Reconnected [Book 3]

2 - Surfing

(ADELIA)

Nine fricking days.

As she fell, Adelia thought about Hesiod, the old Greek poet who'd speculated it would take nine days to fall from earth to Tartarus. At least that's what Annabeth had told her back when they were 14.

She hoped Hesiod was wrong. She'd lost track of how long she and Percy had been falling—hours? A day? It felt like an eternity. They'd been holding hands ever since they dropped into the chasm. With a few kisses peppered in here and there. Now Percy pulled her close, hugging her tight as they tumbled through absolute darkness.

P.S. if you're not a fan of rollercoasters don't fall into Tartarus

They had caught up with Annabeth fairly quickly and Adelia had grabbed the blondes hand, not wanting to be separated again. She had never felt such guilt as she had dropped her friend, so much for all the training if she couldn't even hold onto her best friend.

Wind whistled in Adelia's ears. The air grew hotter and damper, as if they were plummeting into the throat of a massive dragon. Her shoulder from holding Annabeth ached and her legs pulled painfully from where Percy had gripped her. She definitely had a broken rib, and maybe some other injuries.

Adelia couldn't imagine that Arachne was still alive, somewhere below them in the darkness. She didn't want to meet that monster again when they reached the bottom. On the bright side, assuming there was a bottom, herself, Annabeth and Percy would probably be flattened on impact, so giant spiders were the least of their worries.

yay.

She wrapped her arms around Percy and tried not to sob. She'd never expected her life to be easy. Most demigods died young at the hands of terrible monsters. That was the way it had been since ancient times. The Greeks invented tragedy. They knew the greatest heroes didn't get happy endings. She's thought her tragedy was being born from a curse, then when Percy had been trapped on Calypso's island, then the Battle for Manhattan, then when Percy disappeared. But no. Her mother must seriously hate her not to prevent this. She was so sick of the gods and them using her. If they gave her another quest, if she survived this, she was saying no.

Still, this wasn't fair. Annabeth'd gone through so much to retrieve that statue of Athena. Just when she'd succeeded, when things had been looking up and they had all been reunited, they had plunged to their deaths.

Best friends forever right. Nothing like a trip to hell to strengthen that bond

Even the gods couldn't devise a fate so twisted.

But Gaea wasn't like other gods. The Earth Mother was older, more vicious, more bloodthirsty. Adelia could imagine her laughing as they fell into the depths. Fuck her, Adelia thought. When she faced her she was going to stab her and slaughter her. She was going to murder this goddess who was hellbent on ruining not only her life but her mind.

Adelia pressed her lips to Percy's ear. "I love you."

She wasn't sure he could hear her—but if they were going to die she wanted those to be her last words. She believed he did hear her since he pressed one kiss to her forehead before capturing her lips with his again. Pulling back Adelia inhales the sea salt scent that was weak and overpowered by the sulfurous air. She gave Annabeth hand a squeeze from behind Percy's back to make sure she was still there and the returning one calmed her heart.

She tried desperately to think of a plan to save them. She was a daughter of Artemis, the only one. She'd proven herself time and time again, she'd defeated ghosts and monsters and demigods. But she couldn't think of any way to reverse or even slow their fall. What was the point of being powerful if you can't save the people you love. All she could do was push her power out of her, making her body glow to give them some semblance of light.