Laylana exited the forum with Percy at her side, Frank and Hazel following. Her brother had an arm swung across her shoulder as they walked through the streets of New Rome.
"So," Percy said. "You went on another quest? To save Hera this time?"
"Yep." Laylana sighed. "It was... an event that's for sure."
"What happened? Did... Jason not say everything?"
"Well... I met my dad." Laylana forced a laugh. "I died, came back to life."
"What?!" Percy stopped in his tracks. "You died? And you met your dad?"
"Who's your dad?" Frank asked.
"How are you..." Hazel spoke up. They had stopped near the central fountain, the four of them taking a seat alongside it.
"Well for one, my dad is Erebus. The god of darkness. And... It was part of my prophecy when Jason and the others arrived at camp." Laylana explained. "My fate would diverge. I had a choice, life or death. I chose to come back to life of course."
"But why were you given that choice? Death isn't forgiving like that." Hazel asked.
"Well..." Laylana hesitated as she looked at Frank and Hazel. "If we're going on this quest, you might as well know... Gaea is after me. For what reason we aren't sure, but she wants me as a sacrifice. Now if she has control of the doors, she might have let me come back."
"Why wouldn't she just... take you then if you died?" Percy asked.
"I don't know." Laylana huffed. "Maybe it's not my soul she needs. Maybe it was my body. Whatever the fates have planned for me, it was bigger than me dying for my friends. I haven't been dragged to the Underworld yet so..."
"Well, we're not gonna let that happen again." Percy pulled her closer. "We're not leaving each other's sides again, right?"
"Right." Laylana agreed, a smile on her face as Percy kissed her forehead. She looked over at Hazel. "On another topic... Nico is your brother?"
"Half brother." Hazel said.
"So you're a daughter of Hades... or Pluto I guess." Laylana quickly corrected herself.
"Yes," Hazel studied her for a moment. "You... you know him."
"I call Nico my 'Underworld brother'. We were the only kids of the Underworld at Camp Half-Blood. I haven't seen him since February." Laylana felt her anger boiling. "Now... he knew about this camp. And he didn't tell me."
"He probably did it for a good reason." Hazel defended.
"I know, I just..." Laylana shook her head. "He promised me. He promised he would tell me if he found anything. If he found Percy. Now it all makes sense with how weird he was acting last I saw him."
"Weird?" Frank asked.
"It was like he wanted to tell me something but he kept saying he couldn't. Now I know what he wanted to tell me." Laylana's shoulders stopped tensing. "And now he's missing."
"Hey, we'll find him." Percy comforted her. Hazel, who was sitting right next to her on her other side, lay a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"We will." Hazel confirmed. Laylana looked at her with a smile.
"Thank you both, for taking care of my idiot brother."
"Hey!" Percy smacked her on the arm. Hazel smiled at her.
"You know, Percy told us a bit about you." She said. "You two are a lot a like. Even without the blood relation."
"I know," Laylana chuckled. "I had to stop myself from laughing when Reyna said we look alike."
YOU ARE READING
You'll Learn to Love Me (Leo Valdez x OC)
Fanfiction"One day you'll learn to love me." "In your dreams, Valdez." Laylana Jackson's world was shattered the moment her brother went missing. The adopted daughter of Sally Jackson, the only demigod daughter of Erebus, the god of darkness, searched endle...
