

The freezing spell broke. They ran toward their teacher, but there was no sign of him. Thalia and Percy pulled helplessly at the bricks while a ripple of ugly laughter ran through the Titan's army.

"YOU!" Annabeth turned on Luke. "To think that I . . . that I thought—"

She drew her knife.

"Annabeth, don't." Percy tried to take her arm, but she shook him off.

He yanked her back as Kronos swung his scythe, slicing the air where she'd been standing.

"I have to fight him," He told her.

"It's my fight too, Percy!"

He called, "Mrs. O'Leary?" "Nico?"

She attacked Kronos, and his smug smile faded. Perhaps some part of Luke remembered that he used to like this girl, used to take care of her when she was little. She plunged her knife between the straps of his armor, right at his collarbone. The blade should've sunk into his chest. Instead, it bounced off. Annabeth doubled over, clutching her arm to her stomach. The jolt might've been enough to dislocate her shoulder.