Heartstrings

by riqtides

Demigods were meant to be half god, half human. But after his time in Tartarus, Percy's powers have morphed into a darker, more powerful force, and he fights to keep himself from losing control and hurting his loved ones. As an ancient evil stirs from the depths of Tartarus and demigods do not have the Oracle of Delphi's sight, they train and prepare for the worst to come.

1. Prologue

prologue /

"I have brought you a hero's fate, and a hero's fate is never happy. It is never anything but tragic."

The worst days always started with nightmares.

Gabe stood in front of Percy in their old apartment. People always said that old memories fade in time, but Percy didn't think so. After years of not seeing Gabe, Percy thought that his beady eyes had gotten brighter, his quiver of his mustache still just as pronounced, the cruel line of his jaw and chin accentuated-and gods, his smell-that musty scent of beer and stale cigarettes-Percy felt an all-too-familiar fear seize his gut. It was like he was twelve again, watching Gabe's hand lift and his mom flinch again.

And just like that, the fear dissipated, replaced with white-hot fury. Gabe took a step forward, his lips forming the words "Punk…" Percy's anger spiked, and his vision tunneled. At once, he could feel everything on his skin: the soft breath of wind on his cheeks, the rustle of carpet under his feet, the blood coursing through Gabe's body. The last time he'd felt like this, he was facing Akhlys, and Annabeth was there to pull him back to his body.

But this time, there was nothing but Gabe's smirking face and the delicious taste of revenge on Percy's tongue. He lifted his arm, and he could sense the threads of blood in Gabe's body gravitating toward him, begging to be controlled. Percy jerked his hand up, and a gash of red blossomed on Gabe's chest. His entire body humming with power, Percy watched as Gabe's smirk slid off his face and his hands reached up to clutch his chest.

Percy jerked awake. He was drenched with sweat, panting hard as he smoothed out his blankets and glanced at his nightstand. 5:40 am.

It's just a dream, he thought to himself. Just his imagination. Gabe isn't alive.

But that hyper-awareness of the threads of blood in Gabe's body? Percy wasn't stupid. He didn't like lying to himself.

He knew that was real.

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hello, hope you liked the prologue! It'd mean so much if you could leave a review/favorite/follow if you enjoyed it :)

I'll probably upload ch. 1 tomorrow and do weekly updates. In the meantime, all my pjo/hoo art, drabbles, headcanons, etc. can be found on my tumblr: riqtides

Prompts are always appreciated!