The words echoed in Percy's head long after the wave had faded.He rises.
Annabeth still stood beside him, dagger glinting faintly in the moonlight. Her mind was already working—he could practically see the wheels turning. But before she could say anything, a twig snapped behind them.
Percy's instincts kicked in—he raised Riptide, ready for trouble.
"Relax."
The voice was quiet, rough, but familiar. Nico di Angelo walked forward, his hands up as a small smirk crossed his face, knowing he frightened Percy. His black jacket blended almost completely with the night.
"You really need to stop sneaking up on people," Percy muttered, lowering his sword but not the tension in his chest. "One of these days I'm gonna swing first."
Nico scoffed and raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't hit me."
Annabeth waved her dagger in Nico's direction. "Try us."
Nico ignored the threat. His gaze shifted to the water, where the tide still licked hungrily at the shore. "I heard it too." he said plainly. "That voice."
Percy's stomach twisted. "So it wasn't just in my head."
"No, surprisingly, not this time." Nico said. "Something is waking. And it's not just the sea that knows it. The dead are restless." Nico crossed his arms and sighed, his eyes flicking between the two.
Annabeth's grip tightened on her dagger and she aggressively waved her dagger through the air, almost hitting Nico. "Do you know who—or what—'he' is?"
Nico dodged her weapon. "No."
The wind shifted, and for a moment the three of them stood there, the sound of the waves filling the gap between words. Percy had faced titans, giants, even gods who wanted him dead. But this felt different. Worse.
Finally, Nico looked at them both. "We need to do something."
Percy blinked. "Now?"
Nico's eyes darkened. "No, we're just going to wait around and be destroyed by some sea serpent."
Annabeth exhaled sharply. "Fantastic. Just what I wanted tonight, to figure out what might be something that'll kill us all." But Percy saw it in her expression too,the resolve. They didn't really have a choice.
The ocean whispered again, softer this time. Almost like it was daring them.
And Percy knew whatever "he" was, their fight was just about to begin.