6 P.M. Wake Up Call

As I finally managed to pull myself from my slumber, I noticed a familiar body unconscious at my side. Piper lied next to me, her legs drooping over the edge and on the floor. The feeling of her hand clasping mine brought a smile to my face.

I cautiously flexed my free hand to discover my wrist felt close to none of the pain from it's brutal treatment so many hours other injuries I had incurred in the encounter with the boar also proved to be diminished to a mild ache as I pulled my back off of its aggregation of pillows to watch my foot and calf flex. In fact, only a mild malaise remained compared to the dazed agony that had flooded in after the adrenaline of the fight

Eventually, my investigatory shifting awoke the slumbering demigoddess at my side. A wide yawn heralded her rousing state.

"What time is it?" she asked, unaware that there was someone to answer.

"I'd say around six," I replied.

The moment my voice reached her ears, her sleepy eyes jolted open, and she pushed herself off the bed in alarm. Glassy and bloodshot, she kneeled at the edge of my bed, before recognizing my voice and tackling me into the mattress, losing both of us in the flying covers and endless pillows.

She sobbed into my shoulder, her hands clutched around me seemingly torn between shuddering rubs and weak punches on my shoulder. "Par Olympus, tu es réveillé!"

Uncertain of her words' exact meaning, but able to understand the general idea, I stroked her shivering back as she continued to weep into my neck.

"Shhh, I'm okay." I nuzzled her head and pressed a kiss among her wild locks. It took a few moments for me to realize both of us were in minimal clothing; myself only in boxers, and Piper in cropped shorts and a loose fitting tee shirt. Unfortunately, said lack of clothing was noticed by my second head shortly after my first.

As Piper gradually calmed, she cuddled up to my side and rubbed my chest. "Does anything hurt?"

"A little sore in the leg, but nothing too severe."

If only I had the foresight not to draw attention to the lower half of my body. She took one look in that general direction and gulped. "You, uh… need any help with that?"

I detected a hint of hopefulness in her voice. Still, I lacked the energy to take a third partner in a matter of hours, despite how much my body yearned to ravish hers once again.

"I'm good for now. What about you? I heard you played a big role in helping me get better."

She dragged her fingers together into a fist, trailing her nails along my chest as she did. "Yeah. Calypso too. Though she did a lot more than me. Zoë tried helping, but…" She pressed herself more firmly against me, wrapping her leg around my previously mangled one. "We may or may not have gotten a bit… protective… We didn't want anyone else near you."

I rubbed her back, to which she sighed through her nose. "I get it. Though I would assume you still let her watch over me once you both exhausted yourselves?"

"Only on her request," she grumbled. "But neither of us were in the best state of mind to help you."

I leaned my head back. "From the sounds of it, no one could have healed me. Hence Hestia's visit."

"Yeah… Zoë told us." She ran her thumb along my skin while slowly wrapping her remaining leg around mine. "She also told me about the little treat she gave you."

I swallowed, unsure of how to answer.

"If only I were here when she did."

I frowned. "Huh?"

Her hips slowly pushed forward, grinding her pelvis along my thigh. "It's been about a week since we were… together. I've missed you."

A crooked smirk tugged at my lips. "Was I that memorable?"

Unlike the reaction I expected, she nodded with an innocent pout. The wide puppy dog eyes and slight quiver in her lips melted my brain. Her hips pressed harder against my thigh as her warmth grew.

A small moan left my mouth. "Listen, I'm not saying I don't want to. Trust me, I do. But right now, I don't have the energy."

She nodded sadly and leaned her head on my chest. Her hips stopped rubbing, but she never released her grip on my leg. My erection stood at attention, aching for relief, but the rest of my body fought against the idea.

We lied there, embracing one another for a few minutes longer. Only when my stomach rumbled did Piper shift her position.

"I think it's about time we got some food in you."

I nodded in agreement. "But first thing's first, I want to check on the others."

We pulled ourselves out from under the covers. I climbed out of bed, barely managing to stand for half a second before my knee gave way beneath me.

"Oh, dear."

Before I could faceplant into the lovely abalone floor, Piper caught me, her chest pressing against my back as she held me up..

"Are you sure you're up for this? I can bring you some food."

Though the suggestion warmed my heart and made my stomach grumble, I shook my head. "It's only one leg. I'll be fine. Could use the support, though."

She gave me a look of amused disbelief, but smiled a moment later. "Alright. Let's make sure you don't wipe out again."

Calypso's room presented itself to us first. Hopping along on one good leg wasn't doing me any favors, but if I could make it through Tartarus with poisoned lungs and a bleeding… well… everything, I could manage hopping around like a crippled rabbit. The fact that one of my beautiful fiancées was helping me along helped too.

KNOCK KNOCK!

No answer.

With Piper as my crutch, we opened the door and hobbled in. Inside, we found a sleeping Calypso. Wrapped in soft covers and breathing softly, both Piper and I shared a brief moment to admire her charming grace.

When we approached her bedside, Piper helped me to lift myself onto the covers. Scooting towards Calypso, I couldn't help but smile at her gentle breaths and sleepy pout.

I brushed my hand over her untucked arm, and a slight grumble passed through her lips. She opened her eyes the moment my lips pressed against her cheek. Lip quivering, she turned to me with a mixture of shock and relief.

"You're okay," she said, her voice hoarse.

As she came to realize I was really sitting next to her, she slid her arms around my back and under my shirt, pulling herself into my sternum in a tight embrace. Her soft fingertips brushed the tender skin of my shoulder blades as she sighed against my chest, breaths shaky. "Twice now, I've seen you broken and bloody. Please don't let there be a third."

Grimacing, I pulled away. "I can promise I'll try not to."

"Well—" she coughed "—I can't baby you. So it's better than nothing." She rubbed her throat.

"Need some help with that? If I get some water—"

"Don't even think about it," Piper interrupted. "You can barely walk as it is. Take care of yourself first, or you won't be around to help everyone else."

Calypso smiled apologetically. "I'll be fine. Just need some rest and a good throat massage." She winked.

"Trust me," Piper said, "that makes two of us. But he's in no condition to strain himself."

She nodded. "I suppose so. Keep an eye on him, will you?"

Piper smirked. "If we didn't, he wouldn't even be able to find the kitchen."

I pouted as they both laughed. "Right here, you know."

"We know," they said in unison.

Calypso pulled me in for a soft, but drawn out, kiss. When she pulled away, stars danced in my eyes.

"Get some food. You look starved."

Right on cue, my stomach rumbled.

"In a little while. I have some things to do first."

With Piper's help, I managed to make it to the door. Turning back, we both saw Calypso tucked into her blankets, returning to her restful slumber. The two of us resumed our trek through the house to find my bedroom.

Along the way, Piper curled her lip into a curious pout.

"What?" I asked.

"My claim about sharing you with your other mistresses, I'm curious about how long it'll be before we act on it."

I frowned as I hopped along. "I doubt it'll be something we plan for. Probably just wake up one morning and have some lazy group sex."

"Mmm. That sounds like bliss." A dreamy smile stretched across her lips.

A few seconds later, we found ourselves walking through the door of the room belonging to Thŷella. The oceanid in question was sipping a steaming liquid from a thermos, but perked up the moment she heard the padding of our feet against her floor.

"Master?"

"Hey," I said. "How are you feeling?"

She rubbed her thumb over the rim of the thermos cap. "A bit faint." She pouted. "But I should be ready to work in no time."

"Oh, please." I dragged myself along to her side, much to Piper's annoyance, and placed a hand on her arm, to which her breath hitched. "Take as long as you need. It's my fault you're like this anyways."

She frowned. "That… does not make any sense. How could-"

I relayed to her what Hestia told me. Much to my surprise, she took the information with a smile.

"So in the end, I managed to save my master without even knowing it." She locked me in a one-armed embrace. Her steaming thermos sloshed in her other hand.

A smile crept onto my face. Even Piper tilted her head at the sight, gentle mirth shining in her eyes.

"Yeah, I guess you did. That being said, I'll have to return the favor one of these days. Hopefully, sooner rather than later."

Her crepuscular cheeks flushed. "You… you don't have to exert yourself for my sake, Master."

"Oh?" I rolled over and slipped my hand under the covers. Her eyes widened the moment my fingertips grazed her thigh. "Are you sure? I'm sure we'd both enjoy it.

Plus I can get you the life energy you need. Dammit! Why didn't I think ahead with that!?

She shuddered, leaning forward. Her electric lips brushed along my shoulder. "Master… I…"

I pulled away. "Yes?"

She whimpered. "I wish to save myself for a later time."

I frowned and turned to Piper, who shrugged, despite not so subtly trying to rub her thighs together.

"What for?"

"Nimba has recovered. Earlier today. She wished to feel your touch next."

My lips curled into a soft smile, my hand returned to her electric leg. "So you want to honor that. That's very thoughtful."

A soft moan left her lips. "She is most anxious about when you will take her. With all of the words we have spoken about our experiences with you, she has grown quite desperate."

"Thank you for telling me." My hand rubbed along her thigh before reaching her plump rear, my wrist pushing up her chiton until it bundled above my hand, and took her supple cheek into my grip. "I'll be sure to give her the attention she wants soon."

"Mmm," she moaned. "I must confess I am a bit envious of the others."

I tilted my head. "Why?"

Her hands trailed downward, coming to a rest on the bulge in my pants. "Because I will soon be the only nymph who has not felt this inside of them."

My hand shifted from her groping her butt to rubbing her moist pussy lips. With a smirk, I pressed a single finger into her electric depths.

"We can change that," I whispered, "right here and right now."

"Oh, Master," she gasped, nibbling at my chest. "As intoxicating as your offer is, I wish to wait for now. We are planning an event for you, and I wish to save myself for then."

"Oh, so you're already planning when I get to ram my cock deep inside of you?" A teasing smile crossed my lips as I drove my finger deeper and flicked it around her inside.

She shivered. "Mmm. Yes, Master. I have fantasized about you ravaging me. But it must come later. It must come during the event we are planning."

I leaned forward, pressing my lips to her ear. "I look forward to it."

I nibbled her earlobe as I brought my finger to her patch of interior nerves. She trembled around my finger, quaking as she released her essence over my hand. I pulled out of her to the sound of a soft whimper, and sucked her juices from my finger.

"Tasty. I look forward to our time together."

She pulled my hand towards her mouth and licked up the remaining juices. "So do I. I pray my skills will pleasure you to your liking."

I smiled, giving her forehead a little kiss. "I don't doubt that. I have faith in you."

She leaned her head against the backboard, panting before taking another sip from her thermos. "Will that be all, Master?"

"For now. Go ahead and get some rest. You need it."

She nodded, her eyes growing suddenly heavy. Before she could drop her thermos, I plucked it from her hands and carried it along as I left her bed.

Piper greeted me with scarlet cheeks painting a ferocious snarl.

Uh, oh.

Fortunately for me, she didn't reprimand me on the spot or walk away and leave me alone with only one good leg. However, the moment we exited Thŷella's room, she whirled me around, slammed me against the wall, and smashed her lips against mine. Her hips ground against my thigh as she desperately pressed her lips and tongue to mine.

The raw passion left me gasping for air. Like an inflated puffer fish, my cheeks bolstered in size as she drove her tongue into each and every direction in my mouth. Warm and wet, her tongue tongue slithered around and caressed mine while she drove her pelvis against my thigh, and raked her fingers through my hair.

Someone nearby cleared their throat. Startled, she pulled away and snapped in the direction of our audience while my mouth opened and closed like a dehydrated fish.

Upon regaining my bearings, I joined Piper in addressing our onlooker, or onlookers.

Thalia stood with on hand covering the eyes of Cinder, who stubbornly tried to see what he was being denied.

"Was I interrupting?" Thalia cocked an eyebrow.

Piper tripped over her own words before taking a breath. "This one-" she jabbed a finger at me "-has been keeping me on edge and teasing me for the past half hour."

"Uh, huh…" She uncovered Cinder's eyes and turned to me. "So are you two going to take up the living room or…?"

"No," I said. "We're done for tonight."

"What!?" Piper fumed.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to her ear. "I'll give you exactly what I gave Thŷella when we get to bed." I pulled away with a wink. "Besides, there's a lot that needs to be discussed. We may have discovered-"

"Aphrodite," they both interrupted.

I straightened my neck, taken aback.

Zoë must have passed on the word.

"Yeah… right. If we have one, then we need to figure out who the other two are."

"Other two? Gods, Kelp Head, you know how to draw attention."

I smirked. "So says the leather clad daughter of Zeus with a phoenix on her shoulder."

SQUAWK!

"No offense."

Thalia crossed her arms. "Regardless, is this conversation done or can I get back to Hazel and continue my lessons with the Mist?"

"Seriously!?" I banged my he ad against the wall, at which point I immediately regretted my life's decisions. "Am I the only one who's never going to learn?"

Piper rubbed the back of my head, an unamused smirk on her lips. "You have enough powers. Let someone else be the hero for once."

I grumbled, sick of the unfairness, but relented nonetheless. With a sigh, we let Thalia pass and continued on our way.

Before long, we found ourselves in a familiar bedroom; mine. In it, Palírroia sat near the head, spoon feeding Annabeth as a small giggle passed between them.

"Speak of the devil," Annabeth said.

I forced a dry swallow. "Only good things, I hope."

She smirked. "That's up to you to decide."

In my sheer desperation to hold her, I marched forward and heroically face planted on the floor.

"Ow."

Piper sighed. "You're never going to learn, are you?"

She picked me up once more and shuffled us towards Annabeth. All the while, I rubbed my aching nose.

Annabeth and Palírroia did their best to conceal their laughter, but let it slip a few times.

Palírroia aided Piper in scooting me next to Annabeth. The moment we came within arm's reach, we latched together in a long overdue embrace. For the first time in days, tears threatened to fall from my eyes. Short breaths penetrated the eerie silence of the room, echoing across the walls. Annabeth stroked my back, her head leaning against mine.

"No more," I said through choppy breaths. "Not again."

After pulling away, I brushed a watery bead rolling down her cheek. Her lips pressed together, stretched across her mouth and tilted every so slightly downward.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice near mute.

Piper approached from the opposite side of the bed and pulled Annabeth into a fierce hug.

"You both are going to give me a heart attack one of these days."

Annabeth laughed through her tears. "You have no idea."

I turned to Palírroia, who shifted around with a bowl in her hands. "I'll go ahead and take over from here." I held up my hand to take the bowl. "Go ahead and take a break."

She frowned for a second before handing the bowl to me and stepping away. As she neared the door, I called to her.

"Palírroia."

She turned.

"Thank you. Thank you so much for your help."

A small smile tugged at her lips. She nodded and took her leave of the room.

I returned my attention to the others, who were locked in a discussion of how much Annabeth needed a shower.

"It's not like I haven't tried. Palírroia wouldn't let me out of bed."

"When has that ever stopped you?" I interjected.

She stuck her tongue out at me.

I smiled. "On that note, it's good to see you two getting along now."

"Yeah," she dropped her head. "If only I behaved myself sooner."

"Hey, that's not your fault," Piper said. "And now that you're awake, we have quite the laundry list to tell you about."

Annabeth glanced between the two of us before settling into her pillows. "Alright. I'm listening."

"Give me the bowl," Piper said, her hand outstretched to me. "You know more than I do."

By the time I managed to relay all of the information about the past several days, Annabeth depleted her bowl of cayenne spiced soup. She took my words in silence, her expression, one of deep thought. Fists bundling the covers, her lips curled.

"Of course it's Aphrodite. How did I not see that coming?"

"To be fair," Piper said, "my mom does this for a living."

"Any ideas on a motive?"

"Pfft, because she can. Simple as that."

Annabeth crossed her arms. "The worst part is that I believe you."

"What the motive is right now isn't our biggest priority. There's still two others," I said. "We need to find out who they are before we make a move."

Annabeth pursed her lips. "I have an idea on one of them, but I'll need to get to my library at home before I make any false calls."

"You mean at camp?" I curled my lip in confusion.

"I mean in my house. In San Francisco."

Sweat rolled down my neck. "Why not go back to camp? Whatever you need to know, I'm sure Chiron has the answer for."

"Be honest with yourself. Chiron would never tell us the whole truth in an effort to 'protect us.' And let's say he does tell us; I don't want him on the bad side of a god for being honest with us."

"And what god would we have to worry about?"

"For now, none. But if I'm right… no. We'll have to wait until I get confirmation. Don't worry about it for now."

I didn't like the idea of going back to San Francisco. On one hand, the city was likely still crawling with monsters. On the other, the Romans should be back. And if they were back…

"If it's not too much trouble," Piper cut in, "I'd like to go as well."

Annabeth frowned. "What's in San Francisco that you need to see?"

"Not quite there," Piper said. "Malibu. It's been months since I've seen my dad."

My head hung low as a grimace pulled at my cheeks.

Why did she have to pull the parent card?

"We're going," I said. "Not tonight. But tomorrow after breakfast, we'll all go."

Right on cue, my stomach rumbled.

Annabeth smirked. "Speaking of, I think you should get some food in you."

"I'll get something right after this, but…"

"But?"

"Do you think you could join me downstairs when I'm done?"

Piper's eyes widened for a moment, only to be masked with a neutral expression.

"Um, sure. Is there something that I'm missing?"

Collecting my thoughts, I remained silent for a few seconds. "It's about time I had a chat with Khione."

Much to my disappointment, dinner had already passed. Piper and I arrived to find Katie and the few remaining nymphs hard at work, cleaning the dishes.

"We've got one more to add to the pile," Piper said, holding up Annabeth's bowl.

Katie perked her head up. "We were wondering when you'd wake up. Care to tell me how most of my help wound up bedridden?"

I scratched the back of my neck. "Sorry about that. Been quite the eventful past few days."

She huffed. "You're telling me." A playful glance darted towards Piper. "Still on edge?"

She groaned. "Don't even get me started. I'm half tempted to let him hobble around on his own if he doesn't stop his teasing."

"I'm right here."

She feigned to drop me. "Oops. Guess I missed that."

I grumbled to myself.

A firm kiss planted itself on my cheek. "But I'll drop him when he has a bed to land on. Until then, you have any leftovers from dinner?"

Katie rubbed her eyebrows. "Yeah. Hope you're in the mood for chicken curry."

"That'll do."

Spicy as it may have been, the curry hit all the right spots. If only I were able to have it fresh.

Shortly after I finished and washed up, Annabeth hobbled out to the dining room. Though a bit pale, she looked far healthier than a few hours prior.

"Are we still making that visit?"

"Yeah." I turned to Piper. "I hate to ask…"

She looked to the ceiling and shook her head with a smile. "You guys are my best friends. Of course I'll help you."

All was going well until we reached the stairs. Annabeth and I forced a swallow.

I've dealt with worse.

I hopped down one stair, mistakenly placing too much trust in my surprisingly atrophied leg. If not for Piper and Annabeth, I would have tested my recovery the hard way.

"One step at a time, Seaweed Brain."

Step by step, we managed to work our way to the sublevel of the mansion. Through the windows of the arena, the image of Bianca and Reyna locked in fierce combat passed us. Zoë watched on with an amused smirk.

Piper faltered as we approached the steel dungeon door..

"I don't… I don't think I'm ready for this again… Not yet."

Annabeth grasped her shoulder in a firm, reassuring grip. "I'll take over from here. Go make sure Reyna doesn't destroy Bianca too badly."

She smiled gratefully and took her leave of our merry trio.

The metal door loomed, daring us to enter. Only when I reached to do so did I realize I didn't have the keys.

"Looking for these?" Annabeth held up a ring of keys, her tone light and teasing. Smiling, I nodded in thanks and took them from her, hands trembling slightly as I unlocked the door and began my entry into the place I had avoided for so long.

Among the cobbled stones and chilled air, Khione's form hung from her shackles, devoid of any movement. Annabeth shuffled forward, dragging me along quite unwillingly.

You've seen what she's done, the voice in my head whispered. Wring her throat. Make her suffer once more. Make her scream.

Shaking the thoughts from my head, I continued forward. Annabeth grasped my arm for reassurance, though I wasn't sure if I could give her any. The track record with my previous visits was more than enough proof of my ineptitude in our current situation.

We opened the cell door, stepping forward into the goddess's cage. The hanging snow goddess took no notice of us, that is, not until we stood directly beneath her.

"Get it over with," she mumbled, her voice lined with a sullen acceptance.

A wave of my hand later and the shackles released her, dropping her limp figure to the ground below.

Note to self, you should have caught her.

She picked herself up, eyeing both of us warily, before assuming a sitting position. "What is it this time? Another beating? Stabbing? Strangling? Or have you come up with something entirely new to torment me with?"

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at me and dug her nails into my arm, a not so subtle way of asking, "What the Hades went on down here while I was away?"

"None of the above," I replied. "We're here to ask you something."

"What?" she snapped. "If I'll open my legs for you on command? Try that other little whore. This goddess is staying pure."

A sigh left my lips. "No. Not even close." I knelt down, groaning as my weakened leg strained to hold me up. "Have you felt anything… off about this place?"

Her head cocked to the side, an unamused glare etched into her countenance. "Off about a prison? Oh, I wonder…"

I pressed my fingers to the bridge of my nose. "Okay, stupid question. Let me rephrase that." I took a breath. "We've recently discovered that there is a trio of gods and goddesses manipulating the events here. For example, when Piper and I… you know…"

"What? When you and that conniving brat beat me into a bloody pulp and left me to rot for the next day?"

I winced.

She dares to vocalize such barbs? Strike her! Let her feel her just desserts!

My hand tightened around Annabeth's. "Yeah… Look, I can't express how sorry I am. There is no excuse for what I did."

She sneered. "As if I would fall for the—"

"Aphrodite's one of them," Annabeth cut in. "You know how she works."

The goddess's pale expression darkened to a deep blue. "Don't get me started with her."

"She's telling the truth," I said. "At least, we're pretty sure that she's one of the three. Right now, we're trying to figure out who the other two are."

Her scowl lessened. "And you expect me to know who the others are?"

"Something like that. Have there been any presences that you've noticed lately? Any swift change in your emotions?"

She furrowed her brows. "Such as how you went from brushing my hair to strangling me?"

"Yeah." I hung my head. "Like that."

"I don't think she would," Annabeth said. "As a goddess, if anyone tried to manipulate her, she'd be onto it quicker than anyone else."

My lips tightened. Why did she have to make sense?

"Okay. Well… That takes out one possible search. But we do have a lead on another." I rested a hand on Khione's shoulder, to which she pulled away until her back pressed flat against the wall. "The nymphs here were raised in a slave guild. One of the three is the guy leading it. Any ideas who that might be?"

Her lip curled in disdain. "In the north, we don't have slaves. Not nymphs anyways. Why would I be interested in a slave guild?"

"I don't know. You were working with Gaia. Who knows what extremes she'd go to just to increase her numbers?"

She pursed her lips. "As far as rebuttals go, that isn't the worst. Still, I don't know. Ask your own nymphs."

"Already tried that. They've never seen him."

That seemed to surprise her. "That is rather odd. Most masters would make a point of ensuring their presence was felt and feared." She remained silent for a few seconds, pondering, before she spoke once more. "Which nymph did you ask?"

I frowned in recollection. "Ashe. Why?"

"A dryad." She hummed to herself. "Ask your head nymph. If none of the others know, she would."

"And how are you so certain of that?" Annabeth asked.

She grinned. "Because if I were to send some slaves off to serve someone else, I would at least want the one in charge to remember who she'll have to answer to should she fail in her duties."

Annabeth and I traded concerned expressions, but nodded in silent agreement.

"Thank you. We'll go ahead and do that. In the meantime—"

"I'd like to stay on the floor. I believe I've earned that much at least."

"Wha… No. In the meantime, you're free to go."

She remained silent for a few moments, a wary gaze shifting across her features. "You… you aren't attempting some trick, are you?"

I stood, grunting in effort, and shuffled towards the exit, Annabeth in tow. "After everything I've done to you, I was going to let you go anyways. You've spent enough time down here."

Her hand twitched in excitement, daring to reach forward. A glimmer a joy shone in her eyes. "You… you mean… I am free?"

"Not exactly." I sighed, halting halfway through the exit. "You're just as much a prisoner as we are."