Raised from the Depths: The Apple of Their Eyes [A Percy Jackson FanFiction]

Thirty-three: I'm feeling a little betrayed right about now

My body slammed into the ground below me, the breath escaping my lungs in an instant. I gasped in shock as pain shot through my nerves. I instinctively curled into a sort of ball, writhing in pain as my limbs shook. Only when I heard something plop down next to me, did I start to make an effort to recover. I cried out slightly as I pulled myself up, blood roaring in my ears as I yanked the dagger from my arm. Blood instantly replaced it in a dangerous swell. Still trembling in pain, I gripped the bloody weapon in my hand as I stared into the eyes of my attacker.

A pair of electric blue eyes stared right back.

My eyes widened, and I instantly dropped my weapon. "Mico?" I croaked, taking a step forward, only to fault under my weight.

"Hello, Affinity." She greeted, completely deadpan.

"Where did you go? Sol and I went looking for you, but you got out." I whispered, my mind churning, although no clear thoughts could break through the fog of pain residing in my head.

She nodded, frowning. "Honestly, I was hoping one of those tasks to save me would kill you. I didn't want to have to do it myself."

I blinked, stiffening. "What?" I whispered in surprise. It was the only word my mind could conjure at the moment.

"You were always nice to me. The only one." She muttered, her eyes flashing like a gathering storm. "The only one." She seemed to echo.

"Mico, please, just take a deep breath. You're safe now. You can come back to Camp Half-Blood with Sol and I, and-"

"No!" She snapped, and thunder seemed to tumble in the distance. I glanced up at the sky, which darkened and churned with energy. "I will never go back to that camp, to be shoved into the Hermes Cabin! Ouranos told me who I am, Affinity. My father is Zeus, King of the Gods! I will not be put back in the Hermes cabin!" She shrieked, tears streaming down her face now, her small hands clenched into tight fists, her knuckles white with strain.

"Mico, please, calm down." I whispered. My hand twitched towards my bow that lay few feet away, to my right, but I stopped myself. I couldn't hurt her.

Her eyes flashed with anger, thunder cracking just above our heads now. "I don't take orders from the likes of you, Affinity. You're below me." She hissed, pulling out a celestial bronze sword from its scabbard.

My hair stood on end, and in a second, lightning flashed to my left. I shouted in fear, the heat eating at my skin as the force of the sound wave knocked me over.

I scrambled to my feet, gritting my teeth at the searing pain coursing my entire body. Quickly, I stooped to my bow and gripped it, and within an instant, I had an arro notched, aimed at Mico.

"I don't want to hurt you!" I warned, finding myself unable to pull the string back.

"You don't have the stomach for it!" She yelled, charging at me, a strange electrical current pulsing through the air.

Fear ripped at my gut. I couldn't hurt her. I remembered the cheery demigod I had met when I had arrived at camp. I couldn't stop her, she was right; I didn't have it in me. My chest began to burn, my feet tingling as heat built in my core, and I felt a burst of energy course through me as my gut convulsed.

"STOP!" I screamed, and in an instant, a column earth shot up between Mico and I. The earth fractured slightly beneath me and I shook, the energy that had built up seeping quickly out of my body and pulling the earth up. I heard a spine-chilling roar of Ladon in the background, and I crumbled to my knees, allowing the earth to cascade to the ground in an avalanche of rock and dirt.

"Affinity!" A voice shouted from somewhere far away, but I couldn't hear who it was through the pounding in my ears. Mico scrambled up the pile of earth, her eyes blazing in a mix of fear and anger.

"Why would you waste so much energy and not take me out? Aren't children of Hades supposed to be vengeful? I tricked you, Affinity. I win. My master the stole the apple, it yanked you from your home, and the Camp Half-Blood, and I'm about to kill you. Why won't you shoot me?" She demanded.

With an arrow still notched, I drew back the string and fired, burying the arrow her thigh. She faltered, not only from the sheer pain of the strike, but it seemed as though her energy was sapped as well.

"You literally asked for that one." I muttered, trying to stand, but it was as though my legs were jelly, I could no longer use them.

Her eyes narrowed, and I just couldn't understand. She was only 14, she still had round cheeks, shaped by a slight remainder of baby fat. Only a week ago, she had had a smile from ear to ear, and now, she was prepared to kill me.

She will kill me. The thought flashed in my head, and I swallowed. The pain beating at my body was becoming unbearable. My head was spinning as my arm continued to bleed, my legs were still throbbing, and the fact that Mico was the one wielding the sword made my heart surge with sadness. I felt my bow slip from my fingers, my body becoming heavy with dread.

This was it.