Ember Soul

Restless

Eliza sat on her bed, her wings wrapped tight around herself, watching the sunrise through the window. She'd waited so long to see the sun again, to see the sky, the stars, the trees... but it felt wrong. Bob was supposed to be there too. They had spent so many nights sitting up, talking about what they would do when they escaped. All Bob wanted to do was see the world. He'd told her all about the adventures he had planned. He'd even asked her to come along.

This wasn't fair. She shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be stuck down there without her. They'd barely survived together, who knew what would happen to him now - what may already have happened.

She shut out the thought. No. He was strong. He'd be okay. He had to be.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Ali and Tyler sleeping next to each other, hands clasped, arms bridging the slim gap between their beds. She felt a small grin tug at the corners of her mouth. Those two were made for each other. She hadn't seen it before, (She didn't know either of them very well.) but, now that she saw them together, she couldn't deny it.

Unable to sit still anymore, she swung herself out of bed, retracting her black wings to fit between the rows of sleeping half-bloods. She stepped out into the crisp morning air and took a deep breath. The vitality of the earth coursed through her veins. She could sense the grass, the trees, everything. It had been years since she'd felt so much vegetation. The shock of losing Bob had distracted her on their trip back to New Rome, but now she felt it full force. It was almost overwhelming.

"Can't sleep either?" The weak accented voice caught her attention.

She turned to find a boy with curly brown hair and bronze skin - Weylyn. She shook her head.

He studied her with his hazel eyes. "Your thinking about your friend, aren't you. The one we left behind."

She nodded, not trusting her voice. "Bob deserved to come back more than I did."

He dropped his gaze to the ground as if searching for the right words to say. "He'll be alright."

"How do you know?" Eliza fought back the tears stinging her eyes.

He shrugged. "I don't... but I believe it and that's enough." He met her gaze. "Sometimes it has to be."

Eliza chuckled. "You're pretty smart for a kid that was frozen in a time bubble for thousands of years."

He smiled, but it didn't last.

"Are you thinking about your dad?" She sat down on the grass and patted the patch of ground next to her.

Weylyn cautiously sat down, staring at the horizon. "Yes. He doesn't deserve to be trapped down there."

Eliza sighed. "Few people do."

They sat in silence until Weylyn awkwardly cleared his throat. "Things have changed a lot since I went into that bubble."

"I can't even imagine." Eliza traced a pattern in the grass with her finger, tiny white flowers sprouting in its wake. "I was only gone five years and I feel like I've missed so much."

It was quiet again.

"So... you're a goddess?" Weylyn looked at her in admiration.

Eliza chuckled, a little embarrassed. "Umm... yeah, technically. My mom is Proserpine and my dad is Thanatos."

A glimmer of excitement crept into his eyes. "That's so cool - life and death."

She smiled. "My thoughts exactly when I first found out." She touched one of her flowers and it wilted, shriveling until it crumbled into dust. "What about you... Son of Artemis? You must have some cool ability."

He blushed and looked away. "I don't know about cool. It's definitely weird."

Eliza scoffed. "Welcome to the club."

Weylyn but his bottom lip, looking anywhere but at Eliza. "Okay. Just... don't freak out." He pushed himself onto his hands and knees, tending and flexing. Nothing happened for a second, than dark grey fur sprouted along his arms, legs, face, everywhere. His face stretched into a snout, teeth sharpening into fangs; and a tail sprouted from his waist. Before long, a large gray wolf laid in the grass beside her, eyeing her with soft hazel eyes.

Eliza's jaw dropped. She studied the sleek canine as he stood, turned in a quick circle, and laid back down. "That's incredible."

The wolf shrank back into the scrawny figure of Weylyn, who sat up and gave a timid smile.

"Can you turn into anything else?" Eliza asked curiously.

Weylyn shook his head, chewing on his bottom lip again.

"Well, it's still amazing." She offered, flashing an encouraging smile.

"Good morning." Aubrey walked out of the barracks. "You two are up early."

Eliza grinned at the daughter of Apollo. "More like late."

"Oof." She pushed her red hair out of her face, combing her fingers back through it. "Well, if you're up for it, breakfast is in a few minutes."

"Breakfast sounds good." Weylyn pushed himself to his feet.

"I'll second that." Eliza stood as well. "Lead the way." She gestured to Aubrey.
                                   *   *   *
Eliza paused as they walked into the mess hall. There were a lot of people - people who'd never really liked her, but also quite a few new faces. She took a deep breath, scanning the room one more time before following Aubrey and Weylyn into the crowd.

She kept her head down as they wound their way to the middle of the room. Reyna had pushed two tables together for their group. Owen and Lizzy sat on one end. Piper and Reyna were on the other. Ali and Tyler sat together on one side next... Eliza stopped. Percy and Annabeth. She never thought she'd see them again.

The son of Poseidon turned from his conversation with Ali, his eyes settling on Eliza, and froze. "Eliza?"

His comment drew Annabeth's attention. Her jaw dropped.

They both jumped up and raced over, throwing their arms around Eliza.

"You're really here." Annabeth sounded like she was holding back tears.

"We thought you were gone." Percy pulled back, unable to wipe the huge grin off his face.

Eliza smiled at them, surprised she was blinking back her own tears. "You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?"

Annabeth pulled her into another hug. "I'm so glad you're safe."

He smile fell. "I just wish I could've brought him with me."

Percy placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Bob is tough. Trust me, I've fought him. He's gonna be fine." He didn't seem quite convinced, but it was still good to hear.

They all took their seats around the table, which had five chairs squeezed in on one side. Eliza could barely hear herself think for most of the meal as everyone exchanged stories and caught up. Most of the questions were directed at Weylyn and the poor boy answered ever single one of them with incredible patience. She had to admire him for that. When it was over, they walked out into the open field, still talking and laughing.

Eliza smiled. It was the best meal she'd had in a long time.