𝐂œ𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐬é𝐬 [Percy Jackson]

47

Hadrian should have shot Octavian when he had the chance. Now he stood by the docks again, shrieking, "Kill them! Kill them all!"

He already hated the idea of letting Annabeth go by herself. Of course she could handle herself, but with the Romans after them, maybe they should've at least escorted her to this mysterious mark of Athena. 

But he understood that this was something Annabeth had to do alone. She had also managed to find Jason, Frank and Leo and tell them to get to the ship. Now all that they were waiting for was the daughter of Athena. 

Hadrian may have a rocky relationship with her, but he'd come to see her as a close friend. He would not let these losers with eagles hurt her. 

Octavian had survived his swim in the harbor. He crouched behind his guards, screaming encouragement at the other Roman demigods as they struggled toward the ship, holding up their shields as if that would deflect the storm raging all around them.

Percy and Jason stood together, their swords crossed. They were working as one, summoning the sky and the sea to do their bidding. Water and wind churned together. Waves heaved against the ramparts and lightning flashed. Giant eagles were knocked out of the sky. Wreckage of the flying chariot burned in the water, and Coach Hedge swung a mounted crossbow, taking potshots at the Roman birds as they flew overhead.

Hadrian fired arrows one by one, strategically hitting the Roman's where he saw openings. Some arrows hit arms, some legs, but he never aimed to kill.

He just focused all his rage into his shots.

"Jason" He called. "Help me aim this shot, use the winds to take it past their shields"

Jason obliged, the wind that battered against the Romans didn't affect his arrows at all. The arrow flew perfectly, flying past the romans and cutting a chunk of hair off of Octavian's awful hair.

"Hope you like the haircut" Hadrian yelled over the storm. Of course, Octavian didn't seem to hear with the earplugs in but Percy laughed.

When they saw Annabeth running towards them, Hadrian notified the others. She was running desperately, about halfway across the harbor. Almost. They were almost there. 

Demigods were all too familiar with the devastating nature of the word almost. An eternity of suffering could happen between an almost. 

Annabeth kept running towards the ship. Her blonde hair was tied back, she had her dagger in her hand. Hadrian wished she would stab some of the Romans as she rushed past.

The winds that battered the Romans didn't seem to affect her.

Annabeth sprinted through their lines. Octavian yelled, "Stop her!"

A spear flew past her ear. The Argo II was already pulling away from the dock. Hadrian was at the gangplank, his hand outstretched.

Annabeth leaped and Hadrian grabbed her arm just past her wrist. He didn't trust his sweaty hands to handle someone's weight by holding their hand. The gangplank fell into the sea, and Hadrian grabbed her arm with both his hands, pulling her onto the deck.

Despite the awkward position, Annabeth, who had landed on top of Hadrian, just screamed. "Go, go, go!"

The engines rumbled beneath them. The oars churned. Jason changed the course of the wind, and Percy called up a massive wave, which lifted the ship higher than the fort's walls and pushed it out to sea. By the time the Argo II reached top speed, Fort Sumter was only a blot in the distance, and they were racing across the waves toward the ancient lands.

"Hi," Hadrian grinned, "As much as I like people on top, now is really not the time Annabeth, I know you all want me so bad, but maybe later"

She punched his shoulder for that.

"A thank you would've been nice"

She scrambled off of him and got to her feet. 

"What did you find?" Hadrian asked as he let her help him to his feet. The ship was moving too fast to stay steady. They zoomed past at impossible speeds. Hadrian couldn't help but marvel at how well Jason and Percy worked together- like a well oiled machine. He wondered why they had the stand off in the first place. 

"Reyna" Annabeth answered, "I ran into Reyna"

"Elaborate"

"Give me a minute and gather everyone"