The Path Of Glory (Annabeth Chase x Male Reader)

72. The Inventor Of The Labyrinth

"This way!" Rachel yelled.

She seemed to know exactly where she was going. She whipped around corners and didn't even hesitate at crossroads. Once she said, "Duck!" and they all crouched as a huge axe swung over their heads. Then they kept going as if nothing had happened.

Y/N lost track of how many turns they made. They didn't stop to rest until they came to a room the size of a gymnasium with old marble columns holding up the roof. He stood at the doorway, listening for sounds of pursuit, but he heard nothing. Apparently, they'd lost Luke and his minions in the maze.

Then he realized something else: Mrs. O'Leary was gone. He didn't know when she'd disappeared. He didn't know if she'd gotten lost or been overrun by monsters or something else. He wanted to turn around and go back, but the foolishness of the thought stopped him. She'd saved their lives, and he hadn't even waited to make sure she was following them.

Rachel collapsed on the floor. "You people are crazy."

"Welcome to the club." Ethan tried to mimic a bow, but he fell from exhaustion.

They were all so exhausted that they made camp right there in the huge room. Annabeth found some scrap wood and they started a fire. Shadows danced off the columns, rising around them like trees.

Y/N sat down next to Annabeth as she poked the fire with her knife. For a moment they stayed silent. Then, cautiously, as if she were seeing how the land lies, she muttered, "Something was wrong with Luke. Did you notice the way he was acting?"

He looked at her, then back at the fire. "Nothing unusual. He tried to kill me; I tried to cut him. Basic hero-hero interaction."

Annabeth bit her lips. "He looked . . . nervous. He told his monsters to spare me. He wanted to tell me something."

"Maybe." Y/N shrugged. "I don't know. I was busy trying not to end up as dead meat."

"I think Luke—"

He raised a hand to stop her. "Look, Annabeth. It's not that I don't care, but if you could stop talking about Luke as if he were a poor victim, it would do us all some good. Kronos tricked him, sure. But he chose to go against Olympus a long time ago, and he chose it by himself. He'll destroy anyone standing in his way—that means us. So please, choose your side once and for all and stick to it."

"I chose my side!"

"Doesn't look like it," he said. "Luke tried to kill me not an hour ago, and you're talking about him to me? Annabeth, you're Athena's daughter, show some common sense! I wanted to kill Luke. I'm not going to feel sorry for him."

Annabeth didn't answer. He glanced back at her, and saw that she was on the verge of tears. His heart turned to lead.

"Hey, please, don't be sad," he said, realizing he'd got carried away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to . . ."

"No," she interrupted. "You did the right thing. It . . . it's my fault. You know, I thought you were going to die."

He tried to smile somewhat reassuringly. "I always find a way to almost die. But I'm still here. You shouldn't worry about it."

Unsurprisingly, it didn't seem to help her. Quite the opposite.

"You know what?" he said. "You need to get some sleep."

She sniffed. "I'm sorry. . . ."

"It's okay." He patted her shoulder. "Now, go sleep."

Hesitantly—maybe because she wanted to say more but knew it would be too much—Annabeth curled up, using her backpack as a pillow. She closed her eyes and lay very still. Y/N didn't tell her, but he got the feeling she wasn't really asleep.