Wildflowers, Percy Jackson ₁

030, it's casual WHEN

CHAPTER THIRTY

₊˚࿐࿔ 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉. 𓏲｡

Sylvie was so glad she slept for the ride to Olympus, because the parts where she was awake were not a blast. They flew with thunder and lightning swirling around the Empire State Building—only made worse that a son of Poseidon was in Zeus's domain.

They circled over midtown Manhattan, making one complete orbit around Mount Olympus. Sylvie had never been there before, and she was starting to get more nervous the closer they got. That anxiety was sort of overriding the underlying trauma and despair right now.

In the early-morning darkness, torches and fires made the mountainside palaces glow twenty different colors, from bloodred to indigo. Apparently no one ever slept on Olympus. The twisting streets were full of demigods and nature spirits and minor godlings bustling about, riding chariots or sedan chairs carried by Cyclopes. Winter didn't seem to exist here—aka, Sylvie was very envious of this place. She caught the scent of the gardens in full bloom, jasmine and roses and even sweeter things she couldn't name. Music drifted up from many windows, the soft sounds of lyres and reed pipes.

Towering at the peak of the mountain was the greatest palace of all, the glowing white hall of the gods.

Their pegasi set them down in the outer courtyard, in front of huge silver gates. Before Sylvie could even think to knock, the gates opened by themselves.

In the back of her mind, she faintly heard Blackjack neigh and Percy breathe "Yeah," but her attention was fully ahead of her. She didn't know why, but she had a sense of doom. Sylvie had never seen all of the gods together—or any of the gods with another. She knew any one of them could blast her to dust.

Blackjack and his friends flew off, leaving Sylvie, Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia alone. For a minute, they stood there regarding the palace, the way they'd stood together in front of Westover Hall. That seemed like a million years ago now.

And then, side by side, they walked into the throne room.

╰━━━ ◦ ❀ ◦ ❀◦ ━━━╯

Twelve enormous thrones made a U around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp. The ceiling above glittered with constellations—even the newest one, Zoë the Huntress, making her way across the heavens with her bow drawn.

All of the seats were occupied. Each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall, and let Sylvie tell you, if you've ever had a dozen all-powerful super-huge beings turn their eyes on you at once... Well, suddenly, facing monsters seemed like a picnic.