Chapter 41: The Truth

A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next four chapters are up on my for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story!

Percy spills the beans~

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They need to know. They might not deserve to know, and it might piss some very powerful divinities off, but Percy couldn’t just welcome Annabeth with open arms without telling her. Nor could he bring himself to try and scare her off without telling her why either. She deserved to make her own informed decision, and frankly so did Clarisse. Now that Annabeth was here, Percy was beginning to feel a little guilty for not telling Clarisse everything before accepting her oath.

Letting out a sigh, Percy sits on the edge of the bed, looking between the other two demigods.

“You both deserve to know the truth about me. Especially if you’re going to go against your parents on this…”

Annabeth frowns while Clarisse just scoffs.

“I don’t need to know anything that you don’t want to tell me, sir. As my lord, you’re more than entitled to keep secrets. Besides, it’s too late to take back my decision to go against my father at this point.”

From the surprise on Annabeth’s face, this is pretty out of character for Clarisse La Rue. But to be fair, Percy has been a source of upheaval and uncharacteristic behavior since he arrived at Camp Half-Blood.

Smiling at Clarisse, Percy acknowledges her commitment with a nod of his head.

“Well you still deserve to know… and Annabeth needs to make an informed choice anyways. I’d like for you both to listen all the same, alright?”

They both slowly nod, with Annabeth clearly more interested than Clarisse in finding out Percy’s secrets. Heh, but then of course she would be.

“Right… well as Annabeth knows thanks to Ares, I’m apparently the reincarnation of Adonis.”

He couldn’t have kept that tidbit from them if he wanted to. Clarisse might not have been entirely conscious when Ares let it slip, but Annabeth had definitely heard Ares say the name out loud and basically accuse Percy of being Adonis Reborn.

The revelation draws a nod from Annabeth while Clarisse blinks before huffing ruefully.

“No wonder father hates you so much then.”

Percy’s own smile turns somewhat rueful as she parrots his own thoughts on the matter from back on the beach. Annabeth interjects with a sigh of her own.

“Yes. Adonis’ status as Aphrodite’s mortal lover definitely made him a target, and with Ares finally admitting to killing him with that boar like all the rumors said… well, there’s no real denying it, is there? After all, it makes a certain sort of sense.”

Percy raises an eyebrow, even as Clarisse sagely nods.

“Yes. My Lord is quite the handsome specimen… some might even say he could be the most handsome man in the world.”

What? Percy blinks incredulously at that, but Annabeth is nodding again too, all too serious.

“She’s not wrong, Percy. Obviously the world is a big place, but you really are simply gorgeous. Easily the most handsome man that I’ve ever seen. Just like Adonis was said to be.”

Now it’s Percy’s turn to huff as he looks between the two women.

“Is that it then? You two… only want me for my body?”

The light bout of teasing prompts the two female demigods to blanch in unison, with a naked Clarisse quickly prostrating herself before him.

“O-Of course not sir! I serve you because you are a worthy lord, not because of your looks!”

Annabeth, meanwhile, deflects her own bout of blanching by crossing her arms and scoffing at Clarisse.

“You sure about that? You were basically gunning for Percy from the moment he showed up at camp, in your own overly aggressive way. I wonder, what would have been his fate if we hadn’t won Capture the Flag? Would he have wound up as your personal butler… or more likely, your personal cunt licker?”

Clarisse blushes profusely as she squirms in place, looking up from her prostrating position but remaining on her knees.

“I… won’t deny that I would have put Lord Percy to work just like he did me if I had prevailed in our wager. But I didn’t prevail. And now we know why. He was able to even take on my father for a time. He was able to draw blood with Ares, God of War!”

Ah… now Clarisse’s uncharacteristic reverence began to make a bit more sense. She was putting him on a pedestal, wasn’t she? He’d stood toe to toe with Ares, and while he’d had the ocean on his side and hadn’t even been close to winning, he was still merely a demigod going up against a divinity. The fact that he’d even managed to cut Ares was apparently enough to elevate Percy to mythical status in Clarisse’s eyes.

Judging by the way Annabeth’s eyes alight with understanding, she’s figuring that all out at the same time Percy is. Clarisse might be acting out of character based on what she’d had to deal with all those years before Percy showed up, but now Annabeth was starting to puzzle out why that was. For a moment, she stares intensely at Clarisse… and then finally she looks back to Percy.

“So you’re the reincarnation of Adonis. I suppose we should be lucky it wasn’t the right time of year for Persephone to be visiting Lord Hades, or we would have been doubly screwed down there.”

Ah. Yes. Percy feels a shiver run down his spine at that. Did Hades know about the affair between Persephone and Adonis? He hadn’t acted particularly adversarial to Percy outside of when Percy had outright disobeyed him… but then, it had taken Ares shaking Percy’s hand for the God of War to realize he was the reincarnation of Adonis.

Before Percy can even begin to truly figure out the ramifications of all of that, Annabeth huffs again, shaking her head.

“Of course, then you went and used Aphrodite’s Scarf in the battle against Ares. Gods, that wasn’t a very good idea, Percy. Not only did you lie about meeting Aphrodite, not only did you put words in her mouth… but you also drew her attention. There’s no way she doesn’t know who you are by now, and that means she’s probably already plotting to retrieve you.”

… Yeah, that tracked. Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty. Percy had basically used her scarf to take Ares’ off-balance, knowing that his status as a reincarnation of Adonis would make the lies he’d spouted in the God of War’s direction all the more believable. It was the only reason Percy had been able to draw blood from the God’s inner thigh in the first place, even though he’d been aiming for Ares’ genitals, hoping to geld the damn bastard.

Still, the price for that drawn blood and Percy and the others surviving long enough for Hades to arrive and intercede… was almost certainly drawing Aphrodite’s attention. The Goddess of Love and Beauty for sure knew about Percy now, and especially for sure knew about his existence as Adonis’ reincarnation.

Annabeth was right, he would basically have to watch his back from now on, especially given that…

“That brings me to the next thing I need to tell you both. I doubt Aphrodite will be the only one plotting to do something to me, truth be told. Annabeth, your mom is right to tell you to stay away from me… being at my side is only going to get more and more dangerous.”

Both Annabeth and Clarisse look at him a little more intently now. Perhaps the grave tone Percy has is enough to finally get Clarisse’s attention as well.

“… I don’t know exactly how much she told you Annabeth, but Zeus isn’t just out as King od the Gods. He’s dead. And he died because of me. To save me.”

Wide eyes and silence answer him at that for a moment, before Annabeth finally finds her voice.

“Are… are you sure, Percy? Immortals are incredibly hard to kill. That’s why they’re immortals. Gods, Titans, all of them… they’re made of incredibly stern stuff. Even… even the Crooked One was said to have been sliced into a thousand pieces by his own scythe before being tossed into Tartarus… and now here he is all the same, still trying to get out all these thousands of years.”

Percy hesitates and ultimately shrugs his shoulders.

“I don’t know for sure. I do know that Hestia tossed Zeus’ head into her fire and did something that split his domains between everyone present. His body was also dealt with. Maybe he’s not fully dead, but his domains…”

Mouth agape, Annabeth rushes to continue where Percy trails off.

“… If his domains have been spread to others, then even if he COULD come back, he would be powerless. Percy, a God or Goddess’ domains are basically their everything. It’s the foundation of their divine existence. Take away their domains and it’s hard to even still call them deities. That’s… wait. You said… you said everyone present. Does that include… you?”

Percy winces. Trust Annabeth to catch on fast there. Nodding slowly, he sighs.

“When I… after I gave Zeus his Master Bolt, he wasn’t too happy about my existence. I didn’t exactly take that well, and I may have mouthed off at him… repeatedly.”

Annabeth facepalms. She literally covers her face with her palm and groans. Even Clarisse snorts derisively from her kneeling spot, shaking her head with a rueful smile.

“Ultimately, he was going to kill me for being a violation of the Big Three’s Oath. Had his Master Bolt ready and everything. The only thing that stayed his hand for even a moment was Hestia standing at my side. But even that wasn’t enough to hold him back from doing what he wanted for long.”

The two female demigods are both hanging off of Percy’s every word at this point. Percy, meanwhile, is struggling a little bit with the recounting. It’s not that he’s feeling particularly choked up about Zeus’ death or anything, but…

“Hestia somehow made Zeus’ Master Bolt fail before he could strike us down. My father impaled Zeus through the back with his trident. And Lord Hades cut off Zeus’ head with Ares’ sword. I… I was in the splash zone. I sort of wound up incidentally bathing in Zeus’ blood.”

So caught up in his retelling of how Zeus had died, it takes Annabeth and Clarisse a moment to process the latter half of the story. When they do, Annabeth’s eyes are the first to go even wider as she gasps in understanding.

“How… how much golden ichor did you absorb exactly, Percy?”

Grimacing, Percy nods his head.

“Between Ares and Zeus? A lot. Certainly enough that when Hestia somehow redistributed Zeus’ domains… I got one of them, albeit the weakest one.”

He watches the cogs turn in Annabeth’s head as she wordlessly goes down the list. Her eyes narrow and flick back and forth, no doubt thinking her way through each of Zeus’ domains, trying to figure out what the ‘weakest one’ would even be. And then her gaze flickers to Clarisse and her eyes widen again as she finally puts two and two together.

“Kingship. You got his domain of kingship. But why would that be his weakest domain?”

Percy shrugs helplessly, smiling slightly.

“Maybe because he wasn’t a particularly good king?”

Annabeth blanches and opens her mouth, probably about to tell him he can’t talk like that if he wants to avoid being smote by a wrathful Skyfather. Then, she seems to realize it doesn’t really matter how they talk about Zeus when he’s dead or as close to dead as is even possible.

With that out in the open, Percy looks to Clarisse and grimaces.

“I’m worried that the domain is influencing you, Clarisse. Would you have really sworn yourself to my service if I hadn’t bathed in divine blood and gained a domain of kingship? Do you feel compelled to serve under me because of who I am and who I’m now bound to become?”

In the silence that follows, Percy puts his head in his hands.

“Hestia herself said it’s unlikely I’ll be able to remain mortal for much longer after this. I don’t know if that means weeks, months, or years… but one way or another, I’m not going to be able to escape what’s coming. Maybe it’s better if you two cut ties now. We all know that nothing ever good happens to mortals who find themselves in the orbit of gods and goddesses. We-!”

Suddenly, Clarisse’s arms wrap around him from behind, her breasts pressing into his back as she pushes her face into his neck.

“Shut up.”

Surprised by the lack of a ‘sir’ or ‘my lord’, Percy stays quiet, even as he sits there stiffly. Letting out a shuddering breath, Clarisse shakes her head against his flesh.

“I don’t care who you were or what you’re bound to become. All I care about is right now. And right now you’re being an idiot. You really think a divine domain you just got your hands on is what’s influenced me? Not getting my ass kicked in Capture the Flag? Not watching you lead us on the quest to retrieve the Master Bolt? Not watching you sacrifice your own mother for me? Not seeing you singlehandedly draw the blood of my divine father? You think none of those things played a part in why I might want to pledge myself to your service?”

Well when she put it like that…

Annabeth suddenly chuckles, drawing Percy’s attention. The Daughter of Athena has her arms crossed over her chest and a smirk on her lips.

“She’s right, Percy. You’re being rather silly. If the domain of kingship was really strong enough for all that, Zeus wouldn’t have been nearly deposed so many times. He wouldn’t have dealt with so many rebellions. None of us would have been capable of standing against him. You wouldn’t be alive if it was that powerful. And frankly, it’s probably even weaker now that it’s in you.”

Shaking her head, Annabeth scoffs.

“No, you’re not mind whammying us or anything like that. And if you think any of this changes my mind… you’ve got another thing coming. I understand now why my mother wanted me to stay away from you, so I appreciate you telling me the truth… and I get why she’s worried for me. But I’m not going anywhere. You need me more now than ever, Seaweed Brain.”

Percy smiles weakly at that. She was right, after all. He definitely wasn’t going to be able to do anything without his Wise Girl.

Stepping forward, Annabeth hesitates for only a moment before beginning to strip naked. As she does so, Clarisse rubs into his back from behind, beginning to moan. His cock, which had grown somewhat soft during their conversation, begins to harden again just as a now-naked Annabeth climbs into his lap and proceeds to impale herself upon his length.

Maybe… maybe everything was going to be alright…

[ ] Switch to Hera POV - 14%

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