Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 38: On The Precipice Of War

"A goddess? Are you certain?"

Annabeth nods as she finished retelling everything that happened yesterday. It was blurry for me. When I woke up again, the memory of the night was hazy. The only thing I remember clearly was attacking Ares.

"You are, Aileen. Your blood is proof enough. It is part Ichor, part human blood. My guess is it will become more and more golden as time goes by."

I rub my face as I sigh deeply, sprawling myself out on the hotel bed. "That's... I can hardly believe it! What kind of Goddess will I be?"

"Who knows, but this is awesome! I have a Goddess as a friend! All because you have something from Nyx in you?" Percy says with clear excitement. "Whatever Nyx placed in her is slowly replacing her human part. It is my best guess at the very least Yeah, it is... something," Annabeth explains with a deep sigh.

"What's wrong Annabeth? I thought you'd be relieved to know she won't die," Grover asks. I frown a bit as I get up to look at Annabeth.

"I am happy for her, Grover. But, I won't stay on this Earth forever. My body will age, while Aileen will become immortal. I don't want to leave her alone to let her face this new life," she explains softly, her gaze to the wooden floor.

Grover chuckles softly while patting her on the shoulder. "A concern that you should not have. It is not unheard off for Gods or Goddesses to grant immortality or Godhood to some mortals. Dionysus for example was a Half-Blood and has a human as his wife. She has been given immortality. Those that have proven themselves will be given the option," Grover explains.

"There you have it. I will gladly give it to you!" I say cheerily and without hesitation. Annabeth smiles softly. "Of course, you would. But I bet there's a downside to it."

"Yes, there is. Granting a person Godhood will require you to sacrifice a part of yourself. It will make you weaker," he explains. I merely shrug, as it does not sound bad to me.

"Does not sound like a bad thing to me. I will give a part of me to someone that is already part of me!" I say with a smile. Annabeth rolls her eyes, but her smiles grows wider as she hears it.

"Jeez, make the wedding bells sing already. The two of you sound like a married couple!" Percy says with a laugh. "Percy, we are too young to marry! Aileen is sixteen, while I am only fourteen!" Annabeth says loudly in embarrassment.

"If I ask you to marry me now, would you say yes?" I ask with a smile. "Of co- This is not the moment to ask, Aileen!" she says as she quickly changes her answer. Her almost saying yes made me smile so brightly, it was hurting my face.

"Annabeth, I know we are young. I know it is probably illegal here in the U.S., however, is our life normal? We just came back from the Underworld, we carry a weapon of mass destruction in our bag! I am turning into a Goddess! I think we can bend the rules a bit," I say. Annabeth is turning redder and redder.

"Perhaps, b-but my answer remains. Ooh..." she says before she stops for a brief moment. Her cheeks did become redder. Not sure how much redder she could get. "We already proposed..." she says softly.

"We did? I think I would remember such an important event."

Percy and Grover share a confused glance, but I do see their smiles already forming as they look to us again. Clearly curious and ready to hear an answer. Annabeth turns to me with a shy smile.

"Our promise on the River Styx... One could c- considered it a m-marriage proposal. I really didn't think that through..." She says with a soft groan.

That makes me utterly happy. It is true, we already swore to stay together. Even if that is the case, it won't stop me from proposing in the correct way. It has to be special and memorable. I will make sure of it.