The salt air stings my eyes as I stand at the shoreline, watching the waves roll in. Behind me, Annabeth sleeps peacefully in the cabin we've rented for the weekend - our first real vacation since the war ended. But peace never lasts for demigods.

Poseidon's presence washes over me like a storm surge before he even materializes. One moment I'm alone with the sound of waves; the next, my father stands beside me, wearing that ridiculous fishing shirt with neon lures printed on it that he thinks passes for mortal clothing.

"Perseus," he says, his voice carrying the weight of the ocean itself despite his casual appearance.

I don't look at him. "You shouldn't be here." My hands clench at my sides, the familiar anger rising like bile. "We agreed - no divine interventions unless it's an emergency.""

"This is an emergency," he says simply. When I finally turn to face him, his sea-green eyes are serious, almost sorrowful. "Your time is running out, my son.""

"What are you talking about?" I ask, but I already know. He's been pushing for me to accept immortality since the war ended.""

"Annabeth," he says, and my blood runs cold. "She's in danger. Greater danger than even you can protect her from. The Fates have shown me."

I step toward him, fists clenched. "Don't you dare bring her into this. You leave Annabeth out of your manipulations, do you understand me?" My voice shakes with a mixture of fear and rage."

Poseidon doesn't flinch. Instead, he reaches into the pocket of his ridiculous shirt and pulls out a conch shell, holding it out to me. "I can protect her," he says, the offer hanging in the air between us like a storm cloud. "But only if you're willing to accept what I've been offering all along."

Behind me, the cabin door creaks open. Annabeth stands there, wearing my old Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, her gray eyes wide with what looks like equal parts fear and resignation."

"She already knows," Poseidon says, before I can speak. "And she's already made her choice."

The world narrows to the sound of crashing waves and the pounding of my heart. I look from Poseidon to Annabeth, caught between the life I've always wanted and the impossible choice now staring me in the face."

The conch shell glows faintly in my father's outstretched hand, a symbol of everything I've been running from. But with Annabeth's future hanging in the balance, can I still afford to say no?