Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
we landed at crissy field after nightfall.
annabeth ran to her dad as soon as he got out of the sopwith camel. thalia, artemis and i went over to zoë, and examined her wound. lady artemis began binding her wound. but there was nothing else we could do.
zoë grabbed my hand, "riley?" she asked.
"i'm here," i muttered. "right here."
"can you sing thy song? the one from when we were in the arms of the angels. about the wish, and the star." she breathed out. she gripped my hand tighter, and i understood why.
wiping my tears, i nodded, "sure."
i began singing 'when you wish upon a star' from disney's pinnochio.
"when you wish upon a star makes no difference who you are anything your heart desires will come to you..." i sung softly.
i allowed charmspeak to seep into my voice, and zoë sighed in content.
"thank you," she breathed out.
annabeth and percy came over as i wiped away my tears.
"can't you heal her with magic?" percy asked artemis. "i mean... you're a goddess."
artemis looked troubled. "life is a fragile thing, percy. if the fates will the string to be cut, there is little i can do. but i can try."
she tried to set her hand on zoë's side, but zoë gripped her wrist. she looked into the goddess's eyes, and an understanding passed between them. the same thing that zoë tried to communicate to me earlier.
"have i... served thee well?" zoë whispered.
"with great honor," artemis said softly. "the finest of my attendants."
zoë's face relaxed. "rest. at last."
"i can try to heal the poison, my brave one."
but it wasn't just the poison that was killing her. it was her father's final blow. zoë had known all along that the oracle's prophecy was about her: she would die by a parent's hand. and yet she'd taken the quest anyway. she had chosen to save us, and atlas's fury had broken her inside.
