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"one last time"
ARIADNE COULD FEEL the stares from her friends prickling along her neck. She cracked it quickly to dissipate the feeling of punching somebody and the uncomfortable itch in her skin. Her heart hammered heavily in her ears and throat closing in on itself.
There were so many questions they wanted to ask, but Ariadne had no answers aside from explaining impending doom on her shoulders. But that could've just been from the world ending the very next day. Ariadne didn't bother trying to hide her face, it was hard to, and she didn't try to persuade the other three to keep what Asclepius said a secret from their group. It was pointless. Someone would find out and then more questions on why nothing was said originally. She could already hear Percy's worried mutters to her.
Speaking of Percy, his sea-green eyes caught onto her miserable look. His glance flickered to Annabeth and Grover who both shrugged. A tan, scarred hand slid around Ariadne's back and rested there, at the small of it. He had a habit of always covering the spot of where his Achilles heel had been on himself.
Back on the Argo II, they gathered in the mess hall and filled in the rest of the crew.
Grover bleated quietly and gripped Ariadne's bicep at the supposed expression Asclepius sent his friend when they met. His hooves tapped skittishly but refused to let go.
"I don't like it," Jason said. "The way Asclepius looked at Leo—"
"He just sensed all the issues from that place," Ariadne cut off. Her and Annabeth still couldn't speak its name, and she never wanted to. "You know, it hasn't been that long since we got out."
"I mean, I guess," Piper said. "But I'm not sure that's it."
Percy's eyes were stormy again. That happened often nowadays. His hand gripped Ariadne's a bit tighter when speaking with a frown at the glowing red vial that sat in the middle of the table. "Any of us might die, right? So we just need to keep the potion handy."
"Assuming only one of us dies," Jason pointed out. "There's only one dose."
Hazel and Frank stared at Leo. Ariadne's purple eyes bounced between them.
He gave them a look.
She realized it now; the others didn't see the full picture. To storm or fire the world must fall—Jason or Leo. Something would happen to one of them. Daughter of the mind shall break her own, and topple the earth from its throne—Ariadne loses herself to save the world, but at what cost? In Olympia, Nike had warned that one of the five demigods present would die: Percy, Ariadne, Frank or Leo. Two names overlapped the likes from the prophecy: Ariadne and Leo. But if it was based on Asclepius's look and words, she had to guess that the girl was the most likely victim.
