¹𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐄𝐋 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 ━ 𝗽. 𝗷𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀𝗼𝗻

054

⋆ ˚｡⋆ʚ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐘-𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 ɞ⋆ ˚｡⋆
─── ❛ confessions... sort of ❜ ───

FLYING WAS BAD ENOUGH for children from other gods, but flying straight up to zeus's palace, with thunder and lightning swirling around it, was even worse.

they circled over midtown manhattan, making one complete orbit around mount olympus. isabella had already been there multiple times on her field trips, and once in more serious business last summer, traveling by elevator up to the secret six-hundredth floor of the empire state building. that time, if it was possible, olympus amazed her even more.

in the early-morning darkness, torches and fires made the mountainside palaces glow twenty different colors, from bloodred to indigo. apparently, no one ever slept on olympus. the twisting streets were full of demigods and nature spirits and minor godlings bustling about, riding chariots or sedan chairs carried by cyclopes. winter didn't seem to exist here. she caught the scent of the gardens in full bloom—jasmine, jasmine, and roses and even sweeter things isabella couldn't name. music drifted up from many windows, the soft sounds of lyres and reed pipes.

towering at the peak of the mountain was the greatest palace of all, the glowing white hall of the gods.

their pegasi set us down in the outer courtyard, in front of huge silver gates. before isabella could even think to knock, the gates opened by themselves.

blackjack and his friends flew off, leaving thalia, annabeth, isabella, and percy alone. for a minute, they stood there regarding the palace, the way they'd stood together in front of westover hall, what seemed like a million years ago.

and then, side by side, they walked into the throne room.

twelve enormous thrones made a 'u' around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp. the ceiling above glittered with constellations—even the newest one, zoë the huntress, making her way across the heavens with her bow drawn.

all of the seats were occupied. each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall, if you've ever had a dozen all-powerful, super-huge beings turn their eyes on you at once... well, suddenly, facing monsters seemed like a picnic.

"welcome, heroes," artemis said.

"mooo!"

that's when isabella noticed the ophiotaurus and grover.

a sphere of water was hovering in the center of the room, next to the hearth fire. the creature was swimming happily around, swishing his serpent tail and poking his head out the sides and bottom of the sphere. he seemed to be enjoying the novelty of swimming in a magic bubble. grover was kneeling at zeus's throne, as if he'd just been giving a report, but when he saw them, he cried, "you made it!"

he started to run toward percy, then remembered he was turning his back on zeus, and looked for permission.

"go on," zeus said. but he wasn't really paying attention to grover. the lord of the sky was staring intently at thalia.

grover trotted over. none of the gods spoke. every clop of grover's hooves echoed on the marble floor. bessie splashed in his bubble of water. the hearth fire crackled.

isabella looked nervously at her mother, aphrodite. she was dressed similarly to the last time she had seen her: a satin dress, this time it was pink, high heels, and the perfect amount of accessories. she noticed how the goddess looked at her destroyed outfit with a disapproving look, but once she noticed percy's and isabella's hands wrapped around the other, she smirked.