I felt my body floating.
I couldn't see anything.
I couldn't hear anything.
Everything was just still.
I don't know how long it was like this.
I could tell that it was for a long time.
I just didn't know how long.
After what seemed like a lifetime, I finally heard voices up ahead.
I only knew one thing.
I wanted to get to them!
I tried to move any and every part of my body.
But it was useless.
I had my hearing back so I could hear them.
They kept saying, "Claira,".
Different voices kept speaking that word.
I kept trying to think about what that word meant...
Until I finally realized.
That was me!
***
My eyes fluttered open. I looked around to see that I was still on the hotel terrace. Everything that had happened flooded back into my mind and I knew we were still in battle. I remembered my dream vision and immediately stood.
A white light radiated around me. I looked down at my hands to see that they were normal. I checked for my bow and quiver to find that they were still over my shoulder. I checked for Bluetide to find that it was tucked neatly in my right ear.
I walked over to the terrace railing and looked down. The battle was right there. So I did the natural thing.
I jumped.
Using the wind to plummet down, tons of things, demigods and monsters alike, flocked to the sides, wanting to avoid me. But I used the winds to manipulate my fall and landed myself right in the middle of plenty of monsters. I took my pen from my ear and sliced through, reducing them to dust.
When I looked up, revealing my face, someone from the side had exclaimed, "Thank the gods!".
"Ya miss me?" I glanced around at the remaining monsters.
I took in my new surroundings.
Kronos was standing in front of his army, scythe in hand, with Ethan Nakamura next to him, a special looking dracaena, and two Hyperboreans which were basically ice giants.
Tons of demigods and Hunters were lying wounded on the ground. And to the side, a pile of bricks was lying next to a building with some certain demigods of mine standing next to them.
Another certain demigod was standing next to Hades' obsidian and gold chariot.
"Oh," Kronos' icy voice rang out. "You,"
"What? You thought I was dead or something?" I asked, causing a good distraction for Hades. He managed to surprise attack Kronos.
I just rolled my eyes and started to battle the remaining monsters surrounding me.
And after a bit, one of the certain demigods showed themselves.
"Got your message," I smiled at Nico and looked around for more monsters.
He just stared at me in awe. "You're... alive!" He exclaimed as if not believing what he was seeing.
"You really thought I would die, huh?" I looked at him.
"I mean... your spirit was right in next to me when I confronted my father... I'll admit I was scared," he nodded.
I rolled my eyes and went to quickly kiss his cheek.
"I'm here cause you told me to get up," I smiled at him as he looked at me with a huge blush. "Now come on. Let's get to Percy and Annie,"
We made our way over only to see-
"Mom, Paul?" I smiled at seeing my mom carrying a shot gun while Paul was wielding a sword from a fallen demigod.
"I'll ask about that grand entrance later, Clair. But there's one thing I will ask," Mom gave me a look. "What happened to your hair?"
"What do you mean?" I asked, only for the wind to pass by and lift my hair into my vision.
And the strands I saw were pure white. My eyes widened in shock.
"Was it like this?" I looked at Percy, Annie, and Nico. They all nodded. "For how long?"
"Since we first saw you," Nico answered.
"Clair, you guys need to go and fight. We'll see you later," then Mom and Paul went off somewhere else.
Before I could even take my next breath, I was shoved up against a wall, a familiar Celestial bronze knife against my throat.
"You ever make me give in to your plan again... I will murder you before you can die, Claira Vega," Annie growled at me.
"No problem, Annabeth," I smirked down at her, slightly choking.
Then she pulled away with a huge sigh. "Honestly, what's it take for you to not risk your life every five minutes?"
"For you three-" I gestured to Nico, Percy, and herself. "-to not be in danger," I smiled.
"Anyway, guys you need to get to Olympus!" Nico yelled. "Kronos already went through the lobby!"
"Are you serious? I just wake up and this is what I find?" I sighed as Grover and Thalia ran up out of nowhere.
"Clair we're glad you're not dead but let's get moving!" Thalia yelled.
"Yeah, no kidding!"
We picked our way through the mess. Behind me, I saw Percy get Mrs. O'Leary to tell her something but I couldn't hear anything through all the ruckus.
Once we reached the entrance to the Empire State Building, it was a race to get to the elevator and up to Olympus.
The bridge was dissolving. That was my first thought.
I instinctively summoned the winds to make it over the crumbling stone. But seeing the others having difficulty, I manipulated the wind to carry all five of us to the end of the sky bridge.
When we reached the end of it, I collapsed which made everyone else fall as well.
"Clair that landing could've been a bit nicer-"
"Percy I just woke up! I barely managed to get my bearings in check when I first landed on the ground! I found out my hair turned white! Honestly, you expect too much from me," I sighed as I sat up.
I turned to look back at the elevator to see a rather panic-inducing sight: it was floating in space, attached to nothing, six hundred stories above Manhattan, New York.
"We're marooned," I mumbled.
"The connection between Olympus and America is disappearing! If it fails..." Grover explained.
"The gods won't move onto another country this time," Thalia said. "This will be the end of Olympus,"
We proceeded to run through the streets. The beautiful mansions that I had last seen were now burning. Statues had been smashed down. The trees and all of the nature had been destroyed.
"I'll take a wild guess here," I mumbled. "Kronos' scythe?" I looked at the others.
"Oh yeah," Percy nodded, uneasy.
We followed the path to the palace of the gods.
And inside of it I could clearly hear Kronos bellow: "Brick by brick! That was my promise. Tear it down brick by brick!"
"Gee. Happy to know he sticks to those promises," I grumbled under my breath.
Next thing I knew an archway crumbled and knocked over a Hera statue, heading right for Percy and Annie.
"Percy! Annie!" I yelled, only for Thalia to shove them from behind and get them out of danger.
I rushed over to my cousin to see her frustrated expression. Her legs were under the heavy rock.
We tried all methods to move it and even tried to pull her out but eventually Thalia just told us to get moving.
"We'll be back for you," I smiled down at her.
"No problem," she sighed.
Suddenly, a fireball erupted right near the gates of the palace.
"We gotta hurry," I said.
"How 'bout run?" Percy supplied.
"Away?" Grover perked up, hopeful.
But I grabbed his wrist and dragged him with me, following Percy and Annie.
"I knew you'd do that," He grumbled and when I let go of him, he was running on his own.
***
When we entered the palace doors, Kronos was standing in the middle of the room.
"Finally! The Olympian Council... so high and mighty. Which seat of power shall I destroy first?" his icy voice chided at the thought.
Ethan Nakamura stood to one side, out of the way of his master's scythe.
I noticed the hearth was almost dead. For some reason, I was drawn to it as if I wanted to tend to it myself, just like Hestia...
And before I knew it, my body was moving on its own. I started to make my way towards the hearth.
"Clair, what are you doing?" I heard Annie mumble to me.
But when I turned to her, Percy looked at my eyes and bowed his head slightly.
"Lady Hestia,"
"I do apologize for taking control of your sister's body, Percy Jackson. But she does seem to share one thing with me: we want to tend to our hearth," I felt the goddess speak through my own voice.
I saw a warm red aura surround me as I continued to the hearth.
"You again?" Kronos demanded, most likely not sensing Hestia's presence. "How dare you approach with no weapon whatsoever!" he exclaimed, swinging his scythe toward me.
But what happened next amazed me. My right hand quickly rose up, surprisingly deflecting the metal like it was nothing.
"Wha-!" Even Kronos was flustered. Until I saw him notice the aura surrounding me. "My eldest daughter?"
"We meet again, Father," Hestia spoke through me.
"You could've been my favorite," Kronos spat. "But then I thought better,"
"You swallowed your own sons and daughters," Hestia's voice sounded bitter. She must've really wanted to protect her family even if it meant fighting her father. Being she was the only one of the family present, she most likely had no choice but to fight right now.
But even still she... we... gently approached the hearth. Borrowing my fire user powers, we lit it.
"You always chose peace over war, Hestia," Kronos sneered at her. "Why use that girl's body?"
"As I said earlier, we share one thing in common. We want to tend to and protect our own hearth,"
The hearth's flame suddenly grew at least ten feet into the air, filling the air with a homey feeling. And when the fire shrank back down, I stayed at the hearth, tending to the flame.
And I witnessed the battle around me.
As Kronos advanced on Percy, I kept my eyes on him the whole time. I felt power rise through my chest. And then I noticed Percy's expression somehow relaxed as he sneered at Kronos.
"Luke would fight with a sword. But I guess you just don't have his skill," Percy said.
And I realized: Hestia... and me... may have been sitting beside the hearth. But we were also giving the people we cared about strength.
When they were near what seemed to be Hephaestus' throne, it went into 'defense mode' and shot electricity in all directions.
One got Kronos and he crumpled, dropping the sword, Backbiter.
"Luke, listen!" Annie started to rush over to Kronos.
But he had already started rising. And that prompted me to send her some strength.
Kronos had other ideas though. He flicked his hand and Annie flew backward, slamming into her mother's throne.
"Nakamura!" Kronos yelled. He raised his hand for his sword but it didn't fly into his hand, like it should have. "Time to prove yourself. You know Jackson's secret. Kill him and you will have rewards beyond measure!" he declared.
Percy intervened.
"Look around, Ethan," Percy said. "The end of the world. Is this the reward you want? Do you really want everything destroyed? The good with the bad?"
I then looked at Ethan. I saw his eyes flicker to me for a split second, indicating he most likely felt strength sent his way. Hopefully that told him something.
Me, a demigod that wasn't fighting for Kronos, was lending him strength through a goddess. No matter what, gods and goddesses are considered family. If anything, Ethan was exactly that. He's always been looking for somewhere that accepted him as family. Not as a soldier or underling.
"There is no throne to Nemesis. No throne to my mother," he mumbled.
"That's right! Strike them down! They deserve to suffer!" Kronos ordered. He seemed to be struggling considering that a patch of blonde hair above his ear was smoldering.
"You said your mom is the goddess of balance. The minor gods deserve better, Ethan, but total destruction isn't balance. Kronos doesn't build. He only destroys," Percy ended there.
I had my eyes closed, sending Ethan a final message, through Grover's reed pipes' music. 'The hearth is always open and accepts everyone,'
Then a huge scuffle and a clang of metal on metal.
I opened my eyes to see Ethan Nakamura bent over, clutching his stomach.
He was staring at me. His good eye held a look of... relief.
"Deserve better..." he mumbled. "If they just... had thrones..."
Then Kronos brought his foot down and a fissure opened under Ethan. The son of one of the many discarded minor gods, Nemesis, fell right through the heart of Olympus.
"So much for him," Kronos knelt and picked up his sword. "And now for the rest of you,"
***
I stayed at the hearth, tending to the coals. I didn't pay them any attention.
Until Kronos pointed directly at the hearth, which revealed a picture from the smoke: Typhon advancing to the Hudson.
But I remember what Percy had told me in the elevator. If Dad had kept his word...
And suddenly the sound of a conch horn came from the picture. The call of the ocean. The call of our father. Of Poseidon.
To sum it up, Dad along with Tyson, Briares (the Hundred Handed One), and the rest of the Cyclopses managed to chain down Typhon. I noticed Dad opened up a very special tunnel at the bottom of the river where they pulled the monster toward it: it was a one way ticket to Tartarus.
Kronos yelled in frustration and slashed his sword through the smoke, missing my face by mere centimeters.
From the side, I heard Annie scream, "Stop!" and managed to get up behind Kronos. He whirled around and struck his sword down only for her to catch the blade with her dagger hilt.
I stared at her, lending her strength again. And this time it seemed to help. She kept her ground.
"Luke. I understand now. You have to trust me," she grit her teeth. Your mother. She saw your fate,"
I lent her all the strength I could.
"Service to Kronos!" the Lord of Time roared. "This is my fate,"
"No! That's not the end, Luke. The prophecy... she saw what you would do. It applies to you!" Annie protested, tears forming in her eyes.
"Lies!!" Kronos yelled, pushing against her blade and Annie lost her balance. With his free hand, Kronos smacked her face and she slid back, her knife still in hand.
Kronos stood over her, his sword raised.
"Family, Luke. You promised," Annie managed to mutter.
And the golden eyes stared at the knife and then her bloodied face. "Promise,"
And then he gasped like he couldn't breathe. "Annabeth..." He choked out. And this time I was pleased to hear, not the Titan's voice, but Luke's. "You're hurt..."
He stumbled forward, as if something was fighting his own body.
"My knife... Percy..." Annie tried to raise it but it fell out of her grasp. I noticed her arm was bent, definitely broken.
Just then Percy surged forward, knocking Backbiter out of Luke's hand and into the hearth, where the coals raged on. I turned my focus to the metal, glaring at it.
"Don't touch her," I heard Percy say.
And then Luke gasped. "He's changing... he's... almost ready. Help. He won't need my body anymore. Please-"
"NO!" Kronos' voice rang out again. I looked up at see Luke's body make its way over to the hearth. He managed to grab the hilt, tossing Percy aside in the process, but the coals were too hot and seared his skin making him drop it.
I saw his eyes look into mine for a split second before they were taken over by Luke again.
"Please... Percy..." Luke turned to my brother, collapsed on the ground.
And this time I decided to do something a bit risky. I stared at Luke and slowly lent him bits of strength.
Percy was holding Annie's knife now. He started moving toward Luke. But I remembered the lines of the prophecy: The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. A single choice shall end his days. Olympus to preserve or raze.
Looking back up, Luke's skin was glowing gold... as if Kronos was starting to gain control.
So it happened. Percy gave Luke Annie's knife.
The blonde then proceeded to unlatch the straps on the side of his armor, revealing a bit of his skin that was just under his left arm. A place that would be very hard to hit.
But then, with the last of the strength I lent him, he stabbed himself.
I closed my eyes immediately since it was technically the death of a Titan.
And when I opened them again, I didn't feel like Hestia was with me anymore. I was just kneeling in front of the hearth, Luke sprawled on the other side of it.
When I looked at his eyes, they were blue. The blue I saw when I first stepped foot into the Hermes camp.
"Good... blade..." He choked out.
I stayed sitting at my spot at the hearth. I looked on as Grover supported Annie and they limped over to him as Percy knelt down next to the son of Hermes.
Luke looked up at Annie first. "I almost killed you but... you knew..."
Annie hushed him. "You were a hero at the end, Luke. You'll go to Elysium,"
"No. Think... rebirth. Try for three times. Isles of the Blest," I heard his voice holding a joking tone.
Annie sniffled. "You always pushed yourself too hard,"
Luke held up a hand and Annie met his fingertips. "Did you... did you love me?"
I blinked and looked up at Annie. She never once broke eye contact with Luke... until she looked at Percy. "There was a time I thought... well... you were like a brother to me, Luke. But I didn't love you," She decided.
Luke nodded as if he expected it. I kinda felt bad for him but then again... he did try to kill her.
"We can get ambrosia. And we can-"
"Grover," Luke intervened the satyr. "You're the bravest satyr I ever knew. But no... there's no healing..."
And then his blue eyes landed on me.
"Thanks for the strength Claira. Lady Hestia. Take care of these guys, ok?" He cracked a small smile.
"Your family is always here, Luke. We'll see you soon," I held my index and middle finger up to my forehead and gave him a small salute.
And, finally, Luke turned to my half brother. "Ethan... me... all of the unclaimed. Don't let it... happen again,"
"I won't. I promise," Percy said, firmly.
And then, the son of Hermes gave one last nod.
The gods arrived a few minutes later, booming into the throne room most likely expecting a battle.
But what they found were Annie, Grover, and Percy standing over the body of one of the greatest half bloods I've ever known, as I sat with my back to the gods and goddesses overlooking the hearth.
"Percy, Claira," I heard my father call, awe in his voice. "What... what is this?"
I stood and turned to look at the Olympians as Percy and I spoke.
"We need a shroud. A shroud for the son of Hermes,"