νεκρός || Annabeth Chase x Fem!OC

Vol. 3-10: I get a really unsettling sneak-peek

ANNABETH

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆

"Hey."

Tempest sat down next to me on my bedroll. In the dark, it was hard to see her Mighty Ducks jersey. She was right next to me, though, so close the entire side of my body was pressed against hers. It's unusual for Tempest to initiate such close contact, so the thought her doing that on purpose made my heart race.

"Hi." I kept my voice low for the sake of my friends. I almost told her she needed to sleep, but I hadn't seen Tempest sleep even once before. I noticed how cold her skin was. It was refreshing in the humidity of the Labyrinth.

She gently nudged me with her elbow. "You doin' alright?"

I nearly laughed at her. "Sure. First day leading the quest. Doing great."

"We'll get there," Tempest said. "We'll find the workshop before Luke does."

I brushed my hair out of my face, feeling the buildup of grime that had already begun accumulating on my skin. It reminded me all too much of when I was seven, before I had met Luke or Thalia, and found shelter in bizarre places after strange encounters with monsters.

"I just wish the quest was logical," I complained. "I mean, we're traveling but we have no idea where we'll end up. How can you walk from New York to California in a day?"

"Space isn't the same in the maze, remember?"

"I know, I know. It's just..." I looked at Tempest hesitantly. Her red eyes were soft. She seems less menacing up close. "Tempest... I was kidding myself. All that planning and reading... I don't have a clue where we're going."

She took my hand gently. "You're doing way better than anyone else ever would have, alright? Besides... doing things on the fly kind of works out for us. Remember Circe's Island?"

I snorted. "You looked way out of place in that dress." Beautiful, yes, but that was so far from who Tempest was.

"And that plan you made on Polyphemus's island?"

"I almost died!"

"But you didn't. Almost is a very important distinction, y'know."

I smiled, but another thought struck me, and I quickly turned away.

"W-what do you think Hera meant when she said Percy has a way through the maze?"

Tempest sighed, facing forward and leaning her head on the stone wall. "I'm... Well, I'm not sure. I feel like we already know it, too. But I still can't put my finger on it."

"You'd tell me if you knew?"

"Of course." She hesitated. "Maybe..."

I frowned. "Maybe what?"

"Maybe if you told me the last line of the prophecy, it would help."

Cold as a corpse. I pulled my hand away from her and shivered. "Not here. Not in the dark."

"What about the choice Janus mentioned? Hera said-"