Demigod Lily

Chapter Twenty-Six

Aaron's POV
I was exhausted. I'd stayed up with Lily, watching over her till she'd woken up. When she left, I trudged back to my cabin and fell on my bunk, going to sleep immediately.
"Hey. Hello, anyone there? Really?" Aaron heard a ticked off voice saying. He opened his eyes and got up. He saw a kid with black hair and black clothes on standing in front of him.
"Wait, aren't you supposed to be dead?" He asked. The kid rolled his eyes.
"Percy did warn me that you'd probably say that," he muttered darkly. Aaron held his hands up in a "I surrender" position.
"Nico, all I know is that you're supposed to be dead," he said. Nico sighed.
"Whatever. I'm supposed to give you a message that might save Lily. Wanna hear it or not?" Nico asked impatiently. Aaron nodded.
"Of course! Anything to save Lily," he said. Nico nodded.
"Thought so. Now, you know how gorgons blood works, right?" He asked. Aaron nodded. "Now, you have to get blood from the right side of a gorgon to heal her. But," he added," when you kill a gorgon, you get one from both sides. So you never know which one will heal or kill." Aaron nodded.
"But I have to know which one...," he said. Nico looked at him gravely.
"You're going to have to do that if you want her to live. She's going to keep getting worse till she dies. I can already feel her soul starting to slip into the Underworld as we speak," Nico said. Aaron nodded.
"Well, I must leave you to go find a gorgon," Nico said. Aaron nodded.
"Bye," he said. Nico waved and disappeared into shadow.

Lily's POV
Lily was tired by the time she got to her cabin. She'd been wide awake when she'd left the infirmary, but now she was starting to sweat. She stumbled into her cabin and went over to her bunk. Could she see through her hand more now? Oh well. It was fine. She'd get better and back up on her feet in no time.
"Lily? Oh my gods, you're okay!" She heard a voice say. Lily grinned, sitting on her bed.
"Not exactly ok, but I'll get better soon," she said. Jessica nodded, sitting next to her.
"What happened?" She asked. Lily sighed and explained the whole thing about how Ashley had done the same thing to Aaron as she had done to Lily.
"Did he ever tell you the prophecy?" She asked quietly. Lily nodded.
"Yeah, on my birthday. Why?" She replied. Jessica fidgeted, obviously uncomfortable.
"Well, you know how it said they'd control the worlds fate at age fifteen?" She asked. Lily nodded, urging her on. Jessica looked down.
"I'm turning fifteen in a week," she whispered. Lily stared at her.
"Wait... So Ashley's been trying to kill me, because she thought that I was the threat, when it was you?" She said. Jessica nodded.
"She's almost killed you, tortured you, and gods only know what else, when she should've been going after me...," Jessica whispered. Lily put a hand through her shoulder, happy when it didn't go through. That would've been just awkward.
"It's ok. But I don't think it's going to be you," she said. Jessica looked up, startled.
"What do you mean? Unless I join the Hunters, it'll be me...," Jessica trailed off, wistfulness in her voice.
"You want to join, don't you?" Lily asked. Jessica nodded.
"I don't think they'll accept me though... You need sleep," she said suddenly, getting up. But then Lily saw. She grabbed Jessica's wrist and pulled her back. She traced the lines on Jessica's wrist.
"I never knew," she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

Jessica had tears rolling down her face.
"I never wanted you to know. You didn't deserve a sister who wants to die," she sobbed. She jerked her hand back and collapsed next to Lily on her bed.
"Do it," Lily said. Jessica looked up, confusion written all over her face.
"Do what?" She asked. Lily smiled weakly.
"Become a Hunter. Lynn will help you out, I know it. Go ahead," Lily said. Jessica shook her head.
"I can't just leave you behind! You're my only sister," Jessica said. Lily nodded.
"And your sister is telling you to follow your dream," she replied. Jessica smiled.
"Thank you Lily," she said. Lily nodded.
"Go to their cabin in the morning, ok?" She asked. Jessica nodded and got up, going to her bunk. Lily laid back, exhausted.
"I'm dying, aren't i?" She whispered to the air, then fell asleep.
Aaron's POV
I got Catherine and Matt to go hunting for a gorgon in the forest with me. We crept along through the deeper parts of the forest, where there were more monsters. We killed a few hellhounds and the such before we finally found a gorgon. I motioned for the others to get in a circle around her and came up in front of her.
"A tasssty demigod for me, eh?" She hissed, slithering closer to me. I held my bow nocked.
"I'm afraid today isn't your day, is it?" I asked, and shot her in the head. She collapsed into yellow dust and two bottles. I was about to pick them up when the dust swirled away, mixing the bottles up. I groaned. I picked them up.
"Let's go back to camp," I said, and started walking back towards camp.

Lily's POV
Lily woke up the next morning and got up. She changed her clothes and everything, then started walking to the pavilion. She took a quick detour to the Apollo cabin to get Aaron, who seemed a little jittery.
"What's wrong?" She asked. He shook his head.
"Not right now. I'll tell you later, ok?" He asked. Lily nodded she thought about telling him about Percy, but decided against it. He didn't need to know.
"He needs to know that he can't kill you," said the voice in her head. Lily frowned. "Tell him. He needs to know," it said. Lily shrugged.
"I need to tell you something later too," she said to Aaron. He nodded. They had reached the pavilion and Lily was a little tired from the walk. She got her food and sacrificed some to her father, and sat down. She ate alone, because Jessica had already joined the Hunters. If she turned her head a tiny bit, she could see her sister laughing and joking around with Lynn and the other Hunters. She smiled, happy her sister was safe and happy. She finished breakfast and waited for Aaron in the arena, sitting on one of the benches. He ran over to her.
"You ok?" He asked worriedly. She looked and smiled.
"Yeah. Just a little tired. But anyways, I was going to tell you...," Lily explained the meeting with Percy and what he said. A load seemed to go off of Aaron. He breathed a deep sigh of relief.
"Thank the gods. But what I was going to tell you...," he told her about his meeting with Nico and what he said. He brought the two vials of gorgon blood out of his pocket.
"I don't know which one will heal, or which one will kill you," he whispered. Lily froze. She'd been about to reach for one of the vials. She scooted closer to Aaron and hugged him.
"We'll find out. It's ok," she said. He shook his head.
"Look at your arm," he whispered. She looked at it and sighed. It was fading more by the hour. Lily looked at Aaron.
"I'm dying, and we can't stop it," she whispered.

Aaron's POV
"There's no way I'm letting you die on me, Lily! I've saved your life several times already, and you're not dying on me this time," I said. Lily gave me a weak smile.
"I know you're not going to let me die, but you can't always help it. How are we ever going to tell which one will heal, or which one will kill?" She said. I shrugged.
"I'll find a way. Just don't give up on me, Lily!" I pleaded. She nodded.
"I'm not giving up on you. I'm just not sugar coating it," she replied. She stood up and swayed a little.
"You need to lay down," I said. She shook her head.
"I'll be fine," she said. I stood up next to her. She took a step and stumbled.
"I told you, you need to lay down," I said, catching her. I picked her up and started carrying her back to her cabin.
"Aaron, put me down! I can walk perfectly fine," she said, weakly trying to get out of my grip. I looked at her sternly.
"I'm not putting you down. Deal with it," I said. She quit struggling and laid in my arms till we got back to her cabin. I set her down on her bed, and sat next to her.
"You're too stubborn for your own good," she said. I laughed.
"Well, you'll just have to put up with it, won't you?" I said teasingly. She put her hand around the back of my neck and pulled my head closer. I leaned down with it, putting my lips on hers. We kissed deeply and for a long time. Every now and then we'd come up for air, then go back into our kiss.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!" Came a shriek from the doorway. I jumped, looking at the door. Jessica was standing there in Hunter clothes, a horrified look on her face.
"It's called kissing. Ever heard of it?" Lily said to Jessica. I started laughing, but shut up after I got a glare from Jessica.
"What are you doing here?" I asked Jessica. She glanced at Lily, then looked at me.
"I was getting the last of my stuff. Now that I'm a Hunter, I'm not going to be staying here anymore," she replied. I gaped at her.
"You're leaving Lily behind?" I asked. Jessica fidgeted, looking uncomfortable.
"I told her to go. She wanted to, and I wasn't going to hold her back," Lily said from behind me. I turned around and held her hand.
"Ok," I said softly. I looked at Jessica. "Well? Get your stuff. I'm not leaving Lily." Jessica glared at me, then nodded. She grabbed some things form her bedside table and left. I stayed next to Lily, holding her hand.
"I love you Aaron," she murmured. I smiled at her.
"I love you too," I replied. She smiled, closing her eyes slowly. Her breathing got slower and deeper. I kissed Lily on the lips and got up. I climbed under the covers with her, putting my arm around her as she slept. I felt my eyes close, and fell into sleep.
"Aaron. Hey, Aaron!" I got up, rubbing my eyes. I looked around till I saw her.
"Lady Athena? What are you doing here?" She nodded.
"I'm here to help you. We cannot have Lily dying," she said. I nodded.
"But we don't know which vial will save her...," I said sadly. She smiled.
"Yes, I know you don't. But know, you will," she said. I looked at her, confused.
"What are you talking about? The vials are exactly the same," I asked.
"Not anymore. But that's all I can tell you. Just remember, the different one will always fit what Lily needs," she replied. I was about to ask her what she meant when she waved her hand, making darkness crash over me, and I fell into a deep sleep.