"Are you sure we should be here without Thalia?"
Sky sighed quietly as she walked along the path that led to the top of Mount Olympus. With its beautiful buildings and sparkling water in the fountains, you could almost believe that people lived there - until the silence brought you back to the present. Back to the fact that no one had lived on Mount Olympus for twenty years.
"We'll be fine, Zelena." Sky said, glancing back at the blond haired girl who wore a worried expression on her face. "The only person, or thing, that comes up here is Aunt Thalia and her wolf. We're perfectly safe."
"Oh, so you're the expert on being safe now?" Kirsten's voice traveled from the back of the group, sarcasm obvious in her tone.
Sky shook her head without saying a word as she kept walking. Kirsten had definitely inherited more than just her looks from her mother. According to Aunt Annabeth and Uncle Percy, the eighteen-year-old had just as much attitude as Clarisse, if not more.
She glanced back at the others who were following her quietly, trusting her to make sure nothing happened to them. There was fourteen-year-old Marissa with her shoulder length, wavy black hair falling in her face, her stunning stormy gray eyes sparkling with excitement. Walking beside her was her twelve-year-old brother Connor who had short, curly blond hair like their mother, with bright sea green eyes like their father. It was hard to believe they were even related by the way they acted. Marissa was impulsive and tended to act before she thought, while Connor was the complete opposite. He always made sure that he had considered every part of a problem before he dealt with it and the constant thoughtful look in his eyes made it seem like a million thoughts and ideas were spinning around in his head at the same time.
Following closely behind Marissa and Connor was Zelena. She was nervously twisting the end of her long blond ponytail, her brown eyes glancing around worriedly as if expecting a monster to attack them at any moment. If Lianna were here she'd be calmer. Sky thought, staring at her for a second longer. Other than Lianna's bright blue eyes, there was no way to tell the difference between the thirteen-year-old twins. They had the same long blond hair that Sky had never seen in anything but a ponytail, the same dark tan from being in the sun all day long, not to mention they were both so tall that almost no one suspected they were only thirteen. Zelena always seemed so confidant and brave as long as Lianna was with her. Unfortunately, Lianna had decided to stay back at camp to help "keep an eye on" Sky's annoying thirteen-year-old cousin Jax with their friend Julia, which most likely meant playing some kind of prank that would get the girls in trouble when the adults found out.
Right beside Sky was her best friend Sammi, working on what looked like some kind of small bird made out of wires and small gears as she walked. Anyone who knew Leo Valdez knew instantly that Sammi was his daughter the moment they looked at her, especially whenever she smiled. She had Leo's same curly black hair, slightly pointed ears that made her look like a Christmas elf, and that crooked troublemaker's grin. By now, Sky knew, there was an idea forming in her head that would probably get them killed by either Kirsten or Jax. That was just one of the reasons that they got along so well.
"Hello? Earth to Sky..." Sky blinked at the sound of Kirsten's voice and slowed as she realized they had almost reached the top of Mount Olympus while her mind was flying somewhere high up in the clouds without her.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly climbed the stairs that led to the main palace of the gods, glancing behind her every once in a while to make sure everyone was keeping up. Even though she had said that they were perfectly safe and that there was nothing to be afraid of, which was true as far as she knew, she had to admit that exploring the place that she had heard so many stories about ever since she could remember was enough to make even her nervous. She'd never admit that though. Not even to Sammi. Her best friend had enough to deal with without knowing that Sky wasn't always as brave as she tried to seem.
Finally reaching the top of the shining marble staircase, Sky turned and leaned against the large doors that led to the throne room as she waited for the others to join her. She had to admit that it was fun watching even Kirsten - the "fittest person on the planet" - get slightly out of breath from walking up the mountain and then having to climb at least twenty steps after. Can't wait to see her once we go back down... She thought as Kirsten and Zelena reached the top.
"There!" Sammi said triumphantly, holding out the small mechanical bird with a satisfied grin as its eyes glowed to life and it flapped its wings once. "All fixed!"
Sky smirked as she turned to push open the doors, glad that Sammi seemed to be in such a good mood. She stumbled forward slightly with a small gasp as the doors gave way easier than she had expected them to. Glancing behind her, Sky's eyes widened at the sight of Sammi's metal bird flying toward her head with surprising ease and speed. As she ducked quickly to the side, Sky watched as the bird flew through the open doorway and into the palace.
"Hey! Get back here!" Sammi called, already running in after it as Sky straightened.
Sky took a deep breath before running after her best friend, barely registering the sound of footsteps behind her as the others followed. As she reached the throne room, she just had time to see Sammi jump up and snatch the bird out of the air before sitting down hard in the center of the room as she landed with it clutched in her hands.
Hearing Zelena's gasp, Sky took her eyes away from Sammi and looked around the room, her mouth opening slightly as she realized they weren't the only ones in the room. Not even close. Standing in front of each of the thirteen thrones, staring at them with surprised expressions, were people Sky recognized immediately even though she'd only heard them described in stories at home.