'A single choice shall end his days.'

I've always been confused by that line, ever since I first heard it. 'His'? I'm quite certain that I'm a girl, and the 'child of the eldest gods' who shall 'reach sixteen against all odds,' so who else could the 'Hero's soul' be? Annabeth once tried to explain that the hero and the person whose day's shall end are different; 'His' is referring to either Zeus or Kronos, my choice between preserving or razing Olympus. That didn't sound right to me, still doesn't, but I didn't continue to question the prophecy- nothing good ever comes from doing so.

I kept quiet and fought their war.

No, not their war. This is my war too. My Father and brother battle Oceanus undersea, I fight Kronos for them. My Mother is in the streets below, 'in endless sleep,' and I fight these monsters to keep her safe. My friends are fighting for their lives, so I fight for them. I hate war, but I'll fight for them.

And now, I make my choice.

Ethan had fallen from Olympus. He'd looked at me before he betrayed Kronos, as if I could promise him his safety. I couldn't and he fell.

Now it's Luke's turn. Kill or be killed. I have to make my choice to stop Kronos.

"Family, Luke. You promised."

Four little words that won a war.

Luke turned and collapsed, clutching his ruined hands. "Please, Rhea . . ."

I struggled to my feet. I moved toward him with the knife. I should kill him. That was the plan.

Luke seemed to know what I was thinking. He moistened his lips. "You can't . . . can't do it yourself. He'll break my control. He'll defend himself. Only my hand. I know where. I can . . . can keep him controlled."

He was definitely glowing now, his skin starting to smoke.

I raised the knife to strike. Then I looked at Annabeth, at Grover cradling her in his arms, trying to shield her.

And I finally understood the Prophecy. You are not the hero, Rachel had said. It will affect what you do.

"Please," Luke groaned. "No time."

Kronos is time, and he has it on his side.

I handed him the knife.

I watched as Luke grasped the hilt.

I stood before him—defenseless.

He unlatched the side straps of his armor, exposing a small bit of his skin just under his left arm, a place that would be very hard to hit. With difficulty, he stabbed himself.

It wasn't a deep cut, but Luke howled. His eyes glowed like lava. The throne room shook, throwing me off my feet. An aura of energy surrounded Luke, growing brighter and brighter. I shut my eyes and felt a force like a nuclear explosion blister my skin and crack my lips.

The force of it was stronger than it should be.

"Rhea Astraea Jackson," Kronos howled. "I curse you!"

I gasped, falling to my knees as I clamped my hands over my ears.

What's going on? Why isn't he dead? Did we fail? Did I not get to Luke in time? Did he burn through Luke?

"As you have done to me, I shall do to you! Rejoice, for your home shall be ripped from your grasp! You shall never see those you love again!"

I screamed.

I can't open my eyes, the energy is still so bright, it seeps through my eyelids. The heat burned hotter, blistering my skin, charring my clothes. The scream of Kronos' pain and death still rattled in my ears.

Then, everything stopped.

I opened my eyes.

Luke was sprawled in front of me, the sand around him was charred and half molten into glass. The salty waves lapped around us, licking our wounds, turning red.

His eyes were open—blue eyes, the way they used to be. His breath was a deep rattle. "Good . . . blade," he croaked.

"What?" I croaked, my throat raspy from my scream. "Where are we? What-? Luke!"

I realised far too late that the reason the water around us was red was because Luke was bleeding out.

"He…" Luke tried to speak, and I tried to shush him, make him conserve his energy. "We're back… he took us…"

"What? Luke, I don't-" I couldn't understand what he was saying. I pressed my hands to his wound, putting pressure on it.

He hissed. "New timeline… he threw us back… to where we can't return…"

"Hey, hey! Luke, stay with me! Focus on me!" I pleaded with him.

Timeline. Back. Curse. Far from home. Kronos threw us back in time, some sort of last ditch attempt for revenge. A suicide bomb to get us both, petty revenge.

...And the only other person I know from the future- who might be able to help me- is dying right in front of me.

"Don't you dare, Luke! Don't you dare leave me here alone!" I yelled at him, begging.

"There! They appeared in the light! The gods must have sent them!" I heard a faint voice shout in the distance.

I look up in desperation, spotting a group of men running towards us from the other end of the beach.

"HELP!" I scream at them, "HELP ME!"

I turned to face Luke again, only to see him cough and his lips glisten crimson.

He gripped my sleeve, and I could feel the heat of his skin like a fire. "Ethan. Me. All the unclaimed. Don't let it . . . Don't let it happen again."

His eyes were angry, but pleading too.

He was so foolish. He was right. He should've never killed so many. He was a traitor. He was a hero.

How am I to do such a thing?

"I won't," I said. "I promise."

It tastes like a lie, but I know I'll do my best to fulfill it. How am I to make the gods listen when they don't even know who I am?

The sound of men approaching, running in sand, gets louder.

Luke nodded, and his hand went slack. His eyes were glassy.

"No!" I scream, desperate.

He can't leave me here! He can't leave me here alone! He knows what happened, he can get us home!

The men arrive, gasping and shouting words in greek that I'm too hysterical to listen to.

"LUKE!" I shout, begging for his corpse to breathe again. "Please! No! Don't leave me!"

I had thrown myself over his body, gripping at his armour, and I felt hands pull me away.

No! He could've- he could've gotten me home! Annabeth and Grover and Mom and Dad and- and…

I wailed, letting the arms of a strange man carry me away.

I'm never going home.

A/N

Hello! Yep, this is another cross-posted story from Ao3. This is basically me going 'fuck you' to every Ancient Greece AU ever written by this fandom, and making a fic that is actually historically accurate and mythologically accurate because honestly guys,,, some of this stuff is only a 5 minute google, why is your Athenian lady going around with her hair completely uncovered and in a white chiton? Do you want people to mistake her for a slave, cause that's what you're doing.

So! This fic is historically and mythologically accurate, and I do do some worldbuilding for it too, so don't come at me for that because I'm literally a classics student and pagan- I know what I'm talking about. Also, this story is pretty long and prewritten, so if one of you idiots come at me with unasked for 'constructive criticism' I'm gonna be rude to you. I have a lovely beta, Dragon of Winter, and a group of people I brainstorm with who I know and trust, but I do not know any of you so I won't be listening very much to you. I have a lot of experience writing for fandom, and I am no newbie, so don't talk down to me about that. English is not my first language, Portuguese is, so if there are minor spelling/grammar mistakes please tell me.