❝ Does being a Child of Hermes automatically make you good at flirting? Or was that just a skill you picked up? ❞
Andromeda Jackson knew she was not cut out for the demigod life, and that was before she heard about her death from the creepy oracle i...
─── turns out, luke and i aren't the only ones with daddy issues
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𝕾o, perhaps, aggravating Puck on a ship full of demigods loyal to him wasn't my smartest idea. Who would have thought?
"One on one," I challenged Puck, as Luke's jaw dropped, glaring at me in annoyance. "What are you afraid of?"
The soldiers who were about to kill us hesitated, waiting for his order. Before he could say anything, Agrius, the bear-man, burst onto the deck leading a flying horse. It was the first pure-black pegasus I'd ever seen, with wings like a giant raven. The pegasus mare bucked and whinnied. I could understand her thoughts. She was calling Agrius and Puck names so bad Chiron would've washed her muzzle out with saddle soap.
I liked this horse.
"Sir!" Agrius called, dodging a pegasus hoof. "Your steed is ready!"
Puck kept his eyes on me.
"I told you last summer, Andromeda," he said. "You can't bait me into a fight."
"And you keep avoiding one," I noticed. "Scared your warriors will see you get whipped?"
I had trapped Puck into a corner. If he backed down, he looked weak, but if he fought me then he would lose time chasing Clarisse. The only thing was, I had never seen Puck fight so didn't know how he did.
"I'll kill you quickly," he decided, and raised his weapon. I gulped. Puck fought with a spear, something that I hadn't trained again. Yes, I was used to fighting the best sword fighter at camp, but everyone knew that spears were a whole other ball park.
Turning slightly, I caught Luke's eyes, raising an eyebrow in a silent question. What was I supposed to do?
Luke took a few deep breaths, prompting me to do the same, before nodding to say that I had got this. If Luke had faith in my fighting abilities then that must be a sign that Puck wasn't as good as I thought.
Puck tightened his grip on his spear, before whistling for someone to throw him a round leather-and-bronze shield.
"Puck," Luke called, "at least give her a shield. Make this a fair fight!"
"Sorry, Luke," he said. "You bring your own equipment to this party."
The shield was a problem. Fighting two-handed with just a sword gives you more power, but fighting one-handed with a shield gives you better defence and versatility. There are more moves, more options, more ways to kill. I thought back to Chiron, who'd told me to stay at camp no matter what, and learn to fight. That didn't go entirely as planned.
