The Path Of Glory (Annabeth Chase x Male Reader)

85. Tux Dude

When Y/N opened his eyes again, sunlight bathed him, dazing him. He squinted. He was lying on a lounge chair, on a terrace. The morning was clear and bright—perfect for a picnic or a hike, or pretty much anything except fighting monsters.

There was a cool cloth over his forehead. He tried to take it away, but couldn't move his arm.

"Y/N!" Ethan came up next to him. Though he looked tired, he seemed relieved. "Will, he's alive! Come!"

"What happened?" Y/N asked with difficulty.

Ethan didn't bother with the question. "Don't worry, everything's fine."

Will Solace from the Apollo cabin came up next to Ethan. When he saw Y/N, he exhaled with relief. "It's not so bad, Y/N. A few more minutes and we would've been in trouble, but you didn't lose too much blood. Just lie still. Somebody hand me some nectar."

Ethan grabbed a canteen. Will cleaned out Y/N's wounds with the godly drink.

"Ow," Y/N said. "Ow, ow!" He hurt like hell. He chewed the inside of his mouth to try and calm the pain coming from his whole body. Sweat rolled along his back. Vaguely he heard Ethan muttering words of encouragement. Will put some silver paste over the wounds and hummed words in Ancient Greek—a hymn to Apollo. Then he applied fresh bandages and stood up shakily.

The healing must've taken a lot of his energy. He looked almost as pale as Y/N felt.

"That should do it," he said. "But we're going to need some mortal supplies."

He grabbed a piece of hotel stationery, jotted down some notes, and handed it to one of the Athena guys. "There's a Duane Reade on Fifth. Normally I would never steal—"

"I would," Travis volunteered.

Will glared at him. "Leave cash or drachmas to pay, whatever you've got, but this is an emergency. I've got a feeling we're going to have a lot more people to treat."

Nobody disagreed.

"Come on, guys," Travis Stoll said to people Y/N could see. "We've got a drugstore to raid . . . I mean, visit."

Y/N felt a bit better now. Not enough to sit up, but enough to speak correctly.

"Where is Annabeth?" he asked Ethan.

"She's alive—"

"Where is she?"

Ethan pointed at another lounge chair. Annabeth was there. Her face was pale and beaded with sweat. Even though she was covered in blankets, she shivered. Silena Beauregard was wiping her forehead with a cool cloth.

Y/N wanted to faint when he saw her wound. The bleeding had stopped but the gash looked deep. The skin around the cut was a horrible shade of green.

"Annabeth. . . ." He choked up. She had taken that knife for him. How could he have let that happen?

"There was poison on the dagger," Ethan mumbled. "Her wound is deeper than what you got. The poison didn't get further than her shoulder, but a few more minutes and it would've gotten to her heart."

"Nakamura," Y/N grunted. "It's his fault."

"Nakamura?" Ethan repeated unbelievingly. "But he was on the Princess Andromeda. He can't have survived—"

"I saw him, Ethan. He was right in front of me. I saw him strike Annabeth. And I didn't have the reflex to kill him. Next time, I will."

Ethan gulped. "Well, for now, just take your time. The situation is under control. Jake Mason is using Annabeth's video shield to monitor the movements of Kronos's army. They withdrew at dawn. We don't know why. We placed sentinels at each bridge and each tunnel."