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CHAPTER TEN / VOL. I, MAD GIRL'S LOVE SONG
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IN A WAY, remembering is easy and forgetting is hard—or it'd be that way in any other instance. After the fire, Will found herself being haunted by ghosts from her past and the most difficult part was having to always remember that night. She'd even swallowed her pride and prayed to the gods that the memories would fade, but nothing ever came from it. No one was there to heed her prayers and every night she dreamt of memories that weren't hers to keep. But now, Will can't recall anything—even as she digs in the furthest crevice of her mind, rummaging through all of the dark places that hold more bad than good.
She can see Leo and Jason browsing through the menswear while Piper talks to the princess, but even though there's something unsettling about this entire situation, nothing comes to mind. Now, more than anything, Will wishes she could remember. She'd take the fire and burning flesh just to see the image of her mother's gentle face and the sound of her songbird voice.
Will longs for the comfort of her mother's raspy voice and the way her eyes would crinkle in the corners when she smiled, cheeks pinched up towards the heavens. How her hands were soft and smooth like the skin of a peach—or maybe they were rough like stone, calloused from labor. Even as she strains, grasping blindly at fleeting memories, Will can't seem to recall the smallest detail. For a moment she forgets about her mother altogether; forgets about Luke and his betrayal; Annabeth and all that she's done for her; Sherman and Will who are still waiting for her to come home. They slip into the crevices of her mind, easing between the floorboards and going forgotten. Forgetting should be hard, but sometimes it's too easy.
She's trying to concentrate, pushing through the fog that fights to render her useless, but the itch isn't enough. Or maybe Will is weaker than she thought. The numbness is pressing against the barriers, threatening to rise to the top and slip over the wall. She should be impenetrable—a warrior in every sense of the word—but this unseen force would leave her docile and vulnerable. Nothing like a warrior at all.
Piper is next to her, arm hooked through Will's as the daughter of Ares' thoughts seem to wander and her expression goes blank every once in a while. It's terrifying for Piper to think that she might be alone in this, but her devotion wins in the end. She's not a coward after all.
