Death Girl || Leo Valdez (RTB)

THE PROPHECY COMES TRUE

22. THE PROPHECY COMES TRUE

Percy became tense.

We were the first heroes to come back alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so of course everybody treated us as if we'd won some big reality-TV contest. According to camp tradition, we wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in our honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where we got to burn the burial shrouds our cabins made for us in our absence.

Annabeth's shroud was so beautiful—grey silk with embroidered owls—I told her it seemed a shame not to bury her in it. She punched me and told me to shut up.

"How sweet."

Annabeth rolled her eyes when Percy grinned at her.

Being the son of Poseidon, I didn't have any cabin mates, so the Ares cabin had volunteered to make my shroud. They'd taken an old bedsheet Andy painted smiley faces with X'ed-out eyes around the boarder, and the word LOSER painted really big in the middle.

Laughter rang around the room. Percy rolled his eyes, giving Clarisse a glare.

"Okay, that wasn't me." She defended.

Percy rolled his eyes, but no one but Clarisse could tell he wasn't really annoyed with her.

It was fun to burn.

Since Summer didn't have any siblings, she had no one to make a shroud for her either. I felt sorry for her when she was handed her's—a beautiful silk black shroud with Hades different symbols embroidered on it—and Chiron told her quietly that he had made it because no one volunteered.

"The Apollo cabin talked about doing yours." Will said. "I thought...I thought Lee told Chiron we would do it."

Summer went to snap at him, but Katie cut her off. "Why didn't the Hermes cabin do it? You know, because that's where you stayed."

Everyone turned to look at the Stoll's, who shifted uncomfortably.

"Look, you can't get mad." Travis said, quickly. "We-We were told to not say anything. Beside's when we were going to tell you, we figured it was all ready too late—"

"What?"

Connor let out a shaky breath, and then said, "Luke...he said that we weren't making you a shroud because you weren't...one of us."

"One of you? Because I wasn't a Hermes kid?"

Connor and Travis shook their heads and then shared a look. "He said that because you were Hades daughter, you didn't belong."

Summer's mouth went dry. "At camp?"

"Anywhere."

Summer nodded, her jaw set. She sat back in her seat, and shrugged Leo of harshly when he reached for her hand.

Her eyes were hard, and she even pulled a face, as if she was annoyed. But it was like I could see straight through her stoic face, and I could see how hurt she was.

As Apollo's cabin led the sing-along and passed out s'mores, I was surrounded by my old Hermes cabinmates, Annabeth's friends from Athena, and Grover's satyr buddies, who were admiring the brand-new searchers license he'd revived from the council of Cloven Elders. The council had called Grover's performance on the quest "Brave to the point t of indigestion. Hours-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past".

The only ones not in a party mood we're Clarisse and her cabinmates, whose poisonous looks told me they'd never forgive me for disgracing their Dad.

That was okay with me.