Under the Water(Fem. Percy)

Chapter 31

"Percy?"

Cyreus jerks away from me. My heart races as I gather up my clothes and shove them back on. Please don't come in. Please.

"Give me a minute!" I yell at Triton; I shove Cyreus's shirt at him and whisper, "Bathroom." Wide-eyed, pale-faced, he nods and moves along the ceiling. The algae ripples with light as he stirs up the water. My breath catches. Triton'll notice that. Mom noticed my light be blocked once when I snuck back in.

I tear my fingers through my hair. It's tangled and free of a braid. This is bad. Bad bad. Water trembles around me; my mouth's dry. What can I even say to get him to leave? What does he want? Something for Dad probably, so maybe if I just bring that up? But if I walk out there and ask about that, it's going to look like I have something to hide. Normally, I wouldn't worry, but...

It's just that I do.

Anything that makes Triton suspicious is going to make it back to Dad and make him suspicious. And knowing what the gods are capable of doing--my face must be beet red-- that might end with Dad spying on me to catch Cyreus doing something improper. The gods are okay with this sort of thing, and while Dad might have felt bad for Ares, that doesn't change that he doesn't view me as being an adult, if he even views me as being my own person at all.

...Does he even remember how old I am?

I take a deep breath to calm myself, make sure my clothes are on correctly, and go to greet my brother.

"Where's your guard?" he asks the moment I step through the door.

Well, so much for trying to take his attention away from Cyreus. I swallow. "I'm still stuck in my room, Triton. It's not like him being here or not is going to change much." He glares. A shiver crawls up my back. "He's in the bathroom. Unlike gods, mortals do have to use those."

If I felt bad for throwing Cyreus under the bus, then I feel worse when he comes out of the bathroom, only to be met with a death glare.

Triton tilts his head. "I'd thought you'd be more concerned with the consequences for failing in your duties than acquiescing to my sister's whims."

"My lord, you know I would not--"

"Put your family in danger of losing their home, and yet here you are: out of uniform and impertinent enough to take her out of the palace."

"--Risk her."

Triton's scales shimmer in the light. "And yet you did." He stalks closer to Cyreus. "Taking her from her room, taking her somewhere without alerting anyone. Having another guard lie on your behalf. Those are not the actions of someone who cares about my baby sister's well-being."

"I am not a child," I snap.

Triton ignores me. "This isn't even your first offense of this kind. And they keep piling up. How many times is she going to have to get hurt before you take your job seriously? When she gets killed and you face consequences?"

The furniture rattles, and books fall off their shelves. I shove my way between the two of them, fists clenched. Triton's eyes widen. Emotional as I may be, it doesn't tend to show against gods. "Shut up," I say. "Have you even considered that the reason he does all of this is because I'm an adult? That I'm old enough to make my own decisions about things and he actually respects that instead of treating me like a toddler?"

"Little sister, I think you forget yourself." Triton chuckles and pokes my nose. "We are immortal. We live forever. You are a tiny, little, helpless baby compared to us. Add that your Dad's only mortal child, and the only one who spends time on the surface away from him....And well, you're a princess in all but title. There's plenty of reasons for Dad to want you safe. Something that Cyreus is supposed to be doing and not contributing to the opposite of."