A/N: Hello my lovely friends. This is TripleHomicide with another chapter of The Guardians and I hope you enjoy reading it. As usual, leave a vote, comment, kudos and review if you liked it. For readers, you've really disappointed me, with Excidium Troiae and this story. Feedback from there is almost non-existent lmao. It feels like FFN users are turning into AO3 users. For my lovely Wattpaders, I'm shifting my homebase back there because the reception to my stories is quite good. Thanks for sticking by my side. Have a great 2022!
-TripleHomicide.
Perseus exhaled loudly when they reappeared in a clearing in a forest. He tried to still his pounding heart, tried to push down the emotions rampaging him as flashes of the pain he had gone through all thanks to the Olympians filled his head.
He hated Apollo the most. He hated Apollo because it was he who had carried through with Athena and Hera's idea to make him immortal. It was because of him that Perseus had taken a bite out of that apple. If Zoë hadn't recognised it and stopped him in time, he would be stuck forever, with the curse of immortality on his shoulders, like the weight of the sky.
He would never be reunited with his friends and family. He hated Apollo because it was the god's fault that he hadn't fulfilled his promise to his mother as she lay on her deathbed. His semi-immortality prevented him from seeing his mother again in Elysium, like he had promised her he would.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find Piper. He scowled when he saw traces of pity and…fear—at his outburst and attack on Apollo—in her eyes. Closing his eyes, he sighed. They had a job to do. They had to find that cave.
"What now?" Leo queried and Perseus noted that the corners of his lips were pulled down, and he guessed, quite correctly, that he was unnerved by seeing Perseus lose control and attack a god. Perseus internally berated himself.
Those two looked up to him for guidance, something he had picked up in the few days they had been travelling together. He shouldn't have broken down in front of them. He shouldn't have allowed them to see him weak. Pursing his lips, he turned, fully facing them.
"We have to head to the mountains, and search for the caves," He said decisively. Piper nodded, her gaze drifting away from him and towards the continuous chains of mountains that surrounded the valley Apollo had teleported them to. Perseus turned back to his horse, placing his hand on the muzzle.
"We ride to the mountains," He continued. "Apollo's instructions were vague and didn't have much depth but we know there are answers here somewhere. Answers we have to get. At the pace we're going, we can be at the mountains in about two hours. That alright?"
Leo nodded and Piper said, "Sounds good." She heaved herself onto her horse, which went by the name Guido and Leo jumped onto Porkpie, then began adjusting his reins.
Perseus jumped onto Blackjack, who whinnied, "Don't worry boss, you can cry in my beautiful hair anytime you want, like the man you aren't."
Perseus shook his head, muttering, "Shut up." He yelled, "Hiya!" And they shot away from the forest and into the mountains.
They reached their destination two hours later, just at the edge of the mountains, but still in the shadow of the forests. They had passed by a few deserted villages on their way, reeking of death and Perseus was now properly wary. He suggested that they make the horses wait below the mountain, grazing and resting in wait for them. Perseus stared up at the mountain, brow furrowing as he took into consideration how high it was. His fingers unconsciously moved to the hilt of the sword at his side and he pawed at it, exchanging a glance with Leo and Piper each.
"This will take long, won't it?" Piper sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Just so you know, I have the stamina of a leaf," Leo said out loud, an eyebrow arched in doubt as he stared at the mountain. 'I'll probably slide right down the path after the first seven steps."
Perseus cracked a smile and Piper chuckled. She patted Leo on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Happy, I'll be there to catch you when you put on your damsel in distress gown."
The three burst out laughing and Perseus began to speak. 'Alright, let's—"
He was cut off by a small snarl. Perseus jerked, glancing around him. He heard a soft growl, then a small voice, saying, "They smell delicious." The hairs on the back of his head stood on end. Piper and Leo tensed from beside him.
Perseus drew his sword, twirling it expertly in his hand as he looked around him warily. He heard a low growl once more, then soft, whispering voices, too low to be heard completely. By his side, Leo reached into his rucksack and pulled out a club hammer. He stretched out his hand and a small flame formed in it. Perseus' brow creased and Piper drew Katoptris, the blade glinting in the low afternoon light.
At that moment, their new foes showed themselves. A pack of lions, eight in total, crawled out from the trees, growling and snarling at them. Their lips looked humanoid, their eyes glinting in an almost human-like way and Perseus could see the hunger behind them.
He had fought lions before—regular ones, mountain lions, lion-wolf hybrids, and also a lion-headed giant during the war. But he had tried to avoid these ones as much as possible. He didn't want to be the one to kill the children of two of his old friends.
Atalanta and Hippomenes had spawned this race of lion-human shapeshifters and Perseus had respect for them, enough that he refrained from killing each time they attacked him.
"What do you want?" He snarled.
"A tasty meal," The nearest one said. They all tensed, and then pounced.
-X-
Piper was honestly getting tired of the monsters and the attacks. Cursing to herself, she ducked low under the outstretched paw of the leonte who dived for her, making it leap over. She thanked the gods that she had pressed her father enough to allow her to train in weapons and self-defence. She also thanked her eight year old self for having interesting in the years of Greece and learning about the Greek heroes and monsters. If she hadn't she would be dead by now.
Piper turned, feeling a rush of adrenaline pump through her. She raised her knife, then hesitated for a split second. She had never killed anything before in her life. And she knew it was a monster—she knew it wanted her dead—but she couldn't bring herself to lower the blade.
The leonte bared its fangs and leaped for her. Perseus' yell made her leap into action, side-stepping once more.
"It's kill or be killed, Princess," Perseus said, "Get your head out of the clouds!" Piper mumbled an apology, spinning and digging her dagger into the side of one of the beasts. It let out a primal roar, then melted into yellow dust and fur. Piper turned, refusing to allow her brain to think much about it, and advanced on another of the lion-humans.
A woman in a white chiton with claws and feline eyes was running around on fire as Leo's hammer sailed from his hand, slamming into another one and sending it toppling down. Perseus' sword cleaved through a third, and soon, after a lot of swearing, dodging and ducking under attacks, along with cleaving through the flanks and sides of lions and humans alike, only two remained.
Piper felt the weight on her back and she toppled onto the ground, letting out a loud yell. Leo and Perseus shouted and she could hear running, then another thud, and a loud oomph as one of the boys was pinned like Piper.
The brown-skinned girl struggled and writhed under the hold of the lion and she cried out in pain when she felt claws digging into her back. She tried to escape, twisting and turning and she heard Perseus shout, "Hang in there, Leo, I'll be right there!" Then the pattering of feet as Perseus raced for her reached her ears.
Piper shut her eyes as the pain became almost unbearable. This was it. She felt the hot breath of the lion on her neck and the human-like lips edging closer to her skin. The lion snarled in her ear and Piper prepared for the worst.
But nothing came. A loud thump, then the weight of the lion was pushed off her. Piper sat up, gasping. Her eyes flew open and she looked around her in a panic, just catching a blur of silver collide with the lion which had been on her.
She looked around in wonder as several blurs of different colours—gold, brown, white, black and ash grey most dominant among them—surrounded them. About two of them shot for the lion on Leo which was snarling and backing away. A third jumped up, then sank its fangs into the lion's neck, pushing it off the son of Hephaestus who immediately sat up, then gasped for air, eyes flitting around in panic.
In the middle of things, Perseus stood, looking mildly curious and a bit intrigued as the wolves, which Piper could finally discern, finished off the remaining lions.
After a while, only yellow ashes and golden fur remained. The wolves congregated around the one nearest to Piper, who let out a dangerously loud howl. The others picked it up, releasing loud howls of their own.
Piper watched, in awe and wonder as the silver wolf's form shimmered, then melted, leaving a woman in its place. She had bright white hair and topaz coloured eyes, prominent canines and…wolf-like features. Two silver ears stuck out from her head, and a tail, silver in colour, could be seen behind her. She wore a silver and black chiton, which looked a lot like Piper's clothes, and had several knives in a belt around her waist.
Perseus dipped his head in a bow, but Piper could see the mild anger in his eyes. She took a wild guess and deduced that the sight of what Piper assumed to be a goddess wasn't at all pleasing to him.
Perseus arched an eyebrow and said, "Lady Lupa. I didn't expect to see you here…in Greece."
"Most don't, yes," She tilted her head to the side, examining him and totally ignoring Piper and Leo, who had both scrambled to their feet. After a few moments of silence, Lupa said, "It has been long, Guardian. Now come, I believe I can show you what you seek."
-X-
The climb up the mountain gave Leo a lot of time to think. As they made their way up the winding passage, he kept throwing furtive glances at Perseus' back. Both Leo and Piper had been pinned down and the son of Poseidon had chosen to save the Princess first.
Leo understood. Piper was far more important than him. She was an heir to an entire collection of Kingdoms. She was irreplaceable. She had to survive their quest, no matter what it took.
But Perseus had left Leo, and it reminded him of how his father had left them all those years ago. He knew the demigod wasn't at fault and he didn't blame him for it. But that would be how it always would be. Leo would always be forgettable.
Shaking his head to clear his dismal thoughts, he looked up, to see Piper shooting him a nervous glance. She was flanked by wolves, most of them male, and most of them bare-chested as they strutted about in human forms.
Leo could tell she was feeling uncomfortable and he moved forward, ducking between several wolves and grabbing Piper's hand. He pulled her away from their midst, briskly walking to the front of their procession, where Perseus and Lupa were engaged in a small conversation.
Piper mouthed a small thank you and Leo nodded shortly in response. They continued walking, for what seemed like hours, until finally, Lupa raised a hand. They came to a stop in front of a small cave, which Leo would have surely missed if he had been travelling along. It was so well hewn into the rock that it would have been impossible to find.
"My wolves and I discovered it a few months prior," Lupa spoke. "We could make no sense of the inscriptions. But maybe you can." Leo tilted his head to the side. Inscriptions?
Perseus' eyes were narrowed. "You still haven't explained why you are helping us."
Lupa bared her teeth. "I want the Stone found as much as you do, Son of Poseidon. With news of its capture gone, monsters have gotten a lot more active—" Piper snorted and Leo scoffed. That was an understatement. With the number of monsters who had attacked them since their journey began, Leo was surprised they weren't dead yet.
Lupa forged on as if she had not heard them. "My children and people in Rome are suffering and so is the whole of Greece. I wish for everything to go back to the way it was, so my wolves and I can roam the continent freely once more."
Perseus' eyes were still narrowed, as though he didn't trust her words and Leo understood. After the demigod's reaction to Apollo, Leo had come to see that the green-eyed man did not trust the gods. Not after whatever had happened between Perseus and that golden apple.
"Well, thank you," Perseus said curtly. "Your assistance is well received." Lupa nodded, then tilted her head in Leo's direction. The curly-haired man suddenly felt uncomfortable at the sharpness of her gaze.
Finally, she turned away. "Good luck on your quest, Perseus. And may the odds be in your favour." Perseus scowled and the three watched as Lupa shifted into a wolf. She howled, then bounded up the passage, followed closely by several other wolves.
Perseus turned to them. "Well," He clasped his hands together. "I suppose this is where we finally get answers."
-X-
Perseus blinked, trying to keep calm as he led them into the cave. It was dimly lit and he had to squint to let his eyes adjust to the darkness. Finally, after weeks of travelling, he was getting some information.
But what if it was a false lead? What if Apollo and Lupa had teamed up to toy with him like gods usually did. Pursing his lips, he turned to the son of Hephaestus. "We're going to need some light." Leo nodded, then stretched out his hand.
A ball of flame formed in his palm and Perseus examined it with grudging respect. They had discovered Leo's ability on their second day with him when they were travelling. They'd needed to camp and Perseus had been about to venture to the woods to get firewood when the man had produced a similar ball of flames and saved him the trouble.
Leo's powers came in handy—his ability to turn into a dragon and his pyrokinesis—and Perseus could admit it now; he was a bit glad that Leo had joined them on their quest. He had to try not to get attached to neither the Princess nor Guard, though, because in the end they would die one day, leaving him alone in the world once again.
And he didn't want to go through that kind of pain. Not again.
Leo moved ahead of Perseus, the flame enlarging as he walked, lighting up the entire place. Perseus scanned the cave. It was a bit small, musty, and smelled like the earth after rain.
He gazed at the cave once again. Nothing. Perseus felt anger fill him. He had been right. The gods had sent him on a wild goose chase again.
"Wait," Piper finally spoke. "Look at the walls."
Leo tilted his head in confusion and Perseus blinked, narrowing his eyes as he moved to the walls. The two were on his heels and Leo raised his arm to shine light on the surface of the cave.
Perseus' eyes flitted this way and that, taking in the scratches, images and meaningless writings on the walls. He recognised some of them.
He saw a round ball, blue and green, perhaps it had been painted with leaves and berries, but he knew what it was. The Earth. A few cubits above the earth was another round ball, this time purplish in colour. Perseus guessed the artist got the colour from blueberries.
The drawings were old, almost indiscernible but Piper gasped from beside him and he turned to face her. Her face was white and she was blinking in shock at something on the wall.
"What is it?" She moved past him, pointing at something. Perseus followed her hands and squinted, seeing a dried red blob on the wall. It was in the shape of a ruby and Piper said, "I know this thing."
Perseus arched an eyebrow in question and the Princess forged on. "It's that ruby on Father's crown." Perseus straightened, moving past her and peering at it. He looked down at the markings below the images, then looked up again.
The ruby was directly between the purple ball and the earth.
Leo's head appeared on his shoulders. 'What's that under the images?"
Perseus squinted once more. He tried to think back to the primitive language the gods had spoken before the formation of Greece. He had heard Zoë speaking it a few times and she had attempted to teach him.
He frowned. "The- the Comet…yeah, I think it's a comet." He squinted again. "The Destroyer's comet…The Destroyer's comet harbingers…the end." He paused, turning back to Piper and Leo.
"It says the Destroyer's Comet harbingers the End." The Princess was clutching on to her knife, brow furrowed.
Leo suddenly looked sick. "Is this what Apollo and Lupa wanted us to see? How does this help find the Royals and the Olympus Stone?"
Perseus shrugged, turning back to the drawings. He looked at the ruby again, which seemed to have been painted from dried blood, then back at the inscriptions. "That's not all."
Piper turned paler. "There's more?" Perseus nodded, peering down at the words again.
"Only…only, the blood…stone…can, straps—no, stop—it."
He sighed, brow furrowing. Well, things were looking bleak, as usual.
"It says: The Destroyer's Comet harbingers the End. Only the Blood Stone can stop it."
"Blood Stone?" Piper asked doubtfully.
Perseus stood straighter, as the implications of the words dawned on him. "Well…I guess we know why your father's crown was stolen, then."
He frowned, watching Piper and Leo mimic his expression, anxiety, fear and confusion flashing in their eyes.
-X-
Piper honestly didn't know what to think. How could she have been watching her father wear a Blood Stone…whatever that was, every day and not see it for what it was? How could a comet destroy the earth?
What did her mother and the other royals have to do with all this? A barrage of emotions slammed into Piper, confusion dominant among them. She was so lost in her thoughts she jerked when Perseus suddenly let out a scream. He swore, hands moving to his head and crying out in pain once more.
Piper rushed forward, throwing all thoughts of the ominous warning on the wall away. She grabbed Perseus' hand, asking, "What's wrong?" The son of Poseidon's eyes flashed brightly, green and shining and he grabbed her hand, speaking roughly.
The voice which came out of his mouth was feminine and sounded regal, although Piper could sense the urgency in the words spoken.
"Thrace. Go to Thrace, now."
And then Perseus proceeded to collapse on the ground.
XMX
Piper looked up when she heard the groan. Her arms were aching and she could feel a headache coming. She hadn't slept for almost two days but she had been trying to keep awake in wait for Perseus' return to consciousness.
He sat up, still clutching his head, although his eyes were filled with fury and his lips curled in a snarl. He growled out some obscenities Piper couldn't possibly repeat and stood, grabbing onto the flank of his black horse for support.
Piper and Leo had pulled the son of Poseidon down the mountain and they had waited, having dinner and a drink of water as they did. Perseus had been out like a log, dead to the world and lying peacefully next to Blackjack, as he called his horse.
He hadn't even woken up when Leo had almost fried off his eyebrows or when Piper had splashed most of her water on him to revive him. Perseus cursed again, his words too fast for Piper to hear, then said, "What did she tell you?"
Leo perched at his voice, then asked, "Who?"
"The goddess who rudely possessed me without my permission!" He shouted the last part to the sky. Thunder rumbled above them. Perseus rolled his eyes, then he turned back to them, traces of anger and bitterness still lingering in his voice. "Athena. What did she say?"
"Well," Piper spoke uneasily, remembering the echo of the goddess' words. "She asked us to go to Thrace immediately, but you passed out and you weren't waking so we decided to wait."
Perseus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "And how in Tartarus' name did she expect us to get back to Greece when we're literally at the end of the known world. Rome is like, just an ocean from here." He continued mumbling under his breath, then said, "Get seated. I'll just teleport us there."
"You're weak already," Piper reminded him. "You might pass out again."
"Do you want to sail across the Aegean and the Black Sea and then ride through about sixty-seven city-states to get to Thrace? That could take years!" He was clearly worked up about the possession, and so Piper decided not to argue.
She nodded to him, gesturing to Leo after. They both stood, then approached their respective horses, after placing all their things back into the bags and packing up their camp.
"Hold on to me," Perseus instructed. Piper reached out and grasped his left hand, which melded into hers. Leo did the same on his right. "Okay, so you might feel dizzy and a bit claustrophobic the first few seconds but, hopefully, you won't get splinched."
Piper frowned in confusion. "Splinched? What's—"
She didn't get to complete her sentence. The world around her faded into black and grey and Piper felt water trickle around her body. She felt herself melting into tiny droplets of water, a feeling she couldn't quite describe, and then she was disappearing, bright white light filling her vision. She felt as though a giant was squeezing her in half, and then the feeling vanished, replaced by the soothing floating feeling of flying in the air. And then her head started spinning.
She felt herself reforming and soon, Piper could feel all parts of her body. She let out a breath, looking around her in wonder at what she had just experienced.
Leo seemed gobsmacked. "And you do this every day?" Perseus chuckled dryly at his comment, his horse materialising beneath him. And then he slipped off it and collapsed, falling unconscious once again, in front of the gates of Thrace.
-X-
When Perseus came to, he was lying in a soft bed, soft like clouds, full of pillows and sheets and all other comforts. He squinted, eyes travelling to the giant windows at his left, from which light streamed into the room.
He didn't know where he was, or how long he had been asleep and he sat up groggily, looking around him in a daze. He could see an armoire, a mirror and several other things which made the room seem fancy. Red draperies hung at the corners of the windows, barely blocking out the sunlight.
In a seat by the farthest window sat Leo.
The man turned in Perseus' direction, then smiled, saying, "Looks like Piper transferred that sleeping beauty curse to you."
Perseus rolled his eyes good-naturedly, looking around again. "Where are we?" He questioned.
"Palace of the King, in Thrace," Leo said, shrugging. "Well, it's the queen's now, since the King kind of upped and vanished…"
He trailed off, catching Perseus' confused gaze. "We carried you into the city and Piper arranged a meeting with the Queen. Her charm speak really came in handy. I showed them my fire powers and Piper talked the Polemarchos into walking out of the room, so they believed us. We told them we were sent by the gods to find the royals and the Queen gave us the guest rooms."
Perseus nodded at Leo's explanation, looking down at himself. He was bare chested and he turned a bit red, thinking about whoever had undressed him in his comatose state. Leo caught his expression once more and chortled, saying, "Your cloak and armour are still here; we just thought you'd be uncomfortable sleeping in them." He pointed to the far end of the room, where Perseus armour and cloak was placed on a wooden dummy.
Perseus groaned, then asked, "How long was I out?"
"It's been three days," Leo finally stood. "The Queen's getting impatient but we talked her into waiting for you to wake." A brief embarrassed look crossed his features. "We didn't exactly know what we were supposed to be looking for."
Of course. Perseus nodded once more, then threw off the sheets. He flexed his wrists. He felt refreshed now, and strong. He walked over to his armour, thankful that his chiton was still in place around his body, and donned the legendary piece of metal. He draped the cloak around his shoulders, then finally turned to Leo.
"Where's the Princess?" He queried.
Leo motioned to the door, saying, "Probably with the Queen. She's the stand-in-ruler during the King's absence and she seemed to want to talk to only Piper. I guess it's because they're both royalty or something."
Perseus bobbed his head once more and Leo started marching for the door. He followed, allowing the man to lead him down passages and corridors and several twists and turns later, they stood before giant oak doors.
"The audience chamber," Leo said. "The Queen's court isn't in session right now so she and Piper should be alone." Leo opened the doors and walked through. Perseus was about to follow when he suddenly tensed. The hairs on the back of his head stood on end and he pivoted on his feet, looking down the passage they had just come.
It was full of dark shadows now, and they seemed to be leering at him—mocking him, even—with how they twisted and writhed on the walls. Perseus' eyes narrowed.
"Who's there?" Silence. He waited for about two minutes, watching, equally as quiet. Nothing. Perseus shook his head. Maybe he had imagined it. Turning again, he walked through the doors.
-X-
Their meeting with the Queen took about four hours, in which she explained that she had been in bed with her husband when a man, this time with red eyes and a red cloak, had appeared out of nowhere and then snatched the King away by vanishing into the evening mist.
It had thrown Perseus and his fellow questers off. All this while, they had been focusing on hearing of another sighting of the white-haired man. Now here the Queen was, telling them it was another man. It made Perseus want to stop and think. He didn't want to face the truth. Not now. Because the truth was probably that they were facing a group of people here.
And that in itself was a scary fact.
Leo sat on the bed, lounging on the pillows while Piper sat on the windowsill nearest to them. Perseus sat in the armchair by the bed, deep in thought. The Queen's information had made him decide they needed to stop, reorganise themselves and put together what they knew.
"So," Perseus started. "We know quite a lot now."
Piper snorted. "I wouldn't say a lot."
Leo sighed, pulling at his hair as he stared at the ceiling, eyes drooping. "It's a lot more than we knew at the start, Beauty Queen. Even though we can't make head or tail of it."
Perseus pinched the bridge of his nose. "We know that a man, white hair, white cloak, white eyes, like a bloody moon, was the one stealing the royals. We know that he took the Crown of Mycenae, which most likely holds a Blood Stone, the only thing that can stop a comet of a Destroyer, from…destroying the earth."
Piper threw up her hands. "We don't even know what this means! We don't know how the Stone or the comet or the two men with red and white-coloured eyes connect with the kidnapping of the royals. We don't know why the royals are being taken, and we're not even close to finding my mother." Perseus scowled at her outburst. When she put it like that…
"It's information, Piper," Leo spoke up, sitting, "And it might seem irrelevant now, but trust me, it's going to be important soon." He kept twirling his hair, speaking casually. 'The Destroyer was mentioned in the Prophecy, twice." He paused again. "I'm pretty sure those two men—white cloak and red eyes—are working for whoever this Destroyer person is."
Perseus nodded, having come to the conclusion a few hours ago. He leaned back, saying, "What we need to find out is how this all links to the Royal Families of Greece. I don't see how that fits in anywhere. But I'm willing to bet my liver that these two men are connected to our world. The godly world. They vanish into mist. Their eyes glow. If they took the Blood Stone to stop people from using it to prevent that comet from coming, then it means they also took the Olympus stone, to prevent the gods from stopping them."
"So we find the royals, we'll find the crown. We find the crown, we'll find the men and we can stop them before things get out of hand. We find the Olympus stone if we find the men too. But if things don't go that way, we'll have to find a way to stop the Destroyer's comet with that bloody stone."
"That's a lot of finding to do," Piper muttered darkly.
Perseus nodded to Leo, thankful for his summary of what they had to do next. "So right now," Piper spoke. "All we have to do is focus on the royals. Finding them shall lead us to the other objects. That's what you're saying, right?"
Perseus nodded once more.
"We have to find out what connects the royals with things though," Perseus said. 'I feel as though that's the key to everything. That'll open the door and everything else will come straight through."
Piper pursed her lips, returning to the window seat. Leo flopped back on the beds and Perseus sighed. So much for making headway…none of his previous quests had been this complicated.
It had always been find this object, or kill this monster or stop this immortal being from destroying the universe. He hadn't had to go round in circles, riding across the whole of Greece and trying to trace two men who were stealing royal families and probably planning to destroy the earth.
He rubbed his temples. Everything about this quest was so confusing. "Alright, we need some shut-eye. Sleep on it. Think. And then tomorrow we can figure everything out." Piper nodded curtly, then Leo stood, Perseus mimicking his actions.
He motioned to Piper. "We'll walk you to your chambers." She looked like she wanted to argue but then thought better of it. She simply nodded, motioning for them to lead the way.
Perseus walked ahead, Leo and Piper marching quickly to keep up with him. Their cloaks swooped on the ground after them as they walked towards the room a few feet away. But then Perseus caught sight of something. He squinted, trying to make sure he was seeing correctly.
But it was unmistakable. A man, wearing a black cloak, accentuated with blood-red trimmings stood in the shadows of the passage to their left. He looked up and Perseus spotted a glint of blood red.
He froze, eyes widening. Next to the man in the black cloak stood a brown-haired man, whom Perseus recognised as the Polemarchos. He had met the man earlier that day during his talk with the Queen. What was this man doing with Red Eyes?
"Stop," Perseus whispered. Beside him, Leo and Piper froze. Perseus watched as Red Eyes began walking—no floating—down the passage, then Polemarchos directly behind him.
"Is that—"
"Oh schist," Leo said, cutting Piper off. 'It's Red Eyes, isn't it?"
Perseus nodded gravely. "Come on," he said. 'We have to follow them."
Piper suddenly frowned, brow creasing. "They're walking towards the Queen's chambers," She whispered. "Why are they going to the—"
Perseus cut her off once more, drawing his sword. "We have to catch up or we'll lose them. Come on."
With nods of assent, the two demigods followed after Perseus as he slipped down the passage quietly, tailing the Red Eyed being and the General of the Armies of Thrace.
A/N: I think this is the longest chapter of this book. Lots of conflict and angst and emotions in this one too. Tell me what you think. Give me your feedback and your view of things. Who do you think our questers are facing? Who is the Destroyer? How do all the pieces to this puzzle fit together? To FFN users, I'm done asking for reviews. I see that the fandom is dying. It would be nice to get some though, but I've given up on you. Wattpaders keep doing what you're doing and As for AO3-ers(?) Well, I guess there's some hope for you. See you next time, lol.
-TripleHomicide.