𝕺𝖕𝖕𝖔𝖘𝖎𝖙𝖊𝖘 𝕬𝖙𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙 - 𝕱𝖊𝖒𝕺𝕮 𝖃 𝕷𝖊𝖔 𝖁𝖆𝖑𝖉𝖊𝖟

Kiera

After all that had happened that morning, the worst of it was definitely hearing about Percy.

I was mostly pissed because nobody at Camp Half-Blood thought it was smart to try and reach out to me, telling me of what happened. It was annoying how they kept it silent.

I stood in the back of the chariot with Piper, Leo, and Jason, while Butch handled the reins, and Annabeth adjusted a bronze navigation device. We rose over the Grand Canyon and headed east, icy wind ripping straight through my Montauk hoodie.

The chariot lurched and bumped, which only made it worse for me. While flying on a pegasus was fine, chariots seemed a lot more dangerous for me. 

Leo looked over the ledge, his arm still around me. "This is so cool!"

I shared a faint smile with the curly haired boy. He seemed really excited about going to camp, which was ironic because at first everyone hates it. 

"Where are we going?" Piper asked.

"A safe place," Annabeth said. "The only  safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."

She frowned. "So demigods are really real?"

"Yeah, how. . ." Annabeth looked at me. "Did you brief them after the situation with the storm spirits?"

"Yep." I said quickly. More than anything, I was pissed at her. 

"Well, yes. My mom is Athena, goddess of wisdom. Butch is the son of Iris, goddess of the rainbow. Kiera is a daughter of Poseidon—the first, too." Annabeth said, looking down at her device.

Leo choked. "Your mom is a rainbow goddess?"

"Got a problem with that?" Butch said.

"No, no," Leo said. "Rainbows. Very macho."

"Butch is our best equestrian," Annabeth said. "He, Percy, and Kiera get along great with the pegasi. These two are the twins's."

Hey, Lady? Blackjack whinnied from up front. Got anymore sugar cubes?

"Nope." I said. "Fresh out."

Liar, Ace muttered.

"Rainbows, ponies," Leo snickered.

"I'm gonna toss you off this chariot," Butch warned.

I sighed, turning back to the inside of the chariot. "I'd appreciate it if you could not, sorry, Butch. I'm a little attached to this one."

"This one?" Leo stared at me horrified.

Piper shivered and went to my other side.

Lightning flashed. The chariot shuddered, and Jason yelled, "Left wheel's on fire!"

I stepped away. Sure enough, the wheel was burning, white flames lapping up the side of the chariot.

The wind roared. I glanced behind him and saw dark shapes forming in the clouds, more storm spirits spiraling toward the chariot—except these looked more like horses.

Piper started to say, "why are they—"

"Anemoi  come in different shapes," Annabeth said. "Sometimes human, sometimes stallions, depending on how chaotic they are. Hold on. This is going to get rough."

Butch flicked the reins. The pegasi put on a burst of speed, and the chariot blurred. My stomach crawled into my throat. My vision went black, and when it came back to normal, I was home.

A cold gray ocean stretched out  to the left. Snow-covered fields, roads, and forests spread to our right. Directly below us was a green valley, like an island of springtime, rimmed with snowy hills on three sides and water to the north. There were a bunch more cabins since the last time I was there. Before I could be in relief, the wheels of the chariot came off and we dropped like stones.