Do-over (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

19. I let Bianca choose

I stared at the empty ocean below, beating myself up for letting Annabeth fall again. I should've stopped her from tackling Thorn, stopped her from risking her life like that. I should have rushed to get her off Thorn's back.

But I didn't. I let her fall.

I was suddenly tackled onto the ground and into the snow. I could feel several small but fast things fly over my head and create small holes in the ground with a snap-snap-snap. I looked up and saw Thalia holding up Aegis towards the armed helicopter, blocking all of the incoming bullets. The guns on the airship blazed, firing at us and the Hunters.

As suddenly as it started, the gunfire stopped. Before my eyes, the helicopter erupted into a mass of shapes which I slowly realised were actually black ravens. There was no sign of the mortals manning the aircraft, so I assumed they had been transformed into birds too.

Once everything had calmed down, the group of Hunters approached us. Zoë stopped short when she met Thalia's angered gaze.

'You.' Zoë said in distaste, looking at Thalia up and down.

'Zoë Nightshade,' Thalia said through gritted teeth, her eyes shining with anger. 'Perfect timing, as usual.'

Zoë ignored her and scanned over the rest of us before turning to face the young, auburn-haired girl, 'Four half-bloods and a satyr, my lady.'

'Yes,' she replied. 'Some of Chiron's campers, I see.'

Out of pure instinct and a tiny bit of fear, I kneeled in front of the girl, 'Lady Artemis.'

I could sense the surprise ripple among the entire clearing, washing over my friends and the group of Hunters. I stayed silent and kept my head down.

'Rise, demigod,' Artemis said as she stood a little straighter. 

I stood up again and nodded towards the goddess, 'It is an honour to meet you, milady.'

The look Zoë gave me was absolutely priceless.

'Thank you, Lady Artemis!' Grover said excitedly before kneeling on the ground. 'You're so...you're so...Wow!'

'Get up, goat boy!' Thalia said annoyed. 'We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!'

Those three words sent a spike of pain into my chest. They were a reminder of how I failed at something I could have prevented so easily. Now, Annabeth would have to suffer and it was entirely my fault. It was going to be my fault now that she was going to be forced to hold the sky.

'Whoa, hold up. Time out,' Bianca said nervously, snapping me out of my thoughts. 'Who...who are you people?'

I couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards her. 'Well...it's complicated.'

Artemis looked at Bianca with a soft expression. 'It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you? Who are your parents?'

Bianca tried looking at her younger brother for a little bit of help but he was looking around in absolute awe, his gaze lingering on Artemis longer than what I would recommend. Seeing as she wasn't getting any help, she sighed.

'Our parents are dead,' Bianca said sadly. 'We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for the school but...' 

She trailed off when she was the looks on our faces. 

'What?' she said blinking. 'I'm telling the truth.'

'Well, there really isn't any easy way to say this, but-' I started but Zoë interrupted me.