The bell chiming from the door was the only warning given before Lea was throwing herself at one of her favorite people in the entire world.

"Usnavi," Lea cheered, not paying mind to the way her accent became a bit more pronounced. Her friends shared looks behind her. The man turned on his feet quickly, catching her in his arms as he swung her in the air.

"Ah! Neira," he smiled as he placed her on her feet. Behind him was his girl friend and soulmate, Vanessa, who gave her a small smile. It always amused Lea how the two of them had their own preferred twin. "Look at you, you're getting big. Soon I won't be able to pick you up anymore."

"Yeah yeah," Lea rolled her eyes. It was a little believable though since she had packed on some muscle from that blasted camp and her training sessions with Kirkê. "Let me get a regular, milk and two sugars and uh, lemme get a honey ham on a hero with swiss... toasted... oh, and can I get it with lettuce and tomato and green peppers?"

Her favorite bodega ock gave her a sharp nod as he moved to work on her sandwich. She had been to a couple of bodegas around New York, but this was definitely her favorite. "Where's Sonny?"

"Where he always is," Vanessa gave a little laugh as Usnavi immediately scowled. "With Graffiti Pete." Lea laughed also, knowing how much Usnavi disapproved of their relationship. She had heard plenty of rants that Sonny could do so much better and Usnavi was always grumbling about the little good-for-nothing punk was his darling little cousin's soulmate. Lea turned a bit, remembering that she came there with her friends and blushed a bit. Usnavi's store was such a staple in her life that she tried to keep away from everything else that she tended to block everything outside of it out her mind. It was like her home away from home. She could never repay Usnavi and Sonny or even Daniela and Carla on the times that they let she and Percy sweep around their shops for extra cash.

"Oi! Can I also get a uh," Lea eyeballed her friends. She knew their orders at other bodegas, but they never had an Usnavi bodega and they were all the better. "... turkey and ham on a roll with mayo, lettuce, tomato, swiss cheese? Honey glazed ham on a roll with swiss. Vinegar on the bread, mayo, lettuce, tomato, red roasted pepper, and jalapenos. Uh, boars head ham on a hero with swiss, tomatoes, mayo, salt and pepper, and oregano. A chopped cheese add ketchup and mayo. And a uh, roast beef, lettuce, mayo, black olive and onion on a hero."

"This you," Usnavi asked and Lea shook her head. "Them too."

"Ah, pero estás demasiado delgado," Vanessa scolded with a small teasing smile. Lea shrugged, giving her a charming smile back. Vanessa was centering herself as the next matriarch of the barrio. Lea and Percy had been young when Abuela Claudia died, but they could remember how lovely she had been, watching over them when she could. It was because of Abuela Claudia and Usnavi telling the stories of her and the barrio that made this little pocket her home. She had fought with all her might to not get so close to these people. It had been only her, Percy, and their Mother for so long but they had always been there and she kept them squared away in her heart.

Lea knew that she seemed like a different person to her friends, but well, this was home. She may have been from Inwood specifically, but the Heights were a part of her too.

Drew stepped closer to the deli counter, eyeing Usnavi and Vanessa as they worked around each other to make their sandwiches. "...You got pickles?"

Usnavi spared a split-second glance. "You want pickle on top?"

Drew nodded her head, "Yeah."

Lea moved to her side, "A little bit of news you've heard around the barrio?"

The soulmates hummed. "Bueno," Usnavi said as he started working on another sandwich. "You didn't hear it from me! But some little birdie told me that you found your soulmate."

Lea was going to kick Percy's ass.

"No me diga!" Vanessa gasped, looking at her. Lea's face flushed as red as the tomatoes in front of her. She turned away and fought to keep from rubbing at the mark. She didn't like thinking about soulmates. She had spent the entire summer being trained half to death and fighting pirates of things ignoring its existence even if said owner was lived rent free in her head. She tried not too make a big deal of it. Though she would never forget when she had just been coming back from the showers only for an Iris-Message to pop up in their room because Ethan had received たなか えり on his body and called Drew up to see if she knew a Tanaka Aeri only to get the shock of his life when he saw Lea in a towel and the fact that Drew was his soulmate. Lea had nearly killed him and Drew had tackled her to the ground while swiping through the Iris-Message. (Drew's shirt had risen up when Lea rolled them over to crawled out of sight because her towel came loose and Ethan had managed to catch sight of 中邑 イーサン engraved in her skin before the rainbow dropped.)

She scurried over with the two hundred dollars that Hermes gives her every month as an incentive to stop going to fighting rings until she was of age. (Not that she minded since the last one she went to... she had to hide away because she saw Usnavi and Benny there and she was so not in the mood for a lecture.) She would have refused the money if it weren't for the fact that he also gave Drew and Percy money whenever they passed tests. And since Annabeth and Thalia went to school with them now (a tiresome fact for Lea because she could really not catch a break from those people and she almost killed Thalia when the girl tried to call her Nene as if Lea had given her permission!), Lea learned that he paid them too.

"Oi," Usnavi called out as the group of them began to leave. Lea turned to see the way that he and Vanessa looked over them in contemplation. She waved the others forward stepping closer to the couple. "Eres demasiado suave, amor."

Vanessa reached out to brush a few strands a hair from in front of her face. "La gente te lastimará si las dejas."

"Be careful," Usnavi told her, ruffling her hair. "And give Percy our regards."

Lea gave a second pause then she gave them a tight hug before turning on her feet quickly. Her friends were standing outside the bodega, nibbling on their sandwiches before they continued on to her apartment to celebrate the end of the term. Her Mother was still at work and Percy was off somewhere with Thalia and Annabeth which gave Lea and her friends enough time to raid the house for sheets and pillows to build a mega fort in her room. Lea was kind of happy that she was able to do regular teenager things. She had spent most of the summer, training under Kirkê while they fought to recapture the pirates. She had ended up sending for Lou Ellen and Drew through a nifty little spell that Kirkê taught her. Drew had strengthened her charmspeak and learned a few new potions to share with her siblings. And Lou Ellen spent the most of her time fangirling over the goddess, something that as needed to ease the tension between Lea and Kirkê because the former had was not over the transformation of her brother.

She even learned how to use the ring that her Father gifted her, storing mageia in it to use whenever her core ran low. (The goddess was like a drill sergeant, but man did her stores expand to give her a bunch of comfort.) She also met Lady Artemis as the goddess of the moon stopped by with her some of her hunters to gather the last of the pirates. The men stood no chance and were back to being rodents.

Her room was covered in sheets and she took the moment to mentally pat herself on the back for throwing anything dealing with the gods and mageia into Percy's room. Ethan and Drew were sitting aside in their own little world, so wrapped up in each other that they tended to forget everyone else whenever they hung out now.

Alabaster and Medea was playing some weird game with her tarot cards. They had both planned on bringing ouijas boards, but look, while Lea had made peace with mageia and the interdimensional aliens... she drew the line at ouija boards. They won't be summoning a demon in her apartment. (And no, it had nothing to do with the fact that she accidentally summoned a sea demon at Kirkê's resort for mangling the latin needed for a spell.)

A sharp sting of betrayal slapped her in the face. "Trent," she muttered, as she laid out on the floor after he hit her with a pillow. "How could you? After everything we've been through?"

Trent looked away, eyes slipping close, holding onto another pillow. The two of them were supposed to be finding movies, but an impromptu pillow fight started up between them. "I'm sorry, Lea. I really am."

"Does our friendship mean nothing to you," Lea groaned as she grabbed another pillow since he wasn't paying attention.

"This is about more than just you and me, Leaneira."

In answer, she threw another pillow at him that knocked him off his feet. He went down with a curse and she laughed as she crawled over quickly to pelt him with more and more swings. The other four of them turned and laughed as he kept crying out Uncle, Uncle!

"Get em, Lee," Medea cheered. Lea winked at her before yelping as Trent snatched her pillow and rolled them over. Instead of hitting her with the pillow though he aimed for Medea. And well, it quickly dissolved from there. Before long, her room was a mess and there was a pile of heavy breathing kids sprawled across her pink rug. Drew was the one to move first, flipping through the stack of movies before plugging in Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. A classic if you let any of them tell it.

"Menace II Society next" Lea called out.

Medea shook her head, "What? No way. Poetic Justice!"

"We can decide later," Ethan soothed. The girls shrugged, both knowing that it was going to be decided through rock-paper-scissors. Lea smiled to herself because the two sides of her life were getting along so well. The boys had taken one look at each other and it was as if they had known each other for years instead of only just meeting. And Medea had team up with her to lowkey give Ethan a shovel talk when she learned that he was Drew's soulmate.

"If you told me to die for her, I would," Ethan had said, smiling over at Drew as she smiled shyly. The daughter of doves scoffed prettily. "And I'd follow you into the Underworld," she said, walking over to her blessing to cradle his cheek. "You're not going to make me a widow."

It was so sweet that it made Lea gag.

It wasn't until that they were halfway through the movie did her door swing open. Their gazes swung up to see Percy standing in the threshold. There were a few snowflakes in his hair that were melting curling his hair a bit.

"Hey, need to ask you something," her brother said, as he threw up a peace sign, giving the boys a head nod and a smile to the girls before cutting his eyes at Lea. She raised a brow before pushing herself from the floor. She waved the others on to keep watching the movie. Percy led her back towards the living room where Annabeth and Thalia were sprawled around the floor.

Lea waved at them before turning to her brother. "Wassup?"

"Grover sent out a distress signal," he told her. Lea raised a brow wondering what that had to do with her. Grover was his friend. "He didn't say what, but he marked it urgent."

"Okay," she drawled.

"It's up in Maine at Westover Hall," Percy continued. "Can you come with us? Your magic might make things easier."

Lea thought about it. Once Trent and Medea left tomorrow to catch their plane, then the rest of them would be continuing to camp where she would be on lockdown for her "protection". It was going to be a little boring and she could do with a little excitement, but she had also made a promise to not do any quests.

"What's in it for me," Lea asked, smirking slightly.

"A week of dishes," Percy said. "And one week of laundry."

"Two weeks on dishes," she countered. The two of them stared at each other, but eventually her brother pursed his lips and nodded his head. The two of them spat on their hands and clamped hands. "Catch you later, losers," Lea waved before heading back into her room with her friends.


Two days later found her riding in the passenger seat as her Mother drove them to the boarding school. Their mother had taken the initiative to pack them both overnight bags and a few deadly weapons before they started the eight-hour drive from New York to Bar Harbor, Maine. Sleet and snow pounded the highway.

The three of them in the backseat were a bit too nervous to talk much, but Lea didn't mind. Her Mother talked enough for all of them while Lea ignored them all as she read over the books that Alabaster had sent her. She was practicing on making sigils that could activate without her having to actually pour mageia into it. She was planning on gifting them to Drew and Percy and Ethan. She was definitely going to give some to her Mother and maybe some to Trent and Medea if she could convince them.

By the time they finally got to Westover Hall, it was getting dark, and she'd told Annabeth and Thalia every embarrassing baby story there was to tell about the twins. Lea met Percy's eyes through the rearview mirror with matching grimaces on their face.

Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun."

Lea didn't know if they were at a school or an evil ass castle. The place looked more Dracula's summer home. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other.

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" their mother asked.

"No, thanks, Mom," Percy said as Lea waved a hand to transfigure her things. "I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay."

"But how will you get back? I'm worried, Percy."

Lea smiled at their Mother. "Don't worry, mom. I placed a few teleportation seals around the apartment and Drew has some too. If anything happens, we can use them." That didn't seem to reassure that much. Lea a small smile. Her Mother did bear witness to a few spells that went array. And Lea thought Percy practicing his sword fighting in the apartment was bad. The bathroom ceiling still had scorch marks.

"It's okay, Ms. Jackson." Annabeth smiled reassuringly. "We'll keep them out of trouble."

Lea was not the one that got turned into a guinea pig or got turned into an ad for HêphaistosTv if Hermes was to be believed. Still, their Mom managed to relax a bit.

"All right, dears," their Mother said. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, Ms. Jackson," Thalia said. "Thanks for the ride."

"Extra sweaters? You have my cell phone number?"

"Mom—" Lea groaned.

"Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a golden drachma in case you need to contact camp?"

"Mom, seriously! We'll be fine. Come on, guys."

She looked a little hurt and while Percy rushed out of the car with flaming cheeks, Lea still took the time out to press a kiss onto her cheek. "We'll be okay, Mom. I promise."

Her Mom sighed lightly, pressing a kiss to her forehead before letting Lea out the car.

Thalia said, "Your mom is so cool, Percy." once her car was out of sight.

"She's pretty okay," Percy admitted. "What about you? You ever get in touch with your mom?"

"If that was any of your business, Percy—"

"We'd better get inside," Annabeth interrupted. "Grover will be waiting."

Thalia looked at the castle and shivered. "You're right. I wonder what he found here that made him send the distress call."

"Nothing good," Percy guessed. Lea tightened her cardigan around herself and the three them marched towards building. The oak doors groaned open with an ominous creak.

Beside her, Percy said: "Whoa."

The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. Lea wondered if being mated to the patron-god of thieves was why she had a need to stuff everything she could into her pockets. She was going to need some bigger pockets.

Once she dragged her gaze away from the war cabins' wet dreams, she shifted on her feet. There was something wrong about this place. It was sort of how she felt on Clarisse's ship the summer before except a bit more muted. Lea twisted her ring around her finger, subconsciously checking on the amount of mageia that was stored within. Out the corner of her eye, she could see Percy slipping his hand into his pocket and the way that Thalia was rubbing her silver bracelet. She wondered if that was a child of the Big Three thing because she knew that they were thinking the same thing.

A fight was coming.

Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where—"

The doors slammed shut behind them.

"Oo-kay," Percy mumbled. "Guess we'll stay awhile."

Music echoed down the hall now that the raspy wheezing of snow was no longer in their ears. In the back of her head, she could hear Drew complaining about not being invited to a dance party and if she knew that quests were like that then she'd go on more of them. Lea could tell her that they were so not worth the hype. Lea waved her hand over the others' bag, shrinking them small enough to fit in pockets. She was getting really good at that. She never had to carry a backpack ever again.

A man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept them.

Lea inwardly cursed. She knew she should have cast a glamour spell. They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven. Lea clearly spent too much time around Drew and Kirkê because her fingers twitched with the need to pluck away that mustache. Kirkê had the perfect treatment that fought against Hirsutism.

They both walked stiffly, like they had actual stick up their asses.

"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"Um..." Percy started, "Ma'am, we're just—"

"Ha!" the man snapped, flaring his nose. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected!" He had an accent—French, maybe. He pronounced his J like in Jacques, He was tall, with a hawkish face with heterochromia eyes. And ew, Lea did not like the way he looked at her. It was bad enough with Tántalos last summer and she had never been more happy to return to camp to know that he was gone. (Hermês almost killed the ghoul again when Lea complained about missing underwear that was found in his prison suit. It had taken all the underworld gods to pull him away as he strangled him and Zeus had ordered him to file the message databases by priority and in alphabetical order and by category and realm just to distract him.)

Just as Lea was brining her hand up to cast a memory alteration spell, Thalia stepped forward and snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud. A gust of wind ripple out from her hand, across the room. It washed over all of them, making the banners rustle on the walls. Lea could feel a bit of power in it, but she could also feel it centering around the woman. Lea turned her gaze onto the dude. Was he their monster or one of those clear-eyed mortals like her Mom?

"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir," Thalia said. "We go to school here. You remember: I'm Thalia. And this is Annabeth, Percy, and Lea. We're in the eighth grade." Lea scowled at her.

The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes, hesitating for just a moment. Maybe they were in look. It was a big castle. Even the teachers at BAG didn't know everyone, Lea regularly skipped math to hang out in the art room.

He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"

Lea turned her to hide away her smile, catching the way that Percy was pursing his lips. A teacher named Got Chalk? He had to be kidding.

The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I... yes. I believe I do, sir." She frowned at them. "Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. Leaneira. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"

Before they could answer, Grover ran up, breathless. "You made it! You—" He stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh—"

"What is it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man. His tone made it clear that he detested Grover. "What do you mean, they made it? These students live here." Ha! Lea wouldn't live here even if she was dead.

Grover swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm so glad they made...the punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!"

Dr. Thorn glared at all of them and Lea coolly stared back. He looked like he wanted to pitch them off the castle's highest tower, but then Mrs. Gottschalk said dreamily, "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"

Lea sauntered past them with her head held high. She hated military schools when she and Percy went to some. And she would be damned before she saluted anyone like Percy and the others were. Besides, Hermes told her that the best way to blend in when she's somewhere that she's not supposed to be was to behave like she was suppose to be there.

Grover hustled them down the hall in the direction of the music that was coming from the gym.

"That was close!" Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!"

Annabeth and Thalia both hugged Grover. Percy gave him a big high five and Lea gave him a respective nod. He'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked like he always did when he passed for human. He was wearing a black T-shirt that took Lea a few seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT. Lea didn't know what that meant and didn't really care to find out.

"So what's the emergency?" Percy asked.

Grover took a deep breath. "I found two." Lea and Percy jolted, sharing looks.

"Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?"

Grover nodded.

Finding one half-blood was rare enough. The fact that he found the twins was a miracle in itself. There weren't many full blood siblings at camp. Only the Stolls, Lea and Percy, and Castor and Pollox. And though the satyrs were working overtime, searching all over the country for possible recruits —child soldiers, for people that claimed that it was suppose to be a safe place —, there weren't that many demigods out there. Which Lea didn't hesitate throw back in the face of Athena's kids when she heard a couple of them making fun of the kids in Hermes' cabin.

"What did you expect," a few of them mocked. "That's what the gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?" Please. The entire reason that they were falling in love with mortals was because Aphrodite and the Erotes were making them. That was the entire reason that Zeus brainwashed Aphrodite and how Aineías had been born. It was in her hymns! Seriously, it's like Lea was the only one to read the stuff for a person that barely believed in it.

"A brother and a sister," he said. "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."

"Monsters?"

"One." Grover looked nervous. "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"

Grover looked at Thalia desperately.

"Right," she said. "These half-bloods are at the dance?"

Grover nodded.

"Then let's dance," Thalia said. "Who's the monster?"

"Oh," Grover said, and looked around nervously. "You just met him. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn."

Lea groaned. "I knew something was wrong with that creep." If she had to deal with another pervert, Lea was going to scream.

There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each others faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices. Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face. Drew would probably faint and then sit off to the side and start hustling girls to fix their makeup for ten dollars. Lea knew that because she did it at school and Lea was the one to collect the money and hold up the light and mirror.

"There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo."

The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.

Annabeth said, "Do they... I mean, have you told them?"

Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."

"So let's grab them and get out of here," Lea said. This place was bothering her. The next time Percy need a favor she was going to tell him no.

Percy started forward, but Thalia put her hand on his shoulder. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in their direction. His blue eye seemed to glow. Oh, great. He had powers, too.

"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."

"How?"

"We're four powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids."

"Dancing?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"

Grover looked hurt. "I did."

"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"

"Green who?"

"Never mind. Let's dance."

"But I can't dance!"

"You can if I'm leading," Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy."

Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.

Lea looked between Annabeth and Percy, snorted and walked away. She didn't know if the girl had Percy's name or not, but she did know that she had a crush on him. Lea was so not third-wheeling her brother.

Her chest warming up was the only warning she got before a hand settled onto her shoulder.

"Khaíre, Leaneíras," the familiar voice of Hermes stated. She turned, and immediately became entranced by his sparkling green eyes before she gained control of herself.

"What are you doing here," she asked as he pulled the two of them together into a standard waltz. "Can't the monster sense you?"

Hermes snorted, mockery in his eyes and on his tongue. "He's not as powerful as he believes himself to be. On a scale of one to ten, he's a four at best in comparison to gods."

"And demigods?"

"Hm, about a seven," Hermes mused. "Again, he isn't all that great but he has poison on his side."

"Great, just what we need."

The god laughed lightly, spinning them around. The music so was not the kind to be dancing a ballroom waltz to, but honestly, who was going to tell him that? "So, what has been going on with you, Leaneíras?" He asked before taking on a slightly scolding tone. "You haven't returned to the demos Oneiron as much."

Lea shrugged. "A new spell," she smirked. "Kirkê showed it to me. I can sleep while daydreaming so now I can get a full nights rest even in class."

"Ahh of course," the god said. "If I knew tricking the two of you into training, I should have accounted for spells against me."

"Definitely."

"And is that all," he asked with a furrowed brow. "I hear that you have been a bit stressed."

"Stop having the stars stalk me," Lea shot back. "That's creepy."

"They're just looking out for you," he countered. "And I didn't ask them. What they do is their business."

Lea rolled her eyes.

"What's been going, beloved? You can talk to me, you know."

"Nothing."

"You're lying to the master of whispers and a teller of lies. The god of trickery and crafty wiles?"

Lea sighed, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. "I'm serious. Nothing's up except my blood pressure. I have 20 kids. So far." She shot him a glare at that. Three more of his kids had gotten claimed from what Ethan said.

Hermes laughed a little nervously. "In my defense, they were before you, mi amor. There have been no other lovers since I have received your marking."

A blush flickered onto her cheeks. He pulled one of arms from around his neck, and placed a kiss on her inner wrist. "If you placed all my past lovers in a line, you see when I was doing good and you'll see when I was doing bad." He paused as her ears started to redden. "And yet, none compare to the beauty that haunts even me even my dreams like the song of a seirên." She smiled shyly, eyes darting away from the intensity of his eyes, but he let go of her hand to tilt her face and turn it back to him "Leaneíras, as of right now, the mind of a deity is too complex for a mortal to understand and even if you were to ascend, I cannot guarantee that I would not step out if we were to ever cement our bond and marry. What I can promise, my love, is that — I look at you and I know that I am so in love with you for every second of the day. I feel as if I am intimately connected and spiritually bound to you. If I go blind, I would wish for your face to be the last that I see and know that I will still be able to know who you are just by your touch, the warmth of your body, and the gracefulness of your soul. I want to be the one that people see if they look over your shoulder for I will never be far away from you."

"You are such a flirt," she said after a moment of silence, voice a little clogged with emotion. Too many emotions. "You're a dork."

"I will flirt with you until the last seconds of time."

"You're a dork."

"Yours," he murmured. "Just yours."

Lea rolled her eyes with a brighter blush. It was almost as bad as Drew and Ethan, but then again, she didn't think anyone was as bad the two of them. (That reminded her of her indecision in learning japanese. On one hand, she would be able to understand the two of them, but on the other hand she would be able to understand the two of them.)

"You know when most people flirt with me, they don't do love confessions," she told him, watching the ways his eyes flared like mini supernovas. She inwardly smirked, tilting her head just a bit in mockery. "And it's like everybody wants to date me. Oh em gee. Hold on I'm about to make a booking site."

There was a growl in his voice, but his words were teasing. "He's flirting with you but I'm on google looking up nutrient rich soils to keep you if you were a worm."

Lea blinked, a little thrown off. "Now why the fuck am I worm?"

"It's a humus rich soil by the way." He laughed, eyes lightening just a bit. "It's the perfect habitat for a congregation of earthworms, which in turn gives nutrients back to the soil for the benefit of the accompanying crops."

Lea rolled her eyes, opening her mouth to speak when she caught sight of Percy rushing away. "What's he doing?"

"I believe he is going after the children and monster alone," Hermes commented.

"You know, every time I think I'm the drama," Lea mused. "Percy does something to remind everyone who the main character is."

He cradled her cheek, turning her gaze back to him as he brushed a thumb over her skin. "And yet, my eyes only focus on you." Lea gaped and blushed once more as he backed away from her. "I suppose I shall let you heroes do what you do best. Be careful, agapi mou. I fear the world would not survive my rage if anything were to happen to you." He pressed a kiss to her cheek and was gone before she could say anything else.

Lea stood frozen for a moment as her mark cooled before she snapped out of it.

She had a brother and some kids to save.


Somehow, Lea had been talked into letting Annabeth sneak by with her magic hat. It wasn't really that much an argument if she was honest. Lea did need to conserve her power, but at the same time, Kirkê showed her how to perform powerful spells with the least amount of mageia.

Either way, she hung back a bit with Thalia and Grover as Annabeth rushed forward to rugby tackle Percy into the ground. Lea winced because that had to been have hurt.

For a split second, Dr. Thorn was taken by surprise, so his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over their heads which worked just fine. Lea and the other advanced behind him. Thalia was wielding her great value Aigis and a huge spear that expands from this collapsible Mace canister she carries in her pocket. Dr. Thorn winced and growled when he saw it. If Lea cared enough, she'd be jealous that Thalia and Percy got the magical transforming weapons and she was just stuck with a ring.

Thalia moved in with her spear. "For Zeus!"

Thalia jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread. As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet. There was the sound of a helicopter, but Lea didn't pay it no mind, rushing around until she skidded to a stop beside her brother.

"You're hurt," she scowled, placing her hands above his body. It was easier to call up her mageia after all the practice with Kirkê and Lou Ellen. It still made her uncomfortable, but considering that this was her life now, she had to accept that she was one spell away from being a resident in Halloweentown. "Rivers must flow that blood may not. Blood be bound, and blood be clot." Percy winced as his arm seemed to twist like a towel and black sludge poured out of his arms. "Posion? Seriously?" Dammit to hell. She was going to start placing protective spells on him... she should do that anyway. Alabaster called her out on it anytime they were training, but she always forgot about it.

Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at Thalia, and the two of them looked up to see that they came from his tail?— A furry. A furry was flirting her, ew. — A leathery, scorpion like tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off Aegis, but the force of their impact knocked Thalia down. Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play—a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him.

Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form—his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.

"A manticore!" Annabeth said, now visible. Her magical New York Yankees cap had come off when she'd plowed into Percy and the kids.

"Who are you people?" Bianca di Angelo demanded. "And what is that?"

"A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"

The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward us with a snarl. Lea stood to her feet, hands rising glowing lightly with power. She had never been good at that trick to hide her mageia, but she was getting better at it.

"Get down!" Annabeth pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow as Lea chanted: "Here I sit, a humble beseecher, rid us of this infernal teacher!" The demigoddess yelped as Percy pulled her down behind his shield, the spell going array and the thorns from Dr. Thorn — how unoriginal — impacted against it with such force they dented the metal. A thwack and a yelp, and Grover landed next to them with a thud.

"Percy," Lea whined. "I had it."

"Yeah, well I wasn't taking the chances," was her brother's reply.

"Yield!" the monster roared.

"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the monster. There was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind them. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser-guided rockets. The helicopter had to be manned by mortals, but then again, their math teacher had been a Fury. Lea guessed that even monsters had day jobs.

The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction.

"No," Percy yelled as he ran out to help her. Lea scrambled to her feet as he parried away a spike that would've hit her chest. Percy raised his mangled shield and Lea raised her own flickering green shields, spreading it out to cover most of them. It was only as strong as her willpower, but at the same time, she really didn't want to see what those spikes could do to it.

Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes."

Lea narrowed her eyes, summoning her spell book to her hands. There had to be a banishing spell in there somewhere. She copied a bunch from Lou Ellen and Kirkê and after rewatching CHARMED, she was able to make a couple of their spells work for her.

Then Lea heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods. It was almost familiar.

The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.

"No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be—"

His sentence was cut short when something shot past them like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder.

He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

"Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. The arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two.

The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. Percy tried to swipe at him with his sword, but he wasn't as injured as he looked. He dodged his attack and slammed his tail into his shield, knocking Percy aside. Lea swung out with her shield, turning it into a makeshift battering ram.

Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, like Lea. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.

Lea started to smile.

Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."

One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess.

"Permission to kill, my lady?"

The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."

"Not so," another girl said. She looked a bit younger than Lea, like she was twelve or something, but then Lea's gaze warped and she could see her in another way. She stood taller and more impressive than all the nymphs accompanying her. She was wrapped the skin of a deer, and carrying a quiver on her shoulders, while in one hand she holds a torch, in the other two serpents; by her side a wolf, of a breed suitable for hunting, stood its ground. Her auburn hair was gathered in an intricate braid, but Lea knew those eyes anywhere.

The woman that rejected Lea from her hunt, but taught her how to hogtie a man using only a shoe tie.

Hermes' older sister.

Lady Artemis of the Silver Bow.

The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoe, permission granted."

The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!"

He lunged at Thalia and Percy, knowing they were weak and dazed.

"No.'" Annabeth yelled, and she charged at the monster.

"Get back, half-blood!" the girl with the circlet said. "Get out of the line of fire!"

But Annabeth leaped onto the monster's back and drove her knife into his mane. The manticore howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as Annabeth hung on for dear life.

"Fire!" Zoe ordered.

"No!" Percy screamed as Lea yelled out: "What's theirs is yours ,What's yours is theirs, I offer up this gift to share, Switch the bodies through the air."

The Hunters let their arrows fly as green orbs swirled around Lea and Annabeth. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"

And before anyone could react, the monster, with Leaneira still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness

The last thing Leaneira thought before darkness hit them: I did not think this through.


Word Count: 7616

Notes:

Thalia and Annabeth canonically went to a boarding school in Brooklyn during TTC. It was an all-girls boarding school which is a neat hint to the Hunters' subplot. I decided to change it to the BAG because it just made more sense to me.

MS-54 is a New York City public school that Percy attended during TTC. While it is never officially mentioned, it is assumed that Percy was expelled from this school as well, seeing how in BotL, he is going to orientation at Goode High School. But he's at BAG because I said so. "But it's not a good idea for a lot of demigods to be around each other." You have the daughter of Ζεύς, the children of Poseidôn, the daughters of Aphroditê because Lacy goes there too, and the "daughter" of Athênê alongside Medea and Trent who are the children of Trivia (Hekatê's roman form) and you think that they cant handle some monsters? And besides, I'm operating under the assumption that there are different campuses. My high school had 3 and my graduating class was like 280 ppl? about that much, yeah.

What I like the most about adding characters from In The Heights; specifically Usnavi is that Anthony Ramos who plays him in the film adaptation grew up in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. And Drew is from Brooklyn! It's a bit of a stretch, but I like how it connects Drew and Lea.

The idea of Lea and Percy "working" in the shops comes from TLT where Percy talks about doing odd jobs back in the beginning chapters to get away from Gabe.

In the Heights is set in Washington Heights which is in the same neighborhood as Inwood. And the city blocks stretching from 145th Street in Washington Heights to 220th Street in Inwood have always been a Little Dominican Republic.

The spells brought to you today come from CHARMED and Sabrina: The Teenage Witch - the Archieverse

TTC started a week before winter break. Here, it's starting two days after. So this goes from December 12th until December 21st instead of December 14th.

The homeric hymns starts with stating how Hestia, Artemis, and Athênê are immune to Aphrodite's powers. And then it goes (paraphasing): "As for all the rest, there is nothing that has escaped Aphroditê: none of the blessed gods nor any of mortal humans. She even led astray Ζεύς. Even he is deceived by her, whenever she wants, as she mates him with mortal women with the greatest of ease, unbeknownst to Hêrê, his wife. She was the most glorious female to be born to Kronos and Rheia. And Ζεύς made her his honorable wife. Ζεύς put sweet desire in Aphroditê's spirit—desire to make love to a mortal man, so that not even she may go without mortal lovemaking and get a chance to gloat at all the other gods, with her sweet laughter, Aphroditê, lover of smiles, boasting that she can make the gods sleep with mortal women, who then bear mortal sons to immortal fathers, and how she can make the goddesses sleep with mortal men. And so Ζεύς put sweet desire in her spirit—desire for Ankhísēs."

This chapter had a different ending.

Translation (Spanish):

pero estás demasiado delgado - but you're too thin

Eres demasiado suave, amor - you're too soft, love

La gente te lastimará si las dejas - people will hurt you if you let them.

Translation (Japanese):

たなか えり is suppose to be Tanaka Aeri (Aeri being the japanese name I chose for Drew), but like I used google translate so take it with a grain of salt.

中邑 イーサン is suppose to be Nakamura īsan (which is "Ethan" written in Japanese katakana characters.)