ONE LAST TIME . . . heroes of olympus

60

AFTERWARD, ANNABETH, HEDGE, and Buford the table rushed around repairing things so that the ship wouldn't sink. Kat also rushed with them in order to give them tools. Percy, despite being exhausted, searched the ocean for their missing friends. Jason, also exhausted, flew around the rigging like a blond Peter Pan, putting out fires from the second green explosion that had lit up the sky just above the mainmast. Kat also reassured Piper, who was staring at her knife trying to find the missing crew, and rushed food and caffeine around in her downtime.

By the time the sun rose, none of them had slept. Percy had scoured the seafloor and found nothing. The Argo II was no longer in danger of sinking, though without Leo, they couldn't do full repairs. The ship was capable of sailing, but no one suggested leaving the area — not without their missing friends.

After Piper and Annabeth sent Chiron an Iris-message, the demigods paced the deck in silence, staring at the water and hoping for a miracle.

When it finally came — three giant pink bubbles bursting at the surface off the starboard bow and ejecting Frank, Hazel, and Leo — Kat did something stupid. She always did stupid things, but she dove into the water as soon as she saw them.

She swam over to Leo and tackled him into a hug, kissing him on the cheek.

"Miss me?" he laughed.

"Shut the fuck up," she narrowed her eyes at him, looking over at Hazel and Frank. "Where were you? How are you guys alive?"

"Long story," said Leo. A picnic basket bobbed to the surface next to him. "Want a brownie?"

Once they got on board and changed into dry clothes ( poor Frank had to borrow a pair of too-small pants from Jason, which made Kat snicker ) the crew all gathered on the quarterdeck for a celebratory breakfast — except for Hedge, who grumbled that the atmosphere was getting too cuddly for his tastes and went below to hammer out some dents in the hull. While Leo fussed over his helm controls, Hazel and Frank related the story of the fish-centaurs and their training camp.

"Incredible," said Jason. "These are really good brownies."

"That's your only comment?" demanded Piper.

He looked surprised. "What? I heard the story. Fish-centaurs. Merpeople. Letter of intro to the Tiber River god. Got it. But these brownies—"

"I know," Frank said, his mouth full. "Try them with Esther's peach preserves."

"That," said Hazel, "is incredibly disgusting."

"Pass me the jar, man," said Jason.

Kat snickered, nearly spitting out her bite of avocado toast with laughter. She was dating one of these two dorks, and the other she was best friends with. What the fuck.

Percy, for his part, wanted to hear every detail about the aquatic camp. He kept coming back to one point: "They didn't want to meet me?"

"It wasn't that," Hazel said. "Just . . . undersea politics, I guess. The merpeople are territorial. The good news is they're taking care of that aquarium in Atlanta. And they'll help protect the Argo II as we cross the Atlantic."

Percy nodded absently. "But they didn't want to meet me?"

Annabeth swatted his arm. "Come on, Seaweed Brain! We've got other things to worry about."

"She's right," Hazel said. "After today, Nico has less than two days. The fish-centaurs said we have to rescue him. He's essential to the quest somehow."

She looked around defensively, as if waiting for someone to argue. No one did. Not even Kat, which she thought was a win.

"He must have information about the Doors of Death," she said. "We'll save him, Hazelnut. We can make it in time. Right, luchik?"