LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE . . . hoo

XXIII.

AFTER THEIR ENCOUNTER with Kymopo-what's-her-name, the Argo II limped through the Aegean, too damaged to fly, too slow to outrun monsters. They fought hungry sea serpents about every hour. They attracted schools of curious fish. At one point they got stuck on a rock, and Percy and Jason had to get out and push.

Over the course of three long days, Leo finally got the ship more or less back to working order just as they made port at the island of Mykonos.

Mia, Percy, and Annabeth went ashore to scout. Mia didn't really want to go, but she went anyway because Hazel told her to.

"So . . . what have you been up to?" Percy asked as they walked through the streets. It was pretty; lots of white stucco buildings with blue roofs, blue windows and blue doors. He looked like he was in heaven.

"Real smooth," Annabeth muttered under her breath.

Mia snickered for a second before sobering up. "I don't know," she shrugged. "I want to make a new coffee line, because I love coffee. I just don't know who to ask for advice because no one here drinks coffee, and the reception on the ship has been ass so I can't call Nina."

"You know I drink coffee, right?" Annabeth asked.

"Annabeth, you get Iced Americanos when we go to Starbucks, shut up," Mia snorted.

"Maybe I'd consider getting something else if you stay," Annabeth replied.

Mia let out a humorless laugh. "So that's what this is about."

"We want you to stay, Stargirl," Percy pleaded. "Why can't you?"

"I don't want to," she said simply. "And I promised Nina. I have to go home. I have to fulfill my father's legacy. And I . . . I want to do that. I want to change the world. Why can't you understand that?"

"You were gone for so long," Annabeth said. "You know that, right? I missed you. We missed you."

"I missed you too," Mia said. "But you have to understand why I want to do this. And, besides, you can find me at literally any time. You know where I'll be, if we survive this."

She spotted a gelato stand and strode toward it. "Let's get the crew gelato," she offered. "They deserve it. And so do I, after surviving Leo's nonsense about saving the ship or whatever from the brink of destruction."

And twenty minutes later, they were with the rest of the crew sitting on deck, without a storm or a monster attack to worry about for the first time in days, and ate ice cream. Well, except for Frank, who was lactose intolerant. He got an apple.

The day was hot and windy. The sea glittered with chop, but Hazel didn't look too seasick, so Mia figured she didn't have to worry about that.

"We saw these pelicans walking around town," Percy reported, wisely keeping their problems out of this conversation. "Like, just going through the shops, stopping at the bars."

Hazel frowned. "Monsters in disguise?"

"No," Annabeth said, laughing, "just regular old pelicans. They're the town mascots or something. And there's a 'Little Italy' section of town. That's why the gelato is so good."

"Europe is messed up." Leo shook his head. "First we go to Rome for Spanish steps. Then we go to Greece for Italian ice cream."

Mia silently agreed with him with a fist bump. She ate her chocolate-strawberry twist as her mind went awry. It was 30 July. Less than forty-eight hours until G-Day, when Gaia would awaken in all her shit-faced glory.

The strange thing was, the closer they got to 1 August, the more upbeat the crew acted. Or maybe upbeat wasn't the right word. They seemed to be pulling together for the final lap — aware that the next two days would make or break them. There was no point moping around when you faced imminent death. The end of the world made gelato taste a lot better.