︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

DAYS IN THE SUN

chapter thirty-eight
❛ 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝. ❜

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

       WHEN THEY MADE their way down from Olympus, they were greeted by Argus who waited for them and Mrs. O'Leary who was eating out of an overturned hot dog stand.

Percy explained to Argus what had happened on Olympus, the blond's many eyes rolled in disgust across his body.

"You'd better get back to camp," the son of Poseidon instructed. "Guard it as best you can."

Argus pointed his finger at the raven haired boy, his eyebrow raised.

"I'm staying," Percy said.

Argus nodded, then turned to the brunette and blonde duo before drawing a circle in the air with his finger.

"Yes," Annabeth agreed. "I think it's time."

"For what?" Percy gave his girlfriend a curious look, while she held a knowing one.

Argus searched the back of the van, before finding what he was looking for and pulling out a bronze shield that he passed to the daughter of Athena. When she set it on the ground, the reflection on the bronze metal changed from the sky to buildings, even to the Statue of Liberty.

"Whoa," Percy said. "A video shield."

"One of Daedalus' ideas. I had Beckendorf make this before—" Annabeth held a look guilty, refusing to meet Amara or Silena's eyes. "Um, anyway, the shields bends sunlight or moonlight from anywhere in the world to create a reflection. You can literally see any target under the sun or moon, as long as natural light is touching it. Look."

The campers crowed around, watching carefully as the image zoomed and spun at first. It spammed from Central Park Zoo, past east 600th, even turning onto Third Avenue and Bloomingdale's.

"Whoa," Conner Stoll said. "Back up, zoom in right there."

"What?" Amara asked. "You see invaders?"

"No, right there—Dylan's Candy Bar." The son of Hermes grinned at his brother. "Dude, it's open. And everyone is asleep. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Conner!" Katie Gardner scolded. "This is serious. You are not going to loot a candy store in the middle of a war!"

"Sorry," Conner muttered, not sounding apologetic.

Annabeth passed her hand over the shield again, showing the river at Lighthouse Park. "This will let us see what's going on across the city. Thank you, Argus. Hopefully we'll see you back at camp . . . someday."

Argus grunted, giving the demigods one last look before climbing back into the van and driving away with the other vans following behind.

Percy began briefly talking to Mrs. O'Leary, Amara turned her attention back to the campers as the son of Dionysus eyed a sleeping mortal.

"I don't get it," Pollux said. "Why didn't we fall asleep too? Why just the mortals?"

"This is a huge spell," Silena explained. "The bigger the spell, the easier it is to resist. If you want to sleep millions of mortals, you've got to cast a very thin layer of magic. Sleeping demigods is much harder."

"When did you learn so much about magic?" Amara asked the older girl, unable to help the teasing tone as she smirked at the raven haired girl.

Silena blushed. "I don't spend all my time on my wardrobe, Amara."

"Percy," Annabeth called, just in time for them to witness Mrs. O'Leary running off. "You'd better see this."

The bronze image shifted to Long Island Sound near La Guardia, a fleet of a dozen speedboats racing through the dark water toward Manhattan. Each boat had been packed with demigods in full greek armor, a purple banner emblazoned with a black scythe flapped in the wind. The symbol of Kronos.

"Scan the perimeter of the island," he said. "Quick."

Annabeth moved the scene south to the harbor, a Staten Island Ferry was plowing through the waves near Ellis Island. The deck was crowing with dracaenae and a pack of hellhounds, swimming not far from the monsters in front of the shop was marine mammals. Amara almost mistakenly took them for dolphins, until she realized they were telkhines.

The image shifted to the Jersey shore, right at the entrance to Lincoln Tunnel. A hundred of assorted monsters were marching past the lanes of stopped traffic; giants with clubs, rogue cyclops, fire spitting dragons and even a tank.

"What's happening with the mortals outside of Manhattan?" Percy asked. "Is the whole state asleep?"

Annabeth frowned. "I don't think so, but it's strange. As far as I can tell from these pictures, Manhattan is totally asleep. Then there's like a fifty mile radius around the island where time is running really, really slow. The closer you get to Manhattan, the slower it is."

She showed an example, a New Jersey highway. The drivers all looked awake, but the cars were moving at about one mile per hour with birds flying overhead in slow motion.

"Kronos," Percy realized. "He's slowing time."

"Hecate might be helping," the daughter of Demeter said. "Look how the cars are all veering away from the Manhattan exits, like they're getting a subconscious message to turn back."

"I don't know," frustration laced Annabeth's voice as clear as day. "But somehow they've surrounded Manhattan in layers of magic. The outside world might not even realize something is wrong. Any mortals coming toward Manhattan will slow down so much they won't know what's happening."

"Like flies in amber," Jake Mason murmured.

Amara nodded. "We shouldn't expect any help coming in."

Percy turned to face the campers. "All right," he said and single handily earned the demigod's attention. "We're going to hold Manhattan."

Silena sent an unsure look to the brunette, tugging at her armor. "Um, Percy, Manhattan is huge."

"We are going to hold it," he said. "We have to."

"He's right," Annabeth said. "The gods of the wind should—"

"Will," Amara corrected, earning a small eyeroll from her oldest friend.

"—Will keep Kronos' forces away from Olympus by air, so he'll try a ground assault. We have to cut off the entrances to the island."

"They have boats," Micheal Yew pointed out.

"I'll take care of the boats," Percy promised.

Micheal frowned. "How?"

"Just leave it to me, we need to guard the bridges and tunnels. Let's assume they'll try a midtown or downtown assault, at least on their first try. That would be the more direct way to the Empire State Building."

The demigods were all nodding, each captivated by Percy's words as the son of Poseidon kept going.

"Micheal, take Apollo's cabin to the Williamsburg Bridge. Katie, Demeter's cabin takes the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Grow thorn bushes and poison ivy in the tunnel, whatever you have to do but keep them out of there!"

Cabins seven and four each nodded their heads, understanding the leader.

"Conner, take half of the Hermes cabin and cover the Manhattan Bridge." Percy continued. "Travis, you take the other half and cover the Brooklyn Bridge and no stopping for looting or pillaging!"

"Aww!" The Hermes cabin complained in unison.

"Silena, take the Aphrodite crew to the Queens-Midtown tunnel."

"Oh my gods," one of her sisters said. "Fifth Avenue is so on our way. We could accessorize, and monsters, like, totally, hate the smell of Givenchy."

"No delays," Percy said. "Well . . . the perfume thing, if you think it'll work."

The Aphrodite girls squealed.

"The Holland Tunnel. Jake, take the Hephaestus cabin there. Use Greek fire, set traps. Whatever you've got."

He grinned. "Gladly. We've got a score to settle. For Beckendorf!" The cabin roared in approval.

"The 59th Street Bridge," Percy said. "Clarisse—"

He faltered.

"We'll take that," Annabeth stepped in, saving him from an embarrassing silence.

"All right," Percy nodded at the demigods. "Keep in touch with cell phones."

"But," Silena protested. "We don't have cell phones,"

The raven haired boy reached down, picked up some snoring lady's BlackBerry, and tossed it to the daughter of Aphrodite. "You do now. You all know Annabeth's number, right? If you need her, pick up a random phone and call her. Use it once, drop it, then borrow another one if you have to. That should make it harder for the monsters to zero in on you."

Annabeth nodded. "Malcolm, take the Athena cabin, activate plan twenty-three along the way, just like I showed you. Hold that position. I'll go with Amara and Percy."

"You got it."

Travis cleared his throat. "Uh, if we find a really nice phone—"

"No, you can't keep it." Amara said.

"Aw, man."

"Hold it, Percy." The Mason boy said. "You forgot the Lincoln Tunnel."

Percy went quiet, sea green met electric blue as he held a lost expression. "How about you leave that to us?"

Amara's head turned faster than she realized, the new voice registering in her head. A group of girls crossed Fifth Avenue, wearing white shirts, silvery camouflage pants, and combat boots.

They all had swords at their sides, quivers on their backs, and bows at the ready. A pack of white timber wolves milled around their feet, with some of the girls carrying hunting falcons on their arms.

Thalia was leading them, her black leather jacket making her stand out compared to the other hunters. She wore a silver circlet on her head, skull earrings, and a t-shirt showing a little Barbie doll with an arrow through its head.

"Thalia!" Annabeth cried.

"The hunters of Artemis," the immortal grinned. "Reporting for duty."

Amara moved past the demigods, earning dark electric blues to land on her as a smiled laced the former tree's lips. "Ara," the hunter greeted and wrapped her arms around the younger girl.

"I heard what happened to Beckendorf," Thalia whispered, breaking the hug as she gave her youngest sister a look.

"Where have you been the last year?" Percy asked, swinging his arm over Amara's shoulders and pulling her into his side. "You've got like, twice as many hunters now!"

The brunette glanced at her boyfriend, knowing full well he was pretending like he hadn't heard what her sister told her.

Thalia raised a brow at the couple, until a smirk twisted onto her lips. "Perseus Jackson," she said. "Did you finally do it?"

"Finally," Annabeth added, looking at the couple with a smug expression. "It took them long enough."

"You can say that again," Thalia agreed, sparing her younger sister a smile. "Don't let anything happen to her Jackson, or I'll have your head."

Percy held up a hand in mock surrender. "You have my word, Thalia."

The huntress nodded. "Anyway, it's a long, long story. I bet my adventures were more dangerous than yours."

"Complete lie," the son of Poseidon argued.

"We'll see," Thalia promised. "After this is over, you, Amara, Annabeth, and me. Cheeseburgers and fries at that hotel on West 57th."

"Le Parker Meridian," Percy said. "You're on, and Thalia, thanks."

The eldest daughter of Zeus shrugged. "Those monsters won't know what hit them." She slapped her silver bracelet, and the shield their father had gifted her spiraled to life on her wrist.

"Hunters," Thalia called. "Move out!" With her command, the hunters took off down the avenue followed by their wolves and falcons.

"Thank the gods," Annabeth said. "But if we don't blockade the rivers from those boats, guarding the bridges and tunnels will be pointless."

"You're right," Percy said, his attention returning back to the campers. "You're the greatest heroes of this millennium. It doesn't matter how many monsters come at you, fight bravely, and we will win."

He used his free hand to raise his sword into the air, shouting as he spoke. "For Olympus!"

The demigods shouted in response, their voices echoing off the buildings of Midtown as the cabins quickly dispersed.

Amara looked up, but Percy was already looking down at her with a reassuring look. "There's something I need you to do for me, Mara."

"What is it?"

"I need you to talk to the wind gods," Percy explained. "Can you ask if they could spare just a few to help during the fighting, give us the upper hand?"

"It's smart," Annabeth admitted. "With you on the field Amara, someone will be commanding them and ordering them to help where help is needed during the battle."

She nodded, looking up in the sky where she could make out the faint figures of the wind gods. "I don't know how much help they'll be if Kronos gets close to Olympus." Amara admitted. "They'll retreat and join the others then, if, they agree in the first place."

"Any help will be appreciated," Annabeth reassured.

"Okay," the brunette agreed. "I can ask."

Percy smiled, his eyes lightly shining as he quickly kissed her cheek. "You're the best, Mara."

"I know Seaweed Brain." With that, she unwound herself from underneath his arm. The Jackson boy joined Annabeth's side, the duo watching as the daughter of Zeus summoned a wind spirit with ease.

"Meet us at the river," Percy instructed. "Thirty minutes, top, Amara."

She rolled her eyes, maintaining the wind spirit to keep her balanced.

"Relax, Seaweed Brain." Amara teased. "Won't take long, and nothing will happen."

"She's right," Annabeth agreed. "The wind gods know Zeus would have their heads if anything happened to her in his domain."

With that, the daughter of Zeus took off into the sky. Wind spirits followed the demigod, circling her as Percy met gazes with Annabeth. The raven hair and blonde duo nodded, quickly racing off to do their part as well.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Just as she promised, Amara was waiting near the Hudson and East rivers in under thirty minutes. She was leaned against a tree, Aella lying down on the ground beside her shoes when a red Vespa carrying the children of Athena and Poseidon pulled up.

"Did it work?" She asked the blonde, pushing off the tree as the duo joined her.

Annabeth smiled, her eyes shining bright with excitement. "Perfectly. The wind gods?"

Amara smirked, pointing wordlessly to the air. The blonde followed, noticing the faint figure of a wind god that stayed with the brunette at all times. "So, what's the plan?"

"Wait here," Percy told them, making his way towards the water. She reached forward, quickly stopping him in his tracks when she grabbed onto his arm. He turned around to look at her, a confused look resting on his face.

"Percy," the brunette argued. "You shouldn't go alone."

His lips curled into a small, but teasing smile. "Well, unless you can breathe underwater . . ."

Amara huffed, rolling her eyes as she let go. "You, are so insufferable sometimes."

Percy's smile turned into a smirk. "Clearly, not that insufferable if you've been willing to be with me for almost a year."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Trust me, I'll be fine. I've got the curse of Achilles now. I'm all invincible and stuff, it'll work."

She didn't look convinced. "Just be careful."

"Aw," Percy stepped closer, only inches away as he failed miserably at hiding his smugness. "You worried about me, Mara?"

Amara glared, pushing him lightly away. "Just go, Seaweed Brain."

Percy grinned. "I'll be right back." He clambered down the shoreline and waded into the water.

The son of Poseidon wasn't down for very long. However, it gave Annabeth enough time to get a call on her cellphone. When Percy came up from the water, the blonde returned looking shaken up.

"It worked," Percy told them. "The rivers are safe/"

"Good," Amara said. "Because we've got other problems." She looked towards Annabeth, not exactly knowing what the other problems were. But she could tell by the many expressions on Annabeth's face while she was on the phone, it wasn't good.

"Micheal Yew just called," Annabeth explained to the couple. "Another army is marching over the Williamsburg Bridge. The Apollo cabin needs help. And Percy, the monster leading the enemy . . . it's the Minotaur."

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Amara could see the battle before she was even close enough to know what it was she was looking at. She rode atop of Aella, the wind and lightning spirit fearlessly flying straight towards the battlefield. It was past midnight, but the bridge was lit up by flames. Cars were burning, fires seen in both directions as flaming arrows and spears sailed through the air.

They dove for a low pass, Annabeth's grip on the brunette's shoulders tightening as they got close enough to see the Apollo campers retreating. They would momentarily hide behinds vehicles, then set off explosions and build barricades. But the army kept advancing against cabin seven.

Hellhounds bounded towards the demigods, most being disintegrated by arrows before they could get too far. One, managed to get ahold of a son of Apollo and drag him away.

"There!" Annabeth's voice echoed against the wind, her finger pointing at a certain creature.

In the middle of the army, stood the Minotaur. Waist down, he wore greek armor, metal flaps, bronze greaves covering his legs, and tightly wrapped leather sandals. His top was all bull, hair, hide, and muscle leading to a head so large he should've toppled over just from the weight of his horns. A double-bladed axe was strapped to his back.

The Minotaur looked into the sky, spotting the trio or more specifically Percy. The monster bellowed, picking up a white limousine.

"Blackjack, dive!" Percy yelled.

"Go, Aella!" Amara said.

The pegasus' listened to their individual owners commands. Aella swerved madly to the left, nearly sending the daughters of Athena and Zeus flying if it wasn't for her wing keeping the demigods in place. Blackjack tucked in his wings, plunging downwards as the limo narrowly sailed over Percy's head.

Monsters jeered and shouted, the Minotaur picking up another car.

"Drop us behind the lines with the Apollo cabin," Percy instructed the pegasus. "Stay in earshot but get out of danger!"

Aella swooped down behind an overturned school bus, where a couple of campers were hiding. Amara and Annabeth were quick to slid off the wind and lightning spirit, Percy doing the same to Blackjack as the pegasus soared back into the night sky.

Micheal Yew ran up to them. He had a bandaged cut on his arm. His face was smeared with soot and his quiver was almost empty, but he was smiling like it was just another game of capture the flag.

"Glad you could join us," he said. "Where are the other reinforcements?"

"For now, we're it." Amara answered.

"Then we're dead," Micheal said.

She couldn't help but grin at his remark, the bluntness amusing. "You still have your flying chariot?"

"Nah," the son of Apollo said. "Left it at camp, I told Clarisse she could have it. Whatever, you know? Not worth fighting about anymore. But she said it was too late. We'd insulted her honor for the last time or some stupid thing."

"Least you tried," Percy said.

Micheal shrugged. "Yeah, well, I called her some names when she said she still wouldn't fight. I doubt that helped. Here come the uglies!"

He drew an arrow and launched it toward the enemy. The arrow made a screaming sound as it flew. When it landed, it unleashed a blast like a power chord on an electric guitar magnified through the world's largest speakers. The nearest cars exploded. Monsters dropped their weapons and clasped their ears in pain. Some ran, others disintegrated on the spot.

"That was my last sonic arrow," the Yew boy muttered, a disappointed look on his face.

"A gift from your dad?" Percy asked. "God of music?"

Micheal grinned wickedly. "Loud music can be bad for you. Unfortunately, it doesn't always kill."

Amara looked to see monsters were regrouping, shaking off their confusion.

"We have to fall back," Micheal said. "I've got Kayla and Austin setting traps farther down the bridge."

"No," Percy answered. "Bring your campers forward to this position and wait for my signal. We're going to drive the enemy back to Brooklyn."

Micheal laughed. "How do you plan to do that?"

He drew his sword.

"Don't even think about it, Seaweed Brain." Amara told her boyfriend. "You are not going out there by yourself, at least not without me."

"Amara, it's too dangerous," Percy argued. "I need you to help Annabeth and Micheal coordinate the defensive line. I'll distract the monsters. You group up here, move the sleeping mortals out of the way. Then you can start picking off the monsters while I keep them focused on me. If anybody can do all that, you can."

Micheal snorted. "Thanks a lot."

His sea green eyes stayed on Amara while her electric blues stayed locked on his. After a moment, she sighed. "You're insufferable."

"Yeah," Percy shrugged. "But, you like me because of it anyway."

She rolled her eyes, tilting her head towards the Minotaur. "Don't do anything stupid. Now, get moving."

"Hey," he called after her as she turned to walk away. Amara stopped in her tracks, facing the son of Poseidon with a raised brow. "Don't I get a kiss for luck, Mara? It's kind of tradition, right?"

She rolled her eyes, a faint smirk curled onto her lips as she grabbed his shirt and tugged him down to her level. She pressed her lips against his, allowing her eyes to shut.

Percy's sword dropped, his hands moving towards her waist and was getting ready to pull her closer when she broke the kiss. Amara looked up at him through her lashes, but his sea green eyes were already looking.

"Come back to me, Seaweed Brain." She ordered the boy. "And we'll see about you getting another one of those."

A groan escaped his lips, his hands slowly moving away from her waist with a dazed smile lacing his lips. She let go of his shirt, freeing the boy to stand to his full height as he picked back up his sword. With one last smile, he made his way out from behind the school bus.

She turned around to see Micheal and Annabeth grinning at her. "Yeah, yeah. Rub it in." Amara muttered, tearing her necklace free as her sword morphed and they quickly got to work.

It didn't take the three demigods very long to finish what Percy asked of them. They finished roughly around the same time the son of Poseidon killed the Minotaur. Amara swung her sword around in her hand as she, Annabeth, and the Apollo campers started fighting back.

The daughter of Zeus sliced through the monsters armor with ease, like it had been nothing more than paper. Wind spirits flowed throughout the bridge, knocking the enemy into the river below.

Thunder rumbled throughout the sky, silencing the shriek of a dracaena as Amara ripped her sword out from its chest. Her promise to Jada came to mind, and she planned to stick to it. So with a cold look Hellhounds melted to shadows under her blade as she slashed, stabbed, and whirled her way through the enemy line.

The Apollo campers stayed behind the brunette as they shot arrows, disrupting every attempt by the enemy to rally as she killed them off.

"Yes!" Micheal Yew yelled, a wide grin lacing his lips as he watched the two children of the big three handle the entire army just by themselves. "That's what I'm talking about!"

Percy and Amara drove the army back into the Brooklyn side of the bridge, the sky growing pale in the east. "Percy," she called. "You've already routed them. Pull back. We're overextended."

Then, she saw the crowd. The retreating monsters were running straight toward their reinforcements. It was a small group, maybe thirty or forty demigods in battle armor, mounted on skeletal horses. One of them held a purple banner with the black scythe design.

The lead horseman trotted forward, taking off his helmet. Amara recognized him to be Kronos himself, his eyes the color of molten gold. Annabeth and the Apollo campers faltered, Amara stopped in her place beside Percy.

The monsters they'd been pursuing reached the Titan's line and were absorbed into the new force. Kronos gazed in their direction. He was a quarter mile away, but she swore she could see him smile.

"Now," the son of Poseidon instructed. "We pull back."

The Titan lord's men drew their swords and charged, the hooves of their skeletal horses thundered against the pavement. Apollo archers shot a volley, bringing down several of the enemy, but they just kept riding.

"Retreat!" Percy told the demigods. "We'll hold them."

In a matter of seconds they were on the couple. Micheal and his archers, along with Annabeth, tried to retreat. But Amara stayed right beside Percy, fighting as they slowly backed up the bridge.

Kronos's cavalry swirled around them, slashing and yelling insults at the children of the big three. The Titan himself advanced leisurely, like he had all the time in the world.

Amara sent most of the demigods flying over the bridge, their screams echoing before crashing into the river below. It slowed her down, but she didn't care as she slashed the legs off the skeletal horses and the stead's disintegrated.

She and Percy stayed shoulder to shoulder, fighting in opposite directions. Dark shapes passed over the couple, and she glanced up. Blackjack and Aella were diving in, kicking the enemy half bloods in the helmets before soaring back into the sky.

The couple had almost made it to the middle of the bridge, when a strange feeling washed over Amara. That's when she noticed the knife, a demigod was slowly creeping up on the son of Poseidon.

For that moment, she completely forgot Percy had gained the curse of Achilles. To her, he was still the same old Seaweed Brain he always had been. One who could get hurt just like everyone else if he was stabbed or worse, killed.

Without thinking, Amara quickly threw herself and the demigod stabbed the knife into her shoulder. She cried out in pain, clutching her arm as she fell to the ground. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, the wind howling as spirits and minor gods rushed around the daughter of Zeus.

"Amara!" Annabeth screamed, earning Percy's attention and the boy spun around.

Pain wasn't a new concept for Amara, but nothing could compare to the pain she was feeling. Her shoulder felt like it was on fire, making her arm hypersensitive to every little movements that sent a shockwave throughout her body. Her shoulder throbbed, her body was trembling. She repeatedly blinked to try clearing the fog that had started to fill her vision, but all she kept seeing was the sea green eyes that belonged to Percy Jackson.

"Get away from her!" Percy screamed, standing over Amara while slashing Riptide in a wide arc. "No one touches her!"

"I warned you," the demigod who held the bloody knife sneered at the brunette. She looked to up to see it was Ethan Nakamura, with a cruel smile. "Mercy, has no place in this war."

"Shut . . . up," Percy's jaw was clenched at this point, his hand shaking as the demigod shrugged. "It's only the tru—"

Wind had surrounded the son of Poseidon's weapons hilt, giving him more power as he slammed Ethan in the face with Riptide's hilt, creating a dent in the demigods helm and sending the boy to the ground.

"Interesting," Kronos mused. The Titan towered above them on his skeletal horse, his scythe in one hand. He studied the scene with narrowed eyes. "Bravely fought, Percy Jackson," he said. "But it's time to surrender . . . or the daughter of Zeus dies."

"Percy, don't you dare," Amara groaned, gripping her arm unaware of how much blood had begun to soak her jacket.

"Blackjack!" Percy yelled.

A pegasus swooped down and clamped their teeth on Amara's armor straps, but it wasn't Blackjack. Aella, her wind and lightning spirit pegasus, took off into the air with Blackjack by her side. Amara struggled to keep her eyes open, the wind spirits that followed blowing a gust of wind into her face everytime they closed. Finally, Aella landed on the outside of the Plaza hotel.

Amara's head was spinning, black dots appearing as her vision turned blurry. But, she could barely make out three figures rushing towards her.

"Amara!" Silena's voice reached her ears. "Oh my gods—"

Aella released her armor straps, the brunette managed to walk a single step before falling forwards. The familiar scent of fire hit her first, arms wrapping around her and she was quickly hoisted onto someone's back. "Jake?" She murmured, her good arm tightening around his neck to hold on as he began walking off.

"Yeah, it's me Amara." The Mason boy said, refusing to look up knowing he would only see how sickly she look.

"Ara," Thalia followed the son of Hephaestus inside, clearing the way before they found a lounge chair for her to rest on. "What happened?"

"I couldn't," she stopped, wincing as Jake moved her from his back into the chair. "Couldn't, let anything happen to Percy."

"I think there was poison on the blade," a new voice said in a huff. Annabeth was there, out of breath from probably running most of the way. Amara could barely make out Aella in the background, and she had a feeling the pegasus had something to do with the blonde getting there so fast.

"Silena, call Percy and tell him where we are." The Chase girl instructed the daughter of Aphrodite. "He needs to hurry, and make sure he brings a medic from the Apollo cabin. Amara's not in good shape."

Silena nodded, using the phone Percy had tossed her earlier as she quickly rushed outside. Annabeth's attention turned to Thalia next. "I need you to grab a rag and make sure they're wet, we need to break her fever."

The huntress went off without a word, momentarily looking at her younger sister before going in search for what was asked of her.

Annabeth looked to Jake Mason next. "We need to take her jacket off," she said. "Try and bandage her wound until a healer gets here."

The Mason boy nodded, gently pulling Amara in an upwards position while ignoring the wincing and cries of pain she let out as he took off the denim. "Oh gods," Jake said as she handed the jacket off to Silena who'd just returned. "I'm so sorry Amara, I didn't mean too."

She shook her head at the son of Hephaestus when she was lowered back against the chair "N—Not . . . your fault," she muttered through shivering teeth.

"Silena," Annabeth called. "Can you hold out her arm? I'm going to bandage it, but I can't promise it'll be the best." The Beauregard gently gripped onto the younger demigods arm, watching with a frown as she winced whenever the daughter of Athena applied pressure.

When she finished, the blonde gave her oldest friend a smile. "That should hold until an Apollo camper gets here. There was poison on the blade, but I can't tell if it's serious or not. By the looks of things it's not bad yet, so we should be in the clear."

Jake gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before disappearing to check up on his siblings and how they were holding up. Silena brushed Amara's hair out of her face and allowed her hair to fall off the armrest of the couch, leaving her neck exposed to the cool air.

Thalia finally came back, a wet cloth in hand. "Here," she handed it to the daughter of Aphrodite. "Use it on her forehead, it should help keep her cool for a while."

A frowned appeared on Annabeth's lips, momentarily meeting eye contact with Amara. "I'll be fine, Beth. Just," she winced. "Go, do what you need to do."

Annabeth smiled. "Percy should be here soon with a healer, hold out until then, okay?" Amara nodded while Silena pressed the cool cloth against her forehead.

Thalia pulled up a chair beside the youngest Grace, her face emotionless as she held the brunette's good hand.

It wasn't long before Jake rushed through the crowd of demigods and to the girl's side. "Hey," Amara's eyes flew to him, and was met with a smile. "Percy's here, and he brought Will Solace." As if on cue, Will and Percy pushed through the crowd of demigods before landing by her side.

Thalia was quick to move, getting out of the way while the son of Apollo unwrapped the bandages to examine the wound. The bleeding had stopped, but her gash was deep and a horrible shade of green had overtaken her usual tan skin.

"Amara . . ." Percy choked up, refusing to meet the former tree's darker electric blue eyes who held a stone cold look within them.

"Posion on the dagger," Amara scoffed, electric blue meeting sea green. "Pretty stupid of me, don't you think?"

Will Solace exhaled with relief. "It's not so bad, Amara. A few more minutes and we would've been in trouble, but the venom hadn't gotten past the shoulder yet. Just lie still. Somebody hand me some nectar."

Percy handed a canteen to the younger boy, taking the brunette's hand in his while Will began cleaning out the wound with the nectar.

"Oh my gods," Amara said as she gripped Percy's hand tighter. "Ow!"

Silena muttered words of encouragement, rubbing her thumb back and forth lightly against her shoulder. Will put some silver paste over the wound and hummed words in ancient greek, then he applied fresh bandages and stood up shakily.

"That should do it," the son of Apollo said. "But we're going to need some mortal supplies."

He grabbed a piece of hotel stationery, jotted down some notes, and handed it to Annabeth as she made her way towards them. "There's a Duane Reade of Fifth. Normally I would never steal—"

"I would," Travis volunteered.

Will glared at him. "Leave cash or drachmas to pay, whatever you've got, but this is an emergency. I've got a feeling we're going to have a lot more people to treat."

There was hardly a single demigod who hadn't became wounded, except for Percy.

"Come on guys," Annabeth ordered. "Let's give Amara some space."

Travis nodded. "We've got a drugstore to raid . . . I mean, visit."

The demigods shuffled back outside, Thalia leading them after sparing one more look to her sister and a glare to her boyfriend.

Jake Mason patted Percy's shoulder as he was walking out. "We'll talk later, but it's under control. We're using Annabeth's shield to keep an eye on things. The enemy withdrew at sunrise, not sure why. But we've got a lookout at each bridge and tunnel."

"Thanks, man," Percy said.

The Mason boy nodded. "Just take your time." His eyes landed on Amara, an attempt of a smile lacing the younger girls lips. "Heal up quickly, okay Am?"

He didn't leave room for talk, closing the terrace doors behind him so it was only the children of Aphrodite, Zeus, and Poseidon left.

Silena pressed a cool cloth to Amara's forehead, helping with her burning skin. "This is all my fault."

"No," Amara argued weakly. "Silena, how could this possibly be your fault?"

"I've never been any good at camp," she murmured. "Not like you or Percy. If I was a better fighter . . ."

Her mouth trembled. Amara knew she'd been getting worse, she felt like an idiot for not saying anything to the older girl sooner. But, Percy beat her to it.

"You're a great camper," he reassured Silena. "You're the best pegasus rider we have, and you get along with people. Believe me, anyone who can make friends with Clarisse has talent."

The daughter of Aphrodite stared at Percy like he had just said the best idea ever. "That's it!" She cried. "We
need the Ares cabin. I can talk to Clarisse. I know I can convince her to help us."

"Whoa, Silena. Even if you could get off the island, Clarisse is pretty stubborn. Once she gets angry—"

"Please," Silena begged. "I can take a pegasus. I know I can make it back to camp. Let me try."

Percy gave her a helpless look, turning to Amara with the Beauregard girl quickly doing the same. "Chérie," Silena said. "I can do this, please. You've done enough, let me help you."

"Okay," Amara agreed. "I trust you."

Silena threw her arms around the younger girl, earning a wince and she quickly pulled away. "Gods, I forgot! I'm so sorry!"

Amara smiled, shaking her head softly at the older girl who made her way out the door. "I won't let you down!"

Once she was gone, Percy moved Thalia's chair back to its original spot as he knelt next to the brunette. He peeled the now dried rag off her forehead, replacing it with his hand that was cool to the touch.

"You're cute when you're worried," Amara muttered, slightly teasing the boy. "Your eyebrows get all scrunched together."

"You are not going to die while I owe you a favor," Percy said. "What were you thinking? You could have been killed from that."

Her smile dropped as she shook her head. "I can't let you die, Percy."

His expression softened slightly. "Why did you take that knife?"

"Because Seaweed Brain," she used her good arm to lightly push him back. But he didn't move, instead he stayed rooted in place. "You would've done the same for me, or at least I hope."

"I would," Percy promised, his gaze lingering on her pale face for a moment. "How did you know?"

"Know what?"

He looked around, as if making sure they were truly alone before he leaned in closer and whispered into her ear. "My Achilles spot. If you hadn't taken that knife, I would've died."

Amara went quiet, her eyes scanning his face for all seriousness before she spoke. "I don't know, Percy. I just had this off feeling you were in danger. Where . . . where is the spot?"

"The small of my back."

She lifted her hand. "Where, here?" She set her hand on his spine, trying to resist the smirk that tugged at her lips when his skin tinged underneath her touch. Gently, he placed his hands over hers and moved her fingers to the spot that grounded him to his mortal life.

"You saved me," Percy said. "Thanks."

Amara slowly removed her hand, but her boyfriend never let go. "So you owe me," she said weakly as a smirk curled onto her lips. "What else is new?"

It was quiet between the two demigods for a moment, Percy's thumb tracing circles on her hand before he spoke. "I should be the one protecting you, you know that right?"

His thumb continued going back and forth against her hand, his free hand running through her hair with a sad smile.

"Sometimes you need more protecting than I do," Amara reasoned, earning a small laugh from Percy as he shook his head.

"You scared me," He admitted, his smile slowly falling as it turned scared. "You know that?"

She raised a brow at her boyfriend. "I thought I could lose you, Amara. And I wouldn't know what to do with myself if that happened."

Blood rushed to her face. Even after almost a year of dating, his words still have an effect over her. Percy kept going, but she wasn't paying attention. Even though her body was screaming for her not too, she pushed herself up and pressed her lips against the son of Poseidon's to shut him up.

It didn't last long. It couldn't even be considered a kiss, it was more of her lips brushing against his before she had to pull away since the pain become too unbearable to hold herself up any longer.

"You talk too much, you know that?" Amara teased the Jackson boy. Blood rushed to Percy's face, his eyes softly rolling while he held a small smile and he leaned forward.

Electric blue bore into sea green as his lips hovered over hers, the boy nodded as her eyes fluttered close and their lips met. His hand slipped out from her hair to hold her cheek tenderly, her good arm swung around his neck as he moved closer.

Amara winced, Percy accidentally hitting her shoulder with his. "Gods, I'm so sorry Mara." he quickly apologized.

"It's okay, Seaweed Brain." She promised, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "Just be more careful, yeah?"

Percy nodded, his hand staying on her cheek as he analyzed her eyes. "Don't do that to me again, okay?" He finally said. "I can't lose you."

Amara nodded, not trusting her words while Percy moved his hand away to kiss the side of her head.

The terrace door opened, and Jake Mason stepped back inside. "Percy," He glanced at Amara and gave her a small smile, but she could tell he wasn't bringing good news. "Mrs. O'Leary just came back with Grover. I think you should talk to him."

Percy looked back at Amara, a worried look forming on his face. She gave his hand a squeeze. "I'll be fine, go." He nodded, getting to his feet.

"I'll be back," Percy promised

"I know."

He made his way outside, closing the door behind him while Jake made his way to Amara. "How you holding up?"

The son of Hephaestus pulled up Thalia's chair, sitting beside the brunette who finally let out a wince she had been holding back from Percy.

"Tired," she muttered.

"Get some sleep," Jake instructed. "I won't leave your side, promise."

Amara nodded, rolling over and closing her eyes shut as she quickly fell into a deep slumber.

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01-30-25

hello hello ! ugh i love this chapter so much but we're just getting started. i'll see you in next weeks chapters !