Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I 08. I
𝑾𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑽𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔
❝ terrace ❞
PERCY WAS ABOUT TO EXPLODE. He was sickeningly worried about Ariadne, and the speed of his heart could rival that of the speed he was going on the Yamaha FZI he had borrowed from a sleeping biker.
He grabbed Will Solace from the Apollo cabin and told the rest of his siblings to keep searching for Michael Yew. Percy knew how close Ariadne and Will were, and he trusted that he could help the girl get better.
He'd never actually been inside the Plaza. The lobby was impressive, with the crystal chandeliers and the passed out rich people, but he didn't pay much attention. A couple of Hunters gave them directions to the elevators, and they rode up to the penthouse suites.
Demigods had completely taken over the top floors. Campers and Hunters were crashed out on sofas, washing up in the bathrooms, ripping silk draperies to bandage their wounds, and helping themselves to snacks and sodas from the minibars. A couple of timber wolves were drinking out of toilets. Percy was relieved to see that so many of his friends had made it through the night alive, but everybody looked beat up.
"Percy!" Jake Mason clapped him on the shoulder. "We're getting reports—"
"Later," Percy said. "Where's Aidan?"
"The terrace. She's alive, man, but..."
Percy pushed past him.
Under different circumstances he would've loved the view from the terrace. It looked straight down onto Central Park. The morning was clear and bright—perfect for a picnic or a hike, or pretty much anything except fighting monsters.
Ariadne lay on a lounge chair. Her face was pale and beaded with sweat. Even though she was covered in blankets, she shivered. Silena Beauregard was wiping her forehead with a cool cloth. Annabeth was holding her hand, and Pollux kept moving the fallen pieces of hair out of her face.
Will and Percy pushed through a crowd of kids. Will unwrapped Annabeth's bandages to examine the wound, and Percy wanted to faint. The bleeding had stopped but the gash looked deep. The skin around the cut was a horrible shade of green.
"Aidan..." Percy choked up. She'd taken a knife for him. How could he let that happen?
"Poison on the dagger," Annabeth mumbled, scoffing at the brunette.
Aidan gave a weak smile. "Pretty stupid of me, huh?"
Will Solace exhaled with relief. "It's not bad, Ari. A few more minutes and we would've been in trouble, but the venom hasn't gotten past the shoulder yet. Just lie still. Somebody hand me some nectar."
