𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

chapter fifty-two ☄︎. *. ⋆

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"WAIT, WHAT?"

I couldn't help it. I didn't care that I'd just embarrassingly blurted in front of a Titan, Luke, the General, and Luke's army. I was too stunned.

Zoë and Atlas both looked to me. I glanced between the two of them. The worst part was, now that I was looking for it, I could definitely see the family resemblance. Atlas had the same regal expression as Zoë, same cold proud look in his eyes that Zoë sometimes got when she was mad, though on him it looked a thousand times more evil. He was all the things I'd originally disliked about Zoë , with none of the good I'd come to appreciate.

"Let Artemis go," Zoë demanded.

Atlas walked closer to the chained goddess. "Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for her, then? Be my guest."

Zoë opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis said, "No! Do not offer, Zoë! I forbid you."

Atlas smirked. He knelt next to Artemis and tried to touch her face, but the goddess bit at him, almost taking off his fingers. I risked a glance to Zoë; she was seething with anger. My gaze moved to Thalia and Percy, both holding their weapons up but unsure of when to attack. I finally looked to Annabeth. Her eyes were wide, like she was trying to tell me something. She motioned her head toward Luke.

I didn't get it. I furrowed my brow and gave a subtle shake of my head, so that anybody else around wouldn't notice, but Annabeth's eyebrows shot up on her forehead. If only she didn't have that stupid gag on her mouth, then I could lip-read... But all I got was another eyebrow raise. I was lost.

I came back to the topic at hand when Luke said my name. "Theodosia knows," he was saying, and I felt all eyes shift to me. "Don't you? Of the power we can bring?"

I felt like I'd just been given a pop quiz I hadn't had time to study for. "Eat dirt," I said, because it seemed appropriate. "What are you fighting for, Luke? Do you know? Do you even agree with their terms?"

Luke smirked. "More than you could possibly imagine. We will raise Mount Othrys right here. Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus. Look, Theo. We are not weak."

He pointed toward the ocean, and my heart fell. Marching up the side of the mountain, from the beach where the Princess Andromeda was docked, was a great army. Dracaenae and Laestrygonians, monsters and half-bloods, hell hounds, harpies, and other things I couldn't even name. The whole ship must've been emptied, because there were hundreds, many more than I'd seen on board last summer. And they were marching toward us. In a few minutes, they would be here.

"This is only a taste of what is to come," Luke said. "Soon we will be ready to storm Camp Half-Blood. And after that, Olympus itself. We could use your help."

For a terrible moment, I felt my answer get caught in my throat. He sounded pained. I wanted to believe him. I wanted the old Luke back. But this wasn't him, and I was slowly starting to realize there was no chance for him to return. I raised my bow. "Never in a thousand years. I don't even know you anymore."

"Yes, you do." His voice was almost pleading. "Tiny, please... don't make me—don't make him destroy you."

There was no time. If that army got to the top of the hill, we would be overwhelmed. I met Annabeth's eyes again. She nodded.

     I looked at Thalia and Percy, and I decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to die fighting with friends like this.

"Now," Percy said.

Together, we charged.

     I went straight for Luke. I felt a forcefield of light radiating off of me when I approached—so powerful that it made Luke's dragon-women bodyguards flee in a panic, leaving him alone. But his sickly appearance was deceiving; he was still quick as ever with a sword. He scowled and snarled like a rabid animal, counterattacking my jab with my dagger. When his sword and my knife met, a ball of lightning erupted between them, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power.

     As for the others, I wasn't sure where they'd gone. I'd caught a glimpse of Zoë rushing to Artemis, but that was all I could manage to see before Luke was bringing his sword down and I had to roll to block. I parried with my dagger and made a mad swipe. He dodged and came back with just as much urgency. He was good, but I was gaining.

     "What is it, Luke?" I asked, panting. "No time to train when you're cruising along in your little yacht?"

     He grunted in reply, growing careless and rash in his tactics. This gave me an advantage—I ducked beneath his blade and undertook his sword hand, so close to knocking the hilt out of his grasp. But he repositioned the sword in his hand and brought the sword down at lightning speed; I would've been cut straight in half if his attention hadn't faltered. His eyes were caught on something over my shoulder.

     I'd thought he was tricking me, but he wasn't looking away, even when I lowered my dagger. I moved to his side and turned to see what was so pressing that it'd caught his attention in the middle of a swordfight (talk about bad swordsmanship).

     Then, I saw it.

     Percy was holding up the sky. Literally. He held the weight of the entire world on his back. I was completely dumbstruck.

     I glanced to Luke. He was grinning. Now's the time, I thought, and grunted as I kicked Backbiter straight out of his hand. It landed a few yards away, dangerously close to the edge. Luke gave me a once-over.

     "You double-crossing—"

     "Look who's talking," I said, my chest rising and falling with pants. "Give up, Luke. I beat you."

     It happened so fast, I barely could register what was happening. Luke shouted, "Never!" and threw himself at me, tackling my to the ground. My head hit the stone earth with a teeth-rattling knock. Luke pinned me down, straddling me so I couldn't move to get up—which I doubted I would have been able to do even if he wasn't sitting on me. I was too disoriented to even try to stop Luke when he reached for one of my arrows from my quiver. I could feel blood on the back of my head, leaking through the cracks of the stones like it was nourishing the earth with my defeat.

     Luke held up one of my own arrows. The tip was pointed at me, dangerously sharp. I lifted my chin, ready to face death.

     But he did something perhaps even worse. He said, "Pray to your father. When he doesn't respond, and you realize once and for all that the gods don't care about you, then you shall join me."

I was stunned. I stuttered, "Wh—y—"

But Luke cut me off by bringing down the arrow. He used all his might, and I figured this was it, I was about to be stabbed in the chest by my own arrow, but he stopped it with clean precision just as the tip touched my chest.

"Do it," he said, his voice no longer sickly or weak, but deep and, if I'm being honest, frightening. I was too scared to refuse.

I shut my eyes. My lips moved in a silent prayer.

When I opened my eyes again, nothing had happened. Luke waited. I waited, beneath him. Nothing.

He smirked, scoffing victoriously. "I told you. Will you believe me now, Tiny? I was right. The gods don't care about us. Admit it."

"Luke..." I didn't want to say it, but I was beginning to see where he was coming from. Here I was, on the brink of death, and my father couldn't care to answer my prayer. I swallowed, shutting my eyes. "My fath—"

Then, just as I was about to slander Apollo's name in even the slightest, he killed me.

     I wish I could say it was painless. I also wish I could tell you why he did it. I also wish I could give you a reasonable excuse for why he'd answered my prayer at the very last second, but I didn't know. I didn't know anything. I had no idea how the mental workings of my father worked, and I didn't question him, because his plan worked.

The way I'd experienced it, a blinding clap of light came from nowhere, illuminating Luke and everything around me until all I could see was pure white, and all in the blink of an eye. Then, before I could even process it, it felt like all the bones in my body were burning and being ripped apart. My body screamed in agony. My blood was literally boiling. I'd never experienced so much pain.

     And then, almost as soon as it had happened, it was over. I was panting, disoriented, and aching.

     I woke with a heaving gasp, coughing. My throat was raw. I looked around, taking in my surroundings warily. The battle seemed to have slowed. Percy, Thalia, and Artemis were all kneeling around me. When I awoke, each of them jumped back, tear-stained faces turning to shock, then confusion.

     "Oh. Hi," I said, my voice raw. "How long was I out?"

     Nobody said anything for a second. Then Thalia gave a sound of disbelief. "Out? Theo, you were dead!"

I took the news in silence. Dead? "No way," I said. "I was only out for, like, two seconds."

But nobody could reply before Percy threw himself at me, hugging me so tightly that I was pretty sure I almost died... again. He buried his face in my shoulder and exhaled in what sounded like relief, like he couldn't be sure I was actually alive until he was touching me.

     "Worried about me?" I muttered, so only he could hear.

     "I'm not about to say I hate you right now," he said. I exhaled a laugh.

     "Good to see you too, Seaweed Brain."

With some help from Percy, I sat up and looked around for the first time. "Where's.. where's Zoë?"

Thalia lowered her head. Percy shut his eyes. A silver tear trickled down Artemis's cheek. It was then I noticed the helicopter, Dr. Chase climbing out of the pilot's seat, Annabeth at his side. They picked up a rolled blanket, about the size of Zoë's lean body, and carried it onto the helicopter. My breath caught in my throat.

     Percy helped me stand. I was still weak from my.. well, death, so he supported me as our misfit group slowly made our way to the helicopter. We were in no rush. Luke was nowhere to be seen. Percy told me he and Thalia had battled each other and it ended in Thalia pushing Luke off the mountain, and that Luke was gone, but I didn't believe the last part for a second. No way he was gone for good. Atlas was still trapped beneath the sky, back where he belonged. Luke's army was on the Princess Andromeda, all the way at the bottom of the mountain.

     Annabeth and I gave each other a hug. We were both beyond happy to see each other, but it just felt wrong to celebrate anything right then. She looked wearier than I'd ever seen her. Now that I thought about it, Percy did, too. He had a gray streak in his hair from holding up the sky.

     As we all sat in the back of Dr. Chase's helicopter and he took off, leading us into the sky, all I could think about was the prophecy Zoë had received back at camp. Gods, it felt so long ago.

     Six shall go west to the goddess in chains. Zoë, Thalia, Bianca, Percy, Grover, and I went west to save Artemis, the goddess in chains. One shall be lost in the land without rain. I felt a stab of pain when I thought of Bianca. The bane of Olympus ended up being the Ophiotaurus. Campers and Hunters combined did prevail. Percy was the one to withstand the Titan's Curse. And two did end by parents's hands... but only one was irreversible.

I found a disgusting irony in the fact that the one who didn't deserve to die was the one who ended up gone forever, and the one who cowered out of a measly fight is the one who got a second chance at life.

I felt sick.