Wildflowers, Percy Jackson ₁

013, existing in the context

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

₊˚࿐࿔ 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉. 𓏲｡

They arrived in Long Island just after Clarisse, thanks to the centaurs' travel powers.

Sylvie couldn't look at Chiron without thinking about what Annabeth told her. She'd met plenty of embarrassing parents, but Kronos, the evil titan lord who wanted to destroy Western Civilization? Not the kind of dad you invited to school for career day.

When they got to camp, the centaurs were anxious to meet Dionysus. They'd heard he threw some really wild parties, but they were disappointed. The wine god was in no mood to celebrate as the whole camp gathered at the top of Half-Blood Hill.

The camp had been through a hard two weeks. The arts and crafts cabin had been burned to the ground from an attack by a Draco Aionius (which as near as Sylvie could figure was Latin for "really-big-lizard-with-breath-that-blew-shit-up"). The Big House's rooms were overflowing with wounded. The kids in Apollo cabin, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid. Everybody looked weary and battered as they crowded around Thalia's tree.

The moment Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece over the lowest bough, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from gray to liquid silver. A cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley. Everything came into sharper focus—the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of waves on the beach.

Gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green.

Everybody cheered. It was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt—the Fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison.

Chiron ordered a twenty-four/seven guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the Fleece. He said he'd place an ad in Olympus Weekly right away.

In the meantime, Clarisse was carried on her cabin mates' shoulders down to the amphitheater, where she was honored with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire.

(Almost) Nobody gave Sylvie, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, or Tyson a second look. It was as if they'd never left. Sylvie kind of preferred it. That way, she didn't have to deal with the overwhelming attention, and they wouldn't get expelled because no one would admit they'd snuck out. However, there was one slight shift. Sylvie almost felt like she was one of the campers for once.

But, she did say almost nobody. So she should probably clarify that.

When all the camp had filed away from the tree to commence their celebrating, there were a few campers lingering behind. Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson, of course, but four others. Either glaring or awe-struck, Eurydice, Katie, Florian, and Miranda stared back at her.