Chapter Twelve: Las Vegas Awaits Demigods.
— So tired trying to see from behind the red in
my eyes, no better version of me I could pretend
to be tonight !
The war god was waiting for the quartet in the diner parking lot, expression nonchalant, bordering on smug in a way that irked the group.
The reminder of the events that occurred at the waterpark was enough to make Annabeth Chase shudder. She'd never felt more humiliated by her fear in her entire life. Much like her best friend, she had inherited a fear from her mother. Except, rather than snakes and the dark, Annabeth (and other children of Athena) was terrified of spiders. It stemmed from her mother's history with Arachne. It was like Colette had said before, their parents weren't Saints. It was with the story of Arachne that Annabeth could understand that. She hadn't always known the truth, but her best friend had told her every ounce of the story. She'd been appalled. She couldn't believe her mother would do such a thing to a woman, but it was the truth. Colette couldn't lie and she would never lie to Annabeth. The brunette cursed her mother for the fear. Had it not been for her crippling panic during the waterpark fight, she would've been helpful. Instead, she fainted when the masses of arachnids appeared.
"Well, well," Ares said, grinning like a mad man, but there was something different about him. "You didn't get yourself killed."
Colette had caught Annabeth up to speed with the whole side quest. Ares had known that Hephaestus had set up the trap in the Love Ride and purposely sent the quartet there to be embarrassed. Annabeth had never heard Colette curse a god the way she was Ares on their way to him.
"Sale porc," Lettie spat at the god, startling him. You pig. That's when Annabeth noticed. There was a new burn that had scarred his forehead. "You knew what was going to happen! After all the times I defended you and your kids," she scoffed, looking at him with the utmost betrayal.
Annabeth swallowed thickly. She could see just how affected the god was at Colette's words. He seemed hurt by her rage, but then hazy.
Percy was too angry to notice anything. He could only add to what the Sun's daughter was saying. "You knew it was a trap."
For the first time in years, Ares ignored Colette. He gave Percy a wicked grin, one that made Annabeth's spine straighten, feeling uneasy. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV." Though, he seemed to wince as he recalled what had happened when it was broadcasted.
Colette seemed to have enough of him. She threw his shield at his feet. Her eyes were golden as she glared up at him with such intensity that his jaw twitched as he fought a flinch. "This is the last time we meet on civil terms," she declared lowly. "The next time we meet, I won't be so kind. You like to bring up my liking toward torment, so remember the prodigy you created, War."
Rarely did Annabeth ever see Apollo on the field trips to Olympus, but she had seen him and heard his voice. All she could hear when her best friend spoke to Ares was the voice of Phoebus Apollon. The raspy drawl that promised destruction and disaster was clear. It was a tone they shared.
Grover's breath seemed to catch in his throat, Annabeth was making sure to hide her shaking fists, and Percy could only watch as Colette stormed away, the grass around her dying with the heat of her rage. Ares' frown was clear, but he only bent down to grab the shield, spinning it in the air.
