𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 (Annabeth X Malereader)

[15] A land without rain

All Caps - Madvillain
0:37 ━❍━━━━━ 3:01
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"WHAT WOULD APHRODITE want with Y/N?" Bianca half-whispered, glancing at Zoe.

"Only he would know." Zoe said, her face grim. Y/n walked back to the group, his face a stone statue. He sat in front of the fire, next to Thalia and Percy. Nobody said anything for a full minute. Finally, Percy broke the silence, as usual.

"So... you talked to Aphrodite?" Percy began. Y/N glanced at him, then looked back at the fire.

"Yep."

"What did she say?"

"Not sure," Y/N said. "She said to be careful in her husband's junkyard. She said not to pick anything up."

Zoe narrowed her eyes. "The goddess of love would not make a special trip to tell thee that. Be careful, Y/N. Aphrodite has led many heroes astray."

"For once I agree with Zoe," Thalia said. "You can't trust Aphrodite." Y/N nodded, still staring at the fire. It seemed to have gone a weird red colour, and was flickering a lot faster now.

"So," Y/N said, "how do we get out of here?"

"That way," Zoe said, pointing. "That is west."

"How can you tell?" Percy said.

Even in the light of the full moon, Percy could see her roll her eyes at him. "Ursa Major is in the north," she said, "which means that must be west." She pointed west, then at the northern constellation.

"Oh, yeah," Percy said. "The bear thing."

Zoe looked offended. "Show some respect. It was a fine bear. A worthy opponent."

"You act like it was real."

"Guys," Grover broke in. "Look!"

They had reached the crest of a junk mountain. Piles of metal objects glinted in the moonlight: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with more modern stuff, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.

"Whoa," Bianca said. "That stuff... some of it looks like real gold."

"It is," Thalia said grimly. "Like Y/N said, don't touch anything. This is the junkyard of the gods."

"Junk?" Grover picked up a beautiful crown made of gold, silver, and jewels. It was broken on one side, as if it had been split by an axe. "You call this junk?"

He bit off a point and began to chew. "It's delicious!"

Thalia swatted the crown out of his hands. "I'm serious!"

"Look!" Bianca said. She raced down the hill, tripping over bronze coils and golden plates. She picked up a bow that glowed silver in moonlight. "A Hunter's bow!"

She yelped in surprise as the bow began to shrink, and became a hair clip shaped like a crescent moon. "It's just like Percy's sword!"

Zoe's face was grim. "Leave it, Bianca."

"But—"

"It is here for a reason. Anything thrown away in this junkyard must stay in this yard. It is defective. Or cursed."