ONE LAST TIME . . . heroes of olympus

50

KAT LED FRANK to her room after dinner — to be honest, it probably wasn't hard to find it considering there was a placard with her name on the door, but whatever — and told him to sit in the comfy chair that she'd made Leo put in her room.

He sat in it, looking out of place but it was fine. She went around her room and started getting everything ready to sleep, because she was really fucking tired. This is how they usually were; Frank, perfectly still as he listened to her chatter and bustle around doing whatever.

"Why do you have another door?" he asked.

"It connects to Piper's room," Kat explained. "In case I need to go over, or in case she needs to come in here. Hi, babe!" She yelled to prove a point.

Piper yelled hi back, and Kat grinned goofily at the door separating them.

"So . . . her and Jason," Frank started, "they're the two you were talking about during your visits?"

"Uh huh," she turned to face him, attempting to lose the goofy grin. "But that's not the point. Literally nothing's changed for me since I've seen you last."

"Oh," said Frank, and Kat realized she'd hit a nerve.

She winced. "Sorry. I just — sorry. Anyway . . . I'm a demigod."

"Obviously," he said, then he stammered: "sorry! Sorry, sorry, I—"

"Shut it, Foo Foo Bear," Kat resisted the urge to punch his shoulder, smiling at him. Sometimes she only smiled around him, which was honestly pretty stupid considering her partners exist and so does Leo, but whatever. "But, yeah, I grew up knowing about it because mama wants me to be some all-powerful hero like the rest of my family." Her smile faded, leaning against her dresser and tapping on the top of it — the pattern that Leo always taps. "Your mom didn't want you to know. She wanted you to be happy. Stay with her at the mansion. And your family had history with Camp Jupiter."

Frank nodded grimly. "I know."

"So I couldn't tell you," she said. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "Don't apologize. That isn't your fault."

Kat shrugged. "Everything's my fault," she said nonchalantly. "But thanks."

"Hey," he said firmly, and she looked over at him in shock. "None of that was your fault. That was my . . . that was my mom's decision."

Her lips turned into a frown after he said that. "I'm sorry about her death," she said quietly. "She was an amazing person. I'll never forget her."

"Thank you," he said, letting out a sigh. "It just happened so fast. Her death, going to Camp Jupiter, the quest—"

"Your relationship with a certain gem-summoning girl?" Kat smirked, remembering her ruby pendant and snagging it from the top of the dresser. "Help me put this on?"

Frank turned beetroot red and stammered, which she took as a yes and walked over to him, brushing her hair to the side as she handed him the necklace. He stretched up to wrap it around her neck and clasp the thing in place.

"How's that going, by the way?" she asked while he was doing that.

"I, uh, um — uh . . ." he took a suspiciously long time to answer. He also took a while to put her pendant on. "It's going great. I think."

"You think?" she repeated.

He finally got her pendant on, so she immediately turned to him to find his expression crestfallen. "What's up?" she asked.

"You know Leo well, right?" inquired Frank.

Kat gave him a deadpan look. "You mean, do I know the only person who's been simultaneously keeping me sane and making me lose my mind for the past nine-almost-ten months?"