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CHAPTER FORTY-ONE xli. to see the sun again _______
Losing Percy during the curses had been horrible. But now that he could see him again, watching him die slowly from gorgon's blood poison and being unable to do anything about it - that was the worst curse of all.
Bob slung Percy over his shoulder like a bag of sports equipment while the skeleton kitten Small Bob curled up on Percy's back and purred. Bob lumbered along at a fast pace, even for a Titan, which made it almost impossible for Sebastian to keep up.
His lungs rattled. His skin had started to blister again. He probably needed another drink of firewater, but they'd left the River Phlegethon behind. His body was so sore and battered that he'd forgotten what it was like not to be in pain.
"How much longer?" he wheezed.
"Almost too long," Bob called back. "But maybe not."
Very helpful, Sebastian thought, but he was too winded to say it.
The landscape changed again. They were still going downhill, which should have made travelling easier; but the ground slopes at just the wrong angle - too steep to jog, too treacherous to let their guard down for even a moment. The surface was sometimes loose gravel, sometimes patches of slime. Sebastian stepped around random bristles that were sharp enough to impale his foot, and clusters of... well, not rocks exactly. More like warts the size of watermelons.
The air got thicker and stank of sewage. The darkness maybe wasn't quite as intense, but Sebastian could only see Bob because of the glint of his white hair and the point of his spear. He noticed Bob hadn't retracted the spearhead on his broom since their fight with the arai. That didn't reassure him.
Percy flopped around, causing the kitten to readjust his nest in the small of Percy's back. Occasionally Percy would groan in pain, and Sebastian felt like a fist was squeezing his heart.
Sebastian hadn't had much time to stop and think about Percy since they met. Everything had happened so fast with the quest to save Thanatos and then joining the crew of the Argo II. But he now realised how attached he'd gotten to the son of Poseidon. He'd effortlessly helped Sebastian get through the pain of losing Rome and Lucia. He'd also helped Sebastian come to terms with previous losses like Carix. Honestly, Sebastian didn't know what he'd do if Percy died down here. He feel like he'd be losing a part of himself at this point. And the worst part is, Sebastian knew they wouldn't be able to be with each other in death. Percy would be going to Elysium. Sebastian, even if he was mortal now, would probably just end up in Tartarus for the rest of time.
There was no denying the fact that a time would come where they would never be able to see each other again. But that only made Sebastian want to cherish the time they had together more. For once, he didn't want to run from love.
