A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Love you guys, you always make writing so much more fun! : ) Hope you like the chapter!

"Percy, can I talk to you for a second," Luke said. He was hovering behind Percy and Annabeth, looking oddly nervous.

"What?" Percy said, surprised. He rubbed his hands over his tanned face, brushing away cookie crumbs. Luke rarely ever spoke to him directly.

"Yeah, okay," Percy said. He turned to Annabeth, shrugging. She glanced over at Luke too, suddenly beaming.

"Well, go," Annabeth encouraged him. She gave him a light push, still staring at the older boy. She liked him a lot, Percy knew.

Percy got up, slowly approaching him. He gave a wave, grinning anxiously. Even though he was almost nine now, Luke seemed so much older.

"Hey Percy," Luke said, waving back. His nervousness – though still present – was invisible now. He was set on his goals.

"Hi," Percy replied, shuffling his feet.

"Listen Percy, do you want to take a quick walk with me? Over to our cabin maybe?"

"Sure," Percy said. He glanced back at Annabeth, who was still watching.

"Percy, can you keep a secret?" Luke asked.

"A secret?" Percy said, his eyes wide. "Sure. When I first learned about camp, Chiron told me to keep it a secret. You know, cause lots of people didn't know about it."

"Right. Well, this is kind of like that. Not a lot of people know." Luke smiled, realizing that he had resorted to the kind, gentle speech that he had once used with Annabeth. He still did, sometimes.

"Percy," Luke said, looking him right in the eyes. "Do you know who your father is?"

"No," Percy replied. He hadn't forgotten his and Annabeth's theory about Poseidon, but it seemed more like a joke to him. He didn't fully believe it.

"Well, I do," Luke said. He grinned, noticing Percy's expanding mouth. Maybe this would be easier than he expected. "Percy, you're a son of Poseidon. Do you know who that is?"

Percy nodded, giving Luke a funny look. Right, Luke reminded himself, Annabeth had been talking to him. He made sure not to mistake this bare knowledge as intelligence.

"He's… he's my dad?" Percy whispered. His iris's had become perfectly circular, staring at Luke as if hypnotized. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Luke replied. He instinctively knew that he was right, no matter what Chiron had said. "How – how do you feel about that?" He realized, surprised, that he was nearly shaking in anticipation.

Percy stood a moment, thinking. "I like to swim," he blurted then. He eyed Luke, almost pleadingly. "Is that okay? That Poseidon's my dad? Annabeth said…"

"I know," Luke replied. "But listen to me Percy, this isn't your fault. It's Poseidon's fault. He's trying to keep you concealed, just so he won't get into trouble. That's not fair, right?"

"You mean that's why he didn't tell me?"

"Yes," Luke repeated steadily. "That's why." He kneeled down to Percy's level, their eyes still tightly locked. "It's okay to be angry with him. Are you angry?"

"Angry?" He sounded confused.

"Yeah. You know, for making this your problem. For not… for not telling you that he was your father."

"No, I'm not mad," Percy said, quietly. "I don't like to tell people, when I do something bad."

Luke frowned. "But it's not the same, Percy. There's – there's a prophecy."

"A what?"

"A prophecy," Luke repeated. "It says you could die, Percy. Because of your dad. And he didn't tell you."

Apparently, this was the wrong thing to say to someone so young. Percy stared up at him, looking more confused and scared than ever. "Can I go back now?" He gestured to the door, still gazing at Luke with fear.

"Sure," Luke replied, disappointed. "See you at dinner."

Percy raced away, stumbling off the steps as he went.

Luke sighed, sitting on his bed. Had he made a future ally? He wasn't sure. If he wanted to get revenge on the gods – especially his father – he couldn't do it alone. And Percy, young though he was, had a whole prophecy about him. He was more powerful than any of them could see yet, Luke knew. And if he worked quickly, turning him against them, maybe they could do this together.

He smiled then, standing up. Maybe it hadn't worked yet, but Percy was still so little. He might not think about this again for some time. Or maybe, if he was lucky, Percy wouldn't be able to get it off of his mind. That would be even better.

"Luke?" It was Grover, hesitantly entering the cabin.

"Uh, I just ran into Percy. What was it he was saying about Poseidon, and um, you telling him?" He looked angrier than Luke had ever seen him, although his features were finely composed. He was onto him, Luke worried.

He rolled his eyes. So much for a secret. "Nothing," Luke said. "I just shared a theory with him."

"About Poseidon?"

"Yeah." When Grover didn't respond, Luke added, "So what?"

"Don't go around saying that," Grover warned. "Please, Luke. He's really little, he could get the wrong idea."

"Why? Do you think I'm right?" Luke challenged. He felt bad, watching Grover struggle on the spot. The two of them had become good friends, since Luke's arrival, and he didn't mean to make him squirm.

"I don't know," Grover whispered. "But I do know, that if anyone knew anything, they would tell us." He eyed Luke more fiercely than Luke knew he was capable of. "Percy's eight. He could easily be claimed in the next few years."

"Yeah, but he won't be. You watch." With that, he spun on his heel and left Grover behind. Wrapped up in his refreshed anger, he didn't bother to fear Grover's concern.

A/N: Anyway, that's it for now! I know it's a bit short, but this chapter is kind of essential. Thanks so much for reading, you guys! Please review!