Chapter 2

"Evie darling, your tea's getting cold."

"Sorry…Grandma."

Evie sat with Circe at the dining room table, still processing the fact that her long lost grandmother was in fact a goddess of magic who made a kettle of tea appear with the wave of her hand.

"It's just… a lot to take in," Evie managed "I mean, you barely look my mom's age."

"One of the many benefits of being a goddess. I could've taught your mother how to magically preserve her natural beauty," Circe commented, her voice dripping with disappointment "If she hadn't been so obsessed with marrying that widowed king."

"You mean my father?"

Circe nodded. "But I suppose if she hadn't, I wouldn't get the chance to know you. Uma tells your quite the young businesswoman."

Evie's spine went rigid. "You know Uma?"

Circe nodded and dunked a cookie into her tea.

"She washed up on my island about a month ago. Half dead from exhaustion, poor thing."

"Where is she?"

"Off running a small errand for me," Circe said cryptically. The goddess waved a hand through the air and one of her granddaughter's design books appeared on the table.

"I must say Evie, you have real talent," she praised, flipping through the designs "But I think I may know how to take your designs to the next level."

"How?"

"Magic," Circe answered obviously "Magic is in your blood, Evie. Magic could make you the greatest fashion designer in all of Auradon."

"Oh, I don't do magic," Evie said dismissively "That's Mal's thing."

"Your mother never taught you anything?"

"Just how to use the magic mirror. Mommy turned her back on magic after her mountain hike with the seven dwarves. She needed to get a lot of work done to get rid of that old lady disguise."

"I could teach you," Circe offered "I could take you to my enchanted island, where I raised your mother. We could get to know each other."

"Grandma…I'd love to. But I can't. I have school and a dozen orders to finish by the end of the week."

"Evie," Circe spoke in a soft, soothing tone "I've never asked anything of you, have I?"

Evie's eyes turned glassy as she fell victim to her grandmother's charm-speak. "No Grandma…you've never asked anything of me."

"You're overworked. You need to rest," Circe insisted "All this pressure you've put on yourself, darling. Business school, your company, helping the queen looking out for all the VKs, it can be overwhelming for any young woman. You need to set aside the time to take care of yourself."

"I need to rest," Evie echoed "Take care myself."

"Yes, you do. And it just so happens that I own a fabulous spa resort on my island," Circe remembered "You can get a seaweed wrap, a deep tissue massage and spend some quality with your loving grandmother. Now doesn't that sound nice?"

"Yes Grandma," said Evie "That sounds very nice."

"Evie!" Doug hurried into the dining room, coming to an awkward halt at the sight of the woman having tea with his girlfriend.

Circe's once pleasant expression turned sour. "You must be the boyfriend."

"Do it."

"No."

"Do it," Percy pleaded.

"No," Carlos echoed.

"It's the only way."

"I don't care, I'm not going to throw you under the bus."

Carlos and Percy were walking down the halls of Auradon Prep, dreading the moment they reached office of the school's headmistress, Fairy Godmother.

"You are the senior captain of the varsity tourney team and the poster child for VK reform. You cannot get kicked out of school," Percy insisted.

"Neither can you. And you don't know we're getting kicked out of school," said Carlos

"Bro. I always get kicked out of school."

"Not anymore. Look, just let me do the talking okay?" Carlos asked "It's my girlfriend's mom. She loves me."

As the two entered the waiting room outside Fairy Godmother office, they found three familiar faces waiting for them. Annabeth, Nico and Carlos' girlfriend Jane.

Annabeth now wore an Auradon Prep debate team blazer over her blouse, indicating that she had aced her tryout, which Percy predicted. Jane sat in her cheerleader uniform, no doubt for the back-to-school prep rally scheduled for this afternoon. Between the two girls sat Nico, wearing an all-black ensemble that included a baggy t-shirt, ripped jeans, a leather blazer and a silk scarf with blue holographic ghost designs sewn into it.

"What are you guys doing here?" Nico asked.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," said Carlos "Percy thinks we're getting kicked out of school."

"No, I'm going to get kicked out school," Percy corrected "When we get in there, just tell Jane's mom I did it. My permanent record will take care of the rest."

"Percy calm down," Annabeth instructed "You're not getting kicked out of school."

"I always get kicked out of school."

"Not anymore. New home new start, remember? Besides, what could you have possibly done to get kicked out of school on the first day?"

"I don't know. Maybe the pool got flooded and they decided to blame the guy with the magic water powers?"

"That's profiling," said Carlos.

"That's my life."

"Percy calm down," Jane said with a laugh "Mom probably just want some seniors to help with the pep rally."

"So why I am here?" Nico asked.

The Fairy Godmother stepped out of her office, a tentative expression on her face. "They're ready to see you now."

"Aren't you the one who wanted to see us?" Carlos asked.

"Oh no. The king and queen just thought this would be less conspicuous."

All eyes fell to Nico.

"Don't look at me," he said, leading the others inside the office, where they found Ben and Mal behind Fairy Godmother's desk.

Ben was dressed in usual blue suit. Mal wore a dark purple dress with a dragon scale pattern. Her eyes were glowing green. Clearly, the queen was not happy.

"Uh, hey sis," Nico greeted nervously "What's up?"

Mal said nothing. She just glared at Percy and let out a reptilian hiss.

"Oh great," Percy muttered "I'm not just getting kicked out of school. I'm getting kicked out the kingdom."

"You're not getting kicked out the kingdom," said Annabeth.

Percy nodded to Mal. "She's looking at me like I'm going to kicked out of the kingdom."

"We're not kicking you out the kingdom," Ben assured.

"I want to kick him out the kingdom," Mal snarled.

Ben gently rubbed his wife's shoulders.

"Honey," he said in a gentle voice "do you really want your cousin out of the kingdom?"

"Yes," Mal answered quickly "He ruined our morning off."

"I did what?" Percy asked.

"Mal's been a little…stressed out lately," Ben explained.

"Stressed out is an understatement. Do you think it's fun being queen, Percy?" Mal asked "Do you think it's easy?"

Percy said nothing. He figured being queen meant being waited on by a bunch of servants and going to fancy balls every night. But something told him that wasn't the right answer.

"Council meetings, Isle meetings, ball meetings!" Mal listed off "People demanding decisions from me from before I wake up to after I go to bed. Every. Single. Day! Being queen is not fun, Percy. It is exhausting. It is maddening. It makes me want to set things on fire. So you know what Ben decided to do?"

"Uh,"

"He got me the morning off. My sweet, caring, considerate husband got me a morning off," Mal answered gratefully "So I could relax. And sleep in. And enjoy breakfast in bed. Something I haven't even been able to think about doing since our honeymoon! But then, just before we were about to enjoy a nice romantic breakfast in bed, I got an Iris-message. Which meant I had to get out of bed and drag myself to Auradon Prep. Even though we. Just. GRADUATED! "

Percy blinked as Mal's hair burst into a billow blue flame.

"That sounds tough. What does any of this have to do with me?"

"The Iris-message was about you," Ben answered "It was Jason and Leo. They only called us because you wouldn't answer."

Percy frowned. "Jason and Leo never called me."

"Yes they did," Mal argued.

"No, they didn't."

"Yes they did!"

"Okay you two," Annabeth said, stepping between the two grandchildren of Kronos "calm down. Clearly, Jason and Leo tried to get in touch with Percy. They couldn't, so they called you. Mal, what was the call about?"

"Uma."

Percy felt a familiar knot twist in the stomach. For the past month, he'd been searching for Uma. Leading search parties all across the oceans of Auradon. Coordinating with the generals of Ariel and Eric's navy, the merman of Atlantica, the sea monsters of Porto Roso, even a school of vegetarian sharks from Australia. And in all that time, nothing.

"My sister's at Camp Half-Blood?"

"She was," said Ben "Uma came to Camp Half-Blood about two hours ago. She kidnapped a bunch of female campers right in their sleep."

"Jason and Leo said she used the Mist to put them under some kind of spell," Mal chimed in "with some sort of enchanted music. Percy, Jason and Leo say Uma's working with someone named Circe."

Percy turned pale at the mention of that name. His memory raced back to when he was thirteen years old, trapped in a rodent cage with the cruel goddess of magic looking down at him. "Are you sure?"

Ben nodded. "Jason said her logo was on the back of Uma's boat."

"Who's Circe?" Carlos asked.

"A daughter of Hecate," Annabeth answered "A goddess of magic."

"Good goddess or bad goddess?"

"Bad," Nico answered "Very, very bad. Circe's operated within the sea of monsters since the ancient times. She lures girls to her island with the promise of empowerment through the instruction of magic."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Mal commented.

"Except Circe isn't the kind-hearted feminist she makes herself out to be," Annabeth insisted "She doesn't want equality between the sexes, she just wants women to become the dominant gender. She thinks all men are pigs, which is why her signature move is turning guys into actual pigs. Or guinea pigs if she's low on storage space."

"Our friend Reyna used to live on Circe's Island with her sister," Nico informed "When she first got to Camp Jupiter, she looked at every guy like he was a rapid dog, ready to pounce the second she let her guard down. I guess it didn't help that the first men she saw when she left were a bunch of bloodthirsty pirates."

"Still, taking in recruits by force has never been Circe's style. Whatever it is she's planning, she's desperate," Annabeth thought aloud "and in my experience, a desperate goddess is a dangerous goddess."

"This is my fault," Percy whispered.

Annabeth reached over and took his hand. "No, it isn't."

"Yeah. It is," Percy insisted, his eyes churning with waves of guilt and remorse. "I was so focused on building a life for myself here, I let finding Uma fall to the backburner. Not anymore. I'm going to C.C.'s little spa resort of doom," he vowed "and I'm bringing my sister home."

"C.C.?" Mal's face turned pale. "You just called Circe C.C."

"Yeah. That's what she goes by these days, C.C." Percy frowned as he noticed the look on the queen's face "Why?"

"Evie," Mal said in unison with Carlos.

"What about Evie?" Percy asked.

"Mal," Ben did not like the look in his wife's face "What's wrong?"

"We need to find Evie," she said nervously "right now."

She was just about to explain why when her phone started to ring. She read the caller ID and immediately answered it. "Evie!"

"Hi Mal," Evie said in a distant dreamy voice.

"Evie are you okay?" Mal asked quickly "Where are you?"

"I'm fine," Evie assured her "I just wanted to let you know I'm going to be out of town for a few days. I'm going to the spa with my grandmother."

"Your grandmother?" Mal's blood turned cold "Evie, do not go anywhere with her. Stay away from her!"

"Hello Mal."

Mal's fear turned to fury when she heard a stranger's voice come on to the phone.

"So nice to finally speak with you," Circe said.

"I know who you are," Mal snarled as her eyes started to glow "And if you hurt Evie, I swear to Hades I will,"

"Now why would I want to hurt my only granddaughter?" Circe asked "We're just going off on a little spa trip. You're more than welcome to join us, Mal. I'm sure your friend Annabeth can show you the way. We better get going. Say goodbye Eve."

"Goodbye Mal."

"Evie? Evie!" Mal cried. Dread filled her chest as the line went dead.

"Mal, talk to us. What's wrong with, whoa!" Nico jumped back as his sister took off for the door, nearly knocking her little brother down in the process.

"She's headed to Evie's!" said Carlos "She's in trouble. Come on!"

The descendants of Olympus ran straight out of the main campus, pilling into the royal limo, chasing after to Mal as she flew in her dragon form.

The car came to screeching halt in front of Evie's castle. Ben lead Carlos and Jane through the front door. Percy lead Annabeth and Nico around the back, where Mrs. O'Leary was barking frantically while trying to break free of her celestial bronze chain.

Percy gently stroked the monster's hide.

"What's wrong girl?" he asked as his pet started to whine "Something got you spooked?"

The he noticed that the back door was unlocked. Percy uncapped Riptide. Annabeth drew her knife from the back of her jeans. Nico tapped a button on the watch on his wrist and it transformed into a circular stygian iron shield. As they prepared to search the castle, they found their rest of their friends in Evie's design studio, surrounding Mal as she cried on the floor.

"Mal," Nico knelt down in front of his sister "Mal, what's wrong?"

"She took her," Mal's voice wavered as the tears streamed down her cheeks "She took Evie."

"Who sis? Who took Evie? What does of this have to do with Circe and Evie's grandma?"

"Circe is Evie's grandmother," Carlos said gravely "We just didn't know it until now."

"Ursula, Mother Gothel, Maleficent. They were all taught magic by the same person: a woman they all affectionately called Aunt C.C. The mother of the Evil Queen."

"Holy Hades," Nico gasped.

"No. No, that doesn't make any sense," Percy insisted "Even if you could find a guy who could survive long enough to make a baby with Circe, that kid would've been on the list of Auradon half-bloods I got from Olympus. And Evie's mom was not on that list."

"Neither was Henry. Or any of Triton's kids. They'd already been claimed. What if Evie's mom was claimed too?" Annabeth's eyes filled with dread as she put the pieces together "The last time Percy and I saw Circe, her home was being ravaged by an army of pirates. Pirates that, according to Reyna, burned half the island to the ground. Now Circe has a daughter of Poseidon rounding up a bunch of pre-trained demigod girls,"

"While Circe bonds with her granddaughter Evie," Ben finished "Best friend to queen of Auradon who knows the location of each and every villain and VK with an affinity for magic."

"Can you guys come out of Athena mode for five seconds and tells us what in Hades you're talking about?" Percy pleaded.

"Circe's planning to invade Auradon. To claim it as her own. With Evie and Uma's help, success would be...highly probable." Annabeth's eyes drifted to the green suit jacket and glasses in Jane's hands. Doug's suit jacket and glasses.

"Where did you find those?"

"Under the dinning room table. You don't think?"

"Circe's a master of charmspeak," Annabeth said with a tremble in her voice "If she put a spell of Evie, Doug could've broken it with one kiss. Strategically, it made sense."

The pipes started to creak and moan as Percy balled his fists, his eye like twin green hurricanes. Despite all the trouble he'd caused when he first got here, the VKs had all welcomed them with open arms. Jay taught Percy to play tourney to help his chances at a getting an athletic scholarship for college. Carlos and Jane convinced Fairy Godmother to let them be roommates with Annabeth and Percy during their senior year. Evie let them stay in her castle until the school year started. And Mal? Mal was their first demigod that ever really treated Percy like a cousin. Auradon was his home now. And there was no way he was going to let some D-Class goddess from when he was thirteen ruin the place.

"Who wants to help me send Circe to the bottom of the ocean?"

Mal glanced at Carlos who nodded in agreement. "Make it the bottom of Tartarus, and you've got a deal."

"I like the way you think dragon queen."