Tpov

I felt a little bad about leaving Adam stranded in the clearing, but that's how it was in capture the flag. There was no mercy. I didn't know if he was angry about it or not, but he'd seemed sincere in his apology and I kind of exploited.

'No point in thinking about it now.' I thought as I aimed at the monster. 'You've got bigger things to worry about.'

The sky was dark, but the street lights gave me plenty of light to take in my surroundings as the gorgon looked around the street. I knew she could smell a demigod was near, but couldn't quite pinpoint me. I drew back the bow string and paused waiting for the cool breeze that had just blown to settle, then exhaled as I let the arrow fly. It didn't kill her, not that I expected it to. One of the snakes that composed her hair had seen me at the last second and she was able to move just in time to avoid a fatal injury.

I jumped from the foot bridge I'd been positioned in, my sword drawn by the time I'd landed in front of her. She was bleeding badly, but didn't seem to notice it as she turned to face me.

"Demigod." She sneered the snakes in her hair hissing with her.

"Look I don't want to kill you." I said shaking my head. "I just need some of your blood. After that you can go on your way."

She let out a humorless laugh.

"You're not the first one to come asking daughter of Hermes." She said giving me a look of cruel interest. "Although I must admit, your heart doesn't seem to be in it. Having second thoughts?"

I didn't answer.

"Well I'll tell you the same thing I told the girls before you. You're going to have to kill me."

"That can be arranged." I said darkly holding up my sword.

"Well if you're so confident little girl." She said smirking. "Let's put your skills to the test."

And then without warning she attacked.

…..

"Jeez Thea." Austin said an I winced as he poured rubbing alcohol on the gash on my shoulder when I got back to camp Saturday morning. It was just after breakfast and he'd agreed to take a look at my injury in our cabin where we could avoid prying eyes. "What the in the name of Olympus happened to you?"

"Gorgon." I muttered.

"In camp?" he asked alarmed.

"No." I said flatly and he seemed to understand.

"Why did you leave?" he asked and I swore as he pressed gauze over the injury. It didn't feel pleasant.

I held up the scroll which he took frowning.

"Gorgon blood, a scale from a drakon, a Gryphon claw…." He continued to look at the rest of the requests. "By Zeus she's not asking for much is she?"

I laughed and he frowned.

"You really should have one of the Apollo kids look at this." He said looking at my shoulder.

"And have them asking questions?" I asked looking back and adjusting my tank top so the strap didn't rest directly over the gauze. "I don't think so. They'd tell Chiron."

"He might be able to help you." He pointed out. "Make sure you make an informed decision."

"What would Chiron know about it?" I asked raising an eyebrow. "He's male. And a centaur. Not exactly her demographic."

"But he's helped others make this decision."

"I don't want anyone else involved."

"Is that why you still haven't told Tess?" he asked shrewdly.

Guilt surged through me, but I was spared the need to respond when an excited voice cried.

"Thea! Thea! I did it! Watch this- oh." Dennis froze as he spotted Austin, the cabin medical kit, and the bandage on my shoulder. "Are you ok?"

"Fine." I said pulling my camp shirt over my tank top as Austin repacked the kit. "What's going on?"

"Well," he said giving me an uncertain look but then smiling. "Look!" he said happily holding up a padlock and after looking at it with intense concentration, it fell open.

"Nice." I said grinning as Austin gave me an awkward nod and stepped out of the room.

Dennis noticed.

"What's wrong with your shoulder?" he asked looking concerned.

"Just a little scrape." I said shrugging and immediately regretting it as I felt the injury stretch painfully.

"It didn't look like a scrape." He pressed. "And you disappeared during the party last night. What were you up to?"

"Do you really expect an answer?" I asked him raising an eyebrow and he sulked.

"I dunno, I know no one else knows what you're up to lately, but I thought you might tell me."

"What's that's supposed to mean?" I asked amused and he shrugged.

"I dunno," he repeated looking a little embarrassed. "I guess I thought you and I were kind of close."

"Sounds like you think we older siblings have favorites."

"Yeah, I guess it's a little ridiculous." He muttered sounding disappointed.

"Not really." I said laughing. "We do."

He grinned.

"Speaking of favoritism." I said standing and walking to my trunk. "If you are going to be my protégé and you're already unlocking things mentally, we've got to move you up to the next level."

"Alright." He said eagerly and I pulled out a combination lock.

"Get to work on that." I said tossing him the chunk of metal and which he caught.

"I will later." He said. "Hannah invited me to go looking for wild flowers in the woods with a few of her sisters." And when he caught my expression he quickly added. "I'm mainly there just to keep an eye out for monsters while they search."

"You must really like her then." I said chuckling. "Cuz that sounds awful."

He shrugged.

"Oh, Tess was looking for you." He said. "I ran into her at breakfast while Austin was patching you up."

"Alright." I said kicking my trunk shut. "Thanks for the heads up. Don't lose my lock."

"Ok Thea." He said laughing then walking with me out of the room.

"Where have you been?" Tess asked me as I found her in the armory repairing a bent sword.

"Around." I said evasively and she shot me a suspicious look but I asked my question before she could ask hers. "Dennis said you were looking for me?"

"Yeah." She said excitedly. "You still want to play in the volleyball tournament right?"

"Yeah." I said hoping my shoulder wouldn't start bleeding in the middle of a game.

"Great!" she said abandoning the still mangled weapon. "It starts right after lunch. Let's go sign up."

We had to find Kyle who, as usual, had been the one to organize the tournament to register our team. He and several of the popular campers were enjoying the lack of scheduled activities on the weekend by swimming in the lake.

"I wondered when you'd show up." He said grinning at me shaking the water out of his hair as he waded to shore. "Looks like our team might have a challenge after all. Who's on your team?"

Tess listed herself, my name, and a few of her siblings.

"Alright." He said adding the names to a note book that had a column of teams and a bracket playoff system. "Your first game will be at one fifteen."

"Great." Tess and I said in unison.

"You have a team name?" he asked looking up from the notebook but I heard a laugh and a shriek.

"ADAM WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP!"

We looked over to see Adam had picked Crystal up from the towel she'd been tanning on and was running to the peer.

"ADAM I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" she shrieked but that didn't stop him from jumping into the water with her still struggling in his arms.

Several people laughed as the couple crashed through the lake surface.

"She's going to be so pissed," Kyle said amused. "She hates getting her hair wet. You might want to get out of here though," he continued looking at me. "Before a furious Crystal realizes you're here."

"Don't need to tell me twice." I said and Tess nodded.

We turned to leave when Kyle said.

"You know you really should get some ambrosia for your shoulder. You're a front row player and hitting during the game is definitely going to reopen the wound."

I closed my eyes inwardly cursing Kyle and Apollo's healing powers. I thought he was more of a music guy, I didn't know he was so good at detecting injuries.

"What are you talking about?" Tess asked confused looking between Kyle and I.

"Her shoulder." He said gesturing to his own. "It's been cut pretty deep."

Tess looked at me for an explanation, but I avoided her eye.

"I can take a look at it if you want." Kyle said. "I'm not as good as some of my siblings but I can probably fix it."

"I'm fine." I said automatically but he rolled his eyes.

"Just let me take a look at it. I'll decide."

Very aware that Tess was watching, I sighed, and pulled off my camp shirt leaving my tank top and I saw Tess's eyes widen when she saw the gauze.

"Who treated this?" Kyle asked frowning, apparently unsatisfied with the work while Tess said "what happened to you?"

I didn't answer either of them.

"You're bleeding through the bandages." He said rotating me and looking at my injury critically. He lifted the gauze. "Come with me."

"Where are you going?" Tess asked.

"The Big House. Thea needs stitches at the very least, probably some divine food."

"Why didn't you go earlier?" Tess asked me angrily but before I could answer a new voice had joined the conversation I'd hoped so desperately to avoid.

"Kyle, what's going on?"

We turned to see Adam, still soaked with lake water, had jogged over to us.

"Thea needs medical attention." Kyle said shrugging and Adam spotted the wound.

"Let me see that." He said looked concerned but I quickly put on my shirt.

"I'm fine." I said.

"I'll be the judge of that." Kyle said flatly and grabbing my arm. "Let's go. The sooner you get some ambrosia in you the more likely you'll be able to play. You two wait here." He said looking at Adam and Tess. "This shouldn't take too long."

He grabbed my arm and started dragging me to the Big House.

"So Thea," he said giving me a shrewd look as soon as we were out of ear shot. "You want to tell me why you're trying to hide a Gorgon attack?"

"How did you-" I started but he cut me off.

"I've seen injuries like this before." He said flatly. "You're lucky I realized it before it got infected. Why didn't you go to the infirmary?"

"I don't want to talk about it." I said shaking my head and he gave me a searching look.

"And I'm guessing you don't want Chiron to know about this either?" he said perceptively.

"No." I said.

"Alright." He said eventually. "I won't ask questions. Just promise next time you hurt yourself come to me instead of one of your siblings ok?"

"Why?" I asked frowning. I'd never had an issue with Kyle before, in fact, I'd always found him rather likeable but it wasn't as if we were friends.

"Because if something serious did happen to you and he knew I could have fixed it, Adam would kill me."

Apov

Tess and I watched Kyle and Thea walk off, Tess looking as confused as I felt. First the acid burn, then the cut to her cheek, now this.

"Where is she getting all these injuries?" I asked looking down at her and she shrugged.

"Couldn't tell you." She said shaking her head.

"You're her best friend!" I said indignantly.

"You know what she's like." She said looking up at me with a raised eyebrow. "She's always gone off to do her own thing every once and a while. No one knows what she gets up to, but she always comes back fine."

"That didn't look very fine to me." I said flatly.

"Thea's tough." She said but she was frowning.

"Are you worried?"

"I dunno." She said her expression conflicted. "Thea can take care of herself but she's been a little weird lately. Weirder than usual. I don't really know what's up with her."

"I'm going to see if she's ok." I said.

"What about Crystal?" she asked looking over her shoulder at Crystal and her friends that were all talking by the lake.

"She's already mad at me anyways." I said shrugging. "What's one more thing?"

"I'll come with you." Tess said and together we followed Kyle and Thea to the Big House and I felt a little awkward. I realized I'd never really talked to Tess before. I knew she was Thea's best friend and specialized in explosive weapons and traps with wire rigging, but other than that I didn't know much about her. Over the years she'd helped Thea occasionally get revenge on campers that had bullied others, but she seemed like a quiet person. Apart from her siblings, Thea was the only person I ever saw her around

"Is it difficult?" I asked her eventually.

"Is what difficult?" she asked sounding confused.

"Being Thea's best friend."

"That's a weird question to ask Adam." She said looking at me uncertainly.

"I guess I mean, what's it like being close to her?"

It was something I'd always wondered.

"I don't know if anyone's that close to her, really." She said frowning. "She let's people in zones. Some people know some things, other people know others. I'm not sure there's a person on this planet who knows everything about Thea other than Thea herself."

"Why?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." She said with a shrug.

"You have to have some sort of idea. You've known her for years."

"So have you." She pointed out.

"That's different." I said quietly.

"You could just ask her." She said giving me an expression I couldn't read.

"She'd probably lie."

"Yeah probably."

"So why do you put up with it?" I asked. "Knowing there's stuff she doesn't tell you."

"Because she's the most loyal person I've ever met."

"Doesn't that drive you nuts though?" I asked in frustration as we passed the cabins. "Knowing no matter how hard you try you never know what's going through her head?"

"Not really." She said shrugging. "If she wants to tell me something she will, otherwise what's the point in worrying about it?"

"Because I want to know." I muttered and again she looked at me but didn't say anything. "You must have some idea why she is the way she is."

"I do." She said looking straight ahead her tone measured. "But I don't think you'll like it."

"What is it?" I asked frowning.

"I think she's afraid of abandonment." She said still refusing to look at me. "Her whole life people have left her. Her mom died, she doesn't see her father hardly at all, her aunt shipped her off to any school she could, and the second Crystal got here all of her friends just left her. That's why she's so loyal to the people she cares about, but keeps them at arm's length. She doesn't want to make anyone feel the way she's felt, and I think she's worked it out if they don't know everything about her, it'll hurt less if they leave."

"Why do you think that would bother me?" I asked frowning.

"You really don't get it do you?" She asked shaking her head and she sounded angry now.

"Get what?" I asked confused and she stopped walking. She looked at me, obviously wondering if anyone could be as stupid as she thought I was acting.

"She'll never admit it, but of everyone who's abandoned Thea, the one that hurt her the most was you."

"What are you talking about?" I asked uncomfortably. "I didn't abandon Thea."

"Yeah you did." She said with an incredulous laugh. "I was here when you first got to camp Adam. Thea was the first person who was nice to you, even before anyone knew who your father was. Don't you remember? You used to do everything together. Honestly, I remember everyone thinking you were really weird for wanting to hang around the camp klepto. Then you were claimed and Crystal showed up." She said darkly. "And you acted like you didn't even know her."

She looked really irritated now and I didn't know what to say.

"You know she could have been angry at you for treating her that way, ignoring her when it's convenient for you but she puts up with it. Just like she puts up with everyone talking about her, making fun of her, and especially Crystal. She never once did anything about how people have treated her, and she could have made them pay, but she didn't and do you know why? Because no matter what people say about her Thea is a good person. Better than most people here. She stands up for people who can't do it for themselves and gets endless shit for it, even from you. But do you know what the worst part is?" she asked glaring at me in disapproval and I wondered how long she'd been wanting to say this to me.

"What?" I asked quietly.

"She'd still do anything for you." She said bitterly. "'Cuz that's the kind of person she is. Someone could shoot an arrow at you right now and I bet she'd jump in front of it. And you just threw that away. But hey, at least you got the pretty girl right?"

She shook her head and resumed walking.

"You know what, maybe it's better if you don't go to the infirmary. You'll just get her hopes up, and then you'll just go right back to Crystal like you always do."

"You can't stop me from making sure she's ok." I said angrily.

"Whatever." She said shrugging but she didn't wait for me to catch up.

"You don't like me very much, do you?" I asked frowning as I followed her. This was weird, I'd never met someone who didn't like me.

"I don't dislike you." She said as I fell into step next to her. "You're a decent enough guy. I just can't tell if you're selfish or just an idiot."

"What do you mean?" I asked knowing it was probably the second one.

"Because I have a hard time believing you really can't see how much you mean to her." She said quietly. "Do you really not see that? Or do you just like knowing she's there?"

"I-" I started confused but I had no idea what to say. Not for the first time I felt at war with myself, and I wasn't even sure what was even being fought about.

What she said made sense, I mean, I couldn't deny that Thea had always been around but it wasn't as if she'd ever been upset. Thea was always laughing and joking around. I hadn't hurt her. People grew apart, it was just something that happened, but even as I tried to assure myself of this, I wondered if that was true. Was that why she'd been so upset with me the other day?

Tess shook her head again.

"Boys are so stupid." She muttered, the Big House was in view and I saw Kyle and Thea stepping out on to the porch. "He was right," she said in surprise. "that didn't take long." She turned to look at me. "What are you going to do?"

I hesitated but before I could answer someone shouted my name.

"ADAM!"

Tess and I, along with everyone in the immediate area turned to see Chiron galloping in our direction.

"What's wrong Chiron?" I asked frowning as he stopped in front of us.

"We've been sent a distress signal."

Several people started to whisper.

"Another one?" Tess asked in surprise, but everyone had turned to me.

"What did it say?" I asked.

"We've got a stranded pair in the city." He said. "Aphis just contacted me, saying they're cornered in the subway and need an extraction. How fast can you be ready?"

"Five minutes." I said. "I just need to grab my gear from my cabin. Then I can head out."

"Are you sure you don't want to assemble a team?" he asked.

"No." I said quickly. "I do better on my own."

He frowned for a moment, then looked at Kyle who'd been doing a last minute assessment of Thea's stitches but was now looking at us.

"Get a Pegasus ready for him." he said to Kyle who nodded. "Adam, get to the stable as fast as you can."

"Alright." I said then ran to my cabin.

It didn't take long to grab my mission gear. I kept it in a pack under my bunk and it was ready to go at all times.

I'd just jumped the last few steps of the stairs and thrown open my door where I almost collided into someone.

"Oh gods!" I said quickly side stepping them and turning to see it was Crystal. "What are you doing here?" I asked confused.

"I heard about the distress signal. I just came to see you off before your mission."

"Thanks." I said a bit distractedly as I went through my mental check list of things I needed.

She kissed me on the cheek.

"Don't forget to get me a present." She said with a wink.

"Yeah sure." I said shaking my head. "Look I've really got to go."

"Ok, ok." She said letting me go. "But New York has some nice stuff, so whatever you bring back better not be tacky or cheap."

"Yeah fine." I said barely registering what she had to say and running in the direction of the stables.

"Sorry." I said when I made it. "I got held up. Crystal-"

"No explanations." Kyle said bringing out the pegasus and I jumped on. "People need saving, go. Now."

I nodded and kicked my heels in to the Pegasus's sides and as he started to gallop, we gained elevation.

"They're on the green line!" Chiron shouted after me. "In Manhattan."

I was thirty feet in the air now, ready to push the Pegasus to his full speed when I realized I could see the entire lay out of the camp. The last time I'd seen it from this high was…

I looked over at the Big House and felt a shock go through me. She was there, sitting at the point of the roof and while she was far, I could tell she was looking at me.

I hesitated, thinking about everything Tess had said. I wanted to talk to her.

'You don't have time for that now.' A voice said stiffly from the back of my mind. 'People need your help.'

Cursing, knowing it was right, I turned the Pegasus in the direction of the city and urged it forward.