Sea Prince (Sea Prince Trilogy #1)

Epilogue

His body tensed as he felt the darkness wriggling through his head, shifting through his memories.

Percy screamed again, an agonising sound and memories disappeared from his head, darkness clouding them and preventing him from remembering them. They were being removed, eaten.

Blyke observed the process. Mucking with somebody's mind was a tricky thing. One wrong move could have disastrous consequences.

Percy's memories of his time with the Avengers vanished into black. All he recalled of the world's Mightiest Heroes was Tony.

Tony.

The man who shot Annabeth.

He killed her.

Percy's hands rolled into awkward fists.

His training with Poseidon in his castle.

Gone.

His memories of the gods.

Altered. Implanted.

False.

But he didn't know that.

He saw Annabeth's betrayal from those many years ago all over again.

Why?

Why did you do it?

"I did it for you, Percy."

No.

I didn't want to hear that.

Days before the Final Battle against Gaia. The signs were there.

They'd just come from Tartarus.

No.

Back further.

Before then.

She'd been distancing herself from him. Trying to keep him from hurting so much when it happened.

The gods had hurt him so much.

She didn't want it to keep happening so she staged  a betrayal and left. Left him behind.

But she didn't tell him a thing.

He would join her. She'd gather people and they would overthrow the gods. They would rule the world and they would rule it correctly. Nobody else would have to get hurt.

When they were in Tartarus.

The gods did nothing.

They didn't help them.

Blyke watched the demigod writhe and scream in pain as his memories were erased and replaced to their benefit. Lyla's darkness could swallow up Percy's memories just as easily as the dark could shift and become a memory that never happened. Everybody saw things that weren't actually there in the dark. It was like that.

Percy could remember it clear as day.

Percy remembered her screaming. Crimson blood dribbling down her face until red met green.

The grass was painted in blood. He didn't know a person could hold so much blood and still live.

She'd turned on them. The moment the battle started a signal flare was fired and Annabeth took off. She ran to the monsters.

But they didn't attack.

She didn't look like she regretted it.

The daughter of Athena held out her arm and allowed it to be sliced open, spilled onto the sacred ground. Later his blood too would spill, and Gaia would rise.

Annabeth fought for the monsters, attacking demigods and murdering them.

At the end of the battle she ran. Ran through the battle's remains and left them behind.

Left him behind.

Somebody he trusted more than anybody else.

The tendrils of darkness retreated from Percy's head, back up the wires and tubes, and back to Lyla, who promptly passed out, a sheen of sweat coating her body. Percy panted, breathing heavily, pain still coursing through his body.

Blyke grinned menacingly.

The brainwashing was complete.

~~~~

You all will hate me for this, but this is the last chapter of book 1.

And no, I'm not joking.

Peace,

BTSWD
Borntosingwithdrama