Forged Destinies

Grief and Godly Visits

Ch. 12

Percy's head lay back against the chair he was sitting in. The room was dark with the exception of a flickering candle sitting at the bedside.

He was silent as he sat, still wearing his armor from the battle inside the House of Hades. His helm sat on his lap as he fidgeted with it nervously. They'd returned to the Argo II and wrapped Bianca's body in a black shroud before placing her in the bed she'd taken since joining the quest.

He'd stayed mostly silent since leaving his father's ancient temple. His mind was consumed with so many thoughts... Pain...Regret...Grief...Anger...Shame.

Bianca had been his responsibility. She was his sister, his family, and he had failed her. She'd only been in that cursed battle because he fell to Tartarus. Her death was on his hands and he was to blame for Nico losing the most important person in his life.

He wanted to blame someone else; Annabeth for allowing her to come after him at the Doors of Death; his father for vanishing and letting his young siblings be captured by Gaea while searching for him. Piper or Jason for not protecting her in the battle and letting her face the monsters head on.

But those thoughts only intensified his guilt. None of them were to blame and he knew it. It was him who brought her into this world of monsters. It was him who trained her to fight and how nothing was more important in life than family. It was his actions that got her killed and it was his burden to carry for the rest of his days.

He wanted to lash out and destroy everything and everyone he could get his hands on. Carve a path of death and destruction through Greece until Gaea or one of her ugly giants showed their miserable faces. He wanted to burn the temple to his father to the ground and then confront his father for being absent when they needed him most. But he knew doing any of those things would likely get him and more people he loved killed.

He could live with his own death... He deserved it. But he couldn't put another person he loved in danger.

He looked at his bed and felt a pang of anxiety. Zoe lay sleeping still and would soon wake and learn about what happened. She'd find out that Bianca died trying to save them and he knew she would blame herself. It was her who had fallen into Tartarus and her who he threw himself in after. Thoughtlessly hurling himself into the abyss like he'd done all those years ago on the cliff in rural Maine.

He tensed as she started to stir again.

She'd done it a few times before but had yet to wake. Somehow he knew this time he wouldn't be so lucky. This time he'd have to explain everything to her and then watch her break a little when she turned the blame to herself.

Without thinking, he stood up. He loosened the straps on his breastplate and laid it down gently by his feet. The air felt cold on his bare chest as he slid into the bed beside her. He placed his hand on her stomach and felt her tense as she drew a deep breath.

She exhaled and her body relaxed as she placed her hand over his.

"P..Pe..Percy..." she mumbled softly.

His hand slid across her stomach causing her to shiver before he pulled her close to him.

"Shhhhh," He whispered as he buried his face in her neck. "Please Zoe, just lay with me for a minute."

Zoe's eyes opened and she pulled back to look at him. She was a little surprised to see he was half naked in bed with her, not that it was the first time it'd happened. She found his eyes and gazed into them for a moment before closing hers again and moving her head back so that Percy could hide his face in her flesh.