As always, these characters do not belong to me.
Chapter Twenty
"You need to fill me in on what we're going to do about Octavian," Annabeth stated.
"How about we do something else?" Percy suggested, a mischievous glint to his smile as he bent his head to meet her gaze.
She slapped his chest lightly with the back of her hand, ignoring the fluttering in her stomach. He reached down and grabbed her hand, threading his fingers through hers and kissing the top of her head as he went back to reading the report. Tucked as she was against him on the couch, Annabeth only had to tilt her head so that her ear rested against his chest, allowing her to hear the steady, rhythmic beat of his heat. She closed her eyes as she listened, squeezing his fingers lightly. She enjoyed the evenings he would join her, his warmth better than the fire that burnt merrily across from them.
"I can help," she insisted after a minute, twisting to face him. "I need to help. I'm losing my mind with boredom."
"Malcolm is more than happy to offer his opinion so you can rest."
A snort came from the chair to Annabeth's left. They both glanced at Thalia, but she merely flipped a report page. Percy's eyes were daggers in her direction, his jaw clenching from refrained comments. The cousin's bickering happened so often that it was unusual for them not to be arguing. Annabeth squeezed his hand, snatching his attention again so they could return to the conversation.
"Perce, this is ridiculous! I'm not an invalid! It's my fault these Hunters are in danger so I need to do what I can to help them. And while this affection from you is nice, I kind of get the feeling it's so you can spy on me."
A louder snort came from the nearby chair and Percy's expression showed the control on his anger was thin. "I don't need to remind you that you almost died three weeks ago?" he said, keeping his eye on Thalia for a moment longer before returning to Annabeth.
"And I don't need to remind you that if you're not going to let me do something, then I'll just go around you and find someone that will accept my help."
Thalia chuckled. "Game, set, match," she murmured cheerfully.
Percy glared at his cousin. "Maybe you should see to your Hunters defences, Lightning Daughter?"
Thalia's eyes narrowed. "Maybe you should stop being a controlling prick, Pirate Prince?"
Percy's eyes narrowed to slits. Annabeth knew about his past, about those who follow his Father had given him that title. While the followers declared it an honour, like Thalia, Percy saw his title as an omen and had tried very hard to ignore it over the years.
"Haven't you got some place to be?" he suggested. "Any other place."
"This is my house! And I graciously let you and your little crew stay here, which includes the girl you're canoodling with over there."
"It's only Annabeth and Malcolm!" he shot back. "I'm staying with Piper and Silena and the others are off tracking your lost party of Hunters."
"You hang around here all hours of the day!"
Silena entered with two cups of tea, silencing the cousins. "Maybe you should both leave so we don't have to hear your insipid arguments?"
Percy looked surly, Thalia even more so but they quelled under Silena's pointed glare. Annabeth tried to hide her smile, which was completely wiped from her face when she was handed the second cup of brewed tea. Silena was fast becoming one of Annabeth's closest friends, but the tea concoction she forced Annabeth to drink was a deal breaker. She knew the properties helped with her ongoing healing, but it's flavour was hardly what would be considered, 'tasteful'. With a sigh she sat up, letting go of Percy's hand, who, despite simmering with anger, patted her knee sympathetically.
"Perce, Annabeth's right," Silena said, taking a seat next to her. "It's foolish to keep her out of the plans." This made Percy unhappy, Thalia smug and Annabeth trying not to gag from the taste as she took a sip. "Especially since Thalia has been filling her in anyway."
"Silena!" Thalia cried as Percy glared at her.
"As if he didn't already know," Silena countered, eyeing the Hunter's outrage over her tea. "He also knows that Annabeth is defying the healer's opinion and pushing herself to walk."
Annabeth shouldn't have been surprised, but she did give him a guilty smile when their eyes met. He sighed, gave a small shake of his head and offered her a small smile.
"Honestly," Silena chided. "I don't understand why you are all so determined to keep things from each other." She shook her head. "We all need to be informed of everything if we're going to head off Octavian before we lose more innocent lives.
Glancing around the room, there was a heavy feeling of shame settling on the occupants, except for SIlena, who merely sipped her tea. After a few minutes of awkward silence and Annabeth struggling through the tea, Percy broke it.
"So, how far have you managed to walk?" he asked her.
"She's going to try and use the stairs tomorrow morning," Piper stated before Annabeth could answer. She entered the room, shaking out her hair as she took off her coat.
"Piper!" Annabeth hissed while Thalia snorted in amusement.
"Annabeth?" Percy's tone demanded an explanation.
"Malcolm was going to help Piper if something were to happen," Annabeth justified.
"Come on Cuz, would you be any different?" Thalia asked with a raised eyebrow after she shared a laugh with Silena. She got up, letting Piper take her chair as she left to do her rounds. "Would any of us?"
Percy took a deep breath, exhaling loudly. "Okay. If you're going to do this, then I'm going to be there." He smiled gently at her. "Maybe I can give you some more incentive?" Annabeth thought she may have stopped breathing, unable to take her eyes off his but a pointed cough had her ducking her head into her tea and Percy giving Piper a sideways glance.
This new side to Percy was a surprise to Annabeth, and she found she was unused to the attention. It had started once she was transferred to Thalia's house. Just small gestures: holding her hand, wrapping an arm around her, or giving her peck as he was leaving on an errand. It was the casualness of showing his affection, especially in front of other people that she wasn't used to. She never received such acute attention before, but she was getting accustomed to it quite quickly.
Annabeth struggled to finish her tea as their conversation shifted to guessing the whereabouts of Will, Nico, Clarisse and Chris, who, as Percy mentioned, had finally succumbed to Thalia's request and left to search for Zoë's party of Hunters. Nico was their best tracker, but Zoë had been the best of the Hunters. Annabeth could see worry mar Percy's face as the conversation drew on. The party had missed two of their allotted check-in time with their next time scheduled sometime that night. If they missed another, they would be deemed either captured or killed and it was a grim outlook for the three people sitting with Annabeth.
Eventually, Annabeth found herself being carried up the stairs by Percy. She had time getting used to being carried like a child to and from her room, but there was still that part of her pride that couldn't wait to finally be independent again. To her surprise, he let her down at the door of her room, letting her take the dozen or so steps to her bed on her own. While it wasn't far, it said a lot more towards Percy's acceptance of her stubbornness. He had even resisted trailing behind her in case she fell, which she was grateful of.
"So, when did you know?" she asked once she was settled in bed.
"About the physical rehabilitation or feeding Thalia information?" he asked with a grin.
"Both."
Percy pushed off the door frame, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I could see you regaining some of your old strength and as much as I hate to admit it when Thalia's right, I would've done everything I could to get back to where I was."
"And the plans?"
Percy smiled faintly. "Thalia is great at many things. Strategy is just not one of them. When her suggestions started to make sense, I suspected."
"Then why go to all the trouble of stopping me from helping?"
He gazed down at his lap. "I don't like this," he admitted quietly. "I don't like any of it. I just, I have a bad feeling."
Annabeth gazed down for the briefest of seconds, knowing that feeling all too well. She had assumed it was because of her dreams from the Crystal and maybe it was, but they were both fighters, and instincts, especially in fights, shouldn't be ignored. If she could just discover what it was she was missing.
"You can't shield everyone," she told him gently.
"Haven't you said something like that before?" he asked, glancing up with a wry smile.
"I think a lot of people have told something along those lines before," she countered, causing Percy to laugh.
He gazed at her, his eyes twinkling with the vestiges of his laugh. "I'm sorry," he apologised softly, not breaking her stare.
Her smile was light as she placed a hand against his face. She leaned in and kissed him as a way of forgiveness, lingering to savour the feeling of his lips against hers. She pulled back only enough to meet his stare, her heart beating quicker the longer she stared. She decided one kiss was not enough; she wanted, no needed, more.
Annabeth kissed him again, then again as he turned towards her, his hand cupping her chin to deepen their kiss. All the small affectionate gestures and words had been building to this and Annabeth lost herself to her pent-up emotions. She leant into his body, her arms worming around his back and then up into his hair. He tasted of freshwater and that sweet scent on a spring's breeze and she just couldn't stop wanting to taste more.
Percy's free hand drifted down, his fingers skimming the flesh of her hip, moving up and across her ribs, lifting her shirt in the process. Not that she cared, not when her own hands moved to the hem of his shirt, pulling it free from his pants. She grabbed his collar and practically pulled him on top of her. He grunted slightly but didn't resist, his hand reaching down, skirting past her belly button, when there was a knock at the door, the person opening it before Annabeth had a chance to tell them to go away.
"Oh, sorry," Silena said, grinning as the two broke apart. "Perce, Thalia needs to speak to you."
Percy looked chagrined, his lips slightly swollen and his hair tousled more than usual as he tried to regain some composure. He didn't move off her though. Annabeth ducked her head into the crook of his shoulder, embarrassed. She was at least grateful it hadn't been a minute or two later, then it would have really been compromising. Her face heated at the thought.
"Does it have to be right now?" he asked, his voice husky.
"I'm afraid so."
Percy looked at Annabeth, frustrated and apologetic. He gave her a quick kiss and got up, following Silena out, straightening his shirt and trying to flatten his hair into some sort of order.
"Do I need to dowse you in water so you can cool down?" she asked him jokingly as they walked down the hall. Annabeth smiled through her blush thinking she might need to take a cool bath herself.
Percy didn't carry her to her room again, mostly due to Annabeth's improved mobility, but it reduced the time they had to themselves. She tried to think of that as good thing, considering they needed to be focusing on the impending battle, but every so often her mind would drift to his kiss, the feel of his hands on her body and she would instantly become distracted. Silena thankfully hadn't felt the need to share what she saw with the others, though she had a hint of a smirk every time she spotted the two of them next to each other.
Once Annabeth had conquered the stairs and was walking more freely, Malcolm decided that her mind needed to be sharpened after the combined attack from the venom and the Crystal. This Annabeth could get behind, having been some time since she had been challenged mentally. It started with short simple tests while her mind was preoccupied with walking, stretching or if she felt strong, jogging. He rose the difficulty after each success until they were both satisfied her mind didn't have any lingering effects of the venom.
Malcolm and Annabeth spent their evenings after dinner playing a board game of strategy and will after he had discovered the game amongst Thalia's discarded possessions. Squaring off, the siblings were lost in thought as they tried to predict and then counteract the moves of their opponent while the other occupants watched or talked quietly about other matters. Annabeth spun her white pebble between her fingers, having two places she could potentially place it on the board. Depending on the placement would determine the trajectory of her strategy. Having only been shown the game recently, Malcolm seemed unsurprised by how well she had picked it up.
"Talk me through your thought process?" Malcolm asked.
"And give away my game?" she replied.
Malcolm smiled. "You don't think I already know your strategy?"
"Why do you think I'm deliberating?" Malcolm chuckled, placing up his hands. "The question is," Annabeth continued with a smile. "How will you beat me, when I know exactly what you're going to do?"
Three moves later, she placed down her white pebble, waiting as Malcolm took stock of her move, realising she had pinned him in to making only one move, which would concede a sure defeat. He tipped his head back and laughed, grasping her forearm across the table after surrendering. He began picking up his pebbles, restarting their board.
"That isn't right," Thalia commented, looking unsettled. "You two are siblings. Why don't you argue like it?"
"I think you and Percy do enough arguing for every sibling in the village," Silena told her, earning several smirks and a couple of scowls followed by a very pointed, and very colourful, suggestion of where Silena could place the pebbles.
"It really is a feat considering you're not siblings, but cousins," Piper added before taking a sip of her mead, handing a cup to Annabeth.
Thalia had a few other colourful words she said to Piper, before arguing back. "We can get along." She stared pointedly over her flagon at Percy to back her up.
"Sure," Percy agreed half-heartedly. "If we try, we probably could."
"Maybe give us a couple more months together and we might start bickering?" Annabeth suggested, shrugging at Malcolm, who grinned, placing his tile down to begin their new game.
Reyna entered shortly after the second game got underway, relaying information to Percy and Thalia, after accepting a cup from Silena. The tension between Reyna and Piper had slowly dissipated the longer the two were in each other's presence so it was not unusual to see the two nod to each other in greeting. Annabeth was half-listening to her report about still not finding any alluding evidence from the earlier communications of Nico and the others to finding any trace of Lady Artemis. They had missed their third deadline, sending a sombre mood throughout the house. Thalia, with Percy reluctant but agreeing, refused to send any further search parties.
Annabeth frowned as placed her pebble, her mind working quick to place pieces. She glanced down at the board, to the pebbles already in place, converting them to their situation. With her next turn, she placed her pebble deliberately in the wrong place, but exactly where she assumed Nico would have been if he were following a trail. Malcolm pounced on her mistake, taking that pebble and her collection of pebbles beside it from the board. Her eyes darted unseeingly to the other white stones on the board; the cluster, the lone stone, the four surrounded by the black stones …
"Reyna." Annabeth started, gazing towards the mercenary. Malcolm paused after hearing her tone. "What were Octavian's exact words he preached in your village?"
"Haven't you already seen that?" she questioned, taken a little aback by Annabeth's directness. She had been reluctant to believe Annabeth's visions and refused to hear what she had seen, simply taking her word for it and leaving it at that.
"No. Not him." Annabeth noticed Malcolm staring at the board, trying to see what she had.
"I'm not sure," she answered, wrinkling her nose. "I hated that religion. My family had a different set of beliefs. Most of our village did until he came along."
"What are you getting at, Annabeth?" Piper asked curiously.
"He took Percy to the Cave as an offering to the Crystal," she began to explain, noting Percy's brief scowl. "It was the same reason he captured me. But what if he now believes, that merely sacrificing subjects to the object of his desire is not enough? What if, he believes in order to wield the Crystal and lead his 'children', then he himself needs power? He would, in turn, start preaching sacrifices are done in his name." Malcolm sat back ever so slightly, placing those same pieces Annabeth did together. He took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"If that's true, then he would capture the strongest people," Percy continued. He looked at Annabeth realising where her train of thoughts were heading, then looked to Thalia.
"Lady Artemis," Thalia breathed. Annabeth was surprised she didn't start cursing.
"She was led into a trap?" Silena exclaimed in surprise.
"Arachne," Malcolm deduced, his eyes meeting his sister's. "He wasn't just going for Luke and the Crystal at the Elite compound. He wanted her as well. And now …"
Annabeth nodded, coming to the same conclusion. Percy's hand weaved through hers, catching on as his gaze fell on her.
"He'll be after you two," Piper voiced, staring across at their entwined hands. Everyone was now looking at Percy and Annabeth, their expressions solemn.
"Bloodlines," Reyna muttered suddenly, causing everyone's eyes to dart to her. "One of the followers I captured spoke of bloodlines. Pure bloodlines."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop. There was four of them in the room that fell into that category.
The 'Purebloods' were a group of individuals who had been allegedly 'blessed' on the night of a blood moon. They were said to be stronger, faster and smarter, each fused with their own unique talents to rival any man or woman. They were consequently hunted and challenged for the rights of their 'power', each opponent determined to take it for themselves and be declared, 'pure'. All challengers and hunting parties were slain and eventually the Purebloods were left alone, revered and feared by all.
Annabeth had thought the story had been bullshit, even though she was the daughter of one of the said blessed. She wasn't special, wasn't gifted with enhanced strength or speed. She had scoffed at such words, but had wondered … after Will had admitted that the Crystal wasn't the only powerful object in the world, maybe these individuals, these Purebloods, had something in their possession that would give some fact to the stories of enhanced abilities.
"Zoë is one of the pures," Thalia told them, before placing her head in her hands, her voice low as she added, "I sent Nico to find her."
"Nico is a pure?" Silena turned to Percy for confirmation.
"He doesn't like to speak of it," Percy answered before glancing towards Thalia, her inherited electric blue eyes stark against her pale face. "None of us do."
"I think they'll be alive, for now," Malcolm interjected. Annabeth glanced over and was surprised to see him quietly fuming. Or course! They had just escaped one sacrificial threat, only to be thrust into the path of another, because of their linage. "They won't be as supposedly powerful as Annabeth and Percy. If he's as selfish as we believe, he would want the most advantageous for him before settling for meagre offerings."
"But Lady Artemis is," Thalia argued.
"She'll be the final sacrifice," Malcolm said, rubbing the stubble on his cheek thoughtfully. "He would want to prove how powerful he is in front of as many people as possible."
"That's if she hasn't already been sacrificed," Piper said grimly.
"No, Malcolm's right," Reyna said. "We need to find the Huntress. Break one key link in his plan and he'll be thrown into disarray. He might even decide to order his army into finding her, rather than attack the village."
"Or we keep Percy and Annabeth safe?" Silena offered. "They're supposed to be integral to his plan as well, aren't they?"
"If Octavian has captured Nico, Zoë and their scouting parties he might deem them equal enough to our perceived power," Annabeth said. "Lady Artemis is the key."
"The Hunters have been searching for a month now and haven't found her," Piper told Annabeth. "How will we? Especially now our best tracker is probably captured too. It's been what, two weeks since we last heard from them? We could start sending parties out again but then we could be left with an even smaller number of fighters to defend the village. I say that unless we know exactly where they're being kept, we focus on defending the village."
"We can't abandon them," Silena disagreed. "I understand what you're saying, but there has to be a way to work out where they're being kept without leaving the village."
"We'll comb through everything again," Percy promised. His tone was encouraging, but Annabeth could see the tightness of doubt around his eyes. "Maybe with two Athenians, a mercenary and a handsome Pirate Prince that has been all over, we can work it out." He got several eye rolls, a few smiles and a heavy snort, but his words did lighten the mood, if only slightly. He faced Thalia. "Call your Hunters to arms and every other ally you can wrangle. We're going to need every last diversion and defensive tactic we can come up with to win this."
Hunters were briefed and sent to work the following morning. The village was alerted to the oncoming threat and many hastened to secure their homes and stalls before helping to make weapons and defensive spikes from the nearby trees. The Hunters darted in and out of the village, using their treetop bridges and platforms and reporting to Thalia almost every hour. If any had complaints about the danger their visitors had brought, they didn't express it.
The visitors weren't excluded from the preparations but were also heavily involved. Reyna would leave as the sun rose and often would not return until long after the sun would set, her spear and clothes splattered with blood. Percy stayed with Thalia, which had raised some questions at first, but they were soon silenced. They may enjoy arguing with each other, but when it came to the welfare of the others, they worked flawlessly together.
Once the decisions were made, Percy would hit the training area, sparring with Piper and the Hunters, or against the straw dummies. Annabeth joined as well, but she tired easily, much to her disgust. She could only hope she wouldn't get as winded when it was time for the fight. Silena, meanwhile, helped the healers gather herbs and make bandages and salves.
Being the children of Athena, Malcolm and Annabeth were tasked to come up with a defensive plan. They each applied different strategies to the map, casting their thoughts and manoeuvres until they were both positive in its outcome. They warned the others that variations were bound to occur, and the plan would need to be adjusted according to those deviances. The main problem was that they still had no idea what type of numbers they would be coming up against. Despite the scout's desperate attempts, they still couldn't find Octavian and his army, only his own scouts, but they wouldn't yield any answers, even with the fearful She-Wolf torturing them.
Annabeth noticed Malcolm becoming quieter as their plan came into focus. She could see his thoughts heading in several other directions, trying to solve the problems they still had. Annabeth let him work on that, while she frantically tried to return to fighting fit. She was walking yes, but she needed to train, to spar. She had seen Percy watch her, the words on the edge of his lips that if she heard, she would punch them right back into his throat. There was no way she was sitting out of the battle ahead of them; it just wasn't an option. It wasn't until evening set a few days after their discovery that she realised Malcolm had solved the problem, but it had been the answer he had been struggling with.
"Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye?" Annabeth asked, stepping into view.
Excusing herself as twilight began, she headed straight to the main gate, waiting in the shadows until her brother passed her. She had wanted to sound angry, wanting to sound betrayed by his departure but it was hard when she knew he was leaving out of necessity, and that she would do the same if the positions were reversed.
Malcolm glanced back to her, bowing his head briefly when he saw who it was. "You know," he started conversationally. "I've never actually had anyone to say goodbye to before." He gave her a sad smile, then strode back and wrapped her in a tight hug. She squeezed him gently, pressing her cheek against his collarbone as he rested his against her shoulder. "I wish we had more time together. Maybe we will, after this is over." He pulled back, tears in his eyes before he blinked them away, sobering. "I'll find him and send word as soon as I can."
"What if you're caught?" she asked, needing to be practical. Inside, her stomach constricted with worry.
"I've been a chameleon all my life," he told her, that sad smile back on his face. "They will never know who I really am."
He stepped up onto the saddle, reaching down to clasp her forearm with his. He smiled at her again, before urging his horse forward, throwing up his hood. Annabeth watched him leave, unused to the concern she was feeling. Eventually she wandered back to Thalia's house, filling them in on Malcolm's plan. There were protests, concerns and some heavy swearing flooding her ears. Reyna ceased it all when she demanded their attention, using her cold logic to agree with his decision. Not feeling like giving further explanations, she headed to her room, collapsing onto the bed and staring unseeingly up at the ceiling. Thankfully, the others gave her some space and eventually she drifted asleep.
She was dreaming again. She was led through the memories of her friends, but there was something unusual about the scenes. They were directed, focused, but not by Annabeth. And they were on repeat in her mind. Some instances, such as Piper's, was a fleeting look as she cantered through forest. Some, like Reyna and Percy's lingered. They were camped around a fire, merely talking. They looked younger, probably during their days as partnered mercenaries. The conversation was muted so Annabeth knew it was unimportant but then the scene went back to Piper. It took another rotation before Annabeth understood; she was being shown the location.
It was an alcove, worn into the cliff face from years of weather and erosion. It provided the perfect shelter and with a clear view of the surrounds so ambushes would be futile. Judging by the forest's vegetation, Annabeth guessed it was near the Hunter's village, possibly further north-east. But why would Annabeth keep seeing that particular spot, unless …
Annabeth shot up into a sitting position, heart bounding as she declared into the darkness, "I know where to find Lady Artemis."