We Are Cursed (A Percy Jackson AU) || BOOK 2

Chapter 1 || Percy

Percy always knew the Fates would give him bad luck someday, but they really abused the privilege.

"PERCY!" Sabrina lay there on the floor, blood spilling out of her chest.

The pain in her eyes met the wound on Percy's chest as he dropped to his knees beside the person he thought of as a sister.

"Sabrina!" he cried, hovering over her dying body.

"The Ultimate Guide to Death... Page 167."

As her eyes glazed over, her voice spoke in his head as everything around Percy faded to black. He was alone in the darkness.

"You could've saved me..." she hissed like a snake.

"No..." Percy whispered, sinking to his knees.

"You deserve this curse..."

"No! NO!" Percy screamed.

"You will feel the pain of every person you could've saved. You're a pathetic leader."

"I'm sorry..." Percy whispered, sobs racking his body as he desperately tried to run.

There was nowhere to run. Everywhere looked the same. Every direction was the same.

"You are a coward. You use other people to shield you from the one thing you deserve... DEATH."

Percy gasped awake, hand over his chest as he looked in the floor-length mirror on the wall in front of his bed in the Poseidon hall. His cheeks were stained with tears, his sea-green eyes swirling like a tide pool of guilt and misery. Looking over at the clock, he saw that it was 5:00 AM. Sighing, he tried to get back to sleep, tossing and turning on his mattress.

But every time he closed his eyes, he could only see either Sabrina's dead body or Gabe's ugly face, his belt ready to whip down and beat the shit out of him. Snapping his sea-green eyes open, he breathed in the smell from his room. Just like the sea breeze from outside. Outside... No one even remembered what being at the beach felt like.

With the war raging, it was impossible for someone to make it there and back alive. The only exception was Percy's group of the best spies. He hated the attention he got. Nothing he got was what he deserved. Deciding that sleep wasn't the best thing for him at the moment, he swung himself out of bed, pulling on some swim trunks, taking a towel, and putting on some sandals.

Making sure he woke no one up, he crept outside and to the pool, reflecting the purple colors in the sky. The sky... Percy always wondered why Zeus wanted the sky. Of course, it was big... but that was a lot of work to maintain, wasn't it? Also, the thought of venturing too far out and not being able to find your way back was daunting to Percy. He was safest next to the sea, where the currents would drag him to land one way or another.

Leaping into the water, the cool and fresh feeling traveled up Percy's body, sending chills through his bones. He laughed, doing a weird bendy pose while the nereids swam around him, checking on every detail of his flexible pose. Of course, they were fussy. They taught him flexibility, after all.

"Farther," a nereid giggled, putting an arm on his hips to push his butt forward so that it rested on his nest of messy, black hair.

It was uncomfortable to have so many gorgeous nymphs swimming around next to Percy, touching him like Annabeth would touch him. His eyes went dreamy at the sound of her name. Annabeth... she was more gorgeous than any nymph he could've set eyes on. Probably more gorgeous than Aphrodite, though Percy wouldn't ever dare say that out loud.

Gliding through the water, it was like he was flying. However, not that scary. Being in the air was like saying 'hey, kill me, Zeus', but in a very dramatic way so that he'd notice immediately. Opening his eyes, his lips spread into a grin as he flipped and spun in the water like a fish wearing blue swim trunks.

The nereids were chasing him, making it even more fun. He'd always loved the game 'tag', even if it did get out of hand when he used to play it with Thalia when they were younger. Ducking, he avoided a nereid's delicate hand as it prepared to rest itself in his hair. The nymphs liked to flirt with him. That was something Percy couldn't stop frowning at.

Why him? Why not Hercules?

Well, Hercules was a jerk.

"Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth called as Percy broke the surface, his sea-green eyes alight with delight.

"Yeah, Wise Girl?" he asked, pulling himself out of the water.

"Breakfast is almost ready," she giggled, giving him a kiss on the nose.

All the nymphs had gotten out of the pool, running like little ballerinas over to the beach, which was just a one minute hike from the safe house. Down the hill and bam, you had sandy beaches. That's when Percy realized he'd been playing around in the water for two hours. Giving Annabeth another kiss as she walked away, he willed himself dry.

His brows were still furrowed in thought about his stupid curse. Why'd he have to return from the dead? Why was he stupid enough to touch the sphere? Why was he such a seaweed brain?

"You're my Seaweed Brain, Percy. I love you because you're so... you," Annabeth had said, lacing her fingers in between his.

Changing into a T-shirt with some drawstring shorts, he wanted to put on tennis shoes, but was lazy in the end and put on blue crocs. He entered the double doors and took his seat, slicing a portion of his food into the fire. When the smoke turned regular, he sat back down, scooping food into his mouth.

"You guys up for some sparring later?" Clarisse asked, shoving a forkful of potatoes into her mouth.

"I'm down," Percy agreed.

"Good, 'cuz I'm gonna skewer you, Prissy." Clarisse smirked, sipping her orange juice.

"I don't know, War Head. You're pretty... sour."

Clarisse glared at the pun, flipping him off before turning away, cutting her bacon. Thalia was taking a swig of her coffee, looking bored as she examined the picture hanging up in the dining hall.

"I know this is disrespectful... But my dad is not hot."

Percy turned to see the picture of Zeus, with his scowl painted through every stroke.

"Looks just like him." He chuckled and continued to eat his breakfast.

But a thought always kept bugging him every time he made a move.

What would happen next?