LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE . . . pjo

V.

THEY SPENT TWO days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, past amber waves of grain.

They weren't attacked once, but Mia didn't relax. She had to keep a low profile because she's the daughter of one of the most famous CEOs in the US, she's very recognizable. That, and Percy's name and face were on several East Coast newspapers.

"Don't worry," Annabeth told Percy. "Mortal police could never find us." But she didn't sound so sure.

"If anything, my name can bail you out of anything," Mia offered.

He got up and started pacing the length of the train, so she didn't know if that was helpful or not.

Mia spent most of the train ride talking to Annabeth and Grover, or eating food that she'd bought with extra money that she'd sweet-talked the owners of Gladiola the poodle to giving her. She was always the negotiator in the Starfury family. And the disappointment.

Their reward money for returning Gladiola had only been enough to purchase tickets as far as Denver. They couldn't get berths in the sleeper car, so they dozed in their seats. Mia's neck got stiff. She wanted to sleep on a bed so badly, it was ridiculous.

Grover kept snoring and bleating and waking Mia up. Once, he shuffled around and his fake foot fell off. Percy and Mia had to stick it back on before any of the other passengers noticed.

"So," Mia asked Percy, once they'd gotten Grover's sneaker readjusted. "Who wants your help?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you were asleep just now, you mumbled, 'I won't help you.' Who were you dreaming about?"

Percy told her about his dreams.

Mia thought about what he'd said, braiding her hair absentmindedly. "That doesn't sound like Hades. He always appears on a black throne, and he never laughs."

"He offered my mother in trade. Who else could do that?"

"I guess . . . if he meant, 'Help me rise from the Underworld.' If he wants war with the Olympians. But why ask you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?"

Percy shook his head. Grover snorted in his sleep, muttered something about vegetables, and turned his head.

Mia readjusted his cap so it covered his horns. "Percy, you can't barter with Hades. You know that, right? He's deceitful, heartless, and greedy."

"How do you know that?" Percy asked her.

"I read a lot about him," she said, looking at her hair as she finished her braid. "When I was trying to figure out who my mom is."

"You're unclaimed," he realized. "I forgot about that."

She nodded, biting her lip. "Yeah. I'm unclaimed. Annabeth helped me research into the goddesses, see which one's mine."

"Wouldn't your dad know who your mom is?" Percy asked.

Mia let out a snort, then covered her face with a hand. "Sorry. But he doesn't know who my mom is. I'm sure of it. And he wouldn't tell me anyway, if I asked."

"Why not?"

"You've heard the rumors," she leaned in toward Percy, keeping her voice low. "You think Vincent Starfury is a cruel person? He's a crueler father. He's hated me the second that he saw me. He refuses to acknowledge me, even going so far as to not hire a nanny for me but one for my sister. He pitted me against Sophia for years, and I had to literally save her life a couple of years back for her to like me. But it's fine, I love her more than anything else in the world. Except for maybe a mattress to sleep on." Mia smiled at the thought of her sister, a hand going up to the ring attached to her necklace.