The Unknown Allegiance

| Chapter 15 || Let the War Begin |

Chapter Fifteen

Let the War Begin

*First Person Point of View ~ Perseus*

The moment I stepped into the room, I was shocked. Of course, I'd been expecting to see Artemis lying in bed, unconscious, looking to be in a state that no god or goddess should ever be in. Unfortunately, expecting something was far different than actually seeing it.

Artemis was as pale as Death himself. She had a large cut on her forehead, which was leaking a steady stream of golden ichor, seeping through the thick bandages that the hunters had covered it with. The soft white fabric seemed to be doing nothing to stop the flow, despite the hunters' practiced efforts in the art of treating wounds.

My vision tunnelled and everything else was blocked out as I slowly made my way to her bedside. I grabbed one of the abandoned chairs nearby and pulled it up to sit directly beside her, lowering myself into the chair. I felt like I'd be there a while, so I might as well get comfortable.

"Artemis..." I whispered, but my voice choked off. I'd lost the words.

Instead of making another attempt at speech, I reached out silently and rested my hand on her cheek. Time to use my abilities. I experienced a twisted feeling suddenly take root in my gut. My chest constricted and my head spun, but I remained upright as my hand on her cheek began to glow. Pulses of energy circulated throughout my body before transferring to hers. Colour began to radiate from her cheeks and the cold sweat on her brow evaporated.

It took a few minutes longer than it usually did, as the energy flow was sluggish and torpid, but her health continued to increase gradually, so I kept going. By the time all the colour returned to her face, my strength was waning. I didn't know how much longer I could keep it up.

Luckily, Artemis answered that question herself. Her eyes shot open and she grabbed my hand, squeezing it with her newfound brawn, which was only fuelled to greater heights by her sudden rush of adrenaline. I yowled, grasping in pain as I felt three of the bones in my wrist snap.

"Percy!" Thalia cried.

Artemis, remembering herself, let go of my arm posthaste.

I stumbled back into my chair, gripping my arm tightly against my chest. I panted, just now feeling the aftermath of transferring all of my energy.

Artemis turned to me. Her eyes were out of focus for a moment, but then, her silver orbs locked on my sea green ones. "Percy..." she slurred, "You're back." A disoriented smile overtook her lips and she tried to reach out to me, but her hand wavered like that of a drunk's as if she couldn't decide which me - of the four she was seeing - was the real one.

Despite my pain, I reached out and took her hand, guiding it gently back to her chest with the two of mine. "Yes. I'm sorry that I was away for so long. I left you here with all of your crazy relatives." My attempt at a joke was popular among the hunters, and even Artemis cracked a smile.

"Yes," she said, "How could you do that?" Her tone, though joking, had an underlining of hurt and truth.

I immediately felt a tug in my heart. It was true. How could I leave her? How could I allow myself and one of my charge's closest friends get kidnapped and held against their will? Meanwhile, my charge - the goddess I was sworn to forever protect until my dying breath - was left alone and unguarded from the more savage aspects of the immortal world. I left her to fend for herself against the other gods as they declared war on each other. I left her alone to protect herself and her hunters from the monsters who'd sworn to kill them and the gods who most recently lost their marbles. I'd left her alone and she had gotten hurt.