Chariot of the Sun

Chapter Three | Ally

Silk sheets caressed Percy's bare skin and a strangled scream escaped his lips. He jolted up, immediately realizing what had happened.

While he was yet again waking up in a bed, it was different from the golden one of the bedroom he had been in - his and Apollo's bedroom, he realized with a shudder. The bed he was in was much less decadent, twin-sized albeit still plush beyond belief, and it only took him a few moments to realize he was in a fucking cell.

He supposed it was nice for cell standards. There was a bed, a dresser, a nightstand, a wardrobe, and a door that he assumed led to a bathroom. The only indications that it was a cell he was in were the cold stone ground and, quite obviously, the bars that made up an entire wall of the room, revealing a hallway beyond that he most certainly would not be able to make it out to if the lack of door said anything.

He attempted to walk towards the bars, only to realize, with a clang, that golden chains attached the matching cuffs he had been wearing before to the ground at the foot of the bed.

"Don't fucking panic," Percy muttered to himself. Futilely, of course.

How the hell was he supposed to get out of this one?

"I'm disappointed, Perseus," an all too familiar voice drawled behind him.
Percy whirled around to lay his eyes on the sun god who was leaning against the wardrobe and sure as Hades hadn't been there a second ago.

"You're not going to get away with this," Percy spat immediately. Maybe not the wittiest or most original insult but it was naturally the first to come to mind.

Apollo rolled his eyes as if merely annoyed by a child's antics. "I clearly already have," he said lazily.

"My father will come for me," Percy insisted. "My friends will too."

Apollo sneered. "It's been a year, Perseus. If you believe they're still searching for you then you're delusional. Besides, we're on Delos. The only ones able to step foot on this island are the ones I personally admit. As for your father," a slow smirk spread across Apollo's face, "I'm certain he'll be pleased to find you've finally accepted immortality. You know as well as I do how much he doesn't want to see his favorite son go."

A year. He had lost an entire year of his life. A year that he would never get back.

"You're fucking insane," Percy bit out.

Apollo tutted. "We'll have to tame that tongue of yours, my love. Again. Which leads me to my next point," Apollo said slyly. He began sauntering towards Percy and the son of the sea willed himself not to tense at the approaching god. "How in the name of my father did my influence over you shatter? It's quite inconvenient."

Apollo was standing directly over Percy now. There was something deep and searching in his blue eyes as he leaned forward and cupped Percy's cheek in his hand. Percy flinched and jerked away from the touch, scrambling backwards over the bed to press his back against the wall.

Just like that, in the blink of an eye, Apollo's expression shifted from mild annoyance and slight amusement to complete and utter fury. A wave of heat swept through the room - Apollo wasn't known for keeping his rage concealed.

His hand shot forward, slapping Percy across the cheek. Hard. Percy's head snapped to the side, his cheek burning.
Apollo moved again before Percy could even react, his hand around Percy's neck. Not tight or painful, but applying just enough pressure to demonstrate that he was in control.

"You're mine, Perseus. Mine. One way or another, under my influence or not, you will be mine forever," Apollo growled. Flames danced in Apollo's eyes and Percy couldn't recall a single time he had ever felt this kind of fear.