Charmolypi

Chapter 111

Thea was about to argue but Percy took her hand and guided her towards the few surviving hammocks. They each took a hammock on opposite ends of the area, not wanting to have any awkward silence after the excessive sharing that they had just took part in.

"Thea," Percy called softly into the darkness. It was so quiet he heard her hum in acknowledgement. "I'm sorry."

Percy feared that he had stepped out of line with his statement, but his fears were eased when she finally answered him. "Don't apologize, it's not your fault."

"I know... I'm sorry you had to go through all of that at such a young age." Percy hesitated for a moment before he went on. "You saved their lives and Thalia saved yours... I wish I could have met her."

An angelic sound was heard, and Percy realized it was Thea laughing. He had heard her chuckle or snicker, but never actually laughed. "You would have hated one another," she said between laughs.

The interaction between the pair lifted the mood of the majority of the hall, distracting them from the horrendous truth of the life of the demigods.

"He likes her," Marlene squealed quietly, hoping not to draw the attention of an already worked up James. Unfortunately for her, her efforts were in vain.

"What?" James asked, his head snapping to the direction of Marlene.

"Nothing," she waved him off carelessly, but James was still suspicious.

It wasn't long until the pair drifted into sleep, and for the first time in over a year, they shared the same dream. The pair found themselves standing in Luke's Stateroom aboard the Princess Andromeda. The curtains were open, and the moonlight gave the room a tranquil glow despite the shadows that were swirling with the air. The pair could hear the spirits of the dead warning them of the dangers of them being there. 

A cold laugh startled Percy, drawing his attention to the golden sarcophagus that Thea was already staring at.

"Not another demigod dream," Barty groaned, knowing that what they were about to watch was something truly disturbing.

James was sitting at the edge of his seat, anxiously waiting to see what his daughter would dream of.

"You have no courage, young one," the voice laughed mockingly. "You can't stop me."

Percy followed along as Thea unleashed Thunderstruck. Percy uncapped Riptide, and the pair made their way to the golden box.

"Well, Seaweed Brain?" a girl's voice sounded from beside Percy, but it wasn't Annabeth. From the corner of his eye, he noticed how Thea froze in place at the sound of the voice and her breathing quickened.

"Who is that?"

"Why is Thea acting like that?"

Percy looked over to the source of the voice, only to find a girl wearing punk-style clothes with silver chains on her wrists. She had spikey black hair, dark eyeliner around her stormy blue eyes, and a spray of freckles across her nose. She looked very familiar to the point that she reminded him of Thea.

"Is that Thalia?" Regulus asked, not taking his eyes off of the young girl that looked like an older Thea.

"Well?" she asked again. "Are we going to stop him or not?" When Percy didn't answer, she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Leave it to us and Aegis."

She tapped her wrist and her silver chains transformed- flattening and expanding into a huge shield. It was silver and bronze, with the monstrous face of Medusa protruding from the center. It looked like a death mask, as if the gorgon's real head had been pressed into the metal. Just being near it made Percy cold with fear. Meanwhile, Thea was looking at the shield in absolute shock.