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DAYS IN THE SUN

chapter twenty-four
❛ 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚋𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞. ❜

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ALL AMARA COULD feel was herself falling, the scream of her name rolling off Percy's tongue as the cries of Thalia reached her ears. The sound of skeleton bones chattering the way down filled her head, water not only being heard but seen.

Mist lightly sprayed her body, causing a sensation of dampness around her upper body and legs. She was able to make out the river below just as, if not more,  intimidating than from seven hundred feet up. Wind rushed past her, a usual comforting feeling if she was able to control it.

But now, she was completely and utterly exhausted and was falling to what she presumed to be her own worst nightmare, drowning. And this time, no son of Poseidon was around.

Percy Jackson, part of her couldn't believe that her smile for the first time in seven long years was directed towards him. And yet she was awfully happy that if smiling at him was the last thing she did, Amara was okay with that.

The sound of splashing could be heard, and immediately she knew her time was coming up. So she closed her eyes, thanking her father for the opportunity to finish the battle and give her sister and friends a head start. Another splash reached her ears, the smell of water flooding her senses as she accepted her fate. She figured she was part of the prophecy, one shall perish by a parent's hand, and oddly enough she was okay with that. It meant no one else would die, her sacrifice would have done something.

She never made impact with the river, instead, she had what felt like a gush of wind swoop underneath her figure and took off. When she glanced down, a wind spirit was what caught her fall despite not summoning it. At least, until she realized it wasn't a wind spirit at all.

The creature underneath her was ash white as blue electricity crawled up it's legs, wings, and throughout it's entire body constantly flickering. The creature's eyes glowed a bright teal, flashing around like lightning during a thunderstorm. It's mane was a light gray, but had hints of teal interwoven within some strands. It was a pegasus, made entirely of wind and lightning.

The pegasus ran on top of the river before finally spreading it's wings and taking off to the skies, leaving the skeletons behind to sink down to the bottom of the water. "Did my father send you," Amara asked, resting herself against the creature's mane. "Or did you do this of your own free will?"

She was shot a look from the winged-horse, giving her the answer. "Sorry," she apologized. "Didn't mean to offend you, but I owe you one. Do you have a name?"

The pegasus gave a soft shake of it's head. "Okay then, let's create one." She went into thought, not taking more than a couple of seconds before she finally came up with one. "Aella."

A noise escaped the creature, one that sounded not upset in Amara's opinion. "Then it's settled," she softly stroked the pegasus's mane. "Aella it is, thank you for saving me."

She thought for a moment, wondering if the name was suitable for the pegasus. "Wait, are you female?" She figured if her new friend was a male, she would change it to Storm.

But with a shake of Aella's head, she knew she had picked out the perfect name. "Then . . . partners?" Another noise escaped, causing a grin to twist onto Amara's lips. "Partners it is."

With that being said, she rested herself against Aella's mane. Her gaze locked on the world below, desert flying by while the pegasus flew at immense speed.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Amara didn't remember falling asleep, nor did she remember Aella flying into a city and leaving her in an alleyway. But for some reason when she awoken, she felt much worse than she previously did. Her vision spun as she attempted to get to her feet, gripping onto the wall as she stood to her full height.

She staggered, her hands sliding against the wall while she headed in the direction of the light. She was in a city of some kind, she just couldn't figure out which one as she emerged into the bustling street. Only to bump into someone straight away, nearly sending them both to the floor.

Arms shot out, hands grabbing her forearms in an attempt to stabilize her as she glanced up. Electric blue met a lighter version of her own eyes, sending a slight wave of confusion through Amara while the boy sent her a small smile.

"Are you okay?" He questioned, tilting his head. He didn't look much younger than her, she wanted to say around roughly a year or two younger. He had blond hair, cut in military style and looked awfully familiar to her. Her eyes gazed over slightly, black dots filling her vision as she struggled to keep herself upright.

She could only give a nod, not trusting her voice as the younger boy let go of her arms. "Hey!" Another voice called, a boy who seemed a little older than her and the boy. He had shaggy blond hair with dark blue eyes, and was holding what looked like . . . a stuffed bear.

"Let's go, the others are waiting," the older boy demanded, not bothering to spare Amara a look as he turned around. The boy in front spared her a sympathetic look, offering another smile. "Sorry for bumping into you."

The younger boy lightly jogged after the stuffed animal holding one, while Amara began staggering in the other direction with no idea where she was heading. But there was something so familiar about that boy, his eyes, his face, his smile, she felt an urge to turn around and talk to him once more.

Unknown to her, the younger boy felt the same. He felt as if he's known that girl his whole life, like he should have recognized her upon seeing her. But he also felt worried, her eyes were gazed over and she looked ready to collapse at any moment. He just wanted to make sure she was okay, and if not he had a feeling he should help her. Not resisting his urges, he began to turn around to look for the brunette once more.

A rush of wind blew towards the brunette and blond, stopping the two from fully turning around and making their way back to one another. "Jason!" The stuffed animal holding boy's reached Amara's ears, but she couldn't make out the words he was saying. Ringing sounded through her ears, her vision close to becoming completely clouded over.

"Amara?" An older man appeared in front of her and she was barely able to recognize him. But the blond hair and kind eyes were an instant give away, reminding Amara of Annabeth as she recognized the man to be her father.

She offered a weak attempt of a smirk, her vision officially turning black as she lost her footing. Her body went limp as Frederick Chase caught the girl who had came over a couple of times, his eyes quickly widening. "Amara, hey, Amara!" But she was out, scratches littering her body from the skeleton fight and lightning blast.

He quickly scooped the girl up within his arms, taking her to his car where he planned on rushing her home to allow his wife to give medical attention. Knowing if he took her to an hospital, it would be hard to explain how the demigod most likely got those slight injuries.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Frederick Chase nearly gave his wife a heart attack when he suddenly bursted through his home, a limp Amara Grace in his arms as he rushed her to the guest room. Lin Chase had quickly followed behind, grabbing the spare medical bag from the kitchen as she rushed to the demigods side.

"Frederick, where did you even—how did she get those injuries?" The red haired women questioned, rolling up her sleeve's as she took the younger girl's jacket off.

"I don't know," the blond sat himself next to the youngest Grace with a worried look. "She just appeared out of an alley, staggering and looking like this before she suddenly collapsed."

Lin nodded, finishing up cleaning a scratch as she quickly moved onto the girl's leg. The couple sat there wordlessly, Frederick glancing down at the girl who his daughter viewed as her closest friend. He had met Amara only a handful of times, but she had gotten along well with Bobby and Matthew and left an impression on the Chase family.

Seeing her collapse as she did, he didn't know how to feel since it was the life of a demigod. He could only wonder why she was in San Francisco, and not back at Camp where she was staying for the winter.

Lin quickly finished up cleaning the girl's wounds, only to watch as the holes made in her outfit stitched themselves back together. The older women had found it odd the demigod's hair was somehow still in tact, but she didn't question it and figured it was a half-blood thing.

"She seems exhausted," the redhead said. "Probably from a battle, I'll stay with her while you go work on your project."

At first the older man seemed ready to argue, but finally agreed and went upstairs to his study. Lin stayed by the girl's side for roughly an hour and a half, until Amara finally stirred awake.

She was still a bit dizzy, but that quickly passed once she was offered a glass of water. "You need the rest, lay back down." But the brunette waved her off, glancing around the room with a confused look.

"How did I get here?" She asked, standing to her feet as Lin quickly followed.

"You don't remember?" She shook her head.

"Frederick said you stumbled out of an alleyway, collapsed against him."

Amara was quiet for a moment, taking in the older women's words as she tried to remember.

"Well then," Lin offered her a smile. "Wanna join me in the kitchen? You're not up to full strength yet, so you can sit in one of the chairs."

She took the older women's offer, but it came with a cost as she had to hold onto her the entire way. Bobby and Matthew had ran to their sides, helping guide Amara into the kitchen before running off to play with one another.

The duo was in there for around half an hour, Amara using the chair as support while Lin kept an eye on the girl. At least, until the doorbell rang and Frederick made his way down from the study to answer.

It was quiet for a moment, muffled voices being heard until Bobby screamed for Frederick. "Dad!" The younger boy yelled. "He's taking apart my robots,"

"Bobby," the eldest Chase chided. "Don't take apart your brother's robot."

"I'm Bobby!" The innocent one protested. "He's Matthew!"

"Matthew," Frederick called again. "Don't take apart your brother's robots!"

"Okay, Dad!"

Lin gave Amara a look, making her way out of the kitchen and to her husband. "Honey?" The red head's voice echoed to the kitchen while the demigod awaited for her return. "Who are our guests?"

"Oh," the older man said. "This is . . ."

"Frederick," Lin chided. "You forgot to ask them their names?"

Then they introduced themselves, Percy Jackson, Thalia Grace, and Zoë Nightshade. Upon hearing her fellow demigods voices, she rose to her feet immediately. But it had been too soon, her vision blurred and she fell to her knees after hitting the table.

The loud noise echoed throughout the house, earning a slightly confused look to form on the demigods faces. Until, Lin's eyes widened as she and Frederick shared a look.

"Amara," was all the older women said before rushing to the kitchen, Frederick following behind. The name echoed through Percy's head, his body moving faster than his mind as he rushed to the kitchen alongside the others.

They arrived upon the kitchen, Amara Grace on the floor with her eyes slightly gazed over as the Chase family attempted to help her up and back to a seat. A sigh of relief escaped from Zoë, her hand resting on her heart. Thalia immediately rushed forward, helping Amara back onto the chair as she gave the younger girl a tight squeeze. Before flickering her in the head, lecturing her to never pull a stunt like that again.

But Percy couldn't move, frozen in his spot as the brunette explained how she met Aella, the wind spirited pegasus who helped her and how she collapsed against Frederick before she was ultimately brought to the Chase's home.

The eldest Grace flicked her once more, before pulling out a small bag of nectar and ambrosia. She offered it to the younger girl, telling her not to eat too much before turning her attention back to Frederick. "Come," the older man said. "We can talk more about this in my study."

Frederick quickly informed his wife why the demigods had paid them a visit, before heading upstairs with Thalia and Zoë following behind.

But Percy didn't move, his gaze locked on Amara who took small bites out of the food designed for the gods. She looked instantly better, her posture shifting as her eyes became clear.

"You gonna keep standing there," she finally spoke, raising a brow at the boy. "Or are you going to do something?"

He did something indeed, he headed straight for the table and pulled a chair out and sat himself besides her. "Why did you do that?" he asked, his gaze locked on hers as she gave a shrug. "It was the only way."

He shook his head, fingers curling into a fist as he attempted to cool his rage. "You almost died, do you know how that felt? Watching you fight against those skeletons, your eyes becoming a completely different color before you were almost struck by lightning? And then, you falling, straight into open water when we both know you can't swim,"

Amara stayed quiet, allowing Percy to rant as she thought over his words. She knew her eyes flashing between their usual color and teal wasn't a shocker, it's been happening ever since she was a kid. She's just never heard of the teal completely taking over, then again, she's also never been able to summon a lightning bolt like that before either.

"Do you understand how helpless that felt?" Her attention was drawn back to Percy. "Watching you fall knowing I promised nothing bad would happen to you near water, and then you decide that moment of all times was when you smile again. It was reckless—"

She grabbed his hand, giving the boy a soft smirk as she stopped his rant. "I know, but you would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed." He was quiet after that, silence filling the air until footsteps racing down the staircase emerged.

The older girls led the way down as the Chase parents followed, Amara and Percy shooting to their feet as they joined their friends instantly. "Amara," Lin called as the brunette was halfway out the door alongside the others. "Tell Annabeth . . . tell her she still has a home here, will you? Remind her of that."

The youngest Grace gave the redhead a nod, closing the door behind her as she promised to inform her blonde haired friend of the statement.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Zoë drove like a manic through traffic, causing the three demigods to hold on for dear life as Percy caught Amara up on everything that happened. Dionysus helping against Dr. Thorn, Grover going back to New York with a creature that somehow reminded the Jackson boy of a cow, and where their next destination was.

The roads had became almost impossibly narrow, winding up and through forests as it followed the edges of steep ravines. "Why does everything smell like cough drops?" Percy asked, a confused look slightly twisting onto his face.

"It's eucalyptus," Amara answered. "Look, Seaweed Brain." She pointed a finger to the tall trees that loomed over them.

"The stuff koala bears eat?"

"And monsters," Zoë added. "They love chewing the leaves. Especially dragons."

"Dragons chew eucalyptus leaves?"

"Believe me," The huntress answered. "If you had dragon breath, you would chew eucalyptus too."

Amara's eyes landed on Mount Tamalpais, the mountain that seemed so small from far away was slowly turning bigger the closer they got. "So," Percy's voice breached the silence. "That's the mountain of despair?"

"Yes," Zoë said tightly.

"Why do they call it that?"

"After the war between the Titans and the gods, many of the Titans were punished and imprisoned. Kronos was sliced to pieces and thrown into Tartarus," Zoë became quiet for a moment before continuing what she was saying. "Kronos' right-hand man, the general of his forces, was imprisoned up there, on the summit, just beyond the Garden of the Hesperides."

Clouds swirled around the mountain, almost as if the giant rock had been drawing them in. "What's going on up there?" The Jackson boy asked. "A storm?"

Zoë didn't answer, instead, Amara was able to catch a glimpse of the huntress grip tightening on the steering wheel. "We need to concentrate," Thalia spoke, earning the younger duo in the backseat's attention. "The mist is really strong here."

"The magical kind," Percy questioned. "Or the natural kind?"

"Both,"

Zoë continued driving towards the grey clouds, the swirling over the mountains becoming thicker the closer they got. The forest view had been replaced, now cliffs, rocks, and fog taking it's place. The car was silent once more, until Percy broke it for the third time. "Look!"

Amara turned her attention to the raven haired boy, arching a brow. "What?"

"Big, white ship." He answered. "Docked near the beach, looks like a cruise ship."

She was able to figure out the hidden meaning behind his words, her eyes narrowing. "Not a regular ship," she responded. "Too much of a coincidence."

"We will have company, then," Zoë spoke grimly with a dark look. "Kronos' army."

She wasn't quite sure what triggered it, but Amara's muscles suddenly tensed as she felt electricity began sparking within the air. She shared a look with Thalia, the sisters feeling the shift.

"Something's wrong."

"Stop the car," the eldest Grace demanded. "Now!"

Zoë didn't hesitate to listen to the girl, slamming on the brakes as the yellow vehicle spun a couple of times before coming to a stop on the edge of the cliffside. "Out!"

When Percy finally managed to get his door unlocked and open, Amara didn't hesitate to shove him out the door. She followed closely behind, rolling onto the pavement as lightning struck Frederick Chase's yellow Volkswagen.

When her eyes finally adjusted from the large flash of light, pieces of the vehicle was thrown across the road with it's fender impaled in the street. Percy appeared before the brunette, offering a hand as she was quickly pulled to her feet. "You saved our lives."

"One shall perish by a parent's hand," Amara mumbled, sharing a look with Thalia who held a scowl.

"Curse him," the former tree grumbled. "He would destroy one of us, his own daughters?"

"Hey, that couldn't have been Zeus' lightning bolt," Percy shook his head. "No way."

"Whose, then?" Thalia demanded.

"I don't know, Zoë said Kronos' name. Maybe he—"

"No, that wasn't it."

"Wait," Amara stopped their argument, looking around for the Nightshade girl in question. "Where is Zoë?"

Percy and Thalia quickly began calling out the hunters name, racing around the remains of the Volkswagen while the youngest Grace checked the mountainside only to find no signs of the immortal.

"Zoë!" Percy shouted.

The huntress suddenly appeared, grabbing onto the son of Poseidon by his arm. "Silence, fool!" She snapped. "Do you want to wake Ladon?"

"You mean we're here?"

"Very close," She explained. "Follow me."

Thick layers of fog drifted across the road, Zoë disappearing into one quickly as Thalia glanced at the younger demigods behind her. "Concentrate on Zoë," she instructed. "Follow her, now go straight into the fog with that in mind."

"Wait, Thalia," Percy called. "About what happened back on the pier . . . I mean, with the manticore and the sacrifice—"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You wouldn't have . . . you know?"

"I was just shocked," Thalia said. "That's all." With that, she took off into the fog disappearing from view like the huntress did moments before.

"Amara," her attention was directed to the raven haired boy. "You don't believe your father sent that lightning bolt, so you?"

She was quiet for a moment contemplating if her father would truly try to kill them off. "I don't know," she finally answered. "I don't want to believe it was, but I don't know."

With that, she stepped into the fog with Percy following closely behind. A single thought on his mind, not to let Amara out of his sight in case something were to happen like on the dam.

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7-20-23

     hello hello ! i hope you all enjoyed this chapter, your reactions last chapter did not disappoint whatsoever >:) honestly i cannot wait for you all to see how this part ends, it's a heart puller for sure. anyway, thank you so much for the support and we officially only have two more parts left of part three. we're almost done !! but, thank you all again and i'll see you all tuesday <3