¹ON THIS SPRING DAY. p. jackson

002.

ON THIS SPRING DAY
━━━━━ chapter two

━━━━━ PERCY FELT LIKE he was being set up to fail. Being forced to read a prophecy that foretold something horrible ( and probably your death )? That was a kid with ADHD and dyslexia's worst nightmare.

               Annabeth handed him the parchment. It felt dry and old, and his fingers fumbled with the string. He uncurled the paper, trying not to rip it, and began to read: "A half-blood of the eldest dogs ..."

               From where she stood beside him, Violet cleared her throat. "Percy," she leaned over, her chin practically resting on his shoulder so her eyes could scan the paper, "that says gods, not, um, dogs."

               "Oh. Right." He winced and shook his head. He really was being set up to fail—dyslexic was a trademark for demigods, so Percy wasn't weird for having it, but sometimes ( most times ) he really hated it. Whenever he was nervous, which was anytime he was forced to read aloud, the worse the dyslexia became.

               "A half-blood of the eldest gods/Shall reach sixteen against all odds ..." Percy hesitated, his breath getting caught in his chest like a rock. He had no idea breathing like that could hurt, but it did. Violet's brown eyes flickered over to him and the paper; she was reading the lines before him. A cold feeling settled on the pads of Percy's fingers, and he rightened them against the scroll. "And see the world in endless sleep/The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap."

               It happened—Riptide seemed heavier in his pocket. It was only a ballpoint pen, but it felt like Percy was lugging a whole dictionary in his pocket. A cursed blade? Chiron once told him Riptide had brought many people sorrow. Was it possible his own sword—the sword that saved his life so many times—could get him killed? And how could the world fall into endless sleep, unless that meant death?

               "Percy," Chiron urged, his expression pinched. "Read the rest."

               His mouth felt like it was full of sand, but he struggled through the last two lines. "A single choice shall ... shall end his days." No one mentioned how his voice wavered, and Percy wasn't going to do anything about it either. "Olympus to per—pursue—"

               "Preserve," Annabeth said gently. "It means 'to save'."

               "I hope that's a good thing ..." Violet muttered only her breath, quite enough only Annabeth and Percy could hear her.

               "I know what it means, Annabeth," the son of Poseidon grumbled, sending the blonde a nasty look. He took a deep breath, reciting the line; "Olympus to preserve or raze."

               The room was silent. Finally, Connor Stoll spread his hands and announced, "Raise is good, isn't it?"

               "Not raise, Connor." Violet frowned. "Percy said raze. R-A-Z-E—means 'to destroy'."

               From across the table, Michael Yew scoffed. "I'm surprised you know what that word is ..."

               "I can be smart!" Violet sounded indignant, sending the counselor for Cabin Seven nasty looks. "I'll have you know, Yew, just because you—"

               "Violet." Chiron raised his hands. "This is not the time for spats."

               The daughter of Eros brushed a braid out of her face, grumbling, "Michael started it ..."