The moonlight glinted off Jake's knife menacingly as it pressed against Annabeth's neck. I noticed he looked almost as sick as I felt, standing in the Circle with nowhere to run. The spears of Kronos' guards pressed into back as the heavy air continued to add sweat to my already damp skin. After all this time, here we were. Grover and I were held captive, forced to face the guise of Luke with his Titan friends all around, as if to remind us how powerless we were. Annabeth stood next to him, leaning against Jake Mason for support, her eyes closed with fatigue as Jake held her up, knife to her throat as Kronos had requested. This was it.
"Perseus Jackson," Kronos said, my name coming out as a hissed curse. "I have waited for you for so long."
Unwilling to play his games and unable to take my eyes off of Annabeth, I only said, "So kill me."
The silence that followed seemed to last a lifetime. "You seem quick to die after all you've gone through to avoid me," Kronos broke the silence. His words came through Luke's form sending a shiver down my spine.
"You can have me," I said quietly. "Just don't hurt my friends."
Kronos' eyes narrowed at what I thought to be a generous offer. His eyes flicked over to Annabeth and after a moment's consideration, motioned for her to be brought forward. "Your offer surprisingly isn't tempting me, Jackson." Kronos smiled. "Have you not already picked me out to be the kind that plays with my food before I eat it?"
I grimaced before I could stop myself. "What do you want from me?"
"I want you to see how I've suffered all these years." he replied darkly, Luke's handsome face marred with hatred. "I want to watch as you loose everything."
"Is killing me not enough?" I asked, knowing I was only further tempting his wrath.
"Not this time," he replied, looking over to where Jake stood. Suddenly I felt sickened as the puzzle pieces began to go together.
"This is just between you and me," I told him, attempting to keep this panic out of my voice as Kronos only smiled. The Titans rumbled in unease.
"As if this war was just for you." Kronos walked over to where Annabeth was barely supported by Hephaestus's son. "This is much bigger than that. You've just caused me so much trouble that I want to make sure you suffer before you go. After all, I've been waiting for this moment for a long time." He motioned to Jake and the knife pressed harder against Annabeth's throat, causing a thin line of blood to appear.
Sensing his intention, I tried hard to stop him but I quickly found myself held back by the guards that stood behind me, preventing me from reaching Annabeth's side. No matter what she said to me in the tent, I couldn't let anything happen to her. I just wanted her to be safe. Whatever happened to me didn't matter anymore, as long as Annabeth came out of this unscathed.
"Just like you and the gods ruined me, so shall I ruin you, Percy Jackson," Kronos leered at me. With a beckon, the guards walked me forward, closer to where he stood. Staring defiantly back, I refused to cave under his triumphant smile.
"Don't kill her," I asked softly. "Take me, kill me. Just not her."
"So you're willing to be sacrificed in her place?" Kronos asked in mock surprise. "I bet she tried to prevent you coming as much as she could, didn't she? Didn't want to see you get hurt? Too bad neither of you will make it out of here today."
Annabeth's eyes opened and looked around warily, breathing heavily against the metal of Jake's dagger. I knew she had been lying. I knew she didn't mean all those things she said. Kronos' words confirmed it. So then why had she said it?
