The Beast with Sea Green Eyes

Chapter 24 (finale)

Percy Pov.

"I hope you'll forgive me when I see you in Elysium." I found enough strength to open my eyes. I saw Annabeth crying, she was wearing the ring around her neck.

Gods dammit, she wasn't supposed to have found it yet. I had a whole speech planned for when I gave that to her.

That's when I noticed the glint of metal against the sun. I saw my worst nightmare.

There was a dagger poised to her heart. She was ready to kill herself.

I may be dead but she wasn't, she deserves to live her life. I brought her nothing but pain and danger. I wanted nothing more than to protect her. That was impossible though. A dark cloud has followed me since I was a child and It has taken everything I have ever held dear to me. I could not let it take her, my light, my guardian angle, my Wise Girl.

No, she deserved so much more than I could ever give her, she deserved stability, dependability, something permanent. All things I could never be for her. She couldn't love me it was foolish to think she would, I was nothing compared to her. She was kind and patient. Not to say that she couldn't destroy someone if necessary. She had control over her emotions, I did not.

It took every ounce of strain in my body to raise my hand to hers. I'm not sure how I was able to do it, I saw black spots dancing around my eyes. But, I couldn't let her do this. She had so much ahead of her, she may have been they only woman to scar my hear the way she had, but she could have anyone, there was no reason for her to choose me.

Her hands were shaking as I held them. There was something odd though. Her hands were so warm and felt so real it 's almost like I could actually feel them. That is impossible though. I was gone, I remember dying. I remember my heart stopping and her being the last thing I saw.

Unless....

She stopped shaking, for a second I thought she'd stopped breathing. She opened her eyes that looked like they were red from crying. "Percy?" she breathed out.

I barely heard the knife clang onto the ground because next thing I knew her arms were around me. She was crying and holding on to me tighter than she ever had before. I think I was crying to. This is impossible, what type of torture was this.

She let me go and cupped my cheeks in her hands. They were so warm on my face, she was smiling at me. Her gorgeous grey eyes sparkling  with happiness.

I had to ask because otherwise the question would make my mind explode, " How is this possible".

"I don't know Percy and for once I don't care enough to find the answer." She responded, her voice was dripping with elation. But that wasn't my Annabeth. She would never be satisfied with the unexplained. I had to be dreaming. "I'm just so relieved that you're alive, the answer can wait." She kissed my forehead, her face still wet with tears.

Just as I thought. I'm dead. I am in the fields of punishment. Any moment now she was going to walk away and never come back.

"Annabeth, I'm going to say something because I love you so much and I will not see you hurt for my sake ever again." I'd found it in me to be able to stand with her supporting me, we were on our feet now. "You need to go home." In a split second all of the happiness that had been painted across her face was gone, replaced with anger and pain.

"How dare you," she had dropped her hands down to her sides and taken a step back from me. Her hands had started shaking again. "How dare you think you can say such an idea to me."

"I am doing this because I love you okay, I love you more than I have loved anyone before. Everyone I've ever truly cared about has been hurt because of me and I will not see the same thing happen to you... I cannot see the same thing happen to you" I blurted it out. Before she had a chance to try and change my mind. "You are what I have dreamed about for as long as I can remember. But my world is hell. I may be a monster but I am not enough of a monster to condemn a guardian angel to hell. Because of you I have felt joy for the first time in years. But I will not let you throw your life away for me." I had to walk away, I couldn't look at her any longer. Or I would without a doubt go back on my word.

"You don't get to walk away from me Perseus Jackson." She was yelling at me. I turned around seeing it fit to do so since she just full named me. "You do not get to decide what is best for me, the only person who gets to do that is me. You think being with you will cause more pain than me walking away right now. No." She removed the ring from it's chain and was holding it out to me. "What happened to never letting go."

My heart was cracking at the seams but I couldn't give in. "And what happened to if you love something you should set it free. You came here because you wanted you're own life. I am giving you that, I don't want you tied to me. Because I will not see you get hurt. I am not what you think I am. You deescalate a situation through words and use violence as a last resort. I can't do that. You saw me with Luke, if you hadn't been there I would have dispatched him without a second thought and felt no remorse afterwards." I was crying now. I knew I was doing the right thing, but looking at her and seeing how my words were wounding her made it harder and harder. 

"And if it comes back it was truly yours." That sentence took me back. I wasn't expecting it, I definitely wasn't expecting what came after. "Percy I don't need you're protection unless I ask for it. And for your information I am perfectly capable of losing control as well. I have never felt safer than when I am with you. I have never felt anything like I feel when I am with you. If you truly are what you say than we balance each other out. You can tell me to leave a thousand times but I'll only do it if I want to. I do what I want and right now this is what I want to do."

She walked right up to me and kissed me. Her hands were wrapped around my neck and instinctively mine went to her waist. So I wasn't dead after all, because there is no way the fates would be kind enough to let me into paradise. It was a whole different experience than our first kiss. This one was so full of love and passion that it was more like she was trying to prove a point. I could feel her smile onto my lips and I returned the sentiment

When we finally broke apart and our foreheads were still touching, she was breathing heavily and so was I but she managed to say something.  "You're not getting away from me. I love you. And as long as we're together we can survive even the worst that hell can throw at us. "

"As long as we're together." I was so happy holding her in this moment that I hadn't looked at my arms.

I was human. There was sun outside and I was human.

The curse was broken.

I took Annabeths hand and ran upstairs to the study. I needed to see them. When we finally got there I nearly dropped to my knees. There they were, all of them. They all looked at me with beaming smiles and bombarded me with a huge group hug. Once they were done hugging me they moved over to Annabeth. Thanking us both. When we were finally able to get away, I took her over to the balcony. The sun felt amazing on my face and the breeze blowing by felt perfect.

I took the ring back from Annabeth and turned to face her. I slowly got down on one knee and asked her a simple yes or know question.

Even though I already knew the answer.

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Thank you guys so much for sticking around for 24 chapters. I'm so grateful to each and every one of you.  It's kinda surreal for me to see the end of this story. I hope you enjoyed it. I enjoyed writing it. Once again thank you very much.

Stay amazhang
- Buddy_2002 💙💙💙