The Unknown Allegiance

| Chapter 15 || Let the War Begin |

I turned away from her. It was all my fault.

"Perseus? Are you alright?" she asked. Her soft voice was regaining its usual vigor, but it still wasn't anywhere close to what it had been. She looked closer at me, most likely taking note of my pale skin and the tired look in my eyes because I saw her smile fade and her eyebrows furrow. "You look ill."

I nodded jerkily as my vision began to blur. I wasn't going to pass out. I repeated it over and over in my head until I knew it to be true. I wasn't going to pass out, but I wasn't going to be fine. I tried to speak aloud, to tell her that I was just a bit dizzy, but my tongue felt swollen in my mouth.

Before I could school my voice into actual words, Thalia beat me to it. "Milady, when Percy escaped and brought me back, he was already heavily injured. The other guardians managed to heal him, but when we got back here, he began using his remaining energy to revive you," she explained. As she was speaking, as had lain a hand on my shoulder, massaging it slightly, as if it would help. It did - a little - but not much.

I opened my mouth to protest - to say that I was in good health - but was met with a slap to the face. My jaw dropped open and I completely forgot was I was going to say. The hunters were similarly shocked, their jaws dropped open and their eyes so wide that they nearly popped out of their heads.

Artemis' hand was poised from the slap, still raised, as if she was debating whether to slap me again. "Perseus! You cretin! You ignoramus! What were you thinking?" Her voice had suddenly regained its fire. "You look as if you're just going to keel over and die right this second! How could you just be so careless about your own life? Couldn't you have at least eaten some ambrosia or something? What is wrong with you?" she ranted.

I looked up at her weakly, my cheek stained red from the impact of her hand and my body curled around my middle. "I don't know," I muttered, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Percy..." Thalia's voice broke from behind me.

"No, Thalia. Artemis is right. I don't know what's wrong with me, but it's my duty to protect her." I turned to look directly at Artemis, my eyes staring into hers again, this time, with flames burning in them. "It's my duty as your guardian to keep you safe from harm, no matter the damage was done to me. I am expendable, don't you see? When I die, you'll just be able to summon another one. It's like your godly get-out-of-jail-free card. A mortal life for your immortal health." At the end, my tone became a little bitter, but I managed to hide it.

"Well then," Artemis said. She'd schooled her expression into an impassive one, but her raised eyebrows displayed her surprise. "Get some well-deserved rest, Perseus. I'm sorry that I care about your well-being." her tone was sarcastic, but I could tell that she was really worried about me. "I'm sorry that I've come to see as more than a guardian. I'm sorry that I've come to see you as a friend, and I'm sorry that friends care for other friends' well being!"

I nodded. I knew that she would be upset. She was an independent goddess and any blow to her ego would make her really, truly, upset. The best thing that I could do now would be to leave her and let her think about everything without anyone distracting her. Hopefully, in the calming environment, she'd be able to see it from my point of view, just like I saw it from hers.

***

With a little help from Thalia and Heather, I exited the room, leaving Artemis surrounded by her hunters once more. The two girls helped my stagger to the room in the temple that had been reserved for me. It was in the east wing of the temple, just far enough away from Artemis' room that the hunters didn't feel threatened, and just close enough for me to run there in the case of an emergency.