annais min had everything to prove and no time to do it. as one of the five children of the underworld destined to lead the seven on their journey of death and destruction, annais had the fate of the universe resting on her shoulders, holding her do...
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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: SWEETER THAN POISON
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ANNAIS WASN'T REALLY SURE how much time she spent waiting for Jason to regain consiousness. She just knew that she wouldn't be moving an inch from his side until he opened his eyes for her. She needed to see it for herself, that he'd make a complete recovery. Piper had tried to tell her he'd be okay, that she didn't have to wait for him, but Annais didn't even move when Melanie came in to see her. His hand was warm in her own, but his eyes remained shut tight, and that made her decision easy.
Mel had asked her to go with Leo and Hazel on some quest for bronze. Mel clearly wasn't up for it. She'd been avoiding Leo at all costs since she regained consciousness, and her head was wrapped with a bandage that showed she wasn't well enough to even think about going anywhere. But Annais remained true to her word, and so Mel moved on to pestering Ezra instead.
At some point, the ship went dead quiet. Everyone but Piper, Mel and Gleeson were off doing whatever it was they needed to do. She could hear Gleeson humming a song in the room next door, and above her, the roof occasionally creaked with the footsteps of the other girls. But that was it. All Annais had to distract her was the routine movement of Jason's chest inhaling and exhaling air.
Eventually, she found herself resting her head on the palm of her hand, the other one remaining tightly grasped around his. For a second, she was startled at the resemblance to their first days back at Camp Half-Blood. Jason had stayed at her side for days while she rested. Annais would wait for days, too, if she had to.
But in the end, she didn't.
"When are you going to wake up for me?" she sighed about an hour after the ship emptied, lowering her other hand to trace absent-minded patterns on his arm. "I miss seeing your stupid eyes."
"You miss me?" a soft voice murmured, and Annais nearly flinched out of her chair from the shock of it.
"Gods, Jason," she breathed out as the blonde boy chuckled at her reaction, bleary eyes peering up at her like he was seeing an angel waiting for him at Heaven's doors. It was lovesick, how Jason Grace looked at Annais Min. He was so far in, he couldn't see a way back out. "You scared the crap out of me."
"Sorry." He didn't sound the least bit apologetic. "For the record, I missed you too."
Annais' face flushed but she said nothing about it as he tried to move his head, then winced at the pain that followed. "Careful," she murmured, squeezing his hand in a comforting gesture. "Piper said your head may hurt for a bit. Seriously, what is it with you getting knocked out all the time? Are you trying to beat the Guinness World Record for the most head injuries survived or something?"
Jason tried to laugh but ended up wincing again. "It's not like I can help it, baby."
Annais glowered, but couldn't deny the intensity of her blush. "I thought I told you not to call me that."
