Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan, the Percy Jackson books, series, characters, movies, or anything else you may recognize.
Author's Note: Hello everyone! Sorry it took so long! I've been in the process of leaving my awful job and starting a great new one, and at this new one having to learn two jobs so it's been a lot. But I have been thinking about the story nonstop so I'm really excited to get it finished and posted! Also, I will be going away from the 16th to 21st for my birthday (the 19th), so won't be posting during that time. Thank you all so much for your support so far and I hope you like the chapter!
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Love Games
"They tell us from the time we're young
To hide the things we don't like about ourselves
Inside ourselves
I know I'm not the only one who spent so long
Attempting to be someone else..."
- "Secrets" by Miranda Lambert
It's like no matter what we did, we couldn't catch a break. As soon as we left Rome, we were constantly bombarded by attacks by ourae – mountain gods. Or stupid rockheads, if you were Leo Valdez.
They were twenty feet all, muscular and had dark charcoal colored skin. This one had a white, beard, scraggly hair and wore a white tunic over his rough skin, and was yelling at us as he ripped another boulder-sized piece of rock from the mountain at us to begin shaping it into a ball to throw at us.
As we continued going and the scene disappeared in the fog, we could hear the bellows of several other ourae answer the first in the distance. Great.
"These stupid rockheads!" Leo shouted from the helm. "I've gone through three mast already! They don't just grow on trees!"
"Actually, they do," Nico pointed out.
"That's not the point!" Leo snapped, grabbing one of his controls to summon up on of the Celestial bronze cannons. Hazel's hands flew to her ears, covering them as the cannon blasted, sending a dozen metal spheres glowing green fire into the mountains. Nico and I just looked at each other. I guess we'd both gotten used to the sound now.
Annabeth, Jason and the others were all sleeping as it was around two-thirty in the morning. I couldn't sleep – I had too many things flying around in my head. I kept imaging what would have happened if Annabeth had fallen into the pit, if we had both fallen into the pit, or if she hadn't come back at all. I was trying to figure out what to do with this giant statue we had in the pit of our ship. Everyone was exhausted and tired and I didn't know how any of us were going to be in fighting shape any time soon. Nico was traumatized. Annabeth was traumatized. I – and I wouldn't admit this to anyone – was traumatized.
Everything was starting to catch up to me as far as how serious and heavy this whole quest was. We had to go to Tartarus. Tartarus. This wasn't the Underworld – I'd been there before and that wasn't a big deal. I mean, it wasn't great but it wasn't Tartarus. Seeing what Nico had seen and experienced, and seeing how close Annabeth and I had come to almost being down there without any preparation…nothing was going to prepare us for it, but at least having some supplies like food and first aid would be nice.
This was a mess. This whole world was a mess right now. And its survival fell on my shoulders.
A boulder went flying through the air on our starboard side, barely missing the Argo.
"Get us out of here, Leo!" Nico yelled.
Leo swore under his breath, cranking the wheel. The Argo picked up speed and soon we were out of the mountains.
Thank the gods.
"That's all our fault," Hazel said. "The numina can sense us. They don't like children of the Underworld."
"We literally get under their skin," Nico added. "Even without us, I think they could sense this ship because of the Athena Parthenos. It's like a beacon."
"Go rest," I said, putting a hand on Hazel's shoulders. "Nothing else super important is going to happen while you sleep. Get some rest."
She looked like she wanted to argue, but the red in her eyes told me she really needed that sleep so she left, leaving Nico, Leo and I alone in the control room.
"So what's the plan boss lady?" Leo asked, and I was able to hear the weariness in his voice. He needed to sleep too.
"Skiathos."
"And what are we doing from there?"
"I don't know, Leo!" I snapped. "I don't know anymore! I don't know if we'll even make it there at this point, okay? We're probably going to get knocked out of the sky by a giant boulder and all die before we even touch ground again and the whole world will end."
Leo was uncharacteristically silent, and Nico was staring at me with concern.
"What? Have you never seen someone on the verge of a breakdown?" I asked. "Just…just sail to Skiathos. That's what we're doing."
I needed sun. But seeing as it was now 2:38 in the morning, that was unlikely. So some fresh air would have to do. I left the control room and went out to the deck, taking in a deep breath of the night air as a few tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes.
This was all too much.
"Andee?"
I knew it was Percy just from his voice and when I turned around he was standing a few feet behind me, shirtless and wearing a pair of dark blue pajama pants with tiny little ducks on them (which look weirdly familiar). His hair was all messy from sleeping (actually, it was always messy, I'd noticed), and his green eyes were sparkling underneath the lights on the deck.
My heart skipped a little and I wanted to rip it out of my chest. Might as well at this point. Most of me dreaded and hated the fact that he was here, but a little part of me was inexplicably relieved. Okay, maybe a little bit more.
We're just going to say that seeing a very attractive guy half-naked was calming for me, okay?
"Are you okay?" he asked gently as he approached me. I lost it. I started bawling my eyes out and he wrapped his arms around me tightly, hugging me and holding me while I cried. "It's going to be okay, Andee. We're going to be okay." Percy's arms around me made me feel warm and safe and as much as I didn't want to get close to him, I needed this and in this moment, I needed him.
He stroked my hair comfortingly. "You need to sleep, babe."
Babe?
I didn't even care at this point. "I can't sleep, there's too much to do."
"You can't do it without sleep. None of us can," Percy said softly, looking at me. His face…oh my gods, his face was so beautiful. His freckles, the shades of green in his eyes, the tan of his skin, his lips…oh gods.
He looked so tired too. This was taking a huge toll on all of us, not just me.
"Why don't we just stay out here then?" Percy suggested. "We can just sit right here, on the deck, in front of the control room, and just relax. We don't have to sleep, we can just sit. Talk, if you want. Or not talk. Whatever you want."
He plopped down and reached a hand out. "Aren't you cold?" I asked.
"Nah, we're close to the sea so I don't really feel it," Percy said as I took his hand and sat down beside him. "Are you cold? I can get you a blanket or something."
"I'm okay, thank you," I said quietly.
We were both silent for a while before Percy said, "You don't have to take this all on yourself, you know. And if you need to talk to anyone, you know I'm always here."
"That's really sweet of you, Percy," I said. "Thank you."
Neither of us slept, and Percy actually stayed up telling me stupid jokes to keep me laughing and distracted. And they were truly awful jokes but my gods, they were hilarious. My stomach actually ached from laughing so hard, and it felt like it was the first time I had truly laughed years.
As the sun started to rise again, I knew we needed to put some sort of plan in place. Even just something short-term to just get us through the next few days. First order of business, the Athena Parthenos. We could keep carrying her with us – her energy was drawing to much attention to us. Returning her to Camp Half-Blood would also stop the war between our camp and Camp Jupiter, according to Annabeth's theory.
And as I was trying to work that out in my head on the way to breakfast, Annabeth ran into the room looking a little disheveled as she said, "I know how we can send the statue back to Camp Half-Blood!" I signaled for her to continue, unable to speak because my mouth was full of pancake. I found the best way to stay awake without sleeping was to just eat a crap ton of food. Was it healthy?
No.
But would it keep me running for an undetermined amount of time?
Probably.
She looked at me with mild concern but ultimately decided to drop it for the time being. "I sent a message to Reyna through Rachel and Grover in the middle of the night. I can't get in touch with Reyna directly, because the Romans are blocking our communication. She's going to come collect the statue and bring it back to Camp Half-Blood for us. I think having a Roman – especially a leader – return the statue back to the Greeks will seal the rift and stop the war between us."
"That's genius."
"Reyna's really going to cross the Atlantic to come find us?" Hazel asked. "It's s taboo, to cross into the ancient lands. She'll lose her praetorship."
"Leo, how long would it take us to get to Croatia?" Jason asked.
"Technically we've been there for about a day already, why?" Leo asked.
"We need to dock in a town called Split."
"Split?" Leo asked. "As it 'Get out'? That sounds like a bad idea, if you ask me."
"Why Croatia?" Percy asked (which was an arguably more helpful question).
"It used to be Dalmatia," Nico said and a few people jumped, apparently forgetting he had been there. "It used to be a Roman province. You want to go to Diocletian's Palace, don't you?" Nico actually sounded excited.
"Who is Diocletian?" I had done some studying of Roman history while preparing for this quest, but probably not as much as I should have.
"Diocletian was a Roman emperor," Jason said. "Reyna will go there first, because she knows it's where I'd go first. We both idolized him – he was an incredible leader. We talked all the time about how we'd like to go to Diocletian's Palace, even though we knew it was impossible to travel to the ancient lands."
"I've always gone back and forth to Greece, I just want to make that fact known," I said and Jason gave me a look before continuing on like I had never spoken.
"We made a pact that if we ever did, that this was where we'd go."
"Okay…so why was he so important?" Percy asked.
Frank, Leo, Percy and Jason went back and forth about Diocletian and his history and how he was good and back, and kind of making fun of each other before I put my hand up to silence them. "Why is Diocletian's Palace so special? And why are you so excited about it, Nico?"
"It's said to be haunted by Diocletian's ghost."
"Oh, of course," Leo said. Nico have him a death glare.
"His tomb was destroyed many centuries ago, but there are legends that his scepter was buried with him," Nico said. "His scepter supposedly could summon the ghosts of the Roman legions, so long as they worshipped the old gods."
"That could be helpful," Piper said. "Have an army of zombies when we enter the House of Hades."
Nico gave me a look. They couldn't know what was really necessary yet.
"We don't have that much time left. We have to –"
"We have a lot to do by August first, yes," Percy said quickly, cutting Frank off with a look and quickly glancing over at me. "This shouldn't take long."
"Well, let's go then!" Piper said.
"No," Nico said. "If too many of us go, it'll…spook him." Haha, spook a ghost. That was a funny idea. "Really only Jason and I should go, but I doubt Andee's going to let that happen."
"You know me so well already," I said. "Besides, you guys said Diocletian was a son of Jupiter right? Having a granddaughter of Zeus shouldn't be too bad, then, right?"
"I want to come too, then," Percy said.
A little part of my heart fluttered. Was it a good idea to have more somewhat alone time with him? Probably not, but I wanted to. Which meant it wasn't a good idea.
"I think three is too much as it is," I said, even though a small part of me would have liked him to come. "Annabeth, obviously you're in charge. Percy and Frank are in charge of defending the ship. Leo, work on your repairs. Piper, Hazel, help out where you can. We'll be back shortly."
As soon as we docked, Jason, Nico and I hopped off and started walking. We immediately were greeted by the sight of a winged being, and some part of me recognized him but couldn't figure out his name. As we followed him, Nico seemed to know where we were and he explained that his mom had taken him and his sister here when he was about six, so back in the 1930's. Wow, that was weird to say when referring to a currently fifteen-year-old.
As we approached a white marble building with tall windows, Nico let us know we were here. The closer we got, we saw that there was a rust-colored feather sitting on a set of stairs leading down.
Nico smiled. "We get to go to my favorite place," he said. "Underground."
Alright. You know, I don't like being underground. I like the sun and the sky. Look at my dad and granddad. That's just the type of girl I was.
As we crept through the creepy underground cellar, I had my dagger out and ready to go. This was the perfect place to be attacked. And here, underground, I would be at my weakest. Jason, too.
There was a creepy bust of Diocletian and Jason was about to write a note, I guess for Reyna, and as someone said, "Hello!" Jason jumped the statue felt to the ground. "Well, that wasn't very nice. What did Diocletian ever do to you?"
It was the winged guy. Now that I could get a closer look at him, he had dark tanned skin, black curly hair, and russet colored wings. He was also dressed like a college kid on vacation, except for the bronze sword he was carrying, of course.
"I – I don't. You just startled me," Jason said.
"Well, as the West Wind I've been called a lot of things," the winged man said. "But never 'startling'. Usually I leave that to my nasty brethren in the north."
Nico started moving backwards. "The West Wind? You mean you're –"
"Favonius," Jason said at the same I said, "Zephyros."
Oh, Zephyros. Children of Apollo had such a special relationship with Zephyros. Particularly because back in the day, our dad had this thing with a guy named Hyacinthus. He was absolutely head over heels for this guy, and he was one of our dad's greatest loves. Zephyros was jealous, and instead of you know, asking if Hyacinthus might feel the same, he killed him with a rogue quoit ring while my dad and Hyacinthus were playing a game. It devastated my dad and before Hyacinthus died, he turned him into a flower. But before my dad could deal with his grief and exact some vengeance, Zephyros, the coward that he was, sought protection from another god. A minor god, but a god nonetheless.
"Either one works. I'm not too hung up over it like some people," Zephyros said.
"So what exactly are you doing here?" I asked. "You're pretty east and for a West Wind."
"Oh Andromeda, so good to see you. You know how it is, just lounging about the city, getting ice cream, tossing this quoit ring," he said. Should have grabbed that quoit ring and thrown it at his head – saw how he liked it. "Oh, also letting you know that what you're looking for isn't here. My master took it."
"Your master?" Jason asked. "I sure hope your master isn't Aeolus."
Oh poor, poor Jason. His master was so, so, so much worse.
"He means Eros," Nico said quietly. "Cupid, for Romans."
I hated that little shit. Always popping up just to piss me off. His mother – Aphrodite – loved interfering in my love life and it was no coincidence that we ended up here and that Zephyros and Eros were here. She wanted to dredge up something from my memory.
"Very good, Nico di Angelo. Good to see you again, by the way," Zephyros said. "Well, I mean you've never seen me, but I've been watching you. When you came here as a little boy and several times since. I knew you've eventually come back to look at my master's face."
Nico turned pale.
"Nico?" Jason asked. "What's he talking about?"
"I don't know. Nothing." My heart was breaking. I wasn't being set up here – it was Nico.
"Nothing?" Zephyros asked. "Where is the one you care for most? In love with someone else and you still won't admit the truth?"
"We're just here for Diocletian's scepter. Where is it?" Nico asked.
"Oh, you thought this would be easy? Your trials will be much more difficult," Zephyros said. "Long, long before this was Diocletian's Palace, it was the gateway to my master's court. I've lived here for eons, bringing those who sought love into the presence of Cupid. If you want the scepter, you will have to face the god of love."
"Um, actually, he is the god of desire, attraction and affection, so let's not get too ahead of ourselves here," I said. "His mother may love him, but she really wouldn't be happy to hear he's calling himself the 'god of love'."
"Andromeda le Fay," Zephyros said. "Cupid will be happy to see you."
"Can't say the feeling is mutual," I said. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we?"
Within moments, Zephyros had whisked us away to Salona, the capital of Dalmatia. So this was where Diocletian was born, and the home of Cupid. Nico was already bracing himself against one of the columns, the grass underneath him browning and wilting.
"I don't blame you for being nervous, son of Hades," Zephyros said. "Do you know how I ended up serving Cupid?"
"I don't serve anyone, especially not Cupid," Nico said.
"I fell in love with a mortal named Hyacinthus. He was quite extraordinary," Zephyros said.
"He?" Jason asked and it took a few minutes for it to register. "Oh."
This wasn't going to end well.
"Yes, Jason Grace. I fell in love with a dude. Does that shock you?"
Jason took a few moments and I moved to get closer to Nico, and squeezed his hand. He looked at me, and I could see fear, and misery and absolute self-loathing in his eyes and I just wanted to wrap him in a hug. "I've got your back, Nico, no matter what."
"I guess not. So Cupid struck you with an arrow and you fell in love?" Jason asked.
"No. My dad and Hyacinthus were together, and this guy was just a creepy stalker that, instead of just asking if Hyacinthus might have feelings for him, literally manipulated the wind to kill him with one of those quoit rings he's twirling around," I said. "And instead of facing my dad, he hid behind Cupid."
Zephyros glared at me and I just smiled. "Speaking of which, Cupid, why don't you show yourself and stop all these ridiculous theatrics? You don't even do them well."
Andromeda le Fay. What a joy to see you.
"Can't say the same. Also can't see you, so this is new. How about you give us the scepter, and we part ways before it ends like it did last time we met?" I asked loudly, trying to pinpoint him. I needed to put his attention on me and away from Nico. I wasn't going to let him hurt him like this. Cupid/Eros had it out for me too, so I'd rather take the heat and spare Nico. He'd been through enough.
Hmmm. But you haven't met this side of me, Andromeda. My Roman side is much stronger.
"Great to hear," I said. "Also, don't use that name."
"Where are you?" Jason asked.
Cupid was going on some tangent about love and all these dumb things. Jason suddenly got thrown across the street and was laying sprawled on the floor. An arrow went flying towards Nico and my reflexes kicked in before I could even process what was happening, my hand reached out and grabbed it.
"Is this guy Love or Death?" Jason asked.
Ask your friends Frank, Hazel and Percy. They met my counterpart Thanatos. We are not so different, Love and Death – Death is just sometimes kinder. What was this whole invisible voice thing? This was new and I didn't like it.
A gust of wind blew by us and topped a column, almost crushing us if Jason hadn't pulled Nico and me out of the way.
"Actually, you're just the god of sex and attraction, so don't flatter yourself," I spat at him.
"We just want the scepter! We're trying to stop Gaia – that benefits you. That benefits all of us. Are you on the gods' side or not?" Nico asked. Another arrow flew at him, landing between his feet and disappearing in white hot flames.
Love is on every side and no one's side.
"Okay, can we just get the scepter?"
You cannot wield it, son of Jupiter. Only a child of the Underworld can summon the dead legions. And only an officer of Rome can lead them.
"Leave that to us. Nico can –"
Another arrow zipped by us and this time I couldn't stop it as it plunged into Nico's sword arm. It dissolved, but Nico's face was contorted with rage and pain.
"Enough of your games, Cupid! Show yourself!"
It is a costly thing, looking on the true face of Love.
Sex, I wanted to intercept but I was too busy trying to defend Nico while Jason tried to find and attack Jason. Jason was just getting pummeled by Cupid's invisible forces.
If you want the scepter, then tell me, Nico di Angelo. What have you risked in the name of Love?
"I've been to Tartarus and back! You don't scare me!" Nico spat but it wasn't very convincing and Cupid could hear it just as well as I could. "We don't have time for your games!"
Games? Love is no game! It's hard work – a quest that never ends! It demands everything from you – especially the truth.
"Nico, what does this guy want from you?" Jason asked.
Tell your friend, Nico di Angelo. Tell him of your cowardice, how you are afraid of yourself and your feelings. Tell him the real reason you ran from Camp Half-Blood and why you're always alone.
Nico let out a guttural scream and the ground split apart at his feet. Skeletons crawled out from inside, missing hands and with caved in skills, cracked ribs and unhinged jaws.
Are you just going to hide among the dead like you always do?
Tidal waves of darkness came off Nico, hitting both Jason and I. I think I lost consciousness, and I felt his hatred, fear, shame…everything I had felt seeing his visions earlier and my heart was breaking more and more. And my anger was growing greater and greater.
So you have some strength – but do you have enough?
"I left Camp Half-Blood because of love. Annabeth…she…"
Still hiding. It's a shame you're so weak.
My blood was boiling and I wanted to protect Nico, to show him my support, but he was too far away and surrounded by skeleton warriors.
"Nico, it's okay, I get it," Jason said.
Nico looked at him, his eyes full of misery. "You don't – there's no way you could ever understand."
So you run away again. From your friends. From yourself.
"Nico, you don't have to do this. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do," I tried to tell him but I don't think he heard me.
"I don't have friends! I left Camp Half-Blood because I don't belong there! I'll never belong anywhere!"
"Leave him along, Cupid!" Jason yelled.
Cupid was a monster. I had always known this, but it was becoming clearer and clearer. He thrived on the pain of others. Even Zephyros – he gained a servant by preying on someone who had their heartbroken.
"I…I wasn't in love with Annabeth," Nico said quietly.
"You were jealous of her," Jason said. He got it. "That's why you didn't want to be around him. It makes sense."
"I hated myself. I hated Percy Jackson."
Cupid became visible then. He was tall and lean, with snowy white wings. His hair was straight and black, he had blood red eyes and was wearing a simple white tee and jeans. He had a bow and quiver slung over his shoulders, much like I usually did.
"I had a crush on Percy. That's the truth, my big secret. Are you happy now?" Nico asked, tears starting to leak from the corners of his eyes.
"You know, love doesn't always make you happy but I'm feeling pretty satisfied right now," Cupid said with a smug look.
Within seconds I was in front of him, my fist striking his face. "Who the hell do you think you are? You don't have any right! You don't get to just out someone! It's his choice who he tells and when he is able to accept it! How dare you, you absolute piece of garbage!"
He got back up and smiled ruefully. He stood in front of me and asked, "Tell me, Andee. Who do you see when you look at me? Who does your heart desire?"
In a second, he changed. He was at least a head taller. His skin was tanner, with freckles across his nose. His eyes were now as green as the sea and his hair was still black, but shorter and tousled. My heart sped up and my breathing hitched slightly. He dipped his head, and in the more familiar voice, in the voice that matched the face, he said, "You can't change destiny, love. Love can break even the strongest potions and spells, and your time is running out. Good luck."
He disappeared, leaving the scepter behind.
