Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Author's Note - Oh my gods, you guys, we've made it to the book you've all been waiting for! Yes, the Titan's Cure is here and y'all are not ready for it! Now, if you want angst, you get angst. If you want humor, you get humor. If you want Lee and Percy pinning over one another the entire book, that's what you get and more! One more thing until we dive into this love story (because this is a love story), in canon, Artemis doesn't hate men. In my AU, Artemis doesn't hate men. As for the Hunters of Artemis, well, they need a crash course in the fact that Aphrodite is the goddess of love, not just romantic love. Good thing Percy's there to set them straight. On to the story!

Chapter 1: Demigod Transporting is Not Lee’s Forte 

Lee 

Lee should have known that this mission was going to fail the moment Chiron decided that Percy and Thalia should go to Maine together. Not that the girls didn’t get along. If anything, the cousins were like sisters. Laughed like sisters, fought like sisters, the works. But something told Lee that sending both of their Big Three kids to help Grover transport a demigod was a terrible idea. 

Especially in a snowstorm. 

“This snow is insane.” Thalia commented from the front passenger seat before looking back at Percy, who was still pouting about having to sit in the backseat even though Lee was driving her mom’s car because Chiron wouldn’t let them take one of the vans after someone (coughPercycough) spilled the beans that Lee had been the one to roll the old van into the lake when he was teaching himself how to drive. Good thing Percy’s mom was somewhat dating Hermes because the messenger god delivered the car to them minutes after they IMed Mrs. Jackson. And that Mrs. Jackson trusted him enough to drive her car without a license. “Can’t you stop it?” 

He had a feeling Percy rolled her eyes at her cousin. “I tried already and it wouldn’t budge.” She glanced out the frosty window and frowned. “This place has to be one of the evilest-looking military schools I’ve ever seen. No wonder Grover wanted us to rescue this kid. What do we know about the kid anyway?” 

“Nothing.” Lee grunted, gripping the steering wheel with cold fingers because it was way too fucking cold. Lee was the son of Apollo, after all. Summer and basking in the heat was where he thrived. Not freezing his balls off in the Maine winter (though the forests here would be perfect for hunting). “I still think it’s overkill to send both of you.” 

“Ah, Fletcher, are you worried about us?” Thalia cooed. Lee blindly pushed her hand away when she tried to pinch his cheek, keeping his eyes on the road. “Of course, Grover would call in the A Team for an assist. He knows what’s up.” 

“What he should know is what Coach Hedge spent all summer training him for.” He muttered back. Because what was the point of all of that training if Grover was going to call in Percy every time something looked dangerous? 

“Lee, that’s not fair. You know that Grover wouldn’t have asked for both of us if it wasn’t serious.” He sighed but nodded at Percy’s scolding. Thalia snickered at them in the background. “Besides, that’s why you’re here.” 

“I’m just your chauffeur.” 

“Please, you were going to come on this mission with or without Chiron’s permission.” Thalia pointed out correctly. “Someone has to keep Percy from blowing up schools.” 

“Hey!” 

“Not sure how much help I am there.” Lee joked back, remembering fondly that part of the reason why Percy lived year-round at Camp now was because she blew up the gym fighting against the Laistrygonians giants, and he had punched the daylights out of the guy that kept flirting with her. Turns out, that guy’s dad was an alderman, who led the petition that caused Percy to be banned from all NYC’s public and private schools. “Percy and I have a bad habit of destroying buildings.” 

“It’s a talent.” Percy leaned over the center console to point out the window. “Park in the handicap spot. I doubt anyone will care if we use it in this storm.”  

Westover Hall was just as creepy and evil-looking on the inside as it was on the outside. Not only did the doors slam shut behind them when they entered, the rooms were dark, the walls were lined with medieval weapons, and the inside was somehow colder than the outside.  

Oh, and there was terrible prom music playing in the background, which didn’t help the vibes. 

“Gods, I thought Yancy was a prison.” Percy muttered as she wrapped her scarf from Lady Aphrodite tighter around her neck. “Let’s take off our coats and go find Grover.”  

“Do we have to?” Lee muttered as they stashed their puffy jackets behind a pillar and started walking around. They only made two turns before running into some members of the facility. 

Wonderful. 

They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to me. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines.  

“Well?” The woman demanded. “What are you doing here?”  

“Um…” Percy stuttered unconvincingly. “Ma’am, we’re just-”  

“Ha!” the man snapped, making them jump. “Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected!” He had a thick French accent. He pronounced his J like in Jacques. He was tall, with a hawkish face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colors, one brown, one blue. 

Whelp, Lee thought, time for plan M and snapped his fingers. Thick Mist covered the mortals before covering the entire room. While his Mist manipulation was still crappy compared to Lou Ellen and Silena’s standards, it was still pretty good in a pinch. 

“We’re just going back to the dance, sir. The girls wanted some fresh air.” Lee said, ignoring Thalia’s grumble of ‘Is that the best you could come up with?’ “Excuse us.” 

But the male teacher stepped in his path when Lee tried to walk around him, the man’s eyes narrowed with distrust. “Mrs. Gottsclack, do you remember these students?” Got chalk? Gods, that was an unfortunate last name for a teacher. 

The woman blinked at them in her temporary Mist trance. “Yes, Dr. Thorn, of course I do. Run along, children. Back to the dance with you.” 

“Thank you, ma’am.” Percy said as they walked around the pair, Thalia and Percy doing terrible salutes as they passed. 

Grover spotted them immediately when they entered the gymnasium and ran up to them. “You made it!” Grover was looking stronger, just like he did when he left Camp in the fall.  

Now, Grover should have been out traveling the country looking for the Great God Pan. But after discovering that the Golden Fleece was being used to devour all of the satyrs with searcher licenses, the Cloven Elders put a one-year pause on searching for Pan to do a recount of who was lost and who was still available for the search. Hence why Grover was back in the demigod transporting business.  

And given the upcoming war, the demigod transporting was arguably the most important job right now. So important in fact that Chiron had been sending out some of the more experienced campers to help the satyrs, like they were doing right now. Hell, Nora and Walt have been so busy getting demigods safely to Camp Half-Blood, his sister hadn’t Iris Messaged the Apollo Cabin at all this week. It wasn’t uncommon for Nora to be a day or two late when she IMed but as of this morning, she was three days late from when she normally called. Was he worried? Absolutely but Nora had Walt with her and both of them were extremely good fighters. They should be fine. 

“Thank the gods you guys got here.” Grover hugged Percy and Thalia before dabbing him up. “We’ve got a huge problem.” 

“What’s wrong?” Percy asked, fiddling with her bracelet. 

Grover took a deep breath. “I found two.” 

“Two half-bloods?” Thalia’s jaw dropped. “Damn, Grover. What’s with your nose and finding multiples?” 

“Tell me about it.” He muttered. “A brother and a sister. They’re ten and twelve. I don’t know their parentage, but they’re strong. We’re running out of time, though. I need help.”  

“Monsters?” Asked Thalia. 

“One and he smells strong. Even with Gleeson’s training, I wouldn’t be able to take him down.” Grover looked nervous. “He suspects them though. I don’t think he’s positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I’m sure he won’t let them leave campus without finding out. This might be our last chance. Every time I try to get close to them, he’s always there, blocking me.” 

Lee had a sneaking suspicion he knew who the monster was. “Who?” 

“The vice principal, Dr. Thorn.” Yep, called it. 

Percy made a face. “That explains why he was so rude to us. And why it seemed like the Mist didn’t affect him. Where are the kids?” 

“There they are.” Grover nodded towards a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark, silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong. 

But that wasn’t Lee’s biggest concern. His jaw dropped. 

“Lee?” Percy whispered in concern. 

Grover kept talking. “Their names are Bianca and-” 

“Nico DiAngelo.” Lee finished, not looking away from the little ten-year-old playing with his mythomagic cards.  

Grover did a double-take. “How did you-” 

“Lee.” Percy grabbed his arm, shaking him lightly. “What’s wrong? What did you see?” 

“Nothing.” He swallowed, his throat drier than the Sahara when he realized what had happened. “Percy, they were in the Lotus Casino. That’s the kid I got Will’s Apollo trading card from.”  

Guilt filled his chest but before he could verbalize it, Percy patted his arm. “Alright. Not good, but not the end of the world. Grover, have you been able to talk to them?” 

“Not without drawing more attention to them.” Grover confessed. “They already have one monster after them. Who knows how strong their scent will get if I tell them what they are? It wasn’t worth the risk.” 

That’s when the monster in question slipped into the gym and stood way too close to the DiAngelo kids for comfort. “We need to get close without him noticing.” Percy determined as she scanned the gym. “But how?”  

The music changed to a slower melody as the lights in the gym got dimmer. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. 

“I’ve got an idea.” Grover yelped as Thalia tugged him to the dance floor. “Come on, lovebirds. We’re going dancing.” 

“But I can’t dance!” 

“With me leading, you’ll be fine. Get moving, you two. Don’t forget to keep an eye on the kids.” Thalia ordered as she spun Grover away. 

Lee’s face warmed under the gymnasium light. He coughed awkwardly, looking down at Percy. She had gotten taller since the summer thanks to her latest growth spurt and all of the extra-nutritious (and possibly blessed) food at Camp (that might be Mr. D doing, if what Nora mentioned offhandedly last month was true). Now she stood at 5’5” (and a half, Percy was very insistent on including that). She still had to look up to him, obviously, but now their height difference wasn’t so cartoonish when they were together. Kind of like she was right now, her sea green eyes wide, her face beautifully rouged.  

The fall session of Camp had been an interesting time for them because Lee just couldn’t get a good read on what Percy wanted with their relationship. Some days were just like any other day, where the two of them would hang out like the best friends that they were. 

But then there were the days where their hugs lasted for too long. Where their hands refused to let go. Where their looks turned to longing. Where their heads tilted too close but neither wanted to step away. 

There was an almost silent knowing between the two of them. Like Percy was slowly figuring out how much he loved her, and she was feeling the same way about him. But the abuse that Percy had suffered under that pig of a stepfather still affected her to this day. For a girl who loved love so much, she was terrified of what being in a relationship, especially the physical aspect, would entail.  

Lee Fletcher knew this too well, which is why he ignored everyone pressuring him to make a move. Persephone Jackson had lost too much in her life to lose her autonomy when it came to falling in love and being in a relationship. If their relationship was going to progress into something more, it would be on her terms. As long as he had Percy in his life, Lee was entirely, perfectly and incandescently happy.  

(And yes, that was a quote from her favorite because they just rewatched the 2005 Pride and Prejudice two nights ago because it was her pick for Apollo Cabin movie night.) 

Still, as he held his palm up to her, it never hurt to ask a little question every now and then. “May I have this dance?” 

Percy’s hand slipped into his easily. She gasped in his ear as he pulled her close. “I don’t know how to dance. I might step on your feet.” 

“That’s ok.” She shivered against him from his whisper. “We’ll learn together.” Slowly, they swayed their way through the dance floor until they found a good spot to watch the DiAngelo kids with the mortals covering them. A new wave of guilt hit him when he saw Nico reshuffle his deck with a pout at his sister. 

Percy’s hand on his shoulder squeezed him before moving to where his shoulder met his neck, trying its best to ease the tension. “What’s wrong?” He looked away in shame. “Lee?” 

“I left them there.” Lee admitted softly, still looking away. Gaggles of mortals giggled and made fools of themselves on the dance floor. “I should have known they were demigods the second Nico gave me Dad’s playing card. I should have gotten them out of there.” 

”Lee, please look at me.” Slowly, he did as she asked. Her hand left his shoulder to cradle his face. He sighed at the coolness of her touch. “You didn’t know. We barely got out of there alive and who knows, maybe you meeting Nico is the reason why they aren’t at the casino now.” 

“I know that but… I still feel like I should have done more.”  

Percy’s eyes softened with her words. “That’s because you want to help and protect everyone, Lee. It’s one of the things I…” She stopped herself like she was rewording her sentence. “… admire so much about you.” 

He loved the sound of that. “Yeah?” 

Her hand dropped to his chest, untangling his with his camp necklace from the chain she gifted him after his Sea Fam Brunch, as Percy liked to call it. “Yeah.” Percy bit her lip, like she was suddenly nervous. His own heart raced with nerves and anticipation. “Lee, there’s something I- gasp! Lee, they’re gone!” 

Fuck. 

Lee scanned the bleachers where the DiAngelos had been. Bianca’s hat was on the floor, a few of Nico’s trading cards resting right next to it. The door next to the bleachers mocked him. 

Flying thorns. A helicopter in flight. Lightning striking. The sound of the hunt. The fall of a hero. 

“Lee?” 

“I’ll go after them.” Lee shook himself back into action. “I can track them. Go get Thalia and Grover.” 

“But-”  

“Percy, there’s no time.” For a second, he thought she was going to argue with him. But Percy was the smartest girl he knew, and she was an amazing tactician, even if her plans were batshit crazy. Percy knew a good plan when she heard one and she knew that he was right. They would lose the DiAngelo kids forever if they didn’t move now. It was better for one of them to go and get backup while the other followed after the kids, especially with how powerful this monster seemed to be. They would need all the help they could get. “Go!”  He ran towards the bleachers, his bow and quiver flashing onto him. 

“Be careful!” She ran towards the dance floor, Riptide springing to life. 

Last year, his sister told him that he and Percy had to stick together. That they were unstoppable when they were together. 

Lee regretted not listening to his sister, because, like with everything, Nora was always right. 

He sprinted down the corridors, following the little golden trail that had appeared on his path. Thank Apollo, he had met Nico before today, because now he could use his gold light tracking ability on the kid. The halls were all eerily empty with only his footsteps sounding in the background. Lee hummed under his breath, silencing his steps with one of Dad’s hunting hymns. Soon, he found himself back in the main entry hall.  

Bianca and Nico DiAngelo were being walked by the scruff of their necks to the front door, Dr. Thorn’s ironclad grip on them. So Lee did what came naturally to him. 

Slice, WHOOSH! Thud, thud, thud! 

He opened fire. 

“ARGH!” Dr. Thorn screamed in fury as Lee jumped over the principal, shooting more arrows into the monster in disguise.  

“Woah.” Bianca gasped as she pulled Nico as far away from Dr. Thorn as possible. Meanwhile, her little brother jumped up and down like the Energizer Bunny. 

“That was totally wicked!” Nico cheered. Then he tilted his head, getting a good look at Lee as he approached them. “Wait a minute, I know you!” 

“Hey Nico. Long time no see.” THUD! Dr. Thorn let out another monstrous roar. “Let’s get out of-” A missile came at them fast.  

Lee didn’t think as he pushed the kids out of the way. 

“FUCK!” He flew into the wall. Compared to the wall he was thrown into last year, this was nothing. But the huge black spike that was definitely poisonous was something. “Why is it always the right shoulder?” Dr Thorn stood up, fighting the heavy cargo net as another projectile fired at Lee. Using his bow in his left hand, Lee batted it away at the last second, making poor Bianca yelp when it ricocheted over her head. Lee used the distraction to grab the spike in his shoulder and yank. “Fucking A.” His shoulder burned and throbbed as the spike bounced at his feet. He would be lucky if he was able to draw an arrow like this. 

“Lee Fletcher.” Dr. Thorn said with his fake ass accent as he threw off the cargo net. “I’ve heard about you.” Bianca screamed again, covering her brother when another spike embedded itself into the wall, cracking the stone. “Ah, ah, naughty children.” The Mist slowly started to dissolve around the principal as he stepped towards him. “Not who we intended but luck works in strange ways. You three are coming with me.” Then the Mist lifted, revealing Dr. Thorn’s menacing, scorpion-like tail pointing at the DiAngelo kids like he was holding them at gunpoint. Guess Grover had been right to call for backup after all. There was no way Grover would have been able to take down a manticore all by himself. “And if you try calling for help, Lee Fletcher, I’ll use one of them as target practice.”  

He fought back a snarl but conceded to being taken hostage, flashing his bow and quiver back to bangle mode. If it had just been Lee, he would have fought like a bat out of hell rather than being taken prisoner. But he had the DiAngelo kids to think of. Clearly, Thorn wanted at least one of them alive. Any sudden movements would cause the beast to react, and Lee wasn’t taking that risk. So, against his will, Lee, the DiAngelo kids, and Dr. Thorn stepped outside, into the falling snow. 

And without a coat, which was fucking wonderful. 

“Keep moving.” Dr. Thorn ordered as they marched through the forest. Finally, they stopped in a clearing on a cliff that overlooked the ocean. The wind howled and chilled them straight to the bone, making both kids step closer to the mini furnace that was Lee Fletcher. “No powers, son of Apollo.” 

Lee glared arrows at the beast over his good shoulder. “They’re cold, you dick. Do you want to tell your boss that they died from frostbite on your watch?” Dr. Thorn snarled at him but said nothing as Lee tucked the kids against his sides, even though his right shoulder hurt like a bitch, especially with Nico clinging to him. “It’ll be ok.” He whispered to them, letting the sun in his chest warm them (while also healing his shoulder while he was at it, not that Thorn had any idea that he could do that). “I won’t let him hurt you.” 

“Your ride will be arriving shortly.” Dr. Thorn said, watching Lee like a hawk. 

“What ride?” Bianca demanded, holding Lee’s shirt to hide her shaking hands. “Where are you taking us?” 

“Silence, you insufferable girl.” 

“Don’t talk to my sister like that!” Nico snapped back, even though his voice quivered. 

“Fletcher, move them closer to the cliff.” The manticore ordered. When Lee didn’t move, he sent another spike inches from their feet, making the kids jump with fear. “Now.” 

“Fine.” He spat, shimming them back closer to the edge before turning to face the beast. 

“What is he?” Bianca asked. “Can you stop him?” 

“A manticore.” Lee whispered, trying to focus his innate magic on his shoulder. “I need a few more minutes.” Come on, come on. 

“A manticore?” Nico gasped. “He’s got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!” 

“Yeah, he’s tough.” Lee chuckled despite their situation, remembering all of the times Will would beg him to play a quick game of mythomagic before bed. “But not impossible to beat.” He squeezed them tight and leaned down to whisper. In his mind, he said a rush prayer, hoping for a godly assist. “When I tell you to run, go and don’t look back. If you run into a girl with sea green eyes and a pink scarf, stay with her. Her name is Percy; she’ll keep you safe.” 

“What about you?” Bianca whimpered. 

Lee smiled at her. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be o-” 

“No more talking!” Dr. Thorn snapped at them. He pulled out a walkie-talkie from his pocket and brought it to his mouth, pressing the side button. “The package is ready.” There was a garbled response that Lee was too far away to hear. “Are you thinking about being like your sister and jumping, Lee Fletcher?”  

Lee bristled at that, biting his cheek to stop himself from demanding how the fuck Thorn knew about that. Then it all clicked. “You work for Luke Castellan.”  

Dr. Thorn’s face twisted with hatred at the name, which was probably the only thing Lee and him had in common. “You have no idea what is happening, Lee Fletcher. I will let the General enlighten you.” A cold hand pressed on his heart at that name. Gods damnit, are they going to have to deal with him too? “You are going to do him a great service tonight.” Like fuck he will. “He’s looking forward to meeting you.” 

“Is that so?” Lee sneered as the sound of a helicopter reached his ears. Dammit, his shoulder wasn’t 100 percent yet, but it’ll have to do.  

“Where are you taking us?” Nico said.  

“You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls.” If Will was here, he would be shouting how they weren’t dolls, they were figurines. 

“They’re not dolls! They’re figurines!” Gods, this kid was perfect for Will. If his vision two years ago was right, Will was going to fall head over heels for Nico. Lee couldn’t wait to give him shit for it. “And you can take your great army and shove it up your-”  

“Now, now,” Dr. Thorn warned. “You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if you do not, well… there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed.” Thorn smirked at Lee, like they shared an inside joke. A tightness of worry built in Lee’s chest. “The Great Stirring is underway.”  

“The Great what?” Bianca asked as the helicopter got closer.  

Like any good villain, Dr. Thorn started to monologue. “The stirring of monsters.” The manticore smiled evilly. “The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years.” Fuck, that’s not good, not good at all. Slowly, Lee moved his hands so that they were in the middle of the DiAngelos’ backs, ready to get them to run. “They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all- the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!” Yep, definitely not good.  

Time to get out of here. 

“Run!” Lee shouted and glowed as bright as the sun. Footsteps ran away from him. 

“GAH!” Roared Dr. Thorn while the chopper above them flew backward to get away from the light. Spikes soared blindly over his head, though one did fly a little too close for comfort, when Dr. Thorn yelled in pain again. An invisible sword slashed at him, attacking from all sides. As Percy jumped backward, ripping off her invisibility cap as Thalia sent a bolt of lightning into Thorn’s side, sending him flying into the trees. 

“Percy, the kids!” Thalia ordered as she blocked the spikes Thorn sent at her with Aegis and raised her spear. Percy jumped into action immediately, slashing away the second volley of spikes Thorn launched at the DiAngelos. “Lee, cut the light!” 

“Can’t! The chopper can’t land if they can’t see!”  

“Then keep it pointed away from here!” Thalia shouted back as Thorn’s claws slashed blindly against Aegis’ silver and bronze metal. Lee did what she asked. “Grover, now!” The sound of reed pipes playing was followed by vines growing from the cold ground, entangling the beast. Clearly, Dr. Thorn was done with his disguise because when he ripped his way out of vines, his true form of a lion’s body with horns down his back was there for them all to see. 

“Stay down!” Percy ordered, holding her shield-wristwatch up to cover the DiAngelos as they dunked from another volley. She lowered her now ruined shield with a glare. “My brother made me that shield, asshole!” Grover charged at Thorn with his new club, only to be swatted back into the snow next to Percy, out like a light. Ugh, looks like Grover needed a refresher course from Coach Hedge soon. Thalia looked ready to charge again when the helicopter that he had been blinding flew directly above them. 

A helicopter manned by mortals wearing military grade sunglasses to go with their military grade Blackhawk helicopter. It flew over them and turned around, the guns on the helicopter starting to point at them. 

Whelp, that wasn’t good. 

Then, Lee heard the best sound ever.  

A hunting horn sounded, followed by- 

AWOOOOF!  

The sound of his aunt’s hunting wolves. Thank Artemis, She had heard his prayer. 

The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved, not even the helicopter. Only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades sounded in the air. 

“No,” Dr. Thorn said. “It cannot be-” His sentence was cut short when something shot past their group like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn’s shoulder.  

He staggered backward, wailing in agony. “Curse you!” Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two. 

The hunters of Artemis, such a bunch of showoffs with their enchanted arrows. 

The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. 

 Percy stepped forward, trying to swipe at him with her sword, but he wasn’t as injured as he looked. He dodged her attack and slammed his tail into her shield, knocking Percy back into Thalia’s side. Thalia yelled out when her ankle got caught under Percy. 

Lee flicked his wrist, reaching back painfully for one of his exploding arrows when he noticed something kind of important. Unlike Riptide, which always returned to Percy’s pocket if she lost it, his bow was nowhere to be found. Fuck, where did he lose it? In the hall? No, he still had it then. On the walk in the forest, it had been in bangle form so where- 

There! In the snow near the DiAngelo kids. Somehow, it must have slipped of his wrist when he pushed Bianca away from his light show. “Bianca, throw me that bangle!”  

“Me?!” She questioned before reaching for the bangle in question as Aunt Artemis’ archers came from the woods. As always, they were only girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, Percy’s age. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.  

“Who are they?” Percy asked as she helped Thalia to stand, only for the daughter of Zeus to fall back into the snow with a pained shake of her head.   

“The Hunters of Artemis.” Thalia muttered. “Wonderful, fucking wonderful.” Clearly, Thalia also had a negative view of the Hunters, too. 

Bianca used the distraction to throw him the bangle. Her throw was terrible but luckily, he caught it before he lost his bow to the ocean forever. One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess. Too bad her resting bitch face ruined her whole vibe. 

“You’ve gotten lazy, Fletcher.” Zoe Nightshade sneered at him, her eyes never leaving the manticore. 

Lee rolled his eyes. “At least I worked for my archery skills versus it being handed to me on a silver platter.” 

Zoe ignored him. Bitch. “Permission to kill, Milady?” 

The manticore wailed. “This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the ancient laws!” 

“Not so.” The light voice of Aunt Artemis pierced through the air as she stepped forward. She looked around twelve today. Her silver eyes looked him up and down, frowning at his wound. She turned her nose up at Dr. Thorn. “The hunting of all wild beasts are within my domain.” Her lips curled into a snarl. “And you, foul creature, are a wild beast.” She flicked her wrist. “Zoe, permission granted.” 

Then, a chill pressed on Lee’s heart, once again.  

His feet started moving without thought, abandoning his bangle in the snow. 

Dr. Thorn snarled. “If I can’t have these alive,” the beast looked at where Percy stood with Riptide at the ready, Thalia up slowly in the snow, her ankle twisted so far. The DiAngelos were crouched behind the cousins with Grover unconscious next to them.  

Only Percy stood protectively between the manticore and everyone else. 

Not if he had anything to do with it. 

“Then I will have them die!” Dr. Thorn lunged. 

Lee lunged as well. 

STAB! STAB! 

“Take the shot!” Lee yelled at his aunt, burying the hunting knives his aunt gave him deep into the manticore. The manticore bucked but Lee held on, using his rage and strength to wrestle the beast into place. His shoulder yelled in protest, but he ignored it, doing everything in his power to give the hunters a clear shot. They stumbled dangerously close to the cliff’s edge. For a split second, fear and hesitation flashed on Aunt Artemis’ face. Percy started moving towards him, terror painting her beautiful face. He knew in that moment that neither would do as he asked so he shouted at the person he knew would. “ZOE! TAKE THE SHOT!” 

“Fire!” 

“No!” His love cried. 

“Wait!” Aunt Artemis tried. 

Arrows flew anyway, finding home. But the beast wasn’t dead yet, even with the arrows in his neck and chest and Lee’s blades buried to the hilt in his shoulders. “This isn’t the end, Huntress!” The manticore bucked backward again. The cliffs started to crumble under Lee’s heels. “You shall pay!” 

Flying thorns. A helicopter in flight. Lightning striking. The sound of the hunt. The fall of a hero. 

Lee Fletcher knew what he had to do.  

Lee caught Percy’s eyes. 

She was crying. 

The snow fell harder. 

This could be the last time he ever saw her. 

He needed to tell her the truth, at least once. 

Lee Fletcher whispered ‘I love you’ to Persephone Jackson, praying silent that she heard him. 

He yanked the beast by his hunting knives, throwing the monster off his rhythm. 

They tilted backwards, the violent sea waves beating against the cliff below them. 

The son of Apollo fell off the cliff, pulling the manticore towards the ocean waters, determined to take this beast with him, doing everything he could to protect the love of his life, like he always did. The last thing he heard before he lost consciousness… 

“LEE!” 

… was the daughter of Poseidon’s heart, shattering in the blizzard. 

Percy 

For a moment, no one moved. No one spoke. Even the great goddess of the hunt was at a loss for words, a sole tear falling down her face in her moonlight and Persephone Jackson’s tundra-like blizzard. 

Percy’s knees hit the snow. Riptide laid forgotten next to her as a raw, heartbroken scream echoed in the forest. She was so lost in her grief that she had no idea that the scream had been hers. The frozen wind carried her chilling scream so far, she was certain that all of Olympus could hear her heartbreak. Snow fell as heavy as her tears to the earth. 

I love you. 

The helicopter manned by mortals came back into view, battling against her icy winds as they leveled their guns at them. But before anyone could move, Lady Artemis ripped the bow out of Zoe’s hands. The goddess drew back the string. Moonlight replaced where the arrow should have been. She launched it at the helicopter just as it started to open fire on them. 

KA-BOOM! 

What remained of the helicopter fell into the sea. 

“Mortals aren’t allowed to witness my hunt.” Zoe Nightshade blanched when her patron shoved the bow back in her arms, refusing to look in the girl’s direction. The rest of the Hunters whispered and shivered in the background, wondering why their mistress was so mad at their lieutenant. Artemis’ wolves whimpered and howled, like they were just as distraught as their goddess. 

Snow crackled as the goddess approached where Percy had curled up in a sobbing mess. Gasps were heard as Lady Artemis aged before their eyes, looking closer to eighteen as she knelt next to her. A gentle hand went on her back, running up and down in comfort. Percy sobbed harder. They sat there and for a second, Percy wasn’t sure who was comforting who. 

“My nephew lives.” Artemis said loudly. Percy sat up with a gasp, hope in her heart. The snow stopped falling. “He is not dead. His energy has vanished. Use your powers, Persephone Jackson. If he died, his body would be in your father’s domain. Do you see him?” 

Terrified shitless of what she would find, Percy closed her eyes, willing the sea to reveal if Lee’s body was there. “… He’s not there.” She took a shaky breath, full of relief. “He’s alive. I need to go find him. I-” 

“You must finish your mission.” Lady Artemis ordered gently, not shocked at all when Percy bristled at her order. “Apollo tells me stories of your accomplishments and intelligence. In this moment, you must think past the grief, no matter how loud it is. Tell me your situation.” 

“… I have two unclaimed demigods, an injured cousin, and an unconscious satyr.” She admitted softly. Her heart ached as she continued. “and no way home.” Percy bit her lip in worry, shivering from the loss and the cold. “But I can’t abandon Lee. I have to find him. I-I-”  

The idea of going back home without him made her want to sob all over again. Logically, she knew that Lady Artemis was right. Hell, Lee would be telling her to go and take care of the others. But she couldn’t get over the feeling that she was abandoning him in his hour of need. 

The weight of the world. A body moaning in pain. The touch of moonlight. The vote of a council. The cries of- 

“You are not abandoning him. You are regrouping. My nephew is a strong hunter. You must have faith in his ability to survive adversity.” Artemis stood. As she stood, warmth erupted from her, as if she was channeling her brother’s powers to stop them all from freezing to death. “And while you regroup, I will search for Lee in your stead and hunt down that beast who took him from us. Some magic is at work here.” Artemis’ silver eyes glowed with vengeance and fury. “I will find him. You have my word.” The goddess held out a hand to her. “Come, go tend to your campers. You may join our campsite. I will secure you a ride back home.” 

Percy took the goddess’ hand and stood, stepping back for a moment to curtsy to the huntress. “Thank you, Lady Artemis.” 

“Think nothing of it. You are family, Percy Jackson.” Percy didn’t know what to say to that as steel hardened in Artemis’ features. “And no one hurts my family and gets away with it.” The goddess marched back to her hunters, who looked like they had been dropped in the middle of the Twilight Zone. “Zoe, we will rest here for a few hours. Treat the wounded and have someone grab our guests’ belongings from the school. I must prepare for my hunt.” 

“But Milady, the girls-” 

“We will treat the wounded first.” Artemis ordered sharply. “Then we will discuss other matters.” 

Zoe’s face pinched like she had swallowed a lemon. “As you wish.” 

“Go to your campers, Persephone Jackson.” Lady Artemis said again, like Percy was the leader of Camp Half-Blood. “Then after your party is settled and healed, we will chat.” 

Percy nodded, wrapping her scarf around her shoulders to hug herself with it. Something shiny caught her eye in the snow. Her hand shook as she picked up Lee’s bangle. She blinked back tears, sliding it onto her left wrist. In that moment, she swore that she would never take it off unless it was to hand it back to Lee.  

Once she got everyone settled, once she came up with a plan, Percy Jackson would travel every inch of this earth to find Lee Fletcher. He was out there, alone and unarmed, and who knows what shape he was in. Yes, Lee was very resourceful, but he needed her now more than ever. She had to be strong in this moment. Just like he always was for her.  

Failure was not an option.  

She wouldn’t fail him.  

Not now, not ever. 

I love you. 

Channeling her inner Aphrodite girl, Percy wiped her tears, lifted her chin, and rolled back her shoulders, walking back to her team just as Grover woke up with a groan. “Ugh, did I get hit by a bus?” 

Thalia rolled her eyes at him. “Glad to see all that training paid off, Sleeping Beauty.” 

“Hey! I’m still new to this!” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Thalia looked up at her as Percy crouched down next to her. “Percy, I’m so sorry.” Thalia’s hand grasped her shoulder in comfort. “What do you need from me?” 

Percy sniffled but gave her cousin a small smile. She was so glad that, despite Annabeth's best efforts, her and Thalia were close, almost like sisters. “I need you to heal up and help me get the kids to Camp. Then I’m going to go find Lee, no matter what.” 

Thalia nodded with determination. “Done. Yo Nightshade! You guys got any ambrosia or nectar? My ankle’s twisted!”  

Zoe Nightshade’s face filled with annoyance, but she stopped one of her hunters from setting up their tents to grab one of their own med kits. Percy sighed, then turned to the two demigods they had come to rescue. They were watching her in awe and in trepidation. She smiled at them, forcing her sadness back to speak to them. If Lee was here, he would have been the one to explain everything. He always took such pride in helping the new demigods, listening to all their questions, easing all of their worries. He was an amazing counselor; he loved Camp Half-Blood so much. No matter how much she wanted to curl up into a ball and sob, she would take his place, be the leader in his absence. Lee was gone (missing, she corrected in her mind), making her the most senior camper in their group.  

She had to do this. 

It was her duty now to teach the DiAngelo children about the world they had been born into.  

She would not fail them.  

And she would not fail Lee. 

Percy got up and walked to them, ignoring Grover’s painful question to Thalia of ‘what happened to Lee?’. “Bianca, Nico. I’m Percy Jackson. It’s nice to meet you.” She kept her smile, even though she knew she must have looked like a wreck right now. “Are you cold? I’ll ask one of the hunters to grab you some blankets.” 

Instead, Bianca asked her carefully. “That boy, the one that fell off the cliff,” Percy flinched at that. “he glowed like a spotlight, and you guys all have medieval weapons. Who are you people?” Then she asked the more important question. “What are you?” 

“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll be blunt. We are demigods. Half human, half Greek God. I am the daughter of Poseidon. Lee…” Percy took a breath. “is the son of Apollo. Since Apollo’s the sun god, Lee can be a glow stick sometimes.” She chuckled sadly, remembering the story about how Lee, the amazing big brother that he is, acted like a nightlight for a week because little Lily wasn’t used to sleeping without one. Thankfully for Lee’s beauty sleep, Apollo sent her a nightlight to have next to her bunk after his first dream chat with her. “It comes in handy. Look, I know you guys are scared and confused right now but everything I’m saying is true. The Greek Gods are alive and still having kids with mortals. You two, me, Lee, my cousin Thalia, are all demigods. I don’t know who your godly parent is, but we’re here to bring you guys to Camp Half-Blood so that we can find out and so that monsters like Dr. Thorn can’t attack you guys again.” 

“We’re half god?” Nico asked in shock. “Awesome!” 

“No, not awesome!” Her sister snapped back. “This is crazy, we’re orphans!” 

But Nico danced on his feet like he needed to use the restroom; he was so excited. “Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage?!” 

“Nico, this isn’t your stupid mythomagic game! There are no-” 

“Uncle Zeus’ master bolt can definitely do some damage.” Nico’s excitement was so infectious that she had to laugh. “I would know, I had to find it two years ago.” Then, Percy flicked her wrist. They gasped when Vapor appeared in her hands, her trident glowing in the moonlight. Even the hunters paused what they were doing to gawk at her trident’s awesomeness. As they should, Vapor was a showstopper. Slowly, Bianca reached out. Percy nodded, letting the girl touch the smooth staff part of the weapon. 

“It’s real.” She whispered. 

“Very and deadly to monsters like Dr. Thorn.” Percy willed Vapor back to bracelet mode. “Even though monsters don’t technically die, which is absolute bullshit. The orientation video will explain that better than I can.” 

Bianca shivered from fear and the cold. “That explains… Nico, do you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in DC? 

“And that bus driver.” Nico said. “The one with the ram’s horns. I told you that was real!” 

“That’s why Grover has been watching you.” Percy nodded to the satyr walking over to them as Thalia used him as a crutch. “To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods.” 

“Grover?” Bianca stared at him. “You’re a demigod?” 

“Satyr, actually.” He kicked off his right shoe and displayed his goat hoof. Poor Bianca looked like she was about to faint. 

Thalia smacked him lightly upside the head. “Put your shoe back on. You’re freaking her out.” 

“Hey, my hooves are clean!” 

“Once we get you to Camp, I’ll have you guys watch the orientation video. It explains a lot, but you guys can ask me or one of the other counselors any other questions you may have.” Percy suggested. “Sounds like a plan?” 

“Camp?” Nico asked. “What camp?” 

“Camp Half-Blood.” Thalia answered instead. “It’s where demigods train so that they can defend themselves against monsters like Thorn. It’s basically a year-round sleep-away camp.” 

“So no more school? I’m in!” 

“Actually, there’s homeschooling for the year-round kids.” Nico’s excitement deflated at her answer. “But it’s way easier than normal school because everything is ADHD and dyslexia friendly.” 

Bianca thought everything over, then nodded slowly. “Alright, let’s g-” 

“There is another option.” Zoe said loudly, approaching them with a bag of ambrosia in hand. She tossed it at Thalia, who caught the ziplock with a deadly glare. 

“No, there isn’t!” 

The stare down between the two girls was intense. There was bad blood between them and even though Percy and Thalia had gotten closer (again, despite Annabeth’s best efforts, because boy, did Annabeth hate the fact that the cousins got along), Percy had no idea what was going on. 

Zoe broke the glare off first, turning to Bianca. “Lady Artemis would like to speak with you. Come with me.” 

Shockingly, Bianca hesitated, stepping closer to Percy’s side. “Lee said to stay with Percy.” On Percy’s other side, Nico nodded fiercely in agreement, stepping closer too.  

Percy’s heart warmed despite the emptiness. There he was, doing things to make her life easier without even being there. Gods, was it possible to miss Lee so much already? Zoe looked at Bianca in disbelief. “You dare-” 

“Zoe, Bianca doesn’t know better.” Percy’s voice was so sharp it could cut through glass. She patted the younger girl on the back when Bianca looked at Percy. “If Lady Artemis has asked for you, you should go talk to her. It’ll be fine, just make sure you’re polite. I’ll hang out with Nico. We can play some mythomagic while we wait.” She nudged Nico with her shoulder. “How does that sound?” 

“Awesome!” He cheered, then sobered. “But I don’t have any of my cards.” 

Zoe sniffed but pointed to a tent to their right. “All of your stuff is in there, including the bags from the Mazda in the handicap spot. Fletcher’s car, I presume?” 

“My mother’s, actually.” Percy answered before groaning. “Damnit, I’m going to have to call her boyfriend to come grab it.” In case you were wondering, Percy still was not over the fact that her mother was basically dating Hermes, even though they both denied it. Percy nudged Bianca towards Zoe. “Go to Lady Artemis, it’ll be ok.” 

Thalia, ankle finally back to normal thanks to the food of the gods, stopped her before she could follow Nico and Grover into the tent. She whimpered pitifully as her older cousin guided her head against her collarbone, hugging her. The strong façade that Percy had been using as a shield dropped completely. 

“Let it out.” Thalia whispered, rocking her back and forth. Percy burst into tears. It took her a minute to form words through the tears. 

“I need to find him.” 

“I know.” 

“I can’t live without him.” 

“I know.” 

“… I love him.” Percy whispered.  

Thalia held her tighter. “You don’t say?” She teased before stepping back to look Percy in the eye. “I guess that means you have something important to tell him when we find Lee, right?” 

Not if, when.

Percy Jackson was going to find the love of her life and tell him what she had been keeping back for far too long. Last summer, she had almost lost him forever at the hands of her annoying, immortal cyclops brother. Now here she was again, with her heart’s life in peril, and he had absolutely no idea what he meant to her.  

Percy had told herself that she would never tell Lee how she felt. In her mind, her love wasn’t enough for Lee since she was petrified of intimacy and sex thanks to what Gabe did to her. Lee Fletcher deserved every aspect a romantic relationship would have, and Percy didn’t know if she could be the one to deliver it. 

I love you. 

But now, that fear seemed like a distant memory. Percy was sure it would rear its ugly head again; it had a terrible habit of doing so. 

Persephone Jackson would find Lee Fletcher. She would bring him home. She would tell him how she felt.  

I love you. 

And she would brace herself for the fallout, with a prayer to Lady Aphrodite, hoping what she heard in the wind was true after all. 

By the gods, please let it be true. 

And with Thalia at her side, there was no way she could fail. Percy nodded, wiping her tears as resolve strengthened her spine. “Yes, yes, I do.” 

Nico DiAngelo had to be the most curious little ten-year-old she had ever met. He had question upon question about everything and anything after he showed her his entire mythomagic collection. From questions like ‘do you and Thalia fight a lot cause your dads fight a lot?’ to ‘since Poseidon’s your dad, can you talk to fish?’ Nico was extremely excited when she answered in the affirmative to the fish question. 

He was a sweet kid, Percy realized. For some reason, she felt rather protective of him, especially when Zoe came to bring her to Lady Artemis and Zoe hissed out a pointed ‘Absolutely not’ at him when he asked if he could come too. 

“Leave him alone.” Percy hissed, standing in front of Nico when he flinched from Zoe’s words. “He’s a kid.” 

Instead of answering her, Zoe glared at her scarf. “You will not be bringing that into our camp.” 

Percy wrapped the scarf tighter around her shoulders. “Why? It’s a gift from Lady Aphrodite.” 

“Yes.” Zoe looked at her scarf like she was trying to burn her most prized possession with sight alone. “That thing is laced with love magic, and I refuse to have my hunters go astray and become silly, preoccupied and insecure because you prance around with love magic around your neck.” 

Percy rolled her eyes, disliking this girl the more she spoke with her. No wonder Lee and his siblings hated the hunters, who were, in a weird way, their cousins. 

“Your hunters, sure. Didn’t realize your name was Artemis too.” Thalia commented from the other side of the tent. 

“Shut up, Grace. This doesn’t concern you.” Zoe looked back at Percy pointedly. “Your scarf, take it off.” 

“Fine. I didn’t realize love was a disease around here.” Reluctantly, she took off her scarf, folded it and put it back in her bag. “Lead the way.” 

Percy wished she had a camera to take a photo of Zoe’s face when the first thing Lady Artemis said to her when she walked into her grand tent was a confused, “You took off your scarf?” 

“I was told that it wasn’t allowed in your camp.” Percy replied lightly, sitting next to Bianca. A large wolf with salt and pepper approached her slowly. “Something about it being able to lead your hunters astray.” The wolf sniffed her lap before laying its head down. “Hello there. Aren’t you beautiful?” Percy petted the wolf’s fur without fear. “What’s your name?” 

“Victoria, she is one of the wolves Lee took with him for his hunt. She is quite fond of him.” Artemis answered before turning to her gawking lieutenant. “Zoe, please bring Percy her scarf.” 

“But Artemis-” Zoe cut herself off at the glare Artemis had leveled at her. “… of course, milady.” 

Artemis waited for Zoe to leave before speaking. “You must forgive my lieutenant for her abrasiveness. Like many of my girls, she has been burned badly by romantic love.” 

“Lady Aphrodite doesn’t just represent romantic love.” Percy said calmly, earning a nod from the goddess. 

“Indeed.” Artemis leaned back into her pillows. “Bianca has recounted to me what the manticore said prior to our arrival. It troubles me. Tell me, has Chiron taught you of our war with the Titans?” 

“A bit, here and there. Mr. D has had us research more since Luke’s confession last summer.” 

“Good. Glad to see Dionysus is taking this seriously. Sadly, my father is not.” Artemis frowned deeply. “The manticore speaks of the General and the Great Stirring as well as the monster, most important of all, has returned. Should it be found by the titan army, it will bring about the downfall of Olympus. In my search for Lee, I will hunt for this monster as well. Proof must be presented to my father at the solstice.” Zoe Nightshade reentered, holding Percy’s entire bag rather than touching her scarf. Percy resisted the urge to stick her tongue out behind Zoe’s back when the girl returned to Artemis’ side. 

Percy rewrapped herself in her scarf as Artemis told all of them. “When my brother arrives, he will bring you all to Camp Half-Blood.” 

Percy froze like a statue, knowing which brother she was talking about. Now she knew why Lady Artemis had insisted Percy had her scarf back. The goddess had done her a kindness, providing her a source of comfort before dropping an atomic bomb on her psyche. 

“What?” Zoë blurted out. “But, Artemis, we hate that place. The last time we stayed there-”  

“Yes, I know,” Artemis said. “But I’m sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. It’s your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you are in need. Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down.” Oh, Percy knew all about that. It was probably Mikey’s best rant of all time when Percy had commented last year about the Artemis Cabin being pretty in the moonlight. 

Zoe muttered something about foolish campers before adding.  “Milady, let us come with you.” 

“No, I must do this alone. This task is too dangerous, even for my hunters.” She sent a knowing look to Zoe. “You know where I must start.” 

Zoe was deathly pale but nodded reluctantly. “… As you wish.” 

“Percy?” Bianca whispered. “Are you ok?” 

Percy clutched her scarf tighter around herself. “No.” Slowly, she faced Artemis. “Did you tell him?” 

Artemis nodded. “Fear not, Persephone. Apollo is mad, but none of it is directed at you.” 

That was a lie, of course. Apollo must be furious at her. The only reason Lee was even on this mission was because of her. She had left Lee alone to face the manticore. He leaped onto the manticore’s back when the monster tried going for her. It was all her fault. 

And if there was one thing she knew about Apo- Lord Apollo, it was that he loved his children, especially Lee, very, very much. 

“He should be.” She whispered back, shaking like a leaf. “I shouldn’t have let him go alone. It’s all my fault.” 

“There are many who are at fault. One of them is me.” Artemis said, even as her lieutenant argued the opposite in the background. “But trust me when I say, Persephone Jackson, none of this is your fault.” Percy nodded, not believing her for a second. “Go grab your group. He will be here soon.” 

Percy stood on nervous knees and picked up her bag, giving a goodbye pet to Victoria's fur. “Come on Bianca.” Bianca didn’t move. “Bianca?” 

“Bianca DiAngelo has taken my hunters’ oath.” Artemis said. “It has been accepted. She is now amongst my immortal maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. To foreswear romantic love forever and remain an eternal maiden.” 

Percy frowned. Why would Bianca do such a thing? She had been ready to go to Camp and Bianca didn’t seem like the type to abandon her family, especially her little brother. “Bianca, what about Nico?” 

For a second, guilt covered Bianca’s face. “I’m sorry Percy, but I really want to do this. I’d be free of responsibility. Zoe said that-” 

A wave of anger hit Percy as she spun around, glaring at Zoe. “So, this was your idea? She’s twelve. And what about her brother? Would he be able to visit her at all, or will you shoot an arrow in him the moment he steps into your camp?” Bianca paled at that. “Or are burning down cabins with nine-year-olds in them more your speed?” 

“Hold thy tongue, girl.” Zoe hissed in her ancient accent. “It is an honor to be of the Hunters of Artemis. Thou’s judgment is clouded by lies of men, but should you wish, you may join our sisterhood too.”  

Oh, this bitch. “Guess it’s a good thing I don’t meet one of your requirements.” Zoe looked taken aback by that comment, figuring out what Percy was implying as the daughter of Poseidon crouched back down to look Bianca in the eyes. “Bianca, are you sure that you want this? We can bring you to Camp, see how you like it.” Percy brushed the hair out of Bianca’s dark eyes. Her little lips trembled. 

The regret was visible on the twelve-year-old’s face. “I-I-” Tears started falling. “I don’t know.” 

“You have a new family, Bianca.” Zoe said, softening up a fraction. “All will be well, you’ll see.” 

But little Bianca shook her head with a sob in her throat. Percy’s memory flashed back to when Silena found her in the stables suffering from her panic attack.  

She knew what she had to. 

“Don’t you dare-” 

Shut the fuck up, Zoe. “I think you’ve done enough damage and should stop talking.” Percy said sternly instead, remembering the kind of important fact that this was Artemis’ lieutenant that she was talking back to. Though Artemis did nothing but watch as Percy wrapped Bianca in her beloved scarf before hugging the girl close.  

“Shh.” Percy whispered as Bianca sobbed loudly into her chest. Something told Percy that this little girl had been through a lot and needed to let it all out. And Percy was more than happy to be her shoulder to cry on in that moment. Just like Silena had done for her. “It’s ok. You’re safe. We’re going to fix this.” 

“Lady Artemis-” 

“Zoe, enough.” 

“How?” Bianca whimpered. “I’m so tired of…” she bit her lip like she was ashamed of the rest of her sentence. 

Percy gave Bianca a big smile that didn’t match the anger in her eye. “Don’t worry, I’m going to fix this.” 

“But Zoe said-” 

Percy ruffled her hair with determined affection and whispered. “You leave Zoe to me.” She stood them up, a plan already made, saying louder, “And good thing Zoe’s not in charge here.” Zoe bristled at that but Percy steamrolled over her. “Lady Artemis, could Bianca do a trial run?” 

The goddess blinked at her. “A trial run?” 

Percy nodded. “Yes. Since the hunters will be staying at Camp Half-Blood while you’re away, why not let her try both out? She can spend the day doing camp activities with the other unclaimed girls, but meals and nights will be with the hunters. That way, Bianca can experience both lives and make her decision when you’re done with your hunt.” Percy stared Zoe down. “With all of the information.” 

Artemis hummed, making Zoe gasp at her. “You are considering this?!” 

“I am.” She side-eyed her lieutenant. “It is clear to me that Bianca needs time to make her decision, and Percy Jackson has offered a unique solution. What worries you, Zoe? Is this your way of telling me that my hunters are not hospitable to their new sisters?” 

“No!” Zoe protested. “But the unclaimed are housed in the Hermes Cabin! To subject a maiden such as Bianca to the company of boys goes against everything we stand for!” 

“Actually, the unclaimed girls live in the Aphrodite Cabin now.” Percy said, enjoying how Zoe’s face turned purple with anger. “And she wouldn’t be sleeping there. She will be in the Artemis Cabin. You know, since she’s a Hunter of Artemis.” 

Zoe spun to her mistress. “Artemis, you can’t-” 

“I agree to your solution, Persephone Jackson. Please offer my thanks to Aphrodite’s counselor for her care of Bianca.” Artemis stood. “Zoe, ready the girls to leave. Dawn is upon us.” 

“Grover, stop gawking at Artemis.” Thalia elbowed Grover as they waited for the sunrise.  

“But she’s so into nature.” Grover sighed like he was in love. Percy would have laughed if she hadn’t been about to faint. She had her scarf back, giving her little comfort as the inevitable approached. 

“Well I’ll be damned.” Artemis whispered as light filled the horizon. “He’s early. He's never early in winter.” 

Percy forced herself to breathe. “Nico, Bianca.” The DiAngelo kids turned to her. “Don’t look, not until he parks.” 

Everyone averted their eyes. Light flashed behind closed lids. Warmth filled every inch of them. Then the warmth turned cold and the light dimmed. 

Percy kept her eyes closed. 

“That car is so fancy.” Bianca whispered. A car door shut loudly. 

“He looks like Lee.” Nico pulled Percy’s shirt to try and get her attention. She kept her eyes closed. “Is that Apollo? 

“There’s your future father-in-law.” Thalia nudged her. “Aren’t you going to say hello?” 

She shook her head at the joke, her eyes still closed.  

“Little sister.” Apollo’s normal sunny, bright voice sounded dark and dim. Something told Percy that Artemis would normally hate to be called 'little sister,' especially since they were twins. But Artemis did not complain, taking the title in stride so as not to aggravate her brother more.

Footsteps approached her. 

A hand landed on her head, ruffling her hair with such kindness that Percy burst into tears, her eyes finally open but locked on the snow at their feet. 

“Hey, sweetheart.” Apollo whispered. “I heard you had a rough night.” 

“I’m so sorry.” Percy sobbed, wrapping her arms around herself in a poor attempt to stop the shaking. “It’s all my fault. Lee only came here because I asked him to and we split up and the monster tried to attack me and I couldn’t stop the manticore and-” 

“Percy, look at me.” She shuddered a little breath, slowly looking up at the god before her. To her amazement, Apollo was smiling at her. It looked so much like Lee’s smile that it hurt. “I don’t blame you at all, sweetheart. None of this is your fault. Up, up.” Apollo hushed her. “I’m the god of prophecy, Percy. I wouldn’t lie to you about this. You know that.” 

“I know.” Percy whispered. She wiped her tears, well aware that they kept falling despite her efforts. “I’m going to find him and bring him home. I swear.” 

For a second, Apollo’s lips thinned, like he was going to lecture her about making promises she couldn’t keep. Then a brightness flashed in his blue eyes that Lee had inherited turning gold for just a second. Apollo’s smile brightened as he ruffled her hair again. “I know you will. No more crying, my son insists that you’re too beautiful to be crying.” Percy blushed at the teasing as Apollo put his arm around her shoulders and turned to the rest of the group, his mood a little happier. “Alright! One trip to Camp Half-Blood! All aboard the Apollo Express!” 

He clicked a button on his car key. The Maserati of Percy’s dreams shifted into a golden school bus. “Since it’s not in sports mode, does that mean I can drive the sun chariot now?”  

Apollo chuckled. “Sorry sweetheart, you gotta to wait until you get your permit. Your dad’s orders.” Percy pouted, getting another chuckle from Lee’s father. He hugged her quickly, then nudged her towards the bus. “Get everyone on the bus for me, will you? I need to chat with Arty real quick before we go.” 

Author's Note - Just because this fic is inspired by TartorTot's doesn't mean I'm following it to the tee [insert evil author cackles here]. Besides, I have my female version of Percy, who is basically an Aphrodite girl and just watched the love of her life throw himself and a manticore off of a cliff. Sprinkle the Hunters of Artemis in there, and we get the cat fight of the century. Plus, since Percy and Thalia have a good relationship, I needed someone for Percy to be angry at and Zoe volunteered as tribute. Side note, I'm not doing the accent marks in Zoe's name, that's way too much fucking work. So next chapter we have the Hunters return to Camp Half-Blood, the Apollo Cabin's reaction to Lee's disappearance, and something else that's kind of important that's happening too. I can't wait to read all of your predictions! Don't forget to comment, kudos, and bookmark! Love you guys so much!

Thalia 

If you asked Thalia Grace when she knew that Persephone Jackson was in love with Lee Fletcher, she would have told you that she knew from the moment she heard Percy's voice.

Because when you're a tree that should be dead, all you hear is muffled sounds from the outside world while looking out into a black void. For six years, that was all Thalia heard so, naturally, she assumed she was dead.

"Hi Thalia! Lee and I are going to Atlantis tomorrow and-" But then Thalia heard her cousin's voice. For a week, Percy came back every day, chatting away about her favorite topic, the boy she loved with all of her heart. And when no one was around, Percy would tell her all the things Lee did for her. From going on their first quest together, to trading places with her mom in the Underworld, to removing that disgusting stepfather out of her life once and for all.

Percy waxed poetry whenever she spoke of Lee. He was the sun, stars, and moon all in one. The center of her universe. Her rock, shield, protector. The prince charming who rescued her in more ways than she thought possible.

Lee Fletcher sounded too good to be true. But when Thalia woke that stormy night in her cousin's lap, she saw how he went to Percy's side immediately, the fear that Percy was hurt evaporating the second it connected that Thalia was the one in need. How Percy asked him for help and he sprang to action, no questions asked.

It only took her a day of watching them from afar to see that Lee Fletcher wasn't too good to be true. In fact, his love and devotion for her cousin came naturally to him, like nothing gave him greater joy in life than to love Persephone Jackson.

Their love was palpable, inspiring, legendary.

It was the type of love that love stories tried to be.

Thalia Grace had faced many tragedies in her short, then renewed life. But when she saw Percy and Lee together, she knew one thing for certain.

Thalia Grace would do everything in her power to make sure her cousin never suffered the same heartbreak she had.

Because the love that Persephone Jackson and Lee Fletcher had was worth protecting.

Author's Note - I figured we'd switch it up and have the demigods give little blurbs at the end of each chapter for this book. Love you guys!

-V.I. Winthrop

Chapter Text

Author's Note - Y'all, I'm so happy you loved the first chapter! I hope you like this chapter because it was an absolute pain to write. And this chapter is kind of choppier than I would prefer, but I think it's in a good spot. Also, I may have taken a few liberties with Canon because, well, you know, my fic, my rules. Those liberties will be explained in the next chapter or so. Oh, and I guess a trigger warning in Lee's POV. Again, next chapter will go into more detail. On to the story!

Chapter 2: Safe to Say, Zoe Nightshade Doesn’t Like Percy 

Percy 

Getting everyone on the bus was way easier than Percy expected because clearly, this wasn’t the first time the Hunters had been reluctantly shuttled somewhere by Apollo. Within two minutes, they were all loaded up and set. As for Percy’s crew, she had to stop Nico from pressing the big red button on the dashboard, but they boarded the bus easily enough. 

“- you can’t come with me, Apollo.” Artemis stated when Percy stepped off the bus to the gods know that everyone was shuttled. “The interference laws-” 

“Fuck the interference laws.” Apollo hissed. “That manticore took my son, and I don’t give two shits about Father and his archaic interference paranoia.” Above them, thunder rumbled, but Apollo glared up to the sky.  

Artemis grabbed his shoulders, forcing the sun god to look at her. “You can’t.” He huffed through his nose, steam coming out of it. “Wild beasts aren’t your domain. If the Winter Solstice is going to go in our favor, you must stand down.” Apollo’s face twisted like he swallowed a lemon. “I must do this.” 

“… it’s my son.” Percy’s heart break for Apollo at his whimper. Artemis softened immediately, tugging him into a hug, reminding Percy so much of her breakdown in Thalia’s arms hours ago. 

“I will find him.” Artemis swore, stepping back. She noticed Percy waiting for them. The goddess waved her forward. “I have told my Hunters that there will not be a repeat of the last time they visited Camp.” 

“There better fucking not be.” Apollo grunted, his eyes a little red. 

“But if something does happen, I would like you to handle it accordingly, then inform me of their actions, Percy.”  

Percy blinked in shock. “Isn’t that Chiron’s job?” 

Clearly, that was the wrong thing to say because the faces of both gods soured at Chiron’s name. “I find myself questioning Chiron’s judgment as of late.” Artemis said bluntly. “Besides, Camp Half-Blood is your home. You will be well within your rights to duel out any punishments as needed.” Artemis knelt and touched the ground as if looking for tracks. When she rose, she looked troubled. “I must go.” She turned to leave. 

“Artemis.” Artemis looked back at her twin over her shoulder. Apollo had a faraway look in his eyes. “A choice will be presented to you. You must trust the judgment of another.” Then the god of prophecy shook his head, his eyes clearing. “Be safe, Arty.” 

The goddess of the hunt nodded to her brother and sprinted towards the woods, and melted into the snow and shadows. 

“Alright!” Apollo said as the two of them stepped back on the bus. “Since Percy can’t drive the sun chariot yet cause her dad’s a stick in the mud, does someone else want to take the wheel?”  

“Can I?” 

“Sorry kid, way too young.” Nico pouted, lowering his hand.  

“Ooo! Ooo!” Grover raised his hand. 

“Nope, too furry.” Grover muttered something about animal discrimination under his breath. Apollo scanned the occupants before landing on his target. “Thalia Grace, come on down!” 

Thalia paled and shook her head. “No thanks, I’m good.” 

“Come on. A daughter of Zeus, in the sky, it’s perfect!” 

“I think I’m too young.” Thalia shrugged. “I think. I’m not sure how old I am.” Which was true. Poor Thalia had no idea how old she was, and when Lee and his siblings used their diagnosis hymn to try and figure out her age, it kept failing on them.” 

“You’re fifteen.” Apollo said confidently. “Lee mentioned that the diagnosis hymn wasn’t working so I had Asclepius check out your tree. Since you were twelve when you became a pine tree, it slowed down your growth. So instead of being eighteen, you’re fifteen, about to be sixteen in a week.” 

“That’s my birthday! December twenty-second!” 

“There you go. Which means you’re old enough to drive with a learner’s permit, and I know for a fact that your dad won’t care.” 

Thalia shifted in her seat nervously. “I don’t know-” 

“Come on. It’ll be alright!” 

Newsflash, it was not alright. Maybe it was because it was Thalia’s first time behind the wheel, but Percy’s poor cousin was scared shitless driving the sun chariot. Thankfully, Apollo retook the wheel not even a minute after taking off when Thalia slammed on the accelerator and almost caused a forest fire in Portland. 

Grover rubbed Percy’s back as they descended into Camp Half-Blood. Like he normally does when Apollo makes an impromptu visit to Camp, Apollo parked the sun chariot at the beach. Slowly, Percy looked out the window, and her heart was in her throat. 

All of the Apollo Cabin and Aphrodite Cabin (minus the two unclaimed girls who didn’t know Percy that well yet) who were year-round campers, were on the beach. The Apollo Cabin looked like they had been crying.  

They knew. And Percy wasn’t sure if she was grateful or not that the Apollo Cabin knew what had happened to Lee. 

But then Percy caught Silena’s eyes through the window. Silena smiled at her and mouthed ‘it’ll be ok’. Percy wasn’t sure if she believed her, but the message was clear. Today might be the day she lost the Apollo Cabin forever (and really, who could blame them? It was Percy’s fault that Lee was missing). She didn’t want that to happen. Lee’s family had always been so good to her, and they were her friends. 

But the Aphrodite Cabin, they would always be by her side, no matter what. The moment Percy stepped into that cabin, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that they were her family. She would always be grateful for their love and support. It didn’t matter that Percy was claimed by Poseidon. Persephone Jackson was an Aphrodite girl through and through.  

Slowly, Percy stood from her seat, walking down the aisle of the bus. Everyone else remained seated, like they knew that she had to be the one off the best first. She took a shaky breath as Apollo opened the bus door. 

Time to face the music. 

Mikey stood on the other side of the door and immediately, Percy was in tears again. “I’m so so-” She cut herself off when he hugged her fiercely. 

“You know Lee hates it when you cry and when he gets back, he’s going to kick my ass for making you cry.” Mikey joked through his own sniffles. “And Dad said he did something overprotectively stupid, didn’t he?” 

“… He wrestled a manticore off a cliff so it wouldn’t hurt me.” Percy admitted softly. 

Mikey snorted, hugging her tighter. “He’s such a sap. It’s not your fault.” 

“But-” 

“No.” Mikey pulled away to arm's length to look up at her (it always ticked him off that she was taller than him by 2.5 inches). “I know my brother and I know that none of us blame you, Percy. Lee lov- looks out for you because he cares about you so much. He always has, and he always will.” Mikey put his left arm around her back, guiding her off the bus steps and onto the sand in front of his siblings. “And until Lee gets back, we’re going to look out for you like he would. Right, guys?” 

“That’s right.” Kayla nodded. 

“We’ve got your back, Percy.” Austin added. 

“You’re our family too, Percy.” Will said. “And the Apollo Cabin doesn’t abandon family.” 

“You guys.” Percy said, this time with happy tears. Then Silena stepped forward, her arms open. She had no qualms racing into her first big sister’s arms. Whispers of ‘we love you’ and ‘it’ll be ok’ slipped easily from Silena. Then the rest of the Aphrodite Cabin joined in on the group hug, comforting her with the love that saved her. 

“I’m going to tell him.” Percy whispered. “When I find him, I’m going to tell him. 

“I’m glad.” Said Silena. 

“Praise.” Said Mitchell. 

“Finally.” Said Lacy. 

“Damnit, there goes my bet.” Said Drew, earning an elbow from Silena. “I mean, it’s about damn time.” 

“What the fuck are you doing back here?” Mikey questioned loudly as the Aphrodite Cabin ended their attempt to smother Percy with as much love as possible. He already had his bow in hand, and Kayla already had an arrow aimed right at Zoe Nightshade as she exited the bus, the other Hunters. Will and Austin stayed close behind Kayla, watching the Hunters with unease. 

“Yew, you look… minuscule.” 

“You still look like a constipated bitch.” Mike shot back at Zoe, enjoying how red her face got at the comment. “Funny, how some things don’t change.” 

“Michael,” Apollo poked his head out of the bus. “Play nice with your cousin.” 

“He is not my cousin!” 

“She started it!” 

“Dad, I thought the Hunters were banned from Camp after burning down our cabin.” Kayla commented, arrow still at the ready. “Twice.” 

“It was a one-year ban.” Apollo corrected as the rest of the campers got off the bus. “Please, try not to kill each other while Arty’s away. I’m already stressed out as it is.” 

Kayla lowered her arrow slowly. “If they touch our cabin again, all bets are off.”  

“That’s fair.” Apollo nodded in agreement. Then he looked at the sky and groaned. “I’ve got to get going. Dad’s summoning me. Love you kids, be good. Percy,” her head popped up, not expecting to be called out. “you have to wait until after the Capture the Flag game to go searching for Lee.” 

Immediately, Percy wanted to protest, but the seriousness of Apollo’s statement made her pause. He must have seen something, she realized. And when the god of prophecy tells you that you have to do something, you do it, no questions asked. 

“Yes, sir.” 

Apollo smiled at her answer, which dropped suddenly into a deep frown. Gold flashed in his blue eyes for a moment. Zoe straightened under his weighted gaze. “And when the time comes, Persephone Jackson will be paramount to your success. Take her with you.” Before Zoe could think about questioning him, Apollo shook his head and gasped. “Look at the time! Got to run kids! Love you, bye!” They all looked away as the bus doors closed, the sun chariot went back to sport mode and flew away. 

Thalia leaned over to Kayla and fake-whispered. “Is he always that cryptic?” 

Kayla shrugged. “Sometimes, you get used to it.” Then she noticed the awe on the DiAngelo kids’ faces as they looked out at Camp. “I thought you guys were only going to Maine for one kid.” 

“Yeah, so did we.” Percy joked before bringing Bianca to Silena. “Silena, meet Bianca DiAngelo, your new part-time unclaimed camper. Bianca, this is Silena Beauregard, Drew Tanaka, Mitchell Highland, and Lacy Chambert of the Aphrodite Cabin. Their mother is Lady Aphrodite, the goddess of love.” 

Silena smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Bianca.” Then she registered what Percy had said. “Part-time unclaimed camper?” 

“Bianca is a Hunter of Artemis.” Zoe interjected, throwing the children of Aphrodite a nasty look that had Drew sending back her own look.  

“Bianca is doing a trial run.” Percy corrected. “While Lady Artemis is away, Bianca is going to spend her day doing camp activities with you guys, but all meals and nighttime will be with the Hunters. That way she can try out both experiences and decide what’s best for her.” 

“What’s best for her is to be with her sisters,” Zoe grumbled. “Not with love-obsessed fools and a boy with a wandering eye.” 

Mitchell’s face twisted with disgust. “Girl, please. One, she’s twelve, and two, I’m gay.” 

Bianca tilted her head. “So, you’re happy?” 

“Oh you sweet summer child.” Mitchell teased. “You’re going to learn so much around here.” 

“Don’t talk to her, boy.” Zoe snapped. 

Mitchell looked ready to run through Zoe with his long sword. “Bitch, who the fuck-” 

“Lady Artemis has agreed to this trial run.” Percy said louder to stop World War III from breaking out on the beach. “Which means it’s time for Bianca and Nico to watch the orientation film. Come on, guys, let’s go see Chiron. Zoe, I trust you all know where your cabin is.” 

“You mean the new one?” Austin muttered, earning a sneer from Zoe. 

“Yes.” She said shortly, then waved her sisters forward. Drew waited for them to be out of earshot before saying. 

“Gods, she needs to get laid.” 

“Drew!” Silena covered a confused Bianca’s ears. “There are children present.” 

“What? You know I’m right.”  

“Well, that went about as good as I expected.” Percy sweatdropped. “Come on, let’s go see Chiron.” 

The rest of Percy’s day went about as well as you could have expected it. The news of Lee’s kidnapping spread like wildfire, and everyone was giving Percy looks of sympathy, like she was a widow in mourning. There was a dimness to Camp despite all of their Winter Solstice decorations. 

That didn’t stop the campers from getting into it with the Hunters. No, if anything, Lee’s kidnapping fueled the campers' dislike of the Hunters more, especially when Mikey spoke loudly at lunch for all of camp to hear that the reason why Lee fell off the cliff was because the Hunters opened fire even though Lady Artemis told them to wait. That afternoon, Percy had to break up at least ten different fights. 

By dinner time, the air was so tense, you could cut it when a butter knife. Chiron’s speech at dinner did not help matters. 

“To the gods.” 

“To the gods.” The pavilion cheers back half-heartedly. 

“As you can see, the Hunter of Artemis has joined us once again.” Chiron paused, like he wanted them to clap. For a moment, no one clapped. Percy sighed from the Poseidon table and clapped slowly, getting the rest of the camp to follow suit, reluctantly. “And as is tradition, tomorrow night will be a friendly game of Capture the Flag.” Percy’s ears perked at that. After all, Apollo said she had to wait until after Capture the Flag to go find Lee. While she wished the game was tonight, having it tomorrow versus waiting for Friday was a huge plus. If anything, that meant Lee would be home sooner. She hoped. “Now as for-” 

“Chiron.” Zoe stood from the Artemis table. Kind of ballsy of her to interrupt Chiron like that, acting like she was in charge instead of a guest. “It seems thou hast more campers than usual for the winter session.” Yeah, you could thank Lee for that. His apartments for the eighteen-and-over demigods were a huge hit. Sure, a lot of campers were visiting their mortal parents for the holiday, but this was easily the most campers at Camp during the winter sessions. She waved to her group of twelve girls (plus Bianca). “That hardly seems fair.” 

“Since when have you lot cared about fairness?” Someone from the Demeter table called out. Others shouted out in agreement. 

Zoe ignored him. “I propose a friendly match of 14 on 14.” 

“13 on 13.” Silena spoke up. “Bianca won’t be participating.” 

Zoe narrowed her eyes at Silena, who met the stare head-on. “Bianca is a Hunter; she will be joining us in this.” 

Silena rolled her eyes. “All new campers have to get two full weeks of training in before they can play Capture the Flag.”  AKA, the Percy Jackson rule, which Lee introduced to the counselors in his first official meeting as the Apollo counselor. “Don’t worry, she can watch here in the pavilion.” 

“Bianca is blessed with the perfect archery thanks to her oath to Lady Artemis.” Zoe argued. “She does not need training.” 

“Yeah, cool, don’t care. She is a new camper, which means she has to get two weeks of training in before she can participate in Capture the Flag.” Silena leaned back with her arms crossed. 

“Jackson, your trial run is going swimmingly.” Mr. D snarked as he stood, stopping Zoe and Silena from going to blows. Chiron looked like he was about to say something, but Mr. D waved him off. “Times have changed, Nightshade, and so has Camp Half-Blood. Both of the DiAngelos will be sitting out of Capture the Flag, as per our rules.” Zoe gave a stiff nod. “However, I will relent to your request. Jackson will lead and pick Camp Half-Blood representatives in tomorrow’s game.” She will? Around her, the campers banged their fists on their table in agreement. 

Well… no pressure. Just trying to stop the Hunters of Artemis from winning in Capture the Flag for the 56th time in a row. 

“Perhaps Thalia should-” 

“Jackson, submit your team to me in the morning.” Mr. D cut Chiron off, sitting back down. 

As dinner wound down, Percy headed to her cabin for a much-needed break from everyone. She appreciated their concern, really, she did. But right now, Percy just wanted to curl up in her silk sheets, cry into her pillow, then spend the night figuring out how to save Lee. Unfortunately for her, Chiron wanted to chat with her. 

“How are you, my dear?” Chiron asked as they walked to her cabin. 

Absolutely miserable. “Fine.” She said instead. “I’ll feel better once I start looking for Lee.” 

“Ah.” Chiron shifted on his hooves. “That is why I wanted to talk to you. I think perhaps it would be best if you don’t go searching for Lee.” Percy stopped dead in her tracks. What the fuck did Chiron just say? She thought for sure he wouldn’t have suggested something so ridiculously stupid regarding the love of her life, but unfortunately, Chiron kept talking. “I fear that your report that he vanished from the cliff means that the Titan Lord hopes to use him as bait to pull you out of the safety of Camp Half-Blood. Such a risk is one that we can not take. Lee is quite bright. If anyone could escape the Titan Lord’s clutches, it would be Lee.” Waves of emotions crashed in her ears. She said nothing. “Percy? Did you hear me?” 

“I find myself questioning Chiron’s judgment as of late.” 

When Lady Artemis had said that earlier, Percy had thought nothing of it. Sure, Chiron was a little set in his ways, but besides him never giving Percy a straight answer, she had never felt anything negative towards Chiron. 

But now, that was all out the window. 

“… Why did you send me to Maine then?” She kept her eyes straight ahead, refusing to even look at the trainer right now. “If you wanted to keep me tucked away in Camp, why send me and Thalia to Maine?” 

“Percy,” Chiron’s voice was full of sympathy. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was real or not. “You must understand that there is more at play than what is available for you to know. You must trust me on this.” 

“Maybe if you’d actually give me a straight answer, I would!” Percy snapped. Anger boiled in her chest. “Ever since I got here, it’s always been riddles and tests with you. First, the orientation video, then last summer with the Golden Fleece, now this?! I can’t tell if you want me to succeed or fall flat on my face! You want me to solve each problem, but how can I do that if you don’t tell me what’s going on?” Finally, she looked at him. Chiron looked thoroughly taken aback. Good. “And do you know who actually protects me, and gives me answers, and gives me tools to face this world head-on? Lee! Lee has done more than anyone here to make sure that I’m ready to face Evil Grandpappy when I turn sixteen, and I will be damned if I abandon him! The only reason I’m still talking to you right now is because Lord Apollo said that I had to stay at Camp until Capture the Flag. I will be leaving first thing after that game and there is nothing you can do to stop me.” She stomped onto her cabin porch and ripped the door open. 

“Percy, please think logically here. The risk is-” 

“Worth it!” Percy yelled from the doorway. “Lee Fletcher is worth it all! Why don’t you go focus your ‘recommendations’ on Thalia since she’s the one turning sixteen next week!” 

“Percy, wait-” Percy felt no guilt slamming the door in his face. Her back slid down the door until she was curled up on the floor with her knees to her chest. 

Her mind raced with the ache in her heart.  

Because in a twisted way, Chiron’s reasoning made sense. She didn’t like it. She hated it, in fact. But if Percy was thinking logically, she probably shouldn’t leave Camp Half-Blood. Clearly, Evil Grandpappy’s obsession with her hadn’t gone away even though Luke wanted to kill her last summer on the Princess Andromeda. Hell, if Lee were here, he would tell her to stay at Camp, where he knew she was safe. 

I love you. 

But if Percy was going to win this war, then there was no question. She needed Lee there, at her side, giving her the strength and drive to keep fighting. Because, yeah, Camp Half-Blood was her home, and she would do anything to protect it.  

But when she had brought Lee to Sea Fam Brunch that first time and he talked about the apartments for the older campers and how Camp Half-Blood used to have demigod families, she couldn’t help but wonder, could Persephone Jackson have that one day? 

Like most little girls, Percy grew up wanting to get married someday, have a house, and start a family, as cliché as that sounded. But after growing up with what Gabe had done to her, Percy had resigned herself to the fact that no one would want her. In her mind, she was damaged goods. Even if she did get to a point where she could be with a man intimately, why would he want a broken girl like her to be the mother of his child? Gabe Ugliano had not only stolen her innocence; he had stolen her dream, one that Percy had been certain she would never get back. 

I love you. 

But Lee Fletcher changed all of that. He had done so much for her in the two years she’s known him. He was her best friend, her rock, her protector, her everything. When Percy was with Lee, she couldn’t help but dream of what the future could look like. Even with the whole potential doomsday on her sixteenth birthday, Percy found herself dreaming of a little cottage at Camp, with the beach in the front and the forest in the back. And an older, even more handsome Lee would be at the archery range, showing a little girl with her sea green eyes and his golden hair how to aim with a bow that was definitely too big for the five-year-old. But the little girl was determined to use the big kid bow, stubbornly telling Lee that she could aim all by herself. And an adult Percy would be watching from the sidelines, cradling a six-month-old to her chest, kissing the baby’s short black hair as his bright blue eyes watched and cooed at his sister. And the little girl would hit the target, and they would all cheer, even the little baby clapped his hands in happiness, because it was the girl’s first bullseye. 

Percy had that vivid dream during her nap, she took in prep to guard Thalia’s Tree during the night shift that changed everything. And she hadn’t stopped daydreaming about that dream since. 

With Thalia’s return, maybe, just maybe, that dream could be real. Because with Thalia back, didn’t that make Thalia the child of the Great Prophecy now? 

Was she too young and traumatized to want this life? Probably but that didn’t stop her from wanting it any less. 

But none of that would matter if Lee wasn’t there. 

“I have to find him.” She whispered to her empty cabin, standing up with determination in her veins. “But where could he be?”  

The weight of the world. A body moaning in pain. The touch of moonlight. The vote of a council. The cries of- 

“The manticore speaks of the General…” 

A ruined city of black marble and columns in the hillside. Fog sweeps every corner. The grunts of man under pressure. 

A familiar bronze statue appeared in her mind, one that she would pass every day while in the city, right in the heart of Rockefeller Center. 

She gasped. “The weight of the world, the General, that’s it!”  

Seconds later, Percy knocked on a cabin door that she only ever stepped into for cabin inspections. She prayed that she wouldn’t… 

“What do you want?” Annabeth sneered, barely opening the Athena Cabin door for Percy. “Cabin inspections aren’t until after the Solstice.” 

… answer the door. 

“I know. Look, is Malcolm there? I’ve got a question for him and-” 

“What? Are you going to replace one blonde for another?” 

Anger was normally what Percy felt whenever she had to spend more than two minutes around Annabeth. But even Percy was shocked by the homicidal rage that skyrocketed in her at that comment. 

“Annabeth!” Malcolm shouted, reaching above his sister to force the door wider so that Percy could see into the cabin now. “Go do something where you won’t piss people off.” 

“You aren’t the boss of me.” Annabeth grunted. 

“Until Walt gets back, yes, the fuck, I am.” Malcolm pointed out of the cabin to the arts and crafts shed. “There are some new blueprints for more apartments. Can you just go and review them in peace?” 

“Fine!” Annabeth marched past Percy and would have shoulder checked her if Percy didn’t step out of her way. See, this is why Percy only talked with Athena’s two sons. Walt and Malcolm were chill, nerdy and weren’t jealous of the fact that Percy was the best tactician at Camp with the Capture the Flag record to prove it. But Annabeth (and her sisters, who also didn’t like Percy but weren’t as vocal about it) were very proud daughters of Athena, and they could not handle the fact that they couldn’t outsmart Percy. 

“Lovely talking to you as always, Annabeth.” Percy muttered under her breath with an eye roll. “Is she always like that?” 

Malcolm pinched the bridge of his nose, like he was trying to fight off a headache. “No. You just caught her on a bad day. You know how Thalia told her to reach out to her dad?” 

Of course, Annabeth had daddy issues; that was probably the least shocking thing she heard all day. Percy made a face. “The last thing Thalia and I will talk about when we’re together is Annabeth.” 

“Ah, right. Well, anyway, she convinced Annabeth to reach out to her dad, and she just heard back from him. It did not go well.” Malcolm shrugged. “What’s up?” 

“You know how when the gods moved, so did all of the famous sites of the gods did too. Olympus is the Empire State Building, the Underworld is in LA, the Lotus Eaters are in Las Vegas-” 

“The Lotus Eaters are in Vegas?” 

“Malcolm, focus.” 

“Right, sorry.” 

“Where would Mt. Orthys be?” Malcolm stared at her like she had three heads. “Malcolm?” 

“Are you psychic or something?” He leaned against the doorframe, still staring at her, shock in his gray eyes. “That’s why Annabeth is pissed at her dad. He just moved to San Francisco and demigods can’t live out there because Mt. Tam-” 

“Is Mt. Orthys.” Percy finished, knowing in her bones that that’s where Lee was taken. “Thanks Malcolm! Oh, you good with playing Capture the Flag tomorrow?” 

“Always, why?” 

“I’ve got a plan for you and Charlie. Those hunters won’t know what hit them.” She smiled mischievously as she turned to leave. “Later!” 

The next day couldn’t come fast enough for Percy. The sooner she got absolutely trounced the Hunters in Capture the Flag, the sooner she could go find Lee. But before the game, something kept nudging her towards the Big House, which she had been avoiding since her shouting match with Chiron. But as the day went on and Capture the Flag was just about to start, she found herself in the attic, asking for guidance for the one thing that had to give her an answer if asked. 

The corpse of Stella Montmartre was depressing to look at. Old, shriveled and in the ugliest tie-dyed hippie dress Percy had ever seen and she went to Meriweather Prep last year for school. It was a shame that the Oracle of Delphi had been reduced to such a state. But unlike last time she had been in this attic, the mummy didn’t sit up or vomit out green smoke. It just sat there, collecting dust and cobwebs. 

Still, she walked up to the Oracle. “How do I save Lee Fletcher, the son of Apollo?” Percy asked and waited for her prophecy. 

Nothing happened. 

Well, Percy thought after standing in the attic for ten minutes, that was just about as useless as talking to Chiron. 

The conch shell sounded. Time for dinner, and after that, Capture the Flag. 

The Hunters of Artemis were a well-oiled machine. Disciplined, uniform, and well commanded by Zoe Nightshade. But it was something that Zoe had said, and Mikey confirmed that told Percy exactly how to take down the Hunters. 

“We should do this more often!” Thalia shouted over the wind as they unleashed a mini tropical storm on the Hunters’ side of the creek, rendering their arrows absolutely useless. And if any of the girls were brave enough to charge at the daughter of Zeus and the daughter of Poseidon with hunting knives, Percy and Thalia’s bodyguards made quick work of that. 

The bodyguards, of course, were Charlie, Malcolm, and Sherman, who easily outmatched every hunter through strength, height and the fact that all three of them were very competent swordsmen while the hunters fought with their secondary, less proficient weapons. 

After all, if the Hunters of Artemis were blessed with perfect archery the moment they swore their oath to Lady Artemis, why would they need to train with any other type of weapon? In most cases, their archery would be enough. 

Most cases, at least. 

The ground shook as Castor, Pollux, and Katie turned the pine trees into a rain forest, full of vines to make Zoe Nightshade trip and stumble as she ran with the blue team’s flag. Mikey and Courtney, who were on guard duty, gave chase behind her. Percy saw another Zoe Nightshade pop out of the trees on the Hunters' side of the creek, making the hunters do a double-take. 

That was the signal. 

“Thalia, now!” Percy ordered as she uncrossed Riptide from Thalia’s spear. Thalia turned to face the Zoe with their flag. The daughter of Zeus tugged on her silver bracelet and her trusty shield Aegis, formed to life. That Zoe stumbled at the sight of Medusa’s face, just in time for Mikey’s hand to touch the shoulder of Percy’s secret weapon. 

“Zoe Nightshade! Freeze!” Drew’s charmspeak sounded through the clearing. Just as Zoe was about to jump, she froze like a statue, one leg still in the air mid-run. A WHOOSH of wind blew past all of the hunters and Zoe, ruffling their parkas as the red flag turned blue with a caduceus. 

“Sorry ladies.” Travis smiled at all of them as the Zoe on the hunters’ side of the creek shifted back to Silena, kind of how Mystique from the X-Men shape-shifts. “Better luck next time.” 

“Camp Half-Blood has won!” Chiron cheered, followed by cheering from the pavilion that was so loud the entire forest heard it. “Excellent work every-” 

“This game was pointless!” Zoe shouted, still frozen mid-run. “You made us play even though you knew that our focus was elsewhere! How can we focus on anything else when Lady Artemis needs us to go free her!” She struggled to move. “Daughter of Aphrodite, release me at once!” 

“You could say the magic word.”  

“Now!”  

“Drew, please release her.” Chiron ordered. 

“Fine.” Drew rolled her eyes. “You can move.” 

SPLASH! 

“What do you mean, Aunt Artemis needs you to go free her?” Mikey demanded. 

Zoe flipped her wet braid behind her shoulder with a glare. “I don’t have to tell the likes of you. It is your brother’s fault that she has been taken prisoner as she was!” 

“What the fuck are you-” 

Green mist filled the clearing. No one dared move as shuffling and hissing noises followed the mist. 

“This is impossible.” Chiron whispered. The old trainer looked unnerved in that moment. “She has never left the attic… Never.” 

I am the spirit of Delphi. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. 

The Oracle regarded Percy with a terrifying look of kinship in its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned directly to Zoe Nightshade. Approach, Seeker, and ask. 

Zoe swallowed. “What must I do to help my goddess?” 

More green mist poured out of the Oracle’s mouth. It shifted and turned until the mountainous, broken city Percy had seen in her vision formed for everyone to see.  

“No.” Percy whispered in horror. 

Three bodies appeared in the mist. Lady Artemis sat on the ground, wrapped in chains, unable to do much except hold the moaning and shaking body of Nora Williams. Nora had a nasty cut on her forehead, her skin paler than snow. There was a pool of blood and fluid under her legs, staining her jeans. 

But Percy could only focus on Lee Fletcher. He stood on shaky legs, his arms out wide, his shoulders hunched, resembling a certain statue far too much. Lee had a silver glow around his body that could be traced back to the shoulder that Lady Artemis had pressed against his left knee. 

I love you. 

Then Lee raised his head as sweat dripped down his brow, looking straight at Percy. 

Five shall go west to the goddess in chains, 

One shall be lost in the land without rains, 

The bane of Olympus shows the trail, 

Campers and Hunters combined prevail, 

The Titan’s Curse must one withstand, 

And one shall perish by a parent’s hand. 

The mist swirled, rushing back to the Oracle that sat on a rock like it was her stool in the attic. 

But no one was looking at the Oracle of Delphi. 

For everyone was looking at Persephone Jackson because she, much like her sister had done two years prior, had been the one to deliver the prophecy instead. 

Lee 

Lee had a déjà vu moment when he woke to nectar on his tongue. Only to swat his hand wildly when he realized who was forcing the nectar down his throat. 

“Dude, calm down.” Chris pulled back, the cup of nectar still in his hand. “I’m trying to heal you, asshole.” 

“Get the fuck away from me.” Lee hissed as he kicked and pushed himself away from Chris, who sighed.  

“I knew this would happen.” Then, he brought the cup of nectar to his lips and took a big gulp. “See? It’s not poison. Drink it, you’re going to need it.” 

“Why?” Lee asked, finally noticing the rope around his wrists and waist. The other end of the rope was tied to one of the broken marble columns so that Lee couldn’t run away when Chris wasn’t looking. And, naturally, his hunting knives were nowhere to be found. 

“Because the General wants to see you.” Chris said solemnly, thrusting the cup in Lee’s hands. “And if you’re going to live, you need to be fully healed.” 

Lee weighed his options. On one hand, this was totally a trap. On the other hand, Lee was already in chains to begin with, his shoulder still hurt like a bitch, and this was definitely nectar in the cup. If he was going to have any chance of escaping, drinking the nectar was the best option he had. 

“Why do you care if I live?” Lee asked as he drank. 

Chris made a face. “I don’t but the General asked that you be fully healed before you meet him.” 

“Do you enjoy being the Titans’ bitch?” Chris flipped him the bird, not even bothering to answer him. “Where am I anyway?” 

“Where do you think? Mt Orthys.” Just by Chris saying the name, the air got cooler. “How’s the shoulder?” 

Lee considered lying but then remembered who he was talking to. Hermes’ kids were notoriously hard to lie to. “Let me have another gulp and it’ll be ready.” 

A few awkward minutes passed before Lee finally stood with a nod. Chris snapped the rope and used it as a leash to pull Lee up the mountain. They kept walking until they came across a sight that made Lee stop dead in his tracks. 

A tall, muscular man stood hunched over. He had some of the widest shoulders Lee had ever seen, with hands that looked like they could pulverize stone. His face was harsh and brutal, like he had fought and won a lot of battles. But the most shocking thing was the way that man was frozen in his stance like a statue as a darkness pushed on his shoulders. 

Luke Castellan turned as they approached, giving Lee a wicked smile. “Hey cuz, long time, no see.” 

“Castellan, you look less sunburnt than the last time I saw you.” Lee shot back. In all honesty, Castellan looked terrible. His skin was pale and his blonde hair looked almost gray. Chris tugged him forward and only then did Atlas move his head. 

His cold eyes bore into Lee, scanning every inch of his body. “Son of Apollo. You bear a striking resemblance to him.” 

“So I’ve been told.” Lee said cooly, meeting the Titan’s gaze without fear. Then he turned to Castellan. “Why am I here?” 

“Didn’t Thorn tell you?” Castellan hummed. “You’re about to do the General a great service tonight.” 

Yeah, fuck no. 

Lee looked at Atlas. The titan watched him like he was trying to guess Lee’s next move. It was Atlas who answered for Lee. “The son of Apollo will need more convincing than that, son of Hermes.” 

Castellan’s face turned red at being referenced by that, then he smoothed his face to be as sleazily as a new car salesman. “You are right, of course. It’s a good thing we did not feed the monsters last night.” He snapped his fingers. 

“Do not snap at me, Castellan.” Thorn said from behind Lee. “I am not your dog.”  

Lee made the mistake of glancing over his shoulder to glare at Thorn. 

A body moaning in pain. 

All thoughts besides rage left at the sight before him. The manticore held the barely conscious young woman up by her biceps. Her clothes were dirtied like she had been laying in the ground all day. 

“Castellan.” Atlas spoke again, his voice deadly calm as Chris had to full body tackle Lee to stop him from charging at Thorn. But even Chris looked horrified by what he saw. “What is this?” 

“Our way to convince Lee to free you, of course.” Castellan, the fucker, grabbed Nora’s chin so that Lee could see her face. She had a terrible cut across her forehead and blood caked in her red hair. She was a pale as a ghost, and her eyes were delirious. Her body looked almost exactly the same except she looked almost bloated. Her body was fighting off a phantom pain. 

Little did Lee know how right he was. 

“CASTELLAN!” Chris hissed as his arms started to burn as Lee’s body heat rose to the surface of the sun. “LET HER GO OR I SWEAR-” 

“You’ll what? Explode?” Castellan chuckled like the sick son of bitch that he was. “Sure you might get me but are you really going to risk hitting Nora with the blast?” Lee snarled like one of his aunt’s wolves, forcing himself to breathe through the fury. Castellan was right, unfortunately. Lee was furious enough right now that he could go supernova and kill every last one of them.  

But a solar flare was as dangerous as it sounded. There was no controlling it once it was released. The chances of Nora getting caught in the crossfire, even as a daughter of Apollo, were too big to risk. 

“Nora and her boyfriend have been a thorn in my side for a while now.” Castellan explained, his grubby fingers still touching her. Lee would snap every single one of them. “Stopping us from grabbing new demigods all over North America. But then they made a mistake. Do you want to know what the monsters in my army told me? Something that totally should have been taught at Camp Half-Blood if the gods actually cared about us.” Then fucker dropped her chin to touch her shirt, stretching it to reveal a bump. “The scent of demigoddess’ is extra potent when she’s pregnant.” 

“Walt, Gleason and I called Chiron once we got back to the States so that we could get a ride to one of Dad’s safe houses. You wouldn’t believe all the monsters they had in Mexico.” 

“A two-for-one special for any monster that gets them. But Nora didn’t know this. Tsk, ironic for a daughter of Apollo to not know her own body. Not that we can blame her, she barely looks pregnant compared to a mortal woman. One of our healers confirmed how far along she was a few hours ago. What was it again?”  

“Full term.” Thorn said like he was bored by the whole thing. “And currently in active labor.” As if on cue, Nora moaned in pain, her body twitching uncontrollably. 

… No. 

Castellan finally stopped touching her to shrug. “Such a shame too. You know Walt almost got her out. She couldn’t fight, you know, because of the labor. He killed about a fifth of my monsters all by himself. The blessing of Athena was something to watch. Great fighter, Walt was.” The realization of what happened to Walter Richardson hit Lee like a truck as Castellan withdrew his steel and bronze sword. “His death was a quick one.” Then the fucker pointed his sword at Nora’s stomach. “Originally, I was going to toss her into our monster barracks for dessert. Pregnant demigoddesses are a delicacy. But then you showed up and the temptation was too good to pass up. So I’ll give you two choices, since I’m such a nice guy. You will take Lord Atlas’ burden and watch as your sister dies in childbirth. Or you don’t and I’ll make sure you get to meet your new niece or nephew before you die.” 

“…Damn you.” Lee swore, knowing that he had no choice. “Let go of me, Rodriguez. I’ll take the burden.” 

“Glad you see it my way.” Castellan smiled as Chris cut Lee free, mouthing ‘I’m sorry’ to Lee. He ignored him, forcing himself to turn his back on his sister. 

“… Lee…” He stopped midstep. Her voice was so weak and trembling with pain. “… don’t.” Lee glanced back. 

“Nora, you’re awake! How are you feeling?” Castellan asked only to recoil when she spat in his face. “Why you-” Castellan raised his hand like he was about to hit her. 

“Castellan.” Atlas’ voice chilled the area, stopping all of them. “Enough with the charade.” Then the Titan grunted to Lee. “Well Son of Phoebus Apollo, relieve me of this burden.” 

Slowly, Lee crouched under the sky and shouldered Atlas’ burden. Even with Atlas still there, the pressure felt like thousands upon thousands of stones pressing down on Lee. For a horrifying second, Lee thought that he would pass out from the pressure. Just a few months prior, Lee had broken his back so badly that the Golden Fleece had to heal him. Could his back survive holding the sky from the earth? 

Probably not. Any moment now, he was about to drop the weight and die. How had Hercules been able to do this? 

But then Nora whimpered. He spared a glance at his sister, who was so in pain that she could barely cry. 

Then Percy flashed into his mind. The thought of her in his arms as they dance. The memory of her kiss on the corner of his lips. The echo of her laugh in his ears. 

The desire to live roared like a wildfire. 

The sun burned in Lee’s chest.  

Lee Fletcher was the son of Phoebus Apollo, the Slayer of Python. And the disgraces before him had hurt his family.  

He would survive.  

He would save his sister and her child.  

And he would see the love of his life once again. 

Atlas must have felt the heat rising within Lee because he hummed like he was amused. “It appears I was right after all.” Atlas mused and left.  

Lee’s knees almost buckled. His muscles felt like they were melting, shouting desperately to give up and end their suffering. This was easily the most pain he had ever been in. But the sun was stronger than the pain, and somehow, Lee stood on shaky knees, holding the sky just as Atlas had. Driven purely by the sun raging in his chest and the thought of being with Percy once again. 

Just in time to see Atlas backhand Luke across the face with such force that Lee thought for sure his neck broke. 

“Sir!” Thorn shouted then flinched at the Titan’s glare. 

“Son of Hermes.” Atlas addressed Chris as Castellan started to sit up in shock. Shockingly, he had no bruising on his face from the blow but clearly the action alone was enough to render him speechless. “Take the girl and lay her by her brother.” 

“But sir!” Thorn tried again before withering under the Titan’s glare. 

“Son of Hermes.” Atlas snapped. Chris moved quickly, taking Nora from the manticore and laying her gently just out of the sky’s reach. If Lee hadn’t been stuck under the sky, he would have been in arm's length from touching her. 

“As for you, Castellan.” Atlas grabbed Luke by the scruff of his neck. “There is honor amongst thieves and men and yet, I see you have none. My lord was a fool for choosing you,” Luke paled that. “but you were never his first choice to begin with. For all of our sakes, perhaps it’ll be best to expedite the transfer.” Then Atlas looked up expectantly. “You should all be grateful that time is on our side. Castellan, Thorn, go to prepare our eastern base.” 

“General, she approaches.” Thorn warned, earning a chilling laugh from the Titan as his ragged clothes became a tailored brown suit.  

“I will deal with her myself. Son of Hermes, to me.” When Luke stood, Atlas backhanded him again, launching him into Thorn. “You have defied ancient laws, Castellan. You are no longer worthy of your father’s name. Give thanks, Castellan, that you still have value to us or I would have snuffed you out myself. Leave us.” 

Castellan looked terrified now, like he knew that Atlas was speaking the truth. With his tail between his legs, Castellan slashed his cursed sword, and he and Thorn disappeared in a ripple of darkness. 

Atlas turned back to Lee. “Had it been my pick, you would have been who I’d have chosen.” Atlas said with a chilling smile, like someone was walking over Lee’s grave. “I look forward to seeing how long you last, son of Phoebus Apollo. Son of Hermes, to me. Let’s greet our guest.” 

And like that, Lee was alone, bearing the weight of the sky all by himself. 

Who knows how much time passed? Could have been days, minutes, seconds. He occupied his mind with thoughts of Percy. Was she safe? Did she make it out of Maine? Was Mikey and the other watching over her? 

Did she hear his whisper in the wind? 

A part of him wished that she didn’t, if only so he could tell her again. He would shout it from the rooftops if she wanted him to. Lee Fletcher was completely and utterly in love with Persephone Jackson. Why shouldn’t everyone know that? 

Was Percy looking for him? He wished she wasn’t for the sole reason that he wanted her to be safe. But he knew his love, and he knew that if anyone would be able to find them, it would be Percy Jackson. 

Outside of his mind, the only reason Lee knew that time had passed was when he glanced down at Nora. Her breathing was weak as she kept floating in and out of consciousness. The wound on her forehead was deeper than he originally thought.  

But then he made the mistake of looking past her face. Her body twitched and shook as embryonic fluid soiled her jeans, followed by blood.  

Her water broke.  

Soon she would feel the need to push, if she even had the strength to do so. 

There was a good chance that blood was her hemorrhaging. 

Nora and her baby were dying at his feet.   

And there was nothing Lee could do. He couldn’t talk, couldn’t move. All that healing, all that studying, fucking useless. The sky pressed harder, like it felt his helplessness and thrived from it. 

“… How dare you.” A woman hissed. Lee knew that voice. 

“You should be proud; your nephew has grit and honor.” Lee forced his head up. His eyes widened as Atlas led Aunt Artemis, her dress tattered with cuts up and down her body. Her wrists were chained. Aunt Artemis’ eyes flashed through every emotion. Rage, hatred, realization, horror, fear. Chris Rodriguez knelt next to Nora’s head and frowned at what he saw. “As for your niece, even barely conscious, her body has slowed her contractions down, but nature still takes its course.” He shoved Aunt Artemis in front of both of them. “Ancient laws were broken, so I shall give you a choice, Huntress. Will you take the burden from your nephew’s shoulders? Or will you keep your niece and her child alive?” 

What type of fucked up Sophie’s Choice was this? 

No, he wouldn’t force his aunt to make that choice. 

He would make it for her. 

“Pick Nora.” Lee spoke for the first time since taking the sky. Aunt Artemis’ eyes flashed with concern. “I can hold up the sky. Save Nora.” 

“Lee, you’ll die… I don’t know how you’re still standing.” 

Atlas chuckled like he heard a joke. “Quit lying to yourself, Huntress. You know why your nephew has the strength that he has.” Her lips thinned at that, like she had been caught in a lie. “Tick Tock, Huntress, your niece is fading.” 

“Take Nora. I can hold.” 

“Lee-” 

“I am the son of Phoebus Apollo!” The yell rocked the cave. Lee had no idea where he got the energy to yell. “And I will hold! Take Nora.” 

Slowly, the goddess of childbirth nodded and sat at her nephew’s left foot. “Pass me my niece.” As carefully as he could, Chris laid Nora's torso in her aunt’s lap. Instantly, Nora’s breathing strengthened, and the twitching stopped. “You will never find the monster you seek. Your plan will fail.” 

“How little you know, my young goddess.” The General said confidently. “Even now, your darling attendants begin their quest to find you. They shall play directly into my hands. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have a long journey to make. We must greet your Hunters and make sure their quest is… challenging.” 

Chris yelped as Atlas grabbed him by the bicep, pulling the demigod close as they disappeared in a ripple of darkness too. 

Lee almost fell over when Aunt Artemis shifted closer, pressing her shoulder into his knee. Energy filled every one of his cells and if possible, the weight of the sky lessened to the point that Lee could think and speak clearly. 

“Aunt Artemis, what’s going on?” 

“The General has done us a kindness, but we should not expect another.” She brushed the hair off Nora’s feverish forehead. “Stay strong, Lee. As long as I touch both of you, I can keep you both alive.” Her eyes hardened with determination. “Neither of you are dying. I won’t allow it.”  

Author's Note - Will I add the Seer Percy tag to this fic? Eh, we'll see, haven't decided yet. But yes, for those of you who guessed that Nora was pregnant, you were correct! Now the real reason I did this will be explained in later chapters but here's a hint. If demigods are half-human, half-god, why would we automatically assume that reproduction for demigods is the same as for mortals? As for Atlas, he made a whole point in Canon about not attacking first because of ancient laws. I feel like the ancient laws (and customs) should play a role in this fic and how certain characters behave. Plus, Atlas bitch-slapping Luke was too good to pass up. Let me know your predictions in the comments! I literally read every single one. Don't forget to comment, kudos, and bookmark! Love you guys so much!

-V.I. Winthrop

Michael

If you asked Michael Yew when he knew that Lee Fletcher was in love with Persephone Jackson, he would tell you he knew the moment Lee insisted that he be the one to carry Percy to the infirmary that fateful night she killed the Minotaur. Because Mikey was relatively self-aware, and he was probably too short to be the one to carry Grover's fat ass to the infirmary. 

But Lee had this look as he carried Percy that Mikey had never seen on his brother's face before. Like Lee had just found the most precious thing in the world, and there was no way that anyone was going to hurt her if he was there. Now, Lee was always the main caretaker of their bunch of siblings, even more so than Nora. He was the one who did all the healing. He was the one that the younger siblings would cry out for during their nightmares. He was the one everyone went to when the world went to shit because you can always trust Lee to fix a problem.

His brother bore the burden of the caretaker well, often too well. Mikey and Nora were afraid that one day he would collapse from doing everything and never wake up.

But with Percy, something had changed in Lee. Yes, he was still the caretaker, especially with her, but Percy brought out a lightness and happiness Mikey forgot Lee had before the chariot racing accident. Lee joked more, laughed louder, loved fiercer because Percy inspired him to. But not only that, Lee had a peace about him now. As if being in Percy's presence made him more at ease than any home could.

Kayla was the one to start calling Percy Lee's wife. When Mikey asked her why she did, Kayla just shrugged and said,

"Look at them. The only time I've seen a love that sweet is when I run into an old married couple that has been married for seventy years."

And when Mikey looked, it was so obvious, even if Percy and Lee didn't know it. Lee had chosen Percy to be the love of his life. To have and to hold, to love and protect. Percy Jackson was, to the Apollo Cabin, Lee Fletcher's wife in everything but name. Percy Jackson was family. Percy Jackson was their sister.

And while his brother was missing, Mikey would do everything to protect his brother's wife, no matter what the gods threw at them.

After all, no one fucks Mikey's family and gets away with it.

Author's Note - If y'all love Mikey, y'all are going to LOVE the next chapter [insert evil author cackles here]. Love you guys!

-V.I. Winthrop

Chapter Text

Author’s Note- All of your comments are giving me life. I live for the comments, I swear! Now, this chapter, kinda fillery but SUPER important. Also, a few characters may seem a little OC, that’s intentional. Also, Lee’s POV talks about a few things that might make some people squeamish. I would say get ready because the next chapters are going to dive deeper into it. And as for Zoe Nightshade, I’m taking a different route with her that you guys might not understand until it happens. Let’s just say that there will be a redemption arc for her, maybe. Oh, and I’m posting this from the gym so if there are typos, please ignore them. I’ll fix them later. That’s it for now. On to the story!

Chapter 3: Percy Gets a New Nickname

Lee

“I’m sorry.”

“Do not apologize.” Aunt Artemis whispered fervently. “I was the one who allowed my Hunters to fire with you so close to the edge. The fault is mine.”

“I mean,” Lee would have shrugged if the sky wasn’t on his shoulders. “I did wrestle him off of the cliff. It wasn’t all their fault.” You know Lee did something really stupid when Lee has to defend the Hunters’ decision-making. And wrestling a manticore, while worth it because Percy was safe, definitely wasn’t his brightest moment. “Too bad it didn’t kill him.” Then he remembered something. “Damnit, I lost my hunting knives too.”

“I will get you new ones for Christmas.”

“Thanks.” Lee shifted uncomfortably, his right hip starting to twitch.

Aunt Artemis noticed his discomfort and kept talking. “I had the chance to speak with Persephone Jackson before my hunt.”

Lee’s heart pained. Gods, Percy must be so worried right now. He hated that he was the cause of that. “How was she?”

“Distraught but strong. Unafraid of going toe-to-toe with Zoe. Aphrodite would be quite proud of her.”

Lee smiled through the pain. “That’s Percy alright.”

His left hand cramped but Aunt Artemis kept talking. “Your father tells me you’ve already received my uncle’s blessing. Should I have a date marked off on my calendar?”

Lee’s groan had nothing to do with the pain of the sky. Of course, Aunt Artemis would give him shit about Percy too. He shouldn’t have expected anything less from any member of his family, let alone his maiden aunt.

“… It will be in a few years, sometime in May.” A weak voice teased. Nora gave a little smile to both of them. “Kayla says that’s what Percy would want.”

“Nora, you’re awake!” Lee exclaimed, ignoring the fact the sisters were apparently planning his nonexistent wedding to deal with later.

“B-barely.” She stuttered, then groaned, curling closer to Aunt Artemis. “Ugh, and I thought cramps were bad.” Aunt Artemis brushed her hair out of her eyes. “Where’s Walt?”

Aunt Artemis locked eyes with Lee. He sighed, thinking of no better way to tell her than as bluntly as possible. “They killed him.” His sister’s gasp was like a dagger to the heart.

Grief flashed on Nora’s face. “… Why do people keep dying for me?”

Lee didn’t know how to answer her, so he kept talking, praying that her survivor's guilt didn’t rear its head. “Castellan said he took out a fifth of his monster army before Walt died.”

“… Good. Walt always joked about going down swinging. I’m glad he made them pay.” Then she groaned, clutching Aunt Artemis’ arm for support. “Can’t you make them stop?”

Aunt Artemis pursed her lips. “Not with how dilated you are. Plus, your water broke.”

“Is that why I feel like I pissed myself?” Aunt Artemis nodded. “Fuck. How dilated am I?”

“6 centimeters. I can only slow down the process so much. We must pray that your labor holds until we are rescued.”

“What?! Why?”

“Who does a goddess pray to?”

“Lee.”

“Sorry- ah, shit!” The silver lights around his body wrapped tighter around his shoulders and knees, stabilizing him. “Thanks.”

“Of course.” Aunt Artemis frowned. “To answer your question, Nora. Pregnancy is not as common as you would assume amongst immortals. As such, there are certain protections afforded to pregnant women with the ancient laws that even the Titans uphold.”

Lee’s eyes widen. “That’s why Atlas stopped Castellan from hitting you.”

“To harm a pregnant woman, mortal or immortal, is viewed as one of the most grotesque violations of ancient law.” Aunt Artemis explained. “Monsters, of course, do not abide by these laws unless they are bound to a court, such as the cyclops in my uncle’s underwater forges.” The goddess glanced at the sky with worry. “As long as Nora remains pregnant, the General will ensure that no harm comes her way. But should the baby arrive…” The sentence hung in the air as a horrific reminder of what could happen.

“What about Lee?” Nora asked, looking up at him with worry. “He can’t hold the sky forever.”

“They made it sound like a quest was issued.” Lee said, then gritted his teeth. “Fuck. I can hold till they get here.”

“Lee, you can’t! Aunt Artemis, please-”

“Shh, Nora, don’t stress yourself more.” Aunt Artemis shushed. “I dislike this as much as you do but we must trust your brother’s strength and judgment. Hercules held the sky and so shall your brother.”

“But Hercules was superpowered for a demigod!”

Aunt Artemis pursed her lips. “No, not superpowered, necessarily. The answer lies with my brother’s Greek name.”

With his Greek name? “I thought Hercules was the name he went by.” Lee questioned. “Chiron said to address him as Lord Hercules should we ever meet him.”

“Well, Chiron is right there, for once.” Aunt Artemis rolled her eyes. Then, she hesitated, as if she wasn’t sure what she could tell them. “Hercules is the name the Romans called him, and he much prefers it over his Greek name. Like many of Father’s children, we have found little love from our stepmother. But Hercules would not be who he is without the Queen of the Gods. If anyone should honor her by bearing her name, it is he.”

Lee’s mind raced as the dots started to connect. “Why is it so important that his name- ack! Is Heracles?”

“Because the Queen of Gods nursed him as a babe.” The moon goddess tilted her head in thought. “Unknowingly, of course. Had my stepmother known who he was, she would never have nursed him. But she did, unknowingly but willingly. And since she willingly gave her milk to a demigod, she was the one who blessed Hercules with the strength he was famous for, not our father.” A silence fell on them, like they were on the edge of a huge discovery.

“… You’re making it sound like a big deal.” Nora whispered. “Isn’t it just breast milk?”

Instead, Aunt Artemis tensed. “Surely, you know your parents’ own biology. Demigods are half god. With mortal babies, it has been proven that there is little that can substitute the milk of its mother. Now think, what would happen if a goddess willingly nursed a demigod, who is already born with the powers of their godly parent?”

That’s when it clicked. “Everything’s different.” Lee connected. “Gods’ blood is completely different from our blood, why shouldn’t we assume that the other bodily fluids aren’t different too? She basically nursed him with nectar.”

“Correct.”

“So? Don’t all goddesses nurse their demigods?”

“They do not.” Nora frowned at that answer. “It’s strictly a mortal custom. You must remember, we are gods. Our way of life is different, even from yours.” The goddess nodded to herself, diving deeper into the impromptu biology lesson. “And while immortals struggle to conceive with other immortals, we’ve found that the gods are quite fertile with mortal lovers, thus resulting in powerful children. Case in point, your father.”

Lee made a face at that lovely image. “Ugh, can we please not use Dad as an example?” Nora pleaded. “I do not need that image in my head.”

“I mean since Father has been so celibate as of late, Apollo is the best example at the moment.” Aunt Artemis joked, chuckling at their disturbed faces. “Fine, fine. The point is that Hercules had the strength because his namesake nursed him as a babe. What his myth does not say is how long he bore the sky. Hercules boasts that he held it for a month but if Athena’s calculations are correct, it’s more like two weeks.”

“Two weeks?!” Fuck, even with Aunt Artemis helping him, there was no way he was going to last that long.

“There’s no way Lee can last that long.” Then his sister winced at the pain and the unintended shot she threw at him. “Umm, no offense.”

“None taken.” But Lee’s mind still raced. There was something Aunt Artemis had implied. Like any god, she was careful with her words, intentionally using words that can lead them to the answer without saying it out loud. Lee shifted his weight, the sky pressing harder like it didn’t want him to figure out the truth. “Aunt Artemis?” She looked up at him. “There’s something you’re not telling us.” He stated rather than asked. But his aunt ignored him, her eyes turned to the stars. “Aunt Artemis?”

“You should sleep.” She urged instead. “Both of you.”

“I don’t think, fuck! I don’t think either of us can.” Nora said through another contraction.

But their aunt’s face was determined. “I will make sure that you do. You will both need whatever sleep you can get before the General returns.” More silver light locked themselves around Lee, keeping him in place as Nora’s eyes dropped.

“But the sky…” His eyelids grew heavy.

“Sleep Lee. I will help you keep the sky from falling.”

His dream brought him to his home, Camp Half-Blood. He could tell it was morning even though it was still pitch-black outside. It must have been 4:30, maybe 5:00 in the morning. A pegasus as dark as the night sky landed in front of the Poseidon Cabin and started head-butting the door.

Bang, bang, bang. Bang, bang, ba-

“Blackjack.” Percy opened her door, glaring at the pegasus that had followed them home after they had rescued him from the Princess Andromeda. Even rolled out of bed with her hair in a wild braid and his sweatshirt, Percy looked stunning. “It is 5:00 in the morning and I have a quest today. Today is not a good day.” The pegasus nayed and for a second, Lee could have sworn he heard Blackjack call her Boss Lady. “How many times do I have to tell you? Don’t call me Boss Lady.” … ok, Lee will deal with that later. No need to freak out now about maybe being able to understand horses. “What do you mean, the hippocampi need help? Again? Doesn’t Triton have a helpline they can call?” Blackjack shrugged. “Alright, alright, let’s go.” The pegasus looked like he was laughing as Percy basically had to do a running jump to get herself on the winged horse’s back.

Meanwhile, Lee had to stop himself from drooling over how good Percy’s legs looked in her sleep shorts that might have ridden up a bit as she got situated. Damn, she looked good in the moonlight, especially in his sweatshirt.

They flew to the beach, then went a good 20 miles out over the sea. Blackjack stopped flying on a dime, circling the water below them.

He’ll admit it, Lee’s heart stopped for a split second when Percy flung herself off her horse, diving straight into the December saltwater. But Percy Jackson was the daughter of Poseidon, she could do basically anything with water and be perfectly fine.

Lee’s dream followed her as she shot so low in the water that regular people couldn’t survive without becoming a crushed can of Coca-Cola. Near the bottom of the surface were three hippocampi, swimming in circles around an overturned boat.

No, not the boat. They were circling the creature wedged halfway under the boat and tangled in the fishing net that Lee had heard Percy rant about many of times. One of the hippocampi chewed the net to try and free whatever was stuck there.

“Oh, you poor thing.” Percy swam closer and Lee’s dream showed him a better view of the creature. If he could, his jaw would have dropped then and there. It was a cow with the back end of a serpent.

No, not a cow, but a calf. A baby with black fur, big sad brown eyes and a white muzzle. With a black and brown snaky tail as its back half.

“Where did you come from, little one?” Percy cooed, immediately falling in love with the cute creature even though Lee was 95% certain that was the- “Let’s get you out of here.” It mooed at her and she smiled. “I’ve got an idea. Let’s move this boat first.” She turned to the boat and stared at it intently. It moved away easily in the water under her will. “Ok, now the net.” She kept taking to the cow in a soft voice. “I’m going to cut- actually.” Percy had her thinking face on. She moved her right hand out, like she was plucking money right out of Lee’s palm, which has happened on more than one occasion.

The cow mooed in shock when part of the net lifted in the water like someone had plucked it. The hippocampi looked as if they were clapping.

“Sweet, it worked. Ok.” Percy kept plucking, lifting and tossing and in three minutes, the cow serpent was free. The creature zipped through the water and did a happy somersault

“Moooo!” The cow serpent nuzzled Percy and of course, she had to cuddle the bane of Olympus back.

“Awh! You’re welcome, Bessie!” … Did Percy just nickname the bane of Olympus ‘Bessie’? “Stay away from those nasty nets, ok? I’ve got to get going but I’ll come back and play with you soon, ok?”

And then like she had done with Cerberus, Percy kissed the cow serpent’s forehead and waved goodbye, swimming back to the surface, totally unaware that the creature she had just saved could destroy all of Olympus if the Titans found it and sacrificed it. “See you soon!”

The scene was maybe 45 minutes later. Percy walked out of the Poseidon Cabin, still in his sweatshirt, but she had on jeans, combat boots, her bottomless quest backpack that her mom (and Hermes) got her for her birthday and a multi-weather winter jacket. Her hair was braided back tightly, and Lady Aphrodite’s scarf was wrapped around her neck. She stopped in her tracks when she saw who was waiting on her porch. “Nico?”

“Is it true? Is Bianca going on the quest?” What the actual fuck? Why was a twelve-year-old, with even less training than Percy had on her first quest, going on a quest? And after all of the work that he had put in to stop that from happening again.

Percy’s eyes were stormy. She frowned but besides that, her face was calm. “It’s true. I’m sorry, Nico. There was nothing I could do once Zoe chose her for the quest.” Zoe. Fucking. What? “Bianca is, theoretically, better trained than I was when I went on my first quest.” No, she is-. “Lady Artemis’ oath had given her perfect archery. So, she won’t be unarmed.”

Oh. That, unfortunately, explained a lot.

“Take me with you!” Nico protested. The kid looked scared shitless but was trying to keep a brave face. “I can protect Bianca. And Lee said that we should stay with you.”

Percy’s eyes softened. “I know he did. Which is why I’m going to do my best to keep Bianca safe. She’s too young to be on this quest, and you are definitely too young to tag along.”

Nico crossed his arms in a huff. “Connor said you went on your first quest when you were twelve.”

“Yeah, I did, but I had Lee with me. That’s why I’m going. I have to find him, no matter what. I- I need to find him.” Lee’s heart tugged when he heard her voice break, like she was trying not to cry.

Nico tilted his head at her. “Travis said Lee was your boyfriend. That’s why he wrestled Dr. Thorn off the cliff.”

“Well, umm,” Percy blushed from the cold but then gave a little smile. “I guess you could call him that.” His heart raced. “It’s hard to explain, Nico, but Lee… he’s everything to me.” Her face brightened as she spoke. Her eyes had that look again, the one that Lee had gotten after he pulled her out of the pit her grandfather tried dragging her into during their first quest. She looked beautiful. Then she clapped a hand on Nico’s shoulder, drawing the kid to her side and guiding him to the pavilion. “Look, Nico, quests are dangerous, and that prophecy, we know that a least one person will die.” Lee’s throat tightened like someone was choking him. What? “Maybe two. I want to promise that nothing will happen, but that would be a lie. If I’ve learned one thing from Lee, it’s that you shouldn’t make promises that you can’t keep. I’ll do my best to protect Bianca, but I can’t promise anything.”

Nico contemplated her words, then nodded slowly. “Ok. Please be safe.”

“I’ll try.” Percy gave him a side hug as they entered the pavilion. Her eyes landed on Will, sitting by himself at the Apollo table. Lee’s heart tugged again at the sight of his mini-me looking so down with red eyes, like he’d been crying all night. Percy smiled almost mischievously, a twinkle in her eyes. “Hey, you know what you could do for me while we’re gone?”

Nico looked up at her. “What?”

“Will’s been pretty sad since he found out about Lee and Nora. Do you mind keeping him company for me while I’m gone? He could use a friend.” Percy whispered, urging Nico towards the Apollo table. “He’s a huge fan of mythomagic too.”

If possible, Lee fell in love with Percy even more. Here she was, hours before going on a quest and not only was she comforting worried demigods, but she was making sure that his brother was taken care of, even while she was on a quest.

Nico shifted nervously. “I don’t know… He looks like he wants to be alone.”

“He may look that way but that’s not always the case.” Percy whispered back, moving them to the Apollo table. Will looked up from his pancakes as they approached. “Morning Will. I want you to meet someone.” Percy practically shoved Nico forward with a smirk. “This is Nico DiAngelo. He has a bigger mythomagic collection than you do.” She teased in a sing-song voice.

“What? No way.” Will gasped, perking up at that.

“Way.” Percy promised.

“I’ve got to see it for myself.” Will held out his right hand towards Nico. “Nice to meet you, Nico. I’m Will Solace.”

Slowly, Nico shook his hand back. Something shifted in the air, like a spark, almost. Percy must have noticed it too because she guided Nico to sit down next to Will. “I’ve got to eat and catch up with Thalia before we leave. You two get to know one another.”

“But this is the Apollo table.”  Nico bit his lip. “Chiron said I had to eat at the Hermes table.”

It was Will who waved away his worries. “Don’t worry about it. Dad’s chill. Percy normally has breakfast with us anyway, even though her and Lee make us lose all of our appetites with their flirting.”

“Will!”

“Denial is a river in Egypt.” Will teased, earning a laugh from Nico as Percy sputtered, looking beautifully flustered. The scene blurred as the dream pulled back.

“Good dream?” Nora asked as Lee woke up. Her forehead cut looked better, like it was slowly healing itself since Aunt Artemis was helping her slow down her labor.

Lee smiled. “Yeah, Percy’s matchmaking again and Will’s her latest target.” Nora snorted before hissing loudly, nearly bruising Aunt Artemis’ hand from her tight grip. Right on cue, Lee winced, shifting the weight of the sky more evenly on his back. “Aunt Artemis?”

“Hmm?”

“I think Percy found the Ophiotaurus.”

Percy

Chiron looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here as all of the counselors (and, unfortunately, Zoe) piled around the ping pong table. There were a number of different things that were the reason for Chiron’s terrified look. The most noticeable one was the purple glow leaking out of Mr. D, whose enraged eyes promised a world of hurt to the next person that set the god off. Castor and Pollux shared nervous glances with each other, like they knew why their dad was about to explode.

The other reason was that Percy (who was not the Oracle of Delphi) was the one who delivered the prophecy.

Zoe started the meeting off on a positive note. “This is pointless. There is no time for talk. Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately.”

Sherman, who was filling in as the Ares counselor for Clarisse while she was on her top-secret mission, snorted. “And go where? West? Do you even know where to start?”

“I don’t have to answer to you, boy.”

“And even if you did know where to go,” Katie cut in. “you can’t do this with just your Hunters. Campers and Hunter combined prevail sounds pretty clear to me.”

“Face it.” Travis leaned back in his chair, using a dagger to clean the dirt from underneath his nails. “You need our help.”

“No!” Zoe snapped. “The Hunters do not need thy help!”

“It’s your help.” Silena corrected, earning a deadly glare from Zoe.

“We do not-”

“I did not realize you had become so bullheaded in your old age, Zoe Nightshade.” Mr. D said, his voice just above a whisper. The counselors shivered but to Zoe’s credit, she faced the god head on.

“My goddess needs me.”

Mr. D narrowed his eyes, like he was deciding what animal to turn Zoe into. “Then you best heed the words of the prophecy.” Then Mr. D eased up a little, sighing. “Rather depressing prophecy that it is. Not bad for your first prophecy, Jackson.”

“Umm, thanks.” Percy said carefully, ignoring Sherman side-eying her. The last thing she needed was for Chiron to find out that this was actually the second prophecy she’s blurted out that wasn’t her own.

“We’re supposed to work together.” Thalia said from the seat on Percy’s left. “Look, none of us like it but if we’re going to free Artemis, Lee and Nora, we have to work together.”

Zoe made a face, but it was Mr. D who spoke up. “The Titan army has gambled greatly.” The god looked to the ceiling and winced. “Apollo’s fury has reached levels we have not seen for some time. The only reason the country is still standing is because Aunt Hestia is keeping him at bay on Olympus.” Then he winced again. “And Uncle P told him he can’t go buck wild yet.”

“They should let him go off.” Mikey grunted from Percy’s right. To say that Mikey was upset after the game was an understatement. “Dad would solve all of this in an instant.”

“He would.” Mr. D agreed. “But like I, we are bound by ancient laws. Had he known prior to the prophecy, Apollo would have been able to raze anyone who stood in his way. But with the prophecy, we can not interfere unless-”

“We must not delay.” Chiron warned, cutting of Mr. D, earning the old horse a distrustful look from his boss. “Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December twenty-first, is the Winter Solstice.”

“Artemis must be present at the solstice.” Zoe said. “She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos’ minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing.”

“You sound so sure, Zoe Nightshade.” Mr. D leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Tell me, has Artemis been sneaking you into our meetings without our knowledge?”

“… No, Lord Dionysus.” Zoe shifted nervously under his gaze.

“Then do not speak of things you do not know. I should demand for your tongue but unfortunately for all of us, you were the one to receive the prophecy.” He snapped. “Yes, my sister is the most vocal but believe me when I say that the majority of the council are well aware of what is on the horizon.” Then he rolled his eyes. “Pun intended.”

“… We must decide who goes on this quest.” Chiron urged carefully.

“Bianca shall go with me.” Zoe decided abruptly, completely out of fucking nowhere.

Percy tensed but it was Silena who shouted. “What?! She’s twelve and has had no training!”

“She is a Hunter of Artemis.” Zoe insisted. “There is no better way for her to prove herself.”

Something was wrong here. Why would Zoe pick Bianca? If there was one thing that Zoe Nightshade has made abundantly clear, if was that she wanted to save Artemis. To do that, she should assemble her most experienced Hunters to go with her. Bianca, even with Artemis’ blessing for perfect archery, would be a fish out of water.

Something wasn’t adding up. Why would Zoe Nightshade insist on bringing a green Hunter on such a dangerous quest?

“If you think that I’m going to-”

“Silena.” Silena swirled towards Chiron, glaring daggers at him. The trainer sighed like his hands were tied. “It is Zoe’s quest, and she is Bianca’s lieutenant. If Zoe wants her on the quest, we must let her go.”

“Mr. D.”

“Unfortunately, Chiron’s right.” Mr. D grunted, side-eyeing Zoe like he knew something that they didn’t. “Our hands are tied.”

“… Fine!” Silena sat back down. “If she dies,” Silena said to Zoe. “It’ll be your head.”

“So…” Charlie interrupted, trying to ease the tension. “That’s two Hunters. So, the rest are campers?”

“N-”

“Yes.” The room’s attention turned to Percy. She wanted to curl under the table but something in her mind told her to stay strong. Lee needed her to be strong. “The quest calls for five questers. Three campers, two hunters.” Then Percy dropped the bomb. “And one of those campers is me.”

“No.” Zoe snapped, looking absolutely disgusted that Percy would suggest such a thing.

“… Percy, perhaps it’s best-”

“That’s right!” Silena gasped, cutting off Chiron. “That’s what Lord Apollo meant on the beach yesterday!”

“‘And when the time comes, Persephone Jackson will be paramount to your success. Take her with you.’” Mikey repeated verbatim, leaning forward. “Silena’s right, Dad told Zoe to take Percy with her on the quest.”

“Absolutely not!” Zoe banged her fist on the table. “Lady Artemis is the most sacred of maidens and deserves only the purest to rescue her.” Then Zoe’s next words sealed her fate. “I will not be taking a whore pretending to be a prophet so that she can save her lover!”

Gasps filled the room. Even Chiron and Mr. D were stunned stupid. Even they didn’t think Zoe would stoop so low. Would Artemis forgive Percy if she ran through her lieutenant with Riptide?

Probably not, even with what Artemis had said before she left for the hunt. “If being molested by my stepfather makes me a whore, I’d rather be that than a heartless bitch like you.” Gasps came from the campers who didn’t know Percy’s home life. Even Zoe looked taken aback. “And of course I care about saving Lee! And Nora too! You know, your beloved goddess’ niece and nephew who are also kidnapped with her?” Percy got to her feet. “Don’t you care at all that they’ve been taken? That Nora’s injured? That Lee is holding up the fucking sky?!” She slapped her palms against the ping pong table that everyone’s drinks had flipped over. “You would think that the Hunters of Artemis would care that their cousins are in danger too!”

“They are not our cousins. Besides, Apollo can have more children.” Mikey snarled loudly at that. “Saving Lady Artemis takes pres-”

THUD!

A golden arrow sliced Zoe’s neck, barely cutting her before burying itself into the wall. The heat in the room rose to sweltering levels as Mikey leaned forward, his eyes glowing gold.

“You dare ignore my word, Zoe Nightshade?” Mikey’s mouth moved but it was Apollo speaking. “You dare insult one of my prophets?” Percy stifled her gasp. “You dare test my patience while my family remains at the General’s mercy?!” Mikey stood, a gold glow radiating from him. Despite how short Mikey actually was, his father’s presence made it seem like he was eight feet tall right now. Zoe shook like a leaf under his gaze. “Be grateful, Zoe Nightshade, that you are my sister’s beloved companion. My mercy thins with every moment my family remains in captivity. Question me again and I will not hesitate to strike you where you stand!” Zoe flinched at that. “Do I make myself clear?”

“…Yes, Lord Apollo.”

“Apollo, you’re looking young.” Mr. D said, bulldozing through the tension. “and shorter.”

Apollo snorted through Mikey’s body. “Just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page.”

“Lord Apollo.” Chiron flinched when Apollo glared at him. “My lord, you mentioned that Percy was a prophet.” Apollo nodded. “With how dangerous this quest is, perhaps Percy should-”

“My brother has spoken.” Dionysus said loudly, stopping the gold light building in Mikey’s fist, like Apollo had been seconds from blasting Chiron with it. “Persephone Jackson shall go on this quest. Apollo, why don’t you go back and give Aunt Hestia my best?”

“Fine.” Apollo glared at Chiron and Zoe one last time before Mikey swayed.

Mikey caught himself with a shake of his head, his eyes blue again. “Woah, that was a head rush.” Then he sat back down, nudging Percy. “We’ve got your back, Perse.”

She smiled back. “Thanks Mike. Did you just tattle on Zoe to your dad?”

“Fuck yeah, I did.” Mikey smirked. “And he was pissed.”

In the end, Zoe ended up picking Thalia and Grover to go with them. Thalia, since she was a daughter of Zeus and Grover, because the Hunters didn’t consider satyrs men, for some weird reason.

“That was eventful.” Mr. D mused as he dealt out her cards for their pinochle game. The god had asked her to stay behind after the meeting to unwind with a game of pinochle. “Zoe Nightshade had always been proud, but I did not realize how deep her hubris ran.”

“Hubris?” Percy asked, frowning at the terrible cards in her hand.

“Deadly pride. Excessive pride and overconfidence in one’s ability. One of the various fatal flaws that a hero can have. It is what made Chase follow you on your first quest.” Mr. D explained, taking his turn. “She believed that she would be able to fix everything if she went. We all know how that turned out.”

“Tell me about it.” She muttered. She waited a few turns before speaking again. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“A few things. The most notable being your display after the game.” Ah, Percy had a feeling that’s where he was going. “Most prophets do not go on the front lines. Their ability to see the future makes them too precious to lose should they fall into the wrong hands.”

Percy frowned at that. “You’re making me sound like a weapon.”

“You are.” Her frown deepened. “But we all are at the end of the day. The Titan Lord already had his eyes on you, and I have no doubt that he will changes his plans again to bring you to his side.” But then Mr. D leveled her with a knowing stare. “Unwillingly, of course. You have made your position in this war clear. That works in your favor.”

She lowered her cards to the table, feeling the tension rising again. “What do you mean?”

“The Winter Solstice is the twenty-first, but Grace’s birthday is the twenty-second.” Percy’s blood chilled. “My father’s history with prophecies is a complex one. Sometimes, he embraces them. Others, he does everything in his power to stop them from ever occurring. The council knows through your actions how you would bear the Great Prophecy. We, including the King of the Gods, were prepared to let it run its course. What Thalia Grace will choose now on her sixteenth birthday is unknown to us. And that makes my father… nervous.”

And one shall perish by a parent’s hand.

“… She’s not Luke.”

“She is not.” Mr. D agreed. “But Luke Castellan is the boy that she died for. Zoe Nightshade choosing Grace was no coincidence, as it’s clear that Artemis has, foolishly, told her much. Nightshade, in her own way, is trying to kill two birds with one stone. She knows that death is certain on this quest. Should the daughter of Zeus perish on this quest…”

Percy shook with horror. “… The prophecy falls on me, which is what the council wants.” The god nodded solemnly. “But no prophecy is clear; everything has a double meaning.”

“That is why you must go.” Mr. D took a sip of his Atlantean wine. “Nightshade is playing a dangerous game. Her affection for Artemis and her hubris has clouded her judgment. And hubris is deadly, to the hero and those around the hero. There are some things set in stone with Fate, but most can be rewoven. You have proven yourself to be more valuable than a prophet, Persephone Jackson. You are a greater weaver of fate.” Her heart tightened at that. “You must balance the scales that Nightshade’s hubris has tipped over.”

It was a lot to take in. Percy wished Lee was with her. Having him by her side would make this moment so much easier. But now she was a member of this quest, a quest to save Lee. Her job was clear. Much like Clarisse and Sherman in the summer, she had to tag along so that the prophecy would happen. Like Clarisse and Sherman, Zoe was trying to force the prophecy in her favor, versus riding the wave and seeing what happens. Versus sailing and navigating through the sea of fate.

Good thing, Percy was the daughter of Poseidon.

And sailing was in her blood.

“Cool, no pressure.” Percy gulped, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. She hated the fact that she made that comparison when the love of her life was actually carrying that burden right now. “What was the other thing?”

“You must make sure that Apollo’s children are actually saved.” Mr. D said solemnly, no longer playing their card game. She hugged herself at the reminder, watching the tension in the god’s jaw. “I’m sure it did not slip your notice that Nightshade failed to mention them once during her display earlier.”

Anger bubbled up from the reminder. “I noticed.”

“Apollo’s wrath has always been legendary, but it has been centuries since the world has truly felt it. Not since the Black Plague. For all of our sakes, Lee Fletcher and Nora Williams… and her child must live.”

Percy blinked at the god. “Her what?” The god didn’t answer her, clutching his goblet. “She’s pregnant?!” Then Percy really looked at Mr. D and gasped again. “Is it yours?”

“No.” Was Mr. D… disappointed? “I suspect that Athena’s eldest boy is the reason for Nora’s… condition.”

“She-she didn’t look pregnant.”

“Demigoddesses never do. It’s by design.” Mr. D looked at the clock and frowned. “You should go to bed. You leave at first light.”

“… What about the Apollo Cabin?”

“I will inform them of their sister’s condition. Go and get some rest.”

Percy’s dream that night was an odd one. She found herself in a hospital room. The big bed was empty, but there was a nursery cot near the window, the sun shining down on the newborn. A nurse walked in.

She had auburn hair.

“Your uncle is filing away your birth certificate.” She spoke gently as she approached the newborn. “Yes, I know. You have a name now.” She cheered quietly, rocking the happy baby. The baby reached for her name tag, drawing Percy’s attention to it.

JENNIFER LEE

“Oh, you are bright.” The nurse cooed, kissing the baby’s golden hair naturally. Like she had every right to do so. “Yes, your uncle thinks that he named you after the nurse who delivered you, but we know better, don’t we?” She tapped the newborn’s little nose. He blinked his bright blue eyes at her. Then, a baby bottle appeared in her right hand. The bottle has a white liquid that sparkled like stars. It was when the nurse started to feed the baby that Percy figured out who were in her dreams.

“You will do your father and I proud.” Artemis proclaimed, her silver eyes looking down on her nephew lovingly. “Live long and well, Lee Fletcher, son of Apollo.”

Author’s Note - I’m curious to read in the comments if any of you picked up on this subplot because I started dropping hints about Artemis back in the Lightning Thief. And some of you might be wondering, what is going on with Zoe Nightshade? Well, all I can say is that those with hubris do not do well within this series and even in Canon, Zoe Nightshade’s hubris was a problem. And I know there wasn’t a lot of yearning in this chapter so expect a lot in the next one. And will Bianca live? You’ll just have to keep reading (and I have to make up my mind). I can’t wait to read all of your predictions in the comments! Don’t forget to comment, kudos, and bookmark! Love you guys so much!

-V.I. Winthrop

Silena

”A twelve-year-old. A twelve-year-old!” Silena ranted as she paced back and forth in the forge. “This is worse than when Percy left for her first quest.”

”At least she’ll have Percy and Thalia with her.” Charlie tried placating her. “And Grover, for some reason.”

”Please, it’s Nightshade I don’t trust.” Silena flipped her hair over her shoulder with anger. “She would leave Lee under the sky if it meant saving Artemis.” She growled under her breath. “And to think, she thinks love is pointless. If she saw Percy and Lee together, she would see just how powerful love actually is.”

”Maybe she doesn’t know better?” Charlie offered.

The daughter of Aphrodite shook her head. “No, there’s something else going on.” The sound of arrows hitting their target echoed in her ears. “And I think I know who it is.”

Author’s Note - Ooh, foreshadowing. You know, I never realized how much archery would play a part in this fic till I started writing it. Love you guys!

-V.I. Winthrop

Chapter Text

Author's Note - Oh, y'all are not prepared for this chapter. But first, your comments are giving me life! Keep the guesses coming, because the next few chapters are going to be a rollercoaster. Now, I guess a squeamish warning for Lee's POV. You've been warned. The one thing I am going to emphasize is that these characters are demigods. Oh, and the yearning really starts to pick up here. That's it for now, on to the story!

Chapter 4: Lee’s Biology Lesson Continues 

Percy 

Percy wasn’t sure which she trusted least, Zoe Nightshade or her driving. 

HONK! 

At the moment, it was Zoe’s shitty driving. Granted, they were driving on the New Jersey Turnpike almost a week before Christmas, so the highway was absolute chaos right now. But for someone who claimed to be driving automobiles since they were invented, Zoe was an awful driver. 

“I think I’m going to be sick.” Bianca groaned, staring out the window with the hope that she didn’t have to vomit out of it. 

“Are we sure this is the right way?” Percy asked. 

Grover nodded, the acorn in his palm pointing southbound versus west. “It’s a time-honored tracking skill. Gleeson helped me perfect it over the summer. Trust me, this is the path Artemis took.” Grover, the lucky bastard, got to ride shotgun because he was the one tracking Artemis’ path using the acorn. 

“I dislike this,” Zoë said as she drove one of the camp vans like a maniac. “We should go straight west. The prophecy said west.”  

“Oh, like your tracking skills are better?” Thalia growled. 

 Zoë glared at Thalia through the rear-view mirror. “You challenge my skills, you scullion? You know nothing of being a Hunter!”  

“Oh, scullion? You’re calling me a scullion? What the hell is a scullion?”  

“Guys, please. Let’s not get into this.” Percy tried, patting Bianca on the back as the poor girl turned slightly green. “And would you stop changing lanes for no reason? It’s a miracle we haven’t crashed into someone yet.” 

“You’re going to get us arrested with your driving,” Thalia grumbled in agreement. “Percy and I look closer to sixteen than you do.” 

“After thou’s try with the sun chariot, thou will not be driving.” Zoe declared, her ancient English peeking through with her irritation.    

“That was one time.” Thalia rolled her eyes. “I can drive, right Percy?” Crickets, crickets. “Percy?” 

“Sorry Thalia, I’ve got to side with Zoe on this one.” Unfortunately. Even Zoe looked disturbed that they agreed on something. 

Thalia was offended, muttering. “Betrayed by my own cousin.” Bianca giggled when Thalia needled Percy. “I bet I’m a better driver than you since Lee does all of the driving.” 

Percy blushed because it was true. If they did have to drive anywhere, Lee insisted on driving (illegally, of course, because Lee still didn’t have a license, but he had a permit now). “He’s been teaching me and says that I’m a great driver.” After all, you never know when you have to steal a car to escape a horde of monsters. 

“Sure you are.” 

“I am!” 

Gods, Percy wished Lee was here. Not only would he defend her driving skills (because she was a good driver), but she missed him. The fact that he wasn’t with her was causing an ache that she couldn’t explain. Like yeah, she spent a few months in the city attending Meriweather, but even then, she and Lee talked every night. And he would fly into the city every Saturday to see her because somehow, he had never been to the city and that was completely unacceptable to a born and raised New Yorker like Percy.  

Camp wasn’t the same without Lee there. Lee always had this way of making everyone feel welcome at Camp. And if there was a problem, Lee had a solution to try. And a laugh and a new plan to try if the first one didn’t work. 

Persephone Jackson missed Lee Fletcher because he was the best man she knew. Without asking, Lee went out of his way to give her safety, care, and a friendship that she used to dream and pray for. She wasn’t lying when she told Nico that Lee was everything to her.  

Because he was. Lee Fletcher was her world, her heart, the man she loved. 

I love you. 

Percy had always believed in love. Had always loved love. But she never thought that anyone could ever love a broken girl like her. 

I love you. 

Lee Fletcher changed all of that. 

For some reason, Grover’s acorn tracker brought them to Washington, DC. Years ago, before Gabe ruined their lives, Mom had been able to bring Percy to the nation’s capital to see the cherry blossoms and the museums on the National Mall. And now she was here again, walking into the National Air and Space Museum. 

Now, it is well documented that Percy doesn’t do well in museums. Or to be more specific, museums don’t do well when Percy visits them because she was bound to blow something up. Or kill a monster. Or both, a lot of the time it’s both. 

But as she took a step through the doors, Percy stopped in the frame, making Bianca bump into her. 

“Percy?” 

Percy glanced back outside, where their van was curbed. Maybe it was because they were in DC and security was tight for the President, but something told her that they were being watched. “It’s nothing.” Percy lied, walking inside fully. “Let's keep moving-” 

The vision hit her like a freight train. 

Dr. Thorn was standing in the National History Museum. “They are here, General.” 

Before Thorn was probably the largest man Percy had ever seen, sitting in a glided chair with a very nice brown suit on. This man’s face was hard and stern, like he had fought and won a lot of battles. Chris Rodriquez stood at his right hand, but it was where Luke Castellan was that stood out to Percy. 

Not only did Luke look absolutely terrible, he looked like he had aged ten years in the few months she had last seen him. The proud son of Hermes stood hunched and withdrawn behind his younger brother, like he had been demoted. 

“I know that you fool.” The man in the suit boomed. “Where?” 

“The rocket museum.” 

The man looked confused and turned to Chris for clarification. “Err, he means the Air and Space Museum, sir.” The man nodded. 

“How many?” Luke asked but was ignored. He frowned and, while the man wasn’t looking, punched his brother in the back.  

Chris stifled a grunt but relented. “Thorn, how many?” 

“Five.” 

“Five, sir.” The man in the chair ordered. 

The manticore made a face like the last thing he wanted to do was call a demigod ‘sir’. “Sir. A satyr, the daughter of Poseidon, the older girl with spiky hair and that horrible shield-” 

“Thalia.” Luke interrupted, finally getting the man’s attention. “That one is Thalia Grace.” The man allowed the interruption to hum in thought. 

Thorn looked annoyed that he was interrupted. “And two Hunters. One wears the silver circlet.” 

The man growled with anticipation. “That one I know.” 

“Let me take them.” Luke stepped forward and around Chris. “We have more than enough-” 

“Oh, we can not risk you, boy.” The man smiled wickedly, making Luke pale. “They will have their hands full. I’ve sent a little playmate to keep them occupied.” 

“General,” Chris stepped forward. “Should Thorn and I go to ensure that the job is done?” 

“No. I want you to watch and learn. Your words of the son of Apollo rang true.” Lee, they had to be talking about Lee. Gods, if Rodriguez was the reason Lee was under the sky right now, she would fucking- “As Lord Kronos’ senior commander, I get to choose my lieutenants based on results. Speaking of,” The man, aka Atlas, glared at Thorn. “Out of my sight, Thorn.” 

The manticore flinched back. “But sir!” 

“You failed to deliver the brood of the eldest son. Now out of my sight until I find a menial task for you.” Thorn’s face turned purple with rage. Percy thought for sure he was going to open fire, but he just bowed awkwardly and left the room. 

“Now.” Atlas said to Chris. “The first thing we must do is isolate the half-blood Thalia. The monster we seek will then come to her.” 

“The Hunters will be difficult to dispose of,” Luke said instead. “Zoe Nightshade-” 

“Do not speak her name!” Luke swallowed.  

“S–sorry, General. I just-”  

The General silenced him with a wave of his hand and a damning glare. “Let me show you, boy, how we will bring the Hunters down since you question me so.” He pointed to a guard, a mortal guard, on the ground level. “Do you have the teeth?”  

The guy stumbled forward with a ceramic pot. “Yes, General!”  

“Plant them,” Atlas said.  

 In the center of the room was a big circle of dirt, where she guessed a dinosaur exhibit was supposed to go. The guard took sharp white teeth out of the pot and pushed them into the soil. He smoothed them over while Atlas smiled coldly.  

The guard stepped back from the dirt and wiped his hands. “Ready, General!” 

“Excellent! Water them, and we will let them scent their prey.” The guard picked up a little tin watering can with daisies painted on it, which was kind of bizarre, because what he poured out was dark red liquid, and Percy had a feeling it wasn’t Hawaiian Punch.  

The soil began to bubble.  

“Soon,” Atlas said, “I will show you, Castellan, soldiers that will make your army from that little boat look insignificant.”  

Luke clenched his fists, but Chris was the one who answered. “Sir, my brother spent a year training his forces.” 

“Your forces.” 

“… My forces.” Chris corrected himself as Luke grew madder. “When the Princess Andromeda arrives at the mountain, they’ll be the best-”  

“Ha!” the General said. “I don’t deny your troops will make a fine honor guard for Lord Kronos. And your brother, of course, will have a role to play-” Luke turned paler when the General said that. “-but under my leadership, the forces of Lord Kronos will increase a hundredfold. We will be unstoppable. Behold, my ultimate killing machines.”  

The soil erupted. In each spot where a tooth had been planted, a creature was struggling out of the dirt. The first of them said: 

“Mew?” It was a kitten and by the gods, it was so cute and cuddly!  

A little orange tabby with stripes like a tiger. Then another appeared, until there were a dozen, rolling around and playing in the dirt. They were absolutely adorable, and Percy wanted to cuddle them so badly. 

Everyone stared at them in disbelief. The General roared, “What is this? Cute cuddly kittens? Where did you find those teeth?”  

The guard who’d brought the teeth cowered in fear. “From the exhibit, sir! Just like you said. The saber-toothed tiger-”  

“No, you idiot! I said the tyrannosaurus! Gather up those…those infernal fuzzy little beasts and take them outside. And never let me see your face again.”  

The terrified guard dropped his watering can. He gathered up the kittens and scampered out of the room.  

“You!” Atlas pointed to another guard. “Get me the right teeth. NOW!” The new guard ran off to carry out his orders. “Imbeciles,” muttered the General.  

“This is why I don’t use mortals,” Luke said. “They are unreliable.” 

Then Percy got to see the best thing ever.  

SMACK! 

Atlas backhanded Luke so hard that Percy was sure that he was seeing stars. The son of Hermes stumbled backward, clutching his face. Chris, on the other hand, didn’t know if he should be concerned or laugh in his brother’s face. 

“They are weak-minded, easily bought, and violent,” the General said. “I love them. And so does our investor.” A minute later, the guard hustled into the room with his hands full of large, pointy teeth. “Excellent,” Atlas said.  

He climbed onto the balcony railing and jumped down, twenty feet. Where he landed, the marble floor cracked under his leather shoes. He stood, wincing, and rubbed his shoulders. “Curse my stiff neck.”  

“Another hot pad, sir?” Chris asked. “More Tylenol?”  

“No. It will pass.” Atlas brushed off his silk suit, then snatched up the teeth. “I shall do this myself.” He held up one of the teeth and smiled. “Dinosaur teeth-ha! Those foolish mortals don’t even know when they have dragon teeth in their possession. And not just any dragon teeth. These come from the ancient Sybaris herself! They shall do nicely.”  

He planted them in the dirt, twelve in all. Then he scooped up the watering can. He sprinkled the soil with red liquid, tossed the can away, and held his arms out wide. “Rise!”  

The dirt trembled. A single, skeletal hand shot out of the ground, grasping at the air. 

Atlas looked up at the balcony. “Quickly, do you have the scent?”  

“Yesssss, lord,” one of the snake ladies said, leaning over the railing. She took out a sash of silvery fabric, like the kind the Hunters wore.  

“Excellent. Once my warriors catch its scent, they will pursue its owner relentlessly. Nothing can stop them, no weapons known to half-blood or Hunter. They will tear the Hunters and their allies to shreds. Toss it here!” As he said that, skeletons erupted from the ground.  

There were twelve of them, one for each tooth the General had planted. These weren't your typical Halloween skeletons. These were growing flesh (gross) turning into men, but men with dull gray skin, yellow eyes, and modern clothes—gray muscle shirts, camo pants, and combat boots. 

Were these… zombies? 

The snake lady dropped the silver scarf, and it fluttered down to the middle of the zombies. One picked the fabric up and sniffed. It passed the scarf around until each took a big sniff. Then the zombies started marching out of the room. 

Well… that’s not good. 

SPLASH! 

Percy blinked in confusion, the water that was thrown in her face already dried off. Somehow, she was on the top-floor balcony of the museum. 

“Zoe! What the fuck?” Thalia shouted while Grover tried (and failed) to pick his jaw off the ground. Bianca watched nervously as Zoe crumbled the plastic water bottle in her hand. 

“Please, she’s fine.” Zoe grunted, tossing the bottle into the Apollo space capsule, which was totally littering. “She’s not the first child of Poseidon I’ve met.” 

“Why you-” 

“So, we should get out of here.” Percy interrupted before World War III broke out. “We’ve got some soldier zombies headed our way.” 

“Soldier zombies?!” Thalia, Zoe, and Grover exclaimed. 

“… what’s a zombie?”  

Everyone turned to Bianca, who blushed under their attention.  

“Have you never seen a zombie movie before?” Grover asked in disbelief that someone might not know his favorite type of scary movie. 

“… No.” 

Percy pocketed this info for later because, for some reason, this tiny confession from Bianca seemed important. “Look, we’ve got to go. The General and Luke are here.” 

Thalia flinched like she had been hit, while Zoe looked almost nervous.  

“The General is here?” Zoe asked. “That is impossible! You lie.” Bitch, who are you calling a liar? With an annoyed sigh, Percy quickly recounted her vision to them, especially the part about Atlas bitch slapping Luke (that was Percy’s favorite part). 

And even after telling them everything, Zoe still didn’t fucking believe her. “Percy must have seen an Iris Message or some other type of illusion. The General can not be here.” Zoe said it so fervently, Percy couldn’t help but wonder who she was trying to convince. Them or Zoe herself. 

“Illusions don’t crack marble.” Percy argued, watching as Zoe took a deep breath, like she was trying to calm herself. Something was off here. Why was Zoe taking this so personally? 

“Come on guys.” Thalia stepped in. “Let’s get back to the van before those skeleton warriors get...” 

GROWL! 

Below them, some of the mortal adults screamed in terror but it was a kid cheer of “Kitty!” that told Percy that their playmate had arrived. 

The kitty was actually a huge ass lion that was the size of a Hummer with silver claws and golden glittering fur. A huge ass lion that Percy had seen before while on a train, traveling across the country.  

Lee had been with her on that train ride. 

He spent that whole ride telling her funny stories about life in the Apollo Cabin to keep her mind off of what had happened at Auntie Em’s bed and breakfast. Taking care of her. Buying her food and making sure that she ate it. Letting her fall asleep on his shoulder so that she wouldn’t have to use the window as her pillow. 

She missed how easily he smiled. She missed how much he made her laugh. She missed how safe she felt in his presence. She missed how he just did small things without prompting to make her life easier. She missed how he would listen to her rambling with his complete attention. She missed how he eased her worries when they came up. She missed how he would be the first to protect her. She missed how he would be first to fight at her side. 

I love you. 

She missed his warmth.  

I love you. 

She missed his voice. 

I love you. 

She missed his touch. 

I love you. 

Gods, Percy missed Lee. So, so much. 

“The Nemean Lion.” Thalia said. “Don’t move.” 

Unfortunately for them, this lion could move fast. It pounced from the ramp. Percy rolled to her left, pulling Riptide out of her pocket but not uncapping it just yet. Arrows flew over her head.  

Tweet-tweet! 

The floor shook as vines grew and entangled the lion. Thalia charged with her spear and Aegis. The lion recoiled slightly at the shield but regained its nerve, swiping at Thalia, who ducked under her shield, pulling itself out of the vines.  

The lion turned to charge at where Zoe and Bianca were firing arrows, which bounced harmlessly off the lion’s fur like they were toy arrows. Then Thalia tried blasting it with lightning and that just ricocheted of the lion’s fur and torched one of the pre-World War I planes hanging from the ceiling. 

Ok, clearly the Nemean Lion myth was true. Its fur was impenetrable. If memory served, Hercules faced this monster and was able to wrestle it to submission. 

Well, Percy had gotten stronger but there was no way she could wrestle it, even with the water Zoe splashed on her earlier. But, Percy eyed its long mane, maybe she could… 

The lion roared, revealing its pink tongue and throat. 

Percy got an idea. An idea that Lee would be extremely horrified by if he ever learned that he was the inspiration for it. 

I love you. 

Fuck it, she’s going for it. This lion was slowing them down and Lee needed her. 

She put Riptide back in her pocket and did a running jump, like she does whenever she has to mount Blackjack when he refuses to wear a saddle (which was always, the jerk). 

“ROOAAAR!” The Nemean Lion protested as Percy wrapped her hands in the lion’s mane, hanging on for dear life as it tried to buck her off its back. 

Good thing she spent so much time with the pegasi because she was an expert at riding things. 

… 

Gah, not like that! Ugh, you know what she meant. 

“Percy, are you insane?!” Thalia shouted. 

“Probably!” Percy shouted back, pulling the mane. “Aim for the mouth!” 

The Nemean Lion leaped over the railing to escape the onslaught of arrows. They slid down the model of the earth until they reached the ground floor. Thankfully, all of the mortals had run away in terror because the lion charged every which way, ramming itself into every display to try and get Percy off its back. But because she was tiny in comparison to the lion, every attempt was pointless because she would duck her head into the mane to protect her head and neck.  

The lion swayed like it was starting to get dizzy as the others reached the ground floor.  

Yo G-Man! Percy thought through the empathy link. Some vines would be good right about now! 

Thankfully, he heard and started playing his awful tune. Vines wrapped themselves around the beast, and since it was so dizzy, it didn’t try to break free. Percy whistled at her cousin, springing Thalia to jump forward and put Aegis in the lion’s sight line.  

Percy pulled with all of her might the moment it flinched. “Now!” She shouted as she forced the lion’s mouth open. 

Thud! Thud! Thud! 

Thud! Thud! Thud! 

Percy leaped off its back just as it fell to the ground, six silver arrows buried deep in its maw.  

She wished those arrows were golden bronze instead of silver. 

“Phew.” She dusted the cat hair off her jeans. “That was fun. No one tell Lee I did that, ok?” Everyone looked at her like she had lost the last of her marbles, again. “What?” 

Zoe eyed her cautiously. “That was… an interesting strategy.” 

She shrugged. “It worked.” And even Zoe Nightshade couldn’t argue with that. The Nemean Lion melted at Percy’s feet until it was a glittery fur pelt that PEETA would not be happy about. 

“Take it.” Percy looked up in shock at Zoe. “It is a spoil of war. It is rightly thine.” 

Was Zoe being… nice to her? Were pigs flying in the sky? “You killed it.” 

Zoe shook her head, and for a second, it looked like the lieutenant was almost smiling. “I think thy’s bull-riding did that. Fair is fair, Percy Jackson. Take the fur.” 

So, she took the fur.  

The good news was that the fur shifted and changed into a Burberry trench coat that Percy was able to throw over her multi-weather coat and still be able to move with no problem. While looking fabulous, of course. 

The bad news… 

“Umm, guys?” Bianca pointed out the glass walls of the museum, specifically at the six gray men in camouflage outfits. “Are those zombies?”  

… was that the zombies had found them. 

They were able to get to the van easily enough to the back of the museum. But just as they crossed back over the Potomac, Percy spotted the Blackhawk helicopter, just like the one at Westover. Now, this was DC and helicopters were everywhere, but this one was headed straight towards them. 

“They know the van.” Percy said. “We have to ditch it.” Zoe swerved into the fast lane. 

“I’m shocked the military hasn’t shot it down yet.” Grover commented, holding the door handle for dear life because of Zoe’s driving. Percy was starting to wonder if the stereotype of women being shitty drivers was because of Zoe Nightshade. 

“What I want to know is how the General can use mortals.” Thalia grunted when Zoe changed lanes again. 

“Mercenaries.” Zoe said bitterly, flooring it. “It is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid.” 

Percy perked at that. “Mercenaries?” She whispered under her breath as Thalia asked. 

“But don’t these mortals see who they’re working for? Don’t they notice all of the monsters around them?” 

Then it all clicked. 

“After the video, papers were passed out that said that we could transfer over and work at this company in exchange for our children’s protection from the monsters.” 

“Everyone in that room had a demigod child.” 

“Did you ever run into any of the parents from that seminar?” 

“No. I never saw them again. 

“Yes, you see, we have friends in low places… And wealth investors supporting our cause.”  

“They are weak-minded, easily bought, and violent,” the General said. “I love them. And so does our investor.” 

“Does she always do the wide-eyed, far-away look?” Bianca asked. 

“Yep, and you should see it when she and Lee do it. It’s creep-” 

“No.” Percy gasped in horror, cutting off Grover. “They aren’t mercenaries. They’re mortals with demigods fighting in Evil Grandpappy’s army.” 

Lee 

“I still can’t believe I didn’t know I, GODS FUCKING, was pregnant.” Nora complained mid-contraction. “What good is it being the daughter of Apollo if I don’t even know my own body?” 

“It is not your fault.” Aunt Artemis reassured, her silver eyes stormy with anger. “It appears that your education in Camp Half-Blood has been… lacking.” 

“We have sex-ed, Aunt Artemis.” Lee said bluntly. Gods, he did not want to keep having this conversation with his maiden aunt because that was embarrassing but something told Lee that Aunt Artemis wasn’t going to let it go. “I wrote the damn course and Nora and Chiron teach it.” And Lee could confirm that Chiron teaching sex-ed was just as mortifying as it sounded. 

That got a pause out of their aunt. “… And did you use human reproductivity or demigod reproductivity for the course?” 

The sky pressed down on his heart. “What do you mean?” Lee grunted, his knees aching. “They’re the same, aren’t they? Mortals and demigods have the same blood.” 

“They are not the same.” Nora gasped, and Lee almost dropped the sky as their aunt kept talking. “You are half-human and half-god. You are a completely different race altogether.” Aunt Artemis narrowed her eyes. “Are you telling me that the demigods of Camp Half-Blood have been relying on mortal forms of contraception this entire time?” 

“… There’s a mortal OBGYN that all of the older girls see.” Nora confessed. “That’s who I get my prescription for the pill from.” 

“The Hermes cabin keeps the camp store stocked with condoms.” Lee was mortified that he was telling his aunt this. “They keep it well stocked.” 

“Well stocked.” Nora emphasized. 

“Of the mortal contraceptives, condoms would be the most effective since it blocks the ejaculation from fertilizing the egg. Demigoddesses would burn through the effects of the pill, rendering it as useless as a sugar pill. Plus, a demigod’s ejaculation is highly fertile. Expecting a mortal drug to stop it would be like expecting a sign to stop a runaway train.” 

Nora groaned in embarrassment. “Now you tell me.” Yep, this was still mortifying to talk about.  

Aunt Artemis looks like she was doing math in her head. “… But there hasn’t been a baby born in Camp Half-Blood since World War II. We had just assumed that the demigods were taking precautions. There’s no way…” She gasped like she realized something. “At what age do demigods typically leave Camp Half-Blood nowadays?” 

“Around my age.” Nora said, taking a deep breath to take on a contraction.  

“And do they leave on their own or with a romantic partner?” 

The sky pressed harder. “It depends.” Lee admitted. “A lot are already together but with Chiron breathing down everyone’s necks about the cabin rule so-” 

“Everyone kind of just waits until they leave Camp to start actually fucking.” Gods, he did not need to hear his sister say that. Lee would need to take a dip in the Lethe after this conversation. “Some folks get creativity but with us sharing our cabins with our younger siblings, it’s hard to find alone time during the summer. Besides, we don’t want to scar the younger kids by trying to get a quickie in behind the stables.” 

That was odd specific- Wait a minute. “Was that you?!” Lee exclaimed at his sister. “Is that why we got stuck with KP duty for a weekend with the Athena cabin even though Percy and I won the chariot race?!” 

“… Oops.” 

“Why did we get punished? This is bull-” 

“This is bad.” Aunt Artemis interrupted their spat. Her face was tight. “Let us go back to the sex-ed course.” Umm, can we not? “Based on this information, I assume that you do not highlight the difference between the reproductive organs of mortals and demigods, correct? 

“Umm, Aunt Artemis, no offense but they’re the same. They look the same, function the same, there is no difference.” Nora said bluntly. 

Aunt Artemis sighed. “But that is wrong. We have already discussed how the pill is ineffective to demigoddesses because you naturally burn through the ingredients in the pill. Think of it this way, when you have a pain, do you reach for Advil, or do you reach for ambrosia?” 

Nora and Lee shared a glance. “Ambrosia.” Lee admitted. “But normally we don’t need it unless it’s really bad because demigods… heal so quickly.” 

“Correct. Mortal medicine is ineffective because you are demigods and the fact that this isn’t drilled into your vernacular is, quite frankly, pissing me off.” Aunt Artemis caught herself, looking at them with upset eyes. “I am not mad at either of you. Nor your fellow campers.” She sighed. “Let us go back to your original question, Nora. You asked how it was that you didn’t know that you were pregnant.”  

“The million, gods! The million-dollar question.” Nora moaned in pain. “Like, I’ve heard of cryptic pregnancy but what are the chances of me having that?” 

“100 percent.”  

… What? 

“Demigoddesses only have what mortals call a cryptic pregnancy. In layman’s terms, it is a stealth pregnancy.” Aunt Artemis said seriously. “Little to no symptoms while the baby grows perfectly healthy in the womb. This is, I have learned in my midwifery of demigoddesses, is by evolutionary design.” The goddess’ voice turned solemn. “I told you earlier that monsters don’t obey ancient laws. When a demigoddess is pregnant, she becomes akin to a honing beacon for monsters.” Nora bit her lip, realizing now why so many monsters had been chasing them across the country. "By having a cryptic pregnancy, demigoddesses are able to defend themselves and their unborn child in case of attack. The most dangerous time for a pregnant demigoddess is during labor, as the mother can not fight as she normally would.” 

“… So it’s all my fault?” Nora whimpered, grief-stricken and about to crumble. “I’m the reason Walt’s dead?” 

“No.” Lee insisted, wishing he could drop the sky to fight back her survivor’s guilt with his bare hands. “How can it be your fault if you didn’t know? None of us knew, and we… are the healers.”  

That’s when the puzzle came together. 

Because if the Apollo cabin didn’t know any of this stuff, then none of the cabins knew. 

And if demigod couples kept going out to the mortal world after they left Camp, thinking that they were protected from pregnancy because they relied on mortal contraception. 

They didn’t know that a demigoddess’ scent increased with pregnancy. 

Then that meant… 

“… most demigods die within the first five or so years after leaving Camp. I know some campers want to see and live in the mortal world, but almost all of them do it because they have to, not because they want to…” 

“How do you know that most demigods pass away within the first few years of leaving Camp?” 

“It’s the truth. Lord Thanatos faxes Chiron a list every six months with all of the demigods who’ve passed away and their ages.” 

“Dad mentioned once that Camp used to be full of demigod families. I’d like to see that happen again in my lifetime.” 

“Everyone kind of just waits until they leave Camp to start actually fucking.” 

The names on Lord Thanatos’ list raced through his mind. He never really noticed how many of the demigods shared the same last name. 

And that they had died on the same day. 

“Lee?” He looked to his sister. Her face was riddled with concern. “What’s wrong?” 

He couldn’t answer her. The truth would crush her. Hell, it was crushing him more than the sky on his back. 

Aunt Artemis’ face said it all. She had already come to the same conclusion he had.  

The reason why demigods died within the first five years of leaving Camp Half-Blood was because the demigods were starting families, intentionally or unintentionally. 

“Camp Half-Blood’s curriculum officially changed after the American Civil War with the council’s approval.” Aunt Artemis spoke calmly, as if everything Lee knew to be true wasn’t a lie. “Some of us on the council have reason to believe that the curriculum was changed again, without our knowledge, around the Second World War.” 

Lee was afraid of the answer. “By who?” 

But it was Nora who figured. “The activities director handles curriculum, so if it was changed without the council’s knowledge, the only person who could do that is-” 

Aunt Artemis’ head shot up, worry riddling her face. “The General returns!” She whispered in distress. “Lee, you must brace yourself.” 

The sky pushed on his back with anticipation. “You have to stop helping me.” He realized, getting a regretful nod from his aunt. 

“Aunt Artemis, I’m, ACH! I’m feeling better.” Nora lied through her teeth. “You can help Lee.” 

“No.” They said in unison.  

“I can hold.” Lee swore. And Lee Fletcher didn’t make promises lightly. 

“If I do take the curse from your brother, he will surely be killed and your labor will quicken.” The Huntress confirmed as Lee mentally prepared himself for what was to come. “We must have faith that your brother has the strength to hold.” 

“I have it.” Lee took a deep breath. “And if I don’t, I love you both. And tell Percy I love her too.” 

Nora shook her head, letting Aunt Artemis hold her closer in her lap. “We’ll let you tell her.” 

The goddess nodded in agreement. “It is only right. Stay strong, nephew. You are the son of Phoebus Apollo. The sun burns through your chest. Let it keep you strong.” Aunt Artemis moved her shoulder off Lee’s knee. “We love you too.” 

The myth of Atlas’ burden spoke of how the sky had once been Uranus, the primordial husband of Gaea and the father of Mother Earth’s children, the Titans. It spoke of how Kronos, his youngest son, castrated and overthrew him. It spoke how Gaea had been the one to order her son to do such an act to his sire. In return, Uranus, reduced to being nothing but the sky itself, cursed that same fate onto Kronos.  

Lee had always been curious as to why the sky would want to touch the earth badly. Wouldn’t the sky want to stay as far away from the earth as possible? Percy would say that Uranus and Gaea probably still loved each other and that keeping them separated was a punishment for the Titanomachy. 

But after bearing the sky, the answer was clear. 

The sky did not want to touch the earth in order to reunite the separated husband and wife. 

The sky had no love for the earth. 

In turn, the earth had no love for the sky. 

The sky had hatred, rage, and violence pressing on Lee’s spine with every second he held the sky. 

Under his feet, he felt the same for the earth. Without Aunt Artemis’s energy, the earth seemed to be shaking, like it wanted him to lose his balance and drop the sky. 

Because should the sky ever touch the earth, Uranus would not only destroy Gaea. 

He would destroy everything else. Until only the sky was left. 

Gaea would try to do the same. She would destroy the sky until only the earth was left. 

This burden, Lee realized, wasn’t just a punishment. 

This burden was to keep humanity going as they knew it. 

Percy’s laugh echoed in his ear, so loudly he wondered if she was there. For a second, he could see her hair curling in the wind. Could see the life in her eyes. Could see the dimples of her smile.  

The sun roared in his chest. 

The pressure lessened. 

He remained standing. 

Atlas and Chris appeared minutes after Aunt Artemis had shifted away from Lee. His muscles strained and his joints ached. He couldn’t speak and it hurt to think. Thankfully, he must have looked as miserable and in pain as he felt because Atlas had no idea Aunt Artemis had been helping him. 

“The son of Apollo carried the curse well.” Atlas said, eying him with intrigue. “If only my lord had listened to me. Though I wonder what would have happened if the daughter of Poseidon took this burden, as my lord had intended.” Lee’s vision turned red from fury. It must have been all over his face because the Titan laughed. “A child of sea, between the sky and the earth, how my forebear would have hated that. He would have crushed her instantly.” Then he turned to the girls. “Tick tock, Huntress. Your niece only has till the solstice.” He reached out to them. 

Aunt Artemis’ glare was sharper than arrows. “Unhand us!” The goddess kicked her and held Nora tight to her chest as Atlas moved them away from Lee and plopped them down next to the throne, he had made for himself out of stone. 

“You will stay here.” He chuckled. “Your brother’s infernal sun is trying to peek through our fog but don’t worry, he won’t find us.” 

“My brother shall skin you and roast your intestines alive.” The moon goddess snapped. “And then he will have your copse stand under your curse, never to be healed again!” 

Atlas smiled. “I’d like to see him try. Besides, your nephew seems to be handling the burden well. And with far more honor than that other hero did.” 

Then, without warning, a vision hit Lee like a freight train. 

A girl with silky robes that sparkled like the stars was pulling a muscular boy by the hand through a peaceful garden. The boy was tall and strong with a Greek tunic, leather sandals and a lion pelt around him like a cap. 

“Hurry!” The girl whispered under her breath as they ran. “He will find us.” 

The sky shone with millions of stars, far more than one could see nowadays with all of the pollution in the air. The garden seemed too beautiful and peaceful to be running through, yet the girl was scared. The boy had an arrogant smirk that clashed with his good looks. They ran up a hill before collapsing behind a thorn bush to catch their breath.  

“There is no need to run,” The boy told her. His voice was deep and cocky. “I have bested a thousand monsters with my bare hands.” Very cocky. 

“Not this one.” the girl said, concern on her face for the boy. “Ladon is too strong. You must go around, up the mountain to my father. It is the only way.” 

 “I don’t trust your father.” 

“You should not,” the girl agreed. “You will have to trick him. But you cannot take the prize directly. You will die!” Her eyes were full of fear, so similar to how Percy’s eyes looked when Lee volunteered to take her mother’s place in the Underworld. 

The boy chuckled, looking at the girl with a glint that told Lee that the boy cared little for the girl before him. “Then why don’t you help me, pretty one?” 

 “I…I am afraid. Ladon will stop me. My sisters, if they found out…they would disown me.”  

“Then there’s nothing for it.” He stood up with a sigh that tugged on the girl’s heartstrings. 

“Wait!” the girl cried. She seemed to be agonizing over a decision. Then, her fingers trembling, she reached up and plucked a long white brooch from her hair. “If you must fight, take this. My mother, Pleione, gave it to me. She was a daughter of the ocean, and the ocean’s power is within it. My immortal power.” The girl breathed on the pin, and it glowed faintly. It gleamed in the starlight like polished abalone. “Take it. And make of it a weapon.” 

If Lee could, he would have gasped. Such a gift for an immortal to give her immortal powers to the young hero. If anything, that must have been akin to proposing back in those days. The boy should be honored. Should fall on his knees and offer the girl something of equal value to seal the engagement. 

That would be the honorable thing to do. 

Instead, the boy had the gall to laugh at her gift and say far to mockingly. “A hairpin? How will this slay Ladon, pretty one?” 

“It may not,” she admitted, a sad smile on her lips. “But it is all I can offer if you insist on being stubborn.”  

The boy reached down and took the hairpin, and as he did, it grew longer and heavier in his hand, until he held a familiar bronze sword.  

A sword that Lee’s heart now wielded. A blade as elegant as she was. 

“Well balanced.” He said, shocked, finally appreciating what he had been given. “Though I usually prefer to use my bare hands. What shall I name this blade?”  

“Anaklusmos,” the girl said sadly. Lee wasn’t shocked to hear the name. “The current that takes one by surprise. And before you know it, you have been swept out to sea.”  

There was a trampling sound in the grass, a hiss like air escaping a tire, and the girl said, “Too late! He is here!” 

The vision started to dissolve. First the garden, then the stars, then the boy and girl. 

But as they vanished, someone else came into view. 

Sea green eyes locked with bright blue eyes. 

A loud gasp. 

Footsteps started racing towards him. 

He tried to move but his legs failed him. His arms refused to raise up. 

“Lee!” Persephone Jackson cried, running, but it was as if she was running in place.  

His mouth barely opened. “… Percy.” That was all he could say, but it was enough for now. His vision started to blur.  

Lee Fletcher was fading back to reality. He had never wished to stay in a vision more in his life.  

By the gods, he missed her so much. This is the longest they hadn’t spoken or seen one another since meeting. It didn’t matter if it had only been a few days. It felt like eternity. 

Why would he leave if the love of his life was right there? 

“Stay strong!” Percy begged, her beautiful face fading. “I’m on my way!” Of course she was. Part of him wished she wasn’t putting herself in danger for his sake. The other part was waiting in anticipation to see her again. “Please, Lee, I lo-” 

When his eyes cleared again, everyone was watching him. Aunt Artemis’ mouth moved like she was praying under her breath, the terror in her eyes matching that of Nora’s. 

The good news was that he hadn’t dropped the sky. 

The bad news… 

Atlas released a booming laugh. “A seer for a son! Son of Apollo, you will serve my lord nicely.” The Titan had a gleam of a plan in his eyes. “Survive to see your sister’s childbirth, Seer. Then I will throw your aunt under the sky, and you shall guide us to victory. Or else.” 

… Kronos’ commander knew that about his Sight and had every intention to use it. 

Author's Note - I told you this was a doozy of a chapter. Because our boy Rick never explained how Luke's army got mortals working for them. Nor did he ever explain why none of the Greek demigods had kids but the Romans had generation after generation of kids. So I'm fixing it. And again, these characters are half-human and half-god. So as Artemis put so perfectly, why would we assume that their reproduction is the same mortals? So this begs the question, why weren't the campers of Camp Half-Blood taught properly about their body? Why is being a demigod only important when they're on a quest or fighting a monster or fighting a war? Is Chiron to blame? Is someone else? You guys will have to keep reading and I can't wait to read your predictions in the comments! Don't forget to comment, kudos and bookmark! Love you guys so much!

-V.I. Winthrop

William

Spending time with Nico was nice. Better than nice. For a second, William Solace could forget that Lee was holding the sky, that Aunt Artemis was in chains, and that Nora was currently in active labor on a mountain that was definitely unsanitary. 

And spending time with Will seemed to be helping Nico, too. The boy had been so worried since his sister left, even though he tried to hide it by throwing himself into camp activities. Nico was kind of like Percy in a way. It was like Nico was supposed to be at Camp Half-Blood. 

And sure, some of the other kids thought that Nico was an oddball and scary (for some reason) but to Will, Nico was funny and easy to talk to. 

You know, Lee would say the same thing when he talked about -

"You guys!" Travis shouted from where he was feeding Peleus. The dragon, in turn, slipped into the borders behind Thalia's tree and blasted fire down the other side of the hill. "Someone get Mr. D! We got a fucking problem!"

"What's going on?" Nico asked as they sprinted up to see what was going on, abandoning their game.

"No idea." Will said, then gasped at what he saw. "This that-"

"Zombies." Travis drew his sword, preparing to charge in case the six grey zombie men got passed Peleus.

"... What's a zombie?" Will and Travis looked at Nico, who blushed under their attention.

"Ah, Lotus Casino." Mr. D said randomly as he walked up to them. He glared at the zombies. "Spartoi. I hate Spartoi."

"How do we get rid of them?" Will asked as two of the Spartoi rebuilt themselves after being blasted by Peleus.

"We don't." Mr. D clapped Nico on the shoulder, who blinked in confusion. "DiAngelo will take care of it."

...

Will's jaw dropped. "What?!"

Author's Note - Oh Will, welcome to loving a Big Three Kid. Love you guys!

-V.I. Winthrop

Chapter Text

Author's Note - Man, I busted this chapter out quickly. But I got an idea of how to progress the story even with Lee under the sky (thanks to a reread Tatortot's fic) and went with it. So Lee's POVs until we get to the rescue won't be as Lee-heavy. That doesn't make sense right now, but it will after you read this chapter. And remember how I said I had plans for Zoe, here are the plans for Zoe [insert evil author cackles here]. That's it for now. On to the story!

Chapter 5: Everyone Wants to Talk to Percy 

Lee 

The only good thing about Atlas knowing about Lee’s sight is that now he can have visions to pass the time without the Titan bugging him. In fact, the General was so intrigued that when Castellan showed up, he told Castellan that he wasn’t even worthy to look in Lee’s direction, let alone taunt him. Castellan’s outrage was hilarious to see. 

Of course, being swept away by a vision meant that Lee couldn’t watch his aunt and sister. The fact that they were so close to Altas’ throne now made Lee nervous. But relatively speaking, the Titan, in a weird way, was protecting them. Several monsters who weren’t from Castellan’s army had already tried to attack Nora, and every one of them was taken down by Atlas’ spear.  

Castellan earned himself another backhand for his grumble of ‘After what Walt did to our army, we could have used those’. That was great to see. 

Lee Fletcher did not like having to rely on a Titan to protect his family. Even one as honorable as Atlas, oddly enough, and boy, did Atlas care about honor. Sadly, he had no choice since he was, you know, still carrying the sky. He couldn’t walk, couldn’t talk. His entire focus and energy was on keeping the sky up and with Aunt Artemis being unable to help him now, there was nothing Lee could do. Gods, he hated being helpless. And so, when the new vision came, Lee embraced it. 

After all, maybe he’ll get to see Percy again. 

The Fates must have been smiling down on Lee because Percy was the first person he saw. Gods, she was stunning. She was in a camp van, sitting in the back seat with Thalia and Bianca while Grover rode shotgun and Zoe drove. That was a risky decision. Who the fuck thought it was a good idea to let Zoe drive? 

“They know the van.” Percy said. “We have to ditch it.” Zoe swerved into the fast lane. You know, with Thalia and Bianca sitting in the back seat with Percy, the similarity between the three girls was really strik- 

“I’m shocked the military hasn’t shot it down yet.” Grover commented, holding the door handle for dear life because of Zoe’s driving.  

“What I want to know is how the General can use mortals.” Thalia grunted when Zoe changed lanes again. 

“Mercenaries.” Zoe said bitterly, flooring it. “It is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid.” 

Percy perked at that. “Mercenaries?” She whispered under her breath. Percy had her thinking face on. Her eyebrows were furrowed slightly, and she bit her bottom lip in a way that was far too enticing for his own good. 

Thalia crossed her arms with a huff. “But don’t these mortals see who they’re working for? Don’t they notice all of the monsters around them?” 

Percy’s eye turned faraway. Then Lee heard voices that weren’t in the van. 

“After the video, papers were passed out that said that we could transfer over and work at this company in exchange for our children’s protection from the monsters.” 

“Everyone in that room had a demigod child.” That was Mrs. Jackson’s voice. 

“Did you ever run into any of the parents from that seminar?” This one was Percy, but she sounded younger. 

“No. I never saw them again.” Mrs. Jackson again. 

“Yes, you see, we have friends in low places… And wealth investors supporting our cause.” Castellan’s whiny ass voice. 

“They are weak-minded, easily bought, and violent. I love them. And so does our investor.” And finally. Altas. 

“Does she always do the wide-eyed, faraway look?” Bianca asked as Percy’s eyes cleared. 

“Yep and you should see it when her and Lee do it. It’s creep-” Hey! 

“No.” Percy gasped in horror, cutting off Grover. “They aren’t mercenaries. They’re mortals with demigods fighting in Evil Grandpappy’s army.” 

“What?” The entire van asked her, but Percy ignored them. She pulled her backpack off the floor and rummaged through it until she found what she was looking for. 

She twisted the cap of the water bottle a half turn, just barely opening it before the water rose on her command, creating a mist. She brought the water bottle closer to the car window and the sunshine created a rainbow in the mist. 

“Oh Iris.” Percy wiped a drachma out of her pocket. “Please accept my offering.” She threw the drachma into the rainbow. “Show me Sally Jackson, mother of Persephone Jackson, in New York City.” 

“Your mom?” Grover asked as the mist shifted. Which, granted, was a good question. Except Lee had a feeling he knew why Percy was calling her mom. 

Thalia looked equally as confused. “Why are you calling your mom?” 

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! 

After all, Percy’s mother had Hermes wrapped around her finger and she didn’t even know it. 

 If Lee could, he would have raised an impressed eyebrow as he looked at the direct hits to the targets in the gun range. Who knew that Sally Jackson was a great shot? 

“Percy!” Sally holstered her pistol and smiled at her daughter. Then she noticed Percy's stressed expression. “What’s wrong?” 

“Mom, can you call Hermes for me? You guys both need to hear this.” Then she remembered something. “Oh, did the car make it back ok?” 

“Yes, Hermes brought it back the other day.” Mrs. Jackson flipped out her flip phone. “Hi.” She smiled, her ever-changing blue eyes sparkling as she spoke. “My day’s been good… Can you come down to the range for a minute? Percy has something to tell us.”  

WHOOSH! 

“Hey kid.” Lord Hermes said to the Iris Message, standing next to Sally Jackson in a FedEx uniform after running down from Olympus. “How’s the quest going? Apollo’s getting antsy and Hera is complaining that her flowers will never recover from the heatwave he’s causing.” 

Zoe almost swerved into another car in shock. “Zoe!” Grover yelped. 

“Thou hast allowed a mortal access to thine’s direct line?!” Zoe exclaimed, disbelief on her face clear for everyone to see. 

“Ah, Zoe Nightshade, I see Artemis doesn’t tell you everything.” Hermes said cooly with an eyeroll. “Kid, what’s up?” 

“Evil Grandpappy is using the investor to supply him with an army of mortals to go along with his army of demigods!” Percy blurted before quickly explaining how she came to this conclusion. 

Seconds later, Lord Hermes appeared in the third row of the van. “Sally, I’ll be back in a bit. Stay with George and get back to your apartment.” 

Mrs. Jackson nodded as George slithered up her arm and around her neck like a necklace. “Percy, please be safe and give Lee my best when you find him. I love you.” 

“Love you too, bye Mom.” She stopped the mist before turning back at Hermes. “Thanks for coming.”  

It probably should be noted that Percy and Hermes had a weird relationship. Mainly because Percy was still nervous that her mom was going to call her one day and start the call with ‘so, you’re going to be a big sister’. And there were the times when Lee and Percy went back to the city to visit her mother for the weekend, and the messenger god would be leaving Mrs. Jackson’s apartment building as they were entering.  

But from what Lee could see from the few interactions he had seen in person, Lord Hermes treated Percy kind of like his stepkid. There if she needed him but at arm’s length so not to step on anyone’s toes. At first, Percy was nervous about bugging Hermes. After all, he wasn’t her dad, or Lady Aphrodite, or even Lee’s dad, all of who she had no problem chatting with daily. But after the Great Thanksgiving debacle (gods, that had been a shit show), now Percy had no problem with calling Hermes for help in the mortal world, especially with how broad his domain was. 

As for Hermes’ actual kids, Travis said that their relationship with their dad had gotten way better. Leaps and bounds better. Apparently, Lord Hermes had also started doing the dream chats with his kids after Castellan and Rodriguez defected and while the first few chats were extremely awkward, Travis said that the entire Hermes Cabin (even the unclaimed boys) knew that their dad cared about them and would drop anything if they needed him, despite how busy the messenger god was. All of the Hermes kids also knew that their dad was basically dating Percy’s mom, which is why the Stoll brothers jokingly called Percy ‘sis’ whenever she sparred with the Hermes Cabin. 

“No problem. I needed a break any-” 

“Will someone explain what’s going on?!” Hermes shot an annoyed look at the driver’s seat. “Why are thou here? The interference laws-” 

“It’s you,” Hermes corrected. “And you guys are traveling on a road, which is my domain. The Big Man can’t smite me for that.” 

“So, you can stay with us the whole time?” Thalia asked hopefully. 

Hermes shook his head. “Sadly, no. Our pops is watching the entire council like hawks right now cause Apollo keeps trying to leave Olympus and not even the threat of being smited is stopping him. If anything, it’s pissing him off more. I probably got ten minutes before the Big Man knows I’m missing.” The sound of a helicopter got louder. “But since the domain clause is in effect right now, I can help where I can. Martha, laser beam mode please. Nightshade, roll down the window.” 

“You got it!” Martha hissed as Hermes’ caduceus formed in his hand. He leaned out the window as a laser beam shot out of Martha’s eyes, hitting the helicopter that was following them and freezing it in midair. The helicopter shrank until it was the size of an action figure. The shrunken helicopter flew straight into Martha’s mouth, which she swallowed whole with a little burp. 

“Wow.” Bianca said in awe. 

“There.” The messenger god leaned back in his seat. “That takes care of your helicopter problem, but you guys need to ditch the van. One of Hecate’s tracking spells is on it, and I can’t undo it.” 

“Of course there is.” Percy groaned as money, a fake ID, and subway tickets appeared in her lap. 

“Nightshade, take this exit, then take a left at the light off the ramp.” SWERVE! Everyone but Zoe slammed into the windows on the right. “SHIT! Did Eris teach you how to drive?!” 

“I am a good driver!”  

LEFT TURN! 

WE WOO! WE WOO! 

“That was a red light!” Hermes waved his hand, stopping the cop car from following the van. “Look, pull into the subway parking lot and take the next subway into Virginia. Make sure you’re nice to the locals.” Hermes ruffled Percy’s hair. “Good luck, kid. Your mom and I will look into what you told us. Stay safe.” Before they could ask any questions, the messenger god threw himself out the open window, dodged a car in the oncoming traffic, and ran north, vanishing after the third step. 

Percy pocketed the money and ID into her wallet calmly, ignoring everyone looking at her, even Zoe, who parked the van and turned around in her seat in shock. “What?” 

“You weren’t joking?!” Thalia asked loudly. “Your mom is actually dating Hermes?” 

“No, they’re ‘just friends’.” Percy rolled her eyes. “Trust me, my mom keeps denying it whenever I bring it up. Part of me just wants to tell them to start dating already because it’s so obvious they’re in love.” Percy glared at Grover as the satyr burst out laughing. Lee had a feeling he knew why Grover was in stitches right now. “Don’t even-”  

“This sounds familiar.” 

“Grover, I swear, if you don’t-” 

The vision shifted. 

The group was in the middle of nowhere Virginia, exiting their subway carriage into the almost deserted highway town. Luckily, there was a big Love’s Travel Stop that was open for the truckers to stop at. 

“Come on, guys.” Percy said as they crossed the road. “Let’s grab some snacks and see if there’s a train station nearby.” 

But Zoe froze right before she was about to walk into the gas station. “No.” She grabbed Bianca by the shoulder, stopping the younger girl from entering the store too. “We shall stay out here.” 

“Are you crazy?” Thalia demanded. “Two teenage girls, outside of a gas station, at night?” 

Zoe looked like she swallowed a lemon. “We are not entering. I will subdue any perverts who try to approach us.” 

“Zoe, it’s just a gas station.” Grover tried, then recoiled at the glare Zoe sent him. 

“We are not-” 

“Kids, you’re letting out the heat.” A male voice called from inside. “Besides, you aren’t a teenager, aren’t you, Zoe Nightshade?” 

Zoe stiffened at the voice, tightening her grip on Bianca. “I will not-” 

“You’ve already angered quite a few gods on Olympus, Zoe Nightshade.” The vision shifted so that Lee could see inside the gas station. A handsome and almost familiar-looking man leaned over the counter, a bored expression on his face. “Surely you don’t want to anger another one. Especially since Artemis isn’t here to protect you.” 

That got Zoe moving. She marched in, her fingers twitching like she wanted to shoot every bag of chips in the store. “I don’t have time to deal with the likes of you.” She nearly spat at the man, who only smiled with amusement. “Milady needs me.” 

He tilted his head, a knowing look in his eyes. “Does she? Or do you need her?” Zoe flinched like she had been slapped. “Come now, Zoe Nightshade. You and I have done this song and dance before. If you accepted your heart, maybe things would change.” 

The hunter of Artemis bit her lip so much that it bled but thankfully, Percy stepped in. “Lord Anteros?” 

The god chuckled, letting his wings and quiver appear for them to see. “Close but no. Guess again, Persephone Jackson.” 

Percy looked at the god, looked at the distress on Zoe’s face, then looked back at the god behind the counter. She curtseyed. “Lord Eros. It’s nice to meet you.” 

Eros winked at her. “Nice to meet the girl who almost put me out of business. I should be mad at you but even I can see why Mother’s adopted you and that Anteros and Ganymede adore you.” He chuckled to himself, then winced when he glanced at Thalia. “Thalia Grace, you have my sympathies.” 

The daughter of Zeus shifted nervously. “Why?” 

“You’ll see.” The love god smirked at her, then looked at Bianca with a curious air. “As for you, Bianca DiAngelo, we have no idea what your love story will look like.” 

“She is a Hunter of Artemis.” 

Eros threw his head back with laughter. “You say that like it would stop us. You of all people should know better than that.” Zoe clinched her fists. “But as I say, Bianca’s fate is not set. It keeps changing on us so much that our arrows can’t get a clear shot.” Bianca shifted her weight uncomfortably. “Fear not, Bianca DiAngelo, love is not a scary thing, as Persephone Jackson will tell you.” 

“What about me?” Grover asked. 

Lord Eros waved him off. “That Juniper tree will ask you out if you survive this.” Grover whooped in excitement. “As I said, Anteros has been very busy.” 

“Lord Eros.” Percy stepped forward. “May I ask, why are you here?” 

“Of course!” Eros said loudly. “Why Mother sent me. The Big Man has been quite the security guard since Apollo and his immortal children’s latest attempt to leave Olympus, even though the rest of the council believes he should let Apollo handle business, as is his right.” Eros rolled his eyes. “As such, they are unavailable to help you on your quest but fear not, Mother has a plan.” 

“With a gas station?” Thalia asked incredulously.  

“A Love’s gas station.” Eros corrected. “In the state of Loving v. Virginia. Where the motto is ‘Virginia is for Lovers’. You get the idea.” 

Percy nodded in understanding. “The domain clause is in effect.” 

“Indeed.” Then the god of unrequited love turned back to Zoe, who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. “Besides, Zoe Nightshade and I were due for a chat.” 

“I have nothing to say to thy.” She hissed. 

“Oh, are you sure?” He tsked loudly. “I think we have a lot to talk about. Stuff that your fellow questers should hear before your hubris leads them all to their death.”  

Well that sounded ominous. Especially with how pale Zoe turned. Thalia noticed this too, looking seconds away from pulling out her spear to get Zoe talking. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Zoe whispered, refusing to look at anyone.  

“Oh, but I think you do.” Eros hummed. “Let’s start with why you are on this quest.” 

“Lady Artemis has been kidnapped.” Zoe said, her back straight as a board. 

But Zoe was lying to herself. Lee knew it. It was in her body language. How her face was fearful but she was trying to hide it behind a cold mask. 

“Sure but that’s only half of the reason why you demanded this quest.” Eros mused. “Come on Zoe. Tell the class why you banged on the Big House’s door in the middle of the night, screaming like a banshee to see the Oracle.” 

Grover did a double-take. “That was you?!” 

“Oh yes.” Eros answered instead as Zoe’s shoulders shook. “Quite a scene from what Dionysus told us. He had to manhandle you out of the Big House when you wouldn’t leave, didn’t he?” 

“Be quiet.” 

“But you wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Eros continued almost mockingly. “You went back the next day, before the Capture the Flag game but Dionysus wouldn’t let you into the attic because someone else was in audience with the Oracle, asking for a quest for the same reason you were.” 

Percy’s head shot up. “You too?” Her eyes were as soft as her whisper, like she had figured out everything already. Which she probably did. Percy was amazing at figuring out when someone was in- 

“Be quiet!” Zoe shouted. For a second, no one spoke. Only Zoe’s loud breathing filled the room, her chest heaving. 

Then the most shocking thing happened. 

Zoe Nightshade started to cry. 

Eros gave her a sympathetic look. “Why do you keep denying yourself, Zoe Nightshade? Two millennia is a long time to keep a secret.” 

“Because you cursed me.” She choked through her tears. “What have I ever done to you?” 

“I’ll admit, the first one was an unkind fate.” Eros whispered back. “Even if it was that meathead.” Then he said louder. “But you know why I was the one to shoot you again.” 

“I was doing my job.” Zoe argued through tears.  

“Was accepting oaths apart of your job?” Eros pointed at Bianca. “Bianca DiAngelo is not the first hunter to have sworn an oath to Artemis without the moon goddess present. You may have been Artemis’ lieutenant for thousands of years, but you are not the virgin goddess, you are not a love god, and you are not a weaver of fate.” The god banged his fist on the counter. “So yes, I shot you again, Zoe Nightshade, to teach you a lesson. A lesson that you refuse to learn.” 

Zoe’s laugh was full of pain. “You are cruel.” 

Eros raised an eyebrow. “Am I? Or am I punishing you for ruining the fates of so many young girls who were never supposed to be hunters?” Zoe sniffled. “You are old, Zoe Nightshade and times have changed. This is not Ancient Greece. The Fates and my mother don’t release me on a being like you unless they deem it necessary.” 

The answer became so clear when she sobbed. “She can never love me.”  

“You’re right, not in the way you want.” Eros agreed as Zoe fell to her knees. “It’s a cruel fate, Zoe Nightshade. After this quest, you will never be your beloved goddess’ lieutenant again. But your pride has played with the fates of too many girls. Only Artemis is allowed to recruit girls to her hunt. And you are not Artemis.” He looked at Percy next. She was angry, Lee could tell by the frown of her lips and how her fingers neared her pocket. She looked hot when she was angry. “Tell me, Persephone Jackson, why were your companions chosen for this quest? If Zoe Nightshade loves Artemis as she says she does, why refuse you, the most senior of campers, then select the other three for this quest to save her love?” 

Percy opened her mouth, like she didn’t want to speak. She looked at Zoe for a moment, like she was questioning what to do next. Her lips thinned, finding her resolve. “Because you are a tactician, just like your father.” Zoe flinched again. “And you’re trying to force fate. Just like you always do.” 

Zoe remained silent, staring at the ground in shame. “Percy?” Thalia asked, her voice low. “What do you mean?” 

“Zoe knows the Great Prophecy, and she knows that the council was ready for me to bear the Great Prophecy.” Percy said calmly but her eyes were stormy. “But then you came back to life. And your sixteenth birthday is on Saturday. No one knows what you’ll choose, and that makes Uncle Zeus nervous.” She took Riptide out of her pocket and uncapped it. Zoe stared at the blade that had once been hers. The hunter didn’t flinch when Percy put the tip of Riptide under her chin. “You picked Thalia because of the last line in this quest’s prophecy, didn’t you? You assumed that Uncle Zeus would kill her so that I’ll take the prophecy.” 

“... Yes.” 

“And Grover? Why him?” 

“He’s a satyr.” Zoe whispered. “I knew his father. He’s dead.” Grover recoiled at that. “He has no father but like many satyrs before him, he could get lost in the land without rain.” 

“And Bianca.” Percy pressed Riptide closer, nearly drawing blood. “Tell the twelve-year-old girl that you recruited why you brought her on this dangerous mission with barely any training.” Zoe gulped. “Tell her!” 

“... She’s new and not a true hunter.” Bianca whimpered, tears falling from her eyes. “She would not be missed if she was lost.” 

“And there it is.” Eros said as Percy seethed, not dropping Riptide even an inch. “As for you, Persephone Jackson, Zoe Nightshade knew that your father would never strike you down and that you were too important to risk being lost. That’s why she tried ignoring Apollo’s word.” He put his chin in his hand. “Do you know the funny thing about fate, Zoe Nightshade? Fate is a tapestry, forever weaving and unraveling itself as life progresses. Some things are set in stone; others are ever-changing. But the only fate that you have ever truly had control of was your own. And what a mess you have made of it.” Eros regarded Percy with interest. Percy hadn’t withdrawn her sword, her eyes cold. “What will you do, daughter of Poseidon? Artemis gave you permission to dole out punishment as needed.” Zoe choked on her own tears at that. “You heard Zoe Nightshade’s confession. What will you do?” 

Most of the time, Lee knew exactly what Percy was thinking. He could anticipate her moves, her wants, her needs. But there were times when even her face was like the ocean. Some days, you could tell what mood it was in. Others, it was unreadable, mysterious. 

Had Lee been there, he knew what he would do in Percy’s shoes. It was clear that Zoe Nightshade had knowingly manipulated the fates of others for far too long. Having someone like that on a quest was too risky. Zoe’s confession was too damning. He would have no remorse doing what must be done, even to his aunt’s lieutenant. 

But between the two of them, Percy had always been the more levelheaded one in situations like these. Lee’s experience with seeing fate wasn’t as intense as hers, so he never really saw the big picture. 

But seeing the big picture was Percy’s specialty. 

Slowly, she lowered Riptide. “Percy.” Thalia warned. 

“I am not her parent.” Percy said calmly. “And this is not a land without rain. It is not her fate to die here.” Then she crouched down in front of Zoe. 

SMACK! 

Percy grabbed Zoe by her circlet, forcing her to look at the daughter of Poseidon’s cold eyes after the bitch slap that left Zoe seeing stars. Was it bad that Lee found this side of Percy incredibly attractive right now? “I know you’re doing this for Artemis. Probably everything you do is because you love Artemis. That’s commendable.” Percy’s voice was deadly quiet. “But unlike you, I don’t use people as pawns in the name of love. Your manipulation ends now. Do it again, and I will end you.” Percy pushed Zoe into the chips display as she stood, capping Riptide. Gods, she was hot. “Lord Eros, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I appreciate your hospitality. What are the chances you can get us a ride west?” 

Lord Eros was the only one left smiling in the gas station. “I’d thought you’d never ask.” 

“Ah, son of Apollo, you are back.” Atlas smirked from his throne. “What did you see?” 

And one shall perish by a parent’s hand. 

Lee spared a glance at his aunt and was grateful that the sky was preventing him from speaking. 

Because it was clear now who was fated to die at their parent’s hand. 

And Zoe Nightshade had no one to blame but herself.  

Percy 

Well, it wouldn’t be a quest without an emotional explosion. The train car that they were all in was deadly silent, with Zoe in one booth and everyone else on the complete opposite side of the car. This train would only be able to take them to New Mexico, Lord Eros had explained. Since the sun was still Apollo’s domain, the Sun West Express was able to cross a good chunk of the country during the daytime, completely undetected by Uncle Zeus. Of course, this meant having to sit in one place with the girl who was well prepared to sacrifice all of them (besides Percy) to save her love. 

What a mess. 

“Why did you let her live?” Thalia finally asked her, breaking the silence. Her cousin spoke in a whisper, but Percy had no doubt that Zoe could hear them. 

“Campers and Hunters combined prevail.” Percy quoted her own prophecy, sparing a glance at the once proud girl sulking in the corner. “It’s plural. She and Bianca are still Hunters of Artemis. We need them both.” 

“Is that a good idea?” Grover questioned. Rightfully so. Hell, Percy was second-guessing herself.  

But then the romantic in Percy felt sorry for Zoe Nightshade. Because what Eros had done to Zoe was cruel. First to fall in love with Hercules. Percy didn’t know all of the details behind that but clearly something must have happened for Zoe to not even be mentioned in his myth. But then to fall in love with Artemis, the goddess she vowed to foreswear romantic love forever; no wonder Zoe never said anything. Doing so would mean losing access to Artemis for all of eternity.  

So instead of telling Artemis the truth, Zoe did everything she could to make sure the Hunters of Artemis always had hunters, as sign of her love and devotion to her goddess. How Artemis didn't know what Zoe had done was beyond Percy, but Eros was clear. Zoe Nightshade had played with the fates of others one too many times. 

There was a famous quote that was above the inside doorway of the Aphrodite Cabin. Percy read it so many times that she questioned if it was true.  

'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. 

Now after seeing how miserable Zoe was, Percy had her answer. Percy had been well prepared to never tell Lee how she felt and suffer the curse of unrequited love. But Lee had been almost taken from her too many times and now, the idea of him never knowing what he meant to her made her ill just thinking about it. 

Perhaps that’s why Zoe swore so many girls to the Hunters. Two thousand years of unrequited love must really mess with your psyche. 

Percy stood from her seat. “Grover, Thalia, keep watch.” She patted Bianca on the shoulder, directing the girl up. “Bianca and I are going to explore for a bit.” 

“...Will Zoe be ok?” Bianca asked as they entered the dining car. At least this train was fully stocked with food. They might be able to enjoy a good meal tonight. 

Percy shrugged.  “Honestly, probably not. Unrequited love is rough for most people but to fall in love with one of the maiden goddesses, that’s hard to recover from.” She nudged the younger girl with her shoulder. “How are you doing? Sorry your first quest was so, err, dramatic.” 

“I’m ok.” Bianca bit her lip. “Is-is it a big deal that Zoe accepted my oath instead of Lady Artemis?” She shrugged helplessly. “I mean, I’m the one who said the oath. It was my decision.” 

For a second, Percy was transported back to the infirmary after her first Capture the Flag game. Lee was before her, holding her hand and telling her explaining to her why Annabeth and Luke were being punished for using her as bait. She had tried to shrug it off. Back then, her self-worth had been so low that she could fathom the idea of someone standing up for her and calling out people for their shitty actions against her. But Lee had spoken so passionately in her defense, repeating over and over again that what happened to her was wrong and that she was worth of the trouble and was worth protecting. Just thinking about that made Percy fall in love with Lee Fletcher all over again. Truly, he had no idea how much he had changed her for the better.  

Gods, she missed him so much. He would be perfect to talk to Bianca right now because Percy had a feeling that she, too, wasn’t used to people standing up for her. 

But that was ok. Bianca needed someone to stand up for her and Percy was happy to do it. Gently, she grabbed Bianca’s shoulders to get the girl’s attention. “What Zoe did was not right. Yes, you may have said the oath but you didn’t have all of the facts. Would you had given the oath if you knew it meant only seeing Nico if the Hunters visited Camp Half-Blood?” Which wasn’t often, Percy had come to learn. 

Bianca shook her head. “No.” She said softly. “I was just so tired. When our parents died, it was just me and Nico and I’m the eldest.” Her eyes got watery. “And the lawyers keep moving us and we didn’t have a home and Nico was scared. I had to be strong. I had to take care of Nico. He needs me but some days I just want to be Bianca and not Nico’s sister and Zoe made it sound like I wouldn’t have to worry about him and I would be free and I wanted a break.” The tears started to fall. “Am-am I a bad sister?” 

Percy hugged her, letting Bianca sob into her (Lee’s) sweatshirt. “I think you’re a wonderful sister. But you are also twelve years old. That’s a lot for a twelve-year-old to worry about.” Percy rested her chin on the top of Bianca’s head, rocking her back and forth. “It’s ok to be selfish every now and then. Lee’s terrible at being selfish. He’s always so worried about looking out for everyone that he forgets to take care of himself.” 

“R-really?” 

“Really.” Percy smiled softly, brushing Bianca’s tears away. “Did Nico tell you that Lee ran into him while you guys were at the Lotus Casino?” The girl nodded. “Lee felt guilty for leaving you guys there.” 

Bianca tilted her head in confusion. “Why? He didn’t know we were demigods, did he?” 

“He didn’t but he felt like he should have. Lee’s got a habit of trying to help everyone. That’s not a bad thing but you can’t help everyone if you don’t help yourself. Does that make sense?” 

Bianca looked unsure. “I don’t know...” 

“That’s ok.” Percy reassured gently. “What I’m trying to say is that none of this is your fault. It is not your job to raise your brother alone and once we find out who your godly parent is, we’ll let them do the raising, ok?” 

“Ok.” 

“Good. Come on, let’s grab some snacks and make sure no one’s killed each other yet.” 

“- I was right, wasn’t I?! That boy let you down!” Zoe shouted from one end of the train car. 

An enraged Thalia raised a fist that sparked violently into the air. Thankfully for all of them, Percy grabbed her wrist before she could electrocute all of them. “Yo Miss Sparks-A-Lot, let’s not throw lightning around the metal train car.” Percy joked seriously. Thalia’s fist kept sparking. “Thalia.” 

“Fine!” The lightning died, thank the gods. “Keep her the fuck away from me.” Thalia shouted as she stormed out of the train car, slamming the door behind her. 

Percy sighed with exasperation. How the fuck was she going to keep most of this group alive when they kept trying to kill one another? “G-man, do you mind?” 

“I’ve got it.” Grover looked happy to be leaving the tense train car and raced to follow Thalia. Bianca looked at Percy for permission. She nodded, and Bianca needed no other sign to get the heck out of there. 

“She will have to face Luke Castellan eventually.” Zoe said. You would think after everything that happened, Zoe would have learned to keep her mouth shut. 

“She will.” Percy slid into the booth across from Zoe. “But if anyone’s going to tell her that, it definitely shouldn’t be you.”  

Zoe closed her eyes and leaned back in her booth. “Thy must hate me.” The lieutenant whispered. “I hate myself.” 

Percy snorted. “Yeah well, I can’t say I’m your biggest fan right now. First, you let the Hunters burn down the Apollo Cabin, and now this?” 

“The Apollo Cabin was an accident.” Zoe opened her eyes. “I was unaware that William and Austin were inside at the time. I have already apologized many times for that lack of judgment.” 

Percy leaned forward on her elbows. “Maybe but that doesn’t excuse the fact that you allowed the hunters to burn down their cousins’ home twice. That’s no accident.” 

“They are not our- they are not my cousins.” Zoe sighed. “That was years ago. Why bring that up now?” 

“Because I want to know if that’s part of the reason why you won’t save Lee and Nora.” Percy stated bluntly. Zoe Nightshade refused to look at her. “There’s something, isn’t it?” 

“Lord Apollo has always had many children. Many of those daughters have been Hunters. I hold no ill will to Apollo’s children.” Zoe said easily. “I have already told you that Lady Artemis is my priority, just as Lee Fletcher is yours.” 

“He is my priority, but I will be damned if I don’t try and save the family that he loves too.” Percy banged her fist on the table. It seems that not only did Annabeth and Zoe share hubris, they also shared the ability of pissing her off. “Is it because we don’t live as long as you? You think our lives are so small that they don’t matter at the end of the day.”  

For a moment, Zoe said nothing. “It’s quite the opposite. Your lives matter too much.” She shifted uncomfortably. “Apollo and Artemis are twins. What is his is hers and what is hers is his. Apollo would do anything for the hunters and Artemis would do anything for his children.” 

“So you are cousins.” 

“We are not, ugh, fine, we’re cousins. There, happy?” 

“Yep, please continue.” 

“As such, Artemis does something that most goddesses would never do. Every century or so, Artemis will nurse a child of Apollo.” Zoe looked absolutely disgusted by that. 

While Percy looked confused. “Like breastfeeding?” 

“Indeed.” 

“… but she’s a virgin?” 

“She’s a goddess.” Zoe corrected. “I suppose it’s time to break my other vow. Tell me, what do you know of Heracles?” 

“Umm, Chiron said to call him Hercules.” Percy said. “And he was super strong and had his twelve labors to complete.” 

“His birth name is more important for your understanding, plus it pisses him off when people use it. The queen of the gods willingly breastfed Heracles. Her divine milk is what blessed him with his strength.” Zoe explained. “Without it, there is no way he would have lasted as long as he did under the sky.” 

Ok, so, what did that have to do with… 

Then Percy remembered her dream of the nurse and the baby. 

“Artemis nursed Lee.” Percy realized. 

Zoe nodded. “Normally, when Artemis nurses a child of Apollo, they gain Sight through it. The child before Fletcher was Halcyon Green. His sight was so strong that he could see when people would die. Green made the mistake of preventing a little mortal girl from dying, even though that was her fate. The Fates ordered Apollo to punish him. As such, Green lost his voice forever and was imprisoned in his own childhood home, to prevent more of that from happening again.” Zoe Nightshade’s face was solemn. “That girl ended up falling in love with a god and had a child. But in an ironic twist of fate, the girl believed that she was the next Pythia, even though she was no longer a maiden. She attempted to become the Oracle of Delphi, only to be driven mad by the future that she saw.” She took a breath. “Artemis says that Halcyon Green is Apollo’s biggest modern-day regret. What Apollo doesn’t know is that Halcyon Green is also Artemis’s biggest modern-day regret.” 

That… was a lot to take in. But even with all of this information, the puzzle wasn’t done yet. 

“That’s not all of it, is it?” 

Zoe frowned. “No. The myths of Apollo and Artemis adoring children are true. It is what led Apollo to create Camp Half-Blood, and it is what led Artemis to continue her Hunters into the modern day. They are the protectors of children and youth. But they care too much. Gr- Demigods die young.” Percy raised an eyebrow at the stutter. That was unlike Zoe. “Life would be easier for Artemis if she did not love every one of Apollo’s children as if they were her own. But she does so the cycle of pain continues.” 

Percy made a face. “So what if she does? That’s life, Zoe. Love is a part of life. So is pain. It’s not your job to stop Artemis from loving who she wants, especially her nieces and nephews.” 

“You do not understand.” 

“Then make me understand.” Percy demanded. “So, Artemis loves Apollo’s children and every century she nurses one of them? Big deal. You’re trying to tell me that she doesn’t love her Hunters just as much as?” 

“She does.” Zoe admitted. “Her Hunters are like her children.” Zoe took another breath. “But Lee Fletcher is different. I have met more children of Apollo than I can stomach but even I can tell that Fletcher is different from all of the children of Apollo that have come before him. His death will crush Artemis in a way that I fear will be beyond repair.” Zoe whispered. “It’s better that his death comes quickly, before Artemis becomes too attached to him.” 

“Lee is not fucking dying anytime so.” Percy growled. Zoe nodded reluctantly, like she realized that too. “What’s so wrong with Artemis caring for Lee?” 

“Because Lee Fletcher has been touched and blessed by moonlight.” Zoe admitted softly. “He is the closest thing she has to a demigod child without breaking her vow.” 

 Author's Note - Woah, what a heavy chapter. I know it was very dialogue-heavy but after rereading Titan's Curse, that whole book is dialogue-heavy. Did anyone else like what I did there with Eros and Zoe, because when I thought of it, I was like, write that down, write that down. I also wanted to emphasize the fact that Zoe Nightshade is the daughter of Atlas, who is a general. She is used to using people for her gain and in Canon, her picking Bianca never made sense and honestly, her picking Thalia didn't make sense because Thalia just came back to life. If Zoe's main goal was to save Artemis, then she should have swallowed her pride and taken the camper with the most experience, which was Percy Jackson (in Canon and in this AU). She was being tactical in Canon, and here, she was being tactical too. Plus, this drives home the fact that this is a multi-faceted love story. And we aren't done talking about love yet. As for Lee and Artemis, we'll get to that later. But I can't wait to read all of your predictions in the comments. Don't forget to comment, kudos and bookmark! Love you guys so much!

-V.I. Winthrop

Travis

"Well I'll be damned." Travis Stoll gawked as Nico DiAngelo took out the Spartoi like they were Legos instead of zombies. "He is the son of Hades." 

"Another big three kid." Beckendorf agreed from where all of the counselors were watching.

"Another two big three kids." Silena corrected. "Nico and Bianca look too similar not to have the same godly parent."

"I guess I'll have to start drafting another cabin." Malcolm mused.

Someone nudged his shoulder gently. Katie Gardner looked up at him, worry in her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?" Had this been a year prior, Travis wouldn't even be talking to her unless he pulled a prank on her cabin to get her attention, which was usually her yelling at him. Gods, she was beautiful when she was angry. But after watching Lee with Percy, it was obvious that the best way to gain a girl's affection was to be kind to her, not leaving fart bombs under their bunks as a way to say hi. Not one of Travis' best ideas, he'll admit, but hey, he was growing up and he had Lee and Percy to thank for that.

"Nothing, it's just... Why did the Spartoi come here?" He wondered out loud. And then he gasped. "And what if we weren't their only targets?"

Author's Note - Ah, Travis, you and Katie will play a bigger role soon. Love you guys!

-V.I. Winthrop

Chapter Text

Author's Note - Not going to lie, this chapter was a pain to write. I couldn't get the flow right, and then I was indecisive. But we powered through and I think you all will enjoy the changes I made. Also, all of your guesses about Chiron from the last chapter have me cackling. I can't wait to read your guess about what will happen next after you read this chapter (even though Lee's POV is a tad dry because, you know, he's under the sky without any help). But don't worry, that'll make the reunion that much sweeter. On to the story!

Chapter 6: Percy Visits Lee’s Hometown 

Percy 

After speaking with Zoe, Percy needed to take a walk before she pulled a reserve Halcyon Green. Hearing every word Zoe said, what she had done, what she believed regarding the children of Apollo was a lot. Maybe it was because Percy wasn’t immortal because she couldn’t understand loving someone as much as Zoe loved Artemis, then hoping that the children she loved would have short lives so that the goddess wouldn’t mourn them as much. That, Percy believed, was far crueler than never telling someone that they loved them. 

And to hear Zoe speak so offhandedly about Apollo’s children left a terrible taste in Percy’s mouth. Zoe Nightshade viewed Apollo’s children like numbers. Every year one died and every year a new one was born. How can one look at a child’s life so callously? 

Eros did say that Zoe Nightshade was over two thousand years old. Maybe she was going senile. That would explain all of her recent terrible decisions. 

“Hey.” Percy plopped down next to her cousin. “Mind if I join?” Thalia nodded, keeping her eyes to the ceiling from where she lay on the carpet floor. “You ok?” 

“No.” Thalia admitted, still not looking at Percy. “I hate that she’s fucking right.” 

“Thalia-” 

“Luke and I used to joke about what we would do if we ran the world.” Her voice trembled with anger and sadness. “What we would fix. What we would get rid of. Luke always joked about Olympus being the first to go because all of our problems were because of the gods. Then Luke would talk about what our lives would be like if the gods stopped fucking with us… And it sounded amazing.” 

“But?” 

Thalia took a deep breath. Her hard mask slowly dropped around Percy. Everyone thought Thalia Grace was the tough punk rock daughter of Zeus who survived death. And she was. But to the ones closest to her, Thalia Grace was a girl who loved fiercely but had been burned by life just as badly. Her hard exterior was more of her shield than Aegis was, built up from all of the shit she had experienced. Her drunk of a mom, the monster attacks from being Uncle Zeus’ daughter, dying. Thalia Grace had lived through a different hell from Persephone Jackson, but it was still hell all the same.  

They shared a kinship that was both easy and hard to explain at the same time. Such similar but different lives. Two sides of the same coin. 

Perhaps that’s why they got so close so quickly, despite Annabeth’s best efforts. Percy and Thalia were both survivors. Two girls dealt with shitty cards, trying to make it through life without folding. Percy felt honored that Thalia allowed her to see this side of her. 

“But I know what he’s done. To you, Annabeth, everyone at Camp.” She hugged herself. “Me.” She shook. “We were on the road together for two years. For two years, we protected each other, we helped each other, we made each other laugh. We found Annabeth and it was like a little family. One day, we ran into the Hunters. Annabeth was too young, but they tried to recruit me. Zoe tried to recruit me. She almost did.” Finally, Thalia looked at her. Her electric blue eyes flashed with torment. “I think I always knew that Luke’s anger would be his downfall. Annabeth doesn’t remember but it used to scare her when he went on his rants after a bad day. Hell, some days it scared me and I know I’m not Miss Calm-Cool-And-Collected.” 

“I mean, you did almost electrocute us early, even though Zoe kind of deserved it.” 

Thalia chuckled before sobering. “But Luke was my person. He i-was my everything. I loved him.” She didn’t comment on Thalia’s stumble. “Sometimes I look at you and Lee, and I can’t help but wonder what could have been.”  

Percy wasn’t surprised to hear that. When Thalia first came back, Percy would catch her staring at Percy and Lee with a heartbroken smile, like it hurt to look at them. Even though Lee and Luke looked and acted nothing alike, it didn’t negate the rest of the similarities. Tall, blonde boy with blue eyes befriends and travels across the country protecting a girl almost two years younger than him because she happens to be the daughter of one of the big three. Percy could see the parallels plain as day.  

And Thalia saw them too. 

Percy grabbed her cousin’s left hand, squeezing it tight. “I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t you dare apologize for being in love. I am so happy for you” Thalia whispered passionately. “Luke could have done so much after I died and he didn’t. I-I can’t forgive him for what he did, especially to Annabeth. That’s not the boy I loved. It was so jarring to come back. For me, it was like I had been knocked out for a minute, but for them, it was six years.” Thalia squeezed her hand back, her voice cracking with emotion. “Thank you for being there for me.” 

“Always.” Percy whispered back. “You’re my cousin and I’ll always have your back.” Thalia brought her other hand up to cover her sobs she refused to release. “Love you, Thals.” 

Thalia didn’t say it back, but she didn’t need to, not with how tightly she squeezed Percy’s hand back. A few minutes later, Percy ended up falling asleep there. 

Her prophetic dream had shown her the backstory of Zoe Nightshade and her first love, Hercules. After watching how much of a dick Hercules, Percy could understand why Zoe would only call him by his birth name to piss him off. But the sight of Lee in her dream made her want to burst into tears. 

He had looked exhausted and as stiff as a statue. His shoulders had tremors from the outside world. There were silver strands mixing into his golden hair from the stress of the sky. All he could do was look at her and whisper her name through lips that could barely move. Percy had tried running to him, but her dream wouldn’t let her. She had never hated a dream more. How dare it keep her away from her love? 

Thalia didn’t comment when Percy woke up with tears running down her cheeks, screaming ‘I love you’ at the top of her lungs. She just held Percy as she sobbed into Thalia’s favorite Green Day t-shirt. 

Their train pulled into a small town in New Mexico. If they could, they would have kept going all the way to California but the red siren on the train told them they had to get off. Percy had been the last one off the train. She froze on the platform, standing in front of a mural with the town’s name on it. 

“Percy?” Grover called cautiously.  

It took her a second to regroup, wiping away the tear that had escaped. “Placitas, New Mexico. This is Lee’s hometown.” She put on a big smile even though everyone was looking at her like she was about to break (which wasn’t that far off). “Let’s go see if there’s a train to California.” 

That ended up being a bust. Placitas happened to be the furthest west the train line went and for such a quaint town (with two casinos they avoided like the plague) there was no rental cars or taxi service right now because it was winter. So, they wandered up Main Street until Percy spotted the local cemetery. 

Flowers in hand. Burning bones. Warm winds. Shadows under feet. A loving hug. 

“Should we splash some more water on her?” Bianca joked seriously. 

Percy poked the girl in the shoulder with a smile before turning to their tour guide. “Grover, do you think you could make a bouquet of flowers?”  

“Why do you-” He realized what she was staring at. “Oh, yeah. Give me a minute.” He pulled out his reed pipes and played ‘Pocket Full of Sunshine’ on them. A dozen sunflowers bloomed at his hooves. 

“Thank you.” She accepted the makeshift bouquet. “I’ll be back.”  

“We mustn’t separate.” Zoe warned, speaking for the first time since the train. 

Thalia pursed her lips. “Hate to agree with her but Zoe’s right. We should stay together. Besides, nothing good ever happens in a cemetery.” 

After all of the horror movies Grover has made her watch, Percy couldn’t argue with that logic. “Alright, come on.” 

“Who are you looking for?” Bianca asked after a good fifteen minutes of searching aimlessly. 

Percy checked another overgrown tombstone. “Lee’s mother should be buried here. I want to pay my respects before we go.” 

“Oh.” Bianca said. Then the girl tilted her ear up. “We’re going the wrong way.” She grabbed Percy’s wrist, leading her towards the tombstone that looked like someone cleaned it every week. “This is her, right?” 

Percy’s head spun as she read the name on the marble tombstone. 

LUCILLE ‘LUCY’ FLETCHER 

Her gasp echoed through the cemetery as everyone else stared at Bianca in shock. “That’s Lee’s mom.”  

“Bianca, how did you find it?” Thalia asked carefully. 

“Lucy told me.” Then Bianca waved with a smile as a woman leaned her elbows over the tombstone and waved back at Bianca. The woman’s hair was cropped short, like she had lost a lot of it, and it just started growing back. Her hospital gown emphasized how sickly thin she was. But even with how gaunt she looked, she was beautiful. 

The woman was also translucent white and hovered above the earth. She smiled at Percy and mouthed ‘thank you’. Then Lucy Fletcher vanished in the wind, taking the sunflowers with her. 

“… Did that just happen or am I hallucinating?” Percy wondered out loud.  

That’s when it came to her. 

Bianca DiAngelo didn’t know her godly parent yet. And Percy had seen beings like that before. 

Back in Los Angeles.  

“Duck!” Something slammed into Percy from behind as gunshots went overhead. Zoe rolled off of her just as Thalia put Aegis up to deflect another onslaught of bullets. “The Spartoi have found us. I hate Spartoi.” 

“Cool, how do we kill them?” Percy asked, getting to her feet with a flick of her wrist. Vapor materialized in her hand. Percy slammed the end of her trident into the ground (away from Lucy Fletcher’s grave because she would never forgive herself if she destroyed it by mistake). A wave of water rushed from the ground, taking three zombies dressed and armed in New Mexico State Trooper outfits with it. Thalia roared, throwing lightning at two more while Grover batted the final one into a decaying flowerbed. The zombies were piles of bones. 

“Well that was quick.”  And then the zombies started to rebuild themselves. “Never mind. Zoe! Any ideas on how to kill these?” 

“They are the ultimate killers.” She notched an arrow, shooting one as it stood up. “We must run, but they will keep hunting us until we’re dead.” 

“You know, everything you’ve said on this quest is absolute dog shit, Nightshade.” Thalia said, throwing another light bolt at the group of Spartoi. “Anybody got any other ideas?” 

“I’ve got one!” A cheerful voice said above them. Percy spared a glance up. 

“Nico?!” Bianca gasped as her brother and all of the counselors (plus Will Solace, interestingly enough) smiled down at them from the Iris Message in the sky. 

“B! Guess who our dad is?!” Nico bounced in the mist. Percy had a good guess who it was. 

“Who?” 

“Hades!” Yep, called it. “You can kill them, but you need a sword! The arrows sucked when I tried using them.” 

“The arrows didn’t suck.” Will rolled his eyes. “Your aim was terrible.” 

“No, your arrows were broken.” Percy shared a knowing look with Mikey, who fake vomited behind his brother’s back. “Anyway, Bianca can kill them, but you've got to surprise them or they’ll run away!”  You see this info; Percy can work with this. 

“Guys, cover us!” Percy shouted, pulling Bianca behind her and skewering one of the Spartoi that tried to rush them. “Bianca, grab the Yankee baseball cap out of my backpack.” Then other Spartoi made the stupid mistake of trying to pull Lucy Fletcher’s tombstone out of the ground. Bianca yelped behind her as Percy heaved Vapor like a javelin, shish kabobing the zombie into a nearby pine tree.  

“Hey! Watch where you’re throwing that thing!” Thalia shouted with laughter. “That could have been my sister for all you know!” 

“Now you get a sense of humor!” Percy laughed back, tossing Bianca her pen. “Bianca, put the cap on and raise some hell.” Percy paused. “Figuratively.” She paused again. “For now.”  

Bianca cradled Pen Riptide and her invisibility hat like they were gold nuggets from a stream. “Really? What about you?” 

It was a fair question, seeing as Percy just launched her trident into the zombie pile. “Don’t worry about me.” She moved her left wrist like she was grabbing something. A gold light flashed as a blast of warm covered her back. Gods, she missed this protective warmth so much. “I’ve got a backup option.”  

I love you. 

“Will, give me the camera.” Mikey hit record on the video camera. “Lee’s going to be so pissed that he missed this.” 

“Midget, you sure that’s a good idea?” Sherman shouted at her through the IM. “Knowing your shitty luck, you might get Bianca in the ass while she’s invisible.”  

“No one asked for your opinion, dickwad!” Percy shouted back even though she totally knew that scenario could happen. “Bianca, go!” 

With a determined nod, the daughter of Hades uncapped Riptide, vanishing before their eyes. One of the Spartoi approached Grover from the back while he played wack-a-mole using his club with one of its brethren. Zoe was too busy protecting Thalia’s back from three other zombies while Thalia hit the head off of Spartoi with her spear like it was a baseball on a tee. 

Umm, Lord Apollo, Percy prayed as she drew an arrow. Please help me not shoot Grover in the ass. 

SLICE! WHOOSH! THUD! 

“No.” Said Silena. 

“Fucking.” Said Mikey. 

“Way.” Said Castor and Pollux in unison. 

“I hit it!” Percy cheered. Yes, you heard that correctly. Not only did Percy use a bow and arrow, she got a direct hit too as the Spartoi struggled helplessly under one of Lee’s trusty cargo net arrows. She wished Lee was here to see it. Zoe spotted how well that subdued the zombies and quickly switched up her arrows to do the same with the three she was fighting back. 

“Yo Percy, 3 o’clock!” Travis shouted. She spun, ready to smack the Spartoi with Lee’s bow when the Spartoi froze. Riptide sprouted out of its chest as it went up in flames. The bones burned for two seconds, dropping into a pile of ash at Percy’s feet. Percy could hear Bianca’s giggles as the Spartoi under Percy’s cargo net fought to free itself. It stopped struggling when an invisible Riptide decapitated it, reducing the zombie to ashes. Bianca skipped to the next zombie, killing it with the same deadly giggle as she did the last one. 

“Zoe!” Bianca called and took off Percy’s cap with a smile after killing the final zombie. “Can I have a sword?” 

Zoe Nightshade regarded her hunter for a moment, then sighed in defeat. “I believe that is a question for your counselor.” 

Bianca looked up at the Iris Message, rocking on her heels adorably as if she hadn’t just destroyed six zombies. “Silena! Can I have a sword?” 

“Of course you can.” Silena giggled with vindication. “Charlie will make you one when you get back.” 

“Whatever you want, kid.” Charlie agreed. 

“Sweet!” Bianca high-fived Grover.  

Percy’s cheeks hurt from smiling so much as she hugged Lee’s bow to her chest. “Thanks for your help. If you can, will you tell Lee that I miss him?” She whispered. The bow warmed in her arms. “Thanks Apollo.” The bow and quiver went back to bangle mode. Percy glanced up at Mikey, who was giving her own knowing look, as she went to the pine tree that Vapor was still sticking out of. “Not a word, Yew.” 

“I didn’t say anything.” Mikey laughed. Then he grew serious. “You guys ok?” 

“We’ve had some interesting days. Nemean lion, zombies, love gods at truck stops. Normal quest stuff.” Percy said flippantly as Vapor went back to bracelet mode. “But we’re good right now. Thanks for the call. How did you guys know about the zombies?” 

“We had six of our own show up.” Katie said, leaning into view. “Peleus wanted to eat them, but we were afraid they would give him indigestion and Mr. D basically confirmed that Nico could handle it.” 

“More like he handed him a sword and said have at it kid.” Will grumbled. Nico just grinned like the cat that caught the canary while Mikey muttered ‘dear gods, there’s two of them’. 

Thalia crossed her arms across her chest. “Good call, can’t have my baby getting sick.” She glared menacingly at Travis. “Don’t overfeed my dragon, Stoll.” 

Travis rolled his eyes. “It’s Camp’s dragon.” 

“He guards my tree. Therefore, he’s my dragon.” Thalia shot back correctly. “Don’t suppose Mr. D can get us a ride?” 

“Sorry guys.” Castor said. 

“He’s in a shitty mood.” Pollux added.  

Thalia raised a confused brow. “More so than usual?” 

“Yep.” 

“Maybe we should go to the casino and steal a car?” 

“No.”  Zoe recoiled at Percy, Grover, and Bianca's passionate no. “No casinos, but I wouldn’t be opposed to stealing a car.” Percy continued. “We should get out of-” 

Then she felt a warm breeze rustling past them, like a gust of springtime had gotten lost in the middle of winter. It was different from Apollo’s warmth. Not as intense, more like spring. But wild, animalistic, but also full of nature and freshness. 

Grover collapsed almost in a seizure. Zoe caught him, her own face covered in shock. Zoe’s eyes were wide with hope. A door on the other side of the Iris Message slammed open. 

“Pan?” Dionysus called out, his voice hopeful.  

Another warm breeze blew through, causing Grover to moan. “It’s near. A gift.” He sat up like a vampire waking up in his coffin. “A gift from the wild!” 

REEEEEEETTT! 

“Take cover!” Thalia pushed Grover and Zoe to the ground as a gigantic, flying pig crash landed in the cemetery, barely missing Lucy Fletcher’s grave by a yard. It was a wild boar, thirty feet high, with a snotty pink snout and tusks the size of canoes. 

“An Erymanthian Boar!” Zoe exclaimed in a whisper, helping Grover up as they gawked at the beast. “Make no sudden movements.” The boar ignored them, eating the bouquet left on the grave next to Mrs. Fletcher’s. “We must use it.” 

“For what? Breakfast?” Percy asked flippantly, only for the pig to squeal loudly in protest. “Err, sorry, bad joke.” 

“It is a blessing.” Mr. D’s voice sounded through the cemetery. No one commented on the slight tremble of emotion in it. “From the Lord of the Wild. That is your ride west.” His purple eyes bore into Percy with thanks. Why was he thanking her? “Go.” 

“But Mr. D! I must investigate!” Grover shouted, regaining his senses with his own wild look in his eyes. 

“After this quest, I will send you back, Underwood.” Mr. D promised, putting a hand on his twin sons’ shoulders, using them to keep him grounded. “You must go.” The Iris Message evaporated. 

The only noise in the cemetery was the boat eating another random bouquet. 

Bianca broke the silence with a quiet. “So, how is the boar our ride west?”  

“These boars are very fast.” Grover said, walking up to the pig. It grunted to Grover, who bowed his head in thanks. “Climb on, guys. The Great God Pan got us a ride west and we’re taking it.” 

Lee 

“My niece needs ambrosia.” Aunt Artemis said. It was a full moon tonight. Lee couldn’t help but wonder how it could be there if Aunt Artemis was here. Did the moon chariot have autopilot like the sun chariot?  

The General regarded them, then snapped his fingers at Castellan. “Bring the daughter of Apollo some ambrosia.” 

“It could be a trap.” Castellan snapped back, then flinched when the Titan raised his hand up. “I’m going, fuck.” 

Atlas reclined back in his throne. “So hard to find good help these days.” 

“What happened to your lieutenant?” Aunt Artemis asked. 

“What happened to yours?” He laughed in her face. “The son of Hermes has proven himself worthy for my lord’s new mission.” 

And endless maze. A double-faced god. The lava of a volcano. A maiden with clear eyes. A sarcophagus of gold. 

“And lose a love to worse than death.” 

“Which is?” Atlas just stared at Nora like she had two heads. “What? Luke’s like the king of evil monologues. I figured I’d -gods fucking damn!- I’d ask.” 

“Ah.” Atlas tilted his head like something now made sense to him. “That… tracks, as the kids would say.” 

Lee shifted his shoulders. How long had he been standing there? How much longer could he hold? The sky and earth grew madder. Drop, little hero, they whispered in his ears, you don’t have the strength. 

“Stay strong!” The love of his life begged, her hand out as she ran to him. “I’m on my way! Please, Lee, I lo-” 

The sun burned brighter in his chest. 

He fixed his hold of the sky. It protested loudly as it was denied the chance of falling. 

Lee wanted to see Percy again. Christmas was right around the corner; he wanted to see her reaction when she opened her gift. He wanted to share a cup of hot chocolate while they sat next to the hearth. He wanted to finish their dance. 

He wanted her. By the gods, he wanted her. 

The vision that followed must have been a sign of the Fates' mercy because it showed him Percy once again 

Percy and the crew were in the desert with only sand and junk in sight. The junkyard they were in front of looked like it went for miles on end in both directions. Scraps of metal piled on top of each other with everything you could imagine within them. Shields, swords, jewelry. Trinkets, bent metal, armor. Everything. 

Bianca shivered. “You ok?” Percy asked. 

“No.” The younger girl wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s so cold here.” Odd. Bianca was wearing one of the Hunters’ winter parkas. She should be perfectly comfortable. 

Percy frowned slightly, tugging at her scarf. “Yeah, it’s a little nippy out here.” She held out her most prized possession. 

Bianca’s hand hesitated, glancing at Zoe. To his shock, the lieutenant said nothing to one of her hunters being so close to something that had once belonged to Lady Aphrodite. “Are you sure?” 

“Of course.” Percy helped her put it on so that the ends wouldn’t get snagged on anything during a fight. “Besides, I can’t have my little cousin getting a cold.” 

Little cousin? 

If he could, Lee would have gasped. The similarities he had noticed in his previous vision were now glaring obvious, especially as Thalia stepped up to them and ruffled Bianca’s hair. 

Bianca DiAngelo was the daughter of Hades. 

Each son of Kronos now had a demigod daughter (and a demigod son, in Hades’ case). If there was ever a sign to prove that the Great Prophecy was upon them, this was it. 

Grover held up his palm, his acorn pointing straight into the junkyard. “It wants us to go this way.” He shifted nervously on his hooves. “I don’t like this.” 

“Hephaestus’ junkyard.” Zoe readied her bow. “We must cross this, but no one can take anything.” 

Thalia frowned. “Can we go around?”  

“No.” Zoe pointed to the sky at a constellation to the north. “That’s Ursa Major. To go west, we must go through the junkyard. Even if we try to go around it, it will keep appearing.” 

Percy regarded the old hunter. “You’ve been here before.” Zoe gave a sober nod. “What happened?” 

“There are times when Artemis has us hunt without her.” Zoe recalled, her gaze on the stars. “Two of our newer girls found a bow that Hephaestus tossed in there. Foolishly, I thought there would be no harm in taking it.” She tightened her grip on her bow. “It triggered the security system. Both of the girls perished that day. We must proceed with causation.” 

The tension amongst the group had lessened, it seemed. Even still, everyone turned to Percy, like she was the leader of the quest. As they should, in Lee's opinion. Percy was a natural-born leader. Only a fool wouldn't follow her lead. She sighed and nodded. “Right, you heard Zoe. Touch nothing. We get through the junkyard and then we’ll set up camp for the night.” 

“This place is like a maze.” Grover muttered as they walked. “And not good for the environment.” 

Piles of metal objects glinted in the moonlight: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with more modern stuff, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors. 

“Why doesn’t he use this stuff?” Thalia wondered. “Can’t he just reforge the metal and make something new?” 

Percy glanced at Zoe. “Tyson says that a lot of these metals have essences forged into them. It’s hard to reuse the metal after you add the essence in.”  

“Essences?” Bianca asked as Zoe’s lips thinned, staring at Percy’s pocket intently. 

“Magic of the person wielding the weapon.” Percy explained. “Or the blacksmith.” 

“Or another being altogether.” Zoe muttered. 

Percy nodded. “That too. Having the essence makes the weapon more powerful. Once you add the essence and forge the metal, if the piece isn’t what you want, you have to scrap it and try again.” She waved all around them. “They’ve got junkyards like this in Atlantis, too. Benthsikyme hated them because they’re not good for the sharks but it’s a necessity for any magical forge.” 

Thalia raised an eyebrow. “Camp doesn’t have a junkyard.” 

Umm, yeah, they do. “Umm, it’s called the Hephaestus Cabin. That’s why they always fail cabin inspections. They have to keep all of their duds in the cabin because the nature spirits won’t let them keep it outside. The mess drives Silena insane whenever she sees it but Charlie’s trying to find another solution for the junk.” Percy explained slowly. Then she narrowed her eyes. “Wait a minute, are you telling me that you don’t have to do cabin inspections?” 

Thalia tugged at the strap of her backpack sheepishly. “Well Chiron told me that I didn’t have to do them.” Of course he did. 

“This is bullshit.” Percy complained dramatically. “You should have been added to the rotation after you got comfortable with Camp. What were you doing instead?” 

“Mist training.” 

Oh shit, Thalia just hit a sore subject. “Mist training?!” Percy fumed. “Chiron’s been teaching you Mist training since summer but when I asked how to do it two years ago, I’m told not to worry about it?!” She stomped her foot with a pout. 

“Percy,” Grover tried to placate. “it’s just Mist.”  

If Lee was there, the satyr would have received the death glare of his life. Luckily, Percy had gotten better at standing up for herself. “It is not just Mist! Chiron is just as much my trainer as everyone else’s, but for some reason, I get the short end of the stick when I ask for private tutoring on something. Nora had no problem teaching me but when Chiron came back, ‘oh, no, my dear, your Mist will suffice, you don’t need more tutoring’.” Percy mocked in Chiron’s accent. “Everything’s a test with Chiron, like he wants to see if I can handle it on my own with little to no info. This is like when I first got to Camp and he didn’t let me watch the orientation video. If he’s going to give private tutoring to some campers but not others when they ask, that’s bullshit.” She took a deep breath. The clouds that had appeared over them dissolved, revealing the stars. “Sorry, that was a sore subject.” 

“Chiron has been implementing the classical training with thy.” Zoe commented. “That is how the heroes of old trained. Bare minimum knowledge aside from how to fight.” 

Percy glared at the sky. “This is the twenty-first century; you’d think Chiron would get with the times.” 

“He cannot.”  

Thalia zeroed in on that. “Can’t or won’t?” 

“Cannot.” Zoe confessed, giving them a harrowing stare. “There is more at play than what is available for you to know.” Percy’s eyes narrowed at that.  

“Would you tell us?” Bianca asked. 

Zoe shook her head. “I cannot.” 

“Why?” Percy demanded, facing Zoe. “What’s so bad about us knowing?” 

For a second, Zoe looked all of her years. She kept walking. “We must keep moving.” 

“Hold on.” Percy bumped into Bianca as she made a grab for Zoe’s elbow. The girl stumbled backward, catching herself with a pile of precious metals. “Shit, sorry Bianca.” 

“It’s ok.” Bianca pushed herself away from the metals. 

The earth shook violently. 

“What’s going on?” Grover asked.  

Zoe zeroed in on Bianca. “Did you take something?” 

“No!” Bianca shouted, stepping past Thalia as she showed Zoe her hands. “See? Nothing!” 

Thalia grabbed something off of Bianca’s center back. “Umm, guys.” She held up a chunk of pure gold, so smooth that there was no way it could have gotten stuck on Bianca’s parka. “I think we’ve got a problem.” 

That’s when it clicked for Lee. If Bianca was the daughter of Hades, she had a connection to precious metals.  

No, not just a connection, he realized as the gold struggled to get itself out of Thalia’s hand and back to Bianca. Her body was like a magnet to them. 

Lee hadn’t lost his gold bangle on the cliff. It must have gotten stuck on Bianca when he moved his hand to her back to get her and Nico to run. 

Metal from a nearby pile fell over as something pulled itself up. It was made of pure celestial bronze and decked out in its own Greek armor. Its left side was melted off, and it was covered in dust and rust, but the giant automation looked around, its neck creaking loudly as it zeroed in on them. 

STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! 

“Talos!” Zoe gasped. “Scatter!”  

They leaped away from one another as the giant’s foot stomped where it once had been. Percy, Thalia, and Grover hid behind one pile of junk. 

“That can’t be the real thing.” Thalia readied her spear and shield. “It’s too small.” 

“Real or not, we’ve got to get out of here.” Vapor formed in Percy’s hands. “G-Man, try tripping it with some vines.” 

“On it!” Grove brought his reed pipes to his lips, playing a frantic tune (in key, shockingly). 

Talos was smart for an automation because it pulled its sword out of its scabbard, slashing at the growing vines at its feet. Talos looked at the three of them, then turned in the opposite direction. 

“He ignored us?” Thalia lowered her spear. Percy gasped in horror, jumping to her feet. “Percy?” 

“He doesn’t want us!” She shouted back, running after Talos. “He wants Bianca!” 

His love sprinted with determination in her eyes. Lee knew what she was thinking. Persephone Jackson was going to do everything in her power to save her little cousin, who she already cared for. It wasn’t Bianca’s fate to die here, not if Percy had anything to say about it. 

The vision shifted. Bianca and Zoe were hiding behind a different pile of metal. “How do we beat him?” Bianca whispered to her lieutenant. 

Zoe refused to look at her. “We do not.” 

“But we have to!” Bianca protested, readying her bow. “Come on.”  

Zoe’s hand tugged her back to a crouch when Bianca tried to stand. “You will only be running to your death.”  

“But you’ve fought him. You guys defeated Talos before.”  

Zoe shook her head. “We only injured him, but we did not defeat him.” Then she yanked Bianca out of the way as Talos’ sword slashed where they once had been. 

Bianca shot a volley of arrows at the giant, only for them to bounce harmlessly to the ground. “Zoe! Help me!” 

The lieutenant’s face was conflicted as she stared at Bianca’s back. Her hand slowly moved to the hunting dagger on her belt. 

She wouldn't dare.

Surely, she wouldn't dare.

Zoe stepped closer.

Would she?

WHOOSH! 

A wave of water slammed into Talos, followed by a lightning bolt that looked like Zeus could have heaved it at the automation. 

“Hey Dumpster Fire!” Percy shouted. “Pick on somebody your own size!” Percy banged her trident into the earth, launching more water at Talos. Thalia’s spear sparked, then she jabbed in Talos' direction. Talos lit up like a Christmas tree. “Yo, Zoe! You going to help us fight this guy or what?!” 

“… There is only one thing I can do.” A chill that wasn’t the cold filled the junkyard. Zoe pulled out her dagger. She lunged for Bianca, only for Grover to charge into her side. They wrestled for the blade.

“Bianca!” Percy cried in terror as she and Thalia jumped to separate sides when Talos’ foot tried to stomp them. Then the automation reached for Bianca, whose pale face had tears running down it as she stared at the dagger that Grover was able to force out of Zoe’s hand. It spun in the air, landing at Bianca’s feet. Zoe kneed Grover in the balls to push him off of her, scrambling for the dagger. Thalia moved like she was about to blast the hunter into next week. 

That’s when Bianca finally snapped out of it and ran away, sobbing loudly. Talos’ good hand kept reaching for her, its hand's shadow covering her in the moonlight.

That's when Bianca’s foot sank into the ground. 

Bianca DiAngelo disappeared before their eyes, taking Percy’s scarf with her. 

Talos froze, like his sensors knew that Bianca wasn’t there anymore. He didn’t attack again. 

For a second, no one moved. 

Thalia spun with the intent to kill, aiming her spear straight at Zoe’s still body. A large hand grabbed her throwing arm from behind. 

“You’re going to have to get in line, kid.” A gruff voice boomed. “A lot of people are calling for her head.” The man was tall and strong, as if he spent all day lifting heavy objects. His face, clothes, and apron were covered in soot. He forced Thalia to lower her spear. 

“Lord Hephaestus!” Percy fumbled through a curtsey, her eyes pleading towards the god of blacksmiths. “Please, do you know where Bianca went? Is she ok?” 

He waved his hand to the land at their feet. “The daughter of Hades is lost.” Percy’s eyes widen with hope. “Her fate is now in her hands. Follow me. There’s someone who wants to talk to you.”  

“We’re not going fucking anywhere with her.” Thalia talked back, pointing an accusing finger at Zoe.  

Hephaestus, thankfully, was surprisingly chill at that. “Unfortunately, she really wants to talk to that one. Especially now.” When Zoe didn’t budge, Lord Hephaestus sent a blast of fire behind her ankles to get her moving. “Move.” 

Hephaestus brought them to an exit that led out of his junkyard to a highway road. A pickup truck waited for them on the side of the highway. But the truck wasn’t what had Percy running towards the exit. No, it was the woman waiting just short of the exit that had his love running. The woman was jarring to look at only because she looked identical to Percy, only older, about thirty years old if Lee had to guess and still breathtakingly beautiful. Percy threw her arms around the doppelgänger. 

“Lady Aphrodite!” Percy cried into the goddess’ chest. Her back shook with emotion as she tried to smile up at the woman who had basically adopted her. Grover, on the other hand, was a stuttering mess as he drooled over the goddess. Thankfully for him, Lord Hephaestus just chuckled like he was used to people blatantly checking out his wife. “I lost my scarf.” 

“It's alright, my darling.” Lady Aphrodite hugged Percy tight, her voice confident and full of elegance. Then the goddess of love looked up at the rest of the questers, her features shifting to match what each of them thought was the most beautiful. Her face matched Aunt Artemis’ perfectly as Lady Aphrodite glared arrows at Zoe Nightshade. “I believe it’s time we all have a little chat. Someone didn’t learn her lesson.” 

Author's Note - Should I update my Zoe tag? Maybe, haven't decided yet. But what I will say is there is a reason why Zoe is doing these things. Could that reason be why someone else is behaving oddly? Maybe [insert evil author cackles here]. But seriously, writing this chapter was such a pain because I couldn't decide if Bianca lived or not. Did she live? Did she die? Who knows, you'll just have to keep reading and giving me your predictions in the comments. Also, who else loved the scene of Percy shooting with Lee's bow because that was probably my favorite scene in this chapter? Don't forget to comment, kudos, and bookmark! Love you guys so much!

-V.I. Winthrop

Charles

"I want it to have a skull here." Nico DiAngelo pointed to the handle in the sketch Charles Beckendorf had made of his new custom sword. The kid earned a nice blade after taking out those Spartoi. They were hanging out in the Hephaestus Cabin at his bunk workstation while Silena ordered Jake and Nessa in a kind of useless attempt to reorganize their cabin's junk room. But Silena Beauregard was determined to clean up his cabin, and just like Lee found it impossible to say no to Percy when she asked for something, Beckendorf couldn't say no to Silena. Like, how could he? She was too beautiful to deny her anything.

Now if only he could get the courage to ask her out. If Lee and Percy go on an (official) date before he and Silena do, his siblings will never stop giving him shit.

Will Solace made a face. "Isn't that a little cliché?"

"Duh, that's why I want it." Nico grinned. "I'm the son of Hades, and I want my sword to be as badass as my dad." 

Will sighed like he knew it was a lost cause. "Let me guess, you want the sword to be black metal, don't you?"

"Yep!" Nico smiled at Beckendorf. "Can we do that?"

Beckendorf shook his head, making the kid frown. "Sorry. We've only got celestial bronze around here. The only way to make a sword black is to use Stygian iron, and that's mined in the-"

"Charlie?" Silena called from the junk room. "Come here, please!"

Beckendorf put his pencil to the side. "Did Shane's toy dragon catch on fire again? I told him to stop..." he entered the junk room and froze. Will and Nico bumped into his back. "... feeding it."

"Umm." Jake lifted a paper up to Beckendorf to read. "We got a delivery from the Underworld."

Charles Beckendorf,

Son of Hephaestus, you will use this metal to forge my children's weapons. I recommend using the gloves that I have left with Aphrodite's girl to work with the metal, lest you end up becoming a member of my court before your time. Should you run out, please have my children send me a prayer.

Hades, Lord of the Dead, King of the Underworld

"Well kid." Beckendorf stared at the freshly mined pile of Stygian iron at Silena's feet and the heavy-duty gloves in her arms. "Looks like you're getting your badass sword afterall."

"Yes!" Nico cheered, high-fiving Will with excitement.

Author's Note - Oh, is that a Hades' sighting? I wonder what he'll do at the solstice. Love you guys!

-V.I. Winthrop

Chapter Text

Author's Note - You know, rereading Titan's Curse made me realize how little action there is in this book compared to the other PJO books. And how much I HATE Rick's version of Aphrodite. Don't worry, though, I fixed it, and I think you'll enjoy how I portrayed her. And this chapter, humph, it's a doozy. You guys will love it, but it's jam-packed, mainly because I'm done with writing this quest and I want to get to the good stuff (aka, the Winter Solstice meeting). That's it for now. On to the story!

Chapter 7: Lee Takes a Knee 

Percy 

“Oh my darling, look at you. Even mid-quest, you’re beautiful! Oh, your braid is loose, let me fix that.” Lady Aphrodite fussed, fixing her braid with just a touch. “And that coat, Burberry, excellent choice. Much better than the duster the lion’s pelt normally turns into. And I see Dionysus’ blessing on the food is working nicely. You’re growing into your body well. And I know Lee Fletcher thinks so as well.” She winked teasingly. 

Percy blushed fiercely. “Lady Aphrodite!” 

“What? I would know. You’re becoming a woman, my darling. Use it to your advantage.” Lady Aphrodite smiled with a wave of her arms, outlining her own figure to emphasize her point. 

Despite the embarrassments and innuendos from Lady Aphrodite, Percy was glad she was here. It had been a shock that first night Lady Aphrodite came to her dream. The night Lee went on his infamous hunt. The goddess of love and beauty was just that. Words weren’t good enough to describe the goddess. Lady Aphrodite had spoken to Percy as if Percy was her own daughter and told her that she was a daughter of Aphrodite in everything but name. And when their dream chats kept happening, Percy found herself getting closer to the goddess of love. 

At times, Percy found it easier to chat with Lady Aphrodite than even her own mother because there was no judgment in her ever-changing eyes. This is the goddess who had seen great and terrible things done in the name of love. Nothing phased her and no questions were off-limits. Sure, Lady Aphrodite teased her about her crush on Lee with an innuendo (or five), but every interaction Percy had had with the goddess taught her something new about herself. 

How to be confident. How to follow her heart. How to be a woman. 

Persephone Jackson was the daughter of Poseidon, and she was very proud of that. She loved her father dearly. 

But Persephone Jackson was an Aphrodite girl, through and through. No one would ever change that. 

“Dad and Triton won’t be happy that you’re telling me this.” Percy joked.  

“Phew, what they don’t know won’t hurt them. Besides, after raising your sisters, especially Kym, Poseidon can handle anything.” Ain’t that the truth. The stories Kym has told Percy during girls’ night were something that had Percy clutching her pearls. And she went to an all-girls Catholic school. “But we can save that for our dream chats after you save your man.” Percy wondered if her face looked as red as it felt. Lady Aphrodite looked over her shoulder and batted her eyelashes at her husband. “Hephaestus, would you get the house ready?” 

It was impressive how Lord Hephaestus snapped his fingers and built a two-story house in the middle of his junk yard. In under a minute. Complete with working appliances, bathrooms, and most importantly, heat. Lady Aphrodite had them all seated around the living room table with food and tea for them to enjoy. 

Everyone, except Zoe, who sat in a chair that handcuffed her to it the moment she sat. To her credit, the disgraced hunter only grunted once before resigning herself to her fate. 

Ironic much. 

“Fates, you should see the state of Olympus right now. Hera’s garden is toast, literally. Burnt to a crisp.” Lady Aphrodite filled Percy’s plate with more mini sandwiches. “Of course, I say that we let Apollo fly of the handle and take care of this whole mess but no, we must wait for the quest to finish and suffer through Apollo’s heatwave.” She patted Percy on the shoulder. “And now with your news of a sighting for Pan, Dionysus and Hermes are antsy to leave and start searching for him themselves.” She paused. “Well, Dionysus was antsy prior to the Pan sighting but that was for an entirely different reason, as you know.” 

Percy’s ear perked at that. If there was one thing she and Lady Aphrodite could do all day, it was gossip about other people's love lives. “So, there is something going on with him and Nora.” 

“Nope.” Lady Aphrodite said, popping the p for dramatics. “They are just coworkers.” 

Percy frowned. “Lee and Mikey think that’s bullshit.” 

“Their father does too.” The goddess confirmed. “Now if you save Nora and her child, then maybe Dionysus will do something. Anything. Literally, it’s driving Anteros and I so crazy that-” 

“Err, not to be rude but we’re getting off topic.” Thalia forced Grover to close his jaw as he continued to check out the goddess of beauty. “Is there something you need, Lady Aphrodite, Lord Hephaestus?” 

“Besides Nightshade’s head?” Hephaestus grunted, fiddling with a bunch of gears in his hands. 

Zoe gulped as Lady Aphrodite giggled. “Sadly, we can not take her head with us, no matter how much I want to after speaking to Eros.” Her smile to Zoe was hateful. “There is a line of gods now that are calling for your head. Even Apollo has stopped defending your honor and Hades, tsk, tsk, oh the Lord of the Dead is angry. He purposely told the council that he would be in attendance for the solstice as he wanted it to be known how displeased he was with his daughter’s unexpected selection for this quest. Now, not even Artemis pleading for your case will save you.” The goddess leaned back in her seat. “Officially, Hephaestus and I are celebrating a long overdue honeymoon and we have probably,” she glanced at the clock on wall. “about another 10 minutes or so before he notices that our presence is missing from Olympus. We must make this quick.” 

“Besides, you still need Nightshade to bring you to the General.” Hephaestus said. “If she can do that without stabbing you in the back.” 

Thalia threw her head back with a groan. “Ugh, why?”  

“Yes, why have you not told your fellow questers about your heritage, Zoe Nightshade?” Lady Aphrodite balanced her chin in her palm. “You say that you wish to save Artemis and yet, you keep such available information from your companions.” 

“How tactical of you.” Hephaestus regarded Zoe like he was trying to take her apart in his mind to see what made her tick. Zoe just kept her mouth shut and glared back at him. 

“What’s the big deal?” Thalia asked. “Do we really need her?” 

“You talk as if I am not here.” Zoe snapped, clinching her fists.  

“If only we were so lucky.” Thalia shot back. Percy tugged at her shirt to stop Thalia from lunging at her, even though it was very tempting to let Thalia go buck wild on the disgraced lieutenant. Hell, Percy wanted to shish kebab Zoe herself but unfortunately for her, the prophecy was replaying in the back of her mind. “After what you tried to do to Bianca, you should be ashamed of yourself.” 

“I am!” Zoe shouted back. Her chest heaved with emotion. Huh, would you look at that, Zoe actually looked sorry. “The automation forced my hand. You were not there the last time I faced Talos! It would not have stopped unless Bianca was dead. The knife would have been a quick mercy.” 

What complete bullshit. The only thing stopping Percy from letting Thalia throw hands was the last line of the prophecy. 

“I hope you realized that you sealed your fate.” Percy said in a cold tone. For a moment, it was like everyone else had vanished and it was just Percy and Zoe in the room. “Now you will lead us past the dragon and face your consequences.” 

“Dragon?!” Grover yelped, finally snapping out of his Aphrodite-induced daydreaming. 

Zoe shrank in her chair under Percy’s knowing gaze. “How do you know of that?” 

“I saw it.” Percy pulled Riptide out of her pocket to play with it in her hands. Zoe refused to look at it. “I’m not a, what did you call me, a whore pretending to be a prophet to save my lover. I am a Seer.” She uncapped Riptide to use the blade as a mirror and checked to see if her eyeliner smudged, just to piss Zoe off. It worked. “I know all about you and Hercules. You put your immortal essence into this blade and gave it to him so he would have a weapon to face Ladon and Atlas with. Even though you were one of the Hesperides and were basically betraying your family by helping Hercules.” She threw Riptide with a flick of her wrist. It buried itself into the ground, right between the leg chairs where Zoe sat. Percy stood and stalked towards her. “Eros was right. You falling in love with Hercules and betraying your family was an unfair fate. I don’t blame you for helping the one you loved, even if he sounded like a dick in my vision.”  

“He is one.” Hephaestus muttered. 

Percy stood over Zoe, yanking Riptide out of the ground. “But I bet being disowned by your family made you afraid of love. That’s why you joined the Hunters of Artemis in the first place, isn’t it?” Zoe kept her head down. “But then Artemis made you her lieutenant and started leaving you in charge of the girls.”  

Then, a vision swept Percy away. 

Two girls stood in a forest, dressed in tunics that looked slightly off with bows in their hands. One of those girls was Zoe Nightshade, forever stuck in the body of a teenager. The other girl resembled Artemis. But this girl’s face shape was softer, and her hair was brown instead of auburn. Below them was an ancient city. A man in a finely made toga was being baptized in a river in front of a huge crowd. 

“It appears that our time will be ending soon.” The girl with brown hair admitted with a resigned face. Her silver eyes were sad.  

Zoe flinched at that. “Lady Artemis-” 

The brown hair girl sighed. “Zoe, that is not my name here.”  

“But you are Artemis! You have always been Artemis!” Zoe protested loudly.  

“Not here. Here I am Diana.” Artemis said calmly. “And these Roman girls have no desire to join my hunt. You are the last of my Hunters, Zoe. With Constantine’s conversion, Rome will soon embrace the Christian faith. Even now, my aunt’s temple receives prayers from those asking the Virgin Mother to pray for them.” The moon goddess looked to the sun. “Like when Troy fell, Olympus’ fate is unknown. Venus has proposed a plan, but I fear that without the Hunters, I may fade away. I would be remiss if I did not prepare you, my sister.” 

“But I am still here!” Zoe protested in fear. “I still pray to you! I still give you glory!” 

Artemis smiled sadly at her. “Nothing is forever, Zoe. Not even the gods. And you, my loyal lieutenant, are not a demigod. Perhaps if this was still Greece, I could have done what Minerva had done in the past and created demigods of my own. But I have forsworn romantic love.” She looked sadly to the north, like she was remembering something painful. “And with what demigods must face in this world, to bring them life in any manner other than love would not be just.” 

“What of your brother?” Zoe insisted. “He has many daughters, even now. Have him give them to you so that they may swear their oath to you. As long as there are hunters, you remain strong.” 

“No.” Artemis ordered. “Should my nieces join me, it will be of their own volition. I will not force my oath on any girl, especially not my nieces.” 

“But you will fade!” 

“Then I fade.” Artemis shrugged. “This could be the end of the age of the gods. I have accepted that this could be my reality, Zoe. And perhaps if Apollo’s legend lives on through his children, I shall live on as his twin.” She looked at the sun again. “I must go; the council must decide our next move.”  

Artemis ran into the forest, melting out of sight. Her lone hunter was left in the clearing. Anger and desperation leaked out of Zoe Nightshade.  

Visions flashed of Zoe trying and failing to recruit young girls to join the Hunters of Artemis. 

But Zoe was persistent. She tried again. And again. And again. 

Finally, the vision changed. The season had changed. Zoe Nightshade approached two teenage girls in the open market. As she passed them, Zoe snapped her fingers. Mist entrapped the girls, pulling them away to follow Zoe away from the forum. The girls moved slowly, like they were in a trance. Zoe went through a speech about what life in the Hunt looked like and even while enchanted, the girls’ faces shifted with excitement at the idea of immortality. 

“When Lady Artemis returns, you will take her oath and join her hunt.” Zoe ordered them. “Be honored, mortals, and abandon your old family. We are now sisters. This is the life you want.” Then Zoe snapped her fingers again. 

The girls blinked rapidly. Finally, one spoke. “Where’s Lady Artemis?” 

Zoe said nothing but her smile was wicked. 

“-ercy? Percy?” Grover nudged her side as the vision ended.  

Percy had wished for Lee a lot on this quest but right now, she really wished he was here. What she had just seen was something else. Not only was it damning to Zoe but something told Percy that her vision was like a painting that had been locked away from the gallery. Her Sight had shown her something that felt forbidden.  

She had no idea what to do with what she just saw. If only Lee was here so she could tell him what she saw. He would probably figure it out instantly; he was so smart like that. 

I love you. 

But Lee wasn’t here so their debrief will have to wait until later. 

In the meantime, Percy would handle the more pressing matter. 

Zoe jerked her chin up to stop Riptide from cutting her. The temptation to end Zoe now was strong. “Can gods take someone’s powers away?” Percy asked, refusing to let Zoe out of her gaze.  

“She gave up her powers when she created your blade and gave it away.” Hephaestus said with confusion in his voice. “All she has left is Artemis’ blessing as a Hunter.” 

How poetic would it be to kill Zoe with the blade that held her powers? Wouldn’t that be justice? The thought was tempting, especially with the rage bubbling in Percy’s chest right now.

“Not all of them.” Riptide pressed deeper into Zoe’s neck, almost drawing blood. “She can still manipulate Mist.” The lieutenant’s eyes widen. “That’s how she’s been getting girls to become Hunters without Artemis there. She finds them, Mists them to abandon their families, and removes the Mist just before Artemis comes back. That way, when the girls swear the oath, Artemis thinks it’s genuine. And you’ve been doing that since Emperor Constantine.” Percy’s mind raced, now extremely grateful for her time at St. Michael’s because that Catholic school education was coming in handy right about now. “You were afraid that Artemis would fade without the Hunters, especially with the rise of Christianity.” She didn’t see this, but behind Percy’s back, Aphrodite and Hephaestus shared a look. “And when Artemis wouldn’t go through with your idea to have Apollo’s daughters be sworn in as Hunters, you panicked and came up with this plan. And it worked because Artemis lets mortals be a part of her Hunters…” The puzzle formed. “It worked too well. So, you kept doing it. Whenever Artemis left you guys alone, you kept enchanting more girls and just passing it off that they were interested in being Hunters.” 

“Not all of them.” Zoe confessed. “Ask your cousin, she almost joined us.” Thalia snarled under her breath. “Many girls have joined on their own volition. I only did it when the numbers were low.”   

Riptide called for blood. You know you fucked up when the blade with you created with your own essence hated what you had done. “Did you do this to demigods?” Zoe’s face twitched. “You did, didn’t you? And you tried it on Bianca when you went to take her to Artemis so that Bianca could tell her what happened with the manticore!” 

“… I should have realized she was a child of one of the big three.” Zoe admitted, her voice as quiet as a mouse. “The Mist never worked well on the daughters of the big three. Her brother resembles more of a child of Hades than she does.” 

It had been a while since Percy had felt this disgusted by someone’s actions. She wanted to slice out Zoe’s vocal cords just to shut her up. How dare she do such a thing? To remove those girls’ autonomy like that, in the name of love, was despicable. 

How many Hunters had died never wanting to be Hunters in the first place? 

“Percy.” Thalia growled. “Either kill her or give her to me.” 

“As wonderful as that would be, you can’t. Oh, don’t glare at me, Thalia Grace.” Lady Aphrodite charmspoke. Thalia’s glare dropped instantly. The love goddess turned to Zoe with her full focus. “After all, Zoe Nightshade shall forget how to manipulate Mist.” A gasp escaped Zoe. “Zoe Nightshade will safely bring Persephone Jackson and Thalia Grace to where Atlas is hiding. Zoe Nightshade will face her father in battle.” Zoe gasped like she couldn’t breathe. “Zoe Nightshade will stop manipulating the fates of others. And Zoe Nightshade, daughter of Atlas, will tell Artemis what she has done and why she has done it.” The circlet in Zoe’s hair unbraided itself. It flew off her hair and into Aphrodite’s open palm. “You are unworthy to wear this, Hesperid. Get out of my sight.” Aphrodite waved her hand and Zoe vanished before their eyes. She turned to her husband. “Did you get all of that?” 

He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. There on the mantle of the fireplace was a video camera. “Already downloaded and in Hermes’ inbox.” 

“Good. That way, Artemis can watch it in case Nightshade dies before she can confess. And I finally, after 2000 years, have proof to try her in front of the council.” Lady Aphrodite smiled up at him. “I knew there was a reason I married you.” 

“We were arranged.” 

“Yes, well, what can you do? Better late than never?” Lord Hephaestus rolled his eyes but accepted the kiss on the cheek from his wife all the same. Lady Aphrodite clapped her hands once, turning to face them. “Right! Time for you to get going. As we said, you have to take Nightshade to San Francisco with you but don’t worry about her escaping. I have her  in the truck wearing a straitjacket.” 

Hephaestus pulled a set of car keys from his pocket and tossed them into Percy’s lap. “Hermes gave you the fake ID, right?” 

“Yeah.” Percy said, then gasped dramatically, a smile finally appearing on her. “I finally get to drive?!” 

“Yes, and you'd better hurry. I fixed the truck up so that you can get to San Francisco in half the time without the mortals pulling you over, but eight hours is a long drive.” 

“Better than fourteen hours.” Percy said before she was pulled into a big hug. “Thank you.” 

“Of course, darling.” Lady Aphrodite kissed her forehead. “Go save your man. I can’t wait to see you two dancing at the solstice. Oh, and here.” 

Thalia blinked, slowly taking the circlet from Aphrodite. “Umm, thanks?” 

“Thalia, be a dear and return that to Artemis, would you?” The goddess asked with a smirk. “It’s high time that Artemis gets a lieutenant who doesn’t go behind her back. Even if it is for the name of love. And Grover Underwood, my eyes are up here.” 

Grover bowed in embarrassed horror. “I’m so sorry! Please don’t smite!” 

“Relax.” She waved him off with a smile. “If I smited everyone that lusted over me, no one would be left.” She threaded her arm around her husband’s arm. “Right, Husband?” 

“Right, Wife.” Hephaestus sounded like he liked the idea of her smiting people for staring at her for too long. “And it’s smote.” 

“Is it? Ah, what a confusing but effective word.” Lady Aphrodite shrugged. “Goodbye my loves, and good luck! Oh, and Apollo said that you should stop at Pier 39 to see the sea lions before you hike the mountain. Ta ta!” 

Percy would like to say that ride to San Francisco was filled with music and laughter. That would be a lie. For eight hours, the questers sat in absolute silence. Grover, the lucky guy, was forced to sit next to Zoe in the back, who looked like a former shell of herself. But that was better than Thalia sitting back there and strangling the Hesperid while Percy fought with the LA traffic on their way to San Francisco. 

But to Percy, the drive and the silence were a welcomed relief. Did she spend the entire ride thinking about Lee? 

Well, no. The first hour was all about what Zoe had done, and the second hour was her wondering where Bianca had gone. Was Bianca hurt? Was she safe? How did she disappear? Gods, Percy hoped that Bianca was ok and that Uncle Hade and Aunt Persephone heard her prayers of ‘Bianca is lost and I don’t know where she is but please help find her and bring her to Camp!’ She might have also prayed to her dad and guilted him into searching for Bianca because she was ‘already sad about Lee and now Bianca’s missing and Dad, this is the worst quest ever and Aphrodite’s already helped so now it’s your turn’. 

But the rest of the drive, Percy only thought about Lee Fletcher. How was he doing? Was he still standing strong? Did he find Percy physically attractive? 

Ok, so the last question had nothing to do with her quest, but she couldn’t help it. Ever since Lady Aphrodite made that comment about her growing into her body and Lee liking what he saw, it made Percy feel hopeful as silly as it sounded. But Percy wouldn’t consider herself a great beauty, not when you compared her to Silena or Drew or any of her immortal sisters. Those girls were the definition of beauty. Sure, Percy had pretty features (from her big green eyes to her long, wavy hair) but she had always considered herself to be a wallflower. A pretty wallflower but a wallflower all the same. 

It was nice to know that someone might desire her. 

It was really nice to hear that Lee might be that someone. 

I love you. 

Not that it would matter if Percy didn’t save him. She didn’t even want to think of that possibility. Every minute that passed was another minute that Lee held the sky and she didn’t want to waste a minute more. The last thing she wanted to do was make a detour to Pier 39. Going to see the cute and cuddly sea lions wasn’t going to change the fact that Lee and his family’s lives were in danger. It made no sense to stop especially when they had to make it to Mt. Tam at sunset and enter the Garden of the Hesperides. If they missed it, then they would have to wait until tomorrow to enter. 

And tomorrow was the Winter Solstice.  

They were running out of time. 

I love you. 

And Lee Fletcher needed her. 

But Apollo told them to go see the sea lions. And you don’t say no to the god of prophecy.  

It was afternoon by the time they reached Pier 39, which meant they had some time to kill before they needed to get to Mt. Tam. Grover leaped out the moment she parked the truck. Sitting next to Zoe for eight hours will do that to you. Thalia grumbled her way out of the truck when Percy unlocked Zoe’s straitjacket.  

“Why are thou freeing me?” Zoe asked quietly. 

“We want the same thing.” Percy said as she fumbled with the lock. “To finish this quest and save our hearts. We have a better chance of doing that if we work together.”  

The Hesperid thinned her lips. “Everything I have ever done has been for my goddess.” 

“Yeah. I can tell.” Click. “But did it ever cross your mind that she wouldn’t have wanted any of that?” 

“Yes.” 

“But you did it anyway?” Zoe nodded, shrugging off the jacket. “Why?” 

“Because the thought of losing Artemis forever was too much to bear.” Zoe confessed. “I had lost everyone else I had ever cared for. I couldn’t lose her too. I did what I had to do.” She sighed sadly. “But it was all for nothing.” 

Percy stepped back from the truck and threw her bow at her. “Yeah, karma’s a bitch. Let’s go.”  

Thalia made a face when they reached the sea lions. “They’re so-” 

“Cute? Cuddly? Adorable?” 

“Slimy.” Percy put a hand over her heart, gawking at her heathen of a cousin. “What? Look at them! I bet hugging them would be like hugging a greased pig.” 

“Percy?” Called Grover. 

“Don’t listen to her.” Percy said to the sea lions on the pier, ignoring Grover. “Thalia has no respect.” 

“Hey!” 

“Percy?” Grover tried again. 

“Look at those faces and tell me they aren’t good cuddlers.” 

“They don’t have arms.” Thalia argued. “How would they-” 

“Percy!” Grover jumped between the cousins, pointing to the water. “Bessie wants to talk to you.” 

“MOOOO!” 

She peered down and there was Bessie, looking up at her with sad brown eyes.  

“Ah Bessie!” Percy cooed, crouching to pet the cow serpent she had saved from that awful fishing net before her quest. “What are you doing here? Did you swim all the way from Long Island?” Bessie nodded rapidly. “Why?” 

“… You nicknamed this creature… Bessie?” Zoe asked in disbelief. 

“Duh, look at that face.” Bessie blinked adorably on cue. “She looks like a Bessie.” 

“Umm, Percy, Bessie’s a boy.” 

Percy did a double-take. “You are?!” Bessie nodded again. “Oh gods. Do you want me to keep calling you Bessie? Or we can change it to Bobby. Would Bobby be better?” 

“MOOO!” 

“Bessie likes Bessie.” Grover translated. “Way better than being called the Ophiotaurus.” 

Thalia scratched the back of her head. “You can understand him?” 

Grover nodded. “It’s a very old form of animal speech.” 

“MOO!” 

“Err, sorry.” Grover sweatdropped. Bessie mooed again. “He says that Percy is his protector. And that he’s running from the bad people. Who are close.” 

Percy moved her hand to her pocket as Zoe asked, “How do you know this cow?” 

Percy gave them the cliff-notes version of the story, which had her cousin shaking her head in disbelief. “And you just forgot to mention this before?” 

Percy blushed in embarrassment. “Well yeah. I’ve been a tad preoccupied.” Rightfully so. The love of her life was in danger after all. 

“I am a fool.” Zoe said suddenly, then ignored Thalia’s comment of ‘no shock there’. “I know this story!” 

“What story?” 

“From the War of the Titans.” The lieutenant said. “My… my father told me this tale thousands of years ago. This is the beast Artemis was looking for. This is the bane of Olympus.” 

Percy looked at Bessie, looked at Zoe, then back at Bessie. “You’re going to look at that face and tell me this adorable, cute cow could destroy the world?” Bessie batted his eyes to emphasize her point. 

“You are right.” 

Percy hadn’t been expecting that answer. “I am?” 

“The Ophiotaurus himself will not destroy Olympus but sacrificing him will.” 

“MOO!” 

“I don’t think he likes the s-word.” Grover said. 

Percy kept petting Bessie, hating how the poor thing trembled under her hand. “Why? Bessie’s harmless.” 

Zoe gave a grim nod. “There is power in killing innocence.” 

“Something you would know.” 

Zoe ignored Thalia. “The Fates ordained a prophecy eons ago, when this creature was born. They said that whoever killed the Ophiotaurus and sacrificed its entrails to fire would have the power to destroy the gods.” 

“MOO!” 

“Um,” Grover said. “Maybe we could avoid talking about entrails, too.”  

Thalia stared at the cow serpent with wonder. “The power to destroy the gods…how? I mean, what would happen?” 

 “No one knows.” Zoe said. “The first time, during the Titan war, the Ophiotaurus was in fact slain by a giant ally of the Titans, but thy father, Zeus, sent an eagle to snatch the entrails away before they could be tossed into the fire. It was a close call. Now, after three thousand years, the Ophiotaurus is reborn.” 

Thalia sat down on the dock. She stretched out her hand. Bessie put his head in her palm and shivered. For a second, Thalia’s face twisted with a hunger that made Percy uneasy. Then her cousin looked at Percy and shook her head, petting Bessie gently. “We have to protect him.” Thalia stood slowly, looking over her shoulder. “Luke wouldn’t hesitate. The power to overthrow Olympus would- GASP, duck!”  

CRACKLING! BOOM! 

Dr. Thorn went flying into the armed mortal security guards that had been behind him. Meanwhile, Zoe spun towards the nearby dock, launching arrows into the barrels of the other two security guards’ pistols before they could fire. The guns kicked back violently, making the guards drop their weapons and run away. 

“Bessie, dive! Grover, watch him!” Percy ordered, flicking her wrist as she ran to Thorn and his goons. Her stomach tugged as the ocean rose around her trident. She pointed at the mortals, letting the water grab them and throw them to where the sea lions sunbathed (without their guns, of course). 

“You will pay for that, Persephone Jackson!” The manticore growled. “I will defeat you myself and show the General that I am not worthless!” 

Percy leveled her trident. “I’d like to see you try.” 

“You could barely fight with a goddess and that boy on your side. And alas… both are preoccupied at the moment. There will be no help for you now.” The manticore threw off his coat and transformed into his true self. His lion claws extended out as his spiky tail bristled with poison barbs. “Though it will be a shame to kill you before you witness Thalia’s great victory.” 

“What are you talking about?” Thalia growled. She had her shield and spear ready as she stepped up to Percy’s side. 

“Surely it’s clear.” The manticore started to evil monologue. “This is your moment. This is why Lord Kronos brought you back to life. You will sacrifice the Ophiotaurus. You will bring its entrails to the sacred fire on the mountain. You will gain unlimited power. And for your sixteenth birthday, you will overthrow Olympus.” 

For a second, no one spoke. For the past two years, Percy had heard whispers of how her sixteenth birthday was doomsday. The day the world could end because she, a child of the Big Three, would make a choice. One that could end the gods. But even without knowing the Great Prophecy, Percy had already made her choice to protect the ones she loved. Many of whom were gods.  

Then Thalia came back to life. And her sixteenth birthday was in two days. 

Not even Percy knew what her cousin would choose. 

Then, Dr. Thorn made a mistake. He kept talking… 

“You know it is the right choice.” The manticore told her. “Your friend Luke recognized it.” Thalia’s head snapped up at that, her back straight with emotion. “You shall be reunited with him. You shall rule this world together under the auspices of the Titans. Your father abandoned you, Thalia. He cares nothing for you. And now you shall gain power over him. Crush the Olympians underfoot, as they deserve. Call the beast! It will come to you. Use your spear.” 

“Sure.” 

CRACKLE! BOOM! 

… and he mentioned Luke Castellan. 

Percy leaned on her trident as Thalia volleyed lightning bolt after lightning bolt at Thorn. There was no need for her to interfere; Thalia had it handled, and she needed to release the pent-up anger she had been building up for a while now. This would be good for Thalia.  

Dr. Thorn twitched helplessly on the deck after the fifth. The daughter of Zeus marched up to him and raised her spear. He stared at her with fear with his dual-colored eyes, then tried to crawl away. 

“Let me make something fucking clear.” Thalia growled, her spear lighting up à la the Master Bolt. “I’m not Luke Castellan.” 

STAB! Poof! 

Percy clapped and smiled at her cousin. “Nice job! You feeling better?” 

“Loads.” Thalia said as she walked back to them. Thalia seemed to enjoy the nervous glances Zoe was sending her way. “Where’s Bessie?” 

“Chilling with Grover.” Percy nodded her head over to where the two were bonding in the water. “But I think we need get Bessie a ride back to Long Island.” 

“How would we do that?” Zoe asked. 

“Easy.” Percy crouched down and dipped her hand in the water. “Hey Dad, do you have a second? I need your help with something.” 

A bubble popped in the water. Then another. Then- 

“Holy mother of Pan!” Grover fell backward into the waves as her father rose from the water on the other side of Bessie, dressed in one of his nicer Hawaiian shirts and Bermuda shorts. 

“There you are.” Dad smiled at her. “I was getting worried after your last prayer- Percy?” 

“Yeah, Dad?” 

“Why is the Ophiotaurus here?” 

“I found him and I need you to take Bessie with you to Olympus.” 

Her father blinked at her. “You nicknamed the bane of Olympus… Bessie?” 

“Yes and he likes it.” Bessie nodded in agreement. Her dad was still looking at her like she had lost the last of her marbles, again. “Dad, please. I need to go save Lee and I don’t want to worry about Evil Grandpappy kidnapping Bessie too.” Then Percy pulled out her secret weapon. “Please Dad.” She started pouting. 

Dad folded immediately. “Oh, alright.”  

“Yay!” Percy threw her arms around her dad’s neck, kissing his cheek. “You’re the best!” Then she petted Bessie again. “Be good, Bessie. I’ll play with you soon.” 

Bessie nodded but then made a face. He opened his mouth and started hacking like he had a hairball. 

Braf! 

“Gross.” Percy summoned some water to wash the cow barf of the dock, only to reveal a map of San Francisco. “Did you eat this?” Percy picked the map up and flipped it over. On the back of the map were hiking trails on Mt. Tam with one trail highlighted in yellow. 

The bane of Olympus shows the trail. 

Dad patted her back as Percy continued to stare at Bessie in shock. “Please be safe while you’re up there and remember,” he shifted her Burberry coat, so it sat better on her shoulders. “sacrificing animals and entering our domain aren’t the only way to get our attention.” 

“MOO!” 

“Umm, Lord Poseidon, sir. Bessie doesn’t like the s-word.” 

“Ah, my apologies.” Then Dad paused. “Actually, you should come with me as well, Grover Underwood. My fluency in the old animal tongue is limited, and Hermes would like to speak with you.” 

“Umm.” Grover looked at Percy for approval. She nodded and waved her hand in a ‘go on’ manner. “Yes, sir.” 

“Wonderful. Oh, and Thalia.” Thalia looked up at her uncle in shock. “I know my brother has not been the most attentive father. But I want you to know that you can always go to me or your Aunt Hestia should you need anything.” 

Thalia shifted her weight nervously. “… Really? And Dad won’t get mad?”  

Dad chuckled. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about that, but if he does, I’ll handle it. Now run along. The sun will be setting soon.” Then Dad leveled his all-seeing eyes at Zoe Nightshade. “And the prophecy must be completed.” 

Lee 

Mt. Orthys was rising again. It seemed like every second that passed, more broken columns and statues became clearer to see. The city that had once been the fortress of the Titans was reappearing. 

And Lee was running out of time. The sky pressed violently, so much so that Lee had to drop to one knee to keep his hold of the sky. To make matters worse, Nora’s contractions had quickened even with Aunt Artemis repeating prayer after prayer under her breath. Soon, she would feel the need the push, and there was nothing Aunt Artemis could do to stop that. 

Which was not helping Aunt Artemis’ mood. For the last day or so, his aunt had stiffened every few minutes or so, like she had overheard someone talking about something. Each time this happened, her frown deepened. Something was upsetting outside of their current situation, but Lee had no idea what that could be. 

“Lee!” His head snapped up at the voice he longed to hear again. Persephone Jackson ran to him, not caring one bit that she was running into a trap. Thalia and Zoe ran in right behind her.  

She was crying again. She was too beautiful to be crying. 

“…Percy, don’t.” He tried to yell but only a whisper came out. 

“Awh, how touching.” Atlas boomed in his brown suit. At his side were Castellan and a half dozen dracaenae carrying the sarcophagus of Kronos. 

The moment Thalia locked eyes with Castellan, Lee felt a shift in the air. Both of them looked like the wind had been punched out of them. Then Thalia’s face turned angry while Castellan’s turned hurt. What a tragic reunion.  

“Lady Artemis!” Zoe cried out, drawing the girls’ attention to where Nora and Aunt Artemis sat at Atlas’ throne. Nora yelled out in pain, holding Aunt Artemis to fight through the pain. 

Thalia Grace zoned in on the boy she had died for. “Luke.” She snarled. “Let them go.” 

Castellan’s smile to her was weak and pale. His time on Mt. Orthys had made him look worse, like every second here was draining the life out of him. “That is the General’s decision, Thalia. But it’s good to see you again.”  

Thalia spat at him.  

The General chuckled. “So much for old friends. And you, Zoe. It’s been a long time. How is my little traitor? I will enjoy killing you.”  

Aunt Artemis’ head snapped up, looking at Percy. “Do not challenge him.” She yelled out. “He is bound by ancient laws.” 

“Come now, daughter of Poseidon. You have come this far” Atlas urged. “Surely you wish to face me, the General of the Titans and the terror of the gods, for what has happened to the son of Apollo.” He waved his hand at Lee. “An honorable hero, I must admit. Far better than the other one. Isn’t that right, my traitorous daughter?” 

“I am not your daughter.” Zoe’s voice trembled with fear. 

“You’re right.” Atlas smiled. “And I will take great pleasure in killing you like I should have ages ago.” 

“Let Artemis go.” 

Atlas laughed. “Oh I will, once her niece births her child. Then the moon goddess will go right under the sky. And once we take Olympus, I will have all of the Olympians take a turn.” Lee let out the pained moan that he had been holding back. Percy’s braid whipped her in the face; she turned so quickly to look at him. “That is if the son of Apollo lives long enough.” Then the Titan regarded Thalia. “As for you, daughter of Zeus, it seems Castellan was wrong about you.”  

“I wasn’t wrong,” Castellan managed. He looked terribly weak, and he spoke every word as if it were painful. “Thalia, you still can join us. Call the Ophiotaurus. It will come to you. Look!” He waved his hand, and next to us a pool of water appeared: a pond ringed in black marble, big enough for the Ophiotaurus “Thalia, call the Ophiotaurus,” He persisted again. “And you will be more powerful than the gods.”  

“Luke…” Her voice and eyes were full of pain. “What happened to you?”  

“Don’t you remember all those times we talked? All those times we cursed the gods? Our fathers have done nothing for us. They have no right to rule the world!”  

Thalia shook her head. “After what you did to Annabeth, never.”  

“I did what I had to. If you join me,” Luke promised, “it can be like old times. The three of us together. Fighting for a better world. Please, Thalia, if you don’t agree…” His voice faltered. “It’s my last chance. He will use the other way if you don’t agree. Please.” 

A chill filled the cave. Castellan was speaking the truth. If he didn’t get Thalia to join Kronos’ cause, Luke Castellan would die. Which wasn’t a bad thing to happen to Castellan if you asked Lee but not at Thalia’s expense. Castellan waved his hand again, and a fire appeared. A bronze brazier, just like the one at camp.  

A sacrificial flame.  

Percy’s eyes widen at the sight of the brazier. She spared a glance at Lee. 

Behind Castellan, the golden sarcophagus began to glow. As it did, the mist twisted images all around them: black marble walls rising, the ruins becoming whole, a terrible and beautiful palace rising around us, made of fear and shadow.  

“We will raise Mount Othrys right here,” Castellan promised, in a voice so strained it was hardly his. He was desperate to get her to join him. “Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus. Look, Thalia. We are not weak.”  

He pointed toward the ocean. Marching up the side of the mountain, from the beach where the Princess Andromeda was docked, was a great army. Dracaenae and Laestrygonians, monsters and half-bloods, hell hounds, harpies. The whole ship must’ve been emptied, because there were hundreds, far more than who had been on board last summer. And they were marching toward them. In a few minutes, they would be here. 

“This is only a taste of what is to come,” Luke said. “Soon we will be ready to storm Camp Half-Blood. And after that, Olympus itself. All we need is your help.”  

For a terrible moment, Thalia hesitated. She gazed at Luke, her eyes full of pain, as if the only thing she wanted in the world was to save him. Then she leveled her spear. “You aren’t Luke. I don’t know you anymore.”  

“Yes, you do, Thalia.” He pleaded, stepping forward. “Please. Don’t make me…Don’t make him destroy you.” 

Thalia’s resolve hardened with her glare. Percy pulled Riptide out of her pocket and Zoe notched an arrow. The three girls charged. 

Thalia rushed at Castellan with her spear and shield. So terrifying was Aegis that the dracaenae dropped the sarcophagus. Castellan, to his credit, faced Thalia head-on and was still surprisingly quick in his weakened state. When his dual metal sword clashed with Thalia’s shield, a ball of lightning erupted between them, frying the air (and not Castellan) with a yellow light. 

To Lee’s absolute horror, Percy charged at Atlas. The Titan laughed, his suit melting into Greek armor as she slashed at him. He parried Riptide away with the shaft of his javelin. But Percy was quick, using her speed to duck under his arms and stab upwards. Atlas jumped away at the last second before she could get his chin. 

“Not bad.” He complemented, readying his javelin. 

“Zoe! What are you doing?!” Aunt Artemis’ harsh shout pulled Lee’s attention away from Percy. Nora clung to Aunt Artemis as Zoe tried to pull his sister out of the goddess’ arms. “Do not touch her!” 

“But Milady, I need to free you.” Zoe protested only to flinch under his aunt’s damning gaze. 

“You need to guard Persephone Jackson before- Percy!” Aunt Artemis shouted in warning as a dracaenae regained her barrings and lunged at Percy’s back.  

A shadow rose from the ground. 

Slash! 

“Bianca!” Percy cheered, slashing at Atlas’ waist as the two cousins went back-to-back to face their opponents.  

“Sorry, I’m late.” The daughter of Hades smiled behind Percy’s scarf. “I got a little lost.” Then little Bianca DiAngelo rushed at the dracaenae while wielding probably the most badass sword ever with a pitch-black metal blade. 

Percy raised Riptide over her head to catch Atlas’s slash, only for him to kick her in the stomach and send her tumbling in the air. 

“Percy!” Lee shouted. Atlas marched towards the love of his life as she struggled to catch her breath and sit up. 

He had to do something. 

He can’t let Percy die right in front of him. 

Persephone Jackson needed him. 

Lee Fletcher started to let the sky slip. 

“Zoe Nightshade!” The moon goddess roared. “Go face your father in battle!”  

Lee regained his grasp on the sky right before it fell. As if she was in a trance, Zoe leaped into battle, sending volley after volley of arrows at her father. Atlas roared in annoyance, but it was enough time for Percy to roll away and stand.  

Percy sprinted to Lee, shrugging off her trench coat as she ran. The trench coat shifted into a golden pelt that she dropped at his feet. The pelt looked oddly familiar. 

“Hi, I missed you.” Percy whispered as she crouched down. 

“Percy.” He gasped. “Don’t do it. I can-” 

Her smile was so beautiful. He has missed her smile. “We promised that we would always take care of each other, didn’t we?”  

Somehow, he found the strength to smile through the pain. “Always.” 

“Then let me take the curse.” Percy begged gently.  

“It’ll crush you. I can’t lose you.” Lee whispered. “Percy, I-” 

“I know.” She knelt next to him and braced the sky. “But I have to do this. For us. I’ll be ok.” The pain started to lessen as she stood.  

Lee collapsed onto the golden pelt. His heart raced so fast he wondered if he was about to have a heart attack. 

Then Percy groaned in pain. He looked up at her from the ground. Her green eyes, full of that emotion he had seen but never allowed himself to admit what it was, flickered towards the brazier, then to the pelt, then to the brazier again. 

That’s when it clicked. 

Lee Fletcher had seen this pelt before. Wrapped on the shoulders of the demigod who once shared this burden. 

The fire roared in Lee’s chest as he forced himself to stand. Somehow, he limped until he was in throwing distance of the brazier. 

Castellan glanced his way as he slashed at Thalia’s shield. His eyes widened with fear. “No!” 

But unfortunately for Castellan, Lee had always had a good throw. Even after bearing the weight of the sky. 

Lee Fletcher threw the pelt of the Nemean Lion into the sacrificial fire with the last of his strength. “Father! Help!” He fell to the ground at the base of the brazier, praying for a miracle. 

The night sky ripped open. 

Golden light shot down, blinding everyone. 

Mt. Orthys shook as the temperature reached astronomical levels. 

The light dimmed just enough for Lee to see his father’s quiver over his golden armor. 

Atlas, the terror of the gods, stumbled backward. 

Phoebus Apollo, known for his protective rage and vengeance, raised his bow. “You. Dare. Harm. My. FAMILY!” 

And opened fire. 

Author's Note - AH! We were so close to a confession! Honestly, I love how Deus ex Machina this chapter was. It just flowed better as I wrote, and I like the fact that the gods are getting more involved (oh, foreshadowing). As for Aphrodite, I wanted to get her right, and the way I view Aphrodite is that beautiful, rich mom/aunt who is sex-positive, all about confidence, and believes in the power of femininity and (most importantly) the power of love. And I know Lee's POV was short (and used a lot of lines from the book) but your girl was tired and I wanted the chapter to end with Daddy Apollo finally going buck wild. Besides, that bomb I dropped about why Zoe started recruiting girls took up way more space in this chapter than I intended. Oh well. Anyway, I can't wait to read all of your predictions in the comments! Don't forget to comment, kudos, and bookmark! Love you guys so much!

-V.I. Winthrop

Malcolm

Malcolm Pace was having a normal day. The apartments were being built. His sisters were prepping for Capture the Flag. And Annabeth was being less of a pain in the ass than usual.

But Malcolm knew that something was off. It had been a whole week, and Walt still hadn't Iris Messaged them. And with the knowledge that Nora was currently kidnapped on Mt. Orthys with Lee and their aunt, Malcolm was scared for his brother's safety. Malcolm was tempted to say fuck it and just IM Walt himself, but something was holding him back. Granted, given the last time Malcolm sent an impromptu IM had left him scarred for life after witnessing what happens when two horny demigods after they leave Camp, Malcolm wasn't taking any chances.

Still, that fear for his brother's life hadn't gone away. And since the girls were currently using their cabin as a war room, Malcolm went to the arena to get a few reps in. Swordfighting had always been a good way to clear his head and relieve stress. What he hadn't expected was to hear sobbing when he entered.

"Hello?" Malcolm called out. The sobbing hiccupped, and slowly, a young girl popped out from around the armor storage boxes. As quick as lightning, the girl barrelled into his chest and sobbed loudly. Shit, where was Percy and Lee when you needed them? They were the best when it came to comforting the homesick demigods. Hell, the pair were practically the mom and dad of Camp Half-Blood. But Malcolm was a counselor in a cabin that was estrogen-heavy. He could handle a few tears. "Hey, it's ok. What's wrong?" The girl sniffled into his shirt, purposely using that as a tissue versus her scarf. "Come on, it'll be ok. Can you look at me?"

The girl lifted her head.

Malcolm's jaw dropped.

"Bianca?!"

Author's Note - She lives! Love you guys!

-V.I. Winthrop

Chapter Text

Author's Note - Y'all, your reactions and comments to the last chapter gave me so much joy! And this chapter, I think, you'll love even more. Now, it is slightly choppy and you won't get all of the answers to your questions. But that's ok because that means you'll have to keep reading [insert evil author cackles here]. Get ready for this beauty of a chapter. On to the story!

Chapter 8: Percy and Lee Finish Their Dance 

Lee 

Growing up as a son of Apollo, Lee knew all about his father’s myths. Which were true, which were wrong, which were absolute bullshit (Dad’s words, not his). But as with most myths, none of them ever stated how Dad fought. All they would say was that Apollo fought the monster, demigod, Titan, whatever it was, and won. No details whatsoever on the how. 

Now Lee understood why. The myths would not have done his father justice if they tried to explain how his father fought. 

The sound of Dad’s bow echoed like a war drum as a flaming arrow flew through the cave, splitting itself into hundreds of sunbeams. The remaining dracaenae that Bianca had been holding off burst in flames the second the sun arrows landed, screaming in pain as they burned into ashes. The little girl turned, running towards Lee to help him up. 

Atlas roared, dodging most of the arrows but a few did catch and pierce him. The smell of smoke and flesh burning filled Mt. Orthys. 

But what got Lee’s attention were the arrows headed towards Luke Castellan’s left side. With a speed only the son of Hermes could have, Castellan slammed his left bicep against his side seconds before the arrows landed. Only his clothing caught on fire as the arrows bounced off his skin, but the distraction allowed Thalia’s spear to catch Castellan’s chin, sending him flying into the ground.  

Dad noticed that too with a frown but must have deemed that not as important right now. Instead, Dad shot another arrow down Mt. Orthys without looking away at Atlas. Castellan’s entire army froze as meteor-like arrows rained on them. The army didn’t stand a chance.  

Dad’s glare hardened as he gripped his bow in the middle with both hands. The bow snapped and shifted into golden hunting knives. The blades of the hunting knives lit up with orange fire. The cave floor under Atlas’ heels caved as the Titan tried to keep Dad’s hunting knives away from his face with the shaft of his javelin. Dad snarled and turned up the heat. Atlas’ hands smoked to the point that they were smoking as the metal of his javelin burned his skin until he couldn’t hold his javelin any longer. Atlas dropped his javelin as it started melting at his feet. 

Dad lunged, swiping up and across Atlas’ chest with such fury that Atlas’ chest plate melted into his skin under Dad’s blade. In a desperate move, Atlas grabbed wildly behind him. Zoe Nightshade fought under her father’s grip, but it was pointless as her father swung her into Dad’s path. 

Lee had expected many things to happen. He expected Dad to stop in his tracks. He expected the flames on Dad’s blades to die down. He expected Aunt Artemis to cry out in worry. 

None of those things happened. 

SLASH! 

“… No fucking way.” Lee gasped with wide eyes. Bianca flinched, hiding her face in Percy’s scarf as Dad sliced Zoe Nightshade across her stomach. The cut was fatal; there was no way she could survive with her organs nearly spilling out like that. The smell of flesh burning filled the air as Zoe flew into Atlas’ throne. Aunt Artemis was arms’ length away from her lieutenant.  

“Milady…” Zoe cried out weakly, her hand reaching out for her goddess. 

Aunt Artemis didn’t speak nor look at the girl who had been at her side for thousands of years. A tear ran down her face but that was the only emotion the Huntress allowed herself to have. The light slowly died in Zoe’s pained eyes. 

And one shall perish by a parent’s hand. 

Even Atlas looked shocked by that turn of events, which Dad capitalized on. With a roar, Dad closed in, fighting like an animal. Atlas, now weaponless, could only keep dodging from Dad’s knives. With every direct hit, Atlas shouted in agony but remained standing. That’s when Lee noticed what Dad was doing.  

Atlas’ back was to Percy as Dad pushed him closer and closer towards his burden. Percy lifted her head just in time to close her eyes. Dad’s body flashed as bright as the sun. 

“ARGH!” Atlas cried, stumbling backward as Percy threw herself to the side. “NO!” The Titan protested as his legs and back returned to the position he had held for thousands of years. The weight of the sky slammed onto his back with a vengeance. “NOT AGAIN!!” His bellow shook the mountain. 

Meanwhile, Thalia had Luke backed up to the edge of the cliff. He lunged desperately, his clothes still smoking from Dad’s attack, but even he couldn’t resist flinching every time he looked at Thalia’s shield. His bastard sword flew out of his hand, tumbling down the cliff. Thalia held him with the point of her spear under his chin. 

For a moment, there was only silence. 

“Well?” Castellan asked, putting on a brave face even though his voice was full of fear. But his eyes couldn’t look away from Thalia Grace. 

Lee had seen that look before. He knew it well. It was how he looked at Percy. 

Thalia trembled with fury and pain. Luke used her hesitation to make a wild grab at her spear. Thalia’s lightning lit up her weapon when he tried to lean in. On instinct, her leg kicked out against his chest to put distance between the two of them. 

Luke Castellan stumbled, his heels slipping right from under him, terror clear on his face. He reached out for Thalia, screaming her name. 

She didn’t reach back. 

Thalia Grace dropped to her knees, her weapons clanking loudly against the cave’s floor.  

The loud sound of a body hitting the earth vibrated, but nothing was as loud as the shatter of Thalia’s heart. 

A guttural wail echoed throughout Mt. Orthys. Lightning broke across the sky as the daughter of Zeus mourned the son of Hermes she had once loved. 

Bianca bit her lip with concern. Lee nudged her, nodding his head towards Thalia in a silent ‘I’ll be ok, go’. Bianca helped adjust him so that his back was against the cave wall and ran to Thalia. She dropped next to her cousin and gasped when Thalia hugged her tight, peppering kisses on Bianca’s head with a tearful ‘I’m so glad you’re okay’. 

For a second, Lee thought it was all over but then Dad and Aunt Artemis turned violently to the sarcophagus. Out of fucking nowhere, Alabaster Torrington threw himself over the coffin as Dad lunged. But Dad was too late as Alabaster used his magic to teleport the sarcophagus of Kronos away from Mt Orthys. 

“Fuck.” Dad cursed. With one final glare at Atlas, Dad picked Percy up from where she sat, the heat in the cave finally dying down. “Good work, sweetheart.”  

Lee’s arms opened immediately as Percy practically threw herself out of Dad’s arms and into his chest. Some hair had fallen out of her braid. Lee hated the fact that those strands were silver from the stress of holding the sky.  

But that, he could worry about later. All that mattered was holding Percy close and hearing the beautiful melody of her heartbeat harmonizing with his. She buried her face into the crook of his neck, her arms wrapped just as tightly around him as his arms were around her. Lee pressed his face into her hair, breathing in the smell of her rose shampoo. 

They were so wrapped up in one another that Lee didn’t even notice that Dad had sung a healing hymn over them until the pain that shook Lee’s body finally stopped. Carefully, Lee shifted so that Percy’s body was distributed evenly across his lap. She raised her chin up. 

Her right hand left where it lay over his heart to reach for his hair. She frowned slightly as she ran her fingers through the golden curls with silver mixed through them. Slowly, his left hand cradled the back of her head. The frown shifted into her magnificent smile. 

“Hi.” Lee whispered, smiling down on her. “I missed you too.” He leaned down, kissing her forehead. “Thank you for saving us.” 

“Always.” Percy whispered as he pulled back slightly. Her hand moved down to his cheek. A beautiful gasp escaped her when he turned his head to kiss the inside of her wrist. “Lee?” 

“Hmm?” 

She traced the curves of his face as she bit her lip in the way that drove him crazy. Slowly, she moved closer. He started to meet her halfway. 

“Is this ok?” Lee Fletcher whispered. 

“More than ok.” Persephone Jackson whispered back. He closed the distance. 

Their almost kiss last year had been the best moment of Lee’s life. He had replayed that memory more times than he would ever admit out loud. For Percy to have kissed him, in front of the entire Camp, after everything she had been through, had made the moment even more precious.  

It was a sign of Persephone Jackson taking back her autonomy, and Lee Fletcher was honored that she had deemed him worthy to be the boy she shared that moment with. 

But that paled in comparison to this kiss.  

How could anything compare to this kiss? There was an innocence to it. A hesitation from the two best friends who knew that their lives would forever be changed from this moment. But that hesitation only lasted for a second. 

Kissing Percy felt as natural as breathing. He didn’t know how he went this long without knowing the soft feeling of her lips on his. But now that he knew it, he never wanted her to stop, even as she pulled back slightly to breathe before kissing him again like her life depended on it. He melted against her, loving how her lips caressed his with a small moan from her. Gods, he never wanted this moment to end. 

The love of his life was kissing him back. The entire world could disappear around them, but he wouldn’t even notice. Not when he had paradise in his arms and tasted heaven on his lips. 

“AGHH!” 

To bad his sister had to ruin the moment. Granted, Nora was giving birth, so he’ll give her a pass. Reluctantly, Lee pecked Percy and pulled back. Gods, she was gorgeous in the moonlight. He had no idea how he stopped himself from kissing her again. “We need to do that again sometime.”  

Percy giggled; her cheeks flushed with passion. “Definitely. Come on.” She smiled so wide that her dimples appeared. “Let’s go home.” She stood and held her hand out. He took it, standing beside her. Percy’s hand never left his as they made their way to where everyone else was. 

“Nice of you to join us, lovebirds.” Thalia teased with a big smile, despite her teary eyes. Percy rolled her eyes, a blush on her cheeks as she leaned into his side.  

Bianca’s smile lit up the cave as she pulled Percy’s scarf off her neck. “Thanks, Bianca.” Percy slugged it over one of her shoulders to free her hand and pull her little cousin into a tight, one-armed hug since Percy refused to drop his hand. Lee reached up, fixing her scarf so it was over both of her shoulders in the shawl-like style she loved to wear when she wasn’t on a dangerous quest. 

“Daddy, it hurts!” Nora sobbed in Dad’s lap as Aunt Artemis, finally unshackled, checked how dilated she was. Thankfully, Aunt Artemis had put up a tent so that Lee and the girls wouldn’t be scarred for life by the miracle of childbirth. 

Dad brushed her hair off her forehead, healing her cut to be just a scar. “I know, baby. You’ve been so strong. Aunt Artemis and I have got you.” Then Dad looked up at the tent. “Arty?”  

“We need to move her. She is about to start crowning.” Aunt Artemis popped up from the tent. Her eyes were bloodshot, but she refused to look at the body that laid behind her. “You’re going to have to drive. I can’t leave her.” 

“Say no more.” Dad said, then whistled like he was calling for a dog. The sun chariot zoomed in from the sky, then shifted into an ambulance. Nora’s clothing became a hospital gown as a stretcher formed under her. “Alright. everyone in. We’re going to Olympus. Asclepius and Hygieia already have the infirmary ready and Arty and I have to at least be on Olympus before midnight.” Dad rushed to get Nora situated in the back of the ambulance. 

“Where’s Lee?” Nora asked as Aunt Artemis got an IV in her.  

“I’m here.” Lee said from outside of the ambulance. Lee was torn. On one hand, he didn’t want to let Nora out of his sight. On the other hand, he didn’t want to leave Percy’s side. He didn’t know what to do. 

Luckily for him, Percy could see his hesitation on his face. With a soft smile, she nudged him towards the door. “Go be with your sister.” 

Lee glanced at her. “Are you sure?” 

Percy brought their laced hands up and kissed his knuckles. Her face was full of understanding and that emotion he was afraid to name. “I’m sure. She needs you and Thalia and Bianca need me. Besides,” her face turned bashful. “it’s only one car ride to Olympus. I can be patient.” 

“Yeah?” She nodded. Gods, what did he do in a past life to be blessed with a girl as amazing as Percy? It must have been something good. Lee couldn’t help himself as he pulled her close, kissing her forehead one more time but climbing into the ambulance. He heard Thalia and Bianca teasing Percy in the background as he shut the door behind him. 

“How’s your wife?” Nora teased with a wince. 

“Perfect.” Lee answered without hesitation. Then quickly added. “She’s not my wife.” 

“Yet.” 

Lee gawked at his aunt, who chuckled as she put on her gloves. “Not you too!”  

“You’re such a sap.” Nora reached for his hand which he gave without hesitation. She held his hand in a vice grip. “Thank you Lee.” 

“Thank you.” Lee grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat off her forehead. “Now hurry up and have this kid. I want to meet them.” 

Nora laughed. “You and me both.”  

They got to Olympus just before midnight, which Aunt Artemis said was a new personal best for sun chariot (when it wasn’t in sport mode). And in case you were curious, Dad did, in fact, fly the sun chariot into Olympus with the ambulance sirens on.  

Nora was whisked away the second they landed by their immortal siblings. All Lee got was a quick hug from Hygieia and a clap in the back from Asclepius before Lee found himself sitting anxiously in Dad’s infirmary, his knee bouncing up and down. Percy held one of his hands in hers while three cousins gave him the lowdown on everything that happened on their quest. 

“Woah.” Lee said when they finished up. Sure, he had seen some of their quest in his visions but to hear in detail what Zoe Nightshade had done, no wonder Aunt Artemis left her body there to rot. “Are you ok?” He asked Bianca. 

The twelve-year-old nodded. “Yeah. I’m just glad that I shadow-traveled to Camp. Mr. D said that Dad once had a kid who would shadow-travel to Asia whenever he got spooked.” Then she looked down nervously. “Do you think Lady Artemis will be mad when I tell her?” 

“No.” Percy comforted. Thalia reached over and patted their little cousin’s shoulder. “You were on a trial run and after everything you went through, Lady Artemis will totally understand why you’re staying at Camp.” 

“Besides, the gods can hear us when we use their names in conversations.” Lee reminded. “Aunt Artemis must have heard you guys, even while all chained up.” 

“I did.” They looked up as Aunt Artemis leaned against the doorframe of the lobby. Guilt flowed out of her despite her tired smile.  

“Is the baby here?” Percy asked on their behalf, almost buzzing with excitement. 

“He is. Both baby and mama are doing wonderfully.” Aunt Artemis nodded behind her. Lee sighed with relief and squeezed Percy’s hand. “Lee, Percy, why don’t you two go back there and meet him? I would like to apologize to Bianca personally.” 

Bianca shifted nervously in her chair, looking all the child that she actually was. “Can Thalia stay?” 

“Of course.” Aunt Artemis’ eyes flickered to the circlet that Thalia had laid on her lap the moment they got to Olympus. “I would like to chat to Thalia as well.” 

Thalia smirked. “Yeah. I was hoping you’d say that.” 

“Look who’s here to see you.” Nora cooed and rocked her baby as Dad let them into her room, before stepping out himself to give them some privacy. She waved the baby’s little arm at them. “Say hi Uncle Lee, hi Aunt Percy.”  

Percy gasped at that. “Aunt Percy?” 

“Of course.” Nora reassured with a tired smile, waving them to the chairs next to her bed. The second he sat down, the baby was placed in his arms. The baby was cute for just having been born. He slept peacefully in Lee’s arms. “I told Dad that I wanted you to be the first one to hold him besides me. Lee, say hello to your nephew, Lee Matthew Williams.”  

… What?  

Percy leaned against his left side as a wave of emotion came over him. She brushed away the tears that fell as Lee stared at his smiling sister, holding his nephew close.  

“I’m going to call him Mattie. Matthew’s a family name from W-Walt’s family.” Nora kept talking, her hand grasping his shaking shoulders. “But we wouldn’t be here without you. Lee, and I want to make sure that my kid knows that.” He gave a teary, happy smile, unable to form words from all of the feelings coursing through him. Forget the hell he had just endured. Lee Fletcher would have done it all over again in a heartbeat. After this moment and kissing the love of his life, Lee Fletcher could die a happy man. “And I want you to be his godfather.” 

“… Really?” His voice trembled with happiness. Nora nodded firmly. “Mike’s going to fight me for it.” 

“Probably, but Mikey can get over it.” Nora laughed. “And, of course, Percy will be his godmother.” Percy’s eyes widened. “Because we wouldn’t be here without her either.” 

“I would be honored.” Percy leaned closer, putting her hand over Mattie’s tuff of blonde hair. Lee tilted the baby closer so that Percy could get a better look at their godson. “Hi Mattie.” She whispered, her hand dropping so that Mattie could grab hold of her index finger. “Uncle Lee and I are so happy to meet you.” Her thumb caressed the baby’s knuckles. “We love you.” 

“Yeah.” Lee kissed the baby’s forehead then looked straight into Percy’s eyes to finish his thought. “We do.” 

She flushed under his gaze but before she could say anything- 

Knock, knock. 

“Hey.” Dad popped his head in, looking mildly annoyed. “Sorry kids, but Hermes just stopped by. Dad wants you guys at the Solstice meeting.” 

“Oh.” Reluctantly, Lee handed Mattie back to his sister. “When is it?” 

“In the morning. I’ve got Hygieia preparing some beds for you guys down the hall. Get some rest. You’re in for quite the show.” 

Lee and Percy said their good nights and got up to leave; they ran into someone else who was waiting impatiently for their turn to see Nora. Mr. D nodded to them in approval as he walked into the room. 

“Just coworkers, my ass.” Lee whispered. Percy rolled her eyes with a smile, tugging him to the room where their cots were. Bianca and Thalia were already there, dead asleep after the adventure they had been on. Even though there were thousands of things Lee wanted to tell Percy right in that moment, he passed out the moment his head hit the pillow. Besides, the kiss they shared before bed promised many more moments in the days to come. 

Lee Fletcher had never been happier in his life. 

And all of that was thanks to Percy Jackson. 

“I still think you should be resting.” Lee grumbled as Dad and Aunt Artemis led them up the whinny path to the throne room.  

Nora rolled her eyes, pushing Mattie in the stroller Dad had Hermes steal for her. “I’m fine. Aunt Artemis already said I was 100 percent healed. Right, Aunt Artemis?” 

“Indeed.” Their aunt confirmed, dressed in a silver dress that resembled moonlight, a sharp contrast to Dad’s denim-on-denim ensemble that Percy did not approve of. Thankfully, all of the demigods and little Mattie got fresh clothes for the meeting too. “Demigoddesses recover extremely quickly after labor. It is by design.” 

Percy frowned slightly, her hair loose today. He loved it when her hair was down. It meant she felt safe. “That’s good to know but is there a reason why we weren’t taught this?” Lee hummed in agreement as they walked hand in hand, well aware that all of the minor gods were watching them with interest. Not that he cared. Hell, Lee was on cloud nine right now. He woke up without the weight of the world on his shoulders, a new nephew, and Percy kissed him good morning before they left the infirmary. 

Life was great. 

“Yeah.” Thalia agreed with her own frown. “Learning about our bodies seems like something that should be taught at Camp.” 

“It should be.” Dad grunted, his shoulders tensed. “Arty, did you add it to the list?” 

Aunt Artemis rolled her eyes. “Obviously.” 

“Just checking, geeze. No need to be snippy.” They stopped right in front of the bronze doors of the throne room. Dad picked Mattie up from his stroller. The baby blinked his blue eyes up at his grandfather then promptly went back to sleep. “Alright, everyone ready?” 

“No.” Bianca whispered, staring up at the big bronze doors where her father was waiting for her. 

“Don’t worry Bianca.” Thalia said. “We’re not going to let anything happen to you.” 

“Plus, your dad’s going to be here today.” Percy reminded. “Everything will be ok.” 

Slowly, Bianca nodded. 

“Great!” Dad cheered and kicked the doors open. 

BANG! 

“NANTS INGONYAMA BAGITHI BABA!” Dad sang loudly the first line from 'The Circle of Life', raising Mattie high in the air (while supporting his neck) so that the other Olympians could see the newborn in his ‘Grandpa’s Little Sunshine’ onesie. Naturally, the baby started crying at the noise. “Ah shit.” 

“Dad.” Nora groaned, taking her kid back, rocking him back to sleep. “You’re embarrassing us. And no cursing around the baby.” 

Lee snorted. “Mikey and Kayla are going to have trouble with that rule.” 

“Tough sh-shiitake mushrooms. My baby, my rules.”  

“Apollo, Artemis. I see you brought the heroes.” A warm voice called out. Lady Hestia waved them over to the hearth. “The demigods will sit with me until it’s their turn to speak.” 

“Aunt Hestia.” Percy greeted her with a hug before introducing her cousins to their aunt. “I didn’t know you would be here.” 

“I thought it would be best to join this session.” There was a twinkle in the goddess’ eyes as the rest of the Olympians got situated. “I have a feeling it will be an interesting solstice to say the least.” 

“I do not like how much interference there was on the quest.” Was Lord Zeus’ first comment once it was their turn to stand up and speak in front of the gods. Percy had taken the lead in explaining what had happened from the quest side of things while Lee and Nora tag-teamed what happened on Mt. Orthys. Meanwhile, Mattie snoozed peacefully in the stroller next to Lady Hestia and her hearth. 

“Please.” Aphrodite rolled her eyes. “The demigods handled their enemies all on their own, and summoning Apollo to face Atlas was a genius move, especially since we are at war. And it stopped that infernal heatwave.” The other gods muttered in agreement while Dad laughed sheepishly. “I say we praise the heroes for being resourceful and knowing our laws.” 

“Well said.” Hermes agreed, typing away on his caduceus turned flip phone. Lee held back his laugh when he heard Percy’s mutters of ‘twenty bucks, he’s texting my mom right now’. “So, all those in favor of rewarding the demigods for their hard work?” 

Over half of the council raised their hands immediately. 

“Wait a minute.” Ares growled. Lee tensed anxiously as he pointed at the girls. Lee shifted slightly in front of Percy as she and Thalia moved Bianca closer between them. “Those three are dangerous. It’d be much safer, while we’ve got them here-”  

“Ares,” Poseidon interrupted, his trident glinting in warning while the heat rose in the room from where Dad was glaring arrows at Ares. “They are worthy heroes. We will not be blasting my daughter and nieces to bits.”  

“I agree with my brother.” Hades glared at the god of war.  

“As do I.” Zeus grunted. “My daughter has done well.” Thalia blushed under the praise, and for a second, Lee started to relax. 

“That as it may, we cannot ignore our situation at hand.” Athena pressed. “And as thick-headed as Ares is, he has a point.” 

“Hey!” 

“These three and the son of Hades are a security risk. It is a worthy discussion.” 

“My children are young.” Hades leaned forward to glare at his niece. “They are not the children of the prophecy.” 

“But they could be.” Hera argued, ignoring her husband’s pointed look. “Our most pressing concern is Thalia Grace who turns sixteen in the morrow. How are we to know what choice she is to make?” 

“By not talking about killing her would be start.” Hephaestus said with a roll of his eyes.  

“And I find myself in need of a new lieutenant.” Aunt Artemis spoke up. “And she has already graciously accepted my offer.” She shared a smirk with Thalia before turning to her stepmother. “So there. Problem solved.” 

The Queen of the Gods frowned like she was disappointed, but sat back in her throne. 

“And will Persephone Jackson be following in her cousin’s footsteps?” 

Tension rose in the throne room. Lord Poseidon gripped his trident with anger. “Athena-” 

“It is a fair question, Uncle.” Her steely gray eyes analyzed every inch of Percy. “An amiable solution that I would have thought you’d champion. As it stands now, two of the three girls have sworn their oath to Artemis and have been blessed with immortality.” Bianca shifted nervously. “And the son of Hades is young. Another six years could be a boon to us. Outside of removing the girl, this is the wisest course of action.” Athena leaned forward in her throne. “Would you all not agree?” Then she addressed Percy directly. “Your father speaks highly of your intelligence and logical ability. Surely you know, Persephone Jackson, that this is the wisest course of action.” 

Lee felt faint when he noticed that some of the gods were actually considering it. Athena wasn’t the goddess of wisdom for nothing. It was a smart plan. One that Kronos would not have expected, especially if he was planning on Percy being the child of the Great Prophecy. Only Nora’s grip on his bicep kept his knees from buckling. 

Percy looked like a deer in headlights, wrapping her scarf around her like it was the only thing keeping her upright. But Percy couldn’t be a Hunter of Artemis. Thanks to her pig of a stepfather, Percy wasn’t a maiden. But that wouldn’t matter. If the council forced Percy to take the oath, Aunt Artemis would have to accept it. 

“Percy…” Percy’s panicked eyes glanced at his. She was petrified. She had come to the same conclusion he had. “Don’t…” He whispered, his mouth drier than the Sahara. “Please, I-” 

“My oath will not be forced upon anyone.” Aunt Artemis said as loudly as she could without yelling.  

“And no champion of mine will be a Hunter of Artemis.”  

You could have heard a pin drop; it was so quiet in the throne room as Lady Aphrodite stood from her throne. A wave of power encompassed them. Without prompting, Percy walked to the goddess of love and knelt at her feet. 

“Aphrodite-” 

“When Troy fell, it was my son who ensured our survival.” Aphrodite’s beautiful voice boomed for all of Olympus to hear, stopping Athena dead in her tracks.  “He alone protected the surviving Trojans and sailed the unknown waters to find them a new home. It was my son, Aeneas, the great weaver of fate, who disrupted the status quo and became the Father of Rome, the greatest empire to ever exist.” Her sea green eyes, the mirror image of Percy’s eyes, glowed with a power more ancient than the gods. “If the age of the gods is to survive, a change must happen again. In fact, it has already begun.” A pink glow covered Percy as a tiara of pearls, diamonds, and emeralds adorned her head as her clothes morphed into a chiton worthy of a queen. Percy stood slowly, looking every inch the Aphrodite girl that she was. She had never looked so beautiful. “And as the Fates have decreed, Aeneas has sailed again. For he who founded, for she who preserves. Hail Persephone Jackson, Daughter of Poseidon, the Aeneas.” 

Percy 

If there was one thing that the gods were really good at, it was throwing a party. Too bad Percy couldn’t enjoy any of it. Lady Aphrodite passed her around the party, introducing her to every nymph, muse and minor god on Olympus. Apparently, being declared a champion of an Olympian was a big deal.  

There have been plenty of demigods who have been champions to the Olympians. The most famous was Jason of the Argonauts. But compared to the rest of the Olympians, Lady Aphrodite was the least likely to declare a champion. 

In fact, Lady Aphrodite had only declared one champion in her entirety. Her most famous son, Aeneas of Troy.  Percy didn’t know much about Aeneas. Even when she took Latin at Yancey with Chiron, the Aeneid was one classic story that he didn’t teach. 

As for the rest of the council meeting, her ‘crowning’, for lack of a better word, derailed the rest of the meeting. As such, the council didn’t even get to talk about the other important stuff that was discovered on the quest. The lack of proper biology lessons at Camp Half-Blood. The mortals in Kronos’ army. Zoe Nightshade’s actions to recruit young girls into the Hunters of Artemis. How Rome seemed to be intertwined in all of this. That had all gotten pushed to the Summer Solstice, which Artemis was very unhappy about. 

Oh, and the fact that Apollo technically declared Percy one of his prophets. That didn’t get brought up either. It was probably a good thing, Percy realized. Today had already been a lot, especially after the rollercoaster of a quest she had just been on. Was it bad that all she wanted to do was go home and bask in the fact that Lee was safe? That Lee had kissed her, and she had kissed him back. 

Were her and Lee dating? 

I love you. 

Really, the details didn’t matter. Lee was safe, Nora had her baby, she was in love, and there was a huge party thrown in their honor because of the successful quest. She could worry about the details after the party. 

As for Lee, she hadn’t gotten to spend any time with him during the party. He had gotten pulled away to spend time with his family while she was shaking the hands of everyone on Olympus. But she wanted to spend time with him and by the gods, she wanted to kiss him again. 

Their kiss was everything she expected and nothing at all. How could anyone possibly explain that moment? The romance movies and novels she loved couldn’t even help her describe the moment. It was gentle and hungry. Delicate and passionate. It was pure desire, care and warmth all wrapped together in a bow. A gift that she wanted to open and experience over and over and over again. 

I love you. 

Percy Jackson had always worried that she was undesirable after what Gabe had done to her. Broken goods, if you will. Unworthy of love and a happy ending. 

But with Lee Fletcher, everything seemed possible. With Lee, she could do anything, be anyone. It was thanks to Lee that she now believed that a romantic relationship was finally possible for her. 

I love you. 

“I see you’ve finally escaped Aphrodite.” Dad came up behind her, handing her a glass of water. “The tiara was a nice touch on her part.” 

“Yeah, it’s really pretty.” Percy fiddled with her chiton, feeling a tad self-conscious and overdressed even though the other goddesses in the room were wearing clothes finer than hers. “How’s Bessie? And Grover?” 

“Your satyr friend is back at Camp.” Dad reassured. “As for Bessie, your uncle has… requested that he be kept here in an aquarium of sorts. Hestia has agreed to house him once Hephaestus and I finish building it.” 

Percy sighed with relief. “Oh good. I was worried Uncle Zeus was going to him killed.” 

“He thought about it.” Of course he did. “Luckily, I was able to persuade him while Apollo was facing Atlas.” Dad twirled one of the silver strands in her hair. “I wish you did not have to carry the burden, but I am relieved that you only held it for a few minutes. The sky had always been unkind to my children.” 

“Yeah, it didn’t like me much.” Percy commented, remembering how the sky pushed on her like it wanted to step on her like an ant. “Dad?” 

“Hmm?” 

“Why is it such a big deal that Lady Aphrodite made me her champion?” Dad paused mid-sip. “Dad?” 

“I believe that it is time for you and Lee to start joining our more selective meetings.” Dad said instead. “We are currently forbidden from telling you directly what it all means. But should you two just be there and piece it all together?” Dad shrugged with a smirk. “Well, it’s not our fault that you two are so bright.” 

“So, another loophole?” Percy smiled mischievously. 

“Indeed.” Dad patted her back. “I believe you have a gentleman who’s been patiently waiting to dance with you.”  

“He is?” She perked up at that, glancing at the nearby window to fix her dress in the reflection.  

Her father stopped her fidgeting and guided her to the opposite side of the room. “You look beautiful, Persephone. Now go have fun. And tell Lee that your stepmother expects him to accompany you for Christmas brunch.” Dad hugged her, then nudged her along. “Love you, Percy.” 

“Thanks Dad.” Percy whispered back. “Love you too.” 

Percy worked her way through the crowd. To her left was Bianca showing off her new Stygian iron sword to Uncle Hades, while Thalia and Artemis chatted off to the sides. The silver circlet looked right on Thalia’s brow, like it was always meant to be there. It would be weird, not having Thalia at Camp all of the time. And sure, Thalia had taken the, quote, easy way out of the Great Prophecy.  

But the Great Prophecy had always been about Percy Jackson. She had had too much happen in her life for her not to be the child of the Great Prophecy. 

“You take a great risk.” A voice stopped her in her tracks, just as she was about to pass where Apollo was showing off his grandson to everyone while Nora talked closely with Mr. D.  

Percy turned and curtseyed. “Lady Athena.” She thought about what she was going to say, said fuck it in her mind, and said it anyway. “Love is always a risk. That’s why it’s worth it.” Athena’s brows rose at her bluntness. “Besides, I don’t meet a lot of the Hunters’ requirements.” Then she remembered something important. “Thank you again for my cap,” even if it was the wrong sports team. “it has been very useful to me.” 

The goddess of wisdom smiled dryly. “I see why Aphrodite adores you. Do not judge me too harshly, half-blood. Wise counsel is not always popular, but I spoke the truth. You are dangerous.” 

“Yeah, to Evil Grandpappy.” Athena blinked at her like, well, an owl. “Besides, sometimes you need to take risks to succeed.” 

She nodded. “I concede the point. You may perhaps be useful. And yet… your fatal flaw may destroy us as well as yourself.” Percy shivered at that and didn’t like how the goddess looked almost sorry for her. “Kronos knows your flaw, even if you do not. He knows how to study his enemies. Think, Percy. How has he manipulated you? First, your mother was taken from you. Then your best friend, Grover. Now, Lee Fletcher.” She paused, disapproving. “In each case, your loved ones have been used to lure you into Kronos’s traps. Your fatal flaw is personal loyalty, Percy. You do not know when it is time to cut your losses. To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world. In a hero of the prophecy, that is very, very dangerous.” 

Something made Percy stand straighter. “And hubris is not?” 

For a second, Percy thought that Athena was about to blast her into Christmas for talking back. Instead, the goddess sighed. “Again, I concede your point. But you must heed my words, Persephone Jackson. The most dangerous flaws are those which are good in moderation. Evil is easy to fight. Lack of wisdom… that is very hard indeed.” 

That’s when Percy got an idea. “So, can I pray for your counsel then?” Athena looked taken aback. “You’re right, wise counsel isn’t always popular, but my goal is to protect my home and family. I would be a fool not to ask for your help.”  

“And what of my uncle?” Athena pressed her. “What would he say if he learns that you turn to me for guidance?” 

Percy shrugged. “Rivals and enemies aren’t one and the same.” Athena kept staring at her as if she was an unsolvable puzzle. “Oh, and I’m sorry about Walt. He was a great guy.” Percy pointed to where Apollo was waxing poetic, but also horribly written haikus about his grandson. “Have you met Mattie yet? He’s adorable.” 

“… I have not.” Athena said softly, staring at her grandson with a sadness Percy had not expected. “Enjoy your night, Persephone Jackson. You have given me… much to think about.” She turned and strode through the crowds towards Mattie Williams, which parted before her as if she were carrying Aegis. 

Percy finally found Lee on a balcony, staring up at the stars. “Hey.” She said, walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around his torso. His hand came up to hold hers as she laid her head on his back. They stood there for a moment, soaking each other in. “How’s it going?” 

“Good.” He spun himself around, staring at her with an emotion she didn’t allow herself to name. “Better now that you’re here.” Her face warmed under his intense gaze. “You look beautiful.” 

“Really?” She would never get tired of him calling her beautiful. She started to believe it more every time he said it. “The tiara isn’t too much?” 

“Never. It’s very you.” Lee said, his voice lower than normal. “Percy, there’s something I have to tell you. 

Her heart raced with anticipation. “Me too. You first.” 

Lee grabbed both of her hands, eerily reminiscent of the moment they shared in the infirmary after her first Capture the Flag game. “I love you, Persephone Jackson.” Percy gasped even though she already heard him say it before. She was so happy that the whisper she had heard in the wind was true. “And I have for a long time now. When I was under the sky, thinking about you was the only thing that kept me strong.” Lee leaned in. “In fact, loving you is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Do you remember when I came back from my hunt and we talked on the beach?” How could she forget? That had been one of the most romantic moments of her life and the moment Percy realized how much she was in love with him. Percy replayed the moment more times than she would ever admit. “I meant everything I said there and more. Being with you makes me happy. Taking care of you makes me happy. Loving you makes me happy.” He wiped the happy tears away, kissing her forehead gently so that he wouldn't disturb her crown. “I know you may not be ready for a relationship right now and that’s totally fine. I’ll meet you where you’re at.” He looked her dead in the eyes. “I will always meet you where you’re at. Everything will be at your pace, Percy. Forwards, backwards, right where we are.” He tilted her chin up, leaning in until he was a breath away. “I love you, Percy.” 

She closed the distance, kissing him like her life depended on it. And in a way, it did. Lee Fletcher was the love of her life. Kissing him, being in his arms, holding him close was as natural to her as breathing. She didn’t want to stop kissing him. 

Why would she ever stop when she found heaven on earth? 

Too bad she needed to breath. “I love you too, so, so much.” Percy whispered, her lips chasing back up to peck his. They were gentle kisses, softer. “You don’t know how much you’ve changed my life too.” 

“Yeah?” He pecked her again. 

“Yeah. Sometimes I think I don’t deserve you.” 

“Yes, you do.” Lee said firmly, as the music changed. “You are worthy of everything good in the world, Percy. Let me give it to you.” 

“You already have.” Percy whispered as a familiar tune started playing. “So, does this mean we’re dating?” 

“We can be whatever you want, as long as I can keep loving you.” Lee smiled at her, stepping away slightly to pull them to the center of the balcony. “Can I have this dance?” 

“Always.” Percy melted against his chest as they swayed to the music. 

“Wise men say. Only fools rush in. But I. Can’t. Help. Falling in love. With. You.” Lee sang. His voice was so beautiful and rich. She loved his voice and loved it when he sang to her. “Oh shall I stay? Would it be a sin? Oh if I can’t help-” 

“Falling in love. With. You.” She sang back. “Oh like a river flows, surely to the sea. Darling, so it goes.” 

“Some things are meant to be.” They sang together. She loved how perfectly their voices harmonized. 

“Take my hand.” She sang softly. 

“Take my whole life too.” He sang back, looking down at her with so much love. 

“For I can’t help. Falling in love with you.”  

They sealed the song with a kiss. 

Persephone Jackson was in love with Lee Fletcher. And he loved her too. 

All was right in the world. 

Author's Note - [Cries into a tissue] So beautiful! Gods, you guys aren't ready for Battle of the Labryinth. I've got plans for BoTL [mwuah, ha ha ha!]. As for this chapter, I wanted to get to incorporate the gods talking about all of the things Percy discovered on her quest, then thought, wait a minute, let's save that for later so that the confession scene [and first kiss] could be the main focus of this chapter. Oh, the minor Zoe bashing tag, yeah, I changed that. And little Mattie Williams is here! You just know that Apollo is obsessed with his grandbaby and the Simba scene was too perfect not to have. But now the real question is, why is Percy being Aphrodite's champion so important? Will Percy become an oracle? What about Lee and his sight? And how do Aeneas and Rome play a part in this? You'll just have to keep reading and guessing in the comments. I LIVE for your predictions in the comments. Don't forget to comment, kudos and bookmark! Love you guys so much!

-V.I. Winthrop

Nora

Of all the things that had happened to Nora Williams, not knowing that she was pregnant, getting kidnapped, having four days of labor (she thinks, honestly, it could have been more), and giving birth on Olympus had to be the wildest experience of her life. But holding her baby and watching Lee dance with Percy on the balcony made it all worth it. It was a blessing, truly, that she was here right now. Like so many people in her life, Walt had died so that she could experience this moment. The guilt was eating her alive but watching her brother be so in love eased the guilt, just a bit. She may not have loved Walter Richardson the way that Percy and Lee loved each other, but that was ok. Walt knew that when they started sleeping together on the road. He was pragmatic like that. He knew she couldn't give him her heart and had accepted that.

"Dionysus." The god of wine glanced at her as she swayed Lee Matthew Williams (Mattie for short) to the music. It was only right for her baby to be named after the uncle who held the sky to keep them safe. "The guilt is back."

His purple eyes stared deeply into hers. The smell of grapes tickled her nose as his magic washed over her. "Guilt is a normal part of life." He stated calmly, inching closer to her.

"I know but," Nora held her son closer to her chest. "I need you to stop me if I go mad again." Her son couldn't afford a mother whose survivor's guilt might make her a Code Ajax again. The memory of vines pulling her back to the rooftop replayed. "For Mattie."

"You won't go mad." His tone was bored but she knew she had his attention by how intensely he watched her.

Nora was scared. "Are you sure?"

And Dionysus knew it. "I won't let you." He said in a way that would make most people think that he didn't care. But she knew Dionysus better than most. 

Walt knew that he could never have her heart.

Nora had already given it away years ago.

Author's Note - In case you're wondering, Adriane is aware of Nora and fully approves. Oh, and they are still 'just coworkers'. Love you guys!

-V.I. Winthrop