Struck by Lightning

XXIII

For a while, the journey passed in complete silence. The three riders had long since slowed from their hasty gallop out of the city of Athens to a more sustainable trot, but the specter of the city's destruction still hung over them like the massive plume of smoke that they could see from the city even when miles away.

Percy knew he was not the only one who had been adversely affected by the prominent city's demise. He remembered Alcaeus' tale well enough – he had lived in Pylos until it was invaded and he and his family were sold into captivity. There were likely many families in Athens that now faced the same fate at the hands of the Dorians that Alcaeus and his family had been put into themselves. He quickly glanced at the older man, but apart from a tightly clenched jaw, the man's face was impassive and stony, devoid of any real expression.

Looking over to his over quest companion, Percy took note of Kassandra's similarly blank expression. He knew that she was vigorously opposed to his decision to continue forward rather than travel back to warn King Perseus of the threat, but she was torn between her desire to protect her city and her loyalty to her king, who had ordered her to abide by Percy's decisions to complete their given quest. Percy hated having to place her in such a precarious spot, but he still felt he had made the correct decision. There was little chance that King Perseus, with the resources of a prosperous city like Mycenae behind him, did not know of the danger from the north or the fate that had befallen his rival. If they had doubled back to warn the king, they would gain little and lose precious time. Even with this rationalization, Percy still felt guilty for having created this dilemma for the young woman.

For himself, Percy wasn't sure what exactly he felt. It was like a void had been created in the center of his chest. There was a deluge of emotions that had been sucked into it, and all Percy was left with was exhaustion and confusion. For the first few hours, all he had thought of was what he could have done to prevent such wanton destruction, but he had come to accept the futility of that line of thought. There was nothing he could have done.

Then he thought of what he could have done to prevent Galene's death, as well as the deaths of the other rebels that he had fought alongside with. There was a sinking realization that one of the ways he could have saved them was to not join them at all. If he had not joined them in their quest for freedom, they would have never attacked the armory and been killed by Theseus. Perhaps they, as strong fighters, could have fled the city before its destruction. Inadvertently, he had caused their deaths.

"Perseus?" Alcaeus' voice came out of nowhere. Percy blinked. He looked down, seeing his mount look at him expectantly. A few steps ahead of him, both Alcaeus and Kassandra were looking back at him, the former with a curious look on his face. Without realizing, Percy had come to a full stop. He looked at his hands, lifting them and the reins they held up – they were slightly shaking.

Alcaeus trotted back a little to where Percy had gone to a stop, putting a reassuring hand on one of the younger man's shoulders.

"Are you alright?" Alcaeus asked, concern in his weary eyes. Percy quickly nodded, putting his hands back down and looking past the older man. Alcaeus stared at Percy for a few more seconds before nodding himself and maneuvering his mount to catch up to Kassandra, and in silence once more, the group began to ride forward.

"Where are we going?" Kassandra asked quietly, leaning over to Alcaeus.

"Perseus wishes to continue forward, which means we must ride toward Lemnos," Alcaeus replied, speaking quietly as well. "However, since our destination cannot be reached by land, our best chance of making it there is to travel to Kymi, a port city on the western side of the Aegean. From there, we can acquire a ship, which Perseus can guide, to travel to Lemnos."