These Lifeless Things || p. jackson

XI. The Gods Vote To Kill Them

WHEN XIAO CAME TO, Percy was the first thing she was greeted with.

"Oh, great," she muttered. "Hades has forsaken me to hell."

Percy laughed gently. He was kneeling next to her, brushing the hair from her eyes. There was a canteen next to him, it's top open. Xiao's mouth tasted like she'd had a sip of water that was just a few degrees before freezing.

"You okay?" He asked. "That girl—Katniss let us all go after we saved you. We're at Crissy Field now. Zoe's being healed by Artemis and Thalia, but I got stuck with you. Also, Annabeth's safe and her dad is here."

"That's go.." past events came choking up to Xiao. She looked for her arm in a panic, but Percy tilted her head back to him before she could.

"Let me explain first, okay? Then..maybe it won't seem so bad. Let's start with your left hand—it's perfectly fine now. Artemis said there was a lot of bone damage, but it was simple enough for her to fix. It's totally good now."

Xiao could barely speak the words. "And my right?"

"It's gone until halfway up your forearm." He took no pleasure in saying it, though it was blunt. "Artemis says she'll commission Hephaestus to make you mechanic stuff to replace it. He doesn't like children of Aphrodite much, but Artemis will force him to. She also sealed the end, so it's not like bleeding or anything."

Percy was watching her warily, like he expected her to cry and break down. It was solely that expectation that kept her from having one, she figured.

"Okay," Xiao said. "Okay."

Her jacket was gone somewhere. She didn't dare look at where her hand used to be, afraid she'd throw up on the spot.

"Here." Percy took off his jacket. "Close your eyes so there's no chance you'll see your arm. I can be with you when you look at it later, but not right now."

Xiao, despite her best instincts, followed his instructions. She closed her eyes as he thread the jacket through her good arm and bad. He tapped her on the forehead, and she opened her eyes, barely able to summon the strength to glare at him. "Let's...let's go see Zoe."

She wasn't doing good. She was definitely worse off than Xiao. She was shivering, and the faint glow that usually hung around her was fading.

"Can't you heal her with magic like you did with Xiao?" Percy asked Artemis. "I mean...you're a goddess."

Artemis looked troubled. "Life is a fragile thing, Percy. If the Fates will the string to be cut, there is little I can do. But I can try."

She tried to set her hand on Zoë's side, but Zoë gripped her wrist. She looked into the goddess's eyes, and some kind of understanding passed between them.

"Have I... served thee well?" Zoë whispered.

"With great honor," Artemis said softly. "The finest of my attendants."

Zoë's face relaxed. "Rest. At last."

"I can try to heal the poison, my brave one."

But in that moment, Xiao knew it wasn't just the poison that was killing her. It was her father's final blow. Zoë had known all along that the Oracle's prophecy was about her: she would die by a parent's hand. And yet she'd taken the quest anyway. She had chosen to save them, and Atlas's fury had broken her inside.

Perhaps she saw the expression on Xiao's face, because she let out a weak laugh. "Is the daughter of Aphrodite going to mourn me?"

"I will pay my respects and tell your story," Xiao said. She tried to summon back her confidence, her nonchalance. Zoë seemed to see it.