GOLDEN¹ | annabeth chase

xiv

AFTER BEING SAVED BY A COAST GUARD BOAT FROM BEING STRANDED IN THE BAY, EVE STOOD UNCOMFORTABLY IN HER WET CLOTHES.

to be fair, everyone's clothes were sopping wet, even percy's. 

eve knew that when the coast guard boat had appeared, he'd silently prayed they wouldn't pick him out of the water and find him perfectly dry, as it  would've raised some eyebrows. 

so he willed himself to get soaked. 

he was also barefoot, because he'd given his shoes to grover. 

better the coast guard wonder why one of them was barefoot than wonder why one had hooves.

after reaching dry land, they stumbled down the beach, watching the city burn against the beautiful sunrise.

"i don't believe it," annabeth said. "we went all that way –"

"it was a trick," percy said. "a strategy worthy of athena."

"hey," she warned.

eve admired the sun  while annabeth and percy continued arguing.

"you get it, don't you?" percy asked.

she dropped her eyes, her anger fading. "yeah. i get it."

 "well, i don't!" grover complained. "would somebody –"

"percy..." eve said. "i'm sorry about your mother."

 "me too, i'm so sorry...." annabeth trailed off.

"the prophecy was right," percy said, as if acting like it didn't bother him.

"you shall go west and face the god who has turned." 

but it wasn't hades. 

hades didn't want war between the big three. 

someone else pulled off the theft. 

someone stole zeus's master bolt, and hades's helmet, and framed percy because he's poseidon's kid. 

poseidon will get blamed by both sides. 

"by sundown today, there will be a three-way war. and i'll have caused it." percy sighed.

grover shook his head, mystified. "but who would be that sneaky? who would want war that bad?"

percy stopped in his tracks, looking down the beach. "gee, let me think."

there he was, waiting for them, in his black leather duster and his sunglasses, an aluminium baseball bat propped on his shoulder. 

his motorcycle rumbled beside him, its headlight turning the sand red.

"hey, kid," ares said, seeming genuinely pleased to see percy. "you were supposed to die."

"you tricked me," percy said. "you stole the helmet and the master bolt."

ares grinned. "well, now, i didn't steal them personally. gods taking each other's symbols of power – that's a big no- no. but you're not the only hero in the world who can run errands."