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Annabeth was starting to wish she would just die already.
She could still feel her chest rising and falling, but she didn’t feel alive. All she felt was a pain so draining she could no longer determine where she started, and where she ended. Drifting in and out of consciousness, Annabeth was losing control of her ability to reason. She tried to fight it but it was her aching body, not her logic, that governed her through the days slumped on the ground of Mt. Othrys.
From where she lay, her cheek pressed against the rough ground, all she could make out was the thick white fog that pooled around her. The gloomy cloud mixed with the constant hurt that lingered in every muscle in her body, blurred her vision, keeping her in a hazy trance. She could barely muster up enough energy to open her eyes. Keeping her eyelids from colliding was almost as gruesomely difficult as holding up the sky. Almost.
The weight of the world should have killed her, but she hadn’t let herself succumb to the pain. It wasn’t her fear of death that kept her alive, but her fear of failure.
In the end her pride was going to kill her anyway. It would be a slower death, born out of the prolonged agony of festering in the truth: she had still failed.
She had failed to save him.
She wouldn’t be able to save him. Not with her hands tied, a bloodied cloth in her mouth, and her strength stretched so thin it felt like a tiny gust of wind could break all 206 of her bones.
The sting of failure numbed her unconscious, her vision fading to black again.
~~
Voices pierced through the emptiness, causing Annabeth’s lifeless body to stir.
“Looks like we’ll be having some visitors. The puny demigods are climbing up the mountain as we speak.”
“I told you they would come.” Annabeth could tell it was Luke, even though his voice sounded more strained than usual.
“Now we will have to see if you’re also right about the child of Zeus." Annabeth could hear the snarl that must be on Atlas’s face.
“She’ll know it’s the right choice.” Luke was trying his hardest to sound confident. Someone who didn’t know him as well as Annabeth might have been convinced.
“If you say so. Now go get the girl.”
Annabeth struggled against her constraints as she heard his footsteps approaching, but it was no use. She quickly shifted strategies and pretended to be asleep.
The uneven strides stopped a few inches from her battered and bruised face. Was he limping? She heard his breath draw near, as he kneeled down to get a closer look at her. Each inhale sounded like it hurt. Even after everything, there was still a part of her that was frantically trying to find a way to help, to make his pain stop.
Her mind didn’t want to believe it was Luke who had gagged her, who had ruthlessly bound her helpless limbs, and discarded her to whither into nothingness on this monster infested mountain. She wanted to believe the boy kneeling before her was the same one who had promised to protect her all those years ago.
“We need Thalia to join us.” His voice was low as if he was trying not to wake her. “I don’t know what will happen to me if she doesn’t. But you know I’m willing to do anything for this.” The way he emphasized anything sent shivers down her spine. “I have to,” he said, sounding more like a plea to himself than to anyone else.
Annabeth tried to shake the throbbing pain that cloaked her whole body, but all she could do was lay there helplessly, unable to reach the Luke she once knew.
“Annabeth. You need to get up.” Luke’s voice was now harsh and stern, like he was talking to a prisoner, not his younger sister. The last thing Annabeth wanted to do was open her eyes and accept this reality. It would be easier to stay here, veiled by the fog, until her misery finally let her fade away for good. She was certain that would be better than facing her failure.
Too bad Luke wouldn’t let her die. She was still a pawn in his game.
“Wake up Annabeth.” He spoke louder this time, startling her so badly she opened her eyes for the first time in probably days. She squinted, trying to make sense of the dark figure that loomed above her.
Before she could even regain her focus, he was grabbing her by the arms and hauling her to her feet. Her legs wobbled under the weight and Luke steadied her as she fought to recover her center of gravity. She heaved desperate breaths, the cloth shoved in between her lips making everything even more harsh.
There was a commotion on the other side of the clearing, taking Luke's attention for just a second. Annabeth took the moment to thrash out of his grasp, but to her horror his sword was against her throat before she could get more than a few steps away.
“Come on Annabeth. You’re smarter than that.” Luke snarled.
He was right. There was no point in trying to escape in her condition. She knew she had already failed.
But there was something about holding up the weight of the world that breaks down your entire being, stripping you of all the strength you once knew.
He dragged her towards the golden sarcophagus, its glow inflicting searing thrums of pain into her brain. There were other monsters huddled around waiting, seemingly unaffected by the piercing aura of the rising Titan.
Three figures materialized amidst the swarming waves of fog.
The monsters beside her antagonized the new visitors, but the disbelief of seeing familiar faces was so deafening, Annabeth couldn’t even hear what they were saying.
Percy’s eyes met hers across the milky haze. They widened in horror.
“Luke, get your hands off her!” He charged forward but Zoë held him back. “Luke, let her go!” He was frantically fighting Zoë’s grasp but Thalia added to the restraint.
“Let her go! Luke, Let her go!” His guttural screams echoed against the marble, his hysterical fervor causing Annabeth’s breath to halt in the back of her throat.
“Luke, how could you do this to her?” Thalia, still holding Percy back, sent a defeated look over at her oldest friend, disappointment dripping from every word.
Annabeth couldn’t tear her gaze away from the fierce blue eyes that seemed to glow against the dull fog.
She heard the others arguing, and negotiating, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t focus on anything but him. Percy had stopped battling Thalia and Zoë’s grip, and she watched his rage fade into distressed concern as he got a better look at her.
She felt his worried eyes trace across her frail body, her untreated wounds, her torn dress, her tattered braids that had been grayed under the pressure of the sky. The look on his face made her sick to her stomach.
He cared so much. Too much. He was going to get himself killed.
Annabeth’s eyes urgently begged him to yield, giving a slight shake of her head in the direction of the demigod beside her. A warning.
Percy’s eyes softened in understanding. Now, released from Thalia and Zoë’s grasp, he searched her expression, waiting for her next message. His gentle eyes surrendered to her entirely, desperately asking her what he could do to help.
With just a look, his familiar loyalty could be heard from across the cursed mountain.
It was enough to remind her why she couldn’t die.
❆
Percy refused let himself die when he could still see Annabeth struggling in her chains just a few yards away.
He had to make sure she was safe before the weight of the sky crushed him.
He had gotten this far, he couldn’t give up now.
The goddess battled Atlas in a blur of silver and red. He heard Zoë cry out. Thalia's sharp accent was berating Luke between the clashes of their sharp weapons.
The agony was bleeding into his skull, making it hard to piece together any coherent thoughts. How had Annabeth survived this?
Watching Artemis and Atlas, he forced himself not to black out. If he could just hold out a little longer…
Artemis grabbed a hold of the Titans’s javelin, and with the strength only a goddess could possess, sent him tumbling in Percy’s direction. Amidst the paralyzing pain that coursed through his veins, Percy realized what was happening.
Just as Atlas was about to collide into his exhausted body, Percy loosened his grip on the heavens, eager to return it to its rightful owner. With every ounce of strength he had left he rolled, as the weight of the world landed on a new set of shoulders.
Percy lay slumped on the ground regaining his breath. With each shaky inhale he struggled to regain control of his tormented muscles. Atlas bellowed in agony behind him but somehow all he could hear was Annabeth grumbling in frustration as she tried to wry herself free. Ignoring the soreness, he lifted his head so he could see her.
“Annabeth?” he softly mustered. For a moment everyone else faded into nothingness and it was just the two of them.
“Percy…” she breathed in astonishment. The gag had fallen around her neck, but her wrists were still twisted together, stuck. All the monsters were lost in chaos of the fighting and Luke was still preoccupied by Thalia.
Percy was so close. He had been awaiting this moment for days, but nothing could have prepared him for how seeing Annabeth in this weakened and dejected state, lit a furious fire inside of him.
It was this raging heat that forced him to stand. He staggered forward, allowing his debilitated body to scream at him to stop, even though he had no intention of listening.
“Stay there okay. I’m coming!"
He was at her side within seconds. Kneeling down, he frantically reached for the pen that had returned to his pocket.
“I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” he soothed as he used his blade to cut Annabeth loose. His sword clanged against the marble ground as both his hands went straight to the deep red marks her bondages left on her wrists.
“Are you hurt?” It was a stupid question. Of course she was hurt.
“I’m okay,” she winced as she regained familiarity with the movements in her marred hands.
“Annabeth…” His voice trembled as he ran his hands up her bare arms, hurriedly inspecting each cut and bruise. It wasn’t until he reached her face, delicately cupping her tear streaked cheeks, did he realize his hands were quivering.
He collapsed into her, burying his face into her collarbone, as she fiercely wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Annabeth I–” he dizzily murmured against her skin. The words got caught in this throat as he pulled her closer, wanting to feel nothing but her pressed against his wounded body.
“I’m okay. I’m okay,” she whispered back.
They breathed together for a few moments, both battered and destroyed, relying on the rise and fall of each other’s chest to remind them they were alive. Together.
~~
Thunder struck in the north, breaking Percy’s trance. He wasn’t sure how long he had been standing there staring at the spot Zoë once rested.
Artemis and Thalia broke away from the group, now invested in an intense debate in hushed whispers several yards away.
Annabeth paced in the opposite direction, finding a place to sit down. Her gaze was fixated on a random spot in the grass as she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering from the cold. Percy rushed over, shedding the dark navy jacket off his back. He gingerly draped it over her shoulders, helping her thread her feeble arms through his tattered sleeves. She continued staring off into space, still in shock. Her fragile frame seemed to drown beneath the dark blue fabric, pooling at her waist, and completely blanketing the remnants of her white feathered dress.
He couldn’t believe this was the same girl he had danced with just last week. Dozens of fresh scars marked her body, most of them recognizable to the ones he could feel forming on his. It was the scarring from the inside that worried him. The wounds he would never be able to place, but could still feel their cruelty in the way her expression detached and her posture sank.
Percy sat beside her, mirroring the way she pulled her knees to her chest.
The sky started to lighten into a familiar blue that signified a new day, welcoming the pink and purple hue that dusk brought along.
“How long did he make you carry it?” he finally asked.
“Hours,” she said plainly, still distracted.
A jagged inhale escaped his lips, as if her words pieced his skin. Looking at her now, he couldn't fathom how Luke could live with himself after the hurt he caused her.
He marveled at every breath she took, at the way her eyelashes fluttered with every blink, and the way the silver ring that rested on her chest rose and fell every few moments. All of it was proof that she had survived the curse. He didn’t know what he would have done if she hadn’t.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” She finally snapped out of the trance she was in, glancing over at Percy.
“For staying alive.” His words were soaked in admiration. “For keeping me alive,” he added, trying not to let his voice break remembering how hard this week had been without her.
Percy watched as she leaned her head to rest on his shoulder, never breaking eye contact.
“I could say the same to you,” she tenderly confessed.
Percy turned his head slightly, letting Annabeth’s doe eyes fully consume him. Under the faint purple glow that illuminated their newfound closeness, he thought she had never looked more beautiful.
Foreheads almost touching, she looked up at him with a delicate appreciation that made his heart clench. His eyes drifted to her lips for a brief second. He noticed her do the same.
He wanted to stay like this forever. The warmth of Annabeth’s cheek against his shoulder soothed every aching bone and grief stricken joint in his body. It was a reminder that she was safe.
Annabeth’s tired eyes finally gave in, snuggling closer to Percy as she drifted off. Percy leaned his head against hers, and for the first time in days, wasn’t afraid of what he’d find when he closed his eyes.