A/N-Hey! For all you newbies, I just wanted to let y'all know that my chapters can be quite long depending on the content. I think the shortest chapter I did in the last fic for this series was 2k+ words. That was chapter 6 and it was a filler because the chapter before that was 16k words so there's that. I'm not even going to bother telling you guys if it's long anymore, I'll tell y'all if it's more than 10k. Um, this chapter is more than 11k words. There's your warning. All I'm saying is carve some time out when you see an update. That's all and happy reading!


Color me surprised when Percy swung by early Saturday evening and wanted to go out. Like, brave snow-slick roads and do something normal. A date. As if we had the luxury of doing such a thing. And I couldn't help but remember what he sad to me when I'd been in his bed and so ready to give him the go-ahead.

He'd wanted to do things right. Dates. Movies.

Chiron was currently on Sally-babysitting duty, and Percy felt confident to leave him with her.

I dug out a pair of dark denim jeans and a red turtle neck. Taking a few extra minutes with my makeup, I then walked to the top of half blood hill.

Percy was waiting by my tree, a pair of keys in his hand. He threw the object in the air and caught it a few times.

"Hey." I greeted, leaning against my tree.

"Hey yourself." He caught the keys in mid air and began walking down the hill.

"So you're driving the camp van?" I asked, frowning when we passed the van and headed towards Montauk beach.

"Nope," Percy popped the 'p', taking a slight turn. "I have a car."

"Since when?" I caught up to him, catching the amused look in his eyes.

"Since I needed a car." He replied curtly then stopped at the edge of the sand, near a small road. At the end of the road was a black mustang.

I tilted my head, nodding with approval. Not bad. "With what money?"

"My own." He threw me a wink and opened the passenger door for me. "There are some people in the world who'd like to see certain people dead. For a good price, I'll do it for them."

"Oh." I pursed my lip and closed the door while Percy walked over to the driver's side.

Once inside the comfy interior of the car, he kicked on the heat and slid me a grin. "Okay. There are some rules about our date."

My brows rose. "They are?"

"Yep." He eased the car around and started down the road, careful to avoid the thick patches of black ice. "Rule number one is we don't talk about anything godly related."

"Okay." I bit down on my lip.

He glanced at me sideways, as if he knew I was fighting a stupid love-struck groin. "Rule number two is that we don't talk about Sally or the intruder-possibly Luke. And numero three, we focus on my awesomeness."

Okay. No fighting my grin. It spread ear to ear. "I think I can deal with these rules."

"You better, because there is a punishment for breaking the rules."

"And what kind of punishment would that be?"

He chuckled. "Probably the sort of punishment you'd enjoy."

Warmth infused my cheeks and veins. I chose not to respond to that statement. Instead, I reached for the radio station at the same time Percy did. Our fingers brushed and static race down my arm, spreading to his skin. I jerked back, and he laughed again, but the sound was husky and deep.

Percy settled on a rock station but kept the volume low. The trip to town was uneventful but fun..because for once, nothing crazy happened. He picked out an Italian restaurant, and we were seated at a small table lit by flickering candles I glanced around. None of the other tables had candles. They were covered with cheesy red-and white-checkered mats.

But our wooden table was bare except for those candles and two wineglasses filled with water. Even the napkins looked like real linen.

Considering the possibilities as we were seated, my heart did a flip-flop. "Did you…?"

He propped his elbows on the table and leaned forward. Soft shadows danced over his face, highlighting the arch of his cheekbones and the cure of his lips. "Did I do what?"

"Arrange this?" I waved at the candles.

Percy shrugged. "Maybe…"

I tucked my hair back, smiling. 'Thank you. It's very…"

"Awesome?"

I laughed. "Romantic-it's very romantic. And awesome, too."

"As long as you think it is awesome, then it was worth it." He glanced up as the waitress arrived at our table. Her name tag read ELENA.

When she turned to take Percy's order, her eyes glazed over-a common side effect of being around Mr. Awesome, I was learning. "And what about you, sweetie?"

"Spaghetti with meat sauce," I said, closing the menu and handing it over.

Elena glanced at Percy, and I think she might have sighed. "I'll bring your breadsticks out immediately."

After we were alone. I grinned at my date. "I think we're going to get extra meatballs."

He laughed. "Hey, I'm good for some things."

"You're good for a lot of things." The moment that lefty mouth, I blushed. Whoa. That could be perceived in many ways.

Surprisingly. Percy let it slide and started teasing me about a album he'd seen in my bedroom. Its album cover was...questionable. Typical barrel-chested alpha male cover model with sixteen-pack abs. By the time our heaping pile of breadsticks arrived, I'd almost convinced him that he'd be a perfect cover model for one of those rock albums.

"I don't wear leather pants," he said, biting into the garlicky and buttery goodness.

And that was a damn shame. "Still. You have the look."

He rolled his eyes. "You just like me for my body. Admit it."

"Well yeah…"

His lashes lifted and his eyes glittered like jewels. "I feel like man-candy."

I busted out laughing. But then he asked a question I hadn't expected. "What are you going to do about high school?

I blinked. Highschool? Sitting back, my gaze dropped to the small flame. "What do you mean? I stay at camp year-around."

"You just broke a rule," he reminded me, lips forming half smile.

I rolled my eyes. "What about you? What are you doing for high school?"

He shrugged. "Depends on what you're doing."

"Um..." I blanked, unsure of what he meant. I mean, I knew what he meant but I honestly wasn't planning to go school in the mortal world. Something would go wrong-that was the half blood life.

Our meal arrived, staving off the conversation while the waitress grated cheese over Percy's plate. She eventually offered me some. And the moment she left, I pounced. "So, you'd be willing to go to school if I wanted to?"

"Sure. I mean, I was thinking that I might want to settle down and all. My mom can't stay at camp forever and once she is actually somewhat sane, I was thinking we would move into some place in the city." He leaned in and lowered his voice. "It's kind of been one of my dreams or whatever. It's something I've always wanted to do once I got my mom back. It's...stupid, I know."

My heart skipped a beat. "No, it's not. You deserve to see that dream become a reality."

"Well, it's not really working out the way I imagined." He leaned back and picked up his knife and fork, cutting into a piece of lasagna the size of a truck. "There's a small lake house in upstate New York, a few miles away from camp. There's a school-Goode High and it's rated one of the best in the area."

"Wow, you really put some thought into this." I was floored. I think he was trying to not to show too much interest in this but I could tell this is something he really wanted. "Well, I can't promise you I'll go to school but I'd be willing to check it out."

"Spring semester is starting shortly. There's an orientation for new/transfer students coming up." He cut his meal into tiny bites. Percy had such delicate eating habits, while I was slopping my spaghetti around my plate.

"Okay." I tried to eat my spaghetti in daintier bites. "And if I don't like it and decide to stay at camp?"

"That's fine too...I just wanted you there." He peered up through sooty lashes.

Staring at him, I forgot about the food. Was he getting at what I thought he was getting at? I didn't want to jump to conclusions, and I was too afraid to ask, because he could be suggesting that he wanted me in his life. Daily. And of course, I wanted to be with him but I told him that. I knew that I was important to him but I wasn't sure how important. He's never said he loves you, an insidious and annoying voice whispered. Not even after you've said it.

Ah, the stupid voice had a point.

Out of nowhere, a breadstick tapped the tip of my nose. My head jerked up. Sprinkles of garlic salt rained down.

Percy held the stick between two fingers, brows arched. "What were you just thinking about?"

I brushed off the crumbs. A pitching sensation filled me stomach, and I forced a smile. "I…I think high school sounds nice."

Liar said his expression, but he wet back to his food. Strained silence descended between us, which was a first. I forced myself to enjoy the food, and the funniest thing happened. With Percy's light teasing and the conversation turning to different subjects, like his previous quests, I was having fun again.

"Okay, so you got turned into a guinea pig?" I asked, chasing the last of my noodles.

He cleared his plate, setback, and sipped from his glass. "Yep, it wasn't one of my best looks."

Amusement flickered through me. "You don't say. What color were you?"

"Black fur, buck teeth." He grinned.

Elena appeared with our check, and I was reluctant to leave. The whole date thing was a way too brief moment of normalcy both of us had been sorely lacking. As we headed to the front of the restaurant, I wanted to grab his hand and wrap my fingers around his, but I refrained. Percy did a lot of crazy things in public, but hand-holding?

So didn't seem up his alley.

There were a couple of kids from camp seated by the door. Their eyes got all saucer-sized when they saw us. Considering Percy and I had this hate-hate relationship for most of the year, I could understand their surprise.

It had started to flurry while we were inside and a thin coating of snow covered the parking lot and cars. The white stuff was still coming down. Stopping by the passenger side. I tipped my head back and opened my mouth, catching a tiny flake on the tip of my tongue.

Percy's eyes narrowed on me and the intensity in his gaze caused a nervous fluttering low in my stomach. An urge to go forward, cross the distance between us hit me hard, but I couldn't move. My feet were rooted to the ground and the air expelled from my lungs.

"What?" I whispered.

His lips parted. "I was thinking about a movie."

"Okay." I felt hot even though it snowed. "And?"

"But you've broken the rules, Sweetheart. Several times. You're owed some punishment."

My heart jumped. "I am a rule breaker."

His lips tilted up on one corner. "You are."

Moving lightning fast, Percy was in front of me before I could say another word, cupping my cheeks, tilting my head back as he lowered his. Lips brushed against mine, sending a shiver down my spine. The initial touch was feather soft, heartbreakingly tender. Then the contact evolved with the second sweep of his lips and mine parted, welcoming him.

I could get used to this form of punishment.

Percy's hands slid down to my hips, and he pulled me against him at the same time we were moving backward, stopping when my back pressed against the cool, damp metal of his car-hopefully his car. I doubted someone would want a couple doing what we were doing on their vehicle.

Because we were kissing, really kissing, and there wasn't a centimeter of space between our bodies. My arms found their way around his neck, fingers sliding through silky locks covered in light snow. We fit everywhere it was important.

"Movie?" he murmured, kissing me again. "And then what, Sweetheart?"

I couldn't think around how he tasted and felt. How my heart was jackhammering as his fingers slid under my turtleneck, splaying along my bare skin. And I wanted to be bare-completely and only with him, always him. He knew what the "and then what" was. Doing things right…and dear gods, I wanted to do those right things right now.

Since I couldn't get my mouth to work between his drugging kisses, I opted to do the show-not-tell thing, sliding my hands down to his jean-clad hips. Hooking my fingers in the belt hoop, I tugged him against me.

Percy growled, and my pulse pounded. Oh yeah, he got it. His hand slid up, fingertips brushing against lace and-

His cell phone went off in his pocket, shrilling as loud as a fire alarm. I thought for a tiny instant he was going to ignore it, but he pulled back, panting."Uno momento."

He kissed me quickly, keeping one hand where it was while he dug out his phone. Technically, half bloods weren't supposed to use phones-it attracted monsters like crazy but Percy carried a burner phone for emergencies. As soon as the call was done, he would chunk it as far away he could. I burrowed my face against his chest, breathing rapidly. He left my senses spinning in a delirious mess that was out of control.

When Percy answered, his voice was rough. "This better be really important-"

I felt him stiffen, his heart rate picking up, and I knew instantly something bad had happened. Pulling back, I peered up at him. "What?"

"Okay," he said into the phone, his pupils becoming luminous. "Don't worry, Chiron. I'll take care of it."

Fear cooled the heat inside me. As Percy lowered the phone, my stomach dropped. "What?" I asked again.

Every single muscle in his body locked up. "It's Sally. She made a run for it."

I stared at Percy, praying I'd misunderstood him, but the keen desperation and the hint of fury in his ultra-bright eyes told me I hadn't.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"No. I completely understand." I tucked my hair back. "What can I do?"

"I need to go," he said, grabbing his keys from his pocket and placing them in my hand. Rearing his arm back, he chucked the phone a few yards away. He then turned to me. "Get to camp and stay there. Sally knows I have a car, she'll try to avoid roads so I'll go after her on foot."

"Percy, I can help you. I can go-"

"Please." He grasped my face again-his hands war against my now-cool cheeks. He kissed me, part longing and part angry. Then he backed away. "Go home."

And then he was gone, moving too fast for any human eye to track. I stood there for several moments. We'd had an hour, maybe two, before everything went to shit? My hands tightened around the keys. Sharp metal dug into my flesh.

A ruined date was the least of my problems.

"Dammit." I spun and jogged around the mustang. Climbing in, I readjusted the seat from Godzilla setting to Normal so my feet could reach the pedals.

Go home.

I had no idea where Sally would go but she may have taken a road. Percy wasn't going to be on the road.

I pulled out of the parking lot, gripping the steering wheel. If I went back to camp and waited like a good little girl, I could curl up on the bed and listen to music. Watch a movie and make some popcorn. Then when Percy came back, as long as nothing horrific happened, I'd throw myself in his arms again.

Making a right instead of a left, I laughed out loud.

Screw going home. This wasn't the 1950s. I wasn't a fragile human being. And I sure as hell wasn't the Thalia Percy had initially met. He was going to have to deal with it.

I gunned the engine, hoping the boys in blue were busy doing other rings besides monitoring traffic tonight. I had no idea where I was going but I had to do something.

Halfway there, I caught two figures running, deep within the wooden tree line crowding the highway.

Slamming on the brakes, I swerved to the right as the bad lend of the mustang fishtailed until it came to an uneven stop along the shoulder. Pulse pounding, I flipped on the hazard lights and threw open the door. I bolted across the two-lane highway, half slipping until my feet hit the other shoulder and I gained traction. Tapping into my power and adrenaline, I picked up speed, running so fast that my feet barely touched the ground.

Low-hanging branches snagged at my hair. Sheets of snow fell as I dipped around a thick tree, disrupting once pristine land. To my left, there was a blur of brown racing away from me. Most likely a deer or, knowing my luck, a chupacabra.

I raced around a cluster of large rocks, kicking up snow as murderous icicles fell from elms, shattering into the ground around me. Flying through the maze of trees, I hung a sharp right-

And there they were. Two figures. In a stand off. What the hell? I skidded to a stop, gulping in air.

One was taller, the other was a slender but they both looked at each other with the same expression. Challenging the other to make a move.

"Don't try to stop me, Percy." Sally said, her hand gripping an object I couldn't see.

I craned my neck further-she was clutching a pan as a weapon.

I had officially seen everything.

I folded my arms, shivering. "You have got to be kidding me." The two hotheads froze, and I really wanted to walk up and kick them both.

"I thought I told you to go back to camp and stay there," he said, voice thin with warning.

"And the last time I checked, you don't get to tell me to go home and stay." I took a step forward, ignoring the way his eyes brightened. "Look, I was worried. I thought I'd come and help."

His lips pulled back. "And how would you have helped?"

"I think I did. I got you two idiots to stop fighting."

He stared at me a moment longer and his look promised lots of trouble later. Maybe punishable trouble. Ah, scratch that. His look didn't promise anything of the fun kind.

"Just let me go, Percy." His mom tried to reason. "I'll be fine. Kronos let me go, which means he has no reason to hurt me. I'll get Paul and we'll get out."

Percy ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Mom, Kronos doesn't work like that and you know that. He has a reason for doing anything and everything and until we find out this reason, you're not going anywhere."

"You can't stop me," Sally said, voice creepily apathetic.

Muscles bulged under Percy's sweater. "I can and I will. I'm not letting you do this to yourself. He-"

"He's what? Not worth it?"

"I don't think he would want you to do this," Percy said. "If the situation were flipped, you wouldn't want him doing this."

Sally reared up, and the two they shared wary stances. "If they had Thalia-"

"Don't go there." Percy's hands curled into powerful fists.

His mother was unaffected. "If they had her, you'd be doing the same thing. Don't lie."

Percy opened his mouth but said nothing. We all knew what he'd do and no one would stop him. And knowing that, how could we ever stop Sally? We couldn't.

I knew the exact moment that Percy realized this, because he stepped back and thrust both hands through his windblown hair. Torn between doing what was right and what needed to be done.

Stepping forward, I swore I could feel the weight Percy carried as if it were my own. "We can't stop you. You're right."

Sally jerked toward me, eyes a dull sapphire. "Then let me go."

"But we can't do that either." I dared a peek at Percy. Nothing could be gained from his expression. "Your son has searched for you for sixteen years. He's been through and literal hell and back to find someone he's never even met. But it's because your his mother-you matter to him. Now, he's finally got you back and you're trying to run away. You have no idea what you're putting him through."

"You have no idea what I went through." She lowered his gaze. "What Paul is going through. I can't just forget about him, even though I love my son."

I heard Percy's sharp intake. It was the first time since Sally's return that she admitted any feelings for him. I took it and ran with it. "And he knows that. I know that. No one expects you to forget about Paul, but running off isn't helping anyone."

Wow. When did I become the voice of reason?

"What are the alternatives?" Sally asked. Her head tilted to the side-a mannerism so like her son.

Here was the problem. Sally wouldn't stop. Deep down, Percy knew and understood why and would do the same thing. It was hypocritical to the umpteenth degree to demand someone else do otherwise. There had to be a compromise.

And there was one. "Let us help you."

"What?" Percy demanded.

I ignored him. "You know running around trying to find this maze isn't going to work. We need to find out exactly where Paul is, and we need a plan to get to him. A real well-thought-out plan with low failure potential."

The Jacksons stared at me. I held my breath. This was it. There was no way Percy could keep watch over his mother forever. And it wasn't fair to assume that he could.

Sally turned away, back straight. Several seconds passed as the wind whipped through the trees, spinning snow. "I can't stand the idea of him being alone and scared. It hurts to breathe just thinking about it."

"I know," I whispered.

Moonlight sliced through the branches, carving Percy's face in a harsh light. He had gone quiet, but anger rolled off him. Did he really think he could keep going after Sally? If so, then he was insane.

Finally Sally nodded. "Okay."

Sweet relief flooded me, making my legs feel weak. "But you have to promise to give us time." Everything came down to the time we had no ownership of. "You can't get impatient and run off. You have to swear. Swear on Styx."

She faced me and a shudder rolled through her, taking the fight out of her. As she stood there; tension uncoiled, and her arms fell to her sides limply. "I swear on Styx. Help me and I swear."

"It's a deal." Lighting struck in the distance and I took in a deep breath. It was done.

There was a moment of silence, like the wilderness was soaking up her promise and my deal, committing it to memory. And then the three of us headed back to the car, the atmosphere silent and strained. My fingers were like Popsicles as I handed the keys over to Percy.

Sally climbed into the back, resting her head against the seat, eyes closed. I kept glancing at Percy, expecting him to say something, anything, but he was focused on the road, his silence a ticking time bomb.

I peeked over the back of the seat. Behind thin slits, she was watching Percy.

"Hey. Sally…?"

Her gaze slid to mine. "Yeah?"

"Do you want to get a job or something?" A job would keep her busy while we figured out how in the hell to get to Paul. And it matched Percy's vision he had told me about earlier and it also enabled us to keep an eye on Sally just in case she reneged on her promise. "There's a candy shop that's hiring. I think it's called 'Sweet on America.' I think it'd be nice for you to get away from all this half blood stuff for at least a few hours."

"People think she's dead." Percy said.

"I'm sure we can forge some documents and use the mist. Everyone thinks you disappeared, right? Well, some people that supposedly 'disappeared' turn back up again." I reasoned.

Sally appeared to consider that. "Maybe I could even take a few classes at NYU. I've always wanted to start writing."

"That's sounds nice." I gave the mortal a small smile.

Leaning forward, Sally rested her chin in the palms of her hands. "Better than sitting around thinking about everything."

Damn straight. She'd go crazy if she did.

"She'd have to get registered for classes," Percy said, fingers tapping off the steering wheel. "I'll talk to Chiron. See what we can do to get it taken care of."

Thrilled Percy was finally getting behind this, I settled back and smiled. Crisis averted. Now only if I could fix everything else so easily.

Annabeth was waiting by my tree when we walked up the hill. Clarisse standing sentry beside her. Sally slid out of the backseat and approached the child of Athena. Words were exchanged, too low for me to hear, and then they embraced each other.

It was heart-warming but confusing. But at this point, I was starting to accept this odd relationship.

"I thought I told you to go to camp."

I hadn't realized I was smiling until it faded at the sound of Percy's voice. I looked at him and felt my heart drop. Yeah, here was the trouble promised earlier. "I had to help."

He looked at the beach below us. "What would you have done if it wasn't Sally you came, but me fighting with Luke?"

"I would've still helped."

"Yeah, and the last time you two faced off, it ended well."

Drawing in a frustrated breath, I stood next to him. "I know you're upset because you worry about me, but I'm not going to be the girl who sits at home and waits for the hero to wipe out the villains."

"This isn't a book," he snapped.

"Well, duh, it's a fanfic."

"No. You don't get it." He turned to me, furious. "There is no set plot or clear idea of where any of this is going. The enemies aren't obvious. There are no guaranteed happy endings and you-" He lowered his head so we were eye level. "You should've listened to me."

"I know this isn't a book, Percy. I'm not stupid."

"You're not?" He laughed without humor. "Because being smart isn't rushing off after me."

"The same could be said about you!"My anger now matched his. "You ran off after Sally without knowing what you were getting into."

"No shit. But I can handle my own mother. I'm an assassin-law enforcement is still after me. What if I'd been surrounded by human officers, would you have been able to take them down? And live with yourself after that?"

Anxiety blossomed in my stomach, its smoky tendrils wrapping themselves around me. When I was alone and it was quiet, the fact I'd been so willing to take a human life was all I thought about. "I'm prepared to do that." My voice came out a whisper.

He took a step back, shaking his head. "Dammit, Thalia. I don't want you to experience that." Raw emotion filled his expression. "Killing isn't hard. It's what comes afterward-the guilt. I don't want you to deal with that. Don't you understand? I don't want you to have this kind of life. I don't want you to have my life."

"But I already have this kind of life." I insisted.

The truth appeared to infuriate him more. "That issue aside, what you promised Sally was freaking unbelievable."

"What? My arms dropped to my sides.

"Help her find Paul? How in the hell are we supposed to do that?"

I shifted from one foot to the other. "I don't know, but we'll figure something out."

"Oh, that's good, Thalia. We don't know how to find him but we'll help. Awesome plan."

Heat rushed up my spine. Oh, this was grand. "You're such a hypocrite! You couldn't lie to Sally when she asked what you'd do if they had me. You're not the only one who gets to make brash and stupid decisions."

His mouth snapped shut. "That's not the point."

I cocked a brow. "Lame argument."

Percy shot forward, his voice harsh. "You had no right to make those kinds of promises to my mother. She's not your family."

I flinched, taking a step back. Being smacked would've felt better. The way I saw it, at least I talked Sally off the cliff. Sure, promising to help find Paul wasn't ideal, but it was better than her running off like a goddamn crackhead.

I tried to rein in my anger and disappointment, because I understood where a lot of his fury was coming from. Percy didn't want me to get hurt, and he was worried about his mother, but his inherent, near-obsessive need to be protective didn't excuse his douchebaggery.

"Sally is my problem, because she's your problem," I said. "We're in this together."

Percy's eyes met mine. "Not on everything, Thalia. Sorry. That's just the way it is."

The back of my throat burned, and I blinked several times, refusing to shed tears even though my chest ached so badly. "If we're not together on everything, then how can we really be together?" My voice cracked. "Because I don't see how that's possible."

His eyes widened. "Thalia-"

I shook my head, knowing where this conversation was heading. Unless he was willing to see me as something other than a fragile piece of china, we were doomed.

Walking away from Percy was the hardest thing I'd done. Made worse by the fact he didn't try to stop me, because that wasn't his style, but deep down, in a place that spoke only the truth, I hadn't expected him to. But I wanted him to.

I needed him to.


I started to walk, going in no particular direction. In a way, I thought that was how my life was. Going nowhere, having no direction.

Ever since I found out I was a demigod, the daughter of one of the most powerful Olympians at that, I was expected to fulfill this doomsday prophecy or die trying. Now, I didn't have that. And I didn't have any direction.

"Thalia!" A petite figure with amber hair waved me over, beckoning me over to a nearby glade. It was Juniper-a dryad. "They've just started."

Just started what?

Shrugging, I jogged over to the glade and followed her to a clearing. A lot of satyrs sat in a circle on the forest floor. Grover stood in the middle, facing three older satyrs who sat on topiary thrones formed from rose bushes. The Council of Cloven Elders, I realized.

This was Grover's trial-these satyrs were to determine whether he would be allowed to continue his search for Pan, the lost god of the Wild. They held Grover's life-his entire being and purpose-in their hands.

Earlier, last week-before the whole doomsday prophecy switch-a-roo and Sally's impromptu return-Grover had asked me to come to his trial, as a witness if needed. I agreed and somehow, I completely forgot about it. This was one of Grover's biggest moments and I had brushed off. I really needed to be a better friend.

Speaking of friends, I looked to my left. Annabeth and Clarisse had an arm around Juniper who had started to cry.

I went up to them, trying to give Juniper a small smile. "It's going to be okay."

"How?" The dryad whispered, sobs racking her body. "They don't believe a word he's saying."

Earlier this winter, Pan spoke to Grover while we were on a quest to save Artemis and Annabeth. I hadn't heard the god personally but I felt his presence. The Council were wary of this story because no one had heard from Pan in hundreds of years.

"Master Underwood, do you honestly expect us to believe this nonsense?" the council member on the right shouted, rolling his eyes. "I think we've heard enough."

"Silenus, I'm telling the truth!" Grover insisted, pleading with the old satyrs.

Chiron, who was an honorary council member, stood next to the old satyrs. He whispered a few things to them and when he was done, they all looked displeased.

"This is outrageous!" The satyr in the middle roared. "Pan hasn't spoken in years and why would he speak to you of all people?!"

"Alright, let me at him." Juniper was tiny but fiesty. She reared up on her heels, ready to take a swing at the elder.

"Calm your tits, girl." Clarisse pulled her back, preventing an outburst. "Know when to pick your fights."

The dryad huffed but turned her attention back to the trial.

"Leneus, you know how hard I've been searching." Grover looked at the elder in the middle, trying to connect with him. "I came back from the sea of monsters-no satyr has ever come back from there! I will find Pan but I just need more time."

Leneus snorted but turned to the elders and whispered something. The other satyrs seemed to agree and nodded but Chiron shook his head, uttering a few words.

With a huff, the elders turned to face Grover.

"Master Underwood, you've got two weeks to prove your dubious claim. Otherwise, you will pursue another career-like juggling. I've always liked juggling." Silenus announced and most of us gasped.

Grover paled as though they had given him a death sentence. "B-but, more t-time-"

"No buts, and's, or if's." The elder replied, wagging a wrinkly finger. "Two weeks. Meeting adjourned."

Silenus clapped his hands and some nymphs brought forth platters of veggies, fruits, and a mountain of tin cans. The satyrs began to devour the meal.

Grover bleated mournfully as we approached him. I felt the back of my neck tingle and heard heavy footsteps approach us.

"Judging by the look on your face, I'm going to assume it didn't go well." Percy grimaced, motioning to Grover.

"It went horrible and now I only have two weeks." Grover groaned. "It's taken me years to even hear Pan-how am I supposed to find him or prove that he spoke to me in two weeks?"

"You'll figure it out, sweet pea." Juniper encouraged, giving him a brief hug. She looked at us encouragingly. "Besides, you have great friends that can help you."

I gave the satyr an awkward smile. If he really was depending on us, he was even more screwed. Annabeth suddenly found interest in a nearby tree. Even though she was a daughter of Athena, this wasn't a puzzle she wanted to solve. Clarisse whistled and looked in the opposite direction.

The son of Kronos and Poseidon snorted. "You better call those friends because you're gonna need all the help you can get."

Clarisse elbowed him in the ribs. "She was referring to us, dumbass."

"Oh..." Percy's eyes widened and he threw Grover a lazy grin. "I knew that. Great friends. Helpful friends. That's us!"

"I'm so screwed." Grover moaned, letting his head fall down. "I might as well just throw in the towel now and enroll in juggling class."

"Hey, don't talk like that." Annabeth said. "It'll be alright."

"Yeah, you've got this." I encouraged.

"Totally." Clarisse and Juniper backed me up.

"I heard there are some pretty good juggling nightclasses at the nearby community college." Percy offered.

"Why are you here again?" The daughter of Athena said harshly, whipping her head towards him.

"Oh hello, thank you for finally acknowledging my presence. Um, I'm here to support a friend."

"Well, you're not being supportive." Annabeth countered. "As usual, you are being your normal, crappy self."

"I'll have you know-"

"Enough." I interrupted, turning to Percy. "Do you really want to start another fight right now?"

The demigod closed his mouth and stared straight ahead. "Just let me know if there's anything I can do, Grover. I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Percy." Grover said.

Percy glanced at me briefly then spun on his heels, leaving the forest.

I exhaled and turned back to my friends.

"Trouble in paradise?" Clarisse asked, a smirk on her face.

"Whatever, Clarrise." I brushed the daughter of Ares off.

Annabeth had an 'I told you so' expression on her face. "It's only going to get worse from here on out. That's what happens when you're around him-he's like a kindling fire. At first, it's nice to be around him but the longer you're around, the hotter it gets. Then you'll get hurt or in my case, someone you love will get hurt." Her voice quivered at the last sentence.

The blonde brushed away a stray tear. "Anyway, I know you'll figure something out, Grover. You always do. Even when it seems impossible."

Grover nodded then waved as the demigod walked away.

I gave Grover a hug and Clarisse patted him reassuringly on the back and then together, we walked away.

"I'm having a bit of trouble with my relationship as well." The daughter of Ares admitted as we neared the cabins.

My jaw threatened to drop. "Relationship?"

"His name is Chris. Chris Rodriguez." If it wasn't getting so dark, I could've sworn I saw her blush.

I sucked in a sharp breath, recognizing the name. "Formerly rogue half blood?"

Clarrise nodded, wringing her hands repeatedly. Chris had attended camp Half-Blood at one point. He was undetermined and resented the gods so he joined Kronos' army. I guess at one point he tried to run away and found himself stuck in a maze, similar to the one Sally described. Clarisse, on an top-secret assignment given by Chiron, found him and was trying to nurse him back to health. His time in that dark maze caused him to go insane. Currently, he lived in the basement of the Big House, getting worse by the day.

"Mr. D checked him out the other day-before he left to round up some immortal allies for the gods in the upcoming war." Clarisse shivered. "But he said that Chris wasn't mad. The things Chris says...he's clearly lost his mind."

"But Mr. D is the expert on all things mad-he's a little mad himself." I shook my head in disbelief.

"Well, maybe crazy can't tell crazy apart." Clarisse squared her shoulders. "Chris is going to get better-I know it."

"He has you. He'll be okay." I gave her a small smile and motioned towards my cabin. "Well, here's my stop. 'Night, Clarisse."

"See you around, Thalia." The girl jogged over to the Big House then disappeared inside.

Once inside, I hopped in my bed, not even bothering to change clothes. I just took off my shoes and stared at the ceiling.

Today sucked on an epic scale.

My fight with Percy had drained me. Not that we've never fought before-that was how interacted before we starting dating but this fight was...different. It didn't sit well with me at all. Even though the fight was mostly about Sally and my irrational promise to her, there was still the underlying idea that Percy was way too overprotective of me. He didn't see me as his equal. And that same idea kept reappearing over and over again. Even if we were to make up, the same conflict would reappear again. How many times we were supposed to make up before we called quits...for good?


The following Monday sucked. All of Sunday I managed to avoid Percy and he didn't come over either, most likely avoiding me also or trying to do some damage control with Sally. Now, I had to face him again.

I dropped into my seat, pulling out my massive Greek translations textbook.

Katie Gardner laughed softly. "You look absolutely thrilled to be back."

"Whee," I said unenthusiastically. The one good thing about quests was that you didn't have to go to class. The bad thing was that you may never attend a class if you were to die on said quest.

Sympathy marked her expression. "How…how is Annabeth? I've tried dropping by the Athena cabin but Malcolm said she didn't want to talk to anyone."

"Same here," Silena added, sitting down in front of Katie.

"She's really not talking to anyone right now." Well, besides Sally and Clarisse, which was so bizarre I couldn't even think about it.

Katie sighed, "I wish we had the shroud burial. I would've loved to pay my respects, you know?"

After Lee died, his mortal mother waited outside of camp for her son's body. I suppose Chiron had sent someone to retrieve it at one point. I didn't see the woman but I didn't need to. Her wails were jarring enough. She had asked for us not to burn a shroud because ultimately, Lee died because he was a half blood. It his destiny to participate in quests and risk his life at the drop of a hat.

His mother didn't want one of his last memorials to be centered around the aspect that killed him. His half blood aspect.

"It just sucks," Katie continued, glancing at Silena. "I thought maybe we could go to the amphitheater after school this week. Take her mind off it."

I nodded. I liked the sound of that but doubted we'd get very far with her.

Warmth spread over my neck, and I looked to the front of the class. A few seconds later, Percy strolled in. My stomach tightened, and I forced myself not to look down. If I was arguing that I was capable of handling bad things, I couldn't hide from my boyfriend when we had a fight.

Percy arched a single brow as he passed by, taking his seat behind me. I took a deep breath then turned around in my seat.

"Hey," I said, and then I flushed, because there was nothing lamer than hey.

He seemed to think the same thing and showed it as one side of his lip curled up into a trademark Percy smirk. Sexy? Yes. Infuriating? Oh, yes. I wondered what he would say. Would he yell at me for talking to Sally yesterday? Apologize? Because if he apologized, I'd probably crawl into his lap right there in class. Or would he go with the ever-faithful "talk in private" comment? While Percy loved an audience, I knew what he showed the world wasn't really him, and if he were going to open himself up, vulnerable to the core, he wouldn't want people watching.

"I like your hair like that," he commented.

My brows rose. Okay. Not what I was expecting. Lifting my arms, I smoothed my hands down the sides of my hair. The only thing I'd done differently was part it down the middle. Nothing news worthy. "Um, thanks…?"

The smirk remained on his face as we continued to stare at each other, and as the seconds passed, the more irritated I grew. Seriously?

"Anything else you want to say?" I asked.

He leaned forward, sliding his elbows across the desk. Our faces were inches apart. "Is there anything you want me to say?"

I took a deep breath. "Lots of things…"

Thick lashes lowered, and his voice was rich as satin. "I bet."

He thought I was flirting? Then he spoke again. "There's something I'd like you to say. How about 'I'm sorry for Saturday'?"

I wanted to clock him. Of all the arrogant nerve, I swear. Instead of being snarky, I shot him an annoyed look and turned around. I ignored him for the rest of class and even left without saying a word to him.

Of course, he was two steps behind me as I walked to my next class. My entire back tingled under his scrutiny, and if I didn't know better, I'd think he was amused by all of this.

Morning classes dragged. Health was weird, since the seat beside to me was now empty. Silena noticed it with a frown. "Annabeth's still not coming back to class?"

I shrugged, studiously staring at the projector screen Chiron was pulling down. "Chiron told her she could come back whenever she was ready. Guess she's not ready."

"Things still rough with the boy toy?" The daughter of Aphrodite changed the subject offhandedly.

"Rough can't even begin to describe out problems." I sighed.

Her face transformed with a knowing grin. "Percy seems like the RAWR type but you two will work something out. Believe in love, Thals."

I snickered, Silena was exactly like her mother. "Anyway, how's Beckendorf?"

The girl flushed and went on an seemingly endless description on how her boyfriend had planned this wonderful date and whatnot. Of course, Silena still wanted to know about Percy and me, and I refused to go there, much to her dismay. She admitted to wanting to live vicariously through me.

After health, I stopped by my cabin as usual and took my sweet old time changing out books. I walked back to the series of classrooms, wandering around the hallway. It was mostly empty and the hum of conversation was distant.

Something moved at the end of the once-empty corridor, coming out of what seemed like nowhere. A tall and slender form at the end of the hall, obviously male by the quick look, and he was wearing a baseball cap. It was one of those God-awful trucker hats that guys found cool once upon a time.

I saw a brief flash of a jagged, white scar along the figure's face.

My pulse spiked and I blinked, taking a step back. The guy was gone, but the door to the left was slowly swinging closed.

No…no, it couldn't be. He'd be crazy insane to come back here, but… Holding my bag tightly to my side, I started walking and then I was jogging before I knew it. I hit the door, throwing it open. Rushing to the railing, I peered over it. Mystery Dude was on the bottom level, as if he were waiting at the door.

Then a pale hand, as if the person hadn't seen daylight in a while, wrapped around the silver doorknob, and a wave of familiarity raised the tiny hairs on my arms.

Oh, crap.

Part of my brain clicked off. I went down the steps three at a time, my breath locked in my chest. The hallway was more crowded on the first floor as people headed for the mess hall. I heard Katie call my name, but I was focused on the top of the trucker hat moving toward the arena.

I darted around a couple totally getting into hallway PDA, slipped between friends talking, and lost sight of the hat for a second. Dammit. Everyone and their mother were in my way. I bumped into someone, mumbling an apology, and kept going. When I reached the end of the hall, the only place he could've gone was out the door. I didn't think twice. Pushing the heavy double doors open, I stepped outside. A few quick glances around, I realized he was gone.

I had no doubt in my mind that I'd seen Luke, and he'd wanted me to see him.


Finding Percy wasn't hard at all. Wherever food was, Percy was there too. He was lounging against a wall in the mess hall, talking to the Stoll brothers. A carton of milk was in one hand and a slice of pizza folded in the other. What a gross-as-hell combination.

"We need to talk," I said, interrupting boy time.

Percy took a bite of pizza while the two brothers glanced down at me. There must've been something in my stare, because their smile faded and they lifted their hands, backing up slowly.

"Okay, well. We'll talk to you later, Percy." They said simultaneously, walking away.

He nodded, eyes trained on mine. "What's up, Sweetheart? Come to apologize?"

My eyes narrowed, and for a brief moment, I entertained the idea of body slamming him in the middle of the cafeteria. "Uh, no, I'm not here to apologize. You owe me an apology."

"How so?" He took a drink, appearing naively curious.

"Well, for starters, I'm not an ass. You are."

He chuckled as he glanced to the side. "That's a good start."

"And I got Sally to heel." I smiled victoriously when his eyes narrowed. "And- Wait. This isn't even important. Gods, you always do this."

"Do what?" His intense gaze swung back to me without a trace of anger. More like amusement and something really inappropriate, given that we were standing in the mess hall. Dear gods…

"Distract me with the inane. And in case you don't know what that mean, it's silly-you always distract me with something silly."

He finished off his pizza. "I know what inane means."

"Shocker," I retorted.

A slow, cat-got-the-canary grin pulled at his lips. "I must be really distracting you, because you still haven't told me what you need to talk to me about."

Dammit. He was right. Ugh. Taking a deep breath, I focused. "I saw-"

Percy cupped my elbow, spun me around, and started down the aisle. "Let's go somewhere more private."

I tried to yank my elbow from his grasp. I really hated it when he went all He-Man on me and ordered me around. "Stop dragging me, Percy. I can walk on my own, Doofus."

"Uh huh." He led me down the hall, stopping by the arena. He placed his hands on either side of my head, caging me in as he leaned down. His forehead brushed mine. "Can I tell you something?"

I nodded.

"I find it incredibly attractive when you're all feisty with me." His lips brushed against my temple. "That probably makes me disturbed. But I like it."

Yeah, it kind of was wrong, but there was something…hot about how quickly he defended me whenever something happened.

His nearness was tempting, especially when his breath was tantalizingly warm and so near my lips. Summoning all my willpower, I placed my hands on his chest and pushed lightly. "Focus," I said, not sure who I was talking to, me or him. "I have something more important to tell you than what disturbing things get you hot."

His lips quirked into a grin. "Okay, back to what you saw, I'm focused. My head's in the game and all that."

I laughed under my breath but sobered up pretty quickly. In no way was Percy going to respond well to this. "I'm pretty sure I saw Luke today."

Percy cocked his head to the side. "Say what?"

"I think I saw Luke here, just a few minutes ago."

"How sure are you? Did you see him-his face?" He was all business now eyes as sharp as a hawk's and his face set in grim lines.

"Yeah, I saw-" I hadn't seen his face. Biting down on my lip, I glanced down the hall. Campers piled out of the mess hall, pushing into one another, laughing. I swallowed. "I didn't see his face."

He let out a long breath. "Okay. What did you see?"

"A hat-a trucker hat." Gods, that sounded lame. "And I saw his hand…" And that sounded even worse.

His brows arched up. "So, let me get this right. You saw a hat and a hand?"

"Yeah." I sighed, shoulders slumping.

Percy smoothed out his expression and placed a heavy arm around my shoulder. "Are you really sure it was him? I know there's an intruder and all but Luke isn't the type to be a sneaky. He would come out and probably try to kill us all. Besides, everyone knows what Luke looks like-someone else would've spotted him sooner. Maybe you've been under too much stress. Are you sure it was him, Thalia? I don't want to get everyone freaking out if you're not sure."

What I'd experienced was none of a feeling than a true sighting of Luke. There were a ton of boys around here wearing atrocities such as trucker hats. The things was, I hadn't seen his face and looking back, I couldn't be 100 percent sure it had been Luke.

I looked into Percy's bright gaze and felt my cheeks burn. There wasn't judgment in his eyes. More like sympathy. He thought I was cracking under the pressure of everything. Maybe I was imagining stuff.

"I'm not sure," I said finally, casting my eyes down.

And those words soured in my stomach.


Later that night, Percy and I did baby-sitting duty. Although Sally had promised not to do her own search-and-rescue mission, I knew Percy wasn't comfortable leaving her alone.

Presently, I was sitting in between the Jacksons, four hours into a George Romero zombiethon, with a bowl of popcorn in my lap and a notebook resting against my chest. We'd been making plans to look for Paul, getting more description of this maze Sally had told us about. We knew that maze and Tartarus were in close vicinity so we figured we had to start looking around in the Underworld. By the start of Land of the Dead, the zombies got uglier and smarter.

And I was having fun.

"I had no idea you were a zombie fan." Percy grabbed a handful of popcorn. "What is it-the blood and gets or the in-your-face social undertones?"

I laughed. "Mostly the blood and guts."

"That's so un-girlie of you." Percy commented, brows knitting as a zombie started to use its meat cleaver to break through a wall. "I don't know about this. How many hours do we have left?"

Sally looked at the two DVDs in her hand. "We have Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead."

"Great," Percy muttered.

I rolled my eyes. "Wussy."

"Whatever." He elbowed me, knocking a kernel of popcorn between my chest and notebook. I sighed.

"Want me to get that for you?" he asked.

Shooting him a look, I dug it out and then tossed it in his face. "You're going to be grateful when the zombie apocalypse occurs and I know what to do because of my zombie fetish."

He looked doubtful. "There are better fetishes out there, Sweetheart. I could show you a few."

"Uh, no, thank you." But I did flush. And there were a lot of images that suddenly polluted my brain.

"Aren't you supposed to go to the nearest Costco or something?" Sally asked, setting the DVDs back on the table.

Percy turned to his mother slowly, face incredulous. "And how would you know that?"

She shrugged. "It's in the Zombie Survival Guide."

"It is." I nodded eagerly. "Costco has everything—thick walls, food, and supplies. They even sell guns and ammunition. You could hole up there for years while the zombies are getting their nom nom on."

Percy's mouth dropped open.

"What?" I grinned. "Zombies got to eat, too, you know."

"Very true about the Costco thing." Sally picked up a single kernel and popped it in her mouth. "But couldn't you guys just use your powers?"

"Ah, good point." I rooted around in the bowl for a half-popped kernel—my favorite.

"I'm surrounded by freaks," Percy said, looking dumbfounded as he shook his head, but I knew he was secretly thrilled.

For one thing, his body was completely relaxed next to mine and this was one of the first times that Sally was acting…normal. Yeah, talking about zombies probably wasn't the biggest step known to mankind, but it was something.

On the flat screen, a zombie took a chunk out of some dude's arm. "What the hell?" Percy complained. "The guy just stood there. Hello. There're zombies everywhere. Try looking behind you, douche canoe."

I giggled.

"This is why zombie movies are unbelievable to me," he went on. "Okay. Say the world ends in a shit storm of zombies. The last thing anyone with two working brain cells would do is just stand along a building waiting for a zombie to creep up on him."

Sally cracked a smile.

"Shut up and watch the movie," I said.

He ignored that. "So you really think you'd do well in a zombie apocalypse?"

"Yeppers," I said. "I'd totally save your butt."

"Yeah, right."

Sally actually laughed, finding amusement in our bickering.

With a smug grin, Percy reached for the bowl and came up empty. Feeling eyes on me, I glanced at Sally.

She was staring at us, but I wasn't sure if she was even seeing us. There was a reminiscent expression in her eyes, tainted with sadness and something else. Determination? I didn't really know, but for a second, the blue hue brightened, no longer dull and listless, and she looked so much like Percy that I drew in a shallow breath.

Then she gave her head a little shake and looked away.

I glanced at Percy and I knew he'd noticed. He shrugged. "Anyone want more popcorn?" he asked. "I think there's even food coloring. I can make it red for you. Like blood."

"More popcorn but make it blue, please." Sally responded.

"Blue?" Her son rose a brow.

Sally nodded, a ghost of a smile appearing on her lips. "That was the way I wanted to introduce you to your half blood life, I guess. When you born, I wanted to eventually tell you about the gods and all of that but I needed to find a way to ease you into it. I figured I'd make every food blue and one day, I'd tell that it was blue because your father was the god of the sea."

Percy's eyes were watering and he swallowed. In an instant, that expression was gone replaced with a lopsided smile. "Blue it is."

When he grabbed the bowl and stood, I caught him sneaking a relieved glance at his mother.

"Want me to pause the movie?" I asked.

His look told me no and I giggled again. Percy sauntered out of the room, stopping at the door when the zombies crested the water. Then he shook his head again and left. He wasn't fooling me.

"I think he secretly enjoys zombie movies," Sally said, glancing at me.

I smiled at her. "I was just thinking the same thing."

Sally nodded. "I like this. I think I would like to do it more often." There was a pause and her gaze flickered back to the TV. "We should do this again."

My heart went out to her and Percy. I glanced at the screen, chewing on my lower lip. "Yeah, we'll do it again. As many times as you want."

She didn't respond.

I wondered if the problem was that Sally wasn't comfortable alone with Percy. There was definitely a lot of baggage between the two. "I'd love to watch some zombies movies before we check out the maze and stuff."

Sally was silent as she crossed her legs at the ankles. I was pretty sure she wasn't going to answer, just ignore what I offered, and I was okay with that. Small steps and all.

But then she did speak. "Yes, I…I can do that."

Surprised, my head swung toward Sally. "Really?"

"Yes." She smiled. It was weak, but it was a smile.

Happy about this, I nodded and then turned my attention back to the gore. But I saw Percy standing just outside the living room. My gaze was drawn to his, and I sucked in an unsteady breath.

He'd heard everything.

Relief and gratitude poured from him. He didn't need to say anything. The thank-you was in his stare, in the way his hands gave a little shake around the fresh bowl of popcorn. He came into the room and sat, placing the bowl in my lap. Then he reached over, took my hand in his, and it stayed that way the rest of the night.


Over the next couple of days, I came to accept that I probably did have a mini freak-out on Monday. There had been no more trucker hat sightings from hell, and then on Thursday, the whole Luke thing became a nonissue.

Sally had taken up some classes at NYU and worked at the candy shop. Things were beginning to look up.

I arrived to my first period, starting a conversation with Silena. Soon, Katie arrived to class and then Percy. He placed a cup of mocha latte on my desk. Cinnamon permeated the air.

"Thanks." I held the warm cup. "Where's yours?"

"Already had one," he said, twirling Riptide in its pen form. He glanced over my shoulder. "Hi, Silena."

The daughter of Aphrodite sighed. "I need a Percy."

I turned to her, unable to hide my grin. "You have a Beckendorf."

She rolled her eyes. "He doesn't bring me lattes."

Percy chuckled. "Not everyone can be as great as I am."

Now I rolled my eyes. "Ego check, Percy, ego check."

From across the aisle, Katie fiddled with her pencil, her eyes serious and somber as she glanced at Percy. "I just wanted to say I'm glad Sally's back and okay." Two red spots bloomed on her cheeks. "It must be a huge relief."

Percy nodded. "It is."

Talk of his mother ended right there. After class, Percy and I navigated the hall, stopping at the door to my health class. Percy took a sip of my mocha and handed it back.

"See you at lunch," he said, kissing me briefly before pivoting around.

My lips tingled as I watched the back of his dark head disappear, and then I headed into class.

I waved as Silena as I dropped into my seat.

"So I went to see Annabeth today..." The girl started.

"Ah," I said, suddenly wanting to dissappear. Whenever I thought of Annabeth, I wanted to cry. Our friendship had taken a sharp detour to Breakupsville.

"Her grieving process is scary. I tried to talk to her yesterday during dinner, and she looked at me, said nothing, and then walked away."

"Ouch."

"Yeah, it actually hurt my feelings."

"Pretty much what I've—"

The door to the classroom opened as the bell rang and the first thing I noticed was a dark blue sweater and khaki pants. Then the neat, blond hair and blue eyes.

My heart stopped; a buzzing started in my ears and picked up to a roar. The air was sucked right out of the room.

I gritted my teeth. "Luke."

I had to be dreaming because this could not be real. No way. Absolutely not. It wasn't Luke strolling into the classroom like it was any other day. Nor did Chiron drop his stack of notes.

"You okay, Thals? Looking a little wigged out," Silena noticed.

My eyes darted to hers wildly. "Can you not see him?"

"See who?" The girl frowned, looking around. At one point, she was looking right in Luke's direction but didn't seem to see him.

A second later, Luke was taking a seat—a seat beside me. The rest of the class blurred out. I was struck stupid by his reappearance.

He placed his notebook on the table and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. Casting me a sidelong glance, he winked.

What the holy hell…?

Giving up on my silence, Silena turned around, shaking her head. "I have weird friends," she muttered.

Luke said nothing as Chiron gathered up his scattered papers. My heart was now racing so fast I was sure I was going to stroke out any second.

Finally, I found my voice. "What…are you doing?"

He looked at me, a thousand secrets among the blue flecks in his gaze. "Going to class."

"You…" There were no words. And then the shock wore off, replaced with a spike of anger so powerful and so hot I felt static rush over my skin.

"No one else can see or hear me. Except for you and good ol' Chi-ro." The son of Hermes said that last part loudly so Chiron could hear him. The centaur set his papers on his desk and said nothing. "If you tell everyone to leave, I'm going to kill them all. Starting with you." He turned toward me.

"Why are you doing this?" I whispered, careful not to attract any attention.

"I'm just here to learn."

Closing my eyes, I counted to ten. When I was about 40 percent sure I wasn't going to jump on him like a goddamn monkey and snap his neck, I reopened my eyes. "You shouldn't be here."

"Too late."


A/N-Okay, so on saturday I was ready to update but at this point, I had stopped after the Perlia fight but then I didn't want to post it because I just wasn't feeling it. So I added Grover's trial and I was supposed to introduce Quintus and the labyrinth but I don't know, I kind of went on a tangent. Anywho, somehow I wrote 11k words and honestly, the longer the chapter, the worse the grammar. I try not to make like major mistakes but with so many words, it's bound to have a handful of mistakes. If they're extremely distracting, let me know but don't roast me for the occasional run on, okay? I'm just trying to stay alive and take care of my people. See you guys on Saturday for chapter 3!