•as the world caves in•

•aw•

I woke up moments later to Silena dabbing my forehead with cool water. "Cor, you're awake!"

"It's cold."

"You already have two blankets, honey." She explained. "We'll get a healer and see what we can do."

Percy came into my vision and held my hand. "Coriane, you shouldn't have done that."

I went to respond, but Will Solace, a kid from Apollo's cabin unwrapped my bandages and turned pale. The skin was green and my cut was deep.

He sighed. "It could be worse, we got here just in time."

Will worked his magic before writing some things down and giving it to Travis. "I need these to effectively treat wounds. Find them."

The demigods filed out and Silena kissed my forehead. "Please rest, I need you to be okay. This is my fault."

I smiled and nodded weakly to her. "I will. But this isn't your fault."

"If I could be just a little better of a camper, do more..."

"Silena, you're amazing." Percy said. "You're the best at riding Pegasi and you're friends with Clarisse, that takes a lot."

I was so happy to hear Percy say these things, it made me feel better about him, and when Silena hugged him before running off, I was smiling.

Percy knelt next to me. "Coriane..."

"You're cute when you're worried." I said. "Your eyebrows get all scrunched together."

He sighed. "Coriane, I'm so sorry, for everything. I've been horrible to you, even when I try to fix things it just gets worse. I love you, I really, really, love you. I don't even know what I'd do with you gone, Coriane, please, just please, don't do that again."

"Percy?"

"Coriane?"

"Call me Cor, or Lover Girl. Because I'm yours, those have always been what you called me and I'm sick of hearing Coriane come from your lips and not my nicknames, especially the one you gave me."

Percy held his forehead against mine. "Gods Cor I've been waiting to hear you say that."

I smiled and held his face, keeping him with me. "You still have a lot to do, but you've shown me a lot of growth lately."

"And I'll keep growing, for you." He promised. "But how did you know? If you didn't take that knife it would've hit my spot."

I shrugged. "I just had this feeling and felt the need to take the knife. Where is it?"

Percy took my hand from his face and moved it to the small of his back. My fingers dipped under the hem of his shirt as he stopped my hand, shivering. "Cor, you saved me."

"So you owe me, what else is new, Seaweed Brain?"

"Nothing, Lover Girl, I'll be owing you for the rest of my life."

I removed my hand as I looked at the sunrise.

I sighed. "You asked me why Hermes was mad at Annabeth and I."

"Cor, you need rest."

"No, I need to tell you, it's been bothering me. Luke came to see me once, same with Annabeth, but he visited me last. Last year, before we went in the Labyrinth." Before he became Kronos. "He said he wanted to run away with me like the old days, that Annabeth had declined his offer but maybe if I joined that would convince her."

"You didn't trust him."

"Of course not. I thought it was a trick, no matter how scared he looked. Plus a lot has changed since then, I've grown up and so has he, we're not kids running away from troubled homes, we're a teen and adult who had a home but one of us decided to betray what we knew. But I told him no, he got mad and said I should've fought him there."

Talking about it brought tears to my eyes, my forehead started beading with sweat. Percy dabbed my head with the cloth Silena had left. "Hey, it's okay, get some rest."

"Hermes was right. If I would've gone with him, changed his mind. Or I had my ring, I could've ended this whole war right here, he was unarmed."

"Cor, you know that wouldn't have been right." Percy said. "I know this sucks, but I don't think there's anything that could've been done. If Kronos didn't pick Luke, he would've found another host, I think this war would've happened regardless."

I nodded and held his hand. "Thank you for saying that."

Connor Stoll came into the terrace right as Percy went to ask me something. "Percy, Mrs. O'Leary just came back with Grover. I think you should talk to him."