Annabeth's Perspective of the Percy Jackson Books (Annabeth's POV)

Siren's Song

**Sea of Monsters when Annabeth listens to the Siren's**

As we neared the island and could make out the shoreline I went over and stood against the main mast and Percy made the ropes tie around me so tightly I could barely move at all.

"Don't untie me," I warned him, "No matter what happens or how much I plead. I'll want to go straight over the edge and drown myself."

"Are you trying to tempt me?" he said with that stupid crooked smile.

"Ha-ha," I said with as much sarcasm as I could manage.

"I won't untie you, no matter what," he promised, still smiling as though he was the one planning something stupid. Then he fashioned himself a pair of wax ear plugs that looked so ridiculous I almost laughed for real. He made a face at me that said, he didn't care what his earplugs looked like, I was the crazy one in this situation. Then he went back to steering the ship and his face turned serious.

For a while nothing happened, I started worrying that I had gotten the island wrong and made Percy tie me to the mast without there being any real danger, but once I focused I could hear the singing drifting quietly over the water. At first it was nothing specific, just the most beautiful song I had ever heard, a thousand times more enchanting than Circe's song. It floated over the waves and through my bones bathing the world around me in a golden glow, making everything more beautiful.

The sea wasn't as rough, the ship was clean and polished, even Percy's ridiculous ear plugs and grim expression looked ethereal and magical. For a moment I wondered why the Siren's song was so dangerous. I didn't want to jump overboard, I wanted to stay right here, with Percy, in this moment, forever.

Then I noticed we weren't alone anymore; my dad was there. He was smiling and pointing at the horizon. My mom was with us too, Athena was laughing at my dad and turned to smile at me as though we were sharing a secret. But best of all Luke and Thalia stood on the deck of the ship chatting happily. After the last month of nightmares where they had fought each other repeatedly, it seemed surreal to see them laughing and talking casually. I was so relieved that those nightmares were not ominous warnings, they were nothing more than dreams.

I took in the wonderful sight and relished the calm, quiet peace I was feeling. After a moment I realized that the singing had shifted and become more intense. It was less ethereal and more like a Gregorian chant. Intense and urgent; it pulled at something deep within me, stirring my deepest memories and drawing life from everything around me.

I was terrified. Fear, unlike anything I had ever felt before, gripped me and twisted my gut into pure panic. A storm appeared out of nowhere, and the ship started to sink. The beautiful scene was ruined, and while Percy was still at the wheel, the others were swept overboard. I had to save them, I had to find them, and Percy was just standing there without making any attempts to try to help them.

I had to get off the boat. I struggled and yelled. I screamed at Percy to let me go, he had to let me go after them. How could he just stand there and let everyone I loved die? We needed to save them. If he wasn't going to help, he could at least let me go so I could save them. But he made no move towards untying me or saving my family.

"Percy!! You have to let me go!" I screamed desperately. I couldn't believe he wasn't budging at all. "Percy, please! We have to save them," but no matter how much I screamed he didn't move to help me, he just continued calmly captaining the ship. I couldn't understand how he could be so cruel. He was my friend, but he didn't care about them. He didn't seem to care about my family at all.

Then a horrible realization hit me. It had been a lie. Percy had lied to me about Luke, he had tricked me into thinking Luke was the one following Kronos, but Luke would never have betrayed me like that, he cared about me and valued me. Why had I believed Percy? Luke and Thalia would never fight like they had in my dreams, and it must have been Percy that turned us against each other.