"Annabeth?"

Annabeth opened her eyes. Percy was sitting in front of her, stroking her hair back from her sweaty forehead. He looked worried, but he was smiling.

"You're awake," he said, relieved. "How do you feel?"

She was still lying on her stomach. She tried to sit up, only to realize that she didn't have a shirt on. She blushed madly and kept her chest covered with her blanket as she rose to a sitting position, Percy watching her carefully. His arms were outstretched, ready to catch her if she fell. "Are you okay?"

"I – ow. I think so." She winced and tried to turn her head to get a look at her wound, but the movement was too painful. The wound was on the back of her right shoulder. "How bad is it?"

"It was pretty bad," Percy admitted. "But Will's a good healer. He fixed you up. You should be fine in a few hours."

"Did we kill all the monsters?" she asked, and Percy laughed. He nodded.

"Yeah. We did."

Annabeth smiled. "Good. I don't know why so many of them were there – Kithira isn't any place special. Somebody summoned them there for a purpose."

"To throw you off in your quest?" he suggested, his dark eyebrows drawn down over his eyes.

"Probably," Annabeth said. "Although I can't think of any gods that would do that. As far as I know, I haven't done anything to make them angry."

Percy looked troubled for a minute. Then his expression relaxed, and he smiled. "Well, you're safe now. That's what's important."

"Are we still in Kithira?" Annabeth asked, and he nodded.

"Once all the monsters were gone, I sent the crew out to search for the treasure," he explained. "I don't know if it's here, but it's worth looking."

Annabeth studied him carefully. He was staring at his compass, which was going crazy, pointing in all directions. He sighed and put it back in his jacket.

"We'll find it, Percy," Annabeth said softly. "You won't have to sail the seas forever."

"You sound so sure of yourself," he said.

"That's because I am. I know we'll find it. And your curse will be broken." She reached out and put her hand on top of his. He smiled at her, but his eyes were sad as he turned his hand over and held hers. Little jolts of electricity went through them, like it did every time they touched, and Annabeth's heart beat a little faster when Percy twined his fingers through hers. His hands were rough and calloused from steering the ship for a hundred years.

They stayed still, sitting there and holding hands, until footsteps came pounding down the wooden stairs. Annabeth pulled her hand away from Percy's as Beckendorf stood at attention in front of them.

"We searched the whole island, Captain. Couldn't find anything."

Percy sighed as if this was news he'd expected. "Right. Well, just keep going south, then. Annabeth says there's a piece of land behind Kithira, and that's our destination."

"Yes, sir." Beckendorf nodded and trudged back up to the main deck.

Percy smiled at Annabeth and reached up to tuck a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. Her skin tingled, and she blushed. "I'll leave you alone to get some rest. Your clothes are right there. Just shout if you need anything and one of us will answer."

She nodded and smiled back at him, watching him walk up the stairs. When Annabeth was alone, she sighed. She rubbed her thumb over her necklace.

Who had put those monsters on Kithira?

Her first thought was Ares, god of war. He wouldn't have had a reason to put them there except that he liked fighting. Her second thought was Hera – the queen of the gods had always disliked Athena, Annabeth's mother.

But other than that, Annabeth was coming up blank. She had no idea why those monsters had been there, and that terrified her.

Annabeth stood from her bed and walked over to the mirror. She kept a sheet wrapped around her as she stood with her back to the mirror and tried to get a look at her injury. It was covered in a big white bandage. What was the thing that had cut her? She hadn't seen it – out of nowhere, there'd just been a pain in her back. And Percy had said that whatever cut her was too fast for him to see clearly.

The wound hurt if she moved too much, so she tried not to move her neck or her shoulder as she slowly got dressed. She found her sword and her knife each waiting for her underneath her clothes. Someone had cleaned them so that the blades shone brightly in the dim light. She slipped the knife inside her boot and strapped the sword to the scabbard at her waist. It would've hurt too much to put her hair in a ponytail, so she left it down around her shoulders. When she went up to the main deck, the crew was attending to their usual duties. She looked for Percy and finally saw him hanging from the marine rope ladder on the side of the ship. He had both feet stuck in the ladder, but he was only holding on with one hand. His back was turned to her. The wind blew his hair and coat back.

"What's he looking for?" Annabeth asked Grover quietly. The first mate had appeared beside her. Grover stared at his captain and shrugged.

"He does that sometimes. Just hangs there like that and stares out at the sea. I'm surprised his arms don't get tired," he said.

It was another five minutes before Percy climbed down. He looked sad – Annabeth noticed he looked like that a lot. But when he saw her, he smiled.

"Feeling better?" he asked her, and she nodded. "Good. We're skirting around Kithira right now."

"We're getting close," Annabeth said, feeling the tug in her chest. "I can feel it."

It was daytime now – the sky was blue, with sparse white clouds dotting it here and there. Annabeth looked around. She couldn't see any other land besides Kithira, which was slowly receding as they sailed farther away from it, but she could tell they were making good progress. The tug in her chest was stronger than it had been when it first appeared.

Percy moved to the wheel of the ship to steer. Annabeth watched him for a few moments before he looked at her and smiled.

"Do you want to try?" he asked.

A grin stretched across her features. "Can I?"

He stepped back and gestured to the wheel. "Have at it, Captain Chase."

Annabeth took his place behind the wheel of the ship. She wrapped her hands around the handles and immediately felt something surge through her – it was like a wash of memories, although she could've sworn she'd never experienced any of it in her life. She saw Percy and his crew through the years as they sailed from sea to sea, searching for the world's most valuable treasure. She saw the crew as they raided villages with grins on their faces, and she saw Percy standing on the ship, his hands on his hips. She saw the days before he was cursed – when he was Captain Perseus Jackson, the youngest pirate captain on the seas. She saw him on land, grinning as he fought with Riptide, having the time of his life. She saw him laughing and happy. The memories kept coming, and she saw how he changed – how he became sad and lonely after he was cursed. She saw the years pass and she saw Percy and the crew stay the same age, never growing older, losing hope as they raided island after island and never found the treasure.

Then, she saw her face. She saw herself, the first time she'd jumped onto the railing of the Pride, her sword pointed at the crew. She saw herself dancing and laughing with the crewmembers, saw herself eating dinner with Percy, and she saw, with clarity, the change she'd made on board the ship. She saw how she'd made them happier than they'd been in a long time.

When Annabeth let go of the wheel, she stared at Percy questioningly.

"What was that?" she asked.

Percy patted the wheel almost lovingly. "What did she show you?"

"The past," Annabeth said. "She – I mean, I saw images of you guys before you were cursed."

Percy's eyes got a faraway look in them as he took the wheel again and stared out to sea. "We had fun, then," he said. "We sailed from coast to coast, and I could go on land. We would steal all the treasure we could get our hands on. Life was great. I thought I was invincible."

He looked reverent as Annabeth watched him relive the memories. When he started to look sad again, she stepped forward. "Let me drive again."

He stepped back without a word, and this time, when Annabeth took the wheel, no images came to her. She found herself already knowing how to steer, and she navigated the waters with ease. The ocean breeze whipping her hair back, the smell of the salt water . . . it was invigorating. She thought that maybe being a pirate wasn't so bad. But when she thought about doing this for a hundred years, like Percy had, never being able to step foot on land again . . . it made her as sad as Percy looked.

"We'll find the treasure, Percy," she told him softly. "I promise."

He gave her a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. Annabeth looked out towards the sea, and she sailed Poseidon's Pride into the unknown.