This wasn't meant to happen.

Not now.

This wasn't meant to happen.

Not yet.

She couldn't lose him too.

Not until they were both old and wrinkled; even though very few demigods got the chance to be old and wrinkled, but that was what she'd been hoping for. That was how they were meant to die; not on the battlefield. Not a hero's death. Once she'd thought that was the only way to go; she'd imagined that she'd die in a blaze of glory in a battle against a mightier foe, but now that just seemed ridiculous.

She couldn't lose him. She'd already lost Selene; she couldn't bear to lose her Chris too. It was too early for him to go; plus she felt personally offended that he was dying before she did. It was simply bad manners; ladies first and all that.

She held him; his head on her lap as tears streamed down her blood and sweat covered face as she stroked his hair out of his eyes. Slowly he reached up to touch her cheek with his blood crusted hand, she noticed just how much he struggled with this simple movement so she leaned in closer to him making the loose strands of her hair tickle his nose. He grinned, with a twinkle in his warm brown eyes that always appeared when he smiled at her, as he gently pushed them behind her ear.

His thumb lightly traced her cheek bone, then her nose, and finally her trembling lips he whispered softly "By the gods, you are beautiful."

A sob racked through her body as she rested her forehead on top of his, rocking backwards and forwards, pressing her lips into a thin line as she sobbed repeated the words "No. No. No. You can't leave me, not yet. You can't. You can't."

He croaked out quietly "I'm sorry, C. I'm really sorry."

Then suddenly he made a gurgling noise in the back of his throat as blood spluttered from between his lips and a shudder went through his body, he hand fell limply to the muddy ground and the light went out of those once warm brown eyes. His body was still warm to the touch.

She sat their shaking slightly before pressing a kiss to his lips. She slipped his head from her lap and stood tall, spear gripped tightly in hand, a war cry pulled unwillingly from her throat as anger flooded her veins, she charged into battle once more with the lasting taste of his blood on her lips.

And a gigantic hole in her heart.