ONE LAST TIME . . . heroes of olympus

83

KAT KNEW THAT she wasn't pulling her weight as much as Leo was, but she definitely felt it now that Calypso was committed to this bit. When Calypso set her mind to something, she was a machine.

Within a day, she'd forced Kat to help her gather enough supplies for a weeklong voyage — food, flasks of water, herbal medicines from her garden. She wove a sail big enough for a small yacht and made enough rope for all the rigging.

They got so much done that by the second day Calypso asked Leo if he needed any help with his own project.

He looked up from the circuit board that was slowly coming together. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were anxious to get rid of us."

"That's a bonus," she admitted. She was dressed for work in a pair of jeans and a grubby white T-shirt. When he asked her about the wardrobe change, she claimed she had realized how practical these clothes were after making some for Leo. Kat had sent Leo an unimpressed look. Why can't he just let the girlies be?

"That's so rude, Callie," Kat protested. "You love my company, admit it."

She noticed the way Leo was looking at Calypso and wanted to smirk, but it was offset by how third-wheely she was feeling right now. Jesus, was this what it was like to be Leo last December? She should apologize to him.

"You fish for compliments too much," commented Calypso. "Also, you're not helping."

"I leave all of the machine stuff for Leo," said Kat. "He hates it when I get in the way of that. I'm the smooth-talker, it's in my blood."

Calypso rolled her eyes and turned to Leo. "So?" she prompted.

"So . . . what?"

She nodded at the circuitry. "So can I help? How is it coming?"

"Oh, uh, I'm good here. I guess. If I can wire this thing up to the boat, we should be able to navigate back to the world."

"Now all you need is a boat."

"What Gaea said . . ." Leo hesitated. "About you getting off this island. Would you want to try it?"

She scowled. "What do you mean?"

"Well . . . I'm not saying it would be fun having you along, always complaining and glaring at me and stuff. But I suppose I could stand it, if you wanted to try. And I'm sure Kat would be fine with you coming along. Right, Kitty Kat?"

"I would," agreed Kat, fiddling with her ruby pendant.

Calypso's expression softened just a little.

"How noble," she muttered. "But no, Leo. If I tried to come with you two, your tiny chance of escape would be no chance at all. The gods have placed ancient magic on this island to keep me here. A hero can leave. I cannot. The most important thing is getting you free so you can stop Gaea. Not that I care what happens to you," she added quickly. Which, rude. Kat thought they were besties. "But the world's fate is at stake."

"Why would you care about that?" Leo asked. "I mean, after being away from the world for so long?"

She arched her eyebrows, as if surprised that he'd asked a sensible question. Kat was. "I suppose I don't like being told what to do — by Gaea or anyone else. As much as I hate the gods sometimes, over the past three millennia I've come to see that they're better than the Titans. They're definitely better than the giants. At least the gods kept in touch. Hermes, Kat's father, has always been kind to me. And your father, Hephaestus, has often visited. He is a good person."

Kat snorted. "That's a surprise," she said. "Uh, the my papa part. I can't talk for Hephaestus. That's Leo's problem."

Speaking of Leo, his mouth was hanging open as he was staring at Calypso. Simp. She reached out and closed his mouth. He hadn't realized it was hanging open.