Chapter 32

I don't know if you'll ever read this, Percy. I'm just hoping that you're out there, alive and well. Zoë went out to follow you. I don't know if you knew or not. Sometimes, I wish I left with her. I miss you. I'm sure she feels the same, looking for you somewhere out there, lost in the land beyond the gods. I miss both of you, actually. The two of you taught me a lot. I'm angry that the gods threw you aside like that. I wish I could afford to be mad at them; that would be infinitely better than the empty, desolate hole in my heart right now.

If you happen to read this that means two things: you've survived and I've finally met you again. I don't know how long I will have known you were back for. I don't know what you'll be like when you return. But I do know that, whatever you're like, I want you to read this. Someone I trust will deliver this message to you when the time is right. And, regardless of whatever happened to you while you're gone, I'll always stay by your side, even when it feels like I'm betraying you.

This might sound awfully close to a love letter. It isn't. At least, that's not what I'm thinking as I write this. Maybe, in my last moments, I'll think of you that way. For now, it isn't. But you are my hero. You're the first person to treat me like an equal, a proper human. You taught me a lot of what I know and made life seem worth living. You inspired me to make change. I'll do anything I can to help you, and save you.

I don't expect you to do anything in return. The only thing I ask of you is to be human, with faults and everything.

Sincerely, your pupil and friend,

Irene

An angry Percy was ruthless.

Thanas had seen this before. Back in Athens, when the Hunter had shown them his reaction to Mei's rape and murder, he saw how terrifying Percy could be when he lost those he loved.

He'd become more protective, not allowing them to fight at his side, forcing them to act as reserve troops. He would destroy enemy lines and force them to retreat. He caused chaos and pandemonium no matter where he went. Romans caught in his rampage stood little chance.

It didn't mean he couldn't be stopped.

His reckless rampage exposed him several times. Only their intervention—him, Xanthe and Leon—spared him. He was nearly killed when he was surrounded by a line of Romans in a battle. His power, a storm that took life after life after life was both incredibly fascinating and incredibly terrifying. The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Legions had suffered so much from the fight that the majority of them had fled down the coast, re-basing close to Tyre.

This time, however, he could see what Percy did when the fighting was over.

At the end of each day, if they weren't being chased or hunted, he would help them set up camp when they were outside of a town or village. But he didn't cook anymore. He didn't do any housework or chores like he'd done after Ionna had passed away. Instead, he would sit in his room doing one of two things—crying or cursing Apollo in fury.

It was a sign that Percy hadn't fully recovered from what happened to him the land beyond the gods. But it was also a sign that Percy had started to recover. He heard Leon and Xanthe talk about it briefly before Percy returned to their lodge.

There was no doubt in his mind that Irene had planned for this to happen. She must have tipped Phoebe off about where they were headed. She wanted to die because she thought it would save Percy.

Thanas couldn't understand the logic behind it. He had become much less cold, much less distant than when they first met him, and she had been a big part of it.

When he first started training them, it had always been about destroying the Romans, eliminating the threat, and preparing for war. The focus had been the Romans. But, as time passed, the focus changed. It was about preserving the Greeks through a process of preclusive imperialism. It was about building a foundation for Greek demigods to survive and prosper. In the process of doing so, the Romans that occupied their lands would need to be eliminated. It was a subtle difference, but a difference nonetheless.

He remembered a conversation he'd had with Percy not too long after they'd begun their re-conquest two years ago. Even back then he'd been afraid of losing Irene, afraid of losing the three of them.

Now, one of his greatest fears had come to fruition.

It was both noteworthy and telling that, despite being able to find moments of peace and joy in Thanas' own memories of Percy, the memories that first came to mind when he thought of the immortal demigod were those of his most violent acts.

Like the time that Percy had led a bunch of young kids in a less-violent version of harpastum in Ankyra. Laughing and running along with them, he'd been nothing but accommodating. Even though they weren't Greek demigods, he'd made sure no one got seriously injured and had even reprimanded a kid who did get too violent.

Or that time when he went to teach a class of demigods in Constantinople about the history of monsters gave out treats to those who answered the questions right. It felt like a party.

But they were just footnotes in the grand scheme of things. No one would remember them. All they would remember was how destructive he was. All they would remember was the Percy that was an unapologetic murderer. All they would remember was the threat he posed to Greek and Roman demigods alike.

"I'm sorry..."

Thanas felt tears on his cheeks.

It was pitch black in the lodge. All the candles had been blown out before they went to sleep. Xanthe and Leon were fast asleep in their respective rooms, resting after a tiring day out on the battlefield. Percy was in his room, quietly weeping and bemoaning his own actions.

It was pitch black in the lodge, but Thanas felt like he could see everything as he stood silently outside of Percy's room.

"I'm sorry, Irene..." Percy said hoarsely from inside. "It's my fault..."

Thanas remembered how he'd acted after Ionna's death. It was painful to even think of her, but the war effort and the presence of Xanthe and Leon had soothed him. Standing in front of that room of Greek demigods, telling them that it was their time to rise and protect themselves, had been his way out. He would do everything in his power to honor Ionna's sacrifice. But he could only do that because of all the people who had supported him. He may have lost the love of his life, but he still had his family.

Percy lost Irene. Percy lost Zoë. All he had left were the three of them.

Many old Greek heroes suffered tragic endings. Heracles was effectively burned to death as the centaur blood blistered and boiled his skin. Jason died alone, without family or friends, underneath the rotting hull of the Argo. Achilles died as a result of his hubris and arrogance, by the hand of a god. Bellerophon was thrown off Pegasus' back as he dared to fly up to Olympus.

Percy's was different. Thanas wanted to change it, give Percy the happy ending he needed after living a life of pain and suffering.

But he couldn't but feel like this Perseus wouldn't live up to his namesake. His choices and his decisions had led him down a path from which he could never recover.

It broke Thanas' heart.

The end was near.

Zoë knew what happened the moment Phoebe set foot in the camp.

The Hunters looked fine physically, but she could tell from their expressions that something was wrong. It coincided with reports she expected to receive from the Amazons, or rather, a lack thereof. Things had not gone according to the Amazons' plan, and she immediately assumed Irene had begun her foolish plan.

The Hunters that had stayed behind with her rushed to help Phoebe's unit.

Phoebe and Helene stepped up to give their report.

"Irene..." Phoebe looked shocked, like she was having a hard time believing what she'd witnessed. "Irene is gone. Percy betrayed her."

Zoë saw Helene's face twitch ever so slightly.

"He nearly killed us all," Phoebe continued, keeping her head down. Her stunned expression didn't seem fabricated, but her words were synthetic. "He turned on Irene to save himself. I don't know if Irene told him, but he knew that the Amazons were feeding us information and that the Romans were spying on the Amazons. We barely managed to escape the Labyrinth."

"How did you escape?" Zoë asked.

Helene produced a ball of yarn from her pack. Zoë's eyes widened. It was Ariadne's string. As far as she knew, it had been in the possession of Daedalus before he died in the Labyrinth.

"Irene dropped it for us," Helene said shakily.

Dropped it?

Zoë glanced at Phoebe, whose expression had tightened. If Irene truly had Ariadne's string, and she was leading Percy to the specific destination he'd planned out, she never would have dropped the string before they reached their target. She tried to shake herself out of her thoughts. She had time to think about what actually happened later. For now, she had to absorb their story and pretend like it was true.

"So Percy has gone rogue?" Zoë asked.

Phoebe nodded. She glanced at Helene and said, "On our way back, we managed to find out how he got out. He didn't take the same exit as the Trio. He let them flee first. He found another exit, purely by luck. One of the Amazons that escaped the battle said he stumbled out like he'd been running. He didn't attack them at first, but when they raised their weapons, he slaughtered them."

Zoë cursed mentally. Had Irene's plan worked in the exact opposite way she hoped?

"We'll need to take our next steps carefully," Zoë muttered. "We can't fight him alone. He'll kill us all."

"But we have to keep hunting him," Phoebe continued. "We need to separate him from the Trio for us to have a chance."

"What do you propose?"

"We fight alongside the Romans and Amazons." Phoebe looked and sounded more confident as she outlined her plan. Unlike the blatant lie she just told, this was merely a suggestion, a proposal for a strategy. "We'll let him advance down to Tyre, but we will ambush him somewhere between Tyre and Tarsus. The Amazons and Romans will use their cavalry to harass them along the way. They'll suffer casualties, but better than allowing Percy to advance uncontested."

"It's not ideal, but we think that injuring one of the Trio will force them to back off and split up," Helene added. "It's highly unlikely that Percy will stay with them knowing that we're on his trail. He needs them to destroy the Thirteenth and Fourteenth legions, unless he decides to drown the entire coastline."

"I wouldn't put it past him to do that again," Phoebe interjected.

Zoë stared at the two. "Do you believe he cares about the Trio?"

They gave her a look of surprise.

Anerríphtho kývos. Zoë had cast her die, played her cards. She'd committed herself to Irene's plan and she couldn't afford to half-ass it.

Pushing her feelings aside, she scoffed, "If he's willing to betray Irene, he'll betray anyone to get what he wants. He wants you to believe that he cares about them. To you, they're an easier target. They're younger, less experienced. You'll attack them in hopes that he will give up in exchange for their lives, but he'll just do what he did to Irene and sacrifice them in order to win. Do you disagree, Phoebe?"

Phoebe blinked, stunned. "Um... well, no. I agree."

If we make him believe it's his fault that everyone he cares about is taken away from him... He'll realize that the misery he's faced was his own doing... If we die by our own actions, helping his cause.

Zoë had to take control. To complete Irene's plan, no one else could influence her.

Fine, Percy, she thought. You wanted me to show off my status as Artemis' lieutenant? Then I will. Starting now.

Zoë knew, from Irene, that he had softened over the past few years. There was little doubt in her mind that Percy would rather keep the Trio alive than sacrifice them. But she also knew that the best way to hurt Percy was for the Trio to make the decision themselves. Irene believed that they would recognize what needed to be done once she was gone.

The Trio had to make the final call to destroy themselves and the legions.

She needed to nudge them in that direction. Suddenly, Helene's idea didn't seem so farfetched. Zoë felt crazy, betting on Irene's hunch that Percy cared enough about the Trio's lives, but it was too late. Irene had already played her last, desperate hand. Zoë didn't have time to survey the battlefield and come up with a more sound strategy.

The girl... the daughter of Poseidon...

The strategy began to take shape in her mind.

"We'll take the fight to Percy, then," she told Phoebe and Helene. "Gather the Hunters. I've got a plan."

They were harassed by Amazons and Roman scouts all along the coastline. He could see what they were trying to do, always attacking from the sea. They wanted to drive them inland, away from his source of power—the sea.

Fortunately, they managed to fend the Amazons off while they tracked down the location of the Roman camp near Tyre, but the sheer number of enemies meant that restocking supplies was nearly impossible. They were low on food and were tired from the constant travel.

Unfortunately, they hadn't been attacked in two days.

He knew something was wrong. The Hunters must have been behind it all. He wondered if Zoë had finally given in and believed Phoebe.

"It's too peaceful," Thanas muttered, looking around at the dense thicket on either side of the road. "There's probably an ambush waiting for us."

The four of them weren't in their best condition. An ambush wouldn't be as kind to them as it would be if they were rested and fed.

I just pray it's not the Romans, Percy thought.

He tried to imagine what Zoë would do. Then he tried to imagine what the Romans would do. It didn't make much sense for the Romans to follow Zoë's orders. She'd admitted that she couldn't control anyone but her Hunters. So if they were cooperating, it had to be some sort of compromise.

Plus, he knew roughly where the Romans were located. Not all of the Romans were down by Tyre, with various scouts keeping track of their location. But it wasn't clear to him where the ambush was meant to take place.

Just then, there was the sound of trotting horses and marching footmen behind them. Percy turned to see a caravan flanked by at least half a dozen armed guards catching up to them. It was probably the fifth caravan that had passed them, the second that was travelling in the same direction as them.

He motioned for the Trio to stop and waved at the caravan.

The armed guards approached him first.

"Hello, sirs," Percy said, acting out of breath and tired, which wasn't hard to do. "We've lost our party after a little skirmish with bandits. Supposed to head to Tyre. Would you, by any chance, be headed there?"

"You want a ride, is that it?" one of the guards asked.

Percy glanced back at the Trio, who were all watching intently. Despite the dark circles underneath their eyes, they looked alert and ready for a fight.

He turned back to the guards. "Well... yes."

"Can your boys fight?"

"Of course."

The guards deliberated amongst each other for a moment.

"We are undermanned," one said. "We could use a few extra swords."

"How do you know that they're not bandits themselves?"

"Look at them. They're all tired. Plus, we have room in the wagon for the girl."

"They're trying to keep us off-guard."

"Nah, they're harmless. C'mon, do you think bandits would walk out in the open like this? Remember the Imperial soldiers that passed us back a few miles?"

Percy reached into his Infinity Pouch and produced a pouch full of gold coins. "I can pay if needed." He showed them the contents of the pouch.

The guards' looked at each other and then at the gold.

"Well?"

The head guard snatched the pouch from his hands. "Welcome to the party."

Percy positioned himself at the back of the group, sweeping up after the caravan. The Trio were positioned at all the other flanks. Xanthe led the caravan with the head guard, and Leon and Thanas took the sides. While they were now mixed in with the merchants and caravan guards, they couldn't be too careful.

After maybe an hour of riding, the first signs of trouble appeared.

Leon's hand suddenly shot straight up, and he held a fist high above his head. Percy adjusted his angles and saw Xanthe was doing the same at the front. It was a warning sign. His half-sister had spotted something suspicious up ahead.

Percy brought a hand to his belt where Anaklusmos stowed. But nothing happened.

Scouts, he assumed.

Another hour passed by uneventfully, but as they reached a dense part of the forest, his senses tingled. The trees in Syria were nowhere near as tall or as thick as the trees up in Gaul or Germania, but it didn't mean all the terrain was low-lying shrubbery.

This was the perfect place for an ambush.

"ARGH!"

A wave of javelins rose out of the trees and rained down on the caravan without warning.

"Xanthe!" Leon shouted.

A battle cry rose out of the woods as another wave of javelins came. The caravan guards were the first ones to be picked off. Frightened by the sudden chaos, the horses pulling the cart whinnied and tried to flee. One of the merchants was tossed off the cart like a doll and hit the ground head first.

Percy's first instinct was to rendezvous with the Trio, but a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Percy, stop!" Zoë shouted.

Percy ground his teeth together in irritation. Their cover was blown.

"Scatter!" he ordered the Trio.

The Romans launched their pila.

Zoë was leading the charge. Whatever lie Phoebe had told her, it must have been convincing. She looked even colder than she had when she told him they were officially enemies on the battlefield, when he'd rejected her plea to stop.

More Romans burst out of the trees. It was even worse than Percy initially thought. Dozens of Romans poured out of the forest and began their assault.

Thanas immediately raised a wall of rock and summoned a host of undead soldiers. They took position behind the rock wall as it slowly began to sink back into the ground, and they prepared themselves for battle. Thanas ran toward Leon and Xanthe, who were struggling against a horde of Romans.

Percy raised Anaklusmos as the Romans began to converge on him.

"Zoë!" he screamed. "You've ruined this!"

"Don't kill them!" Zoë shouted to the Romans. "Capture only!"

The Romans followed her orders.

Immediately, their aggressive stance shifted. The Roman leader repeated the command, and they locked shields and formed a ring around him. Percy sneered at Zoë. She was going to get them killed. The Romans were going to kill them once the Hunters were out of their sight.

Percy tried his best, but as the shields converged on him, he had nowhere to run. There was no other option. He couldn't overexert himself. They needed to get to Tyre as soon as possible. They needed to shadow travel.

He summoned Aegis and slammed through their shields. He winced as two blades caught him on the shoulder and leg respectively, but he broke through their line. Whirling around, he caught two Romans in the face with a wild swing. The younger one immediately dropped his weapons and clutched his face in pain.

"Percy!" Thanas shouted.

He looked over. Thanas and Leon were holding Xanthe, who was unconscious and bleeding heavily from a wound in her side that looked like a javelin that had been torn out of her gut. Percy snarled in anger.

"We have to go!" Thanas shouted. "But I don't know what will happen to Xanthe if we make a trip!"

Percy glanced at Zoë and the Hunters, who stared down at him like he was an animal waiting to be hunted. He was furious. Zoë's stupid meddling had cost them the surprise advantage on the Roman forces, tired and weakened them, and now Xanthe was wounded badly. It no longer matter that they'd killed more than dozens of Amazons and Roman scouts. They needed to get to the sea to heal her.

"Find a place close by," Percy ordered. Thanas nodded. "Near a river or the sea. Quickly!"

He heard Zoë shout something at her Hunters. They started to burst into action. He didn't know what they were planning, but he had a bad feeling that if they didn't get out immediately, they would be trapped.

Percy reached out toward Thanas, and the moment they touched fingers, the world disappeared around him.

They appeared in a cave near the shore.

Leon and Thanas rushed Xanthe to the water and dunked her in. Percy stepped forward and winced as a searing pain ran up from the cut on his leg. He took a few deep breaths and trudged through the sand to the ocean's edge, and as he stepped into the sea, he felt strength surge into his chest. The cuts on his leg and shoulder began to close up until they were nothing but scars.

Xanthe's wound began to close, but she clearly wasn't in good condition. He looked back at the cave they had emerged from. Judging from the position on the shore, they were about halfway between Antioch and Tyre.

"How is she?" Leon asked. His eyes were wild. Unlike his usual smile, Leon's anger was untempered and stormy. "Will she be okay?"

Thanas placed a hand on her forehead. He nodded. "She will be alright. She just needs time to heal."

"How long is that going to be?" Leon asked angrily.

"I'm not a doctor!" Thanas snapped, equally irritated and angry. "I don't know. All I can say is that she's going to live."

"Then how are we going to fight?" Leon argued. Percy's ears popped as Leon's anger grew. "We can't just leave Xanthe. We don't know anyone out here and we have to take care of her. But how much longer can we run from the Romans? They'll find us eventually. You can't keep shadow travelling us everywhere. Look how tired you are already!"

"I'm not all-seeing!" Thanas shot back. He stood up and took a step toward Leon. "My love died. I know how hard it is, especially since I'm close to Xanthe as well. But we'll find a way. I'll shadow travel as much as I have to. You can dispatch those eagles with ease and we'll run for as long as we can."

Percy glanced at the wilderness behind them. In the plains of old Phoenician lands, it would definitely be harder for the Hunters to stay hidden. But Percy knew staying hidden wasn't of the utmost importance. Zoë would hunt them down and keep the Romans notified. He knew she was just trying to prevent them from destroying the Thirteenth and Fourteenth legions, but she also had to know that eventually they would tire and die. The Romans wouldn't spare them.

The Hunters would find them within a day or two. There was little doubt about that. Percy had to stop them before Zoë fed more information to the Romans. Leon and Thanas could deal with the giant eagles easily; he wasn't afraid of the Romans so long as the four of them were winning the information war. He trusted them to stay hidden while he searched for the Hunters and sent a message.

Percy knelt down next to Xanthe's body and put his palm to her forehead. She was cold and weak. She needed time to recover. His best guess was about two weeks, judging by the severity of the wound.

He snapped his fingers, and the two boys stopped arguing.

"I'll take care of it," Percy said. He didn't take his eyes off his half-sister. "You two need to protect Xanthe. Stick to the plains and hills. Away from forests. Kill any wolves you see. Handle the giant eagles. I'll get the trackers off our asses."

"Trackers?" Leon asked. "The Hunters?"

Percy gave him a solemn look. "An old friend of mine has become an enemy. I'm sorry. It's my fault."

Thanas blinked. "What... what are you going to do?"

Percy clenched his jaw.

"Send a message."

Zoë thought it was suspicious that the footprints were obvious.

Thea jogged around the tree ahead of them. She knelt down and scanned the ground. Zoë arrived, following the prints, and glanced at the trampled bushes. Thea grinned at her and said, "Amazing. They chose the perfect spot to cut away. How long did you say Percy's been alive for?"

"A long time," Zoë muttered, glancing at the wreckage.

The entrance to the woods had been hastily covered up, but the tracks further in were covered perfectly. It was almost a perfect job. But Percy had messed up on concealing the path entrance. Zoë thought it was strange that he had messed up covering the entrance.

"They must have been in a rush because of the injured girl," Thea reasoned. "There's dried blood all over the place. All the evidence points to them rushing this way. If we just follow the path, we'll reach them."

Zoë shook her head. "Something is off, Thea. Percy's been covering tracks for over a thousand years. He wouldn't be so hasty like this, especially with two able-bodied demigods with him. This is a trap."

Thea pursed her lips. "Then what do you suggest we do?"

Zoë touched the footprints. There were four distinct footprints, one of which was sporadic and uneven. Two of them shuffled almost in sync, as if they were helping the first person walk. The last set of footprints was Percy's. There was no doubt about that. She'd tracked him enough to recognize them. But Percy made one mistake. He forgot that they'd tracked the Trio before.

To Thea's untrained eyes, the prints were the same. But Zoë knew, despite how well Percy had tried to replicate them, they were just slightly off. The son of Zeus had a slightly longer stride, and his toes pointed out slightly when he walked. The son of Hades slid or dragged his feet sometimes, resulting in odd-looking prints. None of these replicated steps showed signs of sliding or dragging.

"Let's continue down the path and meet up with Phoebe," Zoë said, eyeing the fake tracks. "Hopefully she'll have something to report on regarding the whereabouts of the Trio."

Zoë felt unsettled as they continued. Thea scouted ahead, reporting any problems or issues she ran into. She had her suspicions that Percy was alone, so why wouldn't she take the chance and attack him?

She shook her head. She knew how Percy would react to the situation. Having numbers would work against her favour. He wouldn't hesitate to use other Hunters against her, especially if he had the advantage. She couldn't sacrifice her Hunters. Once Thea got back to the safety of the group, she would venture out and meet Percy alone. She needed to show the Trio that this was enough, and that they could put an end to it.

If that meant being the sacrifice for the son of Hades to realize, then she would do it.

"Phoebe!" Thea suddenly shouted.

Zoë shot to attention and looked up. Thea ran off around the bend without looking back. Zoë cursed and ran after her. "Thea, don't run off!"

When she turned the bend, her heart nearly stopped.

Hanging by a rope from a tree branch was Phoebe's body. The rope had been tied roughly around her neck, and there were clear signs of a desperate struggle. Thea climbed up the tree and cut her down. Zoë rushed to her side, immediately checking her heartbeat.

Thea watched her expectantly, but Zoë heard nothing. Her chest was silent, as if she was a statue.

Thea clenched her fists. "You were right. It was a trap. Percy... Percy got to Phoebe already."

"How...?" Zoë whispered. She was surprised to find herself crying. "How, Phoebe?"

"I told you to stop," a familiar voice said coldly.

As Zoë turned, something shot out of the ground and wrapped around her legs. Zoë gasped as she felt the cold metal tighten around her, pulling her off her feet. Thea drew her bow and aimed it at the immortal demigod behind her.

Percy emerged with Anaklusmos.

"Wait!" Zoë shouted.

But Thea fired.

Percy raised Aegis, and the arrow shattered harmlessly against the bronze shield. Percy advanced like a demon, his eyes filled with anger and bloodlust. Thea didn't stand a chance against him.

Zoë summoned her bow and tried to shoot from her position on the ground, but Percy produced a rock from his Infinity Pouch and threw it at her head. It caught her across the forehead, and her vision went fuzzy.

Thea dodged and weaved, darting in to strike when she could. But Percy was a formidable fighter. Zoë knew how to handle him in battle. It was something she was sure very few others in the world knew how to do. All Thea needed to do was stay just far enough away that Percy couldn't strike effectively with Anaklusmos, but not far enough away to allow him to summon his bow and arrow. But she also needed to be as fast as a panther and fierce as a drakon.

Percy was just too fast for her. He darted in and slashed at her shins. He waited for her counterattack and smashed her face in with the butt of his sword.

With a severely broken nose, Thea was in no condition to fight. Tears welled in her eyes from the stinging pain, and her face was a bloody mess.

Percy's eyes flashed as he saw an opening.

Zoë reached out, shouting at Percy to stop.

But it was like her voice had gone silent.

Percy had killed many people. He'd stabbed them. He had opened up fatal wounds and let victims bleed out. He'd used many forms of torture and punishment. But the one thing he had rarely done was behead a victim. It wasn't as if decapitation was uncommon. In fact, it was a very common method of execution. But Percy had at least that much respect for the bodies of the dead.

Percy slashed twice.

Zoë watched in horror as he bent down and picked up Thea's head. He produced a wooden rod out of the Infinity Pouch and put her head on it like a sign on a post.

"This is a warning, Zoë," Percy said darkly. He snapped his fingers. Phoebe's body suddenly shimmered away, and Zoë realized that it was actually a hollow wooden statue. The metal around her legs was actually a figment of her imagination. He'd manipulated the Mist around them. All she'd done was trip on her own feet. "No more of your girls have to die."

The one thing that wasn't a mirage was Thea's head, jammed onto a post and planted in the ground for all of nature to see.

Zoë stood up shakily.

"Don't intervene again," Percy snapped. "Or I'll kill the other Hunters as well. I don't think you'd want that."

Zoë stared disbelievingly at Thea's head. Her eyes had been closed by Percy, but blood still oozed from the stub that once was her neck.

"You monster!" she shouted.

But Percy was no longer there.

Like a shadow, he vanished.

She took a few steps forward and knelt down next to Thea's body. She closed her eyes several times, hoping that when she opened them it would all just be a terrible dream. But Thea's headless body wouldn't go away. Her vision blurred with anger and grief.

Percy's presence was gone. He'd vanished... disappeared. She didn't want to follow his warning. She wanted to stop him, but she couldn't afford to sacrifice any of her other Hunters. She'd failed.

"Zoë!"

It was Phoebe and the other Hunters.

It must have been a shock for them, she thought. A few of the Hunters immediately became sick. Others cried out in grief and horror. Phoebe looked furious.

"Perseus!" she screamed. "Where are you, you bastard?"

"He's gone," Zoë croaked. Her voice sounded weak, even to her. "He... he trapped us with the Mist. I think... I think he's weak now, though. The Trio aren't here."

Phoebe was brimming with anger, but she managed to force out her report. "That's something I'd wanted to report to you. I searched the whole area. I found Percy's tracks leading up to the area you and Thea surveyed. I found the point where he started creating fake tracks. I... If I had just been a little quicker, I could have come here and helped. I..."

Phoebe couldn't finish her sentence as she stared at Thea's head.

"Phoebe," Zoë shook her head. "You did the best you could. We didn't know that Percy would—"

"I told you he'd gone down a dark path!" Phoebe growled. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "I'll track him down. We'll avenge Thea."

"Don't," Zoë said. She put her hands up. "He'll... he'll kill you all."

Phoebe stared at her. "He can't kill us all at once."

"He can and he will," Zoë insisted. His warning sent a shiver down her spine. "He knows we'll be angry and want revenge. He'll lure us into another trap. He'll choose the battlefield and drown us all. I... I have to go alone. That's the only way he'll listen."

"Are you crazy?" Phoebe exclaimed. "Alone? He'll kill you for sure!"

Zoë shook her head. She remembered three years ago when they had their last journey together. She wasn't sure she had those feelings anymore, but there was no denying that he had a soft spot for her. Just like how she had a soft spot for him. It was exactly as Irene had predicted. If she could exploit that one more time... carry out Irene's final plan...

Phoebe gave her a long, hard look. Zoë knew Phoebe had her doubts, but they had been together for over a millennia. Phoebe would eventually give in. The daughter of Ares sighed, "Then promise me one thing, Zoë."

She stared at her best tracker, dreading what she was about to say.

"When you see him..." Phoebe snarled and pointed at Thea's body. "Kill him."

Lots of page breaks in this chapter. In a regular novel, these would probably be individual short-burst chapters, but hey it's FanFiction so whatever lol. Slap it together. Hope y'all are still doing well.