"You're a psychopath."

"I'm not a psychopath."

"You are one hundred percent, without a doubt, one of the most psychopathic people I've ever met," Thalia muttered. She pursed her lips and made eye contact with me. A spark of light flashed through her irises like a surge of electricity arcing out of a wall socket. A falling leaf sparked and danced around us, jumping up and down like a fish on a hook. "I can forgive a lot of things. A lot. But this…this is too far. I think we need to get you some help. We need to talk to someone. Chiron, maybe? Lady Hestia? Does your mom know? You know, I actually went to this psychiatrist as a kid—"

"Yeah, and you turned out so great because of it. You're such an extremely well-adjusted individual," I scoffed, biting into a white flour tortilla. The tangy taste of sour cream danced across my tongue, alongside a chunk of pico de gallo. Thalia watched in disgust. I swallowed the bite and said, "The board should revoke that therapist's license. Don't you think you're slightly overreacting? Like, maybe just a little? A tiny, cutesy, eensy-weensy bit?"

"I went to a psychiatrist. Not a therapist."

"Right, and I'm not a demigod, I'm the son of Poseidon. Same difference," I took another bite.

"Whatever. And, to answer your earlier question; I'm a Grace," Thalia turned her nose up at me. Her necklace rested atop her collarbone like a drop of liquid moonlight—a splash of silver swimming amidst a sea of sunkissed skin. I tried not to let my eyes wander, "We don't ever overreact. We react the proper amount. Everyone else just isn't reacting enough."

"Spoken like a true daughter of Zeus," I returned dryly, ducking as Thalia threw a chip at my face. It whizzed past my head and went sailing into the canopy of trees behind us. I heard a distant crack. "Hey! See! That was a perfectly good chip you just tossed away. Some chipmunk is going to find that and choke on it."

"Whatever. Why don't you go ahead and join it, then?" Thalia grumbled, swinging her legs and kicking her dirty shoe against my calf. She wore a pair of cloth shorts that cut off a few inches below her waist, so her bare leg rested against mine as she munched away.

Thalia bit into her burrito, and a salsa trail leaked down the corner of her mouth. It slid past her bottom lip and trailed down her neck, streaking past her necklace like a river of blood. She caught my gaze and said, "You're lucky I haven't thrown you off this cliff already."

"Testy. Still bitter about that game of ping pong?" I grinned. I leaned forward a bit and cleaned up the salsa with my thumb, digging my thumb into her skin and rubbing it over her collarbone. I pressed down a little, and she stopped chewing and shuddered, "Such a sore loser."

I flicked the salsa off my fingers. I twisted a bit of mana around the liquid parts of it, looping my intent through the water like a coquette bow and imagining the transformation in my mind.

The water bubbled for a second and fluttered into a makeshift butterfly, its lopsided wings beating relentlessly and carrying it over the cliffside.

Thalia's neck darkened around where my thumb had been just a moment ago. The blush slowly spread to her face, covering her skin in adorable red splotches. She kind of looked like a chicken pox victim, but she was easily the hottest chicken pox victim I'd ever seen. "Shut up."

I licked the remaining salsa off my fingertips and hummed. "As you command, Thals."

After training for a few hours with [Lunar Lullaby] active, I managed to scrounge a few more points for my [STR] attribute. It was nothing to write home about, but all progress is good progress, right?

I walked myself through a quick back-day routine, followed by some core training and flowing through basic swordsmanship sets. I wanted to tighten up the mechanics as much as I could.

I tried to imagine Luke guiding me through the motions. When I first started training at camp, we used to have this game. Not much of a game, really, at least for me, but Luke called it "Form Fighting."

It was kind of like rock-paper-scissors. Luke would throw a move at me—something like a slash, or jab—and tell me to react. My job was to respond by settling into the best stance to fight back.

I wasn't supposed to throw a move of my own, but rather, just get into the right stance for the job. If I wasn't, he'd slap me with the flat of his blade. Something about how 'pain would help solidify the lesson.'

And yeah, the first few days, my ribcage was all different kinds of black and purple.

The point of the game—beyond child abuse—was to teach me the effectiveness of the stances. The reasoning behind each movement. Being forced to execute each stance as a reaction to something else gave me that extra moment of introspection. I had to stop and fully realize why I was about to move the way I was, or risk being slapped around by a sword.

The underlying lesson there was also that just about anyone could pull out the right move in the heat of the moment, but to do it reliably each time? It would take a foundation, a strong foundation at that. Learning the minutia behind each movement was also how I'd tighten up my efficiency. It's much easier to shave off time and exertion when you know the ins and outs of a movement.

I tried to play it with myself. It wasn't as effective, but I still managed to flow through the mechanics and lessen the dip of energy between the movements. At the least, it was a good refresher on some of the moves I'd been executing subconsciously for a year or so, now.

After a few minutes off that, I finished the workout off with some mixed cardio work with a boxing bag, and a few miles around the camp with a weighted vest on, all for four more [DEX] points.

I'd been tempted to prestige one of my swordsmanship forms, but Artemis' warning was still fresh in my mind. I wanted to be careful.

The last thing I wanted to do was end up prestiging a perk I needed and get plastered out there.

I guess, on the other side of that conundrum, I played around with the idea of prestiging a perk I wasn't using that often while I was on my run.

You know, just to get an idea of how good the prestige system even was, but I didn't end up deciding one way or another, really—mainly because with Thalia still at the gym, I didn't get enough alone time.

I probably could've done it in the shower, but I was too busy having a mini-concert, and I wasn't going to let anything get in the way of my Taylor Swift time.

Yeah, I'm a swiftie. Get over it. Piper put me on last year, and I haven't looked back. We actually played around with the idea of seeing her live, but my imminent death and the whole monsters-trying-to-kill-us thing kind of put a damper on that.

Anyway, after Thalia and I were both done working out, and I destroyed her in a game of ping-pong, we went back to that Mexican food place.

I was starving, so I did their grande-apetito value meal, which came with a burrito, some chips, a drink, and oddly enough, a bottle of Pepto Bismol. I also had to sign a waiver form saying that I wouldn't come and sue them if I had a 'laxative-esque bowel movement' after eating the meal, but I was so hungry, I would've signed a waiver giving them my pants if they wanted me to.

Once I paid for the food, I almost cleaned it off the red plastic tray right then and there, but Thalia convinced me it was a wonderful morning for a picnic, so we took our food and found a place to eat in peace.

We settled on a patch of grass near the cliff. I wasn't sure if she remembered or not, but this was the first place we'd had a real conversation with each other, just a few hours after she'd been turned back into a human.

Zeus' Fist loomed behind us like a constant reminder that the Big Z was watching, the towering heap of jagged boulders jutting into the sky and casting a wide shadow over the both of us.

It was great to duck in, away from the harsh afternoon sun.

A bunch of creepy crawlies moved between the cracks of the rocks, shuffling out of the direct sunlight. A glint of water shone beneath the cracks, shimmering like a disco ball. Once in a while, one of the pockets of light hit Thalia square in the face, illuminating her head in a white aura.

Behind us, the forest stood in silent watch, a dense tapestry of shadows and rustling leaves. The scent of pine and damp earth mingled with the dry air, and all kinds of animals peered at us curiously.

Especially the birds. I think they could tell Thalia was some sort of royalty, but they weren't sure. A peregrine falcon made about five rounds around us before deciding she ultimately wasn't worth it.

Ahead, the sea stretched out in a shimmering expanse, sunlight dancing on its surface. The salty tang of the ocean air was sharp and refreshing, the rhythmic crash of waves against the rocky cliffside a constant, thundering heartbeat.

Between the towering rocks and the endless horizon, we were cradled in a perfect balance of land and sea, light and darkness. Yin and yang. The perfect blend of Zeus and Poseidon.

"You know, that wasn't very friendly of you," Thalia noted, her cheeks still flushed. She chewed her lip. "Well, actually, it was too friendly."

"Sorry, son of Poseidon here," I shrugged. Another crash of waves sent a sea breeze curling up in front of us like confetti blaring out of a cannon. It settled on my skin and coalesced around my wrist like a bracelet. "When I see liquid somewhere it's not supposed to be, it's my job to intervene. My divine right. That supersedes your silly ground rules."

"Weren't you the one that—" Thalia began, right as my salsa butterfly drifted back over the cliff and flew by her. She watched the contraption corkscrew into the ground and sputter out like an airplane propeller being shut off. "Right."

"I'm the heir to Atlantis," I reminded her, taking another bite. A red pepper slid across my teeth. A bit of juice splurted as I bit into it. "It's my royal duty. Maybe just don't eat like a slob and you'll be okay next time."

Thalia took a long, sloppy bite. "Like this? Bite me, Jackson."

My lips twitched. "Are you offering?"

"You couldn't handle it," Thalia shook her head. She pointed at my burrito. "Anyone who just gets sour cream and guacamole couldn't handle this."

"Salsa just isn't that big of a deal."

"It is too!"

"Look, if I wanted to eat something spicy, I'd eat something spicy," I shook my head. She nudged my shoulder with hers, and I almost dropped my burrito. I glared at her, crumpled up a napkin, and tossed it at her face. "I just don't want to. That's not why I eat a burrito. I like the guac and sour cream."

"So, you're saying you can handle the spice," Thalia said. Her words were sharp and sarcastic, burning through the air like a crack of lightning. She rummaged through the bag of chips between us. My bag, by the way. "And that you just don't want to."

"Yes, that's what I'm saying," I returned. She accidentally crumpled the bag, and the donkey logo on the side suffered as a result, its cartoonish head crushed like a grape. "I'm glad your ears work better than your tastebuds. It's objectively true—the burrito just doesn't taste as good when you mix like five different versions of hot sauce in there. What are you even doing at that point?"

"Okay, then, if spice isn't the issue, why don't you take a bite of my burrito?" Thalia teased, angling the tinfoil-wrapped tortilla at me. Another glint from within Zeus' Fist streaked across my eyes with a glare of sunlight, like the lens flare of a camera. "Go on, heir to Atlantis. Take a bite. Don't be shy. I don't think your fans would appreciate you pussying out."

"The heir doesn't turn down challenges," I said in a falsetto tone, taking the offered food. I glanced at it for a second. All jokes aside, Thalia was a sloppy eater. The burrito was so crudely bitten that it looked more like someone had run it over with an ATV. Some of the beans were leaking out down the side of the tinfoil, hiding amongst the folds of silver, and the tortilla was mangled, glistening with saliva. "This isn't very sanitary, you know. Your mouth was on this. I think. I can't tell. Either that or a rabid dog found this."

"Ha, ha. And, now you care about where my mouth's been?" Thalia scoffed. She scooched closer to me and pressed her lips to my ear. A hot rush of air tickled my earlobe, and she ran her finger up and down my forearm, "Stop being a scaredy cat and bite the flour. I know you don't care about germs, because I seem to remember an incident with a little black dress where—"

"Alright, alright," I grumbled as a pleasant warmth spread through my chest. My fingertips throbbed to the beat of my heart. Thalia gave me a sultry smile and moved her hand down to my thigh, resting it just under my shorts. "Stop being such a tease. You made your point."

"Just being sure," Thalia muttered, biting her lip. Her fingers scraped the underside of my knee. "Take a bite."

As I bit into the burrito, my teeth sank through layers of soft tortilla, juicy meat, and creamy guacamole. It wasn't all bad.

Then, suddenly, a burst of intense heat exploded in my mouth, and I felt like I'd just kissed a fire-breathing dragon. A blaze of heat emanated in the back of my throat.

"Really tasty," I managed, calmly handing the burrito back to Thalia, who watched the scene with an impressed look. A smirk danced at the edge of her lips as she slowly inched her hand forward, gliding her fingers across my skin. "Maybe put some more spice in it next time if you're going to, ah, talk all that trash."

"Right. Oh, I see one of the seeds in your mouth. That's going to pack a punch."

"Not sweating it," I said as my eyes watered, and my tongue sizzled as if it was trying to melt out of my mouth. My teeth felt extra sensitive—it hurt when I sucked in a breath. It reminded me of this one time I ate an entire family-sized bag of Sour Skittles and my mouth was covered in sores. Her hand closed around my thigh—or tried to, anyway. It wasn't big enough, so she just ended up gripping my quad tighter. "You Graces are all talk. Speaking of which, where's lover boy? I thought he'd be out and about by now."

Thalia removed her hand instantly and pulled her knees up to her chest. She gazed out at the cliff as if she were debating hauling herself off the edge. I ate some more chips as I waited for her to reply, but I must've gotten halfway through the bag before she even stirred.

I waved my hand in front of her face. "Thalia?"

"Oh. Right. You haven't been here lately," Thalia muttered, the light in her eyes fading somewhat. She put her burrito down on the ground, and a group of ants eagerly piled into the food, carrying away microscopic bits of cheese and beans. "Jason's in Saratoga Springs right now with, um, Amy."

I was on edge instantly—it wasn't like Thalia to waste good food. Especially not good Mexican food. Plus, what reason would Jason have to be in Saratoga Springs of all places, with Aphrodite? She mumbled, "My, uh, mom died. A few days ago."

"Oh," I said dumbly. My tongue felt like it was going numb. I wrapped my arm around Thalia's shoulder and brought her in. She moved her hand up to grab mine, curling her hand around two of my fingertips. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Thalia said as her lip wavered. She shook her head and blinked a few times. Her other hand went up to her necklace, and she wrapped her fingers around it like squeezing it was a stress ball. "She was a bad woman through and through. The shit she put us through…and she lied to me for years, letting me think Jason was dead. She didn't even fucking care. Even when I left, the only reason she called was because it made her look bad. She said people would think she was a bad mom if I didn't come back. Like losing Jason wasn't already doing that. She's just so…she was just so…"

"She was still your mom," I reasoned. Thalia's eyes misted over. Anxiety wrapped a burning rope around my tongue—actually, maybe that was the hot sauce. "I know you didn't like her—"

"Didn't like her? She used to do drugs at the kitchen table," Thalia spat. A tear bubbled on her eyelid and slid out. Her eyebrows creased her forehead. "She'd…she'd bring different guys around every night, and tell me to take Jason in the other room and keep him alive. And when she was recognized in public? Don't even get me started. Being with Zeus gave her the kind of rush she spent the rest of her life trying to feel again, and she ruined both of our lives in the process. She was nowhere near fit to be a mother."

"Yes, but—"

"You don't get it, okay? So just stop," Thalia shoved my hand away, and scampered to her feet. The winds roared around her, whipping her hair back and tossing our food into the forest. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and her chest rose and fell rapidly, breaths hiccuping out of her throat in bouts of three or four. I was torn between listening to her and rushing over to administer CPR. "You got to grow up with perfect Sally Jackson. And when you got here, Lady Hestia took to you like a moth to flame. We've all seen how she dotes on you. Even your dad likes you. You have no idea what it's like with one bad parent, let alone two."

A memory of Smelly Gabe flashed through my mind. I could still see his tobacco-stained teeth, beady little eyes, and bulging stomach. The brown on his teeth melted into the bruise I'd seen on my mom's face after I returned Zeus' bolt, and I clamped down on the anger that ran through my arms like a live wire.

A splattering of hurt sizzled on top of the anger—I'd told Thalia about Gabe. Not in detail, but enough that she'd be able to put two and two together, especially given her background.

I didn't even really want to, but it had been right after Persephone had been pushing me to open up more to the people around me. Thalia had let me vent about it and offered me comfort near the end of it.

And now she just threw it back in my face. Even if it was by accident, it felt like she was just erasing an entire part of my childhood like dry-erase markers on a whiteboard—an important one, at that.

As I looked at her heaving and gasping like a wounded beast, I considered the fact that sometimes, I felt like it was easier dealing with her as a tree.

"I'm just saying you need to confront the emotion," I muttered gently, lifting a hand to protect my eyes from the wind. They cut into the skin of my knuckles like a ton of tiny needles. Thalia scrunched her face up as I said, "If you bottle it up, it's going to tear you apart. I don't need to have a bad parent to tell you that."

"You—I—" Thalia's eyes blazed, and the grass between us sparked, wisps of smoke curling around my ankles. The smell of burnt grass mingled with the salty tang of the ocean, and suddenly, the blend of Poseidon and Zeus didn't seem so perfect. Her hands trembled, and she looked like she was struggling to talk, "Oh, what, so you go to a little bit of therapy and you suddenly think you have the right to tell—"

"Okay," I cut her off, ignoring the bitter taste of annoyance that was forming in my mouth. I forgot how temperamental she was sometimes. And clearly, I'd hit her in the middle of whatever the emotional equivalent of an Achilles heel was. "I'm sorry. You're right. I don't know anything about it. My bad for saying something. Just know that I'm here for you if you want to talk. Whenever you want to talk."

"Percy," Thalia mumbled, the wind fading a bit. She reached forward, her eyes widening as if she'd just remembered something important. "Wait, no, I…I didn't mean—"

"Look, it's fine," I forced a smile. "Let's just head back. I think I need a nap. I think there's a Capture the Flag game later, and I need to be on my A game for it."

"Percy," Thalia said gently, stepping closer to me. She crouched down and cupped my face, tiny streams of static electricity causing my face to go numb. Her eyes dropped to my lips, and back up to my eyes as she buried her face in the crook of my neck. She mumbled against my skin, "I—"

"Percy!" Piper's voice came echoing through the forest. Thalia hastily backed up, almost tripping over an overgrown tree root. Piper's head appeared, the top of her head pushing out of the shrubbery. "There you are—whoa, sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all," I returned. Thalia raised her eyebrows in surprise, but I pushed on. Having Piper assume that we were making out would be easier than diving into the complex mess of emotions between Thalia and me at the moment. "What's up, Pipes?"

"I needed to talk to you about something," Piper said, her voice kind of strained. Thalia's perturbed expression softened into an understanding look. "And, um, I just couldn't hold it back anymore. Do you have a second?"

"Yes," I blinked a few times. Curiosity bubbled in the back of my mind. What in the world could Piper need to talk to me about? We'd just spoken for a solid three hours last night. Was she still mad about before? "Sure. Of course. Thalia, do you mind?"

"Nope," Thalia said, still looking at me like she wanted to punch, kiss, and hug me, all at the same time. She did an exaggerated step back and bounced on the balls of her feet, clapping her hands together. "Sorry. For, um, yeah. I'll see you later, alright, Kelp Head?"

"Sounds good, Pinecone Face," I nodded. "Rest up for tomorrow. I'm not taking it easy on you like I did today."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Thalia walked by Piper, pausing to squeeze her shoulder. She said something under her breath that was just low enough for me to miss. Piper nodded.

"Keep your head on, Seaweed Brain," Thalia called out as she disappeared into the canopy of trees.

"Coffee?" Piper asked, and I noticed the two paper cups in her hand for the first time. I blinked, and Piper hastily added, "Actually, one of these is hot chocolate. The barista said you didn't like coffee."

"I just had a burrito," I said, and Piper smirked. My mind was still spinning from Thalia's weird behavior, and that odd, significant moment I'd just witnessed between her and Piper, but I'd never turn down some hot chocolate—especially since most of my lunch was now dispersed throughout the forest. "Screw it. You know me too well. Hand it over!"

"I remembered you saying you had a second stomach for chocolate," Piper grinned. The heat emanating from the cup warmed my fingertips as I turned it over in my hands. Demeter's visage greeted me from the side of the cup, her head covered in a wreath of vines. "So, I figured I'd surprise you. Since you're back and all."

"Thoughtful," I pressed the lid to my lips and drank. The sweetness didn't help get rid of the bitter taste from before, but I still appreciated the gesture. She'd even remembered to get whipped cream for me. "Thank you. I need to ask, though—where's the sudden streak of selflessness coming from? Are you feeling alright? What happened to the little girl who stole my chips?"

"She grew up," Piper teased, her smile wavering for a second. She gestured toward Zeus' Fist. "Shall we?"

"After you, my lady," I declined my head and bowed.

"You're so corny sometimes, Percy," Piper rolled her eyes and stepped forward, leaves crunching underneath her boots.

I wasn't being courteous for the sake of it, though. Well, I kind of was, but I wanted to take a moment to focus on Piper. Her body language was screaming at me, throwing all kinds of signs that something was wrong.

She kept wringing her hands, and swaying gently on her feet between steps as if it was taking everything in her power to go to Zeus' Fist. It almost seemed like she was hoping the wind would pick her up and deposit her back on the other side of camp.

What could make her this nervous?

My ears twitched as another whirlwind swirled from behind us, echoing through the forest like a haunting cry.

Golden and crimson leaves twirled in the breeze, their crisp edges brushing against my cheeks. The air smelled of earth and decaying foliage, a rich, loamy scent that filled my lungs with every breath.

I craned my neck toward the sky.

Sunlight filtered through the treetops, casting a dappled glow on the forest floor, and the occasional chirp of a distant bird broke the hushed whisper of the woods. Theories began to take shape, rattling around in my skull like a game of foosball. I didn't have that much evidence to go off of, though, so most of them ended up being high-level ideas that led nowhere.

Eventually, I joined Piper on the rock. I reached out, running my fingers over the cool, gritty stone, its rough surface dotted with patches of moss and lichen. Some of the moisture from the moss clung to my fingertips. Piper still looked shaky, so I figured I'd dance around the subject to start. "You ever wonder how this got here?"

"You haven't heard the legends?" Piper wondered, kicking her feet. A trail of tiny rocks tumbled down the edge of the formation. "Any of them?"

"No…" I trailed off. I searched Piper's face for any signs that she was joking. She seemed serious, which piqued my interest. I was all for getting more camp lore. Even if it was about something as insignificant as Zeus' Fist. Maybe if I ended up surviving this war, I could come back and be a tour guide for new demigods. Wouldn't that be something? I'd wear a nice, matching, beige outfit and read off of cue cards. Well, I wouldn't actually need the cue cards but you get what I'm going for. "There's no way there's any legends around this place."

"Oh?" Piper asked coyly, a smirk tugging at her lips. Her perfume, a mix of cinnamon and jasmine, made my head spin as it wafted up to my nose. I analyzed her expression. The nervousness was still there, but it was under the surface for now. "What makes you so sure?"

"You're forgetting about who introduced me to camp," I tapped my nose. "Chiron and Annabeth. I'm pretty sure I learned most of the official lore between those two."

Piper's smile faltered for a moment, and the façade crumbled for a second. I raised my eyebrows, but Piper quickly pushed on. I didn't need [Clue Detection] activated to tell me something worth nothing had just happened, though. "Well, still. Thalia told me."

"Did she?" A pick of ice lodged in my ribs for a moment. Chilly tendrils wrapped around my midsection—it kind of felt like earlier this morning, when Khione had been attached to me. "What did she poison your mind with this time? More Bigfoot stories?"

"Bigfoot is real," Piper stressed. There was a surprising amount of steel in her voice. She trailed her finger across the ridges in the stone. "There are a ton of Cherokee legends about him."

"Really?" I crossed my arms.

Piper huffed, "Really! Well, kind of. We called them Tsul'Kalu. The great lords of the game. Our first ancestors described them as slant-eyed giants that mainly resided in the Appalachian Mountains. The whole Bigfoot name didn't come until way later, once the settlers began flooding in."

"Great lords of the game?" I grinned. Fate had a twisted sense of irony. Piper shot me a questioning look, but I just shrugged. She had her secrets, and I had mine. "Why's that?"

"Well, because they'd kill all the stuff we'd get to hunt," Piper answered. She slowly dragged her thumb over her throat, her nails gliding across her tanned skin. "And, if anyone tried to interfere during their hunts, they'd come to kill our domesticated animals. Dogs, cats, that kind of thing. I don't think they ever threatened humans, but we also weren't willing to take that chance."

"Okay," I sat in silence for a moment. I felt a twinge of sympathy for Piper's ancestors. As much as I enjoyed annoying her, I had no trouble believing her story was real. If things like the Minotaur and Hydra were real, there was no reason at all Bigfoot wasn't. Mortals being tortured by supernatural forces wasn't anything new. It was one of the few links throughout every mythos. "So, what does that have to do with trusting Thalia?"

"Well, I don't implicitly trust her, but I do trust her enough to check it out. What's that saying? Trust but verify?"

"Right. Reagan said that during the Cold War," I nodded. Having a perfect memory now meant that all those history classes I'd taken naps in were still useful for something after all. "He probably should've taken more of his own advice, I think. Okay, so what did she give you to verify?"

"When she was a tree, she had this weird patchwork of communication with everything around her," Piper said, stretching her arms out, and splaying her fingers like the branches of the trees around us. I tried to imagine Piper as a tree. She'd probably be one of those pretty ones with pink flowers—cherry blossom trees. "All the trees, the sky, the water. It was this weird kind of pseudo-reality. A fever dream."

"And?"

"And she never felt it with this hunk of rocks," Piper rapped her knuckles against the rocks. To her credit, there was a hollow pounding noise, like she'd hit a pipe with a stone. "It's unnatural. Like plastic."

"It doesn't look like plastic," I mused. [Mana Detection] blurred the world into shades of gray, and Zeus' Fist shimmered with bright light. Interesting. There was something underneath here after all. How had I never noticed? "So, what? How'd it get here?"

"She thinks her father put it here for a specific reason," Piper replied, brushing a few strands of red hair out of her face. She'd only dyed the first few stands of hair above her forehead, so she looked like she had a mini-mohawk. It meshed well with her flannel and black puffer vest.

"Yeah, because Zeus doesn't have better things to do than go around plopping rocks down," A roll of thunder punctuated my sentence, and Piper jumped, almost sliding off the rock. I just grinned. "See? He agrees with me!"

"I'd hate to see him disagree with you," Piper shivered. She looked at the sky warily, like she was expecting a thunderbolt to spawn out of nowhere. Wouldn't be the first time, I suppose. "It's here as a line of defense. Like, you know, if the camp was ever destroyed or something."

"Are you forgetting that fiasco last summer?" I gaped. I believed in her Bigfoot story, but this was just a bit too out there. Where was this so-called line of defense when I was getting barbecued by gigantic, fire-breathing bulls? Nowhere! That's where! I was willing to buy that there was more to Zeus' Fist than met the eye, but not like that. No, whatever it was, it was different. More intentional. I could come check it out later when everyone was asleep. "Camp basically was destroyed. We had monsters pouring in from every angle!"

"Well, yeah, but it's more of a last-resort thing!"

"I'm not going to argue with you about it, Pipes," I raised my hands. The cool autumn air shuddered down my nostrils, and I relaxed a bit. "So what was it that you wanted to talk about?"

Piper's smile dropped off her face, and she turned to face the ocean. "Yeah…um…it's kind of hard to bring up."

"Hey, take your time," I said, leaning back across the rock and lying down. Shafts of golden sunlight pierced the canopy, illuminating patches of yellow, orange, and red. I closed my eyes and felt the sun on my skin. I felt like Garfield lying out in the sun. Fat and lazy. "I'm here for you."

"How do you know you love someone?" Piper asked after a few moments of silence. Her voice was small, and her words barely carried over the din of the forest behind us. "Like, really, truly, deeply love someone?"

"Huh. Not the question I was expecting," I mumbled, as the sunlight warmed my eyelids. Piper hadn't shifted at all, so I figured she was probably still peering out at the ocean. "Uh…hm. I'll have to think about it."

"Take your time."

I inhaled and exhaled slowly through my nose. I felt the gentle touch of sea breeze on my face, along with some droplets from the trees above.

The sound of trickling water, from distant streams to nearby puddles, created a soothing melody that reverberated through the forest, randomly being interrupted by the crashing sounds of waves against the cliffside.

I seriously considered what Piper was asking me. How did I know I truly loved any of the women I'd been with?

Honestly, you'd think that after the rollercoaster of my last few relationships, I'd have given up on the idea entirely.

My first love, Aphrodite, well, she was kind of like a summer storm. Sudden, intense, and over before I really knew what hit me. I was young, naive, and thought I could somehow fix an inconceivable amount of trauma.

Spoiler alert: I couldn't.

She ended up manipulating me and sending me into a dark place because she was taking all the good emotions I could feel, bottling them up, and using them like a battery pack. And she was a goddess. Thousands of years old…who also impersonated my stepmom and made out with me while still in that disguise.

Huh.

My relationship with Aphrodite was a lot weirder than I remembered. All I could hope was that she and Jason were having a better go of it.

That particular heartbreak was a lesson in the harsh realities of love, and a reminder that no matter how hard I tried, there would always be some things I just couldn't fix. Not by myself anyway.

MJ was more of a slow burn, like a campfire on a chilly night. It was warm and comforting, and for a while there, I honestly thought it would last forever. While Aphrodite had kind of come out of nowhere, MJ had been more of a sure thing.

It'd started with the party at her house, and then grown organically through school. We'd had lunches together, walked to our lockers between classes, and hung out after practice. Passed each other notes during class assemblies. Made googly eyes during football games. Your standard sitcom relationship stuff.

She wasn't perfect, sure, but she was exactly what I needed at the time. With Aphrodite, I felt like I had to walk on eggshells. She was clingy, and insecure, and had a suite of psychological problems that made me feel like I never knew where I stood with her.

MJ was the opposite. She was free. Unburdened. We talked about everything, from school gossip and theorizing what two teachers were sleeping together to how many kids we'd want in an ideal world.

When she died, it was like a piece of my heart went with her.

But how did I know?

"You loved MJ, right?" Piper asked quietly, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Yes," My ribcage squeezed dangerously. It felt like an elephant was using my chest as a diving board. MJ's hopeful face swam into my vision, her eyes illuminated by the lights of the club around her. She'd been the prettiest girl I'd ever seen. "I did."

"How did you know? Specifically."

"I don't think loving someone is something you can really track. Sometimes it feels like it happened all at once. Other times it feels like I'd known all along," I murmured, remembering the dance before I'd gone after the thrysus. I opened my eyes slowly. "I think I started loving her the moment we went to the Fall Ball together, though."

"Really?" Piper laid her head down next to mine. She raised her palm toward the sky, and sparks of pink mana flickered on her fingertips. "Why then?"

"I've spent my whole life being alone, one way or another. Feeling rejected. When I was a kid, the 'cool kids' wouldn't accept me," I made air quotes, and Piper giggled. I guess it was kind of ironic now since I was a mini-celebrity at camp. If you'd asked me three years ago, though, I don't think I could have even predicted having friends besides Grover, let alone any of this. "Schools thought I was a delinquent with a rap sheet a mile long. Even when I first got to camp, being claimed by my dad put some distance between me and everyone else. I guess when MJ said she'd come to the dance, it was her way of telling me she accepted me. And I felt like I could finally be myself. Something I'd never felt before."

"You can be yourself with me, you know," Piper lowered her hand. Her eyes glowed pink, and a ring of energy pulsed around the rock. "I was there before everyone else. You might not fully understand it, but I know you better than most people."

A fluttering warmth thumped in my chest. My apprehension from before ebbed into curiosity. She was right, of course. Out of everyone I'd met at camp, she'd spent the most time with me. I was just wondering what her reasoning was. "How's that?"

"I saw you go through everything that made you who you are today," Piper reminded me, her eyes still humming like light bulbs. The noise reminded me of those old-timey neon signs—the ones that sounded like a million buzzing insects. Kind of like that night on the Hudson, right before Medusa's, with all the signs beside the highway. "Everything you've been through has changed you, yes, but you're still the boy who gave me the Minotaur horn. Just...different. More focused. More mature."

"I guess so," I relented. Something was still bugging me. My emotional radar was pinging like crazy. I wanted to ask what was wrong, but it felt like a game of Operation. I didn't want to choose wrong and ruin the whole thing. I hesitated and asked, "What's the deal with your eyes?"

"My mom calls it love sight," Piper rolled her head toward mine, and her eyes glowed brighter, somehow. I scrunched up my face at the sudden influx of light, and the glare dimmed down a bit. "It's this ability all children of Aphrodite have to perceive the intricate web of emotions and connections between individuals."

"I've seen it before," I remembered, thinking back to when Aphrodite had brought me back to life in the garden of Hesperides and showed me the bond between us. If I focused hard enough, I felt like I could still feel it, tugging from my heart. Stronger than ever before. "Or, well, experienced it. Your mom showed me what our bond looks like."

"I can tell you what ours looks like, too," Piper said. She pursed her lips. "In general, bonds of love, friendship, and loyalty appear as radiant, interwoven strands of light, each hue representing a different type of connection. Deep crimson threads can mean passionate love and soft blues and greens illustrate gentle affection and trust. Frayed and faded strands hint at broken or weakening bonds."

"And ours?"

"A column, as wide as a car. Most bonds are supposed to be one or two threads, but ours is so much more," Piper smiled. Her voice dropped, "It's so beautiful. Gold, white, red, pink, green—it's like all the colors of the rainbow."

I blinked. That was a lot different than what Aphrodite had shown me. I raised my eyebrows. "You okay there, Pipes?"

"There's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while," Piper closed her eyes. The pink light was so strong that I could still see the outline of her eyes. "Something I wasn't sure of until I got Love Sight."

"Yeah?" I trailed off suspiciously. The warmth from before froze over, hardening into anxiousness. Oh, Zeus, was she going to tell me she loved me romantically? All the signs were pointing toward it. "What's that?"

"I…you helped me understand this…"

Zeus. Sweet mother of Zeus. I edged away from Piper. Why me? I glanced out at the ocean. Maybe I could make a run for it and say I heard a baby seal drowning out there. "Yeah?"

"Ever since I met you, I felt this bond, and I…I've been trying to realize what it means. I didn't fully understand it at the time."

This was going to be so awkward. "Yeah…"

"But I get it now," Piper said resolutely, and I braced myself. Was this why Thalia was waiting before we did anything too romantic? Did Silena know? Holy—did Annabeth know? Was that why they'd been so weird with each other before? I ran a hand through my hair, sighing and getting ready to let her down easily, "I'm gay."

"Huh?" A strangled noise made its way out of my throat. Wait, what? She didn't have a crush on me? "You're what now?"

Piper's eyes widened and terror flashed through her face, streaking through her expression and wrapping around her face like a serpent coiling around its prey. Her breath caught in her throat. We were so close, I could feel her heart pounding in a frantic rhythm against my chest. "I…"

"Wait, no," I realized, all of a sudden, how bad my reaction had been, even if it was for a completely different reason. I tried to remember how to speak English, but words were blurring in and out of my consciousness. Even the Game was caught off guard for a second. I raised my hands. Some of the salsa from before made my tongue feel numb. "Not like that."

"I'm gay," Piper repeated, like a robot who was short-circuiting. A frantic nervousness smothered her words. "I like girls."

"I'm…I accept that," I made sure to say. My brain felt like it was spinning. I felt like a heavy weight had been taken off my chest, only to be replaced by a coil of wire that was squeezing the air out of my lungs instead. "I love you."

"Thanks?" Piper squawked.

"You're welcome," I said, [Gamer's Mind MK2] kicking in and giving me control of my emotions again. Bulbs of [Serenity Inducement] warmed my body, exploding into the air between us like invisible spores. "Thank you. When…how…actually, it doesn't even matter. Just know I'm still here for you. No matter what."

Piper didn't reply. The tension of the moment seemed to dissolve as she leaned closer and kissed my cheek, wrapping her arms around my midsection. She burrowed her head into my chest and began squeezing the life out of me, a wide smile on her face.

"I'm just really glad you're…" Piper murmured against my chest, her voice muffled but earnest. I held her tighter, feeling a surge of love and protectiveness. "You don't know how hard it is."

"Hey, nothing could ever change the way I feel about you," I assured her softly. "We're in this together. You're like the annoying little sister I could never get rid of."

Her grip relaxed slightly, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she tilted her head up to look at me, her eyes shimmering with unspoken emotions. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice catching slightly.

I smiled down at her, brushing a stray lock of hair from her forehead.

"Always," I replied, my heart swelling. No wonder she'd been so nervous. "I honestly thought you killed someone," I placed my chin on her head and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Or worse, that you had a crush on me. I was stressing, trying to figure out ways to let you down easily. Oh, wait, shoot! I do have a question for you."

"What?"

"If you like girls…"

"Yeah?"

"Who do you think has the best ass in camp?" I was cut off as Piper punched me in the face, but I grinned, not even budging. "Because I think if we're just going off size, Elena's probably got it, but if you use the shape argument…"