scared? | a nico di angelo fanfic

chapter 24: trời ơi! (heavens!)

~•~•~

Annabeth stepped into the Big House attic, drinking in the sight in front of her. Even after 9 years, this place still gave her the creeps.

The Big House's attic was a dark room filled with various possessions from quests, like Aphrodite's scarf and a Drakon Head. But she didn't come for any of that.

She swallowed as she approached the corpse. It was sat on a tripod stool wearing a tie-die sundress, her many beaded necklaces, and a headband over her long, black hair. Chills went down her spine as she locked eyes with the glassy white slits the Oracle had.

A voice spoke in the back of Annabeth's mind.

'I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.'

Annabeth took a deep breath. "What must I do to stop Luke Castellan?"

Green light swirled around Annabeth, sending shivers down her spine. A raspy voice sounded as the Oracle spoke.

You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze,

The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise.

You shall rise and fall by the ghost king's hand,

Flower and Athena child's final stand.

Destroy and create with a hero's final breath,

And lose a love to worse than death.

~•~•~

A few days have passed since Percy left. After Nico's breakdown, the two definitely became closer. However, Hoa could occasionally hear things from him in the backyard. It sounded like he was talking to Minos again.

Hoa stared at the clock on the wall.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

She watched as the tiny hand representing seconds slowly revolved around, starting and ending at the 12.

Such insignificant things could take her attention so easily because of her ADHD, especially after days of sitting in bed and doing nothing. Occasionally, she'd force Nico to spar with her, but everyone had limits. Some limits were just higher than others; like how Hoa's stamina levels were higher than Nico's.

She sighed as she wrapped herself tighter into the sheets, staring at the shadow-covered clock. It's not like there was anything she could do, anyways.

Knock, knock

"Dinnertime, Hoa. C'mon," she heard Nico say before he walked away.

Boy, she was not in the mood for this. Maybe she should ask Eurytion if there were any training grounds on the farm.

Hoa sighed as she grabbed her red hoodie and went out of the room, grabbing her necklace with tia chớp and strapping lóng hăng hái to her belt that she just now put on.

She rubbed her eyes, adjusting to the different lighting. Maybe she shouldn't have kept the lights off. Squinting, she grabbed some of the pasta that Eurytion generously made for them.