Revenge, Best Served Cold

.7.

The dark haired male spun a gold pen through his fingers, his dark eyes roving the maps on his table thoughtfully. Occasionally he would lower his hand and scribble some note in Ancient Greek, drawing lines all over them as he planned out what exactly to do. Raising his hand, he ran his thumb over his lower lip thoughtfully for a few minutes before the fountain next to him lit up brightly. Percy didn't jump, just placed his pen down and waved his hand over the table and the maps, covering them over with a magical layer of shadows to prevent anyone from seeing his plans, especially not any god or goddess contacting him - Iris included. He reached into a money pouch strapped to his belt and pulled out a golden drachma, tossing it into the fountain, drawing up a chair to sit down and lean against the back.

After a moment of faint rainbow shimmer, Zeus's scowling face appeared in the fountain. The thunder god seemed older, his old wrinkles having grown deeper and with more white in his hair. Percy figured it was the stress of Gaea and Tartarus coming back, and smirked slightly as he watched the god grit his teeth for a few moments before composing himself.

"... When... Exactly do you plan on coming to Camp Half-Blood?" His voice boomed, loud even through the Iris Message

Percy pursed his lips in mock confusion as if he hadn't been aware of the news, tapping his finger against his chin as he pretended to think very hard about what Zeus had just said. The elder god rolled his eyes at the petulant demigod as he grinned mischievously, eyes glinting.

"Soon. Just make sure to hang around Olympus in the coming few days."

With another roll of his eyes, Zeus stuck his hand through the rainbow and shook away the magical communication system. What an annoying mortal...

~

Percy sat at the front of a dark mahogany table, his hands fiddling absently with a dark orb of shadows as he listened to the Council argue amongst themselves. As they reached a fever pitch, their voices ringing off the walls, he scowled and rose in one fluid motion, slamming his hands down on the table so hard a crack appeared in the space between his hands. Silence immediately fell, all eyes turning to the source of the noise. They seemed guilty, hands twiddling with daggers and other small objects as they felt their commander's gaze rake over them piercingly. 

"Everyone, shut up! This isn't a fucking debate room. It's already settled. We go."

Despite some uneasy glances being exchanged amongst each other, they all nodded and walked out silently to get packed.

With a heavy sigh, Percy fell back into his chair, massaging his temples with an exasperated expression. Camp Half-Blood... the name itself made him shiver and his brow furrowed even further. Despite having been kicked out years ago, he still found it difficult to even utter its name. Camp Half-Blood was the cause of all his problems, and he didn't expect that this return would be any easier than eating glass.

Quiet footsteps brought him out of his thoughts and his head shot up, tense, until he realized that it was just Luke. Letting out a sigh, all of his tension left his body and he almost seemed to melt into the throne as the other approached. Luke placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, his face clouded with worry.

"Hey, you okay?"

Percy turned those words over and over in his head, hands tapping on his chair distractedly. Then he mustered a faint smile, looking up at Luke with those void eyes.

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking. You... Should really get packed though."

Luke didn't seem too convinced, but nodded and left the room, casting one last glance back at Percy. His expression was blank, but his eyes seemed to convey some sort of emotion that Percy couldn't decipher. Worry? Anxiety? Concern? As he settled back into his chair, all he could feel was the sense of ice settling into his veins. It steeled him, cooled his nerves. He would do this. He would get revenge. One way or another.

A.N: So I feel like I owe you guys an apology for not updating in literal years, but I might be back now? Either way, the updates are probably coming more frequently (depending on how busy school is) so if anybody is still interested in this story, feel free to stick around ;)