Daughter Of Lightning - Book 1(Percy Jackson x OC fanfic)

CHAPTER 25

(Ella's POV)

"Hey," I said, "I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Perce."

"That's okay."

"It's just..." I shuddered. "Spiders."

"Why are you scared of them?" He asked.

"When I was six my mom locked me in a shed full of spiders as a punishment for breaking a plate by accident. Since then I hate those creepy things...but, I owe you one."

"That's harsh. But we're a team, right?" He said. "Besides, Grover did the fancy flying."

I thought he'd slept, but he mumbled, "I was pretty amazing, wasn’t I?" We all laughed.

I pulled apart an Oreo, handed him half, then handed another one to Annie.

"In the Iris message...Luke said something didn't he?"

He thought for a while. "He said that you, Annabeth & him went way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail & nobody would turn into a pine tree." Grover let a mournful bray.

"I should’ve told you the truth at the start." His voice trembled. "I thought if you knew I was a failure, you wouldn’t want me along."

"You're the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia." He asked Grover.

"The other two demigods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp.." He looked at Annie. "That was you & Luke, wasn't it?"

"Like you said, Percy, a demigod wouldn't have made it, alone. Athena guided me. Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They both ran from home, like me. They took me with them. They were amazing fighters. We traveled without a plan, fending monsters for two weeks till Grover found us."

"I had to escort Thalia to camp," he said, sniffling. "Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, but I couldn't leave Luke & Annabeth. I thought... maybe I could lead all of them to safety. It's my fault the Kindly Ones caught up. I froze, got scared on the way to camp & took wrong turns. If I was a little quicker..."

"Stop it," I said. "I never blamed you. Thalia didn't blame you either."

"She sacrificed herself for us," he said, "It was my fault. The Council said so."

"Because you wouldn’t leave two other half-bloods behind?" Percy said. "That’s not fair."

"Percy's right," Annie said. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. Neither would Luke. I don't care what the council says."

Grover kept sniffling in the dark. "I’m the lamest satyr ever. I find three of the most powerful demigods Thalia, Nora & Percy."

"You're not lame," I insisted. "You've got more courage than any satyr to go into the Underworld. I bet Percy is really glad you're here right now." I nudged Percy.

"Yeah," he said. "It's not luck that you found us, Grover. You've got the biggest heart any satyr's ever had. You're a natural searcher. That's why you’ll find Pan."

I heard a deep, satisfied sigh then his breathing got heavier & turned to snoring.

"How does he do that?" Percy marveled.

"It's his special talent," I said. "But that was really a nice thing you told him."

"I meant it."

We rode in silence for few miles.

"The pine tree bead," Percy said. "Is that from your first year?" I looked at him.

"Yeah," I said. "Every August, the counselors pick an important event, & paint it on that year's beads. I’ve got Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress-that was a weird summer…."