To Swear On Styx

Chapter Sixteen: Chiron Shows Me His Weapon

Playlist Part Sixteen:

Friend - Benson Boone

Open Season - High Highs

~*~

Percy woke up some time later in the infirmary. The room's bright yellow walls grinned cheerfully back at him, sunlight streaming in through the partially-opened windows.

Sitting up with a grunt, his eyes skittered around the room, noting the two other sleeping patients lying in their own beds, before resting on the main door. Tossing the covers aside without a second thought, he pushed himself out of bed, staggering over to the door and heaving it open.

Outside, standing in a huddled group about ten feet in front of him, were his friends. The five from before, along with Thalia, Grover, and-

Annabeth. Her arms were crossed tightly over her faded-orange t-shirt, and her hair was pulled back, blonde curls falling over her shoulders and framing her face.

She was just as beautiful as Percy remembered, and, for a second, his mind was calm, basking in the familiarity that rolled off her in comforting, intoxicating waves. His fingers twitched at his sides as he tried to resist the urge to surge forward and pull her into a tight hug and never let go.

He took another step forward, forgetting about the door's hinges. It slammed shut behind him, and he gritted his teeth as the eight people jerked their gazes to stare at him, wide-eyed and completely shocked.

Uncomfortable with the attention, Percy shifted his weight nervously, his gaze flicking from Annabeth to the ground and back again. "Annie," he finally breathed, taking a step forward. "Annie, I-"

"Percy," she cut him off. "What happened?"

"Uh-" Percy's hand trailed up to his throat, and Annabeth's eyes followed the movement like a hawk.

"He hurt you," she bit out, her tone poisonous. Around her, the rest of Percy's friends' faces twisted up in various angry expressions.

Percy shrank back, swallowing down the taste of bile. "It's fine. It was nothing."

Annabeth's eyes bored into him, and for a moment Percy forgot how to breathe. After a beat, his gaze dropped down to the stone path beneath his feet, his focus on a random wooden practice sword somebody'd left in the weeds to his right.

This was wrong. He and Annabeth weren't supposed to be like this. They were supposed to be that couple, the lovesick ones that got married and had kids and lived happily ever after. They weren't supposed to be awkwardly loitering seven feet apart, at a loss for words with tension thicker than Kronos' stupid scythe could cut through.

"It obviously wasn't nothing." Thalia's tense voice bit through the silence. "You flashed here and not a second later doubled over like you were gonna die." The daughter of Zeus pushed her way forward, gripping Percy's shoulders and squeezing them tightly, her electric-blue eyes glaring into his. "Kelp Head, you give me the word and I'll go teach that motherfucker a lesson."

Percy's eyes bulged. "No-" he reached up, grabbing her hands and pushing them away. "He'll kill you- that was the deal- if you try anything, you die. Don't-" He sucked in a shaky breath, desperately trying to think of any way to convince Thalia not to act rashly. "-Please. I'm fucking begging you here, Thals. Don't."

Thalia took a quick step back. Her expression was frozen on her face, something halfway between anger and disbelief. "What? Percy-" She broke off, scoffing incredulously. "What?"

Sudden exhaustion pressed up behind Percy's eyes, and his shoulders slumped as he met the daughter of Zeus' gaze. "Thalia-"

"You- You're supposed to be mad!" The huntress cut him off viciously, her eyes flashing with electricity. "You're not supposed to- to be like-" she broke off, gesturing vageuly at him, before carding her hands back into her hair in aggravation.