Calypso

O MY GOD!

One last, strangled cry squeezes out of me.
I'm going to die.
My face is wet. I'm not sure if it's more from blood or tears.
I close my eyes. This can't be happening. No. Please. Please no.
The ice grip releases my neck. I must be dead. I start crying, refusing to open my eyes. I vaguely hear fighting, but I'm not sure. Everything seems to echo around my head like it's a tin can.
Something warm softly brushes my cheek. "Calypso?"
I finally open my eyes. Leo is leaning over me. I sob.
"Leo! You... You came back?"
He half-smiles. Concern stays prominent in his expression. "Of course I did."
I ignore the pain pulsing through me and jump on him. I wrap my arms around his neck and cry.
"O MY GOD YOU CAME BACK!! You actually came back!"
He laughs. I smile at him.
"Nectar?"
"Yeah." He pulls a package out of his tool belt. "Here."
I gulp as much as I dare and relax in Leo's arms.
"I thought I was going to die," I murmur.
"I know the feeling."
I manage a weak laugh.
"But, um..." He hesitates. "Why would you think you were gonna die? You're a Titan goddess or whatever."
I smile up at him. "No, I'm not. My dad's Atlas. My mom... I never met her. I'm like a Titan version of a demigod. A demititan."
He looks surprised. "How have you lived this long?"
"The island. It was part of my curse--to go through that for eternity."
"Huh." His eyes glitter with mischief. "Are you ticklish?"
I blink. "I--ticklish?"
He brushes his fingers ultralightly over my shoulder, like a bug is landing on it, and I squeal and brush him off. He laughs. "That's called tickling."
I try not to let my smile show through my glare. "Well, don't do it again."
He grins.
"No, don't you dare!" I half-laugh as he tickles both of my shoulders at the same time. "Stop it!"
He laughs, and I attempt to tickle him. He just laughs again. "Not ticklish."
I want to glare, but I can't stop giggling. "Stoooppp!"
And we lay there, laughing and giggling and tickling, for what feels like an eternity.
Finally, when we're both out of breath, we stop. I smile at him.
"You ready to go?"
He grins. "Absolutely. Where do you want to go first?"