Wild ― Piper McLean

―xxvi. the unfairness of it all

FINDING THE CELESTIAL BRONZE WAS THE EASY PART. 

The hard part? 

Everything else. 

By the time Verona, Hazel, and Leo reached the Argo II (chased by, of course, an angry mob of nature spirits and a resurrected pretty boy), Verona's shoes were full of sand, her hair was full of lake water, and her arms were sore from lugging the stupid piece of metal. 

As soon as Arion landed on the deck of the ship, Verona, Hazel, and Leo dismounted and hurried below deck, stumbling to a stop in the first open doorway. 

"Gods of Olympus." Piper looked horrified as she took in Leo's temporary tattoos and... everything else he'd done to compete with Pretty Boy Narcissus. "What happened to you?"

"Long story," Leo said, panting. "Others back?" 

"Not yet." 

Leo cursed, but Verona didn't hear it as she looked into the cabin and saw a delightful sight. "Blondie! You're conscious again, congrats!" 

"Thanks, Roni," Jason deadpanned. 

Leo's face brightened. "Hey, man! Glad you're better. I'll be in the engine room."

He ran off with the sheet of bronze, leaving Verona and Hazel in the doorway. 

Piper raised an eyebrow at the pair. "Team Leo?"

"We met Narcissus," Hazel said, which wasn't really an explanation. "Also Nemesis, the revenge goddess." 

Jason sighed. "I miss all the fun."

"That'll teach you to take a brick to the head," Verona said. 

On the deck above, something went THUMP, as if a heavy creature had landed. Annabeth and Percy came running down the hall. Percy was toting a steaming five-gallon plastic bucket that smelled disgusting. Annabeth had a patch of black sticky stuff in her hair, whereas Percy's shirt was covered in it.

"Roofing tar?" Piper guessed. 

"Is it supposed to smell like...that?" Verona questioned. 

Frank stumbled up behind them with a smear of black sludge down his face. 

"Ran into some tar monsters," Annabeth said. "Hey, Jason, glad you're awake. Guys, where's Leo?"

Hazel pointed down. "Engine room."

Suddenly the entire ship listed to port. The demigods stumbled. Percy almost spilled his bucket of tar. 

"Uh, what was that?" he demanded. 

Verona scratched the back of her neck. "We might have pissed off a couple of the local lake nymphs."

"All of them, actually," Hazel said, looking sheepish. 

"But in our defense, they totally started it," Verona added. 

"Great." Percy handed the bucket to Frank and Annabeth. "You guys help Leo. I'll hold off the water spirits as long as I can."

"On it!" Frank promised. 

The three of them ran off. As the ship listed again, Hazel hugged her stomach like she was going to be sick. 

"I'll just..." She swallowed, pointed weakly down the passageway, and ran off. 

Verona whistled under her breath as the girl disappeared. "Poor girl. All this sea travel's gonna suck."

Piper reached up and pulled something slimy and green from Verona's head. "You have algae in your hair, babe."

Verona's face burned. "Damn nymphs," she muttered. "I'm gonna go shower before I get roped into helping—again."