Cruel Summer. ¹

79. with my calamitous love

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

chapter seventy-nine. ☄︎. *. ⋆

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MANY OF MY SIBLINGS died in that battle. Lee, Quinn, Cassie, a little first-year camper whom I hadn't even gotten the chance to meet while on my quest. His name was Sam. They were all wrapped in a simple burial shroud; gold fabric without any decoration, like we had been trying to keep the attention off of them when burying them. Michael, Will and I tried to say a few words, but none of us could find the right things to say and instead just lifted the torch together. We lit the funeral pyre in the middle of the amphitheater, and within seconds the row of shrouds was engulfed in fire, sending smoke and sparks up to the stars.

     The few of us left spent the next day treating the wounded, which was almost everybody. The satyrs and dryads worked to repair the damage to the woods.

     At noon, the Council of Cloven Elders held an emergency meeting in their sacred grove. The three senior satyrs were there, along with Chiron, who was in wheelchair form. His broken horse leg was still mending, so he would be confined to the chair for a few months, until the leg was strong enough to take his weight. The grove was filled with satyrs and dryads and naiads up from the water—hundreds of them, anxious to hear what would happen. Juniper and Percy were by Grover's side. I'd elected to stay back at my cabin and mourn my siblings.

     From what I was told, Silenus wanted to exile Grover immediately, but Chiron persuaded him to at least hear evidence first, so Percy told everyone what had happened in the crystal cavern, and what Pan had said. Then several eyewitnesses from the battle described the weird sound Grover had made, which drove the Titan's army back underground.

     In the end, Dionysus crashed the hearing and stood behind Grover. His vote overpowered the council's, and therefore saved Grover from eternal exile. Hooray.

     Percy found me sometime after the hearing. He knocked twice on the door and pushed it open without a reply. None of my siblings were home, since it was easiest for children of Apollo to grieve in the sun. Well, at least the six of them still alive weren't home. I dunno if the others count.

     I looked up when Percy came in. He offered me a curious smile, like he was testing out the terrain—could he smile around me yet? Or was it more of a somber occasion?

     I surprised him—and myself—by scooting over on my bunk so he could have a seat next to me. When he acquiesced, I held out my hand, and he took it, and we interlaced our fingers silently and without judgement.

     "Their bunks still have their things in them," I said after a while. My voice came out cracky and dry. "All of their books, their blankets, their pillows. Sam's teddy bear. It's all still there."

     Percy's thumb stopped tracing circles on the back of my hand. "Do you want me to—?"

     I shook my head, swallowing. "No. I think I want to keep it there."

Percy nodded, and we sat in silence for a little while, the occasional chirp of a bird on the windowsill being the only noise. At one point, I put my head on Percy's shoulder, and he didn't scoot away from me, so I took that as a win.

"So what now?" I asked eventually, lifting my head. "What are we supposed to do now that..."

"We have to keep fighting," he said. I knew that answer was coming, but I wasn't ready for it. "We have to stop Luke. It's what your siblings died doing, and it's what we've spent the last four years trying to do. We can't give up now."

"No, I know," I said, furrowing my brow. "I just.. Chiron said he doesn't think Luke will return until next summer, right? So we just wait until then?"

Percy thought for a second before replying. "We train some more. Go rescue new half-bloods. Prepare for next summer."

"Try not to die."

He nodded in agreement. "Not dying would be nice." We lulled into silence, but it was comfortable, not awkward. Percy cleared his throat. "Nico left earlier."

     My throat closed. "Did.. did he say where to?"

     He shook his head. "Just that he's going to try and find some answers about his past. He wanted to find out. I told him to keep in touch. I don't know if he really will, but at least he knows he's got a place here if he ever comes back."

     "Good," I said. "Nico's a good kid. Troubled," I added, frowning, "but he's got good intentions. I wish I could say the same about either of us."

     "You don't think we have good intentions?"

     "Not that I can name off the top of my head," I replied coolly. "We're pretty alike, Percy. And I'm not sure that's a good thing. Zeus knows what it means for the war."

     He smiled. "Two of me fighting battles? Sick."

     I laughed and hit him in the arm. "If that's how you want to look at that, then sure."

Still smiling, Percy stood and offered his hand to me. "C'mon. It's time for dinner."

That night for dinner, Chiron seemed to turn a blind eye when none of the Apollo campers sat at the Apollo-designated table. Will found a place amongst Hermes's campers, stuffed in next to Travis. I sat with Percy and Tyson at Poseidon's table, and even though it was against the rules, it was the most fun I'd ever had at a camp meal before.

After dinner, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and I walked down to the shore just as the sun made its final descent over the horizon. I decided I was fine with missing dusk; I'd had enough of sunsets for a while.

Annabeth and Grover headed up to bed after a while, claiming that they were exhausted, but I noticed the way they were whispering and looking over their shoulders at us on their way up the hill. I smiled, but decided to ignore it. I simply moved closer to Percy and our hands found each other in the darkness, embracing through the night.

We sat there for a while, listening to the waves crashing on the shore, enjoying each other's presence in silence.

     And when his hands found my hair, and my arms laced around his neck, and his lips met mine in a kiss, I was pretty sure the stars glowed a little brighter.