PERCY
The girl was wearing combat boots and ripped jeans. Her shirt was printed with a set of scales, and a leather jacket was tossed carelessly over her shoulder. For being in Tartarus, she looked remarkably fine-which made Percy immediately suspicious of her.
"Get back," he growled, stepping in front of Annabeth. Whoever this person was, whatever her purpose, he was not going to let her hurt Annabeth. He drew Riptide from his pocket and held the point at her neck, expecting her to turn into a monster.
But the girl merely chuckled. "You think I'm dangerous. And I am, to some degree. Everything in this place is. Look at you-you'd kill to protect her," she gestured to Annabeth, who had come to stand beside me.
"What's your name?" Annabeth asked, more of a command than a question. "Where are you from and why are you here?"
The stranger casually pulled on her jacket before replying. "Destiny." Pulling her hair up into a ponytail, she continued. "I'm from Los Angeles. And I'm here because of my family. And you?"
Annabeth's gray eyes met Destiny's hazel ones, and both of their faces opened up in shock. "What? What is it, Annabeth? You know her?" Percy asked, dropping his sword but then thought better of it.
"I didn't know you were a demigod," Destiny whispered. Turning to Percy, she said, "Why are you here?"
Percy laughed darkly. "We sort of fell."
Destiny narrowed her eyes at them. "Alright, guys. Come on, we have lots to talk about."
