Almost At The Top- Book Four in the United Series

Chapter Seven

John's POV:

I can't believe she chose him over me.

I can tell the pain is obvious on my face because as soon as I exit the woods and sit down, Nine comes rushing towards me, looking concerned.

"You alright there, Johnny?" He asks me, sitting down in front of me.

I shake my head no then look up at him with teary eyes.

"She chose him. Max chose Ivan over me," I tell him and Nine's face drops. He looks up at the woods behind me.

"Is he in there?" Nine asks me, pointing to the woods. I look down and nod my head yes.

"That son of a bi-" Nine starts.

"I think I know why," Piper calls to us from behind Nine. I look over Nine's shoulder and she's coming towards Nine and I with Annabeth and Leo by her side.

"Know what?" I ask her, my voice almost cracking. I can see Leo staring at me and I realize something- this is exactly how he felt when Max chose me over him.

"Know why Max chose Ivan over you," Piper answers me and I straighten up a bit. This will be interesting.

"What is it?" Nine asks. He and Max have always been close friends.

"It's a love potion," Piper replies and I'm shocked by this. A love potion? How could it be a love potion?

"How do you know?" I ask Piper cautiously.

"Leo noticed that Max's eyes had a bit of pink in them, and I once overheard my sister Drew talking about that before. It means she's under a love potion," Piper answers simply.

I look down and think this through. Ivan put Max under a love potion. I look back up at Piper.

"How do we take it off? Does it randomly wear off eventually?" I ask Piper.

She shakes her head no. "Someone who loves her, in this case, that'd be you, has to kiss her," Piper explains and I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. All I have to do is kiss her and the potion will wear off? It just seems too simple to be true.

"Is there anything else I have to do? Just kissing her seems a bit too easy," I ask Piper and she once again shakes her head.

"Just kiss her and the potion will wear off. She won't remember a thing that happened between her and Ivan," Piper says. I nod my head and look back at the woods.

I'm getting Max back. But there's one more thing that's bothering me.

"Hold on. How did Ivan get the love potion in the first place?" I ask Piper and she furrows her eyebrows in confusion as well.

"Your mother is the goddess of love, right?" Nine asks Piper. She nods her head yes, then inhales sharply.

Aphrodite is officially my least favorite goddess.

Ivan's POV:

Well this is going better than I expected.

Max's head lays on my shoulder. I forced her to sleep because I know she needs to rest, and it's not long before I hear footsteps heading my way.

I look up to see the person I didn't think I'd see again in a million years. The guy who promised Max he wouldn't come near us again.

"Long time, no see," Octavian sneers at me. He's still wearing his purple Camp Jupiter t-shirt and white toga and he has his Imperial gold sword drawn. I lay Max on the ground and jump up to face him.

"What are you doing here, Octavian? Remember the deal you made with Max?" I ask Octavian coldly, my hand reaching for the Mogadorian sword hidden inside my trench coat.

Octavian laughs coldly. "Do you think I keep up deals for long? I'm Octavian, Augur of Camp Jupiter and legacy of Apollo! You-"

Something clicks inside of me- I remember something that Max told me- and I interrupt Octavian before he can say another word.

"Hold on. Max told me you died," I tell Octavian, who smirks.

"Yeah, and I took Valdez down with me. He came back and so did I," Octavian sneers at me. I clench my jaw and unsheathe my sword, pointing the tip at Octavian. In reflex, he lifts his sword to face me as well.

"Well, looks like someone's ready for a fight. Too bad your Max can't save you this time," Octavian tells me then charges at me suddenly. I don't expect it and I don't have much time to react, and I hesitate.

I side-step him but Octavian still gets a good slash at my arm. I grunt and swing my sword at Octavian. He deflects my blow with his sword and pushes me back. He's gotten better than the last time I fought him. I might not be able to take him down. 

My mind drifts to Max and what Octavian will do to her if he gets me down first. Probably kill her, or worse.

Octavian takes advantage of my mind wandering and charges at me again. He slashes at my face and I get a deep cut on my cheek. Then Octavian swiftly skims my stomach with the tip of his sword, causing a long yet not too deep cut in my stomach. Then he grabs my arm holding my sword and pins me against a tree.

"Just give up, Ivanick. We both know who's going to win this one," Octavian taunts me and I know it's true. I know he's going to win, but I have to keep going for Max.

I try to push him away from me but Octavian pushes me against the tree and stabs my leg in retaliation. I bite my lip to keep from screaming out in pain.

I kick Octavian's stomach with my good leg and Octavian grunts but doesn't let me go, so he finally finishes the fight.

But, to my surprise, he doesn't kill me. Instead, he bangs the hilt of his sword against my head and I'm knocked out cold.

Max's POV:

I wake up and I'm still in the woods, but there's no sign of Ivan.

I try to get up, but I can't. I look down and realize that both my arms and my legs are tied up with tight rope. I roll my eyes. Whichever idiot decided to do this to me obviously doesn't know about my telekinesis.

As I'm about to untie myself with my telekinesis, I see a figure with blond hair and an Imperial gold sword step out to reveal himself. I forget about untying myself and I almost burst to flames with rage when I see him- Octavian.

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