PERI'S POV

I was surprised to see the problem was so. . . stupid.

Echo had led us down into a grassy meadow shaped like a blast crater, with a small pond in the middle. Gathered at the water's edge were several dozen nymphs. I remember seeing them in the stories Gram read to me. They had gossamer dresses and wore no shoes. They had elvish features- like Leo, except their skin was almost greenish, as if they were permanently ill.

I couldn't tell what they were doing from my angle, but they were all crowded together in one spot, facing the pond and pushing one another to get a better view. Several held up iPhones, trying to take pictures of whatever it was they were so eager to see. Gram never told me nymphs had iPhones.

"What are they looking at?" I wondered aloud.

"Looking at," Echo sighed.

"Well, there's only one way to find out!" I declared and marched forward, Hazel right behind me. Leo and Echo quickly followed suit.

We made it to the crowd, nudging through the throng of squealing nymphs.

"Move out the way!" I griped, as girls elbowed us, trying to stop our advancement.

Some girl with a suspiciously heavy foot stepped on me. "Oi! Watch out, chick!"

Hazel, on the other hand, was more polite about it. "Excuse us. Pardon me."

"Hey!" one nymph complained. "We were here first!"

"Yeah," another one sniffed, haughtily. "He won't be interested in you two anyway!" This second nymph had large red hearts painted over her cheeks. Over her dress, she wore a T-shirt that read: OMG I N!

"Uh, demigod business," Leo said, trying to sound official. "Make room. Thanks."

The nymphs grumbled, but they parted to reveal a young man kneeling at the edge of the pond, gazing intently at the water.

My eyes widened, and I inhaled sharply.

I thought that when I saw Leo, I had seen it all.

But this guy here.

He was absolutely gorgeous.

He had a chiseled face with lips and eyes that were somewhere between feminine beautiful and masculine handsome. Dark hair swept over his brow. He might've been seventeen or twenty, it was hard to say, but I knew he was built like a dancer. He had those long, graceful arms and muscular legs, perfect posture and an air of regal calm.

He wore a simple white T-shirt with jeans, with a bow and quiver strapped to his back. The weapons obviously hadn't been used in a while. The arrows were completely covered in dust. A spider had woven a web in the top of the bow. The guy's face was unusually golden, and it made him look even more perfect, if that was even possible. He was staring at his reflection in the pond, bouncing off a flat sheet of Celestial Bronze that lay at the bottom.

I edged closer to him, my eyes opened wide, and I was pretty sure I was drooling.

Hazel held onto my shoulder for stability, the man's beauty making her legs wobble. "He's gorgeous."

Around us, the nymphs squealed and clapped in agreement.

"I am," the young man murmured dreamily, his gaze still fixed on the water. "I am so gorgeous."

I couldn't look away, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Leo talking with the nymphs. Occasionally, he would look back at the gorgeous guy, then at me, a fierce scowl on his features.

". . . Narcissus?" Leo asked.

I managed to tear my gaze away from the beautiful man for a second. "Is that his name?" I asked. "Narcissus?"

"Narcissus," Echo agreed sadly.

I'd forgotten Echo was even there. Apparently none of the other nymphs had noticed either.

"Oh not you again!" A nymph wearing the shirt MRS. NARCISSUS tried to push Echo away, but she misjudged where the camouflaged girl was and ended up shoving several other nymphs.

"You had your chance, Echo!" said a nymph with an iPhone. "He dumped you four thousand years ago! You are so not good enough for him!"

"For him," Echo said bitterly.

I turned around fully, completely forgetting about Narcissus. "Oi! Don't talk to Echo like that!"

Hazel managed to turn away from Narcissus as well. "What's going on? Why did Echo bring us here?"

One nymph rolled her eyes. She was holding an autograph pen and a crumpled poster of Narcissus. "Echo was a nymph like us, a long time ago, but she was a total chatterbox! Gossiping, blah, blah, blah, all the time."

"I know!" another nymph shrieked. "So as punishment for blabbing, Hera cursed Echo so she could only repeat things, which was fine with us. But then Echo fell in love with our gorgeous guy, Narcissus- as if he would ever notice her."

"As if!" said half a dozen others.

"Now she's got some weird idea he need saving," Mrs. Narcissus said. "She should just go away."

"Go away," Echo growled back.

The nymphs dismissed Echo and went back to taking pictures. Leo knelt next to the handsome dude. "So, Narcissus. What's up?"

"Could you move?" Narcissus asked distractedly. "You're ruining the view."

Leo looked in the water where his reflection rippled next to Narcissus's on the surface of the submerged bronze. I nearly passed out. The both of them, sitting there next to each other, being all hot. It was almost too much for me to handle.

"Right, great view." Leo said. "Happy to move and all, but if you're not using it, could I take that sheet of bronze?"

"No," Narcissus said. "I love him. He's so gorgeous."

I cocked my head to the side and furrowed my brow, and Leo looked around in disbelief. The two of us locked eyes and without words conveyed the same message: You gotta be kidding me.

I moved to squat next to Leo and addressed Narcissus. "Dude, what? You're in love with yourself?"

"Of course," he replied, staring wistfully at his reflection.

I wrinkled up my nose in disgust, but the nymphs were swooning and nodding their heads in agreement.

"I am so great," Narcissus sighed. He stretched out a hand longingly to touch the water, but held back. "No, I can't make ripples. That ruins the image. Wow. . . I am the greatest ever."

"Yeah," Leo muttered. "But if I took the bronze, you could still see yourself in the water. Or here. . ." He reached in his tool belt and pulled out a simple mirror the size of a monocle. He had everything in that tool belt! "I'll trade you."

Narcissus took the mirror reluctantly and admired himself. "Even you carry a picture of me? I don't blame you. I am gorgeous. Thank you." He set the mirror down and returned his attention to the pond. "But I already have a much better image. The color flatters me, don't you think?"

I snorted. "I think not-"

"Oh, gods, yes!" a nymph screamed. "Marry me, Narcissus!"

"No, me!" another cried. "Would you sign my poster?!"

"No, sign my shirt!"

"No, sign my forehead!"

"No, sign my-"

"Stop it!" Hazel snapped.

"Stop it!" Echo agreed.

I jumped when I noticed Echo on the other side of Narcissus, waving her hand in front of his face as if trying to break his self-induced spell. Narcissus didn't even blink.

The nymph fan club tried shoving Hazel out of the way, but she drew her cavalry sword and forced them back. "Snap out of it!" she yelled.

"I am so hot," Narcissus said sympathetically.

I glanced up at the setting sun. "We don't have time for this," I muttered before turning to Echo. "Didn't you bring us here to help him? Then what's the issue, Echo?"

"Echo," replied Echo, which didn't help at all. Stupid curse!

"Who?" Narcissus said.

"The only girl who cares what happens to you." Hazel tried. "Don't you remember dying?"

Narcissus frowned. "I. . . no. That can't be right. I am much too important to die."

I snorted. "That's what you think" I muttered.

"You died staring at yourself!" Hazel insisted. "I remember the story now. Nemesis was the goddess who cursed you, because you broke so many hearts. Your punishment was to fall in love with your own reflection."

"I do love me so, so much." Narcissus agreed.

"You finally died," Hazel continued. "I don't know which version of the story is true. You either drowned yourself or turned into a flower hanging over the water or- Echo which is it?"

"Which is it?" she said hopelessly.

Leo and I stood. "It doesn't matter." He said. "The point is you're alive again, man. You have a second chance."

I nodded. "That's what Nemesis was telling us. You can get up and get on with your life. Echo is trying to save you. Or you can stay here like an idiot and stare at yourself until you die."

"Stay here!" all the nymphs screamed.

"Marry me before you die!" another squeaked.

Narcissus shook his head. "You just want my reflection. I don't blame you, but you can't have it. I belong to me."

I groaned in annoyance. Before I could tell Narcissus off, Hazel spoke, silencing me. "OK, Narcissus." she said unnecessarily loudly. "You win. We're not going to take your reflection, because that's exactly what we were after the whole time."

I raised an eyebrow, but Hazel gestured for me to keep quiet, and I obliged.

"I knew it." Narcissus said, turning back to his reflection in the pond. "Beautiful and smart. I'm a package deal."

Hazel gestured with her sword towards the end of the crater, beckoning us over. As we slipped away, the nymphs clustered around Narcissus again and began recording new videos and snapping more photos of him. Narcissus no longer had any effect on me. He was shallow and self-centered, and that was not attractive in the least bit.

Once we were out of earshot, Hazel spoke. "Nemesis was right," she said. "Some demigods can't change their nature. Narcissus is going to stay there until he dies again. But we need that Celestial Bronze now."

I folded my arms. "I say we just kill him, take the Celestial Bronze, and bounce."

"No," Leo said.

"No!" Echo agreed.

"If we take the Celestial Bronze without killing him," Leo said, eyeing me as he spoke. "it might give Narcissus a reason to snap out of it. Echo could have a chance to save him."

"A chance to save him," Echo said gratefully.

Hazel stabbed her sword in the sand. "It could also make several dozen nymphs very angry with us," she said. "And Narcissus might still know how to shoot his bow."

Everyone was silent as we pondered this.

"I've got an idea!" Leo said suddenly.

"Idea?" Echo said hopefully.

"Yeah." Leo smirked. "Operation: Team Leo is a go."