𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐄

𝐗𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈

Briares just shook his head. "I cannot, m'lady. I do not have a finger gun to win this game." To prove his point, he made one hundred finger guns.

She turned her back to him, hands resting at her hips. She scoffed, "you're a coward. It's not the humans who've stopped believing—it's you. You've already given up on yourself."

His pure brown eyes regarded her. His face morphed into an expression she recognized—shame.

"If you're going to cower away, the least you could do is explain what that mark signifies," she demanded, brushing her hair aside to reveal the spot behind her ear. "I know you've seen it. You mentioned all your eyes spotted it."

He lowered her eyes, all of them averting hers. "I don't have much information," he admitted, his voice strained. "During my time in... confinement," he spoke haltingly, as if each word caused him physical anguish to utter. "When I saw you in battle, you were marked with that." He gestured towards the spot behind her ear. "I don't have all the details, but... if Zeus hadn't intervened, Kampê would have claimed victory and subjected you to her chains. You were strangely... vulnerable."

"Vulnerable?"

"Weak," he said. "I had seen you before. You were one of the greatest Titans of your age. It wasn't you."

"And you don't know why?"

He shook his head. "Everything is a blur. I'm only sure of one thing—it looked alive. As if the more you fought, the more it grew."

Selene didn't say anything else. She just turned and trudged off down the corridor until she was lost in the shadows.

"Oh. This pitch gives me shivers."

Selene glanced back from her shoulder. She sat on the stone floor, right by the pitch. Her legs dangled above the void as she quietly looked at the depths below.

She saw Annabeth cautiously approaching her, trying not to look terrified. Selene faintly smiled at her.

"It's not that bad. Have a seat here," she offered, gesturing towards the vacant spot on the stone beside her.

Annabeth hesitated for a moment before finally conceding, slowly lowering herself onto the stone next to Selene. As she settled in, she reached out, grasping the edge of Selene's jacket, which was tied to the knapsack.

Selene glanced down at Annabeth's hand resting on her jacket. "You can hold onto it if it makes you feel better."

"Oh, ok," she said. "We found a corridor that looks like it could've been part of a Greek tomb, so we settled there. Percy made a scene saying he'd come talk to you, but he looked like he hadn't slept in ages, so I came instead."

"My bad, I'll be right there so you all can rest."

"No problem." Annabeth turned to look at her. "Are you alright? I saw you talking to Briares and I wondered..."

"I guess not," she admitted. "I don't know. I feel I was too harsh on him. When I think about it, there's probably no one who understands him better than I do."

"Oh. I thought it was something more serious."

"Uh, kinda, too."

Selene pondered whether she'd tell Annabeth or not. She seemed quite too confused about the quest already. Then, she remembered how Annabeth was the first person to understand there was something weird about her, back in New York a few months ago. She was also the one to find Hyperion's form was just a vessel. If there was one person she could confide in, it would be Annabeth.