The Winds Of Heaven (Annabeth Chase x Male Reader)

41. The Amazons

A/N: Last chapter with full Percy, Frank, Hazel POV. There's some stuff that I won't be able to put in the fic (most importantly, a chat between Frank and his grandmother), but I want to get to the action!
See you next time, happy reading!

"Hazel." Percy was shaking her shoulder. "Wake up. We've reached Seattle."

She sat up groggily, squinting in the morning sunlight. "Frank?"

Frank groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Did we just . . . was I just—?"

"You both passed out," Percy said. "I don't know why, but Ella told me not to worry about it. She said you were . . . sharing?"

"Sharing," Ella agreed. She crouched in the stern, preening her wing feathers with her teeth, which didn't look like a very effective form of personal hygiene. She spit out some red fluff. "Sharing is good. No more blackouts. Biggest American blackout, August 14, 2003. Hazel shared. No more blackouts."

Percy scratched his head. "Yeah . . . we've been having conversations like that all night. I still don't know what she's talking about."

Hazel pressed her hand against her coat pocket. She could feel the piece of firewood, wrapped in cloth.

She looked at Frank. "You were there."

He nodded. He didn't say anything, but his expression was clear: He'd meant what he said. He wanted her to keep the piece of tinder safe. She wasn't sure whether she felt honored or scared. No one had ever trusted her with something so important.

"Wait," Percy said. "You mean you guys shared a blackout? Are you guys both going to pass out from now on?"

"Nope," Ella said. "Nope, nope, nope. No more blackouts. More books for Ella. Books in Seattle."

Hazel gazed over the water. They were sailing through a large bay, making their way toward a cluster of downtown buildings. Neighborhoods rolled across a series of hills. From the tallest one rose an odd white tower with a saucer on the top, like a spaceship from the old Flash Gordon movies Sammy used to love.

No more blackouts? Hazel thought. After enduring them for so long, the idea seemed too good to be true.

How could Ella be sure they were gone? Yet Hazel did feel different . . . more grounded, as if she wasn't trying to live in two time periods anymore. Every muscle in her body began to relax. She felt like she'd finally slipped out of a lead jacket she'd been wearing for months. Somehow, having Frank with her during the blackout had helped. She'd relived her entire past, right through to the present. Now all she had to worry about was the future—assuming she had one.

Percy steered the boat toward the downtown docks. As they got closer, Ella scratched nervously at her nest of books.

Hazel started to feel edgy, too. She wasn't sure why. It was a bright, sunny day, and Seattle looked like a beautiful place, with inlets and bridges, wooded islands dotting the bay, and snowcapped mountains rising in the distance. Still, she felt as if she were being watched.

"Um . . . why are we stopping here?" she asked.

Percy showed them the silver ring on his necklace. "Reyna has a sister here. She asked me to find her and show her this."

"Reyna has a sister?" Frank asked, as if the idea terrified him.

Percy nodded. "Apparently Reyna thinks her sister could send help for the camp."

"Amazons," Ella muttered. "Amazon country. Hmm. Ella will find libraries instead. Doesn't like Amazons. Fierce. Shields. Swords. Pointy. Ouch."

Frank reached for his spear. "Amazons? Like . . . female warriors?"