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NINE, fugitives
❀ ✿ ❀ ✿
ASTER PASSED OUT FROM the pain before they hit the water. Apparently, even when she was about to die, she couldn't simply be unconscious. There always had to be some kind of vision for her to experience. Good to know that the gods had some compassion.
Aster was standing in what looked like a throne room—everything was made of sleek black marble, except for the throne, which glowed white. She looked closer and... the throne was made of skeletons. Human skeletons. But Aster didn't have much time to focus on the throne itself because the person occupying it was staring intently at her; studying her, she realized.
"Aster Reed," the man said—though man didn't seem to be the right word. He seemed more powerful than that. "You aren't supposed to be here. Not yet, anyways."
Aster's brow furrowed. "What do you mean, not yet? Where is here?"
"Well–" he began, but the man tilted his head, as if someone was whispering in his ear. "I'm afraid I cannot give you that information. The Fates would have my head, apparently. My sister as well."
"Who–"
"You'll have to return to the land of the living, dear niece. It's not your time—yet." The man snapped his fingers, and the room around her began to fade. "Although that poison almost had you. How unfortunate."
Aster reached out, but the man was almost gone. "Wait! Who are y–"
But the throne room disappeared, and Aster's eyes shot open as she breathed deeply.
"Oh, thank the gods!" she heard Annabeth exclaim.
Percy peered down at her, his eyes dim. "Had us worried there for a minute, Flower Power."
Aster sat up slowly, and Annabeth practically tackled her in a hug.
"We thought you went to Hades the hard way!" Grover said, patting her on the back.
They were sitting in a patch of grass by the river, far removed from the Arch. The monument was smoking, and it was surrounded by firefighters and policemen. On-lookers and media outlets tried to move in close to see what had happened, but the police pushed them back.
"What happened?" Aster asked, turned towards Percy, who rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Why am I not wet?"
"So after I jumped with you–"
Aster hit his shoulder. "You idiot! Why would you jump?"
Percy glared at her. "To save your life. You were very much poisoned." Aster crossed her arms and glared at him, but he continued. "We fell in the river, but the water cushioned our fall somehow. You were unconscious, but then there was just an air bubble around you, suddenly? I'm not really sure how that happened. And the whole non-wet thing, I think that's just a Poseidon thing."
