𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐒──𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘰𝘯

[ XIII. dare ]

Here's Zehra's definition of not fun: flying a pegasus toward an out-of-control helicopter. Percy and Zehra would've been chopped to confetti if Guido had been any less of a fancy flier.

They could hear Rachel screaming inside. For some reason, she hadn't fallen asleep, but they could see the pilot slumped over the controls, pitching back and forth as the helicopter wobbled toward the side of an office building.

"Ideas?" Percy asked Zehra.

"You're going to have to take Guido and get out," she said.

"What are you going to do?"

In response, she said, "Hyah!" and Guido went into a nosedive.

"Duck!" Zehra yelled.

They passed so close to the rotors Zehra felt the force of the blades ripping at her hair. They zipped along the side of the helicopter, and Zehra grabbed the door.

That's when things went wrong.

Guido's wing slammed against the helicopter. He plummeted straight down with Percy on his back, leaving Zehra dangling from the side of the aircraft. Zehra grit her teeth, muffling a loud scream. Instead of waiting for Percy to come back with Guido, Zehra braced her arms on the hot metal and pulled her body up as high as it would go. This time, the strain on her wounded arm really did make her scream.

"Zehra! Come on!" It was Rachel Dare, reaching a shaking arm out for Zehra to grab. The daughter of Aphrodite lunged, grabbing the redhead's hand. Rachel pulled Zehra inside the copter.

Zehra's back banged into the seat. "Thanks," she panted.

"Anytime."

The girls looked over the edge of the helicopter and saw Percy and Guido sprawled out on the ground. Zehra sighed. "Okay Rachel, hold on to something. I'm going to land this thing."

"What?" Rachel's shrill voice infiltrated Zehra's ears. "Do you even know how to do that?"

"Do you have another idea?" Zehra shot back.

She was greeted with silence. Zehra took the opportunity to jump over the pilot and grab the curved steering wheel. Her heart crawled into her throat. The helicopter was only a few seconds away from slamming into the side of a building. Zehra spun the wheel to the side and her hands found a large black lever to the left. She grabbed the top of it, yanking on it as hard as she could. For a second, Zehra thought it didn't work. But then, like a miracle, the helicopter righted itself.

Zehra was so relieved she could have cried. She turned the wheel to steer the helicopter away from a cluster of high-rise office buildings and slowly pushed down the lever, descending the vehicle.

It seemed to take forever, but finally, the helicopter thudded to a landing in the middle of Fifth Avenue. Zehra looked through the windshield and made eye contact with the sea god's son. He gaped in awe at her.

Zehra rolled her eyes.

Percy ran forward as the rotors spun to a stop. Rachel opened the side door and dragged out the pilot. Her hair was tangled and her face was green from the helicopter ride.

Zehra climbed out last.

Percy couldn't stop staring at her. "I didn't know you could fly a helicopter."

"Neither did I," she said. "I just took my best guess on the controls."

"You saved my life," Rachel murmured.

Zehra flexed her bad shoulder. Her cut had opened once again due to the stress she had exerted onto it. "Yeah, well...let's not make a habit of it. What are you doing here, Dare? Don't you know better than to fly into a war zone?"