𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐖 , percy jackson

﹒౨ৎ﹒it's like your body is gold

𝛢𝐹𝑇𝛦𝑅𝐺𝐿𐒆𝑊 , 𝑎𝑐𝘵 𝘰𝑛𝑒

chap thirteen

☾

❝I know—but you could.❞

Aurora felt the water around her, trying to remain calm and control her breath. Everything looked blurry, but once Aurora had forced herself to focus, she noticed Percy attempting to swim towards her, but the water was pulling him back each time. Recalling the arch, they held their hands out. Only this time, they were too far apart to connect.

Before she could blink, a spiral of water that reminded the girl of a tornado shot from Percy's hands and immediately spun around Aurora's arms. It felt odd, but the water began pulling her and Percy. After a few seconds, they found themselves on the round platform, coughing from the loss of breath. Aurora wiped the water off her face, still seeming surprised by the water manipulation.

Water dripped from her long hair, and she looked over at Percy, who had turned onto his back, looking up at the ceiling and panting. "How did you—" she asked, her voice shaking. "I don't know," he responded, seeming to know that she had been referring to the water manipulation. Aurora took a shaky breath, "Okay. Good to know."

It took them about two minutes to regain their usual breathing pattern before kneeling due to them not having enough strength to stand and turning back to face the glittering gold statue, throne, and shield. "How are we supposed to get that thing down?" Percy wondered while staring at the shield. Aurora traced her necklace wearily, observing the throne carefully. "It's a machine; I'm pretty sure they're connected in some way. We just need to figure out how to start it."

The two of them stood up, stepping closer towards the throne. The shaky girl traced her hand along the cold gold throne's arm rest as Percy began to think. As time went by, Percy began recalling the story his mother had told him about a gold throne. And within seconds, he knew the answer. The son of Poseidon stared at the throne, fear growing in his eyes, before he began to explain the story.

"It was a gift with a hidden purpose. Hephaestus offered it to Hera, but as soon as she sat in it, she couldn't get up. All the gods tried, but the machine was too smart. It was too strong. It was too much. Even for them. Finally, they said if Hephaestus let Hera free, Aphrodite would be his wife. The chair is the bargain. One of us goes in, the other gets the shield."

Aurora immediately stepped forward without hesitation, "I'll do it." Before she could take another step, she felt a hand wrap around her arm, looking back. "What? Wait a minute," Percy said. Aurora removed herself from his grip, "Whoever goes in doesn't come out. That seems pretty clear." Percy scolded her, "Yeah, I know. That's why I said wait!"

Aurora glared at him, "I'm not here to just let you risk your life every five minutes." Percy tore a hand through his blonde curls, "It's not that simple." She scoffed, "Yes. It is. I'm going to sit on the throne; you'll take the shield back to the others and save your mom." Anger wasn't a common emotion that was felt by Aurora, at least not anger that she expressed, but around Percy, the emotion seemed to approach her commonly.

"Just listen." Percy argued. Aurora crossed her arms, "No! This isn't the arch, I'm not letting you risk your life again. You almost died." Memories from before the quest replayed in Percy's mind, specifically one conversation he had had with Chiron about Aurora. A conversation he had kept a secret. Percy took short breaths, "Just trust me."

"This isn't about trust—"

"Yes, it is! It's the whole reason you're here!"

The words had slipped out of his mouth before he could think of the outcome or stop himself. Aurora stared at him with confusion but a hint of hurt in her eyes. Deep down in her mind, she knew what he had meant, but the other parts of her mind didn't want to believe it. Percy's jaw clenched, but he knew that it was too late to go back.