The Silver Ring (PJO)

Chapter 23

I woke up with a painful pounding in my head, as though somebody was repeatedly hitting it with a hammer. My entire body was in agony. What happened?

I could hear bits of conversation through my ringing ears.

"Percy . . . serious . . . wounds . . .  awake!" 

The last part was louder than the rest. My eyes were too heavy to open. The ringing in my ears slowly subsided, and I felt a hand clasp mine.

"Perseus!" Mom exclaimed. "You scared me! Never do anything like that again!"

"What happened?" I croaked out. My throat was scratchy, as though I had been asleep for a long time.

There was a pause. Then, Triton spoke. "You . . . don't remember the battle?"

All of a sudden my memories came shooting back. Nyx. Chaos. Soldiers. Dad!

I opened my eyes and looked around the room in panic. I was in some sort of medical ward, and my chest, leg, and arm were covered in bandages. Triton, Mom, and Nico were next to me, sitting on the bed. "Where's Dad?"

Their eyes gave away that that whatever happened wasn't just a super-realistic dream. Mom shook her head, and her eyes welled up with unshed tears. I tried to sit up, but my body immediately collapsed back down in agony. I gritted my teeth in order to keep in a grunt. 

Mom immediately held my shoulders in place, preventing me from getting up again. "You're hurt! You'll just make your injuries worse!"

"How long have I been asleep?" 

Mom looked nervous now, as though I wouldn't like her answer. She was correct to assume that. "Three weeks."

"Three weeks?! How have I not healed yet? Did we lose anymore people fighting the remaining soldiers?"

"What do you remember before you passed out, Percy?" Triton asked.

I didn't see how that would answer my question, but I obeyed anyhow. "I got stabbed multiple times. The some moron stuck a sword in my chest. And then . . . Dad got captured." I ran my uninjured hand over my face. "I was so close! If only I tried a little bit harder."

Mom had a stern expression on her face. "Now, listen here. You were on the brink of dying when we found you. There was no way you could've done anything about Nyx."

"I could've done something. Instead I was on the ground watching helplessly."

"You did do something," Triton muttered under his breath. Mom gave him a look not to say anything more.

"What do you mean?"

Triton looked like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Uh . . . erm . . . nothing?" 

It was phrased more like a question than an answer.

Mom sighed. "You basically told him already. No point in hiding it."

"Uh . . . Is there something I'm missing?" I asked, confused.

"Right before you . . . passed out because of blood loss . . . youkindofkilledallthesoldiers." 

Triton said the last part in one big breath, making it hard to understand.

"I killed what?"

Triton looked at Mom uneasily, as though he was nervous about my reaction.

"Son," Mom said, clasping my hand, "you killed all of the soldiers in your rage."

I stared at her in incredulity, wondering if this really was a big dream. But Mom would never joke about anything like that, and once again, her eyes gave it away she was telling the truth.

"Just the enemy soldiers?" I asked in a very calm voice that was nowhere near what I was feeling inside.

They all seemed relieved and caught off guard with my nonchalance. 

"Not even a scratch on ours," Nico confirmed.

"How many were there?"

"At least more than a hundred-thousand."

"That's probably why I'm not healing," I concluded, still calm. 

But on the inside, I was freaking out. Calm down, Percy. Yes, you killed a bunch of soldiers, and yes, you aren't dead, but—HOW ARE YOU NOT DEAD?!

"Are you fine, Perseus?" Triton asked. "It's very shocking."

I forced a smile on my face. "I'm just peachy. How long until I heal?"

"We're guessing your body was comatose because of the sheer amount of power you let out. Now, since you're awake, that might mean you're body is stable enough to try to fix your physical wounds."

"So we wait?"

"We wait," Triton confirmed.

✮✮✮

In the middle of the next week, My body finally healed fully. My family had obviously lied to me about how close I was to dying.

Reality had sunk in for everybody in Atlantis. Their god was missing, taken by an ancient primordial that left no trace of where she went. Triton still ruled over them with the supervision of Mom, but morale was down significantly.

And that's why I had a plan of getting Dad back.

"What do you need, Percy?" Mom asked.

In the afternoon, when Triton and Mom had a break, I walked into the throne room. The sad and longing look in Mom's eyes just strengthened my will to go forward with my plan.

"I'm going to try to rescue Dad."

They just stared at me for a few seconds, unsure what to say.

Finally, Triton asked, "How?"

A simple question, but it needed a complex answer.

"When Nyx took Dad, she walked through a portal."

"So?"

"I could see the other side."

"Oh no Perseus, you're not going into Nyx's palace!" Mom exclaimed. "Don't you even think about it!"

"But I have to," I argued. "We need Dad back. And I'll be careful."

Mom stared at me in incredulity, which was understandable. Danger was literally my life.

"I'll go with you—" Triton began.

"Nope," I said, shaking my head. "You need to rule Atlantis. Mom also needs to stay to help, and there's no way I'm putting any soldier's life at risk."

"What about Nico?" Mom asked. 

"I can't put him in danger, either."

Mom pursed her lips, deep in thought. If it was a year back, she would have made me take Nico with me. But now, she knew that there was no way I would risk my cousin's life for a plan that I made.

"When will you leave?"

"Probably tomorrow night. I need to tell Thalia so she doesn't panic."

Mom enveloped me in a hug. "Just . . . be careful."

I hugged her back. "I will, Mom."