A second chance.

29. Showdown

Zoe

I sat on my throne, my hand held in a tight grip by my King. Percy's army had all assembled in the throne room, all of them equipped with celestial bronze armour and their weapons. 

"Nico Di Angelo is bringing the rebel army towards Olympus as I speak." Percy said, breaking the silence. He let go of my hand and stood up, his green eyes suddenly very bright. "And in doing so, that will be their downfall."

I watched as his army all cheered at his words, raising their weapons high in the air. My eyes roamed past all the faces of the demigods and demi-titans, until my gaze landed on Phoebe. 

The ex-huntress was standing in the back next to Jessica, her hands tightly gripping the shaft of her bow. Her face was expressionless, but I knew she was thinking whether or not to stay with Percy or betray him.

A small smile appeared on my lips as I drummed my fingers on the armrest of my throne. If Phoebe decided to defect over to the rebel army, then she will die.

Percy will make sure of that.

My King stretched his arms out, silencing the cheering coming from his army. A wicked grin crossed his face as he snapped his fingers. 

Black armour appeared on his lithe, muscular body, and he reached up to take the helmet off. Percy tucked it under his arm before twisting the bracelet on his wrist, his scythe materializing into his hand. 

I followed his example by touching the ring he had given me on my index finger. Silver armour appeared and I unsheathed my hunting knives, laying them down on my lap. 

"I have complete faith in your skills to defeat the rebel army. Zoe, my Queen, you'll be accompanying them, yes?" Percy asked, glancing at me briefly.  I smiled and nodded.

"Good. I'll be staying on Olympus, waiting for Nico's arrival. He'll have Hades with him as well and at least two other Gods to cover them." Percy took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair. 

Alex and Jake looked at each other before Jake said "Are you sure you won't need backup? I know Octavian asked about that before....." 

Percy leaned on his scythe, raising an eyebrow at Jake's question. "I know what I'm doing, but thanks for the offer. Now, I want all of you to get out and get ready for the rebel army. They're going to need to use the elevator to get up here." 

"Can't we just intercept them on the ground before they use the elevator?" Crystal asked, frowning slightly. "Won't that be easier, My Lord?" 

Percy chuckled, walking backwards to sit down on his throne once more. He placed his scythe on his lap like I did with my hunting knives before answering Crystal's question.

"It would be, yes, but I want to give them at least the chance to reach Olympus. Then we can finish them off as quickly as possible." Crystal nodded in agreement, a dark glint in her eyes. "That's a good idea."

Percy pointed at the open double doors that led out of the throne room, and with an unspoken command, the army turned and filed out. As they did so, I sheathed my hunting knives and got up, moving to stand in front of my boyfriend.

He smiled at me, removing his scythe from his lap. When the scythe had been moved, I practically jumped onto his lap. 

"Whoa." Percy said as I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Are you trying to strangle me?"

I grinned and tightened my grip even more. "Something like that. I'm strangling you with my love." Percy chuckled dryly, putting his hands around my waist.