There was so much pain that I was almost tempted to just sink into oblivion and give up my soul to Hades, but the thought of Luke and Percy persuaded me to cling on, my prayers bubbling upwards as I weakly called for my father, hoping he could hear me. Poseidon…father…please…help me. I don't know if he was allowed to intervene, if the laws would permit him to save my life, but I was desperate, and I wasn't above pleading even Zeus to grant me this favour. However before I even began to formulate a prayer to Zeus and every other godly being in the immediate vicinity, the water started to churn and swirl around me, bubbling and turning until the burning sensation began to cool. Now I felt like lead, but it was a whole load better than before. I could breathe and move, though everything felt sluggish as I began to try and lift myself up. I felt hands place themselves upon me through the water, too slow to react with surprise though gentle and almost loving voices spoke to me. 'Peace, daughter of Poseidon, we are here to help you. Let us carry you aloft.' I wondered if they were perhaps the nereids, the beings that I was named for. Perhaps they liked the fact that I was named after them, because they handled me gently as they lifted me up to the surface where Snowstorm cried out.
'Lily! Lily please do not be dead, wake up! ANSWER ME YOU STUBBORN MULE!' Unable to help it, I cracked a grin.
"Mule? You're calling me a mule? You're the one with the face of an ass." I joked with her and Snow practically plummeted into the water in order to tackle me, though the nereids cried out and warned her that I was still gravely wounded. Behind me I could hear the gods still dealing with Typhon, dragging him underwater in order to send him back to Tartarus, hopefully for good this time. "Snow, we have to hurry. Olympus. Percy…Luke…we must go now and fly fast. Can you do it?" Snorting, Snowstorm haughtily and angrily told me that I should know better by now than to ask such stupid questions, telling me that I really was a mule. I thanked the nereids as they lifted me up onto Snow's back, though I was so exhausted I could only hang there limply and rest against her neck. As she flew us away, I dimly smiled. "You called me Lily."
'Oh shut up, stupid half-blood.' I think I really made her mad this time. I managed to tell her to take me to Manhattan to find the Golden Fleece, a knot beginning to form in my stomach as I managed to move my arms well enough to take some ambrosia and nectar. I felt a little stronger, but still weak and broken. My ribs felt like all the bones and splintered and were now puncturing my lungs. As I lay against Snow, I gradually began to realise that her presence felt different, clearer almost, and deeper if that made any sense, as if there was more power coursing through her and she smelled like freshly fallen snow and peppermints. When I asked her about it, she told me that she was also glowing slightly. 'It is the blessing of my greatest grand-sire, Pegasus the First. He is pleased with me, it seems. As your gods and goddesses may bless their children and descendants, so can mine.' She informed me and I smiled happily, because I was glad that Snowstorm had also gotten the recognition she deserved. I don't think anyone else would have braved the storm and hurricane of Typhon and even manage to navigate it whilst blind. Clearly she had impressed Pegasus.
She flew me with all speed back to Manhattan where the fight continued to rage and I realised then that I did not have Amaryllis anymore to help, for she had been lost to Typhon. It made me sad, but I couldn't really stop anyway. I needed to get to Olympus, so as we approached, I bellowed at the top of my lungs which then carried outward and down below to where Snow was angling for the healing tents. "WHERE'S THE FLEECE? TOSS IT TO ME NOW! I NEED IT!" Whoever had it must have been so frightened by my shout that they had squeaked and flung it instinctively up into the air, a blur of nature energy which I snatched as Snow guided me towards it and the moment it was tucked into my arms, she then rose directly upwards. I sensed her scale the Empire State Building, rising higher and higher through the clouds until just as I thought my lungs were about to wither from the thinness of the air, we shot through the barrier of Olympus as it had been all but destroyed in the wake of Kronos's attack. I breathed deeply, the air becoming normal once again.
'Lady Lily! There is a boy falling from Olympus!' Snowstorm suddenly cried out and I yelled in confusion but told her to fly towards him. I sensed him descending rapidly, plummeting back to the earth where if he struck the ground would become nothing but a disgusting puddle of goo. Snow put on another burst of speed and arced downwards so that she then veered straight up, straining her wings to the point of dislocating them as I opened up my arm and listened carefully to the sound of a body dropping through the air. When they slammed into me I was almost pulled off of Snow's back, but I gripped on tightly and managed to keep hold of them with a grunt of effort, Snow quickly adjusting her course and straightening as she then continued to gallop through the skies to head for the city. In my arms, I felt the life slowly ebbing from the presence before me, recognising it upon instinct.
"Ethan?!" I didn't know what had happened or how he had suddenly dropped out of the bottom of Olympus like he had been flushed away, but I quickly put the Fleece around him, struggling to maintain my grip as Snow flew at breakneck speed. I felt the natural energy and magic of the Fleece begin its work, frowning slightly as my hand found a lot of wetness at his stomach through his armour and realised that there was something metallic wedged in there. The shard of a sword. I did my best to remove it without cutting myself, because if the blade was his own and poisoned, then I'd end up like Annabeth earlier. I managed to dig out some gauze from the front saddlebag by my knee though in my haste everything else flew out, but I used it to hold onto the shard and pulled it out, allowing the wound to then heal so that after a few moments, Ethan began to groan. "Ethan? Ethan can you hear me?"
"Lily? Is that you?" He shuddered, head rolling in confusion before he seemed to wake and gave a sharp yell of fear to be slumped in my arms and hanging rather precariously from a pegasus who seemed to be trying to break the sound barrier. "Whoa! What's going on?! How am I…? Kronos…he dropped me through the ground…I thought I was dying."
"You were, but the Golden Fleece can heal pretty much any wound. Tell me what happened, we have at least one minute until we reach the city, so make it snappy." I ordered him sharply and as Ethan managed to twist and sit himself behind me and hold on whilst Snow flew, he told me what he remembered happening, how Percy had managed to convince him to change sides so that the world would be balanced like his mother would have wanted, he'd attacked Kronos but his sword shattered against him which was how he had been impaled – I was now very glad that I had had the forethought to not pull out the shard with my bare fingers – and Kronos had then made a fissure in the ground of the throne room and let Ethan fall through it. Pretty much all of us had had really rough days. I inhaled deeply, stiff with trepidation. "You heard him, Snow. Head for the throne room." Giving a snort of understanding she immediately headed directly for the pinnacle of the city.
It was like Fate guiding me by the hand as the wind blew under Snow's wings as she streaked inside and did not even land as she veered and turned, taking me all the way into the throne room which I could sense the moment I leaped from her back and landed on my feet. The wave of vibrations rippled outward underneath me, which I think now might have been miniature earthquakes which allowed me to feel my surroundings as I did. Twelve thrones stood tall and proud in the shape of a horseshoe, a brazier bearing the hearth fire of Olympus at the centre though the flames felt cold and weak, though still present even as I charged forwards to where Percy, Annabeth and Grover were gathered around Luke, who was lying upon the floor. Kronos was nowhere to be felt. "Lily!" Percy called out in surprise but relief, seeing me racing towards them with something golden and big rolled up in my arms. "You're alive! But Luke he…he was the hero of the prophecy, not me. He killed Kronos with Annabeth's dagger, he knew where…"
"I know Percy. Quiet now." I gasped out, as running over was far more painful than it should have been, dropping the Fleece and falling to my knees beside Luke as Grover hastily moved out of my way. Heat and dampness started to overflow at my blank, staring eyes as my hands hovered over Luke, trembling like leaves in a violent wind as I gasped softly. "Luke…oh Luke…I smell blood." I could. Sharp and metallic waves of it filling my nose and causing my nostrils to flare against it. So much blood. "You idiot…this is all your fault. You should have let me kidnap you when we had the chance."
"Lily…" He croaked but he sounded so happy that my tears started to fall like endless streams, moisture gathering at my nose which made my face hot and sweaty, and rather disgusting really but I couldn't help it. "I'm so glad…I get to see you…" But I told him to shut up and not talk like that. I didn't want to hear any goodbyes, because this couldn't be how it ended.
"I made a decision to save you a long time ago Luke, and I'm not going to change it now. You'll have to trust me. Can you do that? It has to be timed right…you have to pass on so that the connection between you and Kronos is completely severed, I think that's what my prophecy meant…just trust me, and when you hear me calling for you, come back. Promise me you'll come back?" He must have been exhausted and in a great deal of pain, but somehow Luke managed to lift up his hand whereby he touched the side of my face at the corner of my right eye, feeling the ridges of the scars as I sensed him growing weaker and weaker. He was dying. I could almost hear the sound of scissors snipping the cord of his life, but there had to be loopholes even in death. Luke should have died when I had arrived, but he had forced himself to hold on when he'd seen me coming so that he could see me one last time, having already made Percy promise to not let half-bloods continue to go unclaimed. I stroked his face and did my best to smile, though it failed miserably as I felt like everything was on fire and my own body was breaking down once again piece by piece. I was pushing myself again when I should have been resting.
With my acute hearing I listened to Luke's last breath, felt his heart give its final pulse until all went still. Annabeth was sobbing, but I was already unravelling the Golden Fleece and draping it over Luke in order to heal him. "Lily…" Grover murmured to me softly, trying to place his hand on my shoulder to comfort me. "It's too late, the Fleece only works if you're still alive. It can't bring back the dead." Shaking off his hand, I ignored him and in my head, was already counting the seconds. I demanded the knife that Luke had used to kill himself, desperate and practically screeching like a harpy as I continued to cry. Percy handed it to me and I slashed through the straps of Luke's armour in order to remove it from him, leaving his chest bare so that I could then place the golden shroud over him completely, sending a prayer to all the gods to let this work. I then began to perform CPR. It was the only explanation I could think of for the part of the prophecy that had said 'mortal's breath'. The compressions against the chest were firm and regular, just as we had been taught in camp in the first-aid lessons from the Apollo cabin. Thirty compressions to two breaths, and then repeat. This had to be what it meant. It had to be. To restart Luke's heart somehow, to give him breath back in his lungs, to bring him back from death. If it could happen to mortals, then why not us? There were hundreds and hundreds of stories out there where people had been declared dead, heart stopped and everything, before coming back to life, sometimes even after a few minutes. This had to work, otherwise…I don't know what I'd do.
So focused on what I was doing, I was completely unaware of the gods as they came rushing into the throne room in order to protect Olympus, only to find that it no longer needed saving. All they saw were broken and battered half-bloods and a satyr watching as a pathetic girl tried to save the one who had almost destroyed them all. I returned to Luke's mouth, tilting his head and pinching his nose in order to deliver him air though it tasted wet and salty because of my tears. Thankfully the snot hadn't started to run yet. "Luke…Luke come back…come back! Damn it Luke…WAKE UP!" People tried to pull me away, to tell me it was over and that I should stop, even Percy tried but I fought them off and carried on, because in my head was a clear image of a string of blue yarn, but the more I continued to fight to bring Luke back, the snipped threads began to weave themselves back together one by one, until finally it was one continuous string that appeared to have never been cut at all. I wondered briefly if this was Luke's string of fate. Having spent so much energy trying to get him back, I suddenly lifted both fists into the air and yelled as I pummelled them against his chest which seemed to give his heart the kick start it needed, because I felt it throb and heard a pulse thrum in my ears, as all of my senses were entirely focused on Luke. "Luke? Yes, yes! Come on, wake up! Come back! Luke!" I cried and pleaded with him, repeating the compressions and the mouth to mouth resuscitation until Luke suddenly jolted and sucked in a deep gulp of air of his own volition, causing a stir of alarm throughout all the spectators. The moment Luke was alive again, the Fleece began to hum with energy and work upon his wound, which in itself was inconsequential, but it also healed his fractured mind and body from the strain of hosting the spirit of a titan, who I could no longer sense at all. Kronos was utterly vanquished. "Luke? Luke? Look at me, are you alright? Can you hear me?"
"Lily." When he spoke my name, I burst into a fit of those awful body wracking sobs that I do which made my face look squished and ugly, so I hid it in my hands as Luke began to sit up. "Lily…you…brought me back?" I was so overcome with a multitude of emotions that they hit me one after the other. Joy, relief, pride, but then came anger. With my fist balled, I punched Luke with all my might – which at the moment wasn't much – and hit him square in the jaw. "Ow!"
"THAT'S FOR BEING SO STUPID YOU IGNORANT BONEHEAD! YOU'RE LUCKY YOU HAD ME LOOKING OUT FOR YOU AND CLEANING UP YOUR MESSES, OTHERWISE YOU'D BE DEAD!" So enraged and furious I didn't stop myself from punching him again, but that outburst took the last of my strength and I collapsed, feeling like I had broken every bone in my body. Distantly I heard Luke and Percy shout my name, rushing to turn me over and I couldn't even cry out from the pain, though when a soothing hand touched my brow, I thought of moonlight and clear night skies, so I figured it was Artemis.
"She is not yet recovered from her battle against Typhon. All of her ribs are broken in several places, her tendons are almost all completely ruptured, and there are severe internal injuries affecting her. In truth she should be dead as she expended too much energy, leaving her in this condition. She should have disintegrated already. Clearly her love for you gave her the strength to continue." Although Artemis spoke the word love like it was a bad word, there was still a tone of admiration and even begrudging respect as someone else shouted from across the hall, a woman who sounded strikingly like mom.
"You see? You see?! Love does have its worth! Much more than your maidenhood nonsense, anyway. I've been trying to tell you that for millennia!" I'd bet anything that was Aphrodite, but in my feverish haze as something warm and fluffy was wrapped around me, I couldn't help but whimper out the word 'mom', because she really did sound like her. The goddess then softened, moving a little closer as if to peer over me curiously. "Oh sweetie, is that who I sound like to you? Well it is understandable, I suppose. You hear and feel beauty rather than see it, so I would become what you think to be the most beautiful voice in the world, your mother. How charming. Poseidon, your daughter is such a sweetheart." Hearing my father's name I blinked blearily, trying to sense him but there were just so many gods and goddesses around, their auras confused me.
"I do not need to be told this by you, Aphrodite. I know already how precious and lovely my daughter is." Then something came towards me, and I could smell the breeze that flew over a clear open ocean and felt a presence that was vast and homely which I did not expect. "Heal, Nerida. Rest easy for a moment. You and Percy have made me so proud." Any other time I might have been happy to hear that I had earned my father's respect and praise, but right now? I was in too much pain to care, and neither did I really want it. When I was in pain I was always grumpy, so I pretended I hadn't heard him and remained very still because I couldn't have moved even if I wanted to.
"Pft, Golden Fleece? Who needs that when the god of medicine is at hand! Come lovely ladies, and I shall set you right." A bright and shining presence now bounded forwards, though I could have sworn I heard Poseidon growl in warning to Apollo, who had been the one to speak. "Seeing as you did us a solid with Typhon, I'm sure I can grant you this little favour. Can't let you dissolve into nothing after going through so much trouble to save your boyfriend." Luke's not my boyfriend. I almost muttered it out loud, but my jaw wouldn't work. However, when a warmth passed over me like a midday sun at the height of summer finally appearing from behind a cloud, I felt immensely better. I shifted and could move, and the moment I had taken in a deep breath and not felt like there were shards of glass rattling around in my chest, Luke had snatched me up and held me close.
"Lily, you're alright…you're alright…thank the gods…" A little ironic to be thanking them when they're all here, right? Only thing was by speaking aloud, the gods suddenly remembered that he was there.
"So what do we do with this one then?" Asked one of them who sounded like someone I would meet if I was stupid enough to wander around the less tasteful streets of New York alone at night. The guy radiated 'punk attitude', a presence that felt like anger and violence which could only mean it was Ares. "This little brat caused all this mess. I say we disintegrate him and let his soul rot in Tartarus."
"No!" Suddenly coming back to life, I tackled Luke in order to shield him, like putting myself between him and Ares would do any good. "Don't! Please don't, it wasn't Luke's fault! Well…not entirely his fault, he was manipulated by Kronos!"
"Lily, you don't have to protect me. I know what I've done." Luke said to me, sounding a little bashful to have me clinging onto his neck and practically squashing him, but happy too, which in turn made me happy. His hand rose to my hair and rested on my head, trying to console me gently though I was fully arming myself to throw a tantrum. I'd knock Olympus out of the sky if I had to in order to get my way, but no one was going to hurt Luke after all the trouble and effort I had gone through in order to save him and keep him alive.
"Indeed. Anyone who wishes to vaporise my son will have to go through me." Someone else spoke and I immediately recognised Hermes. Luke grew stiff and cold, tensing with his arms around me as I remained perched in his lap so I found his hand in order to pull it from my back and gave his fingers a squeeze, silently trying to tell him to keep calm and to not lose his temper at his dad in front of everyone otherwise I'd kill him myself. "I share the blame for Luke's actions…I was arrogant, I thought I could change his fate, but in doing so only drove him towards it…I am sorry Luke, I know I was not the father you deserved, and I will accept if you wish to loathe me for the rest of your days, but I have and always will love you, whether you want me to or not." Hermes had since turned to Luke, and although I couldn't see their expressions, I could feel the tension in the air as practically everyone else held their breath, watching to see what would happen. I had the feeling that Aphrodite was enjoying this the most since she had gasped, probably viewing this as the greatest tragic drama of all time. In the end Luke wisely chose to say nothing, turning his head away and instead burying his face into my neck where my hair hid his expression from view. I knew from experience and having known him so long that he was probably fighting with himself right now, and also struggling to come to terms with his own emotions.
For a moment there was silence, until then Athena spoke, calm and practical in her address. "Let us at least secure him until his fate is decided. There is much that needs to be done and attended to, including the treatment of the wounded. I shall take him myself to be contained until the time is right to decide upon what is to be done with him." I started to protest at this, wanting to argue that Luke shouldn't be locked up but even as Luke was magically pulled away from me, I staggered to my feet and let the Fleece drop, however the moment I did so my body suddenly became bombarded with bursts of sharp pains that flared within and all over, like someone was ripping me apart bit by bit. A scream leaped from my mouth and I staggered, Percy yelling and catching me as I started to convulse, my body breaking down once more. Annabeth shouted for Percy to put the Fleece back on me as Luke also called to me with worry, trying to pull back towards me as Percy grabbed the Fleece and practically cocooned me in it. The moment it was wrapped around me once again, I felt better as Athena seemed to give me a stern look. "You chose to do battle with Typhon, releasing all your godly power at once, and you think you are healed after only a few moments with the Golden Fleece? Foolish child. The moment you take it off, your body will begin to break down once again. It may yet be a long time before you are fully healed."
"But she'll be alright though, won't she?" Percy worried so I murmured that I was okay, trying to reassure him as I got back to my feet steadily, though I was woozy and lightheaded.
"Please don't take Luke away…and don't hurt him…"
"You have my word, child. We shall treat him as we would any prisoner of war. He shall not be harmed." Athena said to me and seeing as she was the goddess of wisdom, and also Annabeth's mother, I figured she would be good on her word. Luke now seemed to be more concerned about me than anything else, allowing himself to be shackled and not putting up any fight as he looked directly at me, the gaze of his eyes making my cheeks feel warm.
"I'll be fine, Lily. You just focus on taking care of yourself. Percy, look after her? And…I'm sorry. To all of you. You guys didn't deserve anything I put you through." This was all Luke had time to say before his presence suddenly vanished from the throne room, leaving with Athena to be secured elsewhere. I wanted to stomp my feet and demand he be brought back, to make some kind of deal with the gods and barter for his forgiveness and freedom, but I was too exhausted. Snowstorm came to me and nuzzled at my face with worry, calling to my softly as I leaned against her body but then I couldn't stay upright any longer and I had to sink to the ground with my little brother trying to stop me from collapsing all at once. Ethan had remained on the side lines until now, however as Snowstorm lay herself upon the vast floor of the gods' throne room in order to act as my blanket and pillow, he hastened over and knelt with Percy, who seemed to be holding an unconscious Annabeth, both of whom were looking at me with troubled expressions. I must have looked like death. The last thing I remembered before falling asleep was the sound of a deep voice calling my name, and the smell of the sea washing around me in a comforting and nostalgic manner.