PERI'S POV

I hate the ocean with a burning passion.

Those damn sea nymphs drenched everything on the ship with their stinky, fishy odor. It was starting to really baffle me how much I loved seafood yet hated the sea itself. The deck was completely flooded, and the saltwater that sloshed around my ankles caused me to feel drained and fatigued. It made me uncontrollably anxious, and each step was a chore. My instincts screamed at me to run, get out of this water as fast as you possibly can!

But my mind kept replaying my father's words over and over again like an infuriating broken record.

"I'm weak, and it's making you weak."

It angered me, it insulted me to my very core to hear him say such a thing. I refused to give in to the waves of despair that hit me whenever I was in contact with the ocean or even when trapped underground. A part of me felt guilty for snapping at Leo before, but I completely rejected the notion of being weak or helpless in any way. Accepting this so called weakness would be the same as accepting defeat in my eyes.

And that was something that I would never do.

So instead, I helped the others un-flood the deck of the ship. The monotony of the task coupled with the added resistance of the saltwater's negative effects on me had me sweating and breathing heavily within minutes. It made me feel like I was getting a brutal yet personalized workout, and I was grateful for the chance to get out of my own head. The burning pain that grew in my muscles was a familiar distraction and welcome escape from my scattered and dismal thoughts.

I was so engrossed in what I was doing that I didn't notice when Nico and Jason stepped out of the mast's shadow. They materialized seemingly out of thin air and startled me so badly that I slipped and fell onto the soaking wet deck. My bones groaned in protest as more seawater seeped through my clothes, making me shiver with chills.

"Sorry for the scare," Nico said dryly.

I narrowed my eyes at his insincerity before realizing that they'd just freaking shadow travelled to the ship. And as if that wasn't badass enough, Nico was wielding Diocletian's scepter like it was no big deal. The scepter radiated a sinister aura, and I could immediately sense that it was used to control the dead. The black orb on top seemed to leach the color right out of the air. The golden eagles at its base glinted coldly.

"Whoa," I breathed in awe at its dark beauty.

"Well, I hated that," Jason stumbled, cradling his skull in a daze. "I don't ever want to shadow travel again."

The corner of Nico's lips upturned in a sly smirk. "We're even now."

I pulled myself to my feet and tried to wring the saltwater from my shirt just as the others crowded around Nico and Jason. The deck buzzed with a mixture of emotions while the crew took in the mesmerizing sight of the scepter. The general consensus seemed to be an uneasy feeling about the dark aura it emanated while also appreciating the artifact's integrity after all these years.

Nico was visibly uncomfortable with being the center of attention, so I was the first to pry myself away from the scepter's hypnotizing black orb. I told Leo that I was going to take a shower and scrub the sea scum from my body. He grinned devilishly and told me to meet him in the Engine Room after. Thrilled at the idea of spending alone time with him, I agreed and hurried down the stairs.

Ever since Leo and I started being more intimate, showering has turned into an almost ritualistic activity for me. The feel of the hot water on my skin reminded me of Leo's heated body against my own. The steam that filled the glass shower stall made me think of his hot lips and heavy breathing on my neck. I wanted to smell good not just for myself, but for him as well now. When I lathered my body with sweet, fruity body soaps and butters, it was like I was preparing a delicious treat just for him to enjoy. Needless to say, getting clean had begun to make me feel dirty in the best way possible.

Leo was at the forefront of my thoughts (as he often was these days), so it caught me off guard to see a pair of shining kaleidoscope irises when I stepped out of the bathroom.

"Piper!" My eyebrows rose in surprise, and I clutched the towel that covered my body tightly. "Sorry, did you need the bathroom? It's free now—"

"No, silly!" She grinned. "I was looking for you. Hazel and I are having a girls' night in my room in five minutes! As a girl, you are therefore required to attend."

"Required?" I tried to hide my disinterest, but I'd much rather spend time with Leo. "I don't know... I was gonna turn in early—"

"Oh, come on, Peri," Piper pouted, and her eyes, gods they were so pretty, they started to hypnotize me. "I'd be sad if you didn't... Do you want me to be sad?"

"No, never," I answered her immediately, even shaking my head at the very thought.

"Then be in my room in ten, okay?"

"Okay," I replied obediently.

Piper squealed with excitement. "We're gonna have so much fun!" Then she practically skipped into her room. When Piper's door shut, it was like the spell was broken.

I blinked in shock. "Did that bitch just charmspeak me?"

Slightly dazed and confused from what just transpired, I walked into my room and shut the door behind me. As I looked at my reflection, I wasn't sure if I should be more angry with Piper or myself. Although her intentions weren't malicious, it was humiliating to be so easily manipulated. I was so susceptible to her charmspeak that it seemed like she didn't even have to try very hard to bend me to her will. My thoughts roamed to the sorceress that we would eventually have to face.

If I couldn't even fight against Piper's charmspeak, then how did I expect to overcome the powers of a goddess?

Despite how much I wanted to be with Leo right now (which was a LOT), I decided that it would be better for me to learn more about the ways of these mystics. Hazel would be there too, and she might be able to explain more about the Mist and how to fight it. Plus, I hadn't really spent much time alone with the two of them since Camp Jupiter. It makes sense to have a good relationship with the people you're going into battle with, right?

I sighed as I got dressed. Why did it sound like I was convincing myself? It's just one evening with the girls, so why did I feel like I was preparing myself for a torture session? It was then that I realized how much my time at St. Mary's had affected me.

A Catholic reformatory school for girls isn't the first thing one thinks of as a great place to make friends for a reason. Most of the girls who attended St. Mary's were troubled youths, juvenile delinquents, hopeless orphans, or some fucked up combination of the three. They were angry, lonely, and forced to conform to an institution's idea of what a perfect little lady should exemplify— or face the consequences.

They— no, wehad a tendency to take our frustrations out on one another, or in some unfortunate cases, on ourselves. The constant fighting, stealing, and drama created a hellish living experience that was only made worse by the apathetic nuns who were responsible for us. In retaliation, most of us rebelled and tried to run away any chance we could. I'm just one of the lucky ones who actually succeeded.

But Piper and Hazel are nothing like those girls that made my life a waking nightmare. They're kind and strong in ways that don't just involve throwing a punch. Maybe it's good that I get closer to them and learn from them. In any case, it seemed that I had little choice in the matter. I only hoped that Leo would forgive me for standing him up. I threw on an oversized black shirt from a band I didn't recognize and a pair of cycling shorts with some fuzzy socks. I combed through my wet locks before ultimately deciding to leave my hair down. Piper said that it was pretty that way once.

When I knocked on the daughter of Aphrodite's door, I heard suppressed giggling coming from the other side. As I stood there waiting for the door to open, I felt naked and exposed with no weapons on me. But I shouldn't need them, right? I'm not going to war, it's just a sleepover.

Right?

The door swung open suddenly, and I was greeted by a green, creamy looking face. I jumped back in alarm before recognizing Piper's kaleidoscopic eyes twinkling in the low light.

"You act like you've never seen a face mask before!" She laughed.

"Oh, so you've done this to yourself on purpose?" I asked incredulously, reaching out to touch the thick green substance coating her face.

Piper smacked my hand away with surprising speed. "Hey, no touchie! I've gotta leave this bad boy on for another ten minutes."

I followed her into her room while trying to fight the feeling of walking into a lion's den. Hazel sat at the foot of Piper's bed, leafing through a fashion magazine with great concern.

"My gods, you call those shorts?" Hazel pointed at a hungry looking model on the page with mortification. "They're more like jean bloomers!"

"Bloomers?" I repeated as I took a sea beside her.

"She means panties," Piper said simply before turning to the curly haired girl. "You can say panties."

"I will not," Hazel said firmly, making Piper and I laugh at her adamant modesty.

"Ugh, Peri, your hair is sooo pretty!" Piper gushed. "You haveto let me braid it."

"Okay," I responded quickly— too quickly.

I frowned as she began to split my hair into two sections to braid, frustrated that I succumbed to her charmspeak once again. My frown began to melt away as her fingers massaged my scalp soothingly. Still, I wanted to figure out if it was possible to overcome it.

"Piper, how does your charmspeak work?" I asked as she started on the first braid.

"Hmm, I dunno," she hummed in thought. "I just kinda do it. Like, if I want someone to do something, then I just ask them to. If that makes sense?"

"I get that," Hazel chimed in with a nod. "Manipulating the Mist seems to be the same way for me. It's just about focusing your intent."

"Well then do you think it's possible to focus your intent on breaking out of charmspeak— or seeing through the Mist?" I asked them.

"Maybe..." Piper considered this for a while. "I've never had trouble convincing a mortal, but a demigod could possibly overcome it if they practiced at it. Who knows."

"When it comes to the Mist, I still don't know much about it myself," Hazel confessed.

"Well it looked like you fooled Sciron pretty easily," I told her. "Just do that again, I guess?"

"It wasn't as easy as it looked," Hazel muttered sadly. "I wasn't sure it would work at all. I thought that we were all going to die."

I reached my hand out to comfort her. "Then let's practice! You can use me as a guinea pig, and it'll help me train my eyes to see through the Mist."

"Y-you'd do that for me?" Hazel's golden eyes sparkled happily.

"It'd be mutually beneficial," I laughed before locking eyes with Piper in the mirror of her vanity. "You too, Pipes! I'm not gonna just let you charmspeak me forever."

She grinned guiltily. "Alright, fine, but you two have to teach me how to swordfight..."

"Deal!" Hazel and I chimed in unison.

The three of us laughed like we'd known each other forever, and I felt silly for being so cautious to begin with. We agreed to start training after more "feminine bonding rituals" as Piper called them. Though I supposed that I didn't mind the hair braiding, nail polish, and gossiping about the dumb boys we lived with. If this was how the girls got down... then maybe I'd hang with the girls more often.