The Curse // pjo

Chapter Twelve // Dam This Day

    Yay us.

    "There's a path," Grover suddenly said. "We could get to the river."

    I furrowed my brows, not seeing what he was referring to, but Percy must have seen it because he said, "That's a goat path."

    "So?" he asked.

    "The rest of us aren't goats."

    "We can make it," Grover paused before he shrugged. "I think."

Thinking about it, I was not a fan of cliffs, so I shook my head, glancing at Thalia and Percy, both looking kinda pale, "Nope. We're going up further."

    "But—" Grover tried to butt in.

    "Nah. Walks are good. I like walking," I waved an arm, "Everyone, march." Everyone was honestly more than happy to walk further upstream, even though Grover looked a little pouty. I gently grabbed Ric's hand in mine, "Come on..."

    He let me pull him with me, not fighting even a little against my tugging.

    Our walk was slow, and I knew that we were all feeling the weight of the quest now.

    And without Bianca, our group felt incomplete.

    I turned my eyes to Ric and purposefully let us fall further back before I whispered, "How are you holding up?"

    Ric didn't respond at first, and I about gave up when he murmured, "My father came to me in my dream."

    I almost tripped on nothing, but instead, I turned my eyes to him again and whispered, "And?"

    "He's disappointed. And very angry."

    I scowled, "But it wasn't your fault."

    "He doesn't care."

    "He should."

    Ric side-eyed me at my harsh tone before he said, "It was my responsibility to take care of her. And I failed. He has every right to be—"

    "Shut up," I pulled him to a stop, making him look at me. "I don't care that your dad is a god. Nonetheless a Big Three status god. It was not your fault. We all went on this quest, and we all knew the risks. We just didn't know Fate would pick her to be the one to die." He winced. I grabbed his hands in mine, squeezing them, "You were helping everyone, and so was she. She died a hero's death, with honor." My voice cracked, and I felt myself getting emotional as the images of the giant toppling fell over me again, "And she will be missed terribly." I lifted my gaze to him from our intertwined hands. "But it was not your fault. And if your dad can't see that, then screw him."

    A chill fell over me, like the spirits of the Underworld from two summers ago were crawling up my spine, but I mentally flipped it off.

    Be a good dad, douche.

    Ric was quiet for a long moment before he abruptly wrapped me in a tight hug.

    I honestly wasn't sure what to do for a split second before I wrapped him up in my arms as well, and I whispered, "She loves you, is thankful for you, and forgives you...She told me all of this before she got inside the robot." He shook in my arms, and I knew he was trying not to sob again. "It'll be okay...it might take some time, but it will be okay."

    He sniffled and nodded against my shoulder, which he was hunched over so he could hug me.

    "Hey guys!" Thalia's voice made us jump apart. She looked between us, her eyes glittering with a moment of smugness before she said, "We have a ride." She looked at me, "Percy needs some help convincing the naiads to help pull the canoes."