Bride of the Sea God

Chapter 4

"Well, what do we have here? A little maid who lost her way?"

The bundle of seaweed she was pushing away in her hand suddenly had a mind of its own. The tendrils of tough green material wrapped around her hand. Others coiled around her ankles like rope, binding her where she floated. Annabeth managed to twist around and froze.

After seeing the amphisbaena and the mysteriously beautiful underwater palace, Annabeth found she still had room for surprise. The owner of the voice had unique anatomy. The top part of him was a handsome man but his bottom had two fish-tails. His eyes were proud and bright green, uncommonly so. Annabeth knew who he was from the stories told of the sea.

Triton. Son of Poseidon and heir to the Seas. Beside him were two dolphin attendants wearing bronze armor.

"Do not worry, fair little nymph." Triton inspected her. "The mortals send one in a different form this time, I see. You are quite a beautiful lady, with such golden curls. I do relish a different look. One gets tired of the same appearance every time, you know? But your current attire is quite...unique."

"Release me immediately, you fiend!" Annabeth felt herself blush. She had forgotten she had cut her chiton. The cloth now barely covered her torso and top of her thighs. "Don't come closer!" Annabeth struggled to get the seaweed bindings off with her free hand, but the seaweed was tight, and the struggle was loosening the pieces of chiton.

Triton looked amused as he ventured closer. "You are quite brave for calling a god a 'fiend'. Other less forgiving gods than I would have blasted you into a hundred jellyfish for smaller insults." Then his expression changed as he saw her eyes. "Your eyes...they are gray."

"And what of it?" Annabeth managed to loosen the seaweed on her wrist.

Triton tensed as he studied her more closely. "A spawn of Athena. I should have known, but the seas taint your scent. No wonder you are different from the others."

"What are you even talking about?"

A trident materialized from Triton's hand. "Speak, spy. Why have you come within our realm, to instigate a war again? Haven't you spawn and followers of Athena done enough harm?" The sharp trident tip turned towards Annabeth's neck.

"No!" She cried out, tears of frustration rising. "I don't even know what you are talking about!" Annabeth swung her arms outward in an attempt to swim away, but there was still seaweed wrapped around her ankles. In her haste, her chiton began to slip more off of her shoulders. It was also getting harder to breathe, now that she was in a panic.

The two-tailed sea god drifted forward. "I can easily take away your blessing to breathe underwater if you do not speak your intentions."

"I truly have no nefarious intentions! I fell here by accident after being sent as a sacrifice!"

Triton did not look like he believed her words and pressed his trident forward. She could feel the bronze tipped trident touch her neck.

Annabeth prepared to use the dagger hidden in the confines of her clothing. It was blasphemous to stab a god, she knew, but there was now a painful prick on her neck.

"Brother."

Someone else had come. A white cloth flashed before her, and suddenly Annabeth was wrapped up in white cloth, just in time as the pieces of her chiton fell.

"Be still and you will have a chance to live." The words were whispered into her ear. "Let go of the dagger before you can be charged with the crime of stabbing a god."

Annabeth looked up at the person who was currently holding her in his arms. In truth, while the position looked intimate from the outside, the man was pinning her arms to her sides to prevent her from making another move while fresh seaweed ropes bound her hands and ankles. Like Triton, the newcomer had dark black hair and green eyes, though equally guarded as they were. His bottom half was human, though. It was the man from the statue.