"How are you feeling?" Percy asked me.

I trailed my gaze down to our interlocked hands and then up to his bright green eyes. "Not the best. Are we going to see your boss now?"

He smiled down at me. "Yeah, as soon as you're feeling up to it."

I sighed. "We might as well get this done sooner rather than later."

Percy helped me up and assisted me while standing. We slowly but surely made our way out of the infirmary and down the hallway to the common area.

"You can stay here, Luke, or find something to do. We can get to boss' office fine without you."

I frowned up at Percy, confused by his rudeness.

Luke brushed off the younger man's tone and said, "Alright, but be careful and don't make any stupid decisions."

"When have I ever?" Percy barked sarcastically.

The three of us parted in different directions. Percy and I went right and Luke went left. In the hallway we took, there were a few meeting rooms, armor and weapon rooms, a battle arena, and a practice arena. There were a few jail cells at the very end of the hallway, which were empty. At the very end of the hallway was a large wooden door.

Percy rapped his knuckles on it. A deep voice bellowed, "Come in."

Percy twisted the doorknob and we stepped inside. The floor was coated in a plush beige rug. The ceilings were quite high and the room was empty besides a big desk with two chairs on each side of it. Sitting at the side facing the door was a bulky man with greasy black hair, tanned skin, and golden-brown eyes.

He grinned at us. "Ah, Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase. Come closer."

I wrapped my right arm around Percy's waist and held it there tightly. Together, we walked over to the chair opposite the man, one of us much more confident than the other. Percy helped me sit in the chair before standing on my right, slightly behind me.

"Has my errand runner told you why he was sent to gather you?" the man asked.

I shook my head slowly, looking up at my captor. "No, he's told me very little."

"Well, then," the bulky man said, clasping his hands and grinning, "I suppose I have some storytelling to do. You probably don't know who I am, but I am Kronos. I am the leader of the Insurgents, not my late lieutenant Poseidon. I started this group the year that Zeus came to power and welcomed any enemies of the late king to join. We all despised his way of running the kingdom and wanted to fix it. We plotted for years, perfecting the assassin plan, and I sent in my best man to do the job. Poseidon quickly took care of the issue, although killing Zeus had many more consequences than we intended."

Percy placed a hand on my shoulder, and I stiffened. I was perplexed and angry. Percy, the boy I had become very fond of, was an Insurgent.

"Poseidon's own kingdom fell to ruins as Zeus' allies fought back, and the Atlantian king abandoned his station and became a fulltime member of the Insurgents. When Athena began to rule Olympus in a slightly altered but still awful way, we began to plot once more. We spent a decade planning out each and every move we would take, hoping not to have any more casualties than needed. We were also taking on side jobs like sending troops into smaller lands, especially Helios."

I blinked, remembering that Helios was a civilization made from the ruins of Atlantis. "Revenge?" I asked.

Kronus nodded, his amber eyes twinkling. "Precisely. Poseidon would leave everything he had worked for behind but not without letting the world know how upset he was about it. That was one of my favorite traits about the man. Anyway, the time had finally come. We sent out a hundred of our best men, including Poseidon, to attack the castle. Badabing, badaboom, Athena was killed. Sadly, we lost over half our troops. Very devastating, right Perseus?"

Percy hummed in agreement. "Correct," he coughed out.

"A lot of people mourned over the loss of their loved ones, but we were overall quite happy that the last of the Olympian bloodline had died out. That was up until we recalled that a child of Athena had been born midway through our decade of planning. Although you are only half royal, Annabeth, you hold a lot of power. You are the last of the Olympian bloodline. You will either preserve or raze the kingdom, and I am here to advise you."

I scoffed. "If you think I am going to join your petty rebellion and commit treason against my own people, you are out of your mind," I stated, trying to keep my voice steady.

Kronos grinned. "Don't give up hope on me yet, Princess."

I narrowed my eyes at the wicked man before transferring my gaze to Percy. His sea-green eyes were already looking down at me. I stared into them for a moment, remembering his promise once more. I promise on my life that I do not intend on harming you or putting you in harm's way, he had told me. Although he may have been an Insurgent, I had good reason to trust him. I breathed deeply and turned to look at Kronos.

The elder switched between looking at me and at Percy, pausing for a moment, until he finally began to speak. "You hate your life as a princess, do you not?"

I shrugged. "I certainly prefer it to a lot of alternate circumstances."

"I understand that; I do. You are grateful for the food, the shelter, the security. That's a good quality to have. But you loathe being treated both as a goddess and a worthless little girl. You can't stand the fact that you are put on a pedestal for all to admire, but no one takes your opinions seriously. You wish for one or the other, either having everyone's respect or nobody's."

I faltered. "I - I suppose so."

Kronos smiled. "You know how you can get that? How you can get everybody to respect and admire you? By becoming the queen."

"That will happen in two years' time," I told him. "When I get coronated I'll be sure to make all the proper alterations to the kingdom's way of ruling. I'll abolish slavery, poverty, and inequality as soon as I can. I assure you, I am aware of the many issues and will take care of them once I can."

"But you can take care of them now."

I shook my head. "No, I cannot."