𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖊𝖑 - 𝕱𝖊𝖒𝕺𝕮𝖝𝕷𝖊𝖔 𝖁𝖆𝖑𝖉𝖊𝖟

1. Take Me Back To The Night We Met

The end of the world started when a pegasus tried landing on the hood of my car.

Up until then, I was having a great afternoon. Technically I wasn't supposed to be driving because I wouldn't turn sixteen for another week, but Mom and Paul, took Percy, Rachel and I to this private stretch of beach on the South Shore, and Paul let us borrow his Prius because my truck was at home.

Now, I know you're thinking, Wow, Kiera, that was really irresponsible of you and him, blah, blah, blah, but Paul knows me pretty well. He's seen me slide up demons and leap out of exploding school buildings, so he probably figured taking a car a few hundred yards wasn't the most dangerous thing I'd ever done.

Anyway, Percy, Rachel and I were driving along. It was a hot August day. Rachel's red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a white blouse over her swimsuit. I'd never seen her in anything but ratty T-shirts and paint-splattered jeans before, and trust me—she looked great.

Percy had some black pants and a black tight-fit T-shirt. Once Rachel had assured me she had no feelings for my brother—turns out she's a Percabeth shipper too—we became great friends.

I wore my black cargos and just a female sized version of Percy's shirt. I knew I'd need my lucky blue converse today, but decided against it. Percy had asked to put my hair back for me, so he decided to go for two Dutch braids, which ended up looking great.

"Oh, pull up right there!" Rachel said.

I parked on a ridge overlooking the Atlanta. The sea is always one of my favorite places, but today it was especially nice—glittery green and smooth as glass, as though Dad was keeping it calm just for Percy and I.

"So." Rachel smiled at me. "About the invitation."

"Right." I tried to sound excited. I mean, she'd asked me—Percy said he'd go if I went—to her family's vacation house on St. Thomas for three days. We never really got a lot of offers like that. Our family's idea of a great vacation was a weekend in a rundown cabin on Long Island with some movie rentals and a couple of frozen pizzas, and here Rachel's folks were willing to let two troublesome twins tag along.

Besides, we seriously needed a vacation. This summer had been the hardest of my life. The idea of taking a break even for a few days was really tempting, even if the big prophecy that would cause all shit to break loose on August eighteenth, me and Percy's birthday.

Still, something was supposed to go down any day one. We were "on call" for a mission. Even worse, next week was the birthday that the world would—maybe—end.

"Percy, Kiera," she said. "I know the timing is bad. But its always  bad for you two, right?"

She had a point. 

"We really want to go," I promised. "It's just—"

"The war."

We nodded. I hated talking about it, but Rachel knew. Unlike most mortals, she could see through the Mist—the magic veil that distorts human vision. She'd seen monsters. She'd met other demigods, some even working for the Titans. She'd even been there last summer when the chopped-up Lord Kronos rose out of his coffin in a terrible new form, and she'd earned my permanent respect by nailing him in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush—you heard me. Blue. A hair brush.

Rachel put her hand on mine. "Just think about it, okay? We don't leave for a couple of days. My dad. . ." Her voice faltered.

"Is he giving you a hard time?" Percy asked.

Rachel shook her head in disgust. "He's trying to be nice  to me, which is almost worse. He wants me to go to Clarion Ladies Academy in the fall."