Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
As fate would have it, Eli's lack of a breakfast would come back to bite her—in hunger pains and hangry, snapped comments in the back of the van that caused every one of Argus's hundred eyes to side-eye her from the front seat.
The beginning of the ride started off smooth, decent sights soaring across the van windows and entertaining Luke and Eli as they traveled further from camp. Cloud-watching passed their time. Everything they did or said was rather menial, unimportant, because neither of them cared too much to want to actually address the fact that they were heading into something of which they had no semblance of a plan. If they had Annabeth with them, Eli knew they would have not only had a plan of action, but a daily agenda too—they'd be back at Camp Half-Blood within the week, golden apple in hand and celebrations encompassing their names.
But Annabeth was not with them—that much was evident from the lump of anxiety eating away at Eli's stomach.
Or was that hunger?
"Argus," Luke said, once they were about five minutes from the city, "I think you can drop us anywhere. We'll have to figure it out on our own."
Argus saluted Luke, but did not respond otherwise. Eli thought about the rumor that there was an eye smack-dab in the middle of his tongue, then shuddered.
New York City was decorated beautifully for the holidays. Red and green Christmas lights strung from building alcoves, across streets and corners, their unlit bulbs shining in the grey light of winter sun. It hadn't snowed yet in New York—too early in the season—but it was still cold as all get out. Not for the first time, Eli wondered why Hermes had chosen now to give Luke his quest. Usually demigods embarked on their quests during the summertime, because the majority of them were out of school for a few months and the weather was all-around nicer. Nobody wanted to trudge through feet of snow to across the country.
But, if she was being honest, Eli loved the winter. It was her favorite season. The weather wasn't exactly perfect, but she loved seeing the snow, how it glistened as it fell every year like clockwork. And her favorite holiday was Christmas—that spoke for itself.
Luke glanced up at the decorations adorning the streets as Argus paused at a red light, then gave Eli a smile. "It's almost your holiday."
She tipped her head to the side, beaming. "It's just beautiful, Luke. I'm never in New York for Christmas. Am I too much of a tourist if I say I want to see the Rockefeller tree before we leave the city?"
"Probably," he admitted, then shrugged his shoulders listlessly. "If you think this is cool, you've gotta see Christmas at camp."
She raised her eyebrows. "Why? Do they go all-out the day after I leave each year, or something?"
