Bewitched || P. Jackson

𝕋ime for a nap?

Annabeth sat at the foot of her mother's throne and cried. Nicki sat awkwardly on the base of Apollo's throne. She was still fully decked in her armour, which seemed like a good plan in case any of the campers got a bit ahead of themselves with "Luke's second".

Percy stayed resting on his hunkers beside her. She was rapidly flicking through at her spellbook. How she was actually absorbing what she was reading, Percy would never know.

Nicki threw Percy a look. Her eyes held something Percy couldn't quite understand, but she mouthed Annabeth's name.

"Annabeth," Percy tried, "it's not your fault. I've never seen Hermes act that way. I guess... I don't know..."

Nicki glanced up from her spellbook. Her storming purple eyes bored into the side of Annabeth's head. "He feels guilty about Luke, he blames himself but he doesn't want to admit it was his fault. He's looking for someone to blame and you were an easy target because you care about Luke."

"You didn't do anything to deserve that," Percy said, smiling thankfully at Nicki before facing Annabeth again.

Annabeth wiped her eyes. She stared at the hearth like it was her own funeral pyre.

Percy shifted uneasily. He looked back at Nicki for reassurance. The girl smiled softly at him, motioning for him to continue. "Um, you didn't, right?"

She didn't answer. Her Celestial bronze knife was strapped to her arm—the same knife I'd seen in Hestia's vision. All these years, Percy hadn't realized it was a gift from Luke. He'd asked her many times why she preferred to fight with a knife instead of a sword, and she'd never answered. Now Percy knew.

"Percy," she said. "What did you mean about Luke's mother? Did you meet her?"

Percy nodded reluctantly. "Nico and I visited her. She was a little... different." Percy described May Castellan and the weird moment when her eyes had started to glow and she talked about her son's fate.

Annabeth frowned. "That doesn't make sense. But why were you visiting—" Her eyes widened. "Hermes said you bear the curse of Achilles. Hestia said the same thing. Did you... did you bathe in the River Styx?"

"Don't change the subject."

"Percy! Did you or not?"

"Um... maybe a little."

Nicki cleared her throat, trying to stifle a laugh. Percy's lips twitched upwards as he looked at the smiling Nicki. Everything he'd felt since before that day at the Canoe Lake, everything he had felt on his birthday, everything he had been trying to feel with Rachel slammed into him like a ton of bricks.

Of course, he liked Rachel, he wouldn't lead her on like that. But everything felt so different with Nicki, something he didn't think he could ever replicate with someone else.

Percy told the duo the story about Hades and Nico, and how he'd defeated an army of the dead. "It was like my soul was drowning not me... and I had this vision of someone coming and saving me, pulling me out of the river. The thought of them saved me."

Percy's eyes flickered to Nicki. The girl flushed at the eye contact and busied herself with trying to fix her sling.

Annabeth shook her head in disbelief. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"

"I had no choice," Percy said. "It's the only way I can stand up to Luke."

"You mean... di immortales, of course! That's why Luke didn't die. He went to the Styx and... Oh no, Luke. What were you thinking?"

"Probably about the best way to kill us all," Percy grumbled.

She stared at Percy as if he'd just dropped from space. "What?"