I turned—too slow. She barely missed me, but I had seen her face.
“HECATE CABIN! Protective shield, NOW! ARES, cover them! MORPHEUS, put her to sleep! HEPHAESTUS, reinforce the defenses! Everyone else—TO ME!”
Finn yelled, “Turtle formation! We advance in turtle formation!”
A wall of shields locked into place. Spears jutted between the gaps. Not a single head in sight.
Medusa hissed. “Clever. I’ll give you that. But we are always, always, two steps ahead.”
We? Who was we?
Then the ground shook. A blast of force rippled through our formation. Several spears jerked sideways—piercing their own wielders. Ares campers cursed, staggering as the tremor knocked them off balance.
Morpheus Cabin had done their job well—Medusa’s movements were sluggish, her voice less sharp. But she had backup.
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Of course she did.
Five sun lions prowled forward, golden pelts glinting like wildfire. They roared, the sound rattling through my ribs.
“NO SUDDEN MOVEMENTS!” I barked. “THEY CAN’T SEE YOU IF YOU DON’T MOVE!”
Silence. Nobody even breathed.
Then, she came back to me.
A whisper in my mind. A force in my limbs.
I didn’t fight it. I wanted to see what she could do.
And suddenly—I was unstoppable.
I moved like I had fought a thousand battles. Slashing. Dodging. Rolling. Striking before the lions could react.
But then—
Bite.
Agony.
I hit the ground, fire racing through my veins. It wasn’t just pain. It was consumption. Like the venom was eating me alive from the inside out. I couldn’t scream. Couldn’t breathe.
But I couldn’t lose.
Not here.
I forced myself up. My legs felt like lead. My arms like dead weight. But I kept going.
I didn’t stop when the lions fell.
I didn’t stop when the others called my name.
Because I wasn’t in control anymore.
Gaia surged forward, dragging my body toward Medusa’s head. Like every hero in history had done before.
I knew what would happen. I knew if she got what she wanted, I’d never get my body back.
So I made a choice.
I cut my hands—deep.
Pain slammed into me. Darkness rushed forward. But before I blacked out, I saw her.
Gaia—retreating.
Sinking back into the dirt.
And then everything went black.
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