Chapter Text
It was, apparently, a very big deal.
A big enough deal that I was late to it on purpose.
I rolled my eyes at the sight in front of me. Grown men. Princes. Demigods. A few idiots I vaguely recognized from past tournaments. All of them stripping off cloaks and boots and diving headfirst into the sea like Poseidon himself had promised them eternal glory.
All for the chance to win Percy Jackson’s hand in marriage.
The son of Poseidon. The darling of the sea. The boy whispered about in courts as if he were some myth reborn. They said he was as handsome as Helen had been beautiful.
Which explained why three men were currently half drowning each other in waist-deep water.
“Pathetic,” I muttered, crossing my arms as I leaned back against a pine tree.
It had started yesterday. Percy Jackson had dared to call it a quest.
He’d stood at the shoreline, the sun catching in his black hair, ocean wind snapping at his clothes. In front of half the known world, he held up a gold ring set with a deep blue sapphire. One of a kind, he’d said. Blessed by the sea. Worthy of a king.
Then he threw it into the ocean for dramatics. Or so I had been told.
“Whoever finds it,” he declared, “will be the one I marry.”
Naturally, every eligible fool within riding distance had shown up.
Personally, I had not been there for the announcement. That had been intentional. I had hoped the entire spectacle would be over by the time I arrived. Instead, I was just in time for the madness.
Men were surfacing, sputtering and furious. Others were shouting orders at their servants. One had brought a net. A net.
I sighed.
The only reason I was here at all was my father. Lord Hermes, patron god of travelers, thieves, and apparently meddling in his son’s romantic life.
He’d been relentless.
“You’re not getting any younger, Luke.”
“You need a kingdom.”
“You need a strong omega to secure alliances.”
I had tried ignoring him. That failed. I had tried leaving for three weeks. That also failed, as Hermes simply appeared in my campfire smoke one evening to continue the lecture. Eventually, worn down, I agreed to attend.
Attend. Not participate.
I glanced back at the ocean where two men were arguing over who had seen a flash of gold first.
There was absolutely no way I was diving into the sea to fight over a ring just to marry someone I’d never even spoken to. Percy Jackson might be beautiful. But beauty was not a personality. And I refused to marry a rumor.
I turned my back on the ocean and walked into the forest.
Let them drown for all I cared.
Give it a week, I thought. A week of saltwater in their lungs and bruised egos, and they’d give up. Percy would call the whole thing off. Everyone would go home. Crisis averted.
I had no interest in marrying a man I did not know.
Beauty meant nothing. A pretty face could hide a dreadful personality. For all I knew Percy Jackson chewed with his mouth open or laughed like a donkey. I was not binding myself for life based on sea-swept hair and rumors.
The forest was quieter. Pine needles under my boots. Wind in the branches. No screaming nobles.
Better.
I stepped forward—
And something caught around my throat.
I choked.
My foot snagged. My balance tipped. Something thin and unyielding dug into my neck as I staggered backward, clawing at the sudden pressure.
“What the—”
Gold flashed in front of my eyes.
The ring.
It had been looped around a low branch by a length of nearly invisible thread, and I had walked directly into it like an idiot. The band pressed against my throat as if trying to claim it.
I tore it free with a sharp yank and stumbled back, coughing.
The gold gleamed in my palm. The sapphire caught the light like a drop of the sea itself.
No.
No, absolutely not.
I narrowed my eyes at it. It couldn’t possibly be. I flipped it over. Inside the band, engraved clean and unmistakable:
P.J.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
What in Hades’ name was it doing hanging here? It was supposed to be at the bottom of the ocean. I dragged a hand down my face.
Right.
Hermes.
Not just god of thieves.
God of travelers, luck, lost objects.
“Oh, you cannot be serious,” I muttered.
Of course. Of course I would be the one to find it without even trying. I hadn’t even looked. I had actively avoided looking.
And yet here it was. Nearly strangling me like fate itself had decided to get creative.
I stared at the ring like it might explode.
What were my options?
Hang it back up? Keep it as leverage? Throw it into the ocean properly this time? I turned it in my fingers, heart pounding for entirely unreasonable reasons. I was not marrying a stranger. I didn’t care how many men were currently drowning themselves for him.
I didn’t—
A branch snapped.
I moved on instinct, stepping behind the tree.
Through the underbrush, I saw someone approaching fast. Black hair, windswept and untamed. Clothes still damp at the edges. He moved like he knew exactly where he was going but didn’t want to look like he did.
Sea-green eyes scanned the forest floor. He reached the tree.
Looked up.
Looked down.
Looked frustrated.
“Fuck!” he snapped, loud and sharp.
I froze. Interesting.
He was scrambling through the underbrush, muttering to himself as he searched.
I could not deny it.
Up close?
Percy Jackson was… annoyingly cute.
His hair was a mess. Not princely. Not polished. Just wind-tangled and stubborn. His sleeves were pushed up, sea water still darkening the fabric. And those eyes… sea-green, sharp and irritated and entirely too expressive.
I stepped out from behind the tree.
“Looking for this, Son of Poseidon?”
I held the ring up between two fingers.
He turned fast.
His eyes narrowed immediately. His mouth flattened into a sour line.
Oh, he was definitely cursing me in his head.
Probably creatively.
“How the—” he cut himself off, visibly recalibrating. “You were supposed to be looking in the ocean.”
“I’m the son of Hermes,” I corrected lazily. “God of thieves. Inventions. Lost objects. Ring retrieval apparently.”
Percy dragged a hand down his face and glanced at the sky like he was asking his father why this was happening to him.
“What do I have to do to get that back?” he asked finally. “Clearly you weren’t interested in the first place. Or you’d be drowning with the rest of them.”
I shrugged, slow and deliberate, enjoying the way his jaw tightened.
“Look,” he said, exhaling sharply. “I’m not actually interested in getting married. My dad is just insisting on it. I figured if I gave everyone an impossible task, they’d give up sooner or later. You know…”
He trailed off.
I did know.
Marrying someone I knew nothing about sounded like a lifetime sentence.
“I’m Luke,” I said.
“Percy. Percy Jackson.” His eyes flicked to the ring again. “So. Can I have it back?”
“Nah.”
His brows shot up. “What?”
“You wasted my time. Let me waste yours.”
He stared at me like I had personally offended the sea.
“Huh?”
“My father,” I continued smoothly, “will be extremely annoyed if he doesn’t at least see me attempt to woo you. So.”
I stepped closer.
“We meet three times. Just so my father see’s me trying.”
Percy blinked. “You’re blackmailing me with my own ring.”
“Correct.”
“And after three meetings?”
“You get this-” i held the ring up for him.”Back”
He narrowed his eyes. Suspicious. Calculating.
“Swear it.”
Ah.
Smart.
I rolled my shoulders.
“I swear on the River Styx that after three meetings, I will return Percy Jackson’s ring to him.” The oath settled in my chest, heavy and binding.
Percy studied me for a long moment.
Then—
“Deal.”
He stuck his hand out.
I took it.
His grip was warm. Firm. Calloused in a way I didn’t expect from someone who was supposed to be sea royalty.
“So,” he said, tilting his head slightly, “does this count as one?”
“What do you think?”
He rolled his eyes, but there was the faintest hint of a smile tugging at his mouth. “Fine. I’ll come back tomorrow. Same time.” He stepped back, already turning. “See you, Luke, Son of Hermes.”
There was something deliberate in the way he said it.
I watched him go. Then I slid the ring onto a thin cord and placed it around my neck.
There.
three meetings.
Hermes would be satisfied.
Percy would get his ring.
And nothing bad could possibly come from pretending to court a very cute son of Poseidon.
Absolutely nothing.
++++
Hermes nagged me.
He did not shout. He did not threaten. That would have been easier to ignore. He smiled. That was worse.
“Are you really trying, Luke?” he asked, pacing in a circle around me as if inspecting merchandise. “Percy Jackson is an omega prince. Son of Poseidon. Do you understand what that alliance would mean?”
“Yes, Father.”
“It would secure trade routes. Divine favor. Political leverage. Stability.” he ticked off value from his fingers.
“Yes, Father.”
“And he is powerful. Beautiful. Well-liked. The people adore him.”
I stared straight ahead.
“Perfect for me-you”
Perfect for his plans yep.
“I am meeting with Percy today,” I said evenly. “Ring or not, I am sure to woo him.”
I sounded like a scholar reciting agricultural statistics. Hermes’ smile sharpened. “That’s my son.” He leaned closer. “I’m counting on you, Luke. Do not fail me.” His eyes flicked briefly at my throat.
“Even if you have to bite him.”
Then he vanished in a flash of light and wind.
I exhaled slowly.
Exhausted already.
A rustle came from above me.
I flinched, hand instinctively reaching for my dagger—
“Sooo,” a voice drawled upside down, “you’re gonna woe me, huh?”
I looked up. Percy was hanging from a tree branch by his knees. Completely upside down. Hair falling toward the ground. Shirt slipping slightly. Expression smug.
“I had to say that to get him off my back,” I replied flatly. I began walking away, pretending this was normal. Pretending I was not deeply embarrassed he had heard any of that.
Percy dropped and stayed on the branch, eyes watching me closely for a lie. He glared. I refused to react.
“I can’t marry someone so foolish,” I said calmly. It slipped out before I could stop it.
He blinked.
“…You’re the first person to insult me to my face.”
“The honor is mine.” I gave him a small bow and smirk. “Now get down.”
“I am down,” he grinned, with a crazy smile.
“From the tree.” I clarified.
“I was making an entrance.”
“By hanging upside down like a bat?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He paused.
“…Because I thought it looked cool.”
I stared at him.
He stared back.
Then, without breaking eye contact, he said in the flattest voice possible—
“I’m stuck.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“My ankle,” he said. Still calm. Still upside down somehow, because apparently he had attempted to re-demonstrate the pose. “It’s caught.” There was a long pause.
“You are the son of Poseidon.”
“Yes.”
“And you are defeated by a tree.”
“Yes.”
Another pause.
“…Don’t laugh.”
I covered my mouth. “I’m not.”
“You are.”
“I’m not.”
“You absolutely are.”
“You absolutely are.”
I sighed.
Out of the goodness of my heart, and because I did not need Poseidon accusing me of assassinating his son via tree branch, I stepped forward to help him down.
“Hold still,” I muttered.
“I am perfectly still.”
“You are swinging.”
“I am posing.”
I grabbed his waist to steady him and lifted slightly so he could unhook his ankle.
He dropped into my arms.
For half a second, he just… stayed there.
His hands caught at my shoulders. His hair brushed my jaw. His eyes were very close. Sea-green. Amused.
“You’re the first alpha to touch me and treat me gently,” Percy said teasingly. I dropped him. He hit the dirt with a yelp.
“Treason!” he declared from the ground, pointing dramatically at me. “That’s worthy of treason!”
The smile on his face never dimmed.
“You’ll survive,” I replied flatly.
He rolled onto his back, still grinning up at me like this was the best thing that had happened to him all day.
“Thank you for meeting with me, Jackson,” I said, brushing invisible dirt from my sleeves. “This is enough for today.”
“What?” He scrambled to sit up. “Come on. I snuck out and everything. That’s hard, you know.”
“I’m sure it is.”
“Luke.”
He said my name like it was a complaint.
“Let’s at least talk for a while.”
He was persistent. Annoyingly persistent. I hesitated. We had sworn three meetings. And I did not go back on my word.
“…Fine,” I said. “But we can’t go near the ocean. We don’t need a mob forming.”
“Got it.” He jumped to his feet with entirely too much enthusiasm.
“Come on,” he said, grabbing my wrist before I could protest. “This will be fun.”
He pulled me deeper into the trees. At least it wasn’t the same one that had nearly strangled him. I let him drag me for a few steps before gently prying my wrist from his grip. But I kinda knew he didn’t view this as romantic it anything I believe percy say this all as friendship.
He walked beside me, hands clasped behind his back, glancing at me every few seconds like he was trying to solve a puzzle.
Then, without warning, he veered toward another tree and began climbing.
I followed immediately.
Not because I cared.
Because I did not need the Prince of the Sea breaking his neck on our second meeting.
“You really don’t want to marry me?” he asked suddenly, halfway up the trunk.
I climbed higher, settling on the highest branch I trusted to hold my weight. Percy chose one slightly below mine, close enough that our boots almost brushed.
“I don’t want to marry anyone I don’t know,” I said.
He hummed.
“Fair.”
That made me look at him.
“You’re not offended?”
“My father listed twelve reasons why you’d make an excellent match,” Percy said casually. “Trade routes. Speed. Intelligence. Political cunning. Strong bloodline.” He paused. “He didn’t mention your personality either.”
I snorted before I could stop myself.
Percy’s grin widened like he’d just won something.
“So this is what you do for fun?” I asked, leaning back against the trunk.
He followed my gaze toward the sun breaking through the branches.
“I wish,” he said quietly. “You think they ever let me out of the palace?” There was something different in his voice now. “If I could,” he continued, “this would be it. Climbing trees. Getting dirty. Not being watched every second.” He glanced down at the forest floor.
“The first time I grew any backbone was when I said no to marriage.” A small, humorless laugh escaped him. “Look how that turned out.”
He sounded like he had imagined something else for his life. Something bigger than being handed to someone for alliances. I didn’t say anything. At least I could leave whenever I wanted. It just meant my father had to chase me down.
“Don’t pity me,” Percy muttered suddenly, not looking at me. “I’ll kick you.”
“Hard to do,” I replied, allowing myself a small laugh. “Considering how often you threaten violence.”
“Good.”
He shifted to sit properly on the branch, legs swinging.
“So what do you do for fun?”
“Avoid responsibility,” I said with complete seriousness. He rolled his eyes dramatically.
“Ooo. Thrilling.”
I hesitated. Then answered honestly. “I travel.” That got his attention.
“Anywhere interesting?”
“Everywhere.”
He looked at me like that was something extraordinary.
“Well,” he said after a moment, pushing himself up, “I better go. People are going to look for me if I’m gone too long.” Of course they would. Guards. Advisors. A worried sea god. He climbed down carefully this time. I stayed where I was.
“See you,” I called down. He paused at the base of the tree and looked up at me, sunlight catching in his hair.
“See you tomorrow.” Then he disappeared through the trees. I remained there a little longer. The view wasn’t that bad at all.