The Moon and the Stars || Heroes of Olympus

Chapter 49

After defending the ship from attacking ourae all night, I hoped to get a peaceful night's sleep.

I wasn't so lucky.

I found myself in a hospital room - not the usual setting for my dreams. The room was bright and clean, the sharp scent of sanitiser stinging my nostrils. There was a single bed in the room, with vases bursting full of flowers adorning it. The person in the bed was incredibly still.

I approached the bedside, wondering who this could be. Most of the people I cared about would be in the infirmary at Camp Half Blood if they needed healing, not a mortal hospital. What if it's Rachel?

My heart clenched at their rusty red hair. Seeing their face clearly, I let out a sigh of relief. Of course, the comatose patient was my mortal father - William Dare. I'd completely forgotten about his condition, what with the chaos of the last week or so. Fighting primordial goddesses in Rome tends to distract from mortal problems.

Even seeing his lifeless form did nothing to elicit a reaction in me. I still couldn't bring myself to care. My father was hardly present in my life, and when he was, it wasn't out of love, but irritation at my troublemaking. I couldn't seem to stop disappointing him.

"He won't be waking up any time soon."

My head shot up. A familiar curly haired dryad was stood on the other side of the bed. "Ash?"

I hadn't seen her since before we'd left camp. She looked none the worse for wear, though there was a hardness in her eyes I wasn't used to. Her green top was streaked with dirt and a gold ring glinted on her right hand.

"Hello, Neo." She smiled, standing over my father's body. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." I was itching to ask her if she'd caused this, but thought it best to tread a little more carefully. "I haven't seen you in a while. We were getting worried. How've you been?"

The flowers on the bedside table inched towards her as most plants tended to when she was feeling strongly about something. "Quite well. I've been rather busy bringing justice to those that deserve it."

"Such as my father?"

"Yes." She cocked her head to the side, no sign of guilt. "I hope you don't mind."

I shrugged. At least we now had confirmation that it was Ash who had attacked him. Though the fact she could injure someone so badly and not seem to care about it sent a chill down my spine. "It doesn't particularly bother me. In fact, I'd say he brought it upon himself. He's not a good man."

"I'm glad." A lily leaf wrapped itself around her finger. Ash looked up. "Wouldn't want you to get distracted from your little quest."

"No." I forced a smile. "Though I do have to get back to it. Bye."

"Goodbye, Neo."

-Ω-

I woke to a loud CRACK from up on deck.

I sighed. The ourae had already destroyed the mast twice in the past two days crossing the Apennine Mountains. Each time we tried to cross the spine of Italy, the mountain gods attacked.

Defending the ship from them had taken a massive toll on all of us. Because of my shielding abilities, I made sure I was on duty as much as possible, but maintaining the shields for three hours at a time was extremely tiring and painful, especially after my stunt in Rome. I could generally make it through two shifts on deck before passing out and having to be carried back to bed.

I'd never been in so much pain before, but it was worth it to ensure fewer attacks whenever I could. I'd even started getting dizzy when I stood sometimes. The last thing we needed was to be knocked out of the sky or to lose another member of the crew.