TERRIFIED . . . annabeth chase

seventeen.

THERE WAS NO way that Val would've been able to go back up to Olympus after that.

But she didn't want to go back to camp, either. And, sure, they probably needed her to be there for the rituals, but frankly she couldn't care less. Her adoptive father told her that Ethan was now in the Underworld, waiting for where he was going to go next, according to her own father. She wished that he could've been her guardian angel.

But now Val was angelic. She didn't need one. So she asked Cupid to bring them to Japan to bury his body.

"If I die, I want you to bury my body in Japan," Ethan had told her, one night when they were laying down on top of the Hermes cabin roof. It had been a sleepless night for Val, and naturally he'd opened the door to her room and raised his eyebrows, the universal sign of someone looking for trouble.

"When did we get to that topic?" Val asked him, staring up at the stars above her.

"I don't know." He did know, in fact, she'd realized. That was before he went to join Kronos — when he'd broken Val's heart. Even though they weren't anything more than friends with benefits. "But promise me, Val."

"Why, Ethan?" She frowned. "Death isn't a light topic."

Ethan turned to her. "I know. But you've gotta promise me."

"Fine! I promise! Happy?" She nearly yelled.

He nodded. "And if you die before me, I'll bury you in Mexico, Val. I promise you. I'll help you more than our parents have."

And now Val was here, in Japan, watching as Thanatos and Cupid dug out the ground for Ethan's casket to lie in. She watched as his casket was pushed in and the dirt get piled back on.

Cupid brought Val into his embrace as Thanatos magicked a headstone for Ethan. The tears flowed from her face, and she wondered when she'd run out.

"You know we have to bring you back soon," Thanatos pointed out. Apparently Zeus had issued a gift for people who had done a lot of good in the war — Thalia, Grover, Annabeth, Percy, and, surprisingly, Val. And when Cupid asked her what she wanted for her gift, she wasn't thinking straight. She said that she'd wanted a week to herself with her fathers of sorts while she mourned.

Now, she regretted that. She could've started on her promise to Ethan. But she didn't. She regretted all of it.

Even though Japan was as beautiful as it was when Val had last visited, with Drew. They'd gone to a bunch of places by themselves. Now she'd gone on more with her fathers.

"I know," Val said quietly. "But I don't want to go back."

Cupid held her tighter. "I know. But even with your condition, you can't stay with us."

Val stared down at Ethan's grave. His voice washed over her.

Go home.

"Fine." She said, looking over at Thanatos. "Take me home."

His face faltered, and Cupid let her go so she could hug him.

"Stay safe," he whispered to her. "Alright?"

A wry smile overtook her features. "You can never promise that with who I'm in love with."

Cupid smirked. "Yeah, don't you know that?"

Val giggled, and then her vision went black, and suddenly she was at camp, which was mayhem.

It had to be the last week of August, yet there were people still here. A lot of people.