Almost At The Top- Book Four in the United Series

Chapter Ten

Max's POV:

I stumble over rocks and tree stumps with a bad limp, my muscles screaming for me to stop, but I know I can't. I have to get back to Ivan, back to Conrad and Percy.

Percy. I haven't had a full conversation with him in a while. I've missed him so much, even if I haven't seen him for only about a day.

I'm close to exhaustion and my knees start to buckle from under me, pain pulsing through my back, sides, and stomach. Dam I hate Octavian.

But what if anyone sees my burns? What if someone touches them and I can't hide the pain? I won't be able to keep this secret forever. Especially from Ivan. I can't handle myself. I can't bear the thought of keeping a secret from him. 

I fall on my knees from the pain that suddenly shoots up my back. I groan in pain and cover my head in my hands, pain pulsing through my back as if it were suddenly cursed.

I grab handfuls of my own messy black hair, which are covered in tree twigs and leaves, and the bottom is even a bit singed from being burned. Hopefully no one notices that.

After a few minutes, the pain subsides and my eyes water as I struggle to get to my feet. I sigh. What if that happens with everyone else watching me? They'll all know about my burns and I'll have to tell them what happened to me, and I can't do that. It'll distract them and they already have enough to worry about. 

I hear laughing from behind me and I whip around to see Octavian, his gold sword drawn and his white Roman toga on. I feel rage burn inside me like a California wildfire. What does he want now?

I grip my sword tightly, ready to charge at Octavian. I won't hesitate to hurt him. He's the reason I'm in so much pain and the reason I'm so worried about everyone finding out about a few burns on my body.

When he's done laughing, Octavian sneers at me. "Does it hurt, Jackson?" He asks me, chuckling.

"Not as much as this will," I spit then charge at him, my sword drawn in front of me. Octavian reacts quickly. I try to slash at his arm but he slams his sword away from mine with no problem. I try to summon my Lumen so I can blind him but it won't come on. What is going on? My legacies won't work around him, but why?

"Do you really think you can challenge me, Jackson? I've been training my whole life, and not to mention that you're injured," Octavian tells me, looking down at my left leg, which is so badly injured I have to limp.

I glare at Octavian. "Leave me alone, Octavian," I order him and he laughs.

"And let you go tell all your friends what I did so they can come hunt me down and kill me?" Octavian laughs. "No way Jackson. So, I've made a decision. I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you," And with that, he charges at me with his Imperial gold sword. I kick his stomach with my good leg but he manages to slice it, so now I have two injured legs and I have to fight with both of them at the same time.

Octavian smirks at me then slashes at my stomach. I quickly jump away and try to stab his arm with my sword. He smacks my sword away with his and punches my stomach. I shout as my burns sear with pain. Octavian takes advantage of this and snatches my sword out of my hand with one swift movement. He kicks my chest and I fall on my back, holding my burns that are pulsing with horrible pain.

Octavian looms over me, both our swords in either one of his hands.

"Alright Jackson. Your time is up. You ready to die?" He asks me, dropping my sword behind him and digging the tip of his just barely into my neck, right next to my scar.

"Not just yet," I tell Octavian, then rip my necklace off my neck and flip it. Octavian's brows furrow in confusion until I catch it as a blue snake whip and wrap it around Octavian's ankles, tripping him. Octavian yelps in surprise and falls on his back, cutting a small yet deep scratch on my chin. 

I painfully but quickly jump to my feet, grab my sword from the ground where Octavian dropped it from, and bang the hilt of it against Octavian's head. He's knocked out cold and I take a few deep breaths before grabbing my whip from the ground. Instead of turning it back into a necklace, I sling it around my shoulders. Hopefully everyone back at the camp is okay and hopefully Ivan is the only one who knows I'm gone, or else it'll be chaos.

I take another deep breath and continue towards the others without a second thought.

Ivan's POV:

I quickly pace around a tree, anxiously waiting for Max. She's been gone for at least half an hour now. The Cêpans said that we'd be leaving in one more. If Max isn't here by then and everyone realizes she's gone, it's going to be chaos and everyone's going to blame me. No one will believe me if I say Octavian and I dueled and then he took Max while she was asleep. They'd probably stab me and slingshot me back to Chicago to the other Mogadorians yelling 'traitor' in my ear the whole time.

I'm about to reach out to Max telepathically again but before I can, I hear footsteps heading my way from deeper into the woods. It's none of the other Garde, demigods, Cêpans, or humans. Maybe it's a Mogadorian, or maybe a monster. Maybe it's Max. Funny how all those things start with 'M'.

I reach for my sword sheathed in my trench coat when a young figure with short black hair steps out of the shadows. Max. She's beat-down and looks extremely weary and tired but still manages to stand tall and confident.

I sigh in relief and let my hand fall from my sword. I step towards Max and am about to embrace her in a tight hug when she stops me with a hand on my chest.

Oh god, I think. Did the potion wear off? Does she hate me?

"Hold on, Mog," she says, smiling at me. I almost sigh in relief and smile back at her. So she doesn't hate me. Then I notice the blue snake whip hanging loosely around her neck, though not wrapped around it as to not choke her.

She swiftly takes the whip off her neck, flips it, and shoves the blue trident necklace into her pocket. Then she walks up to me and hugs me. I wrap my arms around her waist and I swear I can feel her flinch, most likely from pain. I furrow my eyebrows together in concern, breaking our hug but not letting go of her.

"Are you okay?" I ask her, searching her eyes for a lie when she answers me.

"Yeah, of course," Max replies and I'm not sure if she's telling the truth or not. If she is, then good. If not, then she's a really good liar.

She distracts me from all my thoughts by pulling me in for a kiss. I immediately kiss her back and we kiss for what seems like long, amazing minutes. I love the way she kisses- softly and carefully like she means and savors every bit of it. Her lips taste like vanilla and the way an ocean breeze smells like, and I love it. I'm a bit disappointed when she pulls apart from me. I want a kiss with her to last forever, but I know it can't, and it makes me sad every time I think about it.

"Ivan, I-" Max starts to say to me but we're interrupted by five people entering the woods with us. Max and I jump in surprise and turn to face the people who interrupted us. Who I see enter the woods shocks me- John, Annabeth, Piper, Nine, and Leo, and they all look either angry, proud, or worried.

None of those are a good sign.

-------------------