Chapter Sixteen (Of A Feather)

There comes a time when we must band together with those around us, for the mere safety awarded in numbers…

Percy

"How long have I been out?"

I clicked my tongue as I stared at Marc's form on the bed in front of me.

"About two weeks."

The son of Ares sighed, shifting his gaze to the roof of the tent gingerly.

"How bad is it?"

I hummed lightly, letting my eyes trail to his heavily bandaged left arm.

"I'm going to be blunt. Your left arm was mangled beyond the current capabilities of our healers. They manage to salvage the arm, but it won't be working anywhere near as it used to."

Marc grunted, nodding his acceptance as he sent me a curious gaze.

"Is that it?"

I shook my head, "No, but it's the worst of it. You have a permanent scar along your torso and a few singe marks that remain as an effect of the burn from Greek Flames."

Marc gave me a cheeky smile.

"Well, that's not too bad, what about the others?"

I gave the younger boy a small smile in return, stepping back from the side of his bed and towards the seat that had been left behind by Helen.

"Kerwin and Jerome almost died. It's because the healers needed to focus on them that they couldn't get to your arm in time. Well, that and the fact that they exhausted themselves on the others. A lot of broken bones but you're the last one to wake up."

"I feel like I haven't even slept yet." Marc sighed as returned his eyes to me.

"In slightly other news, I don't remember this place. Where are we?"

I smiled slightly at the boy from my seat.

"This, my friend," I stretched my arms out dramatically, "Is our new infirmary."

"Apollo?" I nodded in response, only serving to further his confusion, however, "How?"

"Apparently it was on behalf of the council, as an apology for Ares' errant ways that were against their wishes."

Marc raised an eyebrow, prodding me for more information. I sighed, shifting my eyes away from the boy as I recalled the brief meeting with the Sun god.

"I accepted the gift but refused to have us comply with their missions anymore. You guys need to rest, and then you need to train."

"You think we still aren't ready?"

I turned back to Marc. There wasn't any sign of hostility in his facial features, instead, he seemed genuinely curious.

"I don't think I am." I turned my head back to my hands, which had grasped each other. My index finger danced across the adjacent knuckle nervously. "I don't think I'm ready to lose anyone else."

Marc sighed softly, the sound shifting to a pained groan which was drowned out by the creaking of the bed.

My eyes turned to the younger boy who stared at me, his eyes almost as downtrodden as the words I had muttered.

"After what happened on that mission, I completely understand. I can't imagine how you manage to do this all the time, with so many more lives at stake."

I gave a humourless chuckle.

"We all have our roles, Marc. We all have our roles."

"What if we had stayed in camp instead?"

I paused at that, my eyes shifting towards the seemingly endless rows of beds that stretched out to the other side of Marc.

"Is that what you'd prefer?"

Marc stayed quiet for a while, drawing my eyes to him as I awaited a response.

It was more for me than it was for him. His words would either vindicate or validate my decision to remain out here this long. His words would be the impetus for my next decision. His words were a seal that would be placed on the faith of the group.

He knew that it was only a matter of time.

I knew it was only a matter of time.

The only difference in the fact was whether it would result in us returning to camp, or us facing our first casualty.

"We knew what we were signing up for."

I nodded slightly. "But it doesn't mean we have to like it or resign ourselves to it."

"This is what we wanted, Percy. Every one of us in this group means nothing to that camp. Except you. The rest of us are nothing more than meaningless demigods that aren't even meant for the annals of the history books. Here though, with the Vanguard, we have something. We have a reason to die, we have a legacy to build and protect, we have meaning and purpose. We can build our own stories and history."

I clicked my tongue at the boy's words. There was a strength there that belied his incapacitated position.

"All of that ends if we're eradicated."

"Then lead us, Percy! Lead us down this gods forsaken path and bring out as many of us as you can. It doesn't matter if we all die, so long as someone lives to tell our heroic tales. It doesn't even have to be you."

"So, it's all in the name of legacy?"

Marc shook his head slightly; his eyes were burning with passion.

"No, Percy. It's all about purpose."

I hummed lightly, letting my eyes trail from the boy as I stared at my entwined fingers once more.

"Alright then. We should start to make moves towards completing our own mission, and truly establish ourselves as a group."

"So, no more missions from the gods?"

I gave the boy a cheeky smile as I rose to my feet.

"No more missions from the council. I've always been rebellious."

Marc grinned back at me, "And the Vanguard will follow you, boss."

I groaned at the younger boys' words despite the smile which tugged at the corners of my lips.

"I should let Helen back in before she passes out from panic."

"More like beat the fuck out of you for taking so long."

I scoffed lightly at his words.

"My girl beats the shit out of yours, so I'll be fine."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that!" Marc called out behind me as I slunk out of the tent, a bright smile on my face.

"So, he's fine?"

I squeezed my eyes closed, bringing my hand to shield my eyes as they adjusted to the rays of the sun. After a moment, I managed to make out Helen, staring at me with puffy eyes as she shifted lightly on her crutches.

"Nope, his body is honestly a mess! But mentally, he's a warrior. So, he'll be fine."

Helen gave me a small smile.

"Is there anything I should avoid telling him?"

I place a hand gently on her shoulder.

"You can tell him everything, just make sure he rests and eats."

Helen nodded and moved past me, the echoing of her crutches colliding with the floor straying behind.

(A Few Days Later)

"Look who's finally decided to join us!"

I flicked my gaze towards the hearth, only to find Marc hobbling towards his seat with Helen at his side. A soft smile graced my lips as I returned my eyes to Cassandra who was animatedly telling me about her adventures in the forest.

The young girl quickly finished her story, squealing in delight as she mentioned her interaction with a wild deer.

"I'm glad you've been having fun, Cassie."

"It's thanks to you I get to see all these pretty and cool things!"

I chuckled lightly, ruffling her hair. She pouted slightly, before sticking her tongue out at me and rushing towards Chrysilla for the older girl to help fix her hair.

"You should've seen her, Marc!"

I zoned back into the animated conversation of Jordon filling Marc in, again, on Zina's explosive use of her abilities.

Marc chuckled at the overenthusiasm on display, raising his good arm to interject before the conversation could continue, "What about the son of Hades?"

"His name is Nico."

Marc turned to me, nodding apologetically.

"What about Nico, is he alright?"

I gave him a small smile and nodded, "Yeah, he's good. He had to go back to the Underworld for some of his duties pretty soon after we defeated the monsters."

"And had Ares running with his tail between his legs!"

I groaned at Teucer's words, rubbing my eyes to avoid the pointed stares I was receiving.

"Again, Percy?"

I squeezed my eyes at Chrysilla's tone.

"What do you mean, again?" Adrastea's query sparked a crowded conversation that I couldn't quite keep up with. A few minutes later, the sounds died down.

"Okay, let me get this straight." I sighed as Adrastea took the floor once again, "You're telling me that, after we were teleported away, Percy almost fought my dad?"

Adrian's voice replied quickly, "Correct."

"That's pretty badass, Percy."

I groaned as Jerome started another spiral of cheers and taunts in my direction.

"Wait!" I peeked between my fingers to see that Marc had stilled the chatter, "What's this about a second time?"

"Oh yeah!" Katherine started before I could interject, "When our dad came with the tent as an apology, he stuck around to speak with us for a little bit. He told us how Ares was absolutely seething at the fact that Percy and Nico basically threatened him that any attack on either of them would equate to the other joining the fray."

"Oh, you're forgetting that this was after the two of them confronted him, and forced him to give us our barracks under the threat of a fight," Jordon added.

The crackling of fire filled the silence.

"Percy…"

I let my hands slip from my face and turned to Chrysilla. Her piercing gaze demanded I listen to her unspoken question and answer truthfully.

Sighing, I turned to the rest of the Vanguard, "Yes, it's all true."

Another round of vibrant chatter exploded around the hearth.

"But before you all get any funny ideas. This is how it went down. After we successfully aided Squad Two, and they were being tended to by the healers, with Adrian, Chrysilla and Zina's assistance, Ares arrived. He was trying to use Nico as a scapegoat to avoid rewarding us for the forced mission, and he wasn't too pleasant with Nico about it. So, we set the record straight, and now he knows not to fuck with either of us unless he's prepared to fuck with the both of us."

"Does that mean we will get caught up in that fight?"

I turned to Crystal, who stared at me with cautious eyes. She fidgeted under my gaze as I shook my head.

"It doesn't have to mean that, no."

"It doesn't matter what it has to mean, the fact is that if you are going to back Nico, we will follow you." All eyes turned to Marc, who was staring resolutely into the fire. "Not only is it our duty as members of the Vanguard, but Squad Two owes it to Nico. We wouldn't be alive without him. So, if you're called to arms to aid him, at the very least Squad Two will follow you into battle without question."

I smiled at Marc, who met my eyes and held my gaze. I nodded at him after a few moments, unable to properly express my gratitude at his words.

"I'm not sure what Crystal is afraid of. We've fought through horrible situations, and we'll face worse in the future. If it means to stand by the members of the Vanguard, Squad Three will be there to fight as well."

I turned to Adrian, giving him a small nod even as my smile persisted.

"I don't think it was questioned whether Squad Four would be there, but just in case any of you thought otherwise, we'll be beside you against whatever threat stands before you."

My smile widened as I turned to Chrysilla.

"Are you sure that isn't just because the two of you are fucking?"

I groaned as laughter rippled around the camp at Kerwin's words. Unwilling to let that particular conversation grow out of hand, I quickly interjected as they were still laughing.

"Anyway, moving on seeing as Cassie is right here!"

The little girl gave me a mischievous grin, pointing towards her hair as she moved towards the hearth.

"Percy and Chrysilla sitting in a tree. G!"

She sang as she danced around the campfire. The laughter increased as I groaned from my seat. The daughter of Tyche quickly ran to the opposite side of me, where the children of Hermes were, and high-fived them all. She quickly stuck out a tongue at me as the conversation slowly petered away from my relationship.

It was times like this that I felt like I had made the right decision. When the entire group looked like normal teenagers. Well, if teenagers were often borderline mutilated and heavily bandaged every other week with lifelong scars and injuries…

But still, it made me feel as if Marc were right. Maybe there was something worth staying out here for. Something that couldn't be found back at the construction site of New Greece.

A purpose.

A soft draft sent a gentle chill through the tent as the light winds ruffled the papers adorning the wooden desk.

The soft grunts that accompanied the heavy steps of the last to arrive filled the silence as I let my eyes search the table. Finding the notes that I had taken and without lifting my eyes, I called out.

"Alright, there are a few things I want to talk about today."

There were a few moments of grunts as the table quivered from the last seat being filled.

"The first on the agenda is to run through our inventory."

I glanced up to see Marc still shifting slightly as he sought a more comfortable position in his seat. I gave the boy a short, apologetic glance before Chrysilla caught my attention.

"The most recent of which has been added was courtesy of Lord Apollo. The Infirmary is the last gift of the gods in terms of tents. The others being, our living quarters, the barracks and this commander's tent."

"Apollo also made adjustments to the barrack to incorporate an archery range." I nodded along with Adrian's addition as Marc grunted softly.

"I didn't know about that one."

I turned to Marc, shrugging slightly. "You had bigger things to worry about."

The son of Ares chuckled as I shifted my attention back to the children of Athena.

"Are there any known issues with any of these tents?"

Chrysilla shook her head, and, after a few moments, Adrian did the same.

"Not that we're aware of, no."

Chrysilla's voice was quick to fill the, almost non-existent, gap of silence.

"The Living Quarters are still fully functioning as mini apartments. The plumbing has been running sufficiently and there have been no complaints. There are some issues with the blunted weapons of the Barracks as there has been a rise in the use of them to resolve conflicts."

I hummed lightly at that, pausing slightly as I noticed I had interrupted Chrysilla's report.

"Continue." She nodded after shooting me a curious glance.

"The Infirmary has been the best addition, arguably alongside this command tent, but that would just be a prejudiced statement on my behalf." I heard my chuckles meld into the sounds of laughter from the other boys, "The Infirmary has been stocked with a few techniques that our current Healers had not had access to without being at camp. This will surely be useful in the future as they will be able to treat more life-threatening injuries."

"Gods know there will be a lot more of those."

I hummed lightly in agreement with Marc's words. My eyes trailed past him as I sighed at the weight of the reality before us.

"There is only so much that we can do with what we have. All that is left at this point is to pray that we will have enough time to adapt before the worst befalls us."

I felt my eyes flicker back to Marc.

"I have a strong feeling that Time is not on our side…"

The son of Ares shot me a humourless smile, marred by the memories of the wars we faced together.

"That aside, what else is there that we were called to discuss today?"

I turned back to Chrysilla, who had begun combing through her notes once more.

"We can talk about the rest of the ranking system."

I clicked my tongue, nodding at Adrian.

I shifted slightly in my seat as I awaited their reports.

"Can you run through this system one more time?" Marc baulked as the children of Athena paused to look at him.

"I'll run through it again, don't worry."

Marc turned and shot me an appreciative look as I smiled easily at him.

"It's basically an advanced ranking system that stems from the three basic categories used from the trials. We separate the members back into Melee, Archer or Powered."

"Were we not talking about having each member become proficient in all areas?"

"That's why we didn't want to get into this now…"

I chuckled lightly at Adrian's dig but brushed it aside.

"You're going to need to stop skipping meetings in favour of impromptu missions."

Marc gave me a resigned nod before I continued.

"We have these separate categories so that we can attempt to quantify the various levels of abilities of each member. The differing levels we agreed on, which you should remember, are Novice, Amateur, Intermediate, Expert, and Master."

"Okay, I remember these names, but what are they based on?"

Chrysilla huffed, pushing her papers to the desk. "An accumulation of theoretical information surmised from the books, both from Pelagios and of the records from the Athena cabin, alongside the experience of Percy."

"Ah, right. My bad."

I chuckled lightly.

"Trust me, I've been in your shoes, so I get it."

Marc's shoulders sagged a little in relief at avoiding a reprimanding from me as well as I continued.

"That being said, we decided on the best course of action being that we reset the ranks every so often so that the members don't get too complacent at a particular level."

"Yes, that is the basics of it all." I turned to Adrian, who placed his papers on the desk before shifting his gaze to Marc. "To get a bit more in-depth, we are still enforcing a quiet protocol with regards to this ranking system. This way, certain members will see that they're being treated differently without understanding why."

"That doesn't seem like a great idea…"

I shot Marc a warning look and he baulked, gesturing for Adrian to continue.

"Right, as I was saying. We are still new to this and are trying different methods, but the ideology for this one is that it should instigate a greater desire for demigods of a lower rank to better themselves in order to reach a similar level of treatment of the other demigods."

"Why reset it then?"

Chrysilla was quick to respond.

"Partially for the reason Percy stated, to stop them from becoming too stagnated with their unknown ranking. It's also because we're constantly shifting the training regimes. We have a schedule that you should have been following, but we assumed you weren't and have been monitoring your group silently on your behalf."

"It's not my fault that I'm not really as comfortable as you all with being in here. It's too quiet and I feel restless whenever I'm in here. I'd prefer having our meetings at the Hearth."

"In the open, where it isn't soundproof, and everyone can hear what we're discussing?"

Marc grumbled under his breath, shifting his injured arm slightly.

"Marc," The son of Ares turned his scowl towards me, "The chain of Command is necessary, you know that from the quest for Tyche. You also need to remember that we're all going to be called to sacrifice in our roles for the best of the group. Do you really think that I'm in love with being cooped up in here as often as I have been?"

Marc sighed, nodding softly at me as I turned my gaze back to Chrysilla and Adrian.

"Right. Before I get onto the report, I just want to finish up. The different regimes keep things from being monotonous enough for the system to be discovered and exploited. Without them being aware of what we're working on, the more effective it is for us to work on them."

Marc shook his head, "You guys are starting to sound like exactly what we were running away from."

I clicked my tongue, shifting my eyes back to my papers.

"Marc…" the edge in my voice cut through the eruption of the children of Athena. I let the silence hang in the air, the thick oppressive tension slowly ebbing away as the seconds ticked by. I let my eyes slowly rise from the desk and rest on the light browns of Marc's eyes. I held the intense stare until he looked away before shifting my eyes to the other two present.

"Please give me the report."

They nodded quickly.

"After the rest, we now have no master archers, three expert archers, five intermediate archers, no amateur archers and three novice archers."

There was a palpable silence that hung in the air as Chrysilla shifted her eyes between Adrian and me.

"In terms of melee, you're still by far the only master warrior, with three experts, six intermediate, three amateur and seven novices."

Chrysilla quickly filled the gap this time.

"You keep insisting that you're not a master level, but you are so one master level powered, one newly promoted, expert level powered, three intermediate level powered, one amateur and no novices."

I nodded slightly, passing my hand through my hair as I closed my eyes. I took a deep breath in, registering the new information and taking great care in choosing my next few questions.

"Are you not going to address what I mentioned?"

I peeked one eye open at Marc, who seemed extremely agitated at this point.

"Are you not going to listen to me because I'm not a child of Athena?"

I let the air escape my lungs as I opened both eyes fully. Adrian gave out a surprised chuckle, drawing attention to him.

"Marc, are you really acting as though you weren't present for most of our meetings up to this point?"

"And as though we didn't take the time to run all of this by you before we implemented it all?" Chrysilla added.

"Well, it wouldn't make sense anyway because you all wouldn't have listened to me at all!"

I felt my right eye twitch slightly.

"What have you all been doing with regard to the growing conflicts between squads?"

I was met with silence.

A few moments passed as the three gathered themselves and turned their attention back to me.

"I don't see the problem with it, so I haven't done anything."

I raised an eyebrow inquisitively at Marc but hummed in response.

The boy glanced around the room, groaning as he saw the eyes on him before quickly defending himself.

"Yeah, it urges them to fight for something tangible, a place or a position that really sets them apart from the others."

Chrysilla huffed indignantly.

"Which would be all well and good if the purpose of the Vanguard wasn't unity."

Adrian hummed contemplatively before turning his eyes to his sister.

"I don't think that it's without flaw, but I also see the merits in the current debates about it."

Chrysilla groaned at Adrian's stance. I raised my hand at her, cutting off a complaint and urged the boy to continue.

"I think it complements and hides the ranking system well. They already have subconscious cues to prove themselves better than their peers in their squads, why not let them have some form of unity across squads?"

Marc grunted his approval, nodding eagerly at the words of Adrian.

"And you think this wouldn't affect the overall unity of the Vanguard as a whole?"

Adrian paused, but Marc quickly picked up on his behalf.

"The last time I went on a mission, the fighting was seamless, and I had members of two other squads with mine."

Adrian's eyes lit up as he pointed at his friend.

"Both of which were children of Ares, the god who assigned the mission. It's common for these members to fight to lead these kinds of missions, but they easily deferred to Marc!"

Chrysilla sighed as the two boys stared appreciatively at each other. Sensing the lull in the conversation and a gap to seize, she pressed on.

"It establishes a hierarchy in the group."

"Since when was that a bad thing?" Marc snapped back.

"Since those at the bottom are looked down upon!" Chrysilla's face contorted slightly, but she took measured breaths to keep herself calm.

"I agree with Chrysilla on this one."

"Weren't you the one who wanted a second in command?" Marc pointed out.

"And told us to fight for the position?" Adrian added.

I tilted my head slightly as I peered between both boys at their sudden switch towards me.

"Yes, I was." Chrysilla shook her head as the two boys puffed their chests out in success. "But that was also before we decided to switch to the current system we're using now, and I have not, either formally or informally, given such a position to either of you."

I paused for a moment to let my words sink in.

"My intention was to allow you all to hold a joint position in that role. In the absence of my presence, you all have complete authority over your own groups. In the absence of each of your presence, your groups have been assigned someone to which that authority will fall, am I correct?"

They paused for a moment, searching for some form of rebuttal. After a few moments of silence, I continued.

"Look, I'm not disputing the element of competition which is very much appreciated. I'm asking us to look at it from the perspective of the others. I've been in the Roman Legions, and they had the Fifth Cohort in a horrible position when I was there, for 'being the worst of the bunch'."

"But it's not that bad here!"

"I'm not saying that it is! This is a pre-emptive discussion." The son of Ares quieted himself before uttering a soft apology.

"And it's clear to see that it is very much needed because your reactions clearly state that you're aware that you stand to lose something from a change being made."

The boys turned to Chrysilla, her voice a surprise after her prolonged silence.

"After the botched mission Adrian and I had, where I'll admit, I led us down a bad path. There was a lingering animosity. After we finally tied it up a few weeks later, your group was so supportive of Adrian's but there was rarely anyone to come to our aid."

"That's nonsense!" Marc retaliated.

"How are you going to tell me what I experienced!"

"Because it didn't happen like that! The wounded were prioritised."

"So, you're saying that my squad wasn't banged up at all?"

"No, I'm saying that Adrian's was, and we were just tending to them first!"

"We?"

The two paused at my interjection.

"Were you a part of those who were tending solely to Adrian's squad?"

"No, he wasn't." Adrian supplied.

I gave the son of Athena a brief nod, though he didn't notice it as he had instead shifted his eyes to Marc. I turned my gaze to Chrysilla, who shook her head at me.

"If you can't see how this, supposedly, little misconception of mine has already sown the lines of division amongst you, then I fear we're too far gone."

I shook my head, returning my eyes to my papers.

"Per-"

"Let me be absolutely clear. You've had your warning. I've alerted you to the issue. My advice was to stem the ideology at its core which I assumed to be whoever is perpetuating rumours and gossip. It appears that the poison has already climbed the grapevine. There is nothing left for me to do but to prepare myself to catch you all as you fall."

I packed the papers up in a neat pile and stood up.

"It's not like that, Percy!"

I paused, casting a cold empty gaze at Marc.

"You're a good soldier, Marc. Perhaps too good at listening to what you've been told, but a good soldier, nonetheless."

I was about to walk away, but I sighed.

"Let's hope that you are right, and I am wrong, however. Meeting dismissed."

There was a slight rise from them in protest, but I dropped the temperature to cut them off.

"Whether it is your hierarchy or mine, the one at the top is me. We will reconvene when there is less tension. Goodbye."

I gave Chrysilla a long meaningful look before exiting the command tent and heading towards my own.

(A Few Days Later)

I yawned, stretching slightly as I pulled myself free from the covers which clung tightly to my body. I turned, peering at Chrysilla's sleeping figure and smiled as I drank in her beauty.

With a resigned sigh, I got up and went to the bathroom and took a quick shower. I had a lot of reading to catch up on since Chrysilla and Adrian had been working overtime on their theories and their discoveries. I made a quick plan to handle as much of it as possible before Chrysilla woke up and started adding to the pile.

I quickly donned my clothes, readjusting the ring on my finger and making sure Riptide was in my pocket before walking out of the tent.

"Perseus."

I paused at the name being used, a scowl forming on my lips as I turned to the owner of the voice. I was slightly surprised to find Zina's face staring blankly back at me, but my irritation at the use of my full name outweighed my confusion.

"You know that I hate being called that. What do you want?"

"And here I thought the rumours of you finally being respectful to gods were true."

My head tilted as I blinked a few times, the words slowly processing in my brain. I placed my hand gently on her shoulder as I stared into her silver-grey eyes.

"I literally have no idea if you're joking or not, but even if there are none here, you shouldn't say things like that. The gods don't really appreciate it, Zina."

"What do you mean Percy, I'm right here."

I spun around, my hands still on Zina's shoulder, to find… another Zina?

I blinked twice at her, before turning to her smirking twin before me. I repeated the process a few more times.

I slowly pulled my hands back to my side, letting my right elbow rest on the palm of my left hand as I stroked at the stubble on my chin. I let my eyes shift between the clones before nodding to myself and closing my eyes.

To my greatest displeasure and confusion, when I opened my eyes, there were still two Zina's in front of me.

"Okay, so how long are we going to just pretend like this is normal and that I shouldn't be lost when that's clearly not the case?"

"I was just impressed that you were so calm about touching my mother." Said the one behind me, causing me to turn to face her.

"Woah, Percy made a move on your mom?"

I grimaced as I caught the smirking face of Ajax. The son of Aristaeus paused as he stared past me, his grin faded as he turned to stare at Zina for a moment before peeking past me again.

"I'm… I'm going to just pretend that I understand what's going on here and shut up."

My shoulders sagged in relief as I continued to let my back face the goddess, hiding my embarrassment.

"And what is it that you 'understand', son of Aristaeus?"

Taking a calming breath, and glaring at Zina who smirked at my discomfort, I turned back to Bia.

"You look exactly alike." Ajax offered with a large grin, which slowly faded away before he quickly fell to one knee and bowed "My lady." He added lamely, causing me to bite back a laugh at him.

She seemed to nod at his response before turning her eyes back to me.

"And what of you, Perseus? Will you not bow?"

I felt the mirth in my face drain as I stared coolly at her. I raised an eyebrow, questioning her demand as I closed my right hand into a fist and leaned my chin against it. She held my gaze evenly, her hands twitching as the seconds drew on.

I took great satisfaction in watching her lips shrivel up into a scowl as I shifted my gaze past her, allowing my mind to zone out as I waited patiently for her to move past it. She stared at me for a few moments longer, her eyes slowly simmering before they flickered from me and to Zina.

"Regardless, daughter, I have a request."

Zina nodded; her expression bland as she stared back at her mother. Her mother hummed back at her, stepping past me and in front of her child.

"As you are aware, I was tasked to chain the Titan Prometheus to a rock in the Underworld alongside my brother and sister. You should also be aware that the Titan has escaped the Underworld since Kronos attempted to seek vengeance against the gods. The Eagle which had been sent to eat his liver daily, has also escaped the Underworld in an attempt to find Prometheus."

Her words rang out in my ears, drawing me back to the conversation.

"I take it that the creature is affecting the mortal world."

Bia turned to me, her eyes staring me up and down before she spoke.

"It is as you say, Demigod. The bird came in pursuit of the liver of Prometheus but has since acquired the taste of mortal flesh."

"Is it affecting the mist then?"

Bia scoffed at Ajax's question.

"Do not underestimate the powers of the gods, boy."

"My money is on the fact that it probably killed one of the mortal loves of the gods."

Bia once again stared at me, yet this time it was with intrigue rather than anything else.

"Never mind the reasons. Will your group assist my daughter on this mission?"

"Are you aware of my current abstinence from missions from the Olympian council?"

Bia paused at me before shifting slightly as confusion crawled onto her face.

"I was not made aware of this, no."

I gave her the cheekiest grin I could manage.

"In that case, we will do what we can."

Bia shifted her gaze to the sky nervously, before turning back to me. There was a faint pull at her lips as her gaze grew more interested.

"Is there anything to guide us to the monster, Mother?"

Bia nodded as she turned back to her Zina, a piece of paper flashing into her hand which she extended. Zina stared at the parchment in bemusement for a few moments before she looked up again.

"Is this the exact location of the bird?"

"Yes, and it will update to inform you if it relocates."

"Well, that's much better than a bunch of Blue's clues to follow."

I chuckled at Ajax's joke, while Bia curiously tilted her head for a moment.

"Ah, I see. The other gods still move in their cryptic ways. It's one of the reasons I rarely show my face to the mortal world. They say I am too blunt and overbearing with the blessings I give. Even though the quests I give are often worthy of these gifts…"

"Kind of like Prometheus with his gift of fire?"

Bia stared at me silently once again. This time, after a few moments, her eyes seemed to sparkle as her lips were pulled apart by a radiant smile.

"I suppose there is as much irony to that statement as there is truth, but yes, you are correct young Perseus."

The goddess turned back to Zina.

"I approve of your leader, not so much of your companion, but I have even more faith that you will accomplish this task. Even though I already had full faith in you, my daughter."

The goddess walked over to Zina, kissing her on her forehead before disappearing, leaving Zina in shock. The girl placed her hand on her forehead before turning to me with a question.

"Is it just me or are the minor gods like, way more affectionate than the major gods?"

I was about to respond, but I paused. I couldn't very well argue on behalf of all of the Olympian gods, but I knew that many truly cared for their demigod children. Everything my father had done for me was his way of showing affection. At least that's how I had grown to take it.

"They have been far more open with it at the very least."

"Anyway," Zina began as she composed herself, a light blush still evident on her cheeks, "Let's go tell everyone that the great Percy Jackson has gone against his word and accepted another mission."

I scoffed.

"I'm still keeping my word actually. My issues lie with the council, I have no qualms against the Minor Gods."

"Was that a nicer way of saying this is your retribution?"

I turned to Ajax and shrugged lightly, ignoring the rest of his suggestive questions as we made our way to the Hearth.

Apollo had just begun to let his chariot dip back down on his daily journey. The post-high noon heat still lingered, yet it was a blessing as the past few days had been overcast with cold winds as the heavens continuously opened up.

The heat of the sun caked the mud into hard dirt once more, drawing a smile to my face as I strolled evenly on the turf. The soft whispers of those around me melded into the symphony of the peaceful ambience of the forest.

It had been a few hours since we began today's efforts to sever the wings of the Eagle.

The bird was a troublesome creature. While, at first, it appeared to be a simple enough task, given that the exact location of the bird was constantly known to us, it belied the true serpentine nature of the monster. Whether it was the combined scent of our demigod group or some instinctive inclination towards danger, the Eagle never allowed us much time once we drew nearer to its location.

As such, we had begun taking rotation shifts where the joint forces of two squads would lead the hunt while the other two straggled behind by a good, close to, a few kilometres to avoid our scents warding off the bird.

The bubbling sound of Cassandra's laughter brought me out of my momentary lull into peace. My eyes trailed across the group until they fell onto the daughter of Tyche, who was being held by Chrysilla.

Over the existence of the Vanguard, as I grew closer with each girl, the pair also began to develop a bond. Whereas Chrysilla and I had decided to have a rather intimate relationship, Cassandra was the little sister I always wanted.

The smile on my face widened slightly as I further shifted my gaze to my left.

I let my stare linger in idle fascination as various blobs of water floated before my eyes. They bobbed in the air as though the gentle breeze were the push and pull of the currents of the sea. Some expanded, shifting into various creatures ranging from simple horses to Hellhounds, while others shaped themselves after various houses I had seen.

This had become a common pastime of mine ever since I had decided to focus on mastering my aqua affinity abilities. I continued to smile at the sounds of Chrysilla and Cassandra as my mind slipped away once more.

Both Chrysilla and her brother were equally and continually fascinated with the implications of the books and the extent of knowledge which seemed to have been withheld from us demigods, but Chrysilla continued to interpret the work in a way neither Adrian nor I could have.

She had even taken it upon herself to help me experiment with different aspects of my abilities. That was the much kinder way of simply saying that I had become something of a personal guinea pig for her to prove her theories.

I chuckled to myself. I couldn't exactly complain about it though. She offered me very unique ideas to train my abilities and, despite it being for her theories, she was very motivational when it came to me exploring my abilities. There were many things I had read about or even had been exposed to in my initial exposure to information about my oceanic abilities which I had long since given up on being able to achieve.

The blobs stilled for a moment before streaming together to form one large blob. It slowly shifted, jerked, and extended until it formed a miniature replica of the big house, which froze over. I increased my concentration, tapping into the temperature of the water and fiddling with it until I got it completely under my control.

The little exertion of power allowed a small puff of water vapour to continuously stream from the chimney of the replica. It formed a little cycle where an inner part of the house would melt, heating up into vapour which would leave through the chimney, before returning to a liquid state and drizzling onto the house.

I smiled at the infinite loop I had created, closing my eyes in concentration, letting myself be serenaded by the soothing sounds of the forest once more.

"Percy, it's about time for us to switch shifts!"

I slowly opened my eyes to find Chrysilla standing a few inches in front of me, her hands on her hips as a small scowl pulled at her lips.

"What's got you so upset?"

The daughter of Athena immediately straightened up, her hands falling to her side as she stared behind her for a moment before looking back at me.

"Everyone is waiting for you to give the command."

I raised an eyebrow at her as her eyes locked with mine once again.

"Why didn't you just do it?"

"I tried…"

I shook my head as I stepped to her side.

"Even your squad?"

She shook her head as we began walking towards the group, who stood idly by watching as we drew closer to them.

"No, they were ready to move out, but some of your members were more insistent that they wouldn't budge without you."

I frowned slightly.

"Not that big of a deal then, I guess."

I could see that she was about to say something sharp but bit her tongue as we drew closer to the others.

"We'll talk more about it later."

I nodded at her whispered words as she stepped towards her own group.

"Alright everyone, let-"

A terrible screech tore through the quiet of the forest, stirring the birds into life as they rustled the trees, their panicked chirping shattering the ambient atmosphere in an instant.

"Get fucked, you cunt!"

I turned my eyes to the source of the vulgarity to find a cheering Ajax. I quickly followed his gaze, my mouth dropping as I stared at a blood-soaked gigantic Eagle, struggling to ascend towards the clouds.

The jovial mood of the son of Aristaeus incited a chorus of cheers from the rest of the members around me.

"Well, I guess we don't need to switch out with them anymore." I heard from Lily. I was about to comment when I felt a small nudge to my side.

"Didn't Zina need those wings?"

I stared at Tassos for a moment before the words registered.

"You're right. I guess we're not finished quite yet."

I clapped the boy on his shoulder before calling the attention of everyone else.

"Alright everyone, we stil-"

"Zina's on top of the bird!"

I paused, my eyes darting towards Helen who had slowly come to a stop from the trees in front of us, panting heavily.

"Come again?" I asked, myself shifting to the sky once again, though the girl was far too busy staring into the sky in concern for the daughter of Bia.

"She's on top of the fucking bird?" The question was tainted with panic as the son of Aristaeus freed his bow from his shoulder. A frantic stream of mumbled curses slipped from his lips as he reached for an arrow.

"Don't you fucking shoot, shoot it and she falls with it!" Chrysilla quickly instructed.

The group slipped into panicked disarray as they began to mutter their concerns and queries of action.

I quickly turned to Helen.

"Where the fuck is everyone else?"

"Yeah, where the fuck is everyone?" Cassandra mimicked me, causing me to falter for a second. Helen regained my attention.

"I…" Helen's eyes fell to the floor. Her pause was met with shushes as Adrastea tried to listen in on our conversation, prompting the entire group to turn to her.

"They began a competition to kill the bird."

"Well, who was the winner?" Adrastea sarcastically quipped.

"The bird from the looks of it." Chris offered.

I ignored the pair.

"They?" I asked, more for confirmation than anything else.

"Marc and Adrian."

I paused; the familiar sounds of arrows being released from their bows faintly echoing around us. I looked up to see a small stream of arrows fly up at the bird, quickly followed by a bolt of energy careening towards the earth from the sky.

I felt my eyebrow twitch as Helen's words finally registered in my head. One minute they can't see an issue with their 'friendly competition' the other they let it put a member's life directly at risk? I tried my best to quell my growing anger as I tried to work out a solution that would help despite our distance. I grunted as one came to mind.

"Oh, by chance, Oliver?"

The son of Aeolus met my eyes.

"Yeah, Percy?"

"Just by chance, as the only member of the entire group who can… I don't know, fly. Would you mind FLYING THE FUCK INTO THE AIR AND GETTING HER OFF THE FUCKING EAGLE!"

Oliver took a nervous step back, gripping his sword tightly as he stared at the ground.

"I can't fly that well yet, and I don't think I could carry her on the winds with me…"

"Ah right. My mistake. I should've known, sorry."

He sighed in relief, his grip relaxing for a moment.

"Quick follow-up question if you don't mind." Before he could respond I continued, "So, you're telling me that when I kept asking you where you were during our training sessions, you were not out practising flying like you said you were?"

Oliver flinched, his eyes shooting back to the floor.

"Oh right. My mistake. I forgot that our lives aren't more important than whatever it was that you were doing, sorry."

I reached out towards him with my right palm and clenched it into a fist, hoping the force would kick in and choke him from afar. Groaning as I had no such luck, I pulled my hand back to my side.

"So, help me Poseidon. If anything happens to her…"

I took a deep breath.

I slowly let it out, as my eyes trailed back to the sky.

"Not just you, but everyone involved is going to fucking regret it for the rest of their fucking lives. Even if Zina has two seconds left to breathe, she'll regret those fucking two seconds too."

A heavy silence hung over those around me as we stood, staring helplessly at the trashing bird in the sky.

I clicked my tongue, my eyes lingering in a grim form of intrigue as the bird shuddered, losing altitude before a powerful thrust of its wings stabilised it. In the moments lost in my argument with Oliver, the bird was much closer to the ground however, allowing us to see Zina precariously perched on the back of the doomed bird.

Gone from her hands was the spear which I expected to see, the weapon replaced by a sword. The bronze reflected the light of the sun each time the bird shifted at an odd angle to relieve itself of its unwanted, bloodthirsty rider. The glint blinded me for another moment as the daughter of Bia raised the blade beyond the meaty cover of the bird's body. The bird screeched once again as the harsh glint disappeared.

"She's going to cut the wings off…" I heard Chrysilla mutter in shock.

True to her words, I saw the spray of blood as the top of the bird's wings began to give way to the wicked edge of celestial bronze.

I shot Oliver another glare, yet this time he retaliated with one of his own.

"Why are you taking this out on me? Aren't you the one who can summon storms? Why don't you just fly since you've been training so much!"

"Aside from the fact that Zeus would quite literally blast him out of the sky? Or maybe if you were actually at the training sessions you would know that he's strictly focusing on his water affinity until he fully understands them."

"How would you know! You don't even have any…"

A shriek tore through the conversation.

The bird had lost half of its wing thanks to the effort of Zina. The previously powerful upward thrusts were reduced to lacklustre ones that were barely maintaining altitude. Even that it would not be able to maintain for much longer.

"Could you, at the very least, use the winds to slow the fall?"

I could barely restrain my anger as I kept my eyes on the plummeting bird.

"No, I'm too far away, why don't you use the water to do something?"

"Do you really think that I would be here watching this all unfold if there was something I could do? Maybe if she were in my father's domain… wait a minute, isn't she in the domain of yours?"

I shook my head, ignoring the retorts of the son of Aeolus as I turned to Ajax. I sighed at the crestfallen look which adorned his face. I quickly stepped to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder.

I nudged him a few times, letting my action distract him from the sight of the one-winged bird's struggle to stay in the air.

"Keep hope. Where others failed to train, some remained diligent. The children of Apollo may yet save her."

Ajax gave an empty nod of his head, his eyes prickling with tears as he held my gaze. He opened his mouth before pausing, a question, one which I could tell wouldn't be pleasant, threatening to spill from his lips.

Another shriek took the opportunity from him.

We turned to see the bird falling in three parts. The first wing was well below the bird and Zina with the second wing a little bit above the pair. Yet, even as the adrenaline which accompanied the fear froze the picture for a moment, time was an unrelenting force.

They were first welcomed back to the earth by the trees before they vanished from our sight.

"The trees!"

I glanced at Tassos who stared mournfully towards where the bird had plummeted.

"I think your priorities are slightly out of order…"

"At least we'll know exactly where we have to go," Lily muttered.

I gave a small nod before stretching my hand out towards Cassandra. The girl skipped towards me, her usual mirth absent as she gripped my hand tightly. I was about to move forward with the rest of the sombre group, but a hand rested on my shoulder.

"What if she's…"

I turned to meet Ajax's eyes.

"If she is, then running might give you a few seconds to still be with her."

"Or I could be a few seconds too late…"

"Either way, you're using up those precious seconds."

"I'll just… I'll just walk with you."

"You sure?" I asked softly.

"Yeah… yeah I am."

I nodded to him, letting him step beside Cassandra and me before joining Chrysilla who was waiting for us.

"A lot of the others already took off running the moment the bird hit the trees."

"Not just the bird…"

Chrysilla stared away but nodded. I felt Cassandra pull at my hand and looked down to see her big brown eyes watering as she stared back up at me. A frown pulled at my lips as I quickly picked her up, letting her settle into my arms before continuing the solemn march to Zina.

Ajax had been walking ahead by himself, his eyes trained on the ground as he was headed straight for a tree. Chrysilla quickly made her way to his side, leading the boy through the forest.

"What if that was me, Percy? I know I'm not your girlfriend, but what if that was me?"

I paused slightly before hugging the girl tighter.

"For you, I'd learn to fly to come save you."

"Even if Zeus would fry you with his bolt?" She asked, pulling back softly to let her watery brown eyes stare softly into mine.

"No matter what."

She smiled softly before laying her head back on my shoulder.

"And Chrysilla may be my girlfriend, but you're my little sister. Other than my mother, you two are the most important women in my life. I'd do anything for you two."

I heard the screams before I even got near the site.

"Zina!"

"Breathe!"

"Stay awake!"

"Don't go, please!"

I sighed as I spotted them through the trees. I wanted to call it a clearing in the forest but…

Where they had been gathered certainly wasn't a clearing before.

"Percy!" Adrian gasped as he saw me emerge from the trees.

Only the children of Apollo, Helen, Chrysilla and Ajax were not in sight. My movements were slow, Cassandra held tight in my hands as I chose to ignore everyone else around me.

I slipped past Adrian and Marc silently.

The wingless bird's prone form lay between us and where I assumed Zina and the rest were.

Chrysilla quickly darted around the bird, staring at me for a few moments, her eyes leaking tears against her will. She wordlessly took Cassandra from my arms and walked back towards the trees.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the worst as I took a step around the bird.

A wry chuckle slipped from my lips as I finally saw the small stream which they had crashed next to.

I had felt the body of water from a few hundred yards away, but I was hoping it was much further than this.

I might have been able to help if I were here…

I shook that thought from my head, focusing instead on my role. I couldn't heal anyone with water anyway. Whether I hadn't learned how to yet, or I just would never be able to, I wasn't entirely sure.

"Hold her still!" Jordon's voice.

"Give her some more ambrosia and nectar!" Ajax's.

"Any more and she'll burn up!" Katherine's.

"Any less and she'll die!" Teucer.

I could barely distinguish them from their voices as everything became blurred the closer that I got to them. The agonising seconds finally faded away and I stood over them all.

The blurring sounds of commands and pleas slipped into silence as the image before me seared itself into my brain.

I let my eyes trail towards Ajax, who gave minimal struggle as Helen cooed him away from the broken form of the daughter of Bia. I let my eyes linger on the pair until they disappeared behind the massive carcass of the Eagle.

Soft whispers drew louder as I slowly regained composure. I slipped into the space left vacant by the son of Aristaeus, my eyes roaming over the mass of hands which were moving with swift precision to address the most pressing injuries.

An odd statement as it was almost indiscernible which injuries differed from the other.

The words finally flowed into my brain as I stared at her battered face. Her black hair was thick with a mixture of dirt, blood, and feathers. Jordon's hand lingered over a particularly nasty cut over her forehead before it shifted down to her neck, my eyes steadily following. There was another nasty cut, spurting blood and preventing whatever words she may have been attempting to say from being formed.

Ah, that's right. I couldn't tell whether she was conscious or not given that her eyes were swollen shut.

My eyes flickered down again as the movement of Katherine's eyes caught my attention.

I wasn't sure how many bones we had in our body, but it didn't seem like she had any intact anymore. Her chest was sunken in, a few ribs threatened to jab me as I drew too near, and the sight of her intestines being forced back into her body by Apollo's daughter was enough to cause my eyes to shift.

Teucer's hand pulled me to her legs.

To her leg.

Her left leg was absent, placed to the side and slowly bluing as her other shattered limb was being tended to by Teucer.

I tore my gaze from her for a second, staring at the stream as a blob of water rushed to me. It formed a sphere around my head, drowning out the outside world as I closed my eyes.

Was I really going to lose her here?

What happened to keeping everyone safe?

Would the group ever recover from this?

Would….

I clenched my eyes, biting my lip as I forced the thoughts away from my mind.

It wasn't the time to think about if she died. Not while she was still alive.

I needed to do something, anything.

My eyes opened as I flicked the water back to the stream. The soft sound of her haggard wheezing quieting was the first to grace my ears.

"Is that a good sign?"

The meekness in my voice surprised even me as I finally let my voice be heard.

"Yes, the sound of her dying is a good sign."

Katherine quickly scolded Jordon for his sarcastic remark. He huffed, pausing, and staring pointedly at his sister.

"What, you're going to tell me that you'd want to be alive if this happened to you?"

A hush fell over us.

I stared back at the stream for a few moments.

"What about your prayer songs?"

Teucer stopped working for a few moments, staring at me in shock.

"You're a fucking genius!" He quickly turned to Jordon, who was already on his feet. Katherine slowly rose as well.

"Jordon, you sing her to sleep, Katherine, stop her blood flow. We'll still need to tend to her wounds before we can focus on using healing songs, but-"

"How long would it take before you can start using the healing songs?"

"We'll be cutting it really close," Katherine admitted, while Jordon had already begun to strum on his guitar, which I had absolutely no idea where it came from.

"Too close… we can't condense the songs yet." Teucer stared up at me with sad eyes. "We've always been better with the herbal side of our abilities, and we haven't really had someone to help us with our healing songs… If only we had one of our brothers or sisters…"

"If only we had Will," Katherine said, seemingly to finish Teucer's thoughts as the boy nodded, his hands still applying pressure and different concoctions from vials that seemed to be closing the surface wounds.

"What if you could stop the bleeding instantly?"

"If that were possible, she'd make it. The leg is already lost though."

I offered him a silent nod as I settled into a meditation stance.

I turned to Katherine, who stared at me in confusion as she readied her lyre. Where the fuck were they pulling those from?

"Focus on the healing song then."

Katherine shook her head slightly exasperated.

"We wouldn't be able to heal everything faster than she'd bleed out."

"She won't bleed out, I'm here. So. Sing. The. Fucking. Song."

I closed my eyes, as I let my right hand gently hold part of her mangled leg.

Temperature wasn't the only thing that Chrysilla had helped me begin to understand the control I held over.

"What the fuck!"

I heard from Teucer.

I grit my teeth, forcing my concentration to hold.

"I can handle the singing, but if you made me do this and she still dies because you were shocked that demigods can do fucked up shit in the godly world where monsters li…"

"No no no, this is amazing! We'll begin the song now, it should take thirty minutes before you can stop, but she'll make it. Barely. Do you need anything before we start? Once we do, we won't be stopping."

"Just call Chrysilla, she'll know what to do."

I heard silence, but I ignored being ignored as I continued to focus on the blood in her body. The way it flowed from her heart and the way it begged to seep from all of the open veins and arteries. The way it resisted my demands even more than any other liquids, the way it felt so… alive.

It was one of the things I hated the most about controlling blood. All liquids seemed to revel in being under my command, the more salt water in it the more it took to my will. But blood… it felt like communicating with someone, asking it to listen to it to me rather than having immediate control. When I tried to force it to obey me, it often rebelled against me.

Blood was more than just a liquid, it was the very essence of life, and it refused to be easily manipulated by anyone other than to whom it belonged.

The blood of the gods was on an entirely different level.

I felt water douse me. I managed a small grin through my clenched teeth.

Chrysilla was here.

I wasn't sure how long it was, but I had definitely been losing that battle against Zina's blood. As the water continued to trickle over me, it felt as though it were cheering me on, encouraging me as I fought my battle against her blood.

"Fuck you if you think you're leaving her body you ignorant little shit, I'm not letting her die!" I whispered under my breath.

Suddenly the fight eased. It began to dissipate into nothing, and it felt as though I was controlling water again.

'I trust you, Percy.'

The sound of Zina's voice in my head almost broke my concentration, the slight buckle letting a few drops spill from her unconscious body.

That was… pretty unsettling.

I felt another splash of water on me as I continued to concentrate.

I slowly felt the veins and arteries begin to close up, but there was still a lot of excess blood flowing outside of the veins. I collected all of the loose pools of the life liquid, leading them out of Zina's body before the remaining open wounds could stitch themselves back together. As the arteries began to knit together, I held the blood inside.

I felt a nudge on my shoulder.

I ignored it.

Another one.

I ignored it.

"Percy, it's okay to stop." I heard Chrysilla whisper into my ear.

"There are still some open veins…"

"It's okay, the arteries are all closed and what's left is minor."

"What about internal bleeding?"

She chuckled at me.

"What do you think a bruise is?"

I let my eyes open, letting go of my control over Zina's blood.

I turned to Chrysilla.

"I dedicated all my brain power to understanding demigod abilities and fighting, not medicine."

She smiled softly at me.

"I'll take it."

She then dumped another bucketful of water on me.

I carefully controlled it to wash the sweat off of my body before letting it float back into the stream.

I stared up at the sky, finally noticing that it was night.

"I thought it was only ten minutes!"

I turned back to the three Apollo kids, who were pale, sweating and on their knees.

"Ten minutes? You guys have been at it for almost three hours. I came by dumping water on you every half an hour."

"What happened to us only needing half an hour?"

Teucer looked up at me, "Half an hour to bring her back to being saveable. You didn't show any signs of easing up and having a blood inhibitor in an unexpected open surgery is pretty indispensable."

I nodded blankly at him, before realising what Chrysilla had said. I turned to the daughter of Athena.

"Really? I only felt it the last two times."

"That's strange, I mean you were completely zoned out anyway. Even if you were only supposed to be there for ten minutes, I doubt you would've budged for anything."

"Yeah, demigod blood is so different."

"Really? I mean I'd expect it to be different from the animals we've been training with but how…" Chrysilla paused after a moment. "We can talk and take notes later, let's get you to bed and leave the doctors to concentrate."

I nodded softly at her, glancing back at the four demigods behind me.

I stared in amazement at what I saw, it was almost like they had put Humpty Dumpty back together again…

I bit back the tired laugh at that reference.

My eyes finally trailed to her leg that wasn't attached to her body.

"Come on, trust them. They'll handle this, that's a huge part of why they're here. Everyone else set up camp and they're waiting for some good news."

"You didn't tell them what I was doing?"

She shook her head as she held my hand, standing close to me so that, even though I was, it wouldn't seem like I was leaning on her for support.

"One of our good doctors there will probably beat you to it if you wait too long though."

I nodded tiredly. We drifted off into silence as we drew closer to the camp.

There was soft murmuring, the anxiety and sadness hung heavily over them as we walked past them all gathered by the hearth.

A hush fell over them as they stared at me. I squeezed Chrysilla's hand to let her know I was stopping for a bit.

Shaquille was about to get up, but I just shook my head at him.

"She will wake up." I felt the tension slowly rise as they sighed or thanked the gods.

I forced the temperature around them to plummet to near freezing, stumbling slightly into Chrysilla as I did so.

"It's one thing to make a mistake. It's one thing to be inexperienced. But this…" I shook my head, "There will be a price to pay for your pride, just be glad that it wasn't Zina's death because it so very nearly was."

I stood for a few moments longer, letting my eyes stare at them for a few more moments.

"We'll talk about this entire situation in the morning. Shaquille, I want everyone up by five. Only the children of Apollo and Zina should be asleep after that. If anyone isn't here two minutes after five…"

I let the temperature drop below freezing, the fire began flickering as the cold caught in the wind, causing the biting chill to snap at everyone.

I released my control over the fire, letting it roar back to life as I glared at them all one last time before turning and leaving with Chrysilla, letting the temperature slowly return to normal as we walked away.

"I'm not sure you can keep calling Zeus a drama queen…"

I turned to Chrysilla, a smile tugging at my lips as I saw her look away sheepishly.

"You're so lucky…"

"That you're hopelessly in love with me?"

I groaned as she led me into my tent.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love you or whatever."

I gave a tired chuckle as she huffed, feigned anger and stormed out…

She was faking right.

"Wait, I'm-"

"I know." She said, peaking back in before giving me a quick kiss. "I'm just going to put Cassandra to bed first, then I'll be back."

I nodded at her, before slowly waddling towards the bed.

'What the fuck was I going to do with these idiotic demigods?' I thought to myself before falling asleep before I even hit the bed.

A/N:

Happy New Year!

At the time of writing, this chapter was by far the hardest to write and edit, yet somehow, it's one of my favourites so far. This is where my writer's block kicked in when writing it and it came back again when editing it. There's always one chapter at least per arc that just stifles my flow, and I can't wait to finish this chapter and move on! If it comes out horrible, I'm really sorry but I just want to get on with the story!

This part is written on the day of upload. This is the end of a string of chapters I was completely ahead of going into December, and that means that next week might not have a chapter. I will have an update on Discord if that's the case, which I doubt at this point, but I'm getting really busy outside of Fanfiction soon. That being said, there are officially six chapters left for this story, assuming things stay the same.

Six more chapters to my first completed story! I'm so excited for that.

I'd love to hear what you all have to say about this chapter and everything I've written though. This story is a big test for me, a great challenge before I try writing out as a career path. I've been so happy with the responses so far, and I've learned so much going through this. I've actually written this entire story about three to four times, the amount of times things have changed and it's been a little more than a year since I started writing this.

About 130 thousand words later too. Wow.

Anyway, I should stop waffling now. I really appreciate you all for reaching this far in the story, for supporting me with all of your messages and for just reading. I really hope you're all enjoying the story, and the entire journey I've been building and yeah.

That'll be all for now, I hope you're all having a great day whenever you're reading this. See you all next time!
-ZedricSOZ