Sea Green Eyes

Chapter 64

"Cup of broth," Damasen ordered.

Bob ladled some stew juice into a hollow gourd. He handed it to Damasen, who dunked the chewed-up gunk ball and stirred it with his finger.

"Gorgon's blood," he muttered. "Hardly a challenge for my talents."

He lumbered to the bedside and propped up Percy with one hand. Small Bob the kitten sniffed the broth and hissed. He scratched the sheets with his paws like he wanted to bury it.

And her hand was shaking in Castor's as she gripped him like a lifeline. She watched as the giant made Percy sip the broth. Damasen handled him with surprising gentleness, murmuring words of encouragement that she couldn't quite catch as the knots in her stomach slowly began to untangle.

With each sip, Percy's colour improved. He drained the cup, and his eyes fluttered open. He looked around with a dazed expression, spotted Cressida, and gave her a drunken grin that she couldn't help but return. "Feel great." His eyes rolled up in his head. He fell back into the bed and began to snore.

"A few hours of sleep," Damasen pronounced. "He'll be good as new."

Cressida sobbed with relief into Castor's shoulder. "Thank you. Truly, thank you."

Damasen stared at her mournfully. "Oh, don't thank me. You're still doomed. And I require payment for my services."

And the knots in her stomach tightened again.

"Well, I'm fresh out of drachmas, so, what kind of payment do you mean?" Cressida asked as Castor wiped the tears off her face.

"A story." The giant's eyes glittered. "It gets boring in Tartarus. You can tell me your story while we eat, eh?"

Castor let out a laugh. "Oh, you're in luck," he said as the giant looked at him. "Because my little sister just so happens to be the best storyteller in all of Tartarus."

The giant huffed. "I shall be the judge of that."

Cressida was a little uneasy about telling the giant their plans, but a deal was a deal and Damasen was a good host. He'd saved Percy. His drakon-meat stew was excellent (especially compared to firewater). His hut was warm and comfortable, and for the first time since plunging into Tartarus, Cressida felt safe like she could let her guard down. Which was ironic considering that she was having dinner with a Titan, a giant, a ghost and her comatose boyfriend. So she told a story.

She told him the story of her entire life - glossing over her life before camp, but going into detail about the rest. Castor was right, she was a very good storyteller. She had gestures, her voice changed with the mood of the story, she even choked up at parts like Percy almost dying for two weeks and then Castor dying and everyone else in the battle of Manhattan. The giant seemed to turn up the corner of his lips as she described the way she and Percy got together and fell in love and how he'd jumped into Tartarus to be with her.

And then she explained how Percy had met Bob and wiped his memory in the River Lethe before leaving him in the care of Hades.

"Percy was trying to do something good," she promised Bob. "He didn't know Hades would be such a... well, you know."

She didn't exactly want to insult the lord of the Underworld even though she was in Tartarus because the last thing she needed was for him to take her brother away prematurely.

Bob washed his bowl with his squirt bottle and rag.

Damasen made a rolling gesture with his spoon. "Continue your story, Cressida Lynn. You are indeed an excellent storyteller."

She explained about their quest in the Argo II. When she got to the part about stopping Gaia from waking, she faltered. "She's, um...she's your mom, right?"