𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 (Annabeth X Malereader)

[9] Never trust a witch

Y/N groaned as he opened his eyes, a decent sized knot pounding on his head. A makeshift sail made of old uniforms rippled in the wind. Percy sat at the front, with Annabeth tacking into the wind. Y/N sat up, before stars danced in his eyes and he fell back.

"Rest," Annabeth said. "You're going to need it."

"What happened?" Y/N muttered, shielding the sun with his arm.

"The ship exploded." Percy said, his voice hollow. He brought out riptide, fiddling with it. Y/N could tell he was upset. Then he remembered. Tyson.

"Percy... I'm sorry about Ty-"

"Don't say his name." Percy retorted. He bit the inside of his cheek and closed his eyes. Y/N had a feeling if he continued Percy might have burst into tears.

The wind smelled fresh and salty, but it carried a strange metallic scent. Percy seemed to know what direction they needed to go. They took turns sipping from the Dr Pepper and talking about Percy's latest dream of Grover.

"Yeah," Percy said bitterly. "You can never trust a Cyclops."

Annabeth sighed. "I'm sorry, Percy. I was wrong about Tyson, okay? I wish I could tell him that." Y/N said nothing. He recalled the last time he saw Chiron, before he was exiled.

"Annabeth, what's Chiron's prophecy?" He asked. She pursed her lips.

"Y/N, I can't"

"I know Chiron promised the gods he wouldn't tell Percy. But I'm not Percy. Can't you tell me?"

"Knowledge isn't always good. Besides, how do I know you won't just tell Percy after I tell you?"

Y/N gasped. "How dare you! You think I can't keep a secret?"

"No," Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "But if the secret determines the fate of the world, then I have to be careful who to tell."

"The gods are worried about something I'll do when I get older," Percy interjected. "Something when I turn seventeen."

Annabeth took a deep breath. "Percy, I don't know the full prophecy, but it warns about a half-blood child of the Big Three, the next one who lives to the age of seventeen. That's the real reason Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades swore a pact after World War II not to have any more kids. The next child of the Big Three who reaches seventeen will be a dangerous weapon."

"Why?" Y/N said.

"Because that hero will decide the fate of Olympus." Annabeth said. "He or she will make a decision that either saves the Age of the Gods, or destroys it."

Percy fell quiet. "That's why Kronos didn't kill me last summer."

Annabeth nodded. "You could be very useful to him. If he can get you on his side, the gods will be in serious trouble."

"Why did you say 'he or she'" Y/N said. "Percy is the only child of the big three."

"That we know of," Annabeth replied. "Just because Zeus, Poseidon and Hades swore a pact, doesn't mean they'll keep it. Zeus and Poseidon already broke it. And we can only hope that Hades kept his promise."

"So there's a chance I'm not in the prophecy?" Percy questioned.

"We'll only know for sure in about three more years." Annabeth said. "That can be a long time for a half-blood. When Chiron first learned about Thalia, he assumed she was the one in the prophecy. That's why he was so desperate to get her safely to camp. Then she went down fighting and got turned into a pine tree and none of us knew what to think. Until you came along."

On the port side, a spiky green dorsal fin about fifteen feet long curled out of the water and disappeared. "This kid in the prophecy... he or she couldn't be like, a Cyclops?" Y/N asked.