ENTRAPPED ₂

9

ETHAN WAS IN AND OUT OF CONSCIOUSNESS AS LEO FOUGHT THE CYCLOPES.

For a long time, he had dealt in survival and only that. His father, his mother, Camp Half-Blood. James had gotten Ethan's guard down, and that had ended in nothing. James had been a means to an end, a way to make Ethan angry. A way to make him an asset.

Since then, Ethan had been angry. Everything was a means to an end for him. He never had friends again. He was dangerous to be around, a starving wolf. He would chew through bone if you let him.

When Madeleine had left on her quest that winter, Ethan had known it was too late for him. He had seen the way Madeleine looked at Zoe. He thought about her at night. It was too much. He was falling, tight-lipped and still, arms pinned to his sides. He was helpless at the bottom of a pool.

He had to leave. He couldn't watch her get hurt because of him. Not lovely Madeleine, with that fucking laugh.

She had been destroyed by Zoe's death. Her grief was so similar to Ethan's that he caved. He could not leave her. He loved her and he loved her and he loved her. He would keep her alive at all costs.

She had sworn the same thing. So there they were, tied at the hip, two survivalists always fighting for each other. Ethan almost killed Luke when he hurt Madeleine. Madeleine almost killed Luke when he hurt Ethan. They were always looking out for each other.

Ethan hadn't ever had anyone look out for him like that. He got comfortable. He got too close. He put his walls down, just a little. He allowed himself to like her friends, snarky Drew and warm Lee and brave Percy and stubborn Annabeth. He admired their qualities. They let him in.

He had allowed Madeleine to see every part of him. It was war. He was going to die or she was, or both of them. It didn't matter. This was life or death.

When it ended, Ethan had really began to believe that it was over. No more Luke, no more Kronos, no more James or Zoe. Ethan and Madeleine, whole. College with their friends.

It was a fever dream. It was a sick fantasy. It was the worst thing in the world.

For the first time in his entire life, Ethan had finally relaxed. He let Madeleine put her hands on his bare stomach and he was not afraid that she would carve him open. He learned how to braid her hair. It was the purest act of love. It was the bravest thing that Ethan had ever done.

Then she was just gone. Gone. Gone. Like she had never existed.

Ethan always considered the worst-case scenarios, but this was so outlandish that it had never even crossed his mind. They had been tied at the hip. Best friends. Madeleine Aetos, daughter of Hermes. His girlfriend, with her mischievous smile and clever fingers and bullseyes. He would've done anything for her.

Hearing her voice plucked right from his mind had hurt worse than his shoulder. It had hurt worse than his headache. It had hurt worse than seeing her cry. It had hurt worse than anything Ethan had ever been through.

Madeleine Aetos, his lovely girlfriend. Despite his theories, he didn't know if she was alive. He didn't even have a body.

He was a shell of a person without her. He missed her so much that he couldn't breathe.

⎯⎯ ୨ entrapped ୧ ⎯⎯

Piper and Leo finally lowered Ethan down. He got to his feet, still slightly unconscious, ears ringing. There was blood dripping down his face from where his forehead had gotten cut. His shoulder throbbed painfully, sending shockwaves through his body.

They set him down on a slab of cement. Piper put Ethan's knives in his hands. He did not thank her. His ears were ringing.

He watched as they got Jason down from his bindings. He kept his knives in his hands. They were comfortable, perfectly weighted. He clung to them like a drowning man.