MΛЯK ӨF ΛƬΉΣПΛ
LUCIAS NIGHTS OF PEACE SEEMED TO BE OVER, in the first time in a while she had her own dream—No—her own nightmare, the rumble of thunder became the laughter of the earth goddess Gaea.
She dreamed she was standing on the front porch of the Big House at Camp Half-Blood. The sleeping face of Gaea appeared on the side of Half-Blood Hill—her massive features formed from the shadows on the grassy slopes. Her lips didn't move, but her voice echoed across the valley.
So this is your home, Gaea murmured. Take a last look, Lucia. You should have stayed here. At least then you could have died with your comrades when the Romans invaded. Now your blood will be spilled far from home, on the ancient stones, and I will rise.
The ground shook. At the top of Half-Blood Hill, Thalia's pine tree burst into flames. Disruption rolled across the valley—grass turning to sand, forest crumbling to dust. The river and the canoe lake dried up. The cabins and the Big House burned to ashes.
When the tremor stopped, Camp Half-Blood looked like a wasteland after an atomic blast. The only thing left was the porch where Lucia stood.
Next to her, the dust swirled and solidified into the figure of a woman. Her eyes were closed, as if she were sleepwalking. Her robes were forest green, dappled with gold and white like sunlight shifting
through branches. Her hair was as black as tilled soil. Her face was beautiful, but even with a dreamy smile on her lips, she seemed cold and distant. Lucia got the feeling she could watch demigods die or cities burn, and that smile wouldn't waver.
"When I reclaim my earth," Gaea said, "I will leave this spot barren forever, to remind me of your kind and how utterly cruel they were to me. Yet how powerless you were to stop me. It doesn't matter when you fall, my sweet little pawn—to the water or my dear twins or your own flesh and blood. You will fall, and I will be there to devour you. Come to me willingly. Perhaps I will spare this place you love. Otherwise..."
Gaea opened her eyes. They swirled in green and black, as deep as the crust of the earth. Gaea saw everything. Her patience was infinite. She was slow to wake, but once she arose, her power was unstoppable.
Lucia's skin tingled. Her hands went numb. She coughed and coughed like a sick woman, she realized that blood began to seep from her now burning chest, and she was slowly rotting away like a corpse, until she started to fade into dust...
It reminded her of all the monsters she'd ever defeated.
"Enjoy the darkness," Gaea purred. "They made sure, that you would have no choice but to be consumed by it.."
A metallic clang jolted Lucia out of her dream. Her eyes shot open.
She realized she only heard the landing gear being lowered. Her heartbeat slammed against her ribcage. She felt a spike in anxiety. Her gut churned.
There was quickly a knock on her door, and Hazel poked her head in. Her gold eyes glittered with excitement.
"Hey, Lu!" She excitedly greeted her. "We're descending over Rome. Come see it!"
༄
AFTER LUCIA GOT CHANGED, AND CONVINCED PERCY TO GET UP WITH A FEW KISSES. They finally made their way up deck. In an instant, the sheer beauty of Rome grabbed Lucia by the throat and made it difficult to breathe.
The sky was a brilliant blue, as if the stormy weather had never happened. The sun rose over the distant hills, so everything below them shone and sparkled like the entire city of Rome had just come out of the car wash.
YOU ARE READING
²𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐃𝐘. percy jackson
Fanfiction𝄞 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐃𝐘.(n.) behold the blood of Hyacinthus, which had poured out on the ground beside him and there stained the grass, was changed from blood; and in its place a flower, more beautiful than Tyrian dye, sprang up. ❝ Near time...
