PERI'S POV

The sky is dyed as deeply and darkly blue as the churning sea water below us. The sun won't rise for another few hours, so for now we have to be content with the stars and deck lights to illuminate the night.

I steal a glance at Leo and sigh.

He's been pouting ever since we set sail, and I'll admit that I found it cute at first, but now not so much. He hasn't said a word to me this whole time, and it was starting to piss me off.

"Come on, Leo," I whined. "Say something!"

"What's there to say?" He huffed indignantly. "I got my ass kicked. I couldn't defend anyone." He balled his fist angrily before punching a nearby wooden mast. "I couldn't even defend myself."

His response surprised me, and I didn't know what to say at first. It was almost like his anger and pain was radiating off of his body in waves.

"Oi, we all got pretty messed up by those dolphin clowns," I said quietly, staring at the ground. How could I lecture him when I too felt weak and useless? My words felt false in my mouth as I said them. "If it wasn't for Percy and Frank we'd all be dead or worse."

"That supposed to make me feel better?"

I sighed, at a loss for words.

"I just want," Leo started with a shaky voice, "I just want to protect you."

My heart thumped in my chest. Even after saying this, Leo refused to meet my gaze. I thought back to what Aphros said about leaning on my friends in times of need.

I swallowed hard, suddenly painfully aware of how dry my throat was. "Leo, I think my father may die."

For the first time in what felt like forever, Leo turned and looked me in the eyes. His eyebrows were knit together in a mix of emotions.

"What? Anastasios?" His voice was incredulous. "What makes you think that?"

"I had a dream. The night after Shrimpzilla attacked, and I almost drowned."

"Why didn't you tell me about it sooner? What did you see?"

Anxiety and tension traveled down my spine like lightning hitting a metal rod, but I sat down in one of the plush brown love seats on the deck, and Leo joined me, watching and waiting with attentive eyes. There, I told him every detail I could remember about my dream.

When I spoke of my father trapped in an onyx cage, tortured, weak, and mutilated, my eyes welled with tears. However the tears didn't begin to fall until I told him how my Gram, whom I thought was my only other family, was really an automaton like Festus created by my father to watch over me.

"Peri," Leo breathed, his eyes running over what felt like every inch of my face.

I wiped away my tears, my cheeks red and warm. "I don't know where Anastasios is being held, but I've got to find him and save him. And I think my mom's the key."

Leo nodded. "Do you have any idea where she could be?"

I shook my head, feeling defeated, and wanting to sob all over again. "Not the slightest."

Leo twirled a curly strand of hair between his fingertips, face twisted in deep thought. Suddenly his head snapped up. "Wait a sec! You said your dad gave you something right before your dream ended right? What was it?"

I had almost forgotten about that. I fished my hands into my jeans pocket and retrieved a fancy looking Imperial Gold key decorated with jewels. Leo and I locked eyes.

"You don't think that's the key to his prison, do you?" Leo asked.

I frowned. "I'm not sure. But if it is why would he give it to me instead of just unlocking the door himself?"

Leo nodded, brainstorming. "That's true. But maybe he can't unlock it by himself? Whatever the case may be, that key must unlock something very important, and we've gotta find out what."

I sighed deeply, staring at the shiny golden key in my palm as it glinted slightly in the low light. I still had far more questions than answers, and each day that passed I could feel Anastasios growing weaker and weaker.

What if he died? I'd just met the guy! My bottom lip trembled dangerously.

"Don't worry, Peri," Leo said firmly, his eyes deadly serious. "We'll find your mom and save your dad. You won't have to cry anymore."

My heart threatened to leap out of my chest then. My blood was pounding in my ears so loudly I figured that he could hear it too. I couldn't help myself, I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

Leo was still sitting in an armchair, so I was kinda straddling his lap to hug him, though he didn't seem to mind. He hugged me back just as hard, and his strong arms wrapped around my body felt so safe and warm.

I could stay like this forever.

I released him and looked in his eyes boring into my own before trailing down to his lips. They looked so freaking soft and I could almost swear that they were calling to me. When I looked back up at his eyes I could see that he was staring at my lips hungrily too.

I licked my lips, and almost reflexively Leo squeezed my thigh, never taking his eyes off of me. I started to get that warm feeling all over my body like when we were in the engine room alone together. The memory itself was enough to get me feeling hot and bothered.

I found myself inching closer to his face, to those lips, to that cool breath contrasting my overwhelming warmth within. I was delighted yet terrified when I saw him doing the same. His eyes slowly closed as he drew nearer, and was that a blush forming on his cheeks?

Was this happening? Was this real? Was Leo Valdez about to plant one on me?

Gods know how I longed for it to be true.

But just as I was mentally psyching myself up for it, I heard the undeniable sound of hooves clip clopping on wood. Leo must've heard it too, because his eyes snapped open, and there was an unmistakable look of knowing and pure terror on his face.

"Coach Hedge!" We hissed in unison.

Leo practically pushed me off his lap, and I scrambled to the other armchair trying desperately to act natural. I crossed my legs at the ankle like a good girl and stared at the floor, the sky, the walls, anything but the boy in front of me for fear of looking horrendously guilty as Hedge's clip clopping grew ever closer.

"Of all the shitty ass timing," I heard Leo grumbling, but I didn't dare to look at him.

The sound of hooves stopped as Coach Hedge's furry butt came into view just before me. All I could do was hope that my face wasn't as red as it felt.

"Hey there, Valdez!" The satyr bellowed cheerily. He eyed me suspiciously, and I tried to smile my way through this. "Storm! You look as flushed as a mermaid down a drain! What're you two up to?"

"Nothing!" We both said far too quickly.

Hedge must not have bought our story, because he grunted in a way that only an animal could, grabbed Leo by his ear and clopped away with him.

I hopped up after them, following Leo's shouting protests. "Coach! Wait! It's not what it looks like! Aww fudge!"

LEO'S POV

Frustration doesn't even begin to cut it.

Hedge locked me in my room on crimes of "indecency" and imprisoned Peri to the deck to steer the ship the rest of the way to Rome by herself.

I tossed a pillow across the room bitterly. We hadn't even done anything. But damn if I didn't want to.

No matter what, I could not for the life of me get that girl out of my head. It took everything in me not to go crazy with this built up tension. I relayed the events that had just transpired over and over again in my mind.

Peri hopped into my lap, hugged me, then looked at me in a way that no other girl has before. It made every part of me excited and hot and energized. . . kinda like when I'm about to burst into flames but in a different way.

I started heating up just thinking about it. I wanted to kiss her so bad.

Did I take too long? Did I hesitate? Did I miss my shot?

I shook my head and grinned, staring at the bronze lantern swinging on my bedroom ceiling. "No way. She definitely wanted the Super-sized McShizzle. She digs me."

Another chance would come for me to make my move. Next time I'll be sure not to let Coach Hedge or anyone else ruin it for me.

I glanced at the porthole window and saw the sky was still painted an inky blue. Peri was still running through my mind, but I figured it would be a good idea to get some rest before we make it to Rome even if it's just for a couple hours.

A delicious thought popped into my head, and I peeled off my shirt and pants before hopping into bed.

"Peri isn't here, but I've got you, Lefty!" I said to my hand. "Work your magic and put me to sleep."

Before long, I was snoring happily with a lot less pent up tension in my body if you catch my drift.