Chapter Text
Everything felt distant from Percy. Since waking up, since realizing that his mom was gone, it was like the world was washed out, colors dull, voices quiet. Even so, he had to pay attention when one of the other Hermes cabin kids said, “Oh yeah, he’s definitely Apollo’s kid.”
Percy looked up from the Minotaur horn in his hands. “What?”
Luke shot the boy a quick glare before giving Percy an apologetic look. “I’m sorry about that, Percy, but… you do have the general Cabin 7 look.”
Which one was Cabin 7?
“He doesn’t look like Apollo though!” Percy didn’t see who said that.
The Hermes boy, who looked just like Luke with brown hair, shook his head. “No, but the Sun God’s got a type, doesn’t he? Sure, some of Cabin 7 have blond hair and blue eyes, but the rest look like his crush: black hair, green eyes.”
His stomach lurched out from under him. Siblings. Percy might have siblings? Somehow, it hadn’t occurred to him that his dad might not have been faithful to his mom, that his dad could have other children, or– Still, “My mom doesn’t look like me, though. She has brown hair, and brown eyes.” Percy tugged at his hair, self-conscious. “Besides, my mom always said I looked like my dad…”
The Hermes boy leaned forward. “But she did say it's your dad, right?”
“Knock it off, Mark!” Luke snapped. The room fell silent, the tension palpable as everyone waited to see what would happen next.
Luke sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Listen, Percy, it’s not that simple. Gods, especially ones like Apollo, have… complicated relationships. But you’re here now, and that means you have a place, a family.”
Percy looked around. This didn’t look like a family. Family means his mom’s hugs and blue cookies, Grandpa Jim’s paints and Grandma Estelle’s laughter, Auntie Percy’s perfume and Uncle Lester’s melodramatic poetry. This looked like a bunch of kids, some dirty, some mean, forced to stick together because no one else was looking after them. Luke was clearly the oldest of them all, and by a few years too. “So, I might be Apollo’s kid?”
Luke shrugged. “I mean, maybe? It’s better if you don’t speculate though. Some gods get… offended. Just don’t think about it.”
But everyone else was clearly thinking about it. And telling Percy not to think about it– He shook his head. He didn’t even know if he was Apollo’s kid.
But everyone else seemed to think so. As Percy trailed behind the rest of the Hermes cabin to their activities, the other cabins acted like he was already claimed. They had arts and crafts with Cabin Seven, who acted like Percy was already their sibling. Their counselor, Lee, even had to pry his little brother Will off Percy’s arm when activities changed. Annabeth was no better; all the Ancient Greek stories she taught him were Apollo’s myths. Luke stole him a sleeping bag from the camp store, adding on that “it wasn’t like he’d need it for very long.” He even heard Travis and Conner start a betting sheet on when Apollo would claim him, not if.
The more people talked about it, the more certain Percy was that it wasn’t true.
That night, Percy dreamed of Montauk.
It was their family’s favorite spot, the place they visited every year after school ended, and then again before it started. The waves hissed up against the shore, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky with the sun bright overhead. The sand was soft and warm under his feet, squishing up between his toes and grounding him. From the long grass along the dunes came the cicadas’ shrill song, high and restless.
Percy looked around for his mom. Grandpa and Abuela where going to show up tomorrow, and it was their job to get the cabin ready for their arrival. But she was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a man laying out on a beach chair, sunbathing.
“Uncle Lester?” Percy asked, immediately identifying the man. This wasn’t right, he hadn’t been here…
Uncle Lester flicked up his sunglasses, grinning. “Hey, champ. Figured this was the best time to work on my tan, yeah? Wanna come join me?”
Percy approached slowly, scanning the beach for anyone else. Nothing, not even a seagull. “Where’s Aunt Percy?” he asked. They were attached at the hip whenever they visited. In fact, had he ever seen Uncle Lester without his wife before?
Lester sighed, running a hand through his coarse brown hair. The sunlight caught the strands, making them look gold. “That’s… complicated, short stack. Your auntie… she broke an important rule a while back, so she’s not allowed near camp for the next couple of years, not even in dreams. She’d be here if she could, I promise.”
His stomach turned. Lester had always been a nerd: helping with homework, info-dumping about anything and everything Percy asked about, teaching Percy about cars by dismantling Mom’s Corvett’s engine and showing off all the pieces, getting them both covered in oil and in massive trouble with his mom. He’d always been normal. But… “You know about camp?”
Lester’s smile slipped. For a moment, his eyes flashed gold, and the air around him felt hotter, like sunlight pressing down. “Yeah,” Lester said quietly, looking away. “I know. Got a couple of kids there myself.”
“You’ve been cheating on Auntie?” Percy accused, waves snapping against the shore.
That startled a laugh out of Lester, and the pressure around them lessened. “Oh, no, kiddo, your auntie was involved in making each and everyone one of my kids, I assure you of that.” He shook his head, still smiling. “But that isn’t why I’m here. It’s about your mom, Percy.”
The cicadas’ grew louder, ringing in his ears. He licked his lips, eyes budding with tears. “My mom… the Minotaur… you know she’s—” His voice cracked, and he hated it.
Lester sat up in his chair, the plastic creaking, and brushed his hand through Percy’s hair, just like he did when Percy was 9 and broke his arm trying to skateboard. “She’s not dead.”
His heart stopped. “What?”
“Things are complicated up on the mountain.” Lester–his name wasn’t even Lester, was it!?–glanced back towards Manhattan. “Your dad’s pissed some people off, and since they can’t get to him, they’re going after you.”
“But that’s not fair! We didn’t do anything!”
“I know, kid. Your aunt and I are doing everything we can to keep attention off of you. Your mom’s safe. Someone took her as leverage–”
“Who?” Percy snarled.
The sunlight shifted, a wave of heat rolling over the beach. Lester glanced toward the horizon, where the sky seemed too bright, almost white, as if something—or someone—was watching. His shoulders tightened. “Can’t say.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Not yet. But you’ve got to trust me: you’ll see her again. Don’t give up on her.”
The words made Percy’s eyes sting. He wanted to believe them so badly it hurt. “You promise?” he choked out.
For a moment, Uncle Lester’s smile returned—small this time, almost sad. “Pinky promise.” He held out his hand, pinky outstretched, and Percy locked fingers with him. His eyes flashed gold, bright as the sun on the water. “Loyalty runs strong in you, champ. Stronger than you know. Don’t waste it.”
Percy blinked, and just like that, Lester was gone. He gasped and jolted awake in his sleeping bag on the floor of Hermes Cabin, sweat-damp and heart racing.