Enjoy!

I know what death looks like.

I am no stranger to it.

I was there when my father died. When his soulmate followed. The pain. The heartbreak. The heaviness of grief.

But I had no idea that death would hurt this much.

I was in agony. It felt as though Greek fire had replaced the blood flowing through the vein in my left ring finger that went straight into my heart. Something was happening to my soulmate.

I bent over, clutching my finger to my chest in hopes of stopping the pain, but there was no relief.

"Annabeth?"

One of my best friends Rachel gripped my shoulder and shook me.

"Guys, something's wrong..." Piper, one of my other best friends, was on her knees gripping her head. She could always feel it when a soulmate bond was in trouble, it was her superpower. The stronger the bond, and the more danger it was in, the worse Piper got.

Hazel, my other best friend kneeled next to Piper, gently rubbing her back, concern written all over her face.

"The war," I gasped, still clutching my chest. "Something must have happened...oh gods..." I started hyperventilating.

"Breathe, Annabeth I need you to breathe. I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong and you can't tell me if you don't start breathing." Rachel said calmly.

"I'm... trying!" I hiccupped. Tears streamed down my face and the pain in my finger grew worse.

I felt ridiculous, but I couldn't control it. They say that the soulmate bond messes with your heart, but if this is what it felt like then I didn't want it even more.

Piper threw up and crumpled into a ball on the floor, moaning.

Hazel looked at Rachel, panic in her eyes.

"This is bad, really, really bad."

Rachel didn't say anything in response, she just went back to trying to get me to calm down.

All at once, the pain stopped. Piper stopped moaning and sat up looking dazed. For a brief moment, I felt relief, and then the fear settled in.

I first looked at Rachel and then at Piper as a new type of agony consumed me.

"Is he...do you think...," I gulped, not wanting to say the words out loud.

"Is it...broken?" I whispered, finally gathering the courage to hear the news.

Hazel and Rachel looked even more concerned than before. Those who survived broken bonds were never the same again. We all waited with bated breath as Piper considered my question. She sat there for a moment, seeming to feel out or "test" my soulmate bond.

"No," she answered finally. "It isn't broken."

We all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then what..." Rachel trailed off, apparently not knowing how to finish the question.

"He must have been in extreme pain." Piper looked at me with sympathy. "Severe, life-threatening pain."

I bit my lip, trying not to cry again.

"Is he..."

"He's alive. I don't know what was causing him pain, or why it stopped so suddenly, so I don't know if it will happen again. It very well could. The only thing we can do is pray and keep an eye on it and you."

Piper looked at me with sympathy in her eyes.

I knew where this was going.

"Piper, I'm fine. I don't-"

"You're spending the night here. All of you." Piper declared fulfilling my prediction.

"But what about Jason?" I asked in another attempt to protest.

We were in Piper and Jason's apartment of rooms at the palace hanging out together. Their rooms were comfortable enough, large and well decorated, but sleeping at the palace always made me uncomfortable. I never felt safe here, and sleeping here when I didn't have to was just inviting trouble. Besides, Piper and Jason were still newlyweds and it felt wrong to spend the night so soon after their bonding.

Piper waved her hand dismissively.

"Jason will be fine. He can sleep in the other room while we sleep in here. Or, if you want he can sleep in the barracks."

"Or, since it's ridiculous for me to sleep here," I said standing up, "you can both sleep in your room and the rest of us can go home."

"Nonsense, you are sleeping here," Piper replied standing up to meet my gaze. Rachel and Hazel remained where they were, watching us go back and forth in silence.

"Piper, I am not sleeping here tonight. There is a reason that I got a house of my own away from the palace as soon as I turned 18."

"And there is a reason why I am insisting." Piper placed her hands on her hips, meeting me glare for glare. "The next several days could be touch and go for both you and your soulmate. You can't be alone and you need someone to monitor your bond. So for the time being you sleep here. That's an order." She commanded.

I sighed, knowing that I had lost. Piper didn't like issuing orders, but she could when she needed to.

Piper smiled triumphantly as I sank back onto my cushion on the floor. She then proceeded to have some maids come in and clean up the mess we had made and had someone sent to my house to gather a few things so I could spend the night. Someone was also sent to Rachel and Hazel's rooms, but it was less of an ordeal since they lived in the palace.

We had just settled back in from the flurry of activity when the main doors opened.

"Announcing, his royal highness, Prince Jason Grace, Crown Prince of Vrontí!" The herald announced.

We all stood again as Jason strode into the room. Tall, blonde, blue eyes and chiseled features, with not a single hair out of place he was perfect. A little too perfect for my taste, but he made Piper happy.

He greeted all of us with a smile and gentlemanly nod as he made his way to Piper. He placed a sweet kiss on her lips as she threw her arms around his neck a gleeful smile warming her face. They stood there for several minutes exchanging soft words while the rest of us directed our attention elsewhere, not wanting to intrude on such a tender moment.

When they were done Jason turned to the rest of us, his usual kind smile in place.

"Ladies, I apologize if I interrupted something."

"Not at all we were just leaving." I jumped at the chance to try and escape once again, but Piper saw it coming.

"Ah!" She pointed her finger at me giving me a scolding look. "You're not going anywhere."

Jason looked between us, confused.

"Annabeth do you need someone to escort you home?" He asked, gentlemanly as ever. His question was a valid one since that was what Piper and I were usually arguing about this late at night.

"No, she's spending the night tonight," Piper answered firmly before I could protest. She then launched into a dramatic, yet accurate explanation and retelling of what had just occurred. By the end of it, Jason was nodding along seriously in full agreement with his wife.

"Annabeth she's right, you do need to stay here, at least for tonight. I'll sleep in the barracks to give you ladies some privacy." He placed a gentle kiss on Piper's forehead, whispered something into her ear, and left with a wave to the rest of us.

I bit my lip, knowing that I was fully locked into a sleepover now.

Piper grinned at me evilly, knowing that I had to do whatever Jason said because of my job.

"Wonderful," she clapped her hands together happily. "A sleepover at the palace."

Yeah, just wonderful.

"Swear it on the sea."

"I swear."

My little arms shoved him hard and I ran, not looking back.

As I grew closer to the house, smoke began to fill my nose and mouth, choking me with the stench of burning straw. When I got close enough to see my house I stopped, fear making my heart pound. Flames were dancing inside of the house, reaching out of the windows and door to lick the roof. Crashes from inside signaled that Helen's collection of beautiful glass jars were breaking. More tears streamed down my face. I had helped Helen make some of those jars. I loved them just as much as she did.

Several adults stood around the fire, watching as it burned. I ran to them, screaming. We needed buckets and water. We needed blankets to smother the fire. I was seven years old and I knew more about putting out a fire than these dunderheads. I ran through them, shouting orders, not registering that I didn't recognize any of them until it was too late.

I came to a stop on the other side of the adults, horror gripping me.

There on the ground between me and the fiery house were Daddy and Helen on their knees. Helen was gripping her round tummy where my two little brothers were living and crying. Daddy was talking to a woman who stood in front of them, her back to the fire.

The woman looked terrifying. The flames behind her highlighted her tall figure, dark hair, and hateful eyes. She wore a silver-gray dress under matching armor that shined in the firelight. A silver crown decorated her brown hair as it flowed down her shoulders. Her eyes glistened with malice and hatred as she looked down at Daddy and Helen, a sword glinting dangerously in her hand. She looked like a warrior from heaven.

"Daddy!" I cried as I rushed toward him.

He turned with horror and pain in his eyes.

"Annabeth run! Get out of here, go!" He shouted.

I didn't listen to him, I ran forward trying to get to him and Helen. Before I could strong arms gripped me from behind and yanked me back. I kicked, screamed, and cried, trying to get free. I had to get to my family.

"You have betrayed me and your country Fredrick. You shall pay with your life." The woman spoke in a dark and heavy voice.

"You'll never get away with this Athena," Daddy said angrily.

"Watch me." The woman replied with a smirk on her face.

"Daddy!" I screamed and struggled against my captor as she raised her sword.

"Daddy! No!" I screamed until I was hoarse, but no one seemed to listen or care. No one heard me.

I watched as the sword came down, killing my father.

"Daddy!"

"Fredrick!"

Helen and I both screamed at the same time.

His head rolled across the sand leaving a trail of blood. His body crumpled at the woman's feet. Droplets of blood splattered across her armor and face. Something wet dripped off of my face, but I didn't care. I fought against my captor with all of my might. I wanted to kill the warrior woman. She wasn't from heaven I decided, but from hell.

"Now for you whore." She turned her attention to Helen.

"No!" I screamed, but once again no one seemed to care.

The sword raised again and Helen's head rolled just like Daddy's. More blood splattered across the woman, dripping off of her nose and chin.

Again, something wet ran down my face and I reached up to wipe it off. When I looked at my hand I saw blood. Daddy's and Helen's.

All of the fight drained out of me. I was sick.

I threw up all over the person holding me.

"Aw ew!" He cried and dropped me roughly into the sand.

When I looked up the warrior woman was standing over me, consideration in her eyes. Slowly she knelt before me and lifted my chin with her murderous hand so I would look her in the eye.

"Annabeth darling, it's time you come home with me, your mother."

I sat bolt upright, drenched in cold sweat.

It was the same nightmare every night. The night I watched my mother, Athena, murder my father and his soulmate Helen.

Panting, I placed a hand on my chest, trying to regain my breath. I looked around to ensure that I hadn't awoken any of the others.

Piper slept soundly on the couch, snoring softly. Hazel, little thing that she was, rattled the room with her snores from the opposite couch. Rachel, who had volunteered to take the floor next to me, was on her side facing away from me. Her breathing was deep and even indicating that she was still deep asleep.

I turned over facing away from the others. I clenched my left hand into a fist and held it to my chest as tears began to roll down my cheeks.

'Seaweed Brain.' I thought mournfully. Dark hair, sea-green eyes, and his signature troublemaker smile popped into my mind. My heart ached I missed him so much. It had been 16 years since I had seen him that night, but I had never forgotten him. Had he forgotten me? Probably.

I sniffled and closed my eyes, imagining him playing on the beach happy, safe, and carefree.

I didn't want a soulmate, I just wanted Seaweed Brain.

Day three of bond watch and I was sick of it. Sick of the waiting, the watching, and the wondering. Working as an intelligence officer and war counsel advisor, I often knew before most people what was going on with the war. But so far all we knew was that three days ago there had been a huge battle, one that had cost thousands of lives.

The battle itself was still going on, but not nearly to the scale it had been during the first day. Reports that casualties were still increasing and that medical supplies were running low were rolling in. The war council had made the executive decision to have all critical and severely wounded transferred to the hospital here in the capital and to evacuate all civilians from Thálassa to here. The first round of wounded was scheduled to begin arriving this afternoon.

Of course, we had to run all of this by Poseidon, king of Thálassa, and he hadn't been happy about it but had eventually agreed. His ambassador had made it clear that King Poseidon was only agreeing because there was no longer a guaranteed safe location for the wounded and civilians in Thálassa.

King Zeus had rolled his eyes when told this but in the end, no one cared, so long as the innocent lives were safe. That statement of course had come after an hour-long rant on how pompous Poseidon and his son, Perseus were.

Currently, I was pacing the hall outside of the briefing room. I was waiting for word that the first round of wounded had finally arrived. With how powerful that pain had been three days ago, surely my soulmate would be in the first wave of wounded. What I would do if and when I finally found him, I didn't know, but one step at a time.

"Lady Annabeth?"

I turned, startled at the sudden voice. Will Solace, the court physician stood there looking at me with a confused smile.

"Dr. Solace! Hello, I didn't see you standing there."

"Hello, it's okay, and I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh, that. Don't worry about it." I said absentmindedly. I began to pace again, expecting him to move on, but he just stood there looking even more confused.

"Lady Annabeth, is everything alright?" He asked after a moment.

Now it was my turn to look at him confused.

"Of course, why do you ask?"

"Well, you seem to be a bit, distracted." He stated cautiously.

I bit my lip, wondering if I should tell him. After all, he was a doctor, maybe he would know what kind of injuries I should look for in my soulmate when the wounded arrived.

"Annabeth, what's wrong?" Will stepped forward and asked more quietly. We were alone in the hall but hushed tones seemed more appropriate with the tension in the air.

He looked so genuine and understanding, I couldn't help it. So I told him everything, what had happened, my concern, even my lack of desire for a soulmate, and how I felt crappy about it and was confused because I still felt fear and concern for whoever it was.

Will stood there and listened to it all, nodding along and processing every detail. When I was done he looked thoughtful while I felt more tired and anxious than I already had been.

"Piper assures me that he's still alive and that the bond is intact, but there's no guarantee that he'll survive his injuries. She said that it's possible that he's in a coma and the reason I don't feel any residual pain is because he can't feel pain in a coma."

Will nodded, a serious look on his face as he considered the potential conditions that my soulmate was in.

"I can keep an eye out for anything that might cause your description of pain, but unless I have more details I'm not sure that there is much I can do..." He said gently.

I nodded in understanding. A few moments went by and without realizing it I started to pace again.

"Annabeth?" Will asked confused.

"I'm still worried!" I cried unintentionally. A courtier who was down the hall gave me a strange look. Will glared back at him and pulled me aside into an alcove not far from the briefing room. I huffed and crossed my arms, looking away from Will so he would not see my burning cheeks.

"I'm still worried," I repeated more quietly. "Don't get me wrong, I feel better knowing that you will be looking for him, but I'm still worried and I don't know why."

Will tried to fight back a grin but I could tell that he could not help it. He did manage to turn it into a compassionate smile though.

"It's the bond. It makes you do, say, think, and feel things you never would have before and often without reason."

"But I need reason. The reason keeps me sane."

Will shook his head chuckling. "Sorry, but that's how it works. Things like worry, fear, happiness, joy...all and more come and go with no reason or explanation. At least, before you meet your soulmate." Will winked at me. "Once you meet your soulmate the why becomes obvious."

"Really?" I asked hopefully.

"Well, most of the time. If you spend a lot of time apart, you tend to not know, which makes knowing who your soulmate is no help at all."

I groaned. This whole thing was complicated and confusing. I wished that I simply didn't have a soulmate at all.

"Is it possible," I whispered, pursuing half a thought that had popped into my head. "To break off a soulmate bond without hurting the other party?"

Will pursed his lips at the question in clear disapproval.

"Breaking a soulmate bond is dangerous. Even if you're still in just the early fated stages. Depending on how strong your bond is it could be fatal."

I balked, taken aback at how serious Will was painting the situation to be.

"But we haven't even met yet!"

"Which is why it's not a good idea and why you need to talk to a bond expert. I'm a doctor so I know a little bit, but I don't know enough about soulmate bonds to give you the advice you need."

I opened my mouth to protest, but a sudden flurry of activity down the hall drew our attention away from the current conversation.

"Lady Annabeth! Dr. Solace! You're needed outside! The wounded are starting to arrive." A page boy shouted down the hall.

"Thank you, we will be right there," Will replied. The boy nodded and ran off to alert others who would be needed outside.

"We should go," Will said, his doctor mode kicking in. I followed him down the hall and into the flow of people in the main hall of the palace. Servants, courtiers, pages, and guards all rushed back and forth gathering supplies and taking them outside to where they would be needed.

Will and I followed the flow toward the front entrance.

"Annabeth!"

I turned to see Piper walking hurriedly toward me. Hazel and a guard followed, struggling to keep up with her in this crowd. I frowned at the worried look on Piper's face.

"Piper, what is it?"

She gripped my arm once she reached me, eyeing the people around us as though she were afraid of what they might hear or say.

"Stay away from my mother today." She instructed under her breath.

"What, why?" I was confused by the absurd request. I had no reason to be near Aphrodite on a normal day, let alone one like this.

"Just trust me," Piper whispered giving me a firm look.

With a squeeze of my arm, she released me and swept past headed straight for the front door. I stood there watching her leave, perplexed at the odd exchange.

"What was that all about?" Will asked appearing by my side.

"I have no idea," I mumbled absentmindedly. He shrugged and followed after Piper and her small entourage.

I followed, still trying to figure out what Piper had meant. The only reason she would want me to stay away from her mother was if there was something of significance to my soulmate bond that she wouldn't want Aphrodite to sense. But Aphrodite's powers weren't like Piper's. She could only read bonds if she made contact with the person's left hand. Which confused me even more.

'What has gotten into Piper?' I wondered as I made my way down the front steps.

I was drawn out of my thoughts however by the sight of the group that had gathered at the foot of the palace's front steps. To my right stood Jason with Piper and Hazel, with General La Rue and General Valdez on his other side. Directly in front of me was Will whose back was to me and Rachel who stood facing me. To my left were three horses, no, sorry, two horses, and one black Pegasus. In front of the three animals were what I could only assume were the animals' riders. One of them I recognized as Thalia Grace, Jason's older sister who stood next to Rachel. Next to Will was a short man with curly hair and a goatee. The third person I couldn't see because one of the horses' heads was blocking my view. They were all talking to each other and exchanging introductions from the looks of it.

I was halfway down the stairs when the horse moved its head and I froze.

I stopped. My heart stopped, my body stopped, I stopped breathing...everything stopped. My whole world froze.

Dark hair sticking up in odd places. Tan skin. Sea green eyes. Troublemaker smile.

"Seaweed Brain," I whispered in awe.

There, at the bottom of the palace's front steps, was Seaweed Brain. My Seaweed Brian.

My breath hitched.

I didn't know what to do. Part of me wanted to rush down there and hug him. Another part of me wanted to run back inside and hide inside of the palace.

'Would he even remember me?'

"...and Dr. Solace, this is his royal highness Prince Perseus Jackson Crown Prince of Thálassa." I heard Jason say.

Butterflies erupted within my stomach, and my knees felt weak.

A tingling burning sensation crept around the base of my left ring finger. I didn't have to look to know what color the band would be. Sea green, just like his eyes. Because Perseus Jackson, Crown Prince of Thálassa and number one enemy of King Zeus, was my soulmate.

'Shit.'