𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑫𝑹𝑬𝑫 • 𝑃𝐸𝑅𝐶𝑌 𝐽𝐴𝐶𝐾𝑆𝑂𝑁 [2]

VIII

[TW: brief mention of blood]

They finally stopped in a room full of waterfalls. The floor was one big pit, ringed by a slippery stone walkway. Around them, on all four walls, water tumbled from huge pipes. The water spilled down into the pit, and even when Elaine pointed her flashlight, she couldn't see the bottom.

She cupped her hands to her nose, still trying to catch the blood spilling from her nostrils. She caught Percy's eyes and grinned a blood-stained smile. "How's it look?"

"Beautiful. In fact, I can't say that I've ever seen a prettier nose." He said with mock seriousness.

She rolled her eyes. "Can you get my nectar out of my pack? It's in the canister." She asked, turning her back to him.

Seconds later, she was sipping pomegranate soda-flavored nectar while Annabeth held the bridge of her nose straight so it'd heal correctly.

"Not too much." She warned. "You'll burn to ashes if you drink all of that."

Elaine huffed. "Then why do they make it taste so good?"

"What's it taste like to you?" She asked.

"Pomegranate soda. Like the kind my mom gets on my birthday."

She tried not to think of her mother, whether she'd be at work right now or if she was getting off a shift. Maybe she was at home, enjoying a quiet evening with James. She felt bad for going on a another quest after she'd promised to be careful this summer.

Briares slumped against the wall. He scooped up water in a dozen hands and washed his face. "This pit goes straight to Tartarus," he murmured. "I should jump in and save you trouble."

"Don't talk that way," Annabeth told him. "You can come back to camp with us. You can help us prepare. You know more about fighting Titans than anybody."

"I have nothing to offer, except broken noses," Briares said solemnly. "I have lost everything."

"What about your brothers?" Tyson asked. "The other two must stand tall as mountains! We can take you to them."

Briares's expression morphed to something even sadder: his grieving face. "They are no more. They faded."

The waterfalls thundered. Tyson stared into the pit and blinked tears out of his eye.

"What does he mean, they faded?" Elaine whispered. "I thought monsters were immortal, like our parents."

"Elaine," Grover said weakly, "even immortality has limits. Sometimes ... sometimes monsters get forgotten and they lose their will to stay immortal."

Looking at Grover's face, she wondered if he was thinking of Pan. She remembered her father mentioning something about the old god Helios disappearing and leaving him with the duties of the sun god. She'd never thought about it too much, but now, looking at Briares, she realized how terrible it would be to be so old—thousands and thousands of years old—and be utterly alone.