asteria.

The queen of the stars, titaness that falls.

Percy couldn't breathe. His lungs burned, everything ached. His whole body was about to combust, but it was all a dream. All a painful dream. It couldn't possibly be real...

"Percy," a whisper from her highness.

His eyes began to water, making the scene even more horrible. Stars, thousands upon thousands of stars. Supernovas right before his very eyes. The queen stood above him, her eyes seemed to glow a bright blue. Young, beautiful, yet she held so much power in just those eyes. The rest of her seemed unreal. She stroked his cheek, wiping away a stray tear. Every molecule screaming out, begging him to wake up.

The stars glowed so intensely, he tried to shield his eyes. Colors became more vibrant, the blues and purples and yellows shifting constantly. They kept gleaming until soon there was no more sky. Just stars, bright blinding stars. But his arms refused to move an inch. Just when Percy thought they would catch fire, they began to fall. One by one, each ball of light crashed down. He yelped while Asteria laughed solemnly.

"Never underestimate my powers, son of Poseidon. Asteria is no god, she is a titan. Ancient, proud, powerful. Pass the test- then I will leave."

The feeling came back. There was no air for him to breath, all of it sucked out from his chest. The oxygen was falling with the suns. He was drowning, but he was drowning in space.

"Wake up, Percy."

Her voice pulled him from the nightmarish scene. There weren't stars falling in pitch black, but sun streaming from his dorm room window in New Rome. Beside him, Annabeth lay clutching his hand tightly.

"You were crying," her voice was soft and concerned, hands making their way to his cheek.

"Nightmare," Percy answered hoarsely, furiously wiping away tears.

The bed was warm and his skin felt feverish. Even his arms looked pinker than usual. He prayed to every god up in Olympus that he didn't sweat all over the place, especially with Annabeth in there too.

"About what?"

He didn't want to say the name. A simple dream compared to others, yet so vibrant, so real. What did this lady, Asteria, want from him. Percy hoped it wouldn't be a major issue. He hadn't been on a quest in a year and was enjoying his time as a college student. Things had finally calmed down.

Percy had only led one quest his entire demigod career and he had been 12. In the seven billion others, he had just been a member. It was a horrible experience knowing that he was responsible for the deaths of his friends. He couldn't possibly go through it again.

"A titaness. Scary-ass titaness."

She frowned, unsatisfied, but let it go anyway. Annabeth knew not to pry, and he loved her for that. Instead, she grabbed his hand, changing the subject.

"What class do you have first?" she asked gently, frowning.

Percy didn't realize it, but he was crying again. He couldn't help it. He was so shaken up over the dream despite trying to tell himself it wasn't a big deal. Deep down he knew something major was about to happen, but he didn't want to admit it.

"You have to tell me what happened, Percy. I wasn't going to push, but-"

"Her name," he took a shaky breath. "Asteria, she was making stars fall and- and suffocating me. She said I had to pass a test, oh gods, Annabeth."

Percy shook his head, trying to hide his face. Why was he crying? It was just a dream. Shoving his head into the white linen pillow, he tried to suppress his hiccups.

Weak, he practically heard the titaness hissing in his head.

She pulled him close, whispering in his ear, "It's fine, Seaweed Brain. Everything is fine."

But deep down they both knew nothing was fine about it.

...

The rest of the day was a long daze. He couldn't stop thinking about the titan in his dream. Percy never even heard about Asteria. How could he underestimate her then? He quickened his pace, speed walking through the beautiful campus to his next class.

His watch read 2:32 pm.

"Shit!" Percy hissed, breaking into a run.

Five minutes later, he burst into his marine ecology class, cutting off the Professor. The whole class turned to Percy, some giggling, some frowning disappointedly. He lowered his head, quietly finding a seat.

"Mr. Jackson." Professor Daley snapped, "Just because you saved the world does not mean you can come late to my class. If you want to spend the day lollygagging and all that other bullshit, go somewhere else."

"Sorry, sir," he mumbled, though was still not focused.

"Now," he growled. "that the interruptions are complete. Mythology. I'm certain you all know quite a bit about it, am I correct?"

A chorus of grumbles and agreements filled the vast room. Of course they did, they went to school in New Rome. Their parents and grandparents were Mythology. Sometimes he can be so thick, Percy thought.

"Of course you do!" Professor Daley shouted as if reading his mind. "I'd be concerned if you didn't. But a group of marine biology majors trying to get a degree listening to more talk about the fiction of mortals? You hate me even more, surely."

More agreements. Percy snorted, "Impossible."

"Thank you for that, Mr. Jackson. Anyhow, has anyone heard of the titaness Asteria?"

Fucking hell, the fucking coincidences in my life.

A few hands raised while Percy had a panic attack. Just his fucking luck, the one nightmare he can't stop thinking about becomes the topic in his marine ecology course. But why? It couldn't possibly be by chance. Even his luck wasn't that bad.

"Mr. Howe?"

Kurt frowned, "Isn't she that one chick who makes stars fall?"

"Those wouldn't be my exact words, but yes, I suppose so."

Percy raised his own hand.

"Jackson, no jokes." Professor Dickhead snapped.

"It isn't a joke," his voice trembled slightly, but he kept it in check. "Asteria isn't just a 'chick' who makes stars fall, she's a pretty fucking-"

"Not in my class!"

"-powerful titan who has the ability to destroy all of us. She married the titan of destruction, and I bet she'd destroy you dumbasses who think lightly of her."

"Annabeth should be worried," someone snickered.

The whole class erupted into fits of giggles. Percy glared at them all, making the students chuckle louder. Even Mr. Daley had a smile.

"Fine," he murmured in a voice unlike his normal one. "Just wait."

On his way out, all the water bottles in the classroom exploded. The sound of screams and plastic shards made his day a little better.

"Jacks- Argh!"