¹𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐄𝐋 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 ━ 𝗽. 𝗷𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀𝗼𝗻

058

⋆ ˚｡⋆ʚ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐘-𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 ɞ⋆ ˚｡⋆
─── ❛ rare pairs ❜ ───

THE RIDE BACK TO camp was uncomfortable. isabella was quiet, and percy sat very stiffly inside the fancy car. the boy wanted to talk with his friend; contrary to what he thought the first semester would be, isabella and he hadn't hung out a lot. they only met in person two times, and their iris messages were cut short because of issues at her house or isabella's excuses about stuff she forgot she had to do.

percy thought that once isabella and travis broke up, they'd finally hang out around each other a lot more, maybe even start some sort of relationship. but it was all wishful thinking.

"any word on luke?" he dared to ask.

isabella shook her head. it was a touchy subject for her, not as much as it was for annabeth, but the daughter of aphrodite had cared for luke for a long time. they met when she was seven years old; he taught her how to fight properly, and he defended her when other kids would make fun of her for being a daughter of the goddess of love. still, the hurt and betrayal she felt for that traitor were greater than all of their fond memories together.

"mount tam is still overrun with monsters," isabella said. "annabeth didn't dare go close, but she doesn't think luke is up there."

"what about grover?"

"he's at camp," she said. "we'll see him today."

"did he have any luck? i mean, with the search for pan?"

isabella played with her rings, the way she did when she was worried.

"you'll see," she said. but she didn't explain.

as they headed through brooklyn, percy used isabella's phone to call his mom. half-bloods try not to use cell phones if they can avoid it because broadcasting their voices is like sending up a flare to the monsters: here i am! please eat me now! but isabella figured that call was important. he left a message on their home voice mail, trying to explain what had happened at goode. percy probably didn't do a very good job. he told his mom he and isabella were fine, she shouldn't worry, but they were going to stay at camp until things cooled down. he asked her to tell paul blofis he was sorry.

they rode in silence after that. the city melted away until they were off the expressway and rolling through the countryside of northern long island, past orchards and wineries and fresh produce stands.

isabella stared at the phone number rachel elizabeth dare had scrawled on her hand. she knew it was crazy, but she was tempted to call her. maybe she could help them understand what the empousa had been talking about—the camp burning, their friends imprisoned, her little comment about being percy's girlfriend and having a special place to witness all—and why had kelli exploded into flames?

she knew monsters never truly died. eventually—maybe weeks, months, or years from now—kelli would re-form out of the primordial nastiness seething in the underworld. but still, monsters didn't usually let themselves get destroyed so easily. if she really was destroyed.

the car exited on route 25a. they headed through the woods along the north shore until a low ridge of hills appeared on their left. isabella told the chauffeur to pull over on farm road 3.141, at the base of half-blood hill.

marcus frowned. "there's nothing there, miss gómez. are you sure this is the right location?"

"yes, please," isabella said before opening the door and leading percy to camp.

isabella and percy hiked to the crest of the hill. the young guardian dragon was dozing, coiled around the pine tree, but he lifted his coppery head as they approached and let isabella scratch under his chin. steam hissed out his nostrils like from a teakettle, and he went cross-eyed with pleasure.