The sea engulfed Percy, ship destroyed by Scylla and Charybdis. Tyson gone. Grover with upcoming monsterly nuptials. Despite all of his efforts, he just drifted away, dragged by a current that would never be truly able to harm him. Drowning, not in water, but in guilt.

Soon, his eyes closed. Allowing him to soak in whatever the Moirai had planned for him next. Images of his brother, of Annabeth, of his mother, and of his days at camp flashed through his weary eyes. And once he opened them again, he found himself standing on a beautiful-looking island covered with a mixture of pasture and dense woodland of oak and beech.

Percy instinctively glanced back, eyes darting to find Annabeth, who offered him a nod of reassurance. Behind him, only miles of open sea, ahead of him, a seemingly unending array of trees, and high cliffs that overlooked the deep waters. A crack on one of the broken tree branches that lied across the sand made him turn around abruptly.

Soon was he surprised, when his eyes were not met with a Monster, but with a woman. A beautiful one at that. Your smile friendly. Dangerously so. His foot instinctively placed in front of Annabeth, trying to shield her from all danger. “Back off.”