Annabeth's POV
"Do you sometimes wish that you had taken up on Medusa's offer?"

Percy looked up from Riptide, which he was polishing up from the most recent monster attack on the Argo II. "Huh?"

"Medusa's offer. She said that it would be easier, that the gods would use you and your life would be filled with pain. Do you ever wish that you had just died right there and wouldn't have had to deal with all of this?" I gestured around me.

His sea green eyes softened, but also darkened slightly. "Sometimes. Every once in a while. But then I think of what would've happened after that. She said that she would crumble you to pieces, and probably would've done the same to Grover, too. I wouldn't let that happen to you, Annabeth."

"Even after all the pain I've caused you? Even after T-Tartarus?"

"Even if I knew everything that would happen after that moment, I wouldn't have looked up, Wise Girl. It was my decision to follow you into...that place. Even after all that has happened, I wouldn't change anything if it meant that I would still get to be with you. We're together. That's all the reason I need to live right now."