He slowly looked up at that, his normally bright pupils looking dimmed within the black writhing flames. Her heart clenched at seeing him look so tired and spotting the familiar guilt within them brought her back to the times after the end of the war and the broken hero that so desperately needed someone, anyone to simply be there for him.
...
So, seeing him like that she quietly moved until she was seated across his lap, one of his arms gently wrapping around her waist as he set his head down against her shoulder. She felt as he took a deep breath and her scent along with it before his frame relaxed if only slightly. Then, taking her eyes off him, her gaze moved to the only other occupant in the room as she looked at the bed.
It was the first time she'd really seen the girl, Cloelia, if she remembered correctly. The blonde looked so small and pale at the moment, her breathing shallow as the monitors beeped steadily.
The blanket was only up to about mid-chest and her arms were outside them letting Hestia see her right arm. The entire limb looked like it had been frostbitten, the skin taking on a gray, nearly black coloration with light blues veins and cracks that reached up to her shoulder.
Even with a part of her still being on guard just for the sake of who the girl was born to, Hestia couldn't help but feel some sadness at seeing such obvious damage and wondering just what was going to happen with the girl. Though she wasn't a slouch in terms of medicine and healing, there were still unique sorts of injuries and conditions that were better left to medical experts like Will or Asclepius.
Still, after several minutes of silence Hestia finally returned her attention to her husband as she felt him shift slightly, their gazes meeting before she asked, "How is she doing?"
The question seemed to bring a new weight onto Percy's shoulders as he sighed, his eyes glancing to the sleeping godling before they returned to Hestia as he answered, "As she is now … she's dying."
"…"
Hestia remained silent as she thought over such a short and simple sentence, wondering just how that made her feel. No matter just how ashamed she was, she knew a part of her felt some relief at the thought. She'd slowly grown to hate Annabeth, ever since she found out by accident about her affairs with Apollo before anyone else.
Before the demigods even made their trip to New Rome to try and gather the Seven, when times were uncertain but even then Hestia watched as her favorite mortal was pulled along by the heart strings. That hatred had taken permanent root when Chase ran without ever truly coming clean after the war and then seeing just how broken it left Percy.
The years had not done much good other than deepen the feelings as she watched Annabeth become just another Olympian god, distancing from her family and beginning to turn her anger over Apollo's infidelity onto his children though it hadn't quite yet spilled over into any actual actions. But … this last year and the latest efforts of the war, Hestia had been watching Chase and how it was almost like she was rudely awakened from a deep slumber.
Again Hestia was seeing pieces of the demigoddess that once had her respect and approval. She'd watched as Annabeth became a cornerstone of stability and calm for the demigods as others lost themselves in the turmoil that is war, as her new motherly side helped provide a warm shoulder to so many of the young demigods.
That same goddess that willingly came into the literal den of lions in search of safety for her family and all her siblings, knowing that she was at risk. A lot of good truly, even if too late to change Hestia's mind and remove that grudge coupled with the very real threat that Chase was.
But now Annabeth was gone and all that truly remained of her was her young daughter, born completely innocent of her mother's sins … and yet Hestia kept seeing Annabeth overlapping her. Luckily hearing Percy take a deep breath broke her from her thoughts as she refocused on him, making her ask him, "You said 'as she is now' … what does that mean exactly?"
Percy looked at her for a moment, as if thinking on how best to say before he finally just went out and said, "There is a possible way to save her."
"… And …?" she persisted, feeling a slight pit of worry forming in her gut.
"… Will thinks … well, he theorizes that the only way to save her is to … adopt her," he said softly as he looked at the sleeping godling, "… He says only a true Blood Adoption can save her…"
"Blood Adoption …" Hestia murmured as the words echoed in her head, her eyes also trailing to the godling.
Blood Adoption, an act only a god could carry out and did just as implied by the term. Something rarely done and often times only with a demigod that renounces their divine ties to one god and become the child of another … but to be done to a godling…
"Could she even survive that?" Hestia asked softly to which Percy gave an unsure shrug, his eyes not moving off the girl. "And why exactly is that the only option?"
"… Her essence has become corrupted," Percy answered as his gaze fell to Cloelia's blackened arm. "When she assumed her divine form, she absorbed some of my power and essence to force the change, damaging her own core and leaving it fractured. As a godling she simply doesn't have a stable existence and with no domain to anchor her, she can't heal on her own."
"… And giving her to Apollo?" Hestia asked softly, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear it anyways.
"A death sentence …" Percy answered with a sigh as his shoulders slouched as Hestia faintly nodded.
She knew that would be the case, especially as they learned more into just what affected divine essence and their own form of DNA. Being what they were, in a sense they were constantly changing and evolving over time with the conditions and environment having the largest affects.
Gods that remained in close contact literally developed similar traits or adjustments but, as gods their emotions had very real effects on how they developed and reacted to each other. Two gods could be born as twins and yet, if they truly hated each other, their essences and very blood would harshly reject each other.
Yet, two goods with a good and close relationship, even if not related closely to each other, could share their energy and essence with each other with less risks of causing 'Essence Contamination' since they would align.
But a godling needed to be close to a parent to properly develop until stable enough to gain their own domains … something that Cloelia was clearly not. But now she needed an anchor, something that could fill in the cracks and stabilize her which was now limited to two individuals; Percy and Apollo.
But then again, from what Hestia remembered, Apollo wasn't exactly close to Cloelia and with how Apollo hated Percy above all others, especially now, the results would be disastrous.
If Apollo transferred any power or blood into Cloelia, his essence could violently reject and attack the contamination left from Percy's power, something that isn't just in Cloelia but becoming a part of her essence as a whole already. And Hestia doubted Apollo could get enough control to suppress his own intent and assimilate with the traces of power rather than try and eradicate it from his daughter, something that would lead to her death.
But Percy could do it. His presence was stronger and could easily anchor Cloelia while slowly repairing her core … but it would mean Percy would become Cloelia's parent. A daughter that at the end of the day would forever connect him to Annabeth even if she was no longer here. And it was this that truly bothered Hestia in regards to doing this but, could she condemn a child just for having on relative she didn't like?
She wasn't sure and that thought scared her. It was disturbingly close to thinking like much of those that she no longer called family, especially the likes of her former siblings that would turn on each other and any of each other's children at the drop of a hat.
She shivered at the thought of being anything like them and she felt Percy wrap both his arms around her before hugging her which she took quiet comfort in as she turned enough to lean her forehead against his. Still, to think her hatred of the mother could so easily spill onto her child.
Hatred truly was a twisted, cancerous emotion when left unchecked.
But even then, she counted her blessings that she didn't have to go it alone, otherwise she might make a choice that couldn't be taken back and would leave nothing but regret.
Her thoughts aside, the couple breathed in synch as both found solace in the other. They remained silent for several minutes before Hestia spoke, her voice soft as she looked into his eyes, "And … what will you do?"
===================
Don't forget to throw some power Stones, to keep the story going.
...
if you want to support me or just to read ahead of the public release, you can join my p@treon :
p atreon/Moonhorse