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halothenthehorns · 3 months

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Chapter 7: WE BURN A METAL SHROUD

Will read the new title out loud without hesitation, hoping it would cause the usual round of laughter and debates what Percy would get up to.

Instead the silence of the ocean around them felt like it was trying to squeeze into the room.

Beckendorf. Percy had been trying hard to move with that pain leading him into the living who still needed him. Annabeth was shivering and beside herself, pressing on her stomach to try and convince it to stop knotting itself for knowing exactly how Silena had felt during this...but they weren't so lucky with another hero popping up from Claypso's island.

Percy wanted to reach for her. To hold her and promise it was the last funeral she'd ever have to attend. He might as well have decided to propose to Annabeth on the spot. Absolutely nothing was happening but a blank in him on how to actually act on that impulse.

Will wished he knew the perfect words to help everyone who had to feel this, but he didn't even think his dad could manage that without another gazillion years of life.

I dreamed Rachel Elizabeth Dare was throwing darts at my picture.

"I understand the sentiment," Annabeth nodded while Will got what he wanted. True it was subdued laughter, with a start like that it would take any of them a moment to wind up to their usual chaotic good time, but Will had a faint smile all the same that made his reading feel natural now.

"That's probably your most believable dream, including the ones that were actually just happening somewhere else," Alex chuckled.

She was standing in her room . . . Okay, back up. I have to explain that Rachel doesn't have a room.

"Did she annoy her dad to much and he made her sleep in the dog house, aka, the McMansion they keep outside?" Alex asked, but there was sympathy more than mocking in his voice.

"I think she'd consider that a reward," Percy reminded.

She has the top floor of her family's mansion, which is a renovated brownstone in Brooklyn. Her "room" is a huge loft with industrial lighting and floor-to-ceiling windows. It's about twice as big as my mom's apartment.

Will didn't have to wonder if she got lonely in there. She liked her cave and having her private space, something that drove him nuts when it felt quiet with only a handful of them in his cabin. Yet every meal she was down in the commons, every day she could she was striking up a conversation with someone at Camp, likely to make up for years of being in this large, empty space. It didn't feel like a wild guess she'd probably spent more time in holding cells waiting for her butler to come pick her up than in there.

Some alt rock was blaring from her paint-covered Bose docking system. As far as I could tell, Rachel's only rule about music was that no two songs on her iPod could sound the same, and they all had to be strange.

Alex laughed in appreciation. If he had an Ipod, that would probably be his tunes too.

She wore a kimono, and her hair was frizzy, like she'd been sleeping.

Annabeth sighed, an old tick of jealousy easily leaping to the surface. Had Percy ever had that kind of dream about her? Even knowing this was entangled in her coming Oracle powers and had a legitimate reason for penetrating his subconscious, she'd have still liked to hear he'd seen her pacing around in her pajamas in her cabin any of the million times she'd been stressed.

She knew it didn't matter now, honestly, there was nothing between them, but it was as easy to remember there almost had been in moments like this just as much as every other messed up feeling sprouting to the surface in this room.

Her bed was messed up. Sheets hung over a bunch of artist's easels. Dirty clothes and old energy bar wrappers were strewn around the floor, but when you've got a room that big, the mess doesn't look so bad. Out the windows you could see the entire nighttime skyline of Manhattan.

The picture she was attacking was a painting of me standing over the giant Antaeus. Rachel had painted it a couple of months ago. My expression in the picture was fierce—disturbing, even—so it was hard to tell if I was the good guy or the bad guy, but Rachel said I'd looked just like that after the battle.

Percy rubbed the back of his neck with a frown. He'd never really wanted to be described like that, even if it was kind of cool and should put the fear of Posideon into whatever monsters wanted to harm his friends again.

"Demigods," Rachel muttered as she threw another dart at the canvas. "And their stupid quests."

Most of the darts bounced off, but a few stuck. One hung off my chin like a goatee.

"The closest you'll ever get to having one," Annabeth smirked.

Percy rubbed the faintest hint of stubble on his chin. "Plenty of sealife thrives with fur, what are you implying?"

"That your face is closer to a dolphin than an otter," she chuckled, reaching out to mock pinch his chin.

Percy couldn't even be that annoyed, it was kind of a compliment, but it felt annoying all the same just looking at her. And he'd worried he'd never get that feeling again.

Someone pounded on her bedroom door.

"Rachel!" a man shouted. "What in the world are you doing? Turn off that—"

Rachel scooped up her remote control and shut off the music. "Come in!"

Her dad walked in, scowling and blinking from the light. He had rust-colored hair a little darker than Rachel's. It was smushed on one side like he'd lost a fight with his pillow.

"Clearly he didn't lose bad enough," Thalia grumbled, "it didn't finish smothering him."

His blue silk pajamas had "WD" monogrammed on the pocket. Seriously, who has monogrammed pajamas?

"Rich people," Alex crinkled up his nose as if he'd said something truly disgusting, like eating a hairball.

"What is going on?" he demanded. "It's three in the morning."

"Couldn't sleep," Rachel said.

On the painting, a dart fell off my face. Rachel hid the rest behind her back, but Mr. Dare noticed.

"So . . . I take it your friend isn't coming to St. Thomas?" That's what Mr. Dare called me. Never Percy. Just your friend.

"You're not rich enough to have a name," Magnus agreed. "You got to get a premium member birth certificate and a gold-plated social for him to know your last name. Gods knows how many 0's have to be in your account to know your first name!"

"I hope there's an unknown Jackson out there, stupid rich and giving it all to charity," Percy sniffed.

Or young man if he was talking to me, which he rarely did.

Percy had never played the 'my dad can beat up yours' stupid game on the playground, but he had a nice moment right now imagining Paul lecturing this jerk, and then Posideon just throwing salt in every engine this guy owned.

Rachel knit her eyebrows. "I don't know."

"We leave in the morning," her dad said. "If he hasn't made up his mind yet—"

"He's probably not coming," Rachel said miserably. "Happy?"

Mr. Dare put his hands behind his back. He paced the room with a stern expression. I imagined he did that in the boardroom of his land development company and made his employees nervous.

A heavy pit rested in Annabeth's stomach upon hearing that. Her stepmom used to put her hands on her hips when talking to her, and only her, never her brothers. She didn't have to ask when Rachel realized such a detail that made her feel, lesser. More like it had always felt as if it were there.

"Are you still having bad dreams?" he asked. "Headaches?"

"Oh, he does care?" Will sounded hesitant though, more surprised and only a touch pleased.

"Debatable," Percy said slowly. Nobody needed to explain to Will a parent's love wasn't absolute.

Rachel threw her darts on the floor. "I should never have told you about that."

"I'm your father," he said. "I'm worried about you."

Percy twitched, as the echo of hearing Rachel's father say that faded out by the actual concern Will put in his voice, how Will clearly imagined her father saying that. Her dad said it like he was concerned about getting into work in the morning, an inconvenience to his life and a hardship with some light traffic. Will really read that like he was worried for Rachel's wellbeing when he'd seen her in this room days ago having brunch next to him.

"Worried about the family's reputation," Rachel muttered.

Her father didn't react—maybe because he'd heard that comment before, or maybe because it was true.

"Ouch," Magnus winced like someone had thrown an actual knife at him. "How many times has he heard that to not even pretend to deny it anymore?"

There was no awkward answer in return, though Percy winced just as hard. The pervasive feeling of having his thoughts on display didn't bother him much, but he was still very aware it wasn't just his life. Rachel would be no happier than Clarisse about all the troubled faces in the room.

"We could call Dr. Arkwright," he suggested. "He helped you get through the death of your hamster."

"I was six then," she said.

Thalia felt like a hamster was chewing on her tongue. She'd grown up with that dismissive, pass it on to somebody else attitude too, their mother breezing in and out of their life only when it was convenient and they had some immediate problem.

"And no, Dad, I don't need a therapist. I just . . ." She shook her head helplessly.

She didn't know what she needed, Alex nodded to himself. Especially in a place like that, where nobody was going to help you find out the answer. He smiled faintly at Percy, who was watching the book with such a troubled frown. How much he wanted to help his friend but didn't know how. Rachel had been in here, smiling and happy with life to see him. If they hadn't worked out what she needed, Alex was positive they were at least on track to do so now.

Her father stopped in front of the windows. He gazed at the New York skyline as if he owned it— which wasn't true. He only owned part of it.

"I bet that's how Zeus looks around too though," Percy scowled.

"It will be good for you to get away," he decided. "You've had some unhealthy influences."

"The non-power hungry kind," Jason mock nodded seriously.

"You think he'd appreciate her being so down to earth, considering he wants to own that too," Will smirked.

"I'm not going to Clarion Ladies Academy," Rachel said. "And my friends are none of your business."

Mr. Dare smiled, but it wasn't a warm smile. It was more like, Someday you'll realize how silly you sound.

This man clearly thought himself a god, Nico noted with distaste. He liked to think his dad already had a special punishment ready for people like this, like having to work a minimum wage job in customer service, or constantly watching his bank account be hacked and having no way to stop his money disappearing.

"Try to get some sleep," he urged. "We'll be at the beach by tomorrow night. It will be fun."

"Fun," Rachel repeated. "Lots of fun."

Her father exited the room. He left the door open behind him.

"Why does that feel more rude than slamming it shut?" Magnus frowned.

Annabeth said with a far to knowing frown, "power tactic to make you close it for them."

Percy would have admired her evil mastermind ability more if he wasn't busy worrying why she might have so much experience with it. Surely not her step-mom? Maybe studying Athena's tactics?

Rachel stared at the portrait of me. Then she walked to the easel next to it, which was covered in a sheet.

"I hope they're dreams," she said.

She uncovered the easel. On it was a hastily sketched charcoal, but Rachel was a good artist. The picture was definitely Luke as a young boy. He was about nine years old, with a wide grin and no scar on his face. I had no idea how Rachel could've known what he looked like back then, but the portrait was so good I had a feeling she wasn't guessing. From what I knew about Luke's life (which wasn't much), the picture showed him just before he'd found out he was a half-blood and had run away from home.

"Can clear sighted mortals have you guys' crazy dreams?" Magnus asked in the stunned silence.

Annabeth wished she had a better answer for him than just what she'd pieced together by talking to Rachel these past months and a well rounded guess. She even smiled a bit for a moment, that her cousin had the same insatiable appetite as she did for her world, it was such a strange feeling for someone who looked like her to be invested in her life without fear or judgment.

But the truth was, the most dominant feeling she had at this being exposed was shame for how she'd reacted when Percy had told her of this exact dream. She glanced at him now like a train was about to plow into him. Gods, she might not do as much good as she'd originally hoped in here if Percy blew up at her over her foul words.

"Not that I was aware," Thalia answered before she could, and Annabeth tried to put it aside, for now.

Thalia only just managed not to gape because this did make some kind of sense, the Oracle dreaming of the kids involving the last Great Prophecy. It hurt more to admit that, she'd probably never seen such a happy smile on his face. Not the first day they met, not the first monster they'd slain without getting a scratch, not even the day they'd met Annabeth. Every smile in her memory always looked like it was losing a little more hope until they'd met Grover, where it was replaced by a smile of challenge to bring on the world.

Rachel stared at the portrait. Then she uncovered the next easel. This picture was even more disturbing. It showed the Empire State Building with lightning all around it. In the distance a dark storm was brewing, with a huge hand coming out of the clouds. At the base of the building a crowd had gathered . . . but it wasn't a normal crowd of tourists and pedestrians. I saw spears, javelins, and banners—the trappings of an army.

Kronos didn't have that many half-bloods on his side, right? Magnus really hoped not. He'd been imagining ten monsters to every kid who shouldn't be there, that the three they'd heard of being on that boat was probably the largest crowd Percy would have to face. It wasn't a matter of could, but of would. Percy would not cut down all those teenagers and kids...which meant they were doomed to fail.

"Percy," Rachel muttered, as if she knew I was listening, "what is going on?"

The dream faded, and the last thing I remember was wishing I could answer her question.

"And what would you have told her?" Annabeth asked that with the most mild tone, like checking the weather.

It made Percy panic just slightly what answer she was expecting, but he did so honestly, "same bad shit, different day."

Annabeth nodded like this made perfect sense and turned to move on. Percy felt angry at his own panic now. She'd been amazing in here, just like he always knew she would be. The Kiss, (the one he'd woken up remembering not the following two) had to have happened at a time when she was happy and at peace, judging by the way she'd been smiling as she leaned in. He didn't know how they got there, he wanted more than anything to remember that part, so he just had to trust her in the meantime that he wasn't going to say or think anything wildly crazy stupid in the meantime to drive her off.

The next morning, I wanted to call her, but there were no phones at camp.

"Which probably is for the best," Will nodded, though nobody was exactly proclaiming cops and firefighters were going to do much good at that place. "At minimum it probably stops the strangest 911 calls even the Mist couldn't erase."

Magnus couldn't even manage the witty remark Mr. D might do some good against the threat of child endangerment, he was probably more aware than Percy was of how useless the cops are and he hadn't even faced a supernatural problem since his apartment blew up.

Dionysus and Chiron didn't need a landline. They just called Olympus with an Iris-message whenever they needed something. And when demigods use cell phones, the signals agitate every monster within a hundred miles. It's like sending up a flare: Here I am! Please rearrange my face! Even within the safe borders of camp, that's not the kind of advertising we wanted to do.

"But what about the kind of advertising you should be doing?" Alex challenged. "Those little cards Grover once handed out just aren't promoting the right atmosphere for this place."

"A greeting card that's just kids screaming in pain would be a tad excessive," Magnus rolled his eyes.

"Don't underestimate the power of a good trailer to bait you in," Will chuckled, "with the right editing I could work with any footage we get."

"I'll keep that in mind when the strawberry fields start pulling kids underground," Nico promised.

Most demigods (except for Annabeth and a few others) don't even own cell phones. And I definitely couldn't tell Annabeth, "Hey, let me borrow your phone so I can call Rachel!"

"Annabeth might have force fed you that phone," Thalia agreed.

"Or kicked you in the face so hard for asking, you would have sailed all the way to the Caribbean and joined Rachel anyways," Alex helpfully added.

"That's called doing things the easy way, which we know Percy is incapable of," Annabeth grinned.

Percy smiled fondly and shook his head at every one of them. It felt nice to be right, proven yet again and hopefully a thousand times more how well Annabeth fit in here.

To make the call, I would've had to leave camp and walk several miles to the nearest convenience store. Even if Chiron let me go, by the time I got there, Rachel would've been on the plane to St. Thomas.

I ate a depressing breakfast by myself at the Poseidon table.

Annabeth tried to keep a straight face as she noted his lack of creativity there. He could have tried to steal her cell phone. He could have asked Blackjack for a ride to get there in seconds. He could have tried to send her an Iris Message.

He'd plowed his way across the country to talk to her, so it just made her feel a little more secure he hadn't gotten off his lazy ass to try and get a message to her, okay?

I kept staring at the fissure in the marble floor where two years ago Nico had banished a bunch of bloodthirsty skeletons to the Underworld. The memory didn't exactly improve my appetite.

"And here I thought nothing would stop your appetite!" Alex gasped in concern. "Quick, someone check he doesn't have a fever!"

Thalia chuckled and kept to herself he actually didn't eat when he was stressed, she in fact barely recalled him eating a bite on their quest to save Annabeth. Now, with that prophecy, he clearly felt like he had the entirety of the world on his shoulders, and the girl problems weren't helping.

After breakfast, Annabeth and I walked down to inspect the cabins. Actually, it was Annabeth's turn for inspection. My morning chore was to sort through reports for Chiron. But since we both hated our jobs, we decided to do them together so it wouldn't be so heinous.

"True friendship right there," Will chuckled quietly enough it wasn't meant to interrupt.

But Nico caught on that like a sleeve on a door. Who did Will consider his best friend at Camp? He usually just talked about his siblings in that aspect, occasionally the Stolls and Katie. It finally made something click in his mind he'd been absently wondering about since the beginning. Will was just as well liked around camp as Percy...but maybe he was lonely.

We started at the Poseidon cabin, which was basically just me. I'd made my bunk bed that morning (well, sort of)

"His blanket was crooked," Annabeth said tragically, "and his pillow was half-molded to the headboard."

"It wasn't on the floor," Percy shrugged.

and straightened the Minotaur horn on the wall, so I gave myself a four out of five.

"He basically redecorated for your arrival," Alex pressed his hand to his cheek, the presence of pure shock.

"I'm just impressed to go in there and find the floor most days," Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Percy, you finally found the secret to impressing her," Jason smirked.

"And it still won't win me cabin inspection," Percy huffed.

"You don't need warm water like the rest of us," she shrugged.

Annabeth made a face. "You're being generous." She used the end of her pencil to pick up an old pair of running shorts.

I snatched them away. "Hey, give me a break. I don't have Tyson cleaning up after me this summer."

"That's not even an attempt at an excuse," Thalia looked at him tragically. "You somehow managed to be lazier defending your laziness!"

"Why bother lying to her, she'd see right through it," Percy shrugged.

"Three out of five," Annabeth said. I knew better than to argue, so we moved along.

"The fact that she didn't give you a zero is a sign of true love," Will chuckled.

Percy blushed the color of the Ares cabin and squirmed as far away into his beanbag as he could, while their legs stayed touching on the floor.

Annabeth sighed and shot Will a dirty look for spooking him and he gave a quick apology and read more loudly.

I tried to skim through Chiron's stack of reports as we walked. There were messages from demigods, nature spirits, and satyrs all around the country, writing about the latest monster activity.

"Why do your chores suddenly just sound like shit Chiron's to lazy to do?" Magnus snorted in surprise.

"Isn't that what all delegated jobs are?" Alex scoffed. "They're not even getting paid."

"It keeps them involved in daily activities, and you know, they live there! It's not a punishment to expect them to help out," Jason looked a little peeved like they'd hit a nerve while Alex and Magnus exchanged unimpressed looks.

They were pretty depressing, and my ADHD brain did not like concentrating on depressing stuff.

Little battles were raging everywhere. Camp recruitment was down to zero. Satyrs were having trouble finding new demigods and bringing them to Half-Blood Hill because so many monsters were roaming the country. Our friend Thalia, who led the Hunters of Artemis, hadn't been heard from in months, and if Artemis knew what had happened to them, she wasn't sharing information.

Annabeth sighed in relief and pressed herself into Thalia's side. The comfort of having Percy back, their ankles dancing as if wanting to cross but neither of them daring to do it, was only matched by the instant balm of knowing Thalia had been with him keeping him safe while his head was so jumbled up. She hated those long months where Thalia was so busy with her group they barely had time for an IM, no matter how happy she was for her finding her place.

Then she noticed Jason shooting Thalia a quick, searching look, her blue eyes checking for any scrapes on his sister before snapping back to the book like he'd caught himself, settling into an angry scowl before even that vanished like nothing had happened. Annabeth sat back up wearily as she glanced at Thalia, who was watching the book like nothing had happened even if Annabeth would bet on the Styx she'd seen it too.

We visited the Aphrodite cabin, which of course got a five out of five. The beds were perfectly made. The clothes in everyone's footlockers were color coordinated. Fresh flowers bloomed on the windowsills. I wanted to dock a point because the whole place reeked of designer perfume, but Annabeth ignored me.

Thalia felt her heart plummet about five feet away, remembering the last time Silena had been mentioned doing inspections, and they'd all just been sitting around making jokes. This must be close to how Artimes felt every time she looked at them. Cursed with a knowledge that no matter what you heard or did, the outcome was inevitable.

"Great job as usual, Silena," Annabeth said.

Silena nodded listlessly. The wall behind her bed was decorated with pictures of Beckendorf. She sat on her bunk with a box of chocolates on her lap, and I remembered that her dad owned a chocolate store in the Village, which was how he'd caught the attention of Aphrodite.

"That was, interesting," Magnus admitted in surprise. He'd sort of off-handedly assumed all Aphrodite's kids were from broken marriages because she'd fallen so hard in love with how in love they were they needed to be broken up.

"Yeah, that tracks," Alex nodded, he'd assumed all of Aphrodite's flings that produced kids involved every cliche Valentine attempt.

"You want a bonbon?" Silena asked. "My dad sent them. He thought—he thought they might cheer me up."

"Aww," the cynical side of Magnus immediately vanished, he should have been embarrassed by how high pitched his voice went. Sally aside, that was probably one of the sweetest things he'd heard a parent doing in here since...wow...since his mom died?

"Are they any good?" I asked.

She shook her head. "They taste like cardboard."

Alex snorted in delight. "Damn, how does her dad stay in business?"

"Overpricing the disgusting things so people don't care what they taste like," but Magnus's voice was much more joking than sarcastic that time. Alex glanced at him for the change, but swallowed and looked back away.

I didn't have anything against cardboard, so I tried one.

Breaking whatever tension had been building in the room as they all collectively laughed.

"You and Grover even share tastebuds now?" Thalia managed in between gasping breaths.

"I think all that snot coming out of Silena corrupted her tastebuds, it was delicious cardboard," Percy sniffed, then stage whispered, "I think she forgot to take the wrapper off of hers," causing the others to only double over.

Annabeth watched him in silent admiration as he sat back in his seat and glanced at her with a lingering grin. There was something in his eyes, a troubled twitch to them that never let himself settle anywhere long. Not on her, not on the book, not on the environment he thrived in with his friends, because some part of him knew. Maybe not consciously, but she knew there was a part of Percy that made this feel like an act for those who didn't know Silena's fate.

Annabeth passed.

"I always knew my tastebuds were more refined than yours," Percy smirked at her, finally conceding the impulse and hooking his ankle behind hers even if he hadn't leaned back in.

"Percy, I trust you with my life," she said with a straight face, "but I will never take your opinion on food into account."

"I'm a great cook!" He gasped in betrayal.

"Your mother and Paul are excellent cooks," she corrected, "you once dipped tomatoes into chocolate."

"Well I wasn't just going to let them go to waste," he rolled his eyes, "and I was out of ranch."

They started bickering, right there, live, in front of everyone, about who had the stranger tastebuds. It felt different from when he'd frequently done this with Thalia, there was a charge the child of Zeus had never managed to crackle to life between them as they kept leaning in closer and gesturing at the other like they were in their own little world.

Thalia sighed. She really was starting to feel like an overworked mom who wasn't getting paid enough for this. "Guys."

"-you made an olive cheesecake!"

"You like those stuffed olives, I used the same ingredients and only added-"

"Guys!" She tried a little louder, a little more stern, without much more hope.

"Stop trying to turn everything into a dessert, I thought the pickled icecream was the limit-"

"Guys!" Thalia finally put enough force into her voice that Annabeth glanced around. Then snapped upright with a guilty look around. Crap, that had not been quiet!

"Sorry, sorry," she said hastily, brushing her hair anxiously out of her face.

"Why does it not surprise me this happened because chocolate was mentioned," Alex chuckled.

Percy didn't seem very perturbed, grinning like a fool as if he'd won something, like the secret to life, while Thalia anxiously waved Will on before they all got blasted off to parts unknown by that grumpy Titan.

We promised to see Silena later and kept going.

As we crossed the commons area, a fight broke out between the Ares and Apollo cabins. Some Apollo campers armed with firebombs flew over the Ares cabin in a chariot pulled by two pegasi. I'd never seen the chariot before, but it looked like a pretty sweet ride. Soon, the roof of the Ares cabin was burning, and naiads from the canoe lake rushed over to blow water on it.

Then the Ares campers called down a curse, and all the Apollo kids' arrows turned to rubber. The Apollo kids kept shooting at the Ares kids, but the arrows bounced off.

Two archers ran by, chased by an angry Ares kid who was yelling in poetry: "Curse me, eh? I'll make you pay! / I don't want to rhyme all day!"

Annabeth sighed. "Not that again. Last time Apollo cursed a cabin, it took a week for the rhyming couplets to wear off."

I shuddered. Apollo was god of poetry as well as archery, and I'd heard him recite in person. I'd almost rather get shot by an arrow.

"And not even the rubber kind," Percy added along with a faint smile, but they could all see how forced it was. While it was nice to see some Camp shenanigans again, maybe these groups of kids working this out would even force Clarisse to work on her...issue.

This wasn't the usual friendly kid stuff though. They didn't need to see the Campers who couldn't keep a smile in place for more than a page lately to get the idea that the fun wasn't being brought back by some harmelss pranks.

"What are they fighting about anyway?" I asked.

Annabeth ignored me while she scribbled on her inspection scroll, giving both cabins a one out of five.

"Without even checking inside their actual cabin?" Will shook his head as if seriously disappointed. "For shame Annabeth, that's what you're supposed to be inspecting."

"I can inspect whatever I want to with that clipboard," she sniffed.

"She's been given to much power," Will groaned tragically. "I wasn't even involved in the fights, I gave them all equal medical care!"

"You let one of your siblings into the medical ward to write all over their charts their heads should be amputated," she corrected.

"I didn't let anyone go through with it," Will shrugged, but let it go, which made Nico wonder if it wasn't Will who had done that.

I found myself staring at her, which was stupid since I'd seen her a billion times. She and I were about the same height this summer, which was a relief. Still, she seemed so much more mature. It was kind of intimidating. I mean, sure, she'd always been cute, but she was starting to be seriously beautiful.

Percy couldn't find it in himself to be as embarrassed about that being thrown out as he probably should be, but there wasn't even that much snickering to fan the feeling. Why should he be embarrassed by something so true? She'd come in here attacking him with her lips for crying out loud.

Annabeth looked a tad more embarrassed than he did, but she wasn't going to let that one go no matter who saw. "Have I mentioned how pulchritudinous* you look lately?"

Only she could make up a word like that and Percy would still be left speechless with joy. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to go back in time to yesterday and kick his dumb-ass for not kissing her back when he finally had the chance.

He just sat there, frozen in time like he'd been since he woke up. He wanted to be angry with himself, or his dad, but he couldn't seem to rile up the feeling in himself looking at her smiling at him.

Finally she said, "That flying chariot."

"What?"

"You asked what they were fighting about."

"Oh. Oh, right."

Annabeth sighed, completely beside herself. Only Percy could manage to make forgetting a conversation in the middle of it endearing.

"They captured it in a raid in Philadelphia last week. Some of Luke's demigods were there with that flying chariot. The Apollo cabin seized it during the battle, but the Ares cabin led the raid. So they've been fighting about who gets it ever since."

"That's, it?" Magnus asked like he really was waiting for the rest.

"Pretty much," Will nodded, studying the corners of the book for wear and tear with a tight throat.

"You didn't try to, mediate that?" Nico asked in surprise.

"Mmm, was a little busy," he hedged rather than admit he'd been on his brother's side. To many years of Clarisse bullying everyone around there to get what she wanted finally reaching its point. He'd treated everyone who ended up in the medical wing the same, but he hadn't gone out of his way to stop any of his siblings either.

He wondered if Micheal resented him for that. As the next oldest, Will had always been a level headed kid. Shouldn't he have known better? What if he'd just tried to convince his only elder brother to turn over the stupid chariot? Then maybe Clarisse would have been there all along, maybe the battle would have been over sooner?

Nico wasn't sure how to comfort someone, he was usually the one being comforted, but Will hesitated to keep reading like this was eating at him. He just did what felt natural, what Will had kept doing for him, a very grounding feeling to reach over and cautiously take his hand. Will shot him a smile. He looked surprised, but not displeased as he took a breath before continuing. It wasn't exactly a good feeling, to be constantly reminded you couldn't do anything to help, that you'd been useless back then, but Nico knew from personal experience dwelling on it didn't do you any better.

We ducked as Michael Yew's chariot dive-bombed an Ares camper. The Ares camper tried to stab him and cuss him out in rhyming couplets. He was pretty creative about rhyming those cuss words.

"I see Will wasn't exactly being original when he cussed out Hera," Alex laughed in appreciation. "You really should have credited your sources man."

"I added my own flair," he smiled wryly, "it was more than enough to claim creative liberty."

'What?' Annabeth mouthed at Percy, clearly mildly impressed about missing this.

"Will didn't appreciate Hera only paid for us to go through and not a blanket demigods are safe thing," Percy murmured. "It was a whole thing."

"We're fighting for our lives," I said, "and they're bickering about some stupid chariot."

"They'll get over it," Annabeth said. "Clarisse will come to her senses."

"Why does Clarisse have to?" Jason still looked a bit resentful.

"Honestly, when has that girl ever had a sense to come to," Thalia rolled her eyes.

Jason gave her a sour look, obviously convinced she was just saying that to stay in his...graces.

She smiled faintly to herself for the accidental pun, but she really hadn't been. She wished those boys would just be humble enough to hand it over, they could have made history, it was so rare for a male hero to do any such thing.

I wasn't so sure. That didn't sound like the Clarisse I knew.

"I really hope this isn't the hill she wants to die on though," Magnus shook his head. It was a poor choice of words as he glanced at Thalia and knew how literal that could be.

I scanned more reports and we inspected a few more cabins. Demeter got a four.

"Did you give anyone a five?" Nico asked with amusement, already having the internal back and forth if anyone would give him even a one and to stop being so mean to the kids he hadn't given a chance to know.

"The Dinonysus Cabin won," Annabeth nodded. "Pollux was lounging in the sun sipping some Kool-Aid while everyone else was scrambling."

She didn't say it with much gusto though, his twin's bunk was covered in dust and it hadn't exactly felt like an achievement. She remembered Chiron offering to remove it and just put a single in there for him so it wouldn't be a constant reminder, but the strawberries had all withered in the field the second he mentioned it and Pollux had stalked off without bothering to answer.

Hephaestus got a three and probably should've gotten lower, but with Beckendorf being gone and all, we cut them some slack.

"Oh, so it's we now?" Thalia smirked. "Was this a two-way street Annabeth? Were you helping him file those reports?"

"Someone had to make sure they were alphabetized and it wasn't going to be him," she shrugged.

"G has it too good," Percy huffed, "it should go down there with the other reject letters."

"That's not for you to decide," she patiently reminded.

"Well who's is it then? I'll take it up with them!"

"I know you would," she groaned.

Hermes got a two, which was no surprise. All campers who didn't know their godly parentage were shoved into the Hermes cabin, and since the gods were kind of forgetful, that cabin was always overcrowded.

That sounded strange to Percy's ears for some reason, as he started scratching behind one absently. It had been that way since he'd come to camp, but it still sounded weirder every time someone said it out loud.

Finally we got to Athena's cabin, which was orderly and clean as usual. Books were straightened on the shelves. The armor was polished. Battle maps and blueprints decorated the walls. Only Annabeth's bunk was messy. It was covered in papers, and her silver laptop was still running.

Annabeth grinned along at the mild laughter that came with that. Her tired eyes sank closed for a few minutes as she repressed a shiver, how her bunk looked like an abandoned crypt nowadays with how she'd been treating it, but her eyes snapped open just as quickly. Artemis had put her in here for a reason. Percy needed to get through this.

"Vlacas," Annabeth muttered, which was basically calling herself an idiot in Greek.

"Got to admire a universal language," Magnus chuckled, he hadn't needed the translation.

Her second-in-command, Malcolm, suppressed a smile. "Yeah, um . . . we cleaned everything else. Didn't know if it was safe to move your notes."

That was probably smart. Annabeth had a bronze knife that she reserved just for monsters and people who messed with her stuff.

"Which I have been on the receiving end of," Percy assured any curious minds.

"Oh, we're aware," Thalia chuckled. He had the emotional scars to prove it.

Malcolm grinned at me. "We'll wait outside while you finish inspection." The Athena campers filed out the door while Annabeth cleaned up her bunk.

"You can really see why these kids are all considered to be the reasonable and smart ones," Nico smirked.

"If you can ever find them all in one place without Annabeth, assume they've vacated their cabin for a reason," Will sighed in agreement.

I shuffled uneasily and pretended to go through some more reports. Technically, even on inspection, it was against camp rules for two campers to be . . . like, alone in a cabin.

"Like alone alone?" Alex mocked at once. "Like you two sleeping in the same room alone? Like you two being constantly joined at the hip?"

Annabeth and Percy blushed furiously, not having even considered the others trapped in here would have pieced together where she had slept last night. Their ankles retracted, and there was an actual whole inch of space between them now.

Alex felt a little bad for teasing them, but not that much when they instantly relaxed upon Will continuing to read as if nothing had happened and Magnus's tense shoulders also relaxing just a hair when he obviously had not wanted to bear the rest of this existing a second ago. His cousin wasn't about to crawl into Percy's lap and fawn all over him about being embarrassed at any rate.

That rule had come up a lot when Silena and Beckendorf started dating.

"You act like those two are the first to ever date around camp," Will rolled his eyes. "I don't know about Percy, but I learned pretty fast where not to go when two people were sneaking off."

"Percy doesn't have as much experience as us Will," Annabeth said with a faint smirk. "Remember Alexis and Chrissy? Chiron started walking around with a bucket of water at the ready for a week before they finally took a hint."

Percy decided he didn't want any more detail on that, mainly because he didn't recognize their names, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know what happened to them.

And I know some of you might be thinking, Aren't all demigods related on the godly side, and doesn't that make dating gross?

"You are one paranoid dudette, you know that Perce," Alex told him.

"I don't know who this is being written for!" Percy reminded in exasperation. Mercially nobody in here did seem to question the godly aspects to much, they were all more prone to letting that slide.

Annabeth quirked a brow why Alex had called him that, but Thalia mouthed she'd try to explain later.

But the thing is, the godly side of your family doesn't count, genetically speaking, since gods don't have DNA.

A demigod would never think about dating someone who had the same godly parent. Like two kids from Athena cabin? No way. But a daughter of Aphrodite and a son of Hephaestus? They're not related. So it's no problem.

Anyway,

"Percy's favorite word to gloss over any other context needed," Magnus for once said in relief. It didn't stop his own mind bubbling up the question what a child of two demigods would be. A quarter god and mortal and...? What ratio of godly blood and human traits would go on there?

He thanked whatever god was listening in at least his cousin didn't seem to be hopping on the teen pregnancy runaway model anytime soon regardless of the answer.

for some strange reason I was thinking about this as I watched Annabeth straighten up.

"For some strange reason," Will repeated that somehow more painfully the second time like he was trying to inhale with broken ribs. His voice cracked and he couldn't have put any more sarcasm into that if he tried.

Percy gave him a tragic look that went ignored as he let the others get their snickers in.

She closed her laptop, which had been given to her as a gift from the inventor Daedalus last summer.

I cleared my throat. "So . . . get any good info from that thing?"

"Like building robot boyfriends? Or unbreakable dunce caps? You know, for totally unrelated people," Thalia said while pointing at Percy the whole time.

"Percy hardly needs a robot boyfriend Thalia," Annabeth scoffed while Percy spluttered painfully and the others just could not seem to catch their breath lately.

"Too much," she said. "Daedalus had so many ideas, I could spend fifty years just trying to figure them all out."

"Yeah," I muttered. "That would be fun."

Percy's brain hard-glitched to Annabeth at sixty, her blonde hair more streaked with silver, her face naturally withered from smile lines and the sun rather than the exhaustion it was now. She'd probably had three arthritis surgeries by then like his mom needed-

Will kept reading after a casual breath and Percy's brain hardwired back like nothing had happened. He tried desperately to keep a straight face in hopes it would stay that way and the book wouldn't rat him out!

She shuffled her papers—mostly drawings of buildings and a bunch of handwritten notes. I knew she wanted to be an architect someday, but I'd learned the hard way not to ask what she was working on.

Jason about leaped out of his seat with joy though as he finally got the chance to ask, "hey did you read any more about Frank Lloyd Wright style houses?! I know prairie dogs came up at one point, but I can't for the life of me remember why!"

Annabeth's face lit up like he'd just become her new favorite project. "He invented prairie style!"

That was all it took for the two to go off. It took about five words before Percy was convinced they were inventing their own language on the spot. He exchanged a miserable look with Thalia, whom he was surprised to see a touch of his own jealousy in her pursed lips at how easily the two got on. He couldn't begin to guess why she'd kept such a big secret to herself, but he had confidence they'd work it out. She had to have had her reasons.

For a moment it seemed like absolutely nobody was going to put a stop to this. Magnus and Alex were starting to sign to each other, very obviously counting something even if it wasn't how people usually flashed numbers, and Will was just relaxing with a smile on his face like he was having the time of his life as usual at the chaos of this place.

So Nico finally put his hands to his ears, for once not because the idea of Annabeth's voice was annoying him. "Make it stop or I will pitch myself off whatever roof you two won't shut up about!"

Jason looked particularly put out and Nico felt bad, honestly, but somebody apparently needed to step in and remind these guys that book existed.

Annabeth was looking at him like she'd never seen him before. There was an odd smile slowly appearing on her face Nico didn't know how to react to and so was all the more glad when Will chuckled and went to keep going while Nico quickly turned to Jason and promised, "she'll drive you nuts when we get out of here going over this stuff, trust me."

"Yeah, erm, fair enough," Jason cleared his throat and seemed appeased enough to let it go, but Annabeth was still watching Nico with that strange smile he was more than happy to turn away from.

She'd start talking about angles and load-bearing joints until my eyes glazed over.

"You know . . ." She brushed her hair behind her ear, like she does when she's nervous.

"You might should be a tad concerned Annabeth," Alex told her seriously. "The boy probably knows everything from your hat size to your blood type."

"It's a mutually beneficial relationship," she assured, watching Percy's still simmering jealousy quickly flip to nerves as he snapped to waving at the book for a way out of this.

"This whole thing with Beckendorf and Silena. It kind of makes you think. About . . . what's important. About losing people who are important."

I nodded. My brain started seizing on little random details, like the fact that she was still wearing those silver owl earrings from her dad, who was this brainiac military history professor in San Francisco.

"Urn, yeah," I stammered. "Like . . . is everything cool with your family?"

Annabeth had wished she could smash her prized Deaduls laptop over his head back then, and the feeling kind of carried over now. He really wasn't as dense as Clarisse always said he was. He was just...not acting on any useful thoughts?!

The sigh that she released caused Percy to start examining his shoelaces very intently.

Okay, really stupid question, but hey, I was nervous.

Annabeth looked disappointed, but she nodded.

"My dad wanted to take me to Greece this summer," she said wistfully.

Jason felt a sick feeling at the idea of that place, like someone was describing these weird Greek gods to him again for the first time. It was even more powerful, it felt knitted into his bones, this bad feeling of just the mention of Greece. He knew he could talk shop with Annabeth all day about the Parthenon and the Coluseiums and maybe even a Michelangelo or two, but the idea of going there gave him a pretty good idea of what sinking into a vat of acid must feel like.

He tried to shake it off, but he almost didn't want to. That rare feeling he got, of a ghost whispering in his ear was back. He'd talked to someone about this, in his past life. He'd wanted to go there and maybe had plans to do it with someone as important to him as Annabeth was to Percy...but that couldn't be right. He'd surely have one solid memory about them if that were the case...

Greece held no answers for him though. Of this he knew, so he had no choice but to let the feeling pass.

"I've always wanted to see—"

"The Parthenon," I remembered.

Percy and Annabeth exchanged smiles. The small, happy kind they'd flash each other any day of the week in the middle of a conversation because they weren't arguing. It was just a normal feeling for a moment as they relaxed in their seat neither of them had felt in far to long.

She managed a smile. "Yeah."

"That's okay. There'll be other summers, right?"

As soon as I said it, I realized it was a boneheaded comment.

"I think I finally figured out how to make Percy a brain filter," Nico chuckled.

"And take away these moments? Nico, you'd be depriving Annabeth of so much," Will said tragically.

"I vote against extra bones being shoved into his ears," Annabeth nodded.

"Oh thank Gods," Percy put his hand to his forehead as if genuinely grateful too.

I was facing the end of my days. Within a week, Olympus might fall. If the Age of the Gods really did end, the world as we knew it would dissolve into chaos. Demigods would be hunted to extinction. There would be no more summers for us.

"So wouldn't Greece be the perfect place to go?" Alex said. He probably had a bucket list ten pages long from experience for when doomsday approached. "Scene of the crime, maybe a place the gods are at their most powerful, yada yada."

"I was a little busy but kind of considering that plan Q," Annabeth shrugged.

Annabeth stared at her inspection scroll. "Three out five," she muttered, "for a sloppy head counselor.

"Harsh," Jason winced. "Your siblings should have been consulted on that, they would have given you at least a four, if not a five."

"My siblings were to busy staring at blank screens full of ideas to deal with me half the time," Annabeth shook her head.

Come on. Let's finish your reports and get back to Chiron."

On the way to the Big House, we read the last report, which was handwritten on a maple leaf from a satyr in Canada. If possible, the note made me feel even worse.

" 'Dear Grover,'" I read aloud. " 'Woods outside Toronto attacked by giant evil badger. Tried to do as you suggested and summon power of Pan. No effect. Many naiads' trees destroyed. Retreating to Ottawa. Please advise. Where are you? —Gleeson Hedge, protector.'"

How did this feeling of dread just keep getting worse and worse? Even Will's usual upbeat charm was starting to flag with exhaustion at having to live through this twice. Grover was out there doing his best with the weight of nature on his shoulders getting mail like this?

Will hadn't seen him around camp much, he really hadn't known Grover any better than the other satyrs. Gleeson Hedge was one he hadn't heard in years, but he vaguely remembered from his first few months around camp him being one of the best searchers and protectors to get kids to camp.

It took effort to keep reading, knowing the happy end in sight, but Will kept doing it anyways for the sake of his own belief there had to be some good to be found in all this in the meantime.

Annabeth grimaced. "You haven't heard anything from him? Even with your empathy link?"

I shook my head dejectedly.

Percy didn't have to strain his mind to remember every detail of that worried frown on her face anymore, he was looking at it in person. He wanted to ask if Grover was okay now, but he knew the consequences he'd get for asking that.

He still took a quiet moment not to panic that he knew Annabeth was just as worried as he was. Sharing that somehow made it feel less smothering, and Grover was her protector first. Annabeth might have had Thalia and Luke as her first family, but Grover had been there that day too to get her home, she'd do everything he would to make sure they could return the favor, even go on a quest and make friends with a Cyclops all over again.

Ever since last summer when the god Pan had died, our friend Grover had been drifting farther and farther away. The Council of Cloven Elders treated him like an outcast, but Grover still traveled all over the East Coast, trying to spread the word about Pan and convince nature spirits to protect their own little bits of the wild. He'd only come back to camp a few times to see his girlfriend, Juniper.

Last I'd heard he was in Central Park organizing the dryads, but nobody had seen or heard from him in two months. We'd tried to send Iris-messages. They never got through. I had an empathy link with Grover, so I hoped I would know if anything bad happened to him. Grover had told me one time that if he died, the empathy link might kill me too. But I wasn't sure if that was still true or not.

Annabeth made a soft noise of disquiet, that she couldn't get in contact with Grover and put his mind at ease that she'd found Percy, that he was safe. Chiron as well. It was a feeling she knew so well, those past months of not being stressed over the whereabouts of someone had been like a dream that was finally popped being down here.

I wondered if he was still in Manhattan. Then I thought about my dream of Rachel's sketch—dark clouds closing on the city, an army gathered around the Empire State Building.

"Annabeth."

"I'm surprised it took you this long to tell her about this," Magnus admitted. "I honestly thought you'd go shake her awake. No matter how scared you are of confronting your crush with Rachel."

Percy looked at him completely wounded. "I thought we were friends, what did I do to deserve that?"

"He's just trying to impress Annabeth with pointing out the obvious," Alex rolled his eyes.

Annabeth was just smiling at the pair, because Percy hadn't denied he was afraid of his crush on her, and her cousin was just casually teasing Percy like it was Sunday dinner, something she'd only ever had at Camp and Sally's home. It felt so homely down here with these guys all constantly going at each other, and she'd never imagined before a part of her mortal family would ever mix so well with Percy.

I stopped her by the tetherball court. I knew I was asking for trouble, but I didn't know who else to trust. Plus, I'd always depended on Annabeth for advice. "Listen, I had this dream about, um, Rachel . . ."

I told her the whole thing, even the weird picture of Luke as a child.

For a while she didn't say anything. Then she rolled up her inspection scroll so tight she ripped it.

"Tell me how you really feel," Alex snorted.

"Like Percy makes me want to ring his neck more than any person I've ever met," Annabeth sighed. She didn't want to hear that Percy had been dreaming of Rachel, that he'd seen an image of a happier Luke than she'd ever known, that they were right and Typhoon was just a distraction. The briefest flare of light she'd gotten in Percy coming to her, always knowing he could confide in her just hurt so much because he was probably going to die in a matter of days and she'd never get to hear this idiot try and gloss over and summarize the most important things in their life again.

Percy's beanbag made a loud farting noise as he shifted around in it, back and forth a couple of times while he avoided looking at her, and she cracked up, letting out a chuckle just for him. It was all behind them, she kept promising herself. This was just some divine punishment from her mom or something for being so blissfully happy this fall. They just had to live through it all one more time and then they'd be free.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I'm not sure.

"If I knew what I wanted you to say I wouldn't have asked you," Percy said with a level look at her. "I do not just make up an image of you in my head to give me the best advice, I need you to do that in person."

"Well that's a relief," Annabeth smiled. "For a while there I was pretty sure you just tuned me out and only heard every other word."

"More like every five words," Percy grinned.

"At least he admits it," Annabeth nodded to herself as if confirming a long-time theory.

You're the best strategist I know. If you were Kronos planning this war, what would you do next?"

"I'd use Typhon as a distraction. Then I'd hit Olympus directly, while the gods were in the West."

"Just like in Rachel's picture."

"Percy," she said, her voice tight, "Rachel is just a mortal."

"Um, one of these things is not like the other," Jason frowned at her switching topics from tactics. "Percy's just asking you to confirm Rachel's vision, what does her being mortal have to do with anything?" Mortals playing a part in Percy's world had just been natural from the first page, despite the Mist trying to obscure them out of it, Percy had always had one foot in each.

"She's mortal," Annabeth told him scathingly, causing Jason to lean back in surprise at the sharp tone. "She shouldn't have been having visions!"

"The oracles were never mortal?" Alex asked, clearly no fear of directing Annabeth's anger to himself. "Sally has clear sight, Rachel's drawings are clearly just another level higher. It wouldn't really surprise me if Sally's books were just dreams she has, detailed descriptions of ancient Greek myths told in 'today's language'."

Annabeth huffed at these outsiders to her world, her camp, questioning this. The feeling faded as she glanced at Percy, who was watching with his own troubled frown. None of this had made any sense to him back then, and she was loath to make it worse the second time around by arguing about something she knew to be true, even if logically it still bothered her and didn't seem to anybody else. Where were the mortals in her life to believe her?

"But what if her dream is true? Those other Titans—they said Olympus would be destroyed in a matter of days. They said they had plenty of other challenges. And what's with that picture of Luke as a kid—"

"We'll just have to be ready."

"How?" I said. "Look at our camp. We can't even stop fighting each other. And I'm supposed to get my stupid soul reaped."

Annabeth could still feel that bubbling anger ready to lash out at him for talking like this. For demanding she have the answer to saving his life, for acting like the end of the world was a done deal and nothing they ever did or could possibly be would matter. She'd thought Percy was the one person who would never give up, and here he was acting just like Luke, trying to bow out of everything and leave it all to her.

She used her best pair of hiking boots to mentally squash back down that idea, knowing it for what it was now. She took an unsteady breath, remembering well the next words out of her mouth, and already preparing an apology she just hoped Percy would accept, rather than vanishing from her side again, storming out of here with his new friends and leaving her.

She threw down her scroll.

Thalia quirked a brow, imagining Chiron picking up his inspection scroll ripped and covered in mud and giving Annabeth the look. Annabeth was to distracted to notice.

"I knew we shouldn't have shown you the prophecy." Her voice was angry and hurt. "All it did was scare you. You run away from things when you're scared."

Annabeth's face was turning red from embarrassment, they could tell from the way she kept violently brushing at her hair it was that instead of continued anger.

Magnus didn't know if Alex would figure out all the signs, but he tried, 'is she talking about the same Percy we know?'

Alex seemed to get the idea, but couldn't seem to figure out the signs he wanted to say back before Will read over the awkward silence.

I stared at her, completely stunned. "Me? Run away?"

Nico still instinctively wanted to laugh, but he knew Annabeth wasn't talking bout the Chimera or some minor God on Ares's chariot. Percy would run from danger for a strategic retreat if he saw no other way.

Instead he felt what she meant more clearly than he ever would have thought for her, again. Percy had been addressing him, talking to him like nothing had happened since he'd flat admitted he liked him to his face and yet Percy never once tried to say anything to him! Percy had, as well as he could down here, run away from that conversation by literally never broaching it again. He didn't think that made Percy a coward, considering he couldn't count on one hand all the feelings he actively tried to avoid, but he could understand why Annabeth would feel that way.

She got right in my face. "Yes, you. You're a coward, Percy Jackson!"

Percy felt like that yellow carnation Persephone had once given him, flowers wilting and falling sadly to the floor while two sad bunny ears remained. She couldn't still mean that, not with the exuberant way she'd greeted him...but gods did he remember how close they were so vividly, ever angry red curve of her face...

We were nose to nose. Her eyes were red, and I suddenly realized that when she called me a coward, maybe she wasn't talking about the prophecy.

"At least you got that part," Thalia said with the expression of someone wishing to be on another planet, low gravity atmosphere and all.

"Uhuh," Percy groaned, likely to join her whether it had breathable air or not.

"I'm sorry," Annabeth managed to say around a tight throat, her eyes trying to catch his and failing as he studied what must be The Most Fascinating shoelaces on the planet. "I'm sorry for that Percy, you didn't deserve that."

"Well, you weren't, wrong," Percy said in a scary even voice. He'd been an entire emotional mess down here between her, Rachel, Calypso, and even Nico giving him heart failure. The loathing he had for Aphrodite in that limo probably wasn't healthy right now. Nothing in his life was ever easy, and now Annabeth had finally had enough of him making a big deal out of everything and was probably going to run off into the sunset with Jason or something.

"I don't mean that," she tried to tell him, her hands shaking with the repressed force not to grab his face and make him look at her. She wished she had some vellum plotter paper to map out the perfect way to make him understand that, but she didn't think these guys would sit around for half a day while she got her thoughts wholly in order. She felt to put on the spot now to manage it. Give her a monster any day to come up with a strategy, but not this!

All he heard was that she had meant it at the time. What in all the Gods names had changed?

Will was looking pleadingly at Thalia for a hint of what to do, he sure didn't want to stick his foot into this. Thalia just waved him on. They'd worked this out once, she just prayed they would again. The problem was she didn't even know who she was praying to anymore.

"If you don't like our chances," she said, "maybe you should go on that vacation with Rachel."

"Annabeth—"

"If you don't like our company."

"That's not fair!"

She pushed past me and stormed toward the strawberry fields. She hit the tetherball as she passed and sent it spinning angrily around the pole.

Annabeth was shaking her head slowly, her hands in fists like she still wanted to slug something. Probably Percy. Shit, shit, shit, was now the only coherent thought in her head. Great, perfect, shit, this is exactly the kind of thing she hoped Percy would remember!

As miserable as reliving this feeling was, Annabeth just pressed herself into her seat beside him, slowly unfurling her hand to leave her palm up on her knee and hoping he'd take the invitation when he was ready. She might not be able to think of a way to say sorry any better, but she also knew she wouldn't have glossed over this if given the chance. She'd never take away a chance for Percy to remember everything that had happened to him. This was his life, even if she wished she'd acted better in it. Shit. "Sorry," she whispered again, really wanting him to know she meant that even if she couldn't apologize better.

He finally looked at her again, and smiled. Just a small, tentative pull on his lips, and then shrugged. She knew he'd forgiven her...eventually.

I'd like to say my day got better from there. Of course it didn't.

Alex cleared his throat and clearly felt it was time to get back to important matters. "Mrs. O'Leary has a litter of puppies and they're terrorizing everyone!"

"The fridge broke in the Big House and Percy's distraught because even he couldn't eat all that food before it spoiled," Jason made a tragic face.

"Some new camper mistakes Percy for a God and he has a panic attack because wholly crap, how has he lived this long again," Magnus smirked, this newest time of pissing off Annabeth just reinforcing that concept.

Percy chuckled again, a smooth noise that helped Annabeth to relax all the more. "Their favorite game," he explained to her.

"I like it," she nodded, honestly wishing for him that was the worst thing to happen to him the rest of the summer instead of the burial.

That afternoon we had an assembly at the campfire to burn Beckendorf's burial shroud and say our good-byes.

The smiles melted away like fire was known to do to anything after to long. Will could all to easily imagine the magical color going nuts in here, dancing in bright colors one second and then turning dim and black the next. It was probably a good thing Oceanus didn't have his own, they might have a stroke from the constant strobing colors.

Even the Ares and Apollo cabins called a temporary truce to attend.

Beckendorf's shroud was made out of metal links, like chain mail. I didn't see how it would burn, but the Fates must've been helping out.

"I heard a rumor while I was at camp that was the flame Prometheus stole for the humans," Thalia said, her tone nothing but respectful, but shooting a very obvious look at Percy. "I wonder why you haven't heard such a thing, didn't you ever wonder at its properties?" It took more than just a casual flame to melt a body, though that wasn't a thing she'd expect anyone to casually know.

It didn't get a rise out of him anyways, he just winced and gave her a lopsided scowl. She should have known better, but between Annabeth's miserable look and Percy's even more miserable state, she'd really been hoping for something she obviously wasn't getting.

The metal melted in the fire and turned to golden smoke, which rose into the sky. The campfire flames always reflected the campers' moods, and today they burned black.

I hoped Beckendorf's spirit would end up in Elysium. Maybe he'd even choose to be reborn and try for Elysium in three different lifetimes so he could reach the Isles of the Blest, which was like the Underworld's ultimate party headquarters. If anyone deserved it, Beckendorf did.

Nico wished he could reassure him that was what happened. Or even just happened to have the records on him he could 'accidentally' drop. He only hesitated because he knew Percy was about to take a trip to the Underworld with him. Thalia had just given a pretty careless stab to his memories bringing up something in five seconds, and he didn't want to continue the trend even slightly.

Annabeth left without a word to me.

She wasn't going to have her last words to him be at a funeral, no way in Hades. Some part of her had kept saying if she never bothered to talk to him again then she'd never have to say any last words to him, because obviously, he was going to just follow her around and agree he was a coward and pull her close and kiss her and promise it was all going to be okay any second now.

Most of the other campers drifted off to their afternoon activities.

Magnus could easily see how. He did his best not to flip over sleeping bags and piles of trash, it was just better to keep walking and move on and tell yourself at the next corner what your destination was.

I just stood there staring at the dying fire. Silena sat nearby crying, while Clarisse and her boyfriend, Chris Rodriguez, tried to comfort her.

Finally I got up the nerve to walk over.

"Now that takes some bravery," Annabeth said, almost as if to herself. If he couldn't manage that kind of emotional response to her, at least he had for others who mattered. It was more than possible Silena had remembered this moment when she'd been putting on Clarisse's helmet. Whatever Percy was about to say to her, she knew it would be something genuinely good and heartfelt.

Or he might just ask her if she had any of those chocolates left.

Percy heard anyways and gave her a hopeful smile. He didn't care when it had worked out in his past. He'd already forgiven her in here. How could he not with the way she made him feel just by sitting next to him?

"Hey, Silena, I'm really sorry."

She sniffled. Clarisse glared at me, but she always glares at everyone. Chris would barely look at me.

Alex felt a rising sense of anger he didn't know how he was going to act on if this guy was going to blame Percy for Beckendorf's death. Just because he'd gotten out didn't mean Percy had the obligation to save everyone, even if Percy put it on himself!

He'd been one of Luke's men until Clarisse rescued him from the Labyrinth last summer, and I guess he still felt guilty about it.

His temper instantly cooled though, and he was glad it was Percy over there rather than any other child around who might be thinking this was somehow Chris's fault.

I cleared my throat. "Silena, you know Beckendorf carried your picture. He looked at it right before we went into battle. You meant a lot to him. You made the last year the best of his life."

Silena sobbed.

Percy looked as if her mom had just appeared for round two of cooing over his 'interesting' love life. Gods, how did he always manage to make everything worse!

"It was the good kind of sob," Annabeth whispered that promise. The kind she still felt constantly on the edge of knowing he was here, safe and alive. A sob of relief and pain wound together for Silena to know without a doubt a fact Beckendorf might never have told her himself, that he'd truly loved her as much as anyone could.

Percy really looked at her again, and smiled. A completely normal one.

"Good work, Percy," Clarisse muttered.

"First time Clarisse has ever said that to me?" Percy asked with an awkward smile.

"The only time anyone's ever said that to you," Jason looked to pitifully at him to mean that as a joke though. As far as he recalled, only Will had said it to him, and they weren't even sure when that guy was actually sarcastic.

"No, it's all right," Silena said. "Thank . . . thank you, Percy. I should go."

"You want company?" Clarisse asked.

Silena shook her head and ran off.

"She's stronger than she looks," Clarisse muttered, almost to herself. "She'll survive."

Annabeth wasn't so sure, not with the move she'd pulled. She really wasn't sure if Selena expected to make it back from that trip.

A horrible image flashed across her mind, of Thalia coming back from this telling her Percy hadn't made it. If her sister had laid proof at her feet. She'd already been withering away into nothing with not knowing. She wouldn't have needed Nico's assistance to attain vengeful spirit levels soon. Her stomach heaved at the idea- and Percy finally slipped his hand back into hers. His face was to pale under his tan skin.

For once she hoped she wasn't right in thinking, the same thoughts had been flitting across his mind.

"You could help with that," I suggested. "You could honor Beckendorf's memory by fighting with us."

"Percy, nobody was asking you to stage your own funeral again," Jason groaned.

"I'm the prince of telling someone they're being an idiot," Percy rolled his eyes.

"Everybody except yourself," Magnus smirked.

"Dude," Percy groaned.

"I know, I know," he promised, raising his hands in surrender. Not a person would sit around and tell Percy how he should have been feeling, and he'd keep it that way. That didn't mean he couldn't have his fun in the meantime until past Percy reached this Percy.

Clarisse went for her knife, but it wasn't there anymore. She'd thrown it on the Ping-Pong table in the Big House.

It was such a vivid mental image that crossed Will's mind. How Percy wouldn't have even blinked, let alone backed up. Percy would have said that to Ares's face, let alone one of his kids, without caring about the consequences.

"Not my problem," she growled. "My cabin doesn't get honor, I don't fight."

Jason twined his coin agily through his fingers, his eyes flipping just as fast to Thalia and away. He wished he could blame this feeling on her, but even if he knew why he resonated with that, he didn't think it was his sister's fault. He could sense that much. He had no emotional attachment to her other than an idea in his head. He'd had more of a feeling hearing Hylla's name than any time he'd spent around Thalia. She'd been trying to tell him something, before he'd kicked up the winds and his head hurt so bad he couldn't hear a thing. The guilty looks she so often gave him, now more than ever...no. This feeling of honor, duty, an obligation to fight whether you wanted to or not he felt so compelled to speak with Clraisse about had nothing to do with any part his sister did or didn't play in his life.

I noticed she wasn't speaking in rhymes. Maybe she hadn't been around when her cabinmates got cursed, or maybe she had a way of breaking the spell.

Chris might, Nico frowned at the sudden nagging thought. He'd spent time in that Labyrinth before it had broken his mind, and then Mr. D put it back together. Nico knew from experience what kind of things and monsters you could come across down there. Maybe just enough to help pass onto his girlfriend to get out of some minor annoyance possessing her tongue.

Will chuckled, a noise that always broke through his dark thoughts nowadays, and said, "or she just ate some ambrosia."

"Oh, right," Percy nodded, though it had never occurred to him that stuff would cure minor things like that.

"Why wouldn't her siblings have just done that by now too?" Magnus asked skeptically.

"Ah, there might not have been, you know, much available. The stock isn't just handed out to anybody with a scrapped knee," Will said saintly.

"You little shit," Alex threw his head back laughing.

"Chris must have snuck in and gotten some for her," Will nodded, he was much stealthier than his halfbrothers. "Guess none of the other Ares kids thought to ask for help."

"Sounds about right," Annabeth nodded.

With a chill, I wondered if Clarisse could be Kronos's spy at camp.**

Percy might as well have gone around and slapped every one of them in the face.

It's not as if this was a wild concept, he'd had crazier plans that worked out flawlessly, that was kind of why it hurt so bad. They all would have sat around and seen it coming and done nothing to stop it.

Clarisse cared about her home. She was now showing, pretty clearly, she cared more about the grounds by refusing to fight for the people inside the cabins. None of them would have said it out loud though because they'd all slowly grown to like Clarisse a bit over Percy getting to know her.

Will sounded tired as he read that. He'd never wanted to be thrown down memory lane like a bowling ball and have to relive these months at Camp, like he could see all over again Micheal showing up in the infirmary with his hands covered in blood, having flashbacks to the red-soaked golden cloth Lee had been burned in as he cleaned up his brother and muttering to himself a revenge he'd never actually go through with on which Ares brat had done this.

It wasn't really helping Clraisse's case right now nobody in here was jumping down Percy's throat to deny it.

Was that why she was keeping her cabin out of the fight? But as much as I disliked Clarisse, spying for the Titans didn't seem like her style.

"Her style," Alex had a really twisted laugh sometimes. "What kind of style do you think the traitor has exactly? The rub your face in it kind?"

"Clarisse doesn't have a subtle bone in her body to be managing it this long," but even to his own ears Jason sounded lackluster. It could have been any nameless kid at Camp...but the truth was it was probably one of the Head Councilers by now, if not someone who had been there just as long, somebody Percy would know for Luke to so constantly be up to date.

"All right," I told her. "I didn't want to bring this up, but you owe me one. You'd be rotting in a Cyclops's cave in the Sea of Monsters if it wasn't for me."

Annabeth tipped her head to the side with interest to hear this. She had no clue how Clarisse would react, being reminded that someone had to save her, help her, and Percy really was the one most often to do it, between Heaphestus's cows he and Tyson had helped dismantle and this instance...plus apparently something to do with a sea monster?

Honestly the only person in camp whom Annabeth assumed could call in a favor like this to Clarisse was Mr. D for curing Chris.

She clenched her jaw. "Any other favor, Percy. Not this.

Annabeth balked, looking from Percy to the book with insulting surprise. She'd never heard of Clarisse agreeing she owed a favor to anyone!

He just smirked back. Yeah, he still hadn't called in that favor with Clarisse either as far as he knew. That could be fun.

The Ares cabin has been dissed too many times. And don't think I don't know what people say about me behind my back."

Me, Nico noticed with interest, not us, not Ares. Me. He really had the feeling it wasn't so much pride in her dad that was wounded, but Clarisse felt constantly disrespected for being the first person to always run headfirst into battle. He didn't care how many kids had been on this mission, he could easily envision this girl charging in first and defeating at least half the enemies before the Apollo kids drew their bows, and then she probably wasn't even given a thanks before they claimed their prize.

He saw Jason rapping his knuckle with the golden coin gleaming through two fingers rapidly on his other hand, felt the frustration radiating off of him.

"The Camp respects Clarssie plenty last I was there," he whispered quietly as a breath to him. A risky gamble, he didn't want Jason tipping Percy off, but he didn't see the harm in denying one of Percy's ideas so long as he didn't toy with eluding the right person to him, and Jason sure couldn't do that with such an assurance.

Jason gave him a smile of relief. He wasn't sure what Jason's fondness for Clarisse was, but he understood parts of it.

I wanted to say, Well, it's true. But I bit my tongue.

"So, what—you're just going to let Kronos crush us?" I asked.

"If you want my help so bad, tell Apollo to give us the chariot."

"You're such a big baby."

She charged me, but Chris got between us.

"That is the bravest man in camp," Magnus said with a mild whimper in his voice. He might rather have the dragon charge him than that girl.

"Kind of got to give him that one," Percy nodded, he'd been planning on using the lake to get out of dying.

"Whoa, guys," he said. "Clarisse, you know, maybe he's got a point."

She sneered at him. "Not you too!" She trudged off with Chris at her heels.

"Hey, wait! I just meant—Clarisse, wait!"

I watched the last sparks from Beckendorf's fire curl into the afternoon sky. Then I headed toward the sword-fighting arena. I needed a break, and I wanted to see an old friend.

Will nearly groaned in relief as he realized he was done, he could pass this mess along to the next person. His throat was soar, his hands were starting to shake. It hurt a lot more than he would have expected it to, since he'd known this was coming from the first page, but he really was not having a good time right now.

He had to lean across Nico to put the book in Jason's hands, and it was an easy excuse to prop his hand behind Nico's seat and leave it there as he stretched out in relief and Nico gave him an indulgent look as Will fell right back into his personal space.

PJOPJOPJOPJO

*That is not a made up word, but a synonym for beautiful, and it made me laugh way to hard not to share it.

**Little kid me did in fact think it was Clarisse the spy this entire time. I thought I was so clever and Percy was just confirming it here. Her dad had been so easily manipulated back in the first book, and Clarisse had been around as long as Annabeth, and then it felt all but confirmed in the fourth book when she was shown being so close to Chris, well how else would they have met except her frequent spying and reporting to Luke. Obviously Luke had probably been sending Chris in his place a few times and they'd fallen in love.

I know that's the point and I fell for it all hook, line, and sinker, but I don't think I ever would have guessed now as an adult reading this. Silena doesn't have any background before this book; but let me know your guesses. Did anybody see the traitor coming?

#pjo #Percy Jackson #Annabeth Chase #Thalia Grace #Jason Grace #Nico Di Angelo #Will Solace #Alex Fierro #Magnus Chase #percabeth #fierrochase #solangelo

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lieutenantwilliamrusso · 2 years

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Getting in the Halloween mood, I hope you are. Would I love to request a darkBilly! filthy Smut involving a grand gothic haunted house? Maybe he could be master of the manor and invite the reader to stay for the weekend while he lights the way with his candelabra? BUT IT TURNS OUT HE'S A FUCKING GHOST, get it? Haha. Yes, I would.

I hope u enjoy! Thank u sm for requesting and I'm sorry it took an age. This is my gothic y'all. My freakin' Jane Eyre. If u catch the Punisher Easter egg u get my eternal gratitude and a little forehead kiss.

Hopefully Billy won't...ghost her....

tagging miss @idaofinfinity

Warnings for: wax play, sex, 18+ minors DNI

Billy Russo x Fem Reader

In the Shadow of Death

As the autumn air filters through your nose for the first time, you're grateful you made the choice to take a few weeks off of work to recharge. You'd never been to upstate New York, had never traveled farther than the brownstone row homes and cracked pavement of your Brooklyn neighborhood.

Now you're here, in Castle Grove, New York, breathing in the crisp air of the first real autumn weekend. You pop the trunk of your rental car and grab your duffel bag, admiring the low stone wall of the house you'd rented for the month of October. It's a humble wooden structure, with rustic red shutters and a creaky front door that seems to howl as you toe it open, bag and keys occupying your hands.

The inside of the house is cozy, an amalgamation of festive throw pillows and plush furniture. But that's not what catches your eye. It's the Victorian mansion that faces away from your little house, only connected by the dying grass outside. There's a wrought iron fence hiding the bottom half, but the top is exquisite, whorls of grays and blacks meshing in the paint and carved wood around the windows. You stare in awe for a while, wondering who might live there, before moving to get unpacked. You leave the curtains drawn just in case you might get a glimpse of the mysterious owner of the mansion.

It's a few days later when it arrives. The thick cream envelope is sealed with a black clump of wax, the elegant swirls pressed into it matching the ones you gaze at out of your window each slow afternoon. Suddenly it's very clear who the message is from. You tear into it eagerly, unable to wait. Inside is a single card, the script neat and small.

Welcome to the neighborhood. I'd like to invite you to the manor behind your home tomorrow evening for a meal. Please arrive at 8.

-William Russo

"William..." You ponder.

Certainly mysterious.

The following night arrives quickly, your nerves almost getting the better of you. Should you bring something? How do you dress for this? Who is William Russo?

The questions swirl in your mind as you grudgingly choose a simple black dress with sleeves and a bottle of your favorite red wine. You're still unsure as you mount the wide steps to the house, the black front door gaping at you like the mouth of some ancient creature. Before you can raise your hand to knock, the door swings open, and a head of dark hair poked through it.

The man you're left staring as it gorgeous, dark eyes matched to his hair and a small smile on his plush lips. His eyes are inquisitive as he takes you in.

"You must be the neighbor."

You nod.

"I'm Y/N. Thank you for the invitation."

His smile widens. "Welcome." He says, opening the door wider and beckoning you in.

You're struck first by how dark it is inside. You can make out the outlines of paintings with thick frames and furniture covered by sheets. There's only a dull glow coming from William's hands as he holds up a candelabra.

"My apologies, this is an old house, and recent renovations have left the electricity lacking. I thought they would have been further along by now."

You nod, assured by his words.

"Understandable. This is a gorgeous house you have."

William nods. "It's been in my family for generations."

You take in as much as you can parse out as William guides you through the halls, twisting and turning around the carpeted labyrinth. You hadn't realized how large the house is, the outside not giving it away. You watch William's broad shoulders move as he walks, his white button up displaying the play of muscle under it.

When you reach the dining room, the light heightens, an array of candles spread across the tables and shelves in the room. The table is thick oak, and there's a variety of foods on the it.

"I wasn't sure what your tastes were, so I made it all."

William looks almost sheepish as he takes the wine from your hands, moving to pour it into two glasses.

"It's wonderful!" You say, eyes wide in excitement.

He looks sated, pulling out a chair for you to sit on. When you're seated he takes his own, moving it a little closer to you in the intimate lighting. When the food is served you eat a little of everything, complimenting his cooking often. You enjoy seeing the little smile spread across his mouth, and you can't help wondering what that mouth would feel like on your skin.

"So, neighbor-"

"Y/N." you correct, smirking at his raised eyebrow.

"My apologies, Y/N." He practically purrs your name, and you resist the urge to shiver. "Why are you in town?"

"Well, I wanted a break from work. I'm from the city, and I figured the fresh air would do me good."

"It certainly does help. It's a wonderful place to be this time of year." William affirms.

"I'm also glad you invited me over." You admit. "I've been admiring your home all week."

You bite your lip, suddenly shy.

"I've been admiring you all week." William answers smoothly.

Your eyes dart up, locking with his. He looks serious, hungry almost and you have the suspicion it's no longer for the meal. You should be afraid, alone in a dark house with a stranger. But something in William's face grounds you, and a second later it has you leaning forward.

"Is that so?"

"It is." He replies.

"So what, is this a date?" You ask.

William grins, white teeth on display. "Well that depends on what kind of woman you are."

"What, don't kiss on the first date, William?"

"I believe the issue is that I do."

He's so close now, just a breath away from your mouth, and you ache to close the space between you.

"Good thing I'm that kind of woman." You breathe out.

He kisses you and it's hot and wet from the start. His mouth devours yours, tongue probing yours like it's the last time he'll take a lover. You moan into it, hands moving to grip his shoulders as he cradles the back of your head, fisting your hair while the other hand reaches for your waist. You make out with William, trading slow kisses until he pulls away suddenly.

"The bedroom is close." William pants.

You nod, already standing. He doesn't pick the candelabra back up, instead navigating the darkness adeptly as he leads you by your hand. A few moments later you're entering a room with a four poster bed and plush pillows. The room is illuminated my the moonlight through the window, casting the old fashioned fixtures in a ghostly glow.

William backs you onto the bed, pulling his shirt over his head as you kick off your shoes. In the light of the moon his pale skin looks almost translucent, but before you look to closely he's on top of you, grinding his hips into yours feverishly. You gasp, hands threading into his hair as he works his way down your throat, nipping at the skin. When he reaches the neckline of your dress he leans back, tugging the fabric over your head and immediately unclasping your bra.

Then you're exposed, the cool air brushing your skin for just a second until William's mouth closes over your left nipple, hot tongue lapping at the skin.

"Ah!" You gasp.

William groans, other hand moving to squeeze your other breast. You arch into the attention, hips stuttering against his. You can feel the hard bulge in his pants, and you clench around nothing. When he pulls off to lave at the other nipple you stop him, tugging at his belt.

"Please." You beg, chest heaving.

"Eager girl, aren't you darling?" William purrs.

You nod quickly, smiling as he takes pity and undoes the leather belt, dropping it to the floor. When you tug his pants down and free his thick cock, he growls. Your hands are suddenly pinned to the bed, William's muscular frame looming over you.

"Open." He commands.

You open your mouth, closing your eyes in bliss as he lets a trail of saliva fall fro his mouth to yours. You close your mouth and swallow, and a second later you're rewarded with deft fingers swiping across your clothed clit. You cry out, the sound muffled by the fingers William pushes through your lips. Then he's gone, his body removed from yours. You sit up, searching for his figure in the darkness.

"Stay there." He calls, voice commanding as you hear the bedroom door open and close.

You pant, spread across the sheets as you wait for his return. It only takes a minute before he's back, one of the candles from the dining room in hand. He approaches the bed, and you can clearly see now how red his mouth his, how flushed his cheeks have become. You must look the same.

"I'm going to make you cum, but first we're going to play."

It's then you comprehend what the candle is for.

You nod, eyes wide.

"Use your words, darling."

"Yes, sir."

When the first drops of warm wax drip over your stomach you can't help but gasp, the liquid cooling on your skin. You feel something uncoil inside you then, something wild and dangerous. William must see it on your face because he grins, dropping more of the wax onto your skin, making a trail up to your breasts. When the wax touches your nipples for the first time you moan, deep and long into the night air.

"More?" William asks, smoothing hand over your hair.

"Yes, yes, yes." You babble, pleasure overtaking you.

William works back down your body, wax dropping onto you with bursts of heat that dissipate into pressure, leaving you feeling like there are fingers pressed into you all over.

When he reaches your still-clothed pussy, William stop his work, discarding the candle on a nearby table. When he returns he slips your panties off, gazing at your wet heat.

"Is this all for me?" He teases.

"No, sorry, it's for the ghosts." You retort.

"I'm sure they'd appreciate that, but you're mine right now."

Then he's diving in, licking into your pussy like you're his favorite dessert. You grip his hair, hips bucking as you grind onto his tongue. He adds two fingers and pumps them into you, stretching your pussy for his cock. Wet sounds pour forth from where your bodies connect, and you gasp and cry out as you reach your peak. When you cum, William grips your thighs tightly, holding you down until the aftershocks subside. When you come to, he's on top of you again, rubbing his cock through your folds.

"Ready for me?" He groans, cock twitching.

"So fucking ready."

He laughs, loud and loose as he pushes in, the sound elongating into a guttural moan. He begins to pump into you immediately, hard thrusts punctuated by the slap of his hips against yours. He fills you, thick cock stretching your walls and rubbing deliciously against your walls.

It feels like William is everywhere, on top of you, around you, in all your senses. He's pressed close, his skin bouncing off the wavering glow of the candle until you can't keep your eyes open any longer, gasping his name as you cum a second time, going limp in his arms. William's forehead presses to yours, his hips stuttering as he cums after you, his hot cum filling your still-clenching pussy. He pants into your open mouth, and you imagine you can taste his satisfaction on your own tongue.

A few moments later you drift off, William stroking your sweaty hair.

When you wake, you're in your bedroom, the sun streaming through the open curtains, casting little shapes on your skin. You're naked still, you clothes folded neatly on the chair in the corner, and William is nowhere to be found.

When you finally scrape yourself off of your sheets, satisfied but confused, you find yourself reaching for your laptop. Who did you sleep with last night? Just some rich, lonely, gorgeous bachelor? Or is there more to it, that man alone in the big black house. You type his name into the browser with the name of the town, clicking the first result.

The Russo family manor has been abandoned since the late 1940s, when the last of the Russo children, William, passed away of tuberculosis contracted serving in the Second World War. The house is maintained by a trust in the family's name. Local legend says William can still be seen wandering the halls, lighting his way with the family's gold candelabra.

When you look up he's in the window of the upstairs bedroom, waiting for your eyes to meet his. You swear you can see the bed through him.

#billy russo x reader #billy russo #monster!billy russo #my fics #request

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