LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE . . . pjo

XXXII.

THEY ARRIVED IN Long Island just after Clarisse, thanks to the centaurs' travel powers. When they got to camp, the centaurs were anxious to meet Dionysus. They'd heard he threw some really wild parties, but they were disappointed. The wine god was in no mood to celebrate as the whole camp gathered at the top of Half-Blood Hill.

The camp had been through a hard two weeks. The arts and crafts cabin had burned to the ground from an attack by a Draco Aionius ( Mia didn't know what it was, but she didn't want to know ). The Big House's rooms were overflowing with wounded. The kids in the Apollo cabin, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid.

Everybody looked weary and battered as they crowded around Thalia's tree.

The moment Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece over the lowest bough, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from gray to liquid silver. A cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley. Everything came into sharper focus — the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach.

Gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green.

Everybody cheered. It was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt — the Fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison.

Chiron ordered a twenty-four / seven guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the Fleece. He said he'd place an ad in Olympus Weekly right away.

In the meantime, Clarisse was carried on her cabin mates' shoulders down to the amphitheater, where she was honored with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire.

Nobody gave Percy, Annabeth, or Mia a second look. It was as if they'd never left. In a way, Mia guessed that was the best thank-you anyone could give them, because if they admitted they'd snuck out of camp to do the quest, they'd have to expel them. Mia did want the attention, but she was used to not getting it.

The next morning, after the party ponies headed back to Florida, Chiron made a surprise announcement: the chariot races would go ahead as scheduled. They'd all figured they were history now that Tantalus was gone, but completing them did feel like the right thing to do, especially now that Chiron was back and the camp was safe.

Percy and Annabeth were teaming up for the chariot races. Mia tried to help out with their chariot, but she'd mostly just sat there and looked pretty. She did help them train though, because she also needed to train. That was a skill she needed to know.

The next morning, everybody was buzzing about the chariot race, though they kept glancing nervously toward the sky like they expected to see Stymphalian birds gathering. None did. It was a beautiful summer day with blue sky and plenty of sunshine. The camp had started to look the way it should look: the meadows were green and lush; the white columns gleamed on the Greek buildings; dryads played happily in the woods.

Percy and Annabeth won. Once their chariot stopped, the campers mobbed them, including Mia. They started chanting their names, but Annabeth yelled over the noise: "Hold up! Listen! It wasn't just us!"

The crowd didn't want to be quiet, but Annabeth made herself heard: "We couldn't have done it without two other people! We couldn't have won this race or gotten the Fleece or saved Grover or anything! We owe our lives to Mia, our best friend, and Tyson, Percy's . . ."

"Brother!" Percy said loudly. "Tyson, my baby brother."

Tyson blushed. The crowd cheered. Mia, impulsively, planted a kiss on Percy's cheek. The roaring got a lot louder after that. The entire Athena cabin lifted Percy, Annabeth,  Tyson, and Mia onto their shoulders and carried them toward the winner's platform, where Chiron was waiting to bestow the laurel wreaths.