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CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE xxxiii. we face this together _______
Sebastian didn't have time to admire how Rome had changed before the blew it up.
There was a brief period where everyone was caught up to speed. Sebastian was told about the battle and then Nico told everyone what he went through. He went to Tartarus. The thought made even Sebastian's skin crawl.
Yes, he'd been there. He went there every time he died, which had happened more times than he cared to count. But due to his immortal nature, he was never physically there. It was more like a little spiritual journey through hell before his soul reconnected with his body. That was horrific enough. He could never imagine being there with his actual body. And being mortal would've made it a million times worse. Sebastian Rais had never respected Nico di Angelo more.
So, after that wonderful nugget of information, Coach Hedge blew up a parking lot. Cars rained into the cavern, which was now doused with sunlight. Sebastian listed carefully once the ringing in his ears had subsided. He could hear a human heartbeat - a little more erratic than it should be, but that was expected. The good news was that Annabeth was alive.
The bad news: she might not stay that way for long. Chunks of debris were slamming through the floor, riddling it with holes leading to pure darkness.
"Annabeth!" Percy yelled out.
"Here!" she sobbed in reply.
The Argo II descended, hovering over the chasm so they didn't completely break the floor. The rope ladder was thrown over the edge and Percy was the first down, eager to reunite with his best friend.
Percy wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry into his chest in exhaustion as everyone else moved to join them. Percy mumbled reassurance to the blonde. It was a heartwarming thing to see. They'd been through so much together and had made this unbreakable bond. Sebastian had never had a friend like that. It would've made him jealous if he wasn't distracted by the more important things.
His eyes instantly moved to the gaping hole in the cavern floor. There was nothing down there. Nothing. That terrified him. The emptiness felt all too familiar for his liking. It was like it was calling to him, begging him to simply jump down and accept his fate as the monster he thought he was. Oddly, it was tempting but Sebastian stopped himself. This wasn't the time for his own issues. Annabeth was the priority here.
"Your leg." Piper knelt next to Annabeth and examined the Bubble Wrap cast. "Oh, Annabeth, what happened?"
The daughter of Athena started to explain. Talking seemed difficult, but as she went along, her words came more easily. Percy stood beside her the whole time, wrapping his arm around her shoulders so she didn't feel so alone anymore. When she finished the story, everyone with stunned with amazement.
