𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐀 | 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐃𝐔𝐃𝐄

                                    

                                          
A/N—THIS IS WHAT ANGELIQUE LOOKS LIKE, JUST PRETEND SHE'S WEARING A CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-SHIRT, RATHER THAN A TANK TOP...

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
I COULDN'T SLEEP. I couldn't stop thinking about the way Angelique's hand had trailed over my jaw and when she said she was sorry. I couldn't stop remembering the way her guardedness was off while I was asleep and how I saw all of those feelings on display in those deep dark eyes of hers. 
But then I also remembered how her face turned placid within a single second once she realized I was awake.
I sighed as I stared at the bronze beams on the ceiling. My cabin was pretty cozy. Leo had programmed their quarters to adjust automatically to the occupant's preferred temperature, so it was never too cold or too hot. 
The mattress and the pillows were stuffed with pegasus down (no pegasi were harmed in the making of these products, Leo had assured me), so they were über-comfortable. A bronze lantern hung from the ceiling, glowing at whatever brightness I wished. The lantern's sides were perforated with pinholes, so at night glimmering constellations drifted across my walls.
There was something peaceful about the rocking of the boat and the drone of the aerial oars as we scooped through the sky, and finally I drifted to sleep.



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I WAS ON the shore of a beach, the golden sun setting in the horizon. As I felt the soft sand and the blue water lapping at my bare feet, something told me that this was a Long Island beach. I swiveled my head to the side and saw Angelique in the distance. Her black hair was pushed back by the salty wind, along with the navy blue dress that she was wearing. As it billowed around her, she stared at the ocean. She was pretty far away, but I just knew it was her.
Almost instinctively, I began to move toward Angelique, my feet leaving prints in the squishy sand.
"Don't."
I turned to the clear alto voice and saw another Angelique. This Angelique was right next to me, she had her normal everyday clothes on, which included her combat boots, jeans and orange Camp Half-Blood shirt.