KARINA WAS PISSED. she was pissed that she couldn't walk. she was pissed that percy hadn't come and seen her last night, after almost begging her to let him. she was pissed that she couldn't fall asleep— no matter how much she tried, or wanted to. she was just so upset at the world— and there was nothing she could do about because she can't even walk!

she stared at her ceiling for what seemed like hours— taking in the dull throb of her thigh, while she felt her eyes droop and tirelessly weight down as she felt the effects of her lack of sleep. she could hear the faint sound of machinery from the floor above her— her cabin being right below leo's 'workspace' as he calls it— though, it's really just the engine room.

she figured it was around seven or eight in the morning— but she felt no desire to get up. she couldn't. she knew that piper and frank had gone into the island of pylos to scout around after docking a quarter mile out to sea that morning. she'd overheard them talking earlier in the hallway— but it was mostly muffled due to the fact that karina's face was smushed into her pillow.

being bed-ridden should've felt like a gift to karina. after being on the move with little-to-no sleep for the past three weeks— she should've felt excited. but, right now she felt the complete opposite. her body had become accustomed to the constant moving— always on the run, waiting for the next strike. she always had eyes in the back of her head. scouting for incoming danger. and— as she laid in bed, she found it hard to relax, since that feeling was still functioning inside her.

"karina?" someone knocked on the door, and karina almost fell off her bed in surprise.

"y—yeah?" she quickly said, settling back under her blanket. "come in."

the door creaked open, and percy slowly trudged inside— a nervous, and slightly awkward smile on his face as he slouched in. he was wearing a normal pair of pajama pants, and a random, faded band t-shirt, but he posture looked tense, as if he were scared to show his face to karina.

she immediately noticed. "what the hell is wrong with you?" she asked blatantly, sitting up carefully in her bed with furrowed eyebrows.

percy kept his stare at the desk in front of him, trying to avoid showing the right side of his face. "what?" he laughed nervously. "nothing's wrong. why would you think that?"

"because you won't look me in the eyes," she replied, moving so that her legs were now dangling off the side of the bed instead of under her blankets.

percy scoffed. "i'm just admiring your artwork," he walked over to a set of pastel paints that were sat up against an easel in the corner— an unfinished painting of the garden of bacchus in camp jupiter propped against it. "you're really talented, rina."

despite her previous emotions, karina let out a small smile. "thank you," she said, and attempted to get up— knowing exactly what percy would do.

she groaned slightly as she put pressure on her right leg, and at the sound of that, percy immediately turned— and was at her side in under a second.

"karina!" percy chided, wrapping his arms around her waist. "you can't be walking— you know that."

despite the chiding that percy was giving her, his words went in one ear and out of the other as she made eye contact with his face— her expression turning into one of horror as she saw the faint lining of a bruise carving the outside of his right eye.

"percy!" karina explained, bringing her hands to his face, her finger tips tracing over the bruised skin delicately. "what happened? who did this?"

percy internally cursed himself. he'd fallen right into her trap. he knew that she knew that she wasn't supposed to be walking— but she tried to get up anyway— knowing that he'd come over to her.

he reluctantly pulled his head away from her hands, giving her a reassuring look. "it's okay, rina," he said. "no one did this to me. i ran into the shower door this morning."

karina raised an eyebrow. "really?" she asked, unconvinced. "i know what punches to the face look like. i used to give one to octavian every week. now, tell me what happened."

percy struggled to come up with answer. he knew karina was too smart for him to come up with a random bullshit excuse— she knew him too well. but, he didn't want her to know about him and jason's fight last night. if she found out about what they did to each other— and if she knew that they were fighting about her— they'd really see what she was capable of with only one functioning leg.

"i promise you," he said, but guilt creeped into his stomach at the false words. "nothing happened to me. i was trying to grab a towel and i slipped and fell on my face."

she stared at him for a moment, her green and gold eyes baring lazers into his— ultimately sending shivers down his spine at the intensity of the action. she finally sighed, and shook her head.

"i know you're lying," she said factually. "i can see it in your eyes. but i'm too tired to argue with you right now."

percy felt relief flood through his system at her words, and he grinned. "good," he said. "now— let's help you get ready."

"hey," karina intervened. "i said 'right now', kelp face. this conversation isn't over."

percy smirked at her, pressing a kiss to her nose. "whatever you say, rina."

karina hated the warm feeling she got in her stomach whenever he kissed her. she was supposed to be mad at him!

she sighed, accepting defeat. "can you grab some clothes for me, please?"

percy raised an eyebrow, his smile slowly growing with excitement. "you," he pointed to her. "are going to let me," he pointed at himself. "pick an outfit out for you?"

percy sounded way too excited for this.

"don't make me regret it," karina whined, and percy laughed, gently setting her back on her bed, and made his way to her closet. his giddy laughs made her nervous.

"make sure it's matching!" karina called to him, and she only heard a muffled, uhuh! before he went silent again.

she waited patiently as she heard percy shuffling through her clothes, sitting quietly for a moment— before she heard him let out a barely audible, choked out gasp.

karina turned toward her closet. "what?"

percy cleared his throat, and she saw him quickly shoving a certain article of clothing hastily back into her drawer, a bright pink blush on his face. "n-nothing! nothing!"

karina's eyebrows knitted suspiciously. "okay, percy . . . "

after a few more moments, he came walking back into her room, a small pile of clothes in his arms.

"i picked out stuff that i've seen you wear before, and i just mixed it up a little bit," he said, clearing his throat. "i didn't want to mess up by picking out something bad."

karina smiled, her heart swelling at the effort. she leaned over and gave him a sweet kiss. "it's perfect," she promised.

in the pile was a slightly cropped, plain white tank top, and a pair of short brown corduroy shorts that were slightly high waisted. he had grabbed her usual pair of brown converse as well, making sure to have a pair of blue high ankle socks to wear— which definitely did not match. but, she decided not to say anything.

but, not to her surprise, under that whole pile of clothes was two pieces of clothing that karina knew percy would grab. he couldn't just not do it. it's not like she'd put them in there on purpose— but percy was just too good at scouting out the color blue— especially in her undergarment drawer.

at the bottom was a matching pair of baby blue underwear and a bra— and karina looked a percy with a deadpanned expression that said, really?

percy tried to hide his smirk, shrugging to himself. "you said to make sure it was matching," he said causally.

she rolled her eyes,a small blush on her face as she picked the clothes up into her hand— and began to sit up slowly, careful not to put pressure on her right leg. "you're impossible."

"you love me."

karina pursed her lips. "do i?"

"yes. because if you didn't, you wouldn't have been under me the other nig— "

"okay! okay!" karina cut him off, slapping him as he chuckled boyishly. "whatever. i need to change."

percy nodded in agreement, his laughs dying down, but he made no clear intention to move, staying rooted in his spot in front of her.

karina blinked. "um," she began. "are you going to leave, or . . . "

percy shrugged. "i'm pretty comfortable right here."

she gave him a deadpanned look. "percy."

"what?" he defended with a shocked look, as if the request from her was completely immoral. "it's nothing i haven't seen before!"

"okay?" she asked. "i don't want you staring at me as i change."

percy pouted. "please?"

it was his final attempt, and karina knew that he wouldn't win. she had too much control over him.

"no."

percy huffed like a child and grumpily moved to the corner, knowing full well that he couldn't win in a fight with her. "fine," he grouched. "i'll turn around."

karina stared at him with an incredulous look. this man had the brain capacity of a small child.

she sighed to herself and slowly began to undress, taking off her night shirt and putting on her clean clothes easily for the most part.

it was when she got to the pants is when she struggled.

she didn't realize how sensitive the skin around her wound was until she tried putting on her tight fitting shorts over it— and she realized she couldn't pull them up without standing. her leg spazzed up in pain, as she attempted to hoist them up over her legs while sitting— and she found herself gritting her teeth as to not make a sound, the pain reverberating throughout her whole leg.

"shit," she muttered to herself, her voice strained as she pushed down the pain.

"you okay?" percy asked, craning his head to the side, but not fully turning around.

she sighed to herself, closing her eyes.

she really had to do this, didn't see?

"no," she admitted quietly. "i— i need your help."

she sounded so defeated, that percy knew that this wasn't a time for teasing. he almost felt his heart hurt at the sound of the pain in her voice.

"can i turn around?" he asked.

"yeah."

percy slowly turned around, a reassuring smile on his face as he came over to her, his eyes not leaving her face as he helped her to her feet— and carefully pulled her shorts up her body— going slowly and gently as to not irritate her wound any further. he-
made sure that he kept her feeling comfortable as he kept his eyes on the front of her body, only looking at her eyes and mouth and not her legs and waist.

"gods, this is embarrassing," she muttered, resting her forehead on percy's shoulder after she was fully clothed, leaning her body into his for support. "i can't even dress myself."

"hey, that's why you have me." percy joked, trying to make her feel better. he knew how independent karina had always been— and still is— so for her to have to rely on someone else to do things for her is definitely taking a toll on her own self will.

karina breathed out a laugh, lifting her head from his shoulder to smile up at him, but he could tell it was strained. "yeah, whatever."

he could see the pain in her eyes, and his smoke melted. "hey," he mumbled, lifting her chin up with his finger. "it's going to be okay."

karina swallowed and nodded, leaning in to softly kiss his lips, letting them stay like that for a while before pulling away. "i know," she whispered.

but, she knew that in reality, she didn't.

and they had no idea what was about to happen to them.

AS SOON AS piper and frank came back aboard the argo II, the crew gathered for a hurried meeting on the foredeck— mostly because percy was keeping an eye on a giant red sea serpent swimming off the port side.

"that thing is really red," percy muttered. "i wonder if it's cherry-flavored."

"why don't you swim over and find out?" annabeth asked, and karina snorted.

"how about no."

"anyway," frank said, "according to my pylos cousins, the chained god we're looking for in sparta is my dad . . . uh, i mean ares, not mars. apparently the spartans kept a statue of him chained up in their city so the spirit of war would never leave them.

"oo-kay," leo said. "the spartans were freaks. of course, we've got victory tied up downstairs, so i guess we can't talk."

jason leaned against the forward ballista. "on to sparta, then. but how does a chained god's heartbeat help us find a cure for dying."

from the tightness in his face, karina could tell he was still in pain. leo had brought a chair for her to sit on so that she didn't have to put pressure on her leg— and she didn't need to have percy hold her the whole time as he had offered several times.

caelius was laid beside her, chewing on a metal dog bone the size of karina's leg— something leo had conjured up in about three minutes the other day. leo had made the metal bone emit the smell of chicken so that caelius could get the impression that it was an animal bone.

"piper?" hazel asked.

she stirred. "sorry, what?"

"i was asking you about the visions," hazel prompted. "you told me you'd seen some stuff in your dagger blade?"

"uh . . . right." piper reluctantly unsheathed katoptris. "i, um . . . i don't see anything right now. but one vision kept popping up. karina, annabeth, and i are exploring some ruins— "

"ruins!" leo rubbed his hands. "now we're talking. how many ruins can there be in greece?"

"more than the amount your capable of counting to," karina said, shooting him an amused glare.

"quiet, leo," annabeth scolded. "piper, do you think it was sparta?"

"maybe," piper said. "anyway . . . suddenly we're in this dark place like a cave. we're staring at this bronze warrior statue. in the vision i touch the statue's face and flames start swirling toward us. that's all i know."

"flames," frank scowled. "i don't like that vision."

"me neither." percy kept one eye on the red sea serpent, which was still slithering through the waves about a hundred yards to port. "if the statue engulfs people in fire, we should send leo."

"i love you too, man."

karina barked out a laugh. "yeah, send the weakest link."

leo glared at her. "i'll stab your leg with a pencil."

"and i'll stab your face with my knife."

"you know what i mean," percy intervened, sending warning looks to the both of them. "you're immune. or, hell, give me some of those nice water grenades and i'll go. ares and i have tangled before."

annabeth stared at the coastline of pylos, now retreating in the distance. "if piper saw the three of us going after the statue, then that's who should go. we'll be all right. there's always a way to survive."

karina and hazel exchanged wary looks.

"not always," they said in sync.

since they were the only ones in the group who had actually died and come back to life, their observation sort of killed the mood.

frank held out the vial of pylosian mint. "what about this stuff? after the house of hades, i kind of hoped we were done drinking poison."

"store it securely in the hold," annabeth said. "for now, that's all we can do. once we figure out this chained god situation. we'll head to the island of delos."

"the curse of delos," hazel remembered. "that sounds fun."

"hopefully apollo will be there," annabeth said. "delos was his home island. he's the god of medicine. he should be able to advice us."

off the port bow, the cherry-flavored sea serpent spewed steam.

"yeah, it's definitely checking us out," percy decided. "maybe we should take to the air for a while."

"airborne it is!" leo said. "festus, do the honors."

the bronze dragon figurehead creaked and clacked. the ship's engine hummed. the oars lifted, expanding into aerial blades with a sound like ninety umbrellas opening at once, and the argo II rose into the sky.

"we should reach sparta by morning," leo announced. "and remember to come by the mess hall tonight, folks, 'cause chef leo is making his famous three-alarm tofu tacos!"

KARINA WAS ON duty tonight with jason. despite the crew completely shutting her down when she announced that she'd take the night shift— she had somehow convinced them to let her, as long as jason was with her.

for some reason, percy seemed increasingly against this idea, even more than usual. karina knew percy always had a small nagging in the back of his mind that karina had a thing for jason— but she didn't understand it. jason was dating piper, and karina and dating percy. and both couples loved each other. she didn't understand why he got so angry about it.

with much poking and prodding from annabeth, they both managed to get percy to go downstairs and sleep— and that left karina to sit on the floor of the deck with jason beside her, both of them staring into the clear, cloudless night sky.

"how's your leg doing?" jason asked, and she turned to see him looking at her with a guilty gleam in his eyes.

karina shrugged. "it's been better," she said. "how's your stab to the gut?"

jason took a deep breath, flinching slightly. "it still hurts to take deep breaths, but it's healing . . . i guess."

"you guess?" she raised an eyebrow.

"well, it's just taking a while, that's all," jason explained, fiddling with the matching bracelet that him and karina had, scooting closer to her. "i'm worried that i won't be able to fight as hard when the time comes to fight the giants."

karina scoffed. "you're worried? i can't even walk without face-planting. you're healing pretty fast for a celestial bronze stab. you'll be okay."

he swallowed, his eyes drifting down to her leg, which was wrapped tightly with gauze. "i can't believe you got stabbed twice in the same place in the matter of a day."

"actually, three times overall," karina mentioned. "at the war games a couple months ago, daniel schneider— son of mars— shot me in the same place, too."

jason let out a puff of breath. "good gods," he muttered. "i'm surprised it hasn't fallen off yet."

karina smacked his arm. "don't jinx it!"

jason chuckled and shoved her back. "i think we've had enough bad luck this whole trip for jinxing to be a myth at this point."

"still," karina said. "i'd like to keep both of my legs functioning, if possible."

"i would have to agree with you on that one, rina." jason said, giving her a playful smile.

she just rolled her eyes, a smile also present on her face as she placed her head on his shoulder, resting her eyes.

"have you been sleeping?" jason asked her, his voice dropping, even though everyone else was downstairs or asleep.

karina swallowed. "no," she replied just as softly, her eyes opening again. "i can't anymore."

jason's face scrunched slightly in concentration. "is it because you're scared?" he asked. "or is your body physically not letting you fall asleep?"

"both?" karina asked, laughing quietly shortly after. jason tried for a smile, but it was weak. hearing these words come out of her mouth brought sadness into his heart— because he knew that he couldn't do anything to help her.

"i'm sorry," he said sincerely, his stomach hurting from his guilt. "i . . . i don't know what to do."

she shook her head, causing the fabric on the sleeve of jason's shirt to shift. "you have nothing to be sorry for," she whispered. "it's nothing that can be controlled or stopped. even i can't stop it."

jason sighed, shaking his head. "it's not fair," he said softly, craning his head down to look at karina's face, that was squished slightly from the way she was laying on jason's shoulder. it kind of reminded him of the way she used to look when she was younger.

karina smiled up at him. "i know," she said. "but, what are we going to do about it? it's too late, now. i'm in too deep."

jason turned his gaze to the stars, which seemed to shine brighter whenever karina was around. it was as if they glowed just for her— made themselves even more beautiful than before.

"i wish there was a way to stop it," he whispered. "i hate seeing you in pain all the time."

karina chuckled, but it wasn't very humorous. she craned her neck up so that she was also staring at the stars as well. "i've gotten used to it," she said. "i haven't felt anything but gaea in over a month— so, the pain sort of numbed a while ago. kind of like a tooth ache, i guess."

jason snorted. "a tooth ache?"

"well— i don't know!" she spluttered out, making dramatic hand gestures. "it's hard to explain, sparky."

"i know, i know," jason reassured, small laughs escaping him. "i'm just joking, nina."

"so funny," she said blandly, not moving her gaze from the sky.

jason didn't reply. he just turned his stare back to the stars as well, and they sat like that for what seemed like forever. he thought that karina would start listing off the different constellations that they should be able to see by now— but she remained silent. it almost disappointed him, because he'd never admit it, but he loved listening to her rants about the night sky— the way she talks about the moon and the stars, you'd think she's a daughter of celestia or diana. she became so passionate as she talked, that it was hard not to listen to her, even if you had no interest in the subject. 

"jason," karina said softly, breaking the long silence they'd been in. "where did you get the bruise on your face from?"

jason's stomach dropped, and his mood instantly switched from relaxed to panicked.

"which one?" he tried to joke, but karina wasn't having it. she sat up from his shoulder, and gave him an expectant look, her expression showing that she wasn't playing around.

"don't lie to me, either," she said, though there didn't seem to be any anger in her voice. just exhaustion. "you know i'll be able to tell."

jason stayed silent for a moment, trying to decide how he should go about this situation. he could either come clean about everything that happened between him and percy, or, lie the hell out of it.

but, he knew if he chose the second option, karina would get way more mad than if he chose the first.

"percy and i . . . " he hesitated to speak. "we kind of got into an argument last night."

karina didn't say anything, and she kept an insane poker face. and for the first time— jason couldn't tell how she felt.

"why?" she asked, and he saw a flash of hurt go across her face.

jason felt like he'd just been sucker-punched in the mouth. he knew that all karina wanted was for everyone to get along. especially him and percy. there'd always been tension between them— and everyone could see it. having two demigods that are the sons of the big three is definitely . . . power-inducing, and having them in such close quarters was a challenge on its own. but, since the both of them seemed to have a close connection with karina, it made things even worse.

he sighed, looking at the floor below them. "it . . . it was stupid," he said, trying to bounce around the subject. "we both said . . . and did things that we didn't mean. but, we're fine now— "

"i didn't ask that," karina interrupted, her tone growing slightly. "i asked why you two even started fighting in the first place."

"i told you," he said, almost pleading for her to just drop the subject. "it was stupid, and not even relevant— "

"you two didn't say a single word to each other this whole day," karina cut him off. "and you both have big ass bruises on your faces. obviously it wasn't stupid, jason. i told you not to lie to me."

her final sentence sounded like a threat more than anything else— which unnerved jason in the slightest.

"i— " jason struggled for an answer. he didn't want to throw percy under the bus for any of this— and he didn't want to do anything to hurt karina and his relationship. and he especially didn't want to ruin his with her either. but, he knew that if he didn't confess— things would get a lot worse.

"it . . . it was about you, karina."

karina was silent, her face not wavering from her excellent poker face. but, she it gave away with her eyes. they seemed to shine brighter when she was upset.

jason needed to fix this. "it was nothing bad, i— i swear," he said quickly. "we just were sort of arguing about . . . uh . . . "

"about what?" she asked, her lips curled into a frown.

"about who's better for you!" he said, his voice raised, ripping the words right out of his chest. "gods, karina, he— he was trying to say i don't care about you, a— and i said that he abandoned you when you needed him most. i know that's stupid, and completely wrong, but it was the heat of the moment— and we both said shit that we regret. we should've never even had this argument in the first place. and— and i've felt horrible about it all day."

he was almost out of breath, and karina's stare hadn't wavered, but he could tell that she was disappointed and hurt.

"you're both pathetic," she said spitefully, her face twisting into one of hurt. "fighting over me? who do you think you are?"

jason shook his head, running a shaky hand through his hair. "i— i don't know, i don't know," he repeated the words to himself, the guilt in his chest spreading throughout his body. "i'm an idiot."

"both of you are idiots," she corrected harshly, hastily getting up from her spot— leaning against the wall. "it's actually embarrassing that two mature teenage boys can't even have a regular relationship because of me."

jason found himself growing nervous at the way karina was trying to move by herself. no matter how mad she was at him— he wouldn't let her hurt herself.

"karina," jason said, getting to his feet as well. "look, i— i know i fucked up, okay? percy and i both did. and i'm so sorry. but, please, don't hurt yourself trying to get away from me."

she glowered at him. "i'm not mad about the argument. i'm mad at the fact you both lied to me about it. if you had just come to me afterwards— i could've helped both of you. but, instead, you tried to keep it from me. and that's disappointing."

jason's heart was beating so fast, he could feel it in his throat. his mouth felt as if it had been stuffed with cotton— and he almost wanted to scream out in frustration. he knew he should've gone to karina before this. he knew it. but, his pride got in the way of his better judgement.

and pride never wins.

"gods, nina, please," jason said desperately, watching as she tried to put pressure on her leg. "i'm sorry! i'm so fucking sorry. i just want you to realize that it was a mistake— and percy and i never meant to hurt each other. please understand."

she shook her head, her jaw clenched. "i don't understand. you and percy are some of the most level-headed people i know. you know deep down that you and him hurting each other wasn't unintentional."

jason tried to recover. "no, it wasn't— "

"stop lying to me!" karina yelled, causing jason to flinch back in surprise. he hadn't heard her sound this angry since . . . since percy and annabeth had fallen into tartarus. it scared him. he'd hoped that once percy had come back— she'd fully go back to the way she was.

but he knew her better than to think she would.

"i— " jason was speechless. he was completely, and utterly, in the wrong. he had nothing to defend himself with anymore.

karina's face was hard to decipher— but he knew that he was in deep shit.

"i'm leaving," she muttered. "i can't be around you right now."

she began to limp to the stairs, and jason instinctively reached out to put his arm around her to stabilize her.

but, his movements were stopped by karina's hand reaching out and gripping his wrist in her fingers— giving him a glare so intense that he had to look away.

"don't touch me," she snarled, her eyes hard as he retracted his hand, giving her a helpless look as she continued to the stairs.

her leg was on fire. it burned with every breath she took, and with each step— she grew weaker. but, her anger overrode her anger— and she managed to make it to the stairs with only a small sliver of sweat rolling down her cheek— though, that could've just been a tear drop.

when she got to the stairs, she held onto on the railing tightly, taking small, and slow steps as she went as fast as she could— wanting to get away from jason quickly. she couldn't stand to look at him. she couldn't even believe that he'd done something that low. percy, also.

but, it was when she took a step on a loose floorboard that she felt her leg give out— and all she heard was a scream from her own mouth as she landed on the stairs, and her body tumbled down it quickly, and painfully, her body going limp as she landed on the soft carpet floor by her friends' rooms.

"karina!" jason screamed, and she groaned as he came stumbling down the stairs, and immediately was on his knees by her side, his hands inspecting her body for injuries.

"no," she mumbled, her body growing rigid, and she felt anger flow through her. she shoved jason away from her with what little strength she had left, and attempted to scoot away from. "i told you, to stay away from me!"

jason's face morphed into one of sadness. "nina, please, let me help you— "

"stop!" she screamed, tears pricking at her eyes as all of the pain that she had been harboring for the past two days began to crash down onto her. "stop trying to help me— o—or treat me like i'm a child!"

"karina, you're hurt!" jason said, guilt seeping through his tone. "accept that you can't do this by yourself. you need help."

"no!" she cried, tears falling down her face as she scooted farther away from him. "i don't need anyone! or anything! i did fine by myself for twelve years— i can handle myself now!"

"karina?" a voice asked frantically from behind her, and in a matter of seconds— percy was by her side, taking her face into his hands— a look of sheer worry and concern on his face as he scanned her body for injuries. his hair was mess— and his pajamas were wrinkled, indicating that he'd just been asleep. but, she knew better than to think he wouldn't come to her at the sound of her scream.

he always would.

karina's anger only rose as she remembered what percy and jason did to her. she slapped his hands away, a glare present on her face as she scooted her body back into the wall— no more room for her to escape them.

"gods— why can't you both just stop worrying about me?" she exclaimed, her voice filled with frustration. "you both treat me like i'm a child— and i'm sick of it! i can take care of myself . . . i always did."

her voice drew into a whisper as she said the last words of her sentence— and percy's face went from worried to confused. she realized that percy really didn't know everything about her. he knew nothing about how she grew up. he knew nothing about her dad— and everything he did to her. he didn't that most of the scars on her body were from her him. he knew nothing.

and she didn't know if she wanted it to stay that way or not.

"karina . . . " percy's voice dropped, not understanding why she was acting out like this. she was never this aggressive with him.

"don't." she said hardly. "you . . . you both lied to me."

percy's face fell. he turned to jason, who's face was ridden with guilt— and percy knew that she knew everything.

"rina, i— "

"just— just stop," karina interrupted, her voice almost sounding tired. "both of you. i don't want your pity, or your bullshit excuses. i just want you to leave. me. alone."

percy shook his head, and his lips began to move, but before he could, more footsteps began to sounds from the stairs— and the frantic figure of leo descended from the stairs— unaware of the scene that he'd find at the bottom.

he was whistling a random tune that must've been on the radio upstairs, because he was fully in tune with it— a calm but restless demeanor shrouding around him as he came from the engine room— but his peaceful aura quickly turned into confusion, and then into worry as he saw jason and percy surrounding a crying karina.

he felt the familiar feeling of protectiveness wash over him as he took notice of how uncomfortable karina looked as she was cornered by the two boys— and he knew that she needed to get out of there. he couldn't believe that even percy was making her feel that way. and that's how he knew it was bad.

"karina," leo breathed out, slowly walking up to her and kneeling beside her, careful to not touch her, or cause any panic from her. he merely stayed beside her— his fingers tapping her thigh in morse code softly. a silent message that could only be interpreted by the two of them.

are you okay? is what he tapped onto her leg— a silent but meaningful question.

karina turned to him, her face filled with relief at the sight of him, and she shook her leg discreetly. "leo, can you help me to my room, please?"

her please was a plead more than anything, and he understood immediately.

he gave her a playful, but reassuring smile. "gonna make me haul your big ass off the floor?"

"do you want me to face plant?" she asked, her voice shaky and cracked with tears.

he smirked at her. "two face-plants in a row would be a little embarrassing, wouldn't it?"

"how did you know i . . . "

leo shrugged. "i had a hunch."

he gave her shoulder a small, loving shove, and he placed his arm under her knees, and the other arm wrapped around her waist, slowly lifting her into his arms. he made sure his hands stayed in parts of her body that were safe to touch— and that she was comfortable.

she wrapped her arms around his neck— and didn't even spare a glance at jason and percy as leo lifted her into the air. her head turned into his neck, and he could feel her erratic breath brushing against his neck— making his heart twist in pain. he hated seeing her like this again.

percy and jason stood— both of them looking at leo like he'd grown a second head. they were in shock that leo was even able to touch her without her yelling at him. and, they almost looked . . . angry. angry at the fact that leo could talk to karina so calmly, and her immediately going to him at the first sign of him. they almost looked jealous.

leo gave them an intriguing look— almost mad that them that they made karina this uncomfortable. did they not realize how upset she looked? how rigid she'd been, and her body shaking uncontrollably? it was the little things that leo noticed that seemed to not be seen by jason or percy— and that angered him.

he didn't say anything as he turned away from them, whispering something incomprehensible to karina as he walked her to her room. percy and jason heard her whisper a quite thank you to him, and he gave eh a comforting smile, leading her into her room.

"she knows everything, doesn't she?" percy asked regretfully, his heart clenching around itself as he watched leo take care of his girlfriend. that was his job. he was supposed to comfort her. he was the shoulder that she would cry on. but now— he's the reason that she needs to be comforted— and it's leo who's helping her.

he wanted to punch something— something other than jason, who was also looking pretty punchable in that moment. he wanted to scream how sorry he was to karina. he wanted to yell at the top of his lungs how much he loved her— and how much he wishes last night didn't happen. he wanted to erase everything that had just happened, and sweep karina away in his arms, and comfort her until every single bad thing in her life disappears. he just wanted her.

jason nodded, his eyes watering as he watched his best friend get carried away because of something that he did. "yeah. she knows."

KARINA WAS UP with the sun this morning— her eyes red around the rims, but the puffiness had died down in the middle of the night. she hadn't slept— she couldn't even if she wanted to. her thoughts kept her brain moving the whole night— and she couldn't stop thinking about what happened happened last night. it was almost driving her insane how much she didn't want to forgive them. she always did. no matter how bad the situation was— she'd always forgive the person that had done it.

but now, things were different. and she didn't feel that way so much anymore.

annabeth had joined her shortly after, bringing with her two cups of hot raspberry herbal tea, knowing that was one of karina's favorite's.

she'd heard about what happened last night. she was there to comfort percy when he came into her room with tears streaming down his face, rambling and blubbering about how bad he'd messed up with karina. she'd never seen percy cry that bad before. especially with something like this. but, when it came to karina— percy was a mess.

they both sat in silence for a while, but it was comfortable. they watched the sun slowly rise over the atmosphere, and annabeth began to gently talk to her about a brace that leo and her had come up with the other night for karina.

"it won't make you completely mobile," annabeth said. "but it'll allow you to be able to put pressure on your leg without it giving out from under you."

despite her previous mood, karina's face brightened, and she leaned forward to give annabeth a hug. "thank you," she murmured into her shirt, and annabeth just smiled, holding onto her tighter.

soon after, they went down to wake up piper, who was still sleeping.

"hey," annabeth said to her as she stumbled awake. "we made it to sparta. can you get ready?"

piper sat up groggily. "yeah . . . " she gripped karina and annabeth's arms. "but first, there's something you two need to hear."

piper told the girls her dream, and a little later, when she recounted her dream to percy, the ship's toilets exploded.

"no way are you three going down there alone," percy said.

despite how upset percy knew karina was at him, he still couldn't believe what he was hearing— and he did not agree with it.

leo ran down the hall waving a wrench. "man, did you have to destroy the plumbing?"

percy ignored him. water ran down the gangway. the hill rumbled as more pipes burst and sinks overflowed. piper guessed that percy hadn't meant to cause so much damage, but his glowering expression made her want to leave the ship as soon as possible.

"we'll be alright," annabeth told him. "piper foresaw the three of us going down there, so that's what needs to happen."

percy glared at piper like it was all her fault. "and this mimas dude? i'm guessing he's a giant?"

"probably," piper said. "porphyrion called him our brother."

"and a bronze statue surrounded by fire," percy said. "and those . . . other things you mentioned? mackies?"

"makhai," piper said. "i think the word means battles in greek, but i don't know how that applies, exactly."

"that's my point!" percy said. "we don't know what's down there. i'm going with you."

"no." karina stopped him. "if the giants want our blood, the last thing we need is a boy and a girl going down there together. remember? they want one of each for their big sacrifice."

"then i'll get jason," percy said. "and the two of us— "

"really?" karina almost laughed out loud. "you're going to get jason?"

percy turned to her, his eyes shining with guilt. "rina— "

"seaweed brain, are you implying that two boys can handle this better than three girls?"

"no. i mean . . . no. but— "

she shushed him. "we'll be back before you know it."

"but— but what about karina's leg?" he asked.

piper smirked. "already handled."

she pointed down at karina's thigh. strapped around it was a metal brace that circled her whole thigh and kept it stabilized. karina could now put pressure on her right leg without it seizing up in pain, or giving out beneath her. she had immediately felt immense relief as soon a she'd put it on.

percy sighed. "fine," he gave in. "but, can i have a moment with karina before you go?"

karina's eyes drifted to the floor, and annabeth and piper both turned to her before they answered— knowing that they'll say no if she doesn't want to.

"yeah," karina said softly. "you guys go onto the deck. i'll be there in a minute."

"are you sure?" annabeth asked.

she nodded, and the two girls smiled at her reassuringly before walking upstairs, leaving percy and karina alone in the hallway.

percy turned to her, noticing that she kept her eyes anywhere but his face. "look, karina— "

"if you're going to tell me about how sorry you are, then i really don't want to hear it right now." she said, her tone devoid of any anger, and surprisingly, it was soft.

"i'm not," he said, stepping closer to her. "i— i know i can't justify what i did to jason the other night, and neither can him. it was awful, and incredibly immature, and, i— i couldn't sleep at all last night because i kept thinking about it." he sighed, swallowing thickly. "i don't want to lose you, rina."

karina expression instantly changed. "lose me?" she repeated. she stepped closer to him. "percy, i'm incredibly upset with you right now. very, very mad. but, for you to think i'd ever break up with you because of this is completely insane."

percy was at a loss for words. "i . . . "

karina sighed. "look, we'll talk about it when i get back. but, for right now, let's just avoid it, okay?"

percy hesitantly nodded. "okay," he said, and karina began to move around him, to the stairs.

"i love you, karina," percy said to her as she walked away, and she stopped.

"i . . . i love you, too, percy." she said, and with that, she disappeared.

7429 words

ANGST!

jk it won't last long at all bc i cant write angry percina 🤣

anyways this chapter was sm original writing whatthehell