there must be more than this provincial life.
[ percy jackson x original character ]
[ book three in the belle series ]
[ the mark of athena, the house of hades, & the blood of olympus ]
[ bonus: the lost hero, the hidden oracle, the ship of the dea...
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𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖙-𝖈𝖎𝖓𝖖: NYX AND THE MANSION OF NIGHT
★ 。／｜＼。★
BELLE ADAIR WAS afraid of many things. She was afraid of Gaea's power and what she could do if she woke. She was afraid of whatever her boyfriend had just done to Akhlys. She was afraid of that horrible monster Kampê she had tried to fight in the Battle of the Labyrinth. She was afraid of losing Percy Jackson again. She was afraid of Katie Gardner and Connor and Travis Stoll suddenly hating her. She was afraid of not living up to Demeter's expectations. She was afraid of the look Annabeth Chase gave her when Belle tried to talk to her in the morning and she hadn't had her coffee yet. However, among these, the dark was not one of her fears.
But now it was.
Nyx, Goddess of night, was a forty-foot-tall churning figure of ash and smoke that loomed over the void of Chaos. Her dress was as black as the void and mixed with colors of a space nebula, as if galaxies were being born right in her bodice. Only the pinpoints of her eyes were able to be seen and shone like quasars through the darkness. Waves of darkness rolled over the cliffs every time her black wings beat. It made Belle feel heavy and tired and her eyesight began to get dim.
Her chariot was made of Stygian Iron — the same material as Nico di Angelo's sword — and was pulled by two massive horses that were all black except for their silver fangs. The horses' legs floated in the abyss and turned from solid to smoke every time they moved. They snarled and bared their fangs right at Belle, making her take a step backwards and grip onto Percy's arm. Nyx lashed her whip made of a thin streak of stars, making the horses rear back.
"No, Shade," Nyx scolded. "Down, Shadow. These little prizes are not for you."
Percy eyed the horses nervously as they nickered. He looked like an out-of-focus corpse since he was still shrouded in Death Mist, which still made Belle's heart ache every time she looked at him. It also didn't seem to be very good camouflage since Nyx could obviously see them. Belle wasn't able to read the expression on Percy's ghoulish face very well, but apparently he didn't like whatever the horses were saying.
"Uh, so you won't let them eat us?" Percy asked. "They really want to eat us."
Nyx's eyes burned a little brighter. "Of course not. I would not let my horses eat you, any more than I would let Akhlys kill you. Such fine prizes, I will kill myself!"
Belle knew they had to do something, or else this conversation would be very short. And then she thought: what would Annabeth do?
