Equilibrium

Chapter 51: Jackie's POV

Now's my chance. What could be my only shot. Adrestia just scurried away to go talk to some Admiral, and this was my only opportunity for escape. I can't go along with her plan, seeing as she'll kill everyone important to me no matter what I do, and I'm sure once she figures out I'm not going to be useful, she'll kill me as well.
I struggle against the ropes that hold my arms firmly to the tree, but they don't budge. I can feel the rope burn rubbing my wrists raw, and still, nothing. How the Hades am I supposed to escape if I can't even get out of these stupid ropes?! I need something sharp. Like...
That's it!
I whistle loudly, praying Adrestia doesn't come running back to me, and that my plan will work.
Sure enough, a blur of tawny brown feathers and gleaming talons swoops down from the sky, circling the tree once before landing in front of me.
"Harper!" I exclaim, almost crying tears of joy at the sight of my bird. "Can you help me out, buddy? Break me out of these ropes?" My hawk bobs his head and scuttles forward, prodding at the ropes with his beak. A few seconds later, I hear a loud snap and the restraints go slack. I wiggle my hands free and wrap my arms around Harper's neck as he coos affectionately. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Good boy!" I grin, quickly sliding onto his back. "Now let's get out of here! Take me to Chiron or someone! Let's go!"
The massive hawk spreads his gleaming wings, springing off the ground and climbing into the air. For a moment, all I can taste is sweet, sweet freedom.
And then everything goes to shit.
An ear shattering screech pierces my eardrums and then I'm falling, the world a blur of sky and trees and feathers before I collide with the ground with a loud thud, followed by a much louder thud. Loud squawks and the desperate flapping of wings leads me to open my eyes as I sit up, groaning and rubbing the back of my head.
What I see breaks me.
Harper. A mess of blood and feathers. Lying on the ground to my left, absolutely still. Several arrows are sticking out of him in various places, blood seeping out of them and staining the grass beneath the creature a deep crimson. An unblinking, golden eye stares up into the blue sky above, lifeless.
"No no no no no." I crawl over to my bird, ignoring the way my body aches with each movement. "Not you. Not you, anyone but you-" My voice catches in my throat as I choke back a sob, tears pouring down my face. I reach out to stroke his head, but cold fingers wrap around my wrist, hauling me backwards, dragging me across the ground.
Spluttering and crying out in protest, I try to turn and see who's grabbed me, but the tears cloud my vision, and all I see is a swirl of white and the greens and browns of the forest. I feel my shoulder collide with a tree as I am unceremoniously thrown to the ground. Breathing unevenly as I try to tear my mind away from what had just happened, I wipe my eyes, clearing my vision.
Standing before me is Adrestia, looking both furious and incredibly smug.
"How dare you. How fucking DARE YOU KILL HARPER! You BITCH!" I scream at the goddess who towers above me.
"No, Jaquelin. How dare you betray me?."
Fuck. Fuck fuck FUCK.
Not only did my bird just fucking die, but I failed to escape, and now I have to deal with the consequences.
"Why, may I ask, did you feel the need to run away? I thought we had a deal?" Adrestia crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, some deal that was! I overheard what you said. You were just going to use the relics to kill everyone as soon as I got them to you! You tricked me. So the deal is off."
"Hmm, see that's where you're wrong. You broke your oath on the River Styx, and now, you have a debt to repay. To me."
Oh. Right. I knew that stupid oath would come back to bite me. Although it's not like I'd had much of a choice at the time while making it.
"You will do as I say. You will convince the demigods to hand the relics over to me, or you will die."
"Never," I spit, seething.
Adrestia just chuckles, looking down on me like some pet who's misbehaved, "I'm afraid you don't have a choice, dear girl." She snaps her fingers and thick, purple ropes appear out of thin air, wrapping around my wrists and binding them tightly behind my back. Another loops around my ankles, and one curls around my neck, uncomfortably tight, constricting my airway. It's loose enough that I can breathe, but it's in no way easy.
Adrestia yanks me upwards by the rope around my neck and shoots me an evil smile.
"I think it's time we paid your friends a visit."
She drags me out of the woods and towards Half-Blood Hill, where a battle is raging. I stumble forward, trying to keep my balance. The ropes are not making it a simple task, and neither is the searing pain from my injured ankle.
I avoid glancing at the spot where I know Harper lies for fear of vomiting, crying, or both, and instead try to take in as much of the battle as I can to distract myself from the emotional and physical pain that's slowly but surely eating me alive.
The Hephaestus kids are launching explosives over the crest of the hill, the earth shuddering repeatedly and the air filling with smoke. Demigods slash and stab at monsters, some from the sky on pegasi, others on the ground, who explode into dust when they come in contact with the Halfbloods' weapons. The demigods are all fighting their hardest, those with powers using them to their full extent, but it's obvious that they're not winning. The horde of monsters is steadily pushing them backwards, further into camp, and the magical barrier is doing nothing to stop the army from entering.
"Hurry up," Adrestia aggressively yanks my hair and I bite back a whimper as my foot catches on a rock and I stumble, pain shooting up my ankle. We make it to the top of the hill, meters away from where the battle rages on, and Adrestia forcefully adjusts me so that I'm standing straight. "Remember what we talked about, Jaquelin," She whispers in my ear, standing behind me and gripping my left shoulder tight enough to bruise it.
"Attention!" Adrestia's voice booms across the battlefield, and simultaneously, all heads turn to face us.
Shocked and concerned expressions fill the crowd, and I can put a name to every face that stares back at me, but one stands out in particular, locking eyes with me and holding my gaze as if he can't believe I'm actually here.
It's Luka.