HORIZON ⸺ jason grace

vi. percy puts on his protective-brother pants

UNFORTUNATELY, COACH HEDGE was the one left to man the helm after everyone had cleaned up so that the demigods could gather below for dinner. It was the first time they'd all sat down together—just the eight of them.

It was a startling reminder for Violet that the Prophecy of Eight was unfolding at last. No more waiting for Leo to finish the ship. No more easy days with Will and Nia at Camp Half-Blood, pretending the future was still far away. They were under way, with a bunch of angry Romans behind them and the ancient lands ahead. The giants were waiting. Gaea was rising. And unless they succeeded in this quest, the world would be destroyed.

Awesome.

The others must've felt it too. The tension in the mess hall was like an electrical storm brewing, which was totally possible, considering Violet, Percy, and Jason's powers.

In an awkward moment, the two boys tried to sit in the same chair at the head of the table. Sparks literally flew from Jason's hands. After a brief silent standoff, like they were both thinking, Seriously, dude?, Violet shoved the two of them out of the way and declared the seat was Annabeth's.

"Boys," she grumbled, taking the seat to the right of her blonde friend.

The crew compared notes on what had happened in Salt Lake City, but even Leo's ridiculous story about how he tricked Narcissus wasn't enough to cheer up the group.

"So where to now?" Leo asked through a mouthful of pizza. "I did a quick repair job to get us out of the lake, but there's still a lot of damage. We should really put down again and fix things right before we head across the Atlantic."

Percy was eating a piece of pie that was, in true Percy fashion, completely blue—filling, crust, even the whipped cream.

"We need to put some distance between us and Camp Jupiter," he said. "Frank spotted some eagles over Salt Lake City. We figure the Romans aren't far behind us."

Even though Percy wasn't talking directly to her, Violet could feel the tension between them. She figured it had something to do with the fact that she hadn't taken his side over Jason's, but that was stupid, because she hadn't taken Jason's side, either.

"Is there any way to throw them off?" Violet looked to Frank for the answer.

Frank shook his head, fiddling with his fork. "The Legion Eagles are like monsters—they can smell demigods. There's no way that we could fool them."

That didn't improve the mood around the table. Everyone frowned, some at their food, some at each other. Coach Hedge stomped around upstairs.

Piper spoke up, looking guilty. "I don't suppose we should go back and try to reason with the Romans? Maybe-maybe I didn't try hard enough with the charmspeak."

Jason shook his head. "It wasn't your fault, Piper. Or Leo's," he added quickly. "Whatever happened, it was Gaea's doing, to drive the two camps apart."

Piper still looked uneasy. "Maybe if we could explain that, though—"

"With no proof?" Annabeth asked. "And no idea what really happened? I appreciate what you're saying, Piper. I don't want the Romans on our bad side, but until we understand what Gaea's up to, going back is suicide."

"She's right," Hazel said. She still looked a little queasy, but she was trying to eat a few saltine crackers. Violet felt bad for the younger girl, and she wished that her powers extended to the removal of seasickness.

She noticed, too, rim of Hazel's plate was embedded with rubies, and was pretty sure they hadn't been there at the beginning of the meal.

"Reyna might listen, but Octavian won't.
The Romans have honor to think about. They've been attacked. They'll shoot first and ask questions post hac."