Gladiators

Chapter Nineteen

Boss, we can't fly any farther north! Blackjack neighed in Percy's mind, being echoed by the agreements of the two white mares that carried Jason and Nico, their strong feathered wings beating furiously against the blizzard that raged on around them. Nico was huddled against his mare, his already pale skin looking deathly pale. Jason looked half-frozen as well, and Percy felt the same. The high altitude wasn't helping the bitter coldness that the blizzard already had, either.

"Take us in for a landing!" Percy shouted over the roaring of the icy wind, and the pegasi did as told, fighting against the freezing wind. They three winged horses crashed onto the ground, landing with a resounding thud. It was warmer on the ground because they were at a low altitude, but the boys still shivered and shook uncontrollably. The horses were shaking, from cold or exhaustion Percy wasn't sure. They'd been flying for hours, the weather just getting worse and worse.

"Blackjack, thanks for the ride, but we can handle it from here. If you want to fly back, you can." Percy said loudly, petting Blackjack's face. Then we'll be heading out, Boss. But do you got any apples? Blackjack asked, nuzzling his face into Percy's palm. Percy chuckled and brought out three apples from his pack, handing an apple to all three pegasi. The winged horses ate their apples greedily before flying off, the wind helping them travel faster.

"There's a cave, we can sleep there tonight!" Nico shouted over the roaring wind. The three traveled over to the cave, trudging through thick snow. It was cold in the cave, but it was warmer than outside because they were protected from the wind. Percy, Jason, and Nico brought out the fur hides that they had brought along, which only added up to three in all.

"We should sleep huddled up together to stay warm." Jason said slowly, looking at Percy and Nico. Nico nodded in agreement, rubbing his arms for warmth. Percy nodded hesitantly. Percy laid down on his fur awkwardly, and Nico and Jason laid on either side of him. Jason wrapped his fur around the three, and Nico did the same.

Percy turned so he was facing Nico, and when he felt something against the back of his body, he jumped, startled. "It's okay, it's just me." Jason whispered quietly in Percy's ear. His words did little to sooth Percy's anxiety, and Percy laid there, hardly breathing. Jason wrapped his arms around Percy's waist and pulled the son of the sea into him, spooning Percy from behind. Nico snuggled into Percy's front, Nico's back to Percy.

Percy could hardly breathe. The two guys he had been longing for and pining after for months were snuggling into him in an intimate position. But he knew he should not still want them- they wanted to possess Percy, not love him.

Percy was warm, surrounded by Jason and Nico, but he felt cold. It was the kind of cold you can't get rid of by being next to a fire or wrapping yourself in warm furs. Not even standing on the sun would get rid of the sort of coldness that filled Percy now. It was a hollow feeling. One of emptiness and longing. Like a sickness, and the cure was never going to be in Percy's reach.

Percy fell asleep, listening to the howling of the wind, and the distant longing howl of wolves to the unresponsive, harsh lunar moon who hung in the sky. She was taunting and enticing her slaves to run on beneath her silvery light. Yet Percy felt the mistress of the night sky was lonely in her loveliness, no touch of a lover, only accompanied by the stars. Unable to see her sunny counterpart. Forever alone and untouched in the sky.

Percy laid there, imagining that the two boys next to him were the cure to his cold feeling. His sleep though, was full of restless dreams.

The scene of his dream was in a room- it was very feminine. A man was getting dressed, his hair rumpled and messy. He shared the bed with a beautiful woman, who was clearly naked under the sheets. The room was full of pink and red hues, and heart shapes were all over the walls. The woman kept trying to get him to crawl back under the sheets with her. She kept kissing his shoulder and face, but he was insisting he needed to leave. Just then, the golden doors of the room slammed open, revealing a furious man who glared at the lovers.