Annais was the God among mortals, the death that came along with life. Now more than ever, she knew the cost of her existence, of what Hades had done when he chose to pursue her mother. Everything came down to her and the other Min girls; three who...
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CHAPTER SEVEN: HEAVY IN YOUR ARMS (trigger warnings: mentions of death and sexual references / no smut!)
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JASON'S LIPS WERE LIKE liquid fire as they dipped down her neck, searing through her skin until Annais swore they reached bone. Her whole skeleton seemed to shudder at every touch, the softest breath falling from her lips in a whisper of his name. Jason, he covered her mouth with his as he grinned, grazing his hands beneath her shirt where he reached up for her heart, and then--
The ship lurched forward suddenly, swaying from side-to-side at the impact. Annais let out a curse as she drew back, lips as red as the blush on her cheeks. Jason's eyes narrowed, brows furrowing into a scowl of annoyance. He spared one last despairing look down at her body beneath his before lifting himself up to pull back on his shirt.
"Every time," he grumbled as Annais straightened her hair and followed him to the door. "I can never get you alone for more than five minutes. Something always has to go wrong."
"Next time," she said, to which he just scoffed in doubt.
At the top of the stairs, they found the others in a state of chaos. Festus was breathing fire in alarm, leaving Gleeson to dodge around the flames in disarray. Hazel and Frank were a mess of limbs on the floor, having fallen over each other when the ship was first attacked. Nearby, Piper was at the quarterdeck shooting food from the cornucopia she'd won from Hercules while Hea attempted to swing around to the other side of the railing where… a huge turtle was chomping down on one of the oars.
"Gah!" Leo yelled in horror. "It's eating the oars!"
"Go," Annais ushered Jason in the other direction while rushing over to Piper and Hea. Mel met her halfway, movements sluggish from sleep but her eyes were alert as she plucked a dagger from her hastily thrown on boots. The laces were still untied, leaving Annais to hoist her up by her armpits as she tripped over them. "What's happening? What is this thing?"
Logically, she knew what she was seeing, but the nerves between her eyes and brain had to be misfiring… surely. This turtle-like creature was the size of a miniature island, rivers of seawater trickling down the grooves of its black and brown shell. Golden eyes the size of car tyres -- no, bigger than that -- glared at them through the early morning night. It bared its teeth, which were the size of butcher knives, at them.
This was what had interrupted her makeout session with her boyfriend.
A… freaking turtle on steroids?
"Oars won't retract," Leo warned suddenly, the various buttons on his control system flashing red. "Get it away!"
"Styx, it's huge."
"Port! Go Port!"
"Leo, get me closer! I've almost got it."
The last was Hea, who was clambering along the railing like a spider, her feet hanging over the edge above the dark green shadows of the sea. She was trying to get close enough with a spear to run it through. Annais' stomach lurched at the sight of her. She drew her sword in preparation but quickly changed her mind, hanging back when Leo completely ignored Hea's protests, frantically pressing a bunch of buttons that did nothing but throw them around.
