𝕺𝖕𝖕𝖔𝖘𝖎𝖙𝖊𝖘 𝕬𝖙𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙 - 𝕱𝖊𝖒𝕺𝕮 𝖃 𝕷𝖊𝖔 𝖁𝖆𝖑𝖉𝖊𝖟

Leo

"How did he die?" I asked. "I mean Beckendorf."

Kiera's shoulders visibly lowered. "Explosion. Beckendorf, Percy, and I blew up a cruise ship full of monsters. Beckendorf didn't make it out."

"He was pretty popular?" I asked. "I mean—before he blew up."

"He was awesome," Kiera smiled faintly. "It was hard on the whole camp when he died. Jake—he became head counselor in the middle of the war. So did Will Solace—that archer you saw back there. Jake is doing his best, but he never wanted to be leader. He just likes building stuff. Then after the war, apparently things have been going up. Cabin Nine's chariots have been blowing up. Their automatons haywire. Their inventions malfunctioning. The only one unaffected is only nine. Well, and me."

I frowned. "Aren't you a child of Poseidon, though?"

"Yeah, but there's this whole thing," She sighed, almost like she didn't want it to be her burden. "I'll tell you all of it at the sing-along. Anyways, I help Cabin Nine out because I'm blessed by your father, he and I are okay friends, but I've got a good talent from him."

We passed a strawberry patch, where satyrs like Hedge were playing instruments, plants growing rapidly. A girl with dark hair and purple eyes stood out in the field with others who looked like her. She flicked a hand and grapes burst from the ground.

"Hey, Teqi!" Kiera waved.

She waved back before paying attention to a younger kid.

"You seem to know a lot of people," I noted.

"When you've been here for years and through a war, that'll happen." Kiera said.

A war? That's what must've been happening in New York.

"Here we are," She said with a forced smile.

The forge looked like a steam-powered locomotive had smashed into the Greek Parthenon and they had fused together. White marble columns lined the soot-stained walls. Chimneys pumped smoke over an elaborate gable carved with a bunch of gods and monsters. The building sat at the edge of a stream, with several water wheels turning a series of bronze gears. I heard machinery grinding inside, fires roaring, and hammers ringing on anvils.

We stepped through the doorway, and a dozen guys and girls who'd bene working on various projects all froze. The noise died down to the roar of the forge and the click-click-click  of gears and levers.

"Sup, guys," Kiera said. "This is your new brother, Leo Valdez."

I held up my hand. Was I truly related to all of them?

Kids came up and started shaking hands and introducing themselves, a few even hugged Kiera and asked how the mission was. Their names blurred together: Shane, Christopher, Liliana, Nyssa. I knew I'd never keep everybody straight. Too many of them. Too overwhelming.

There were quick footsteps running towards us, through the door out the side.

"KIKI!" A little boy shouted. He had features identical to mine, except his eyes were lighter, and his ears, nose, and fingers were normal—other than the rough surface.

Kiera crouched down to him, grinning as he ran into her arms. 

"I've missed you!" He buried his head in her neck.

She wrapped her arms around him, and her body seemed to relax. "I've missed you, too, Harley."

Yes, like the motorcycle.

"Who's this?" I asked.

The little kid looked up at me with his eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

Kiera stood up and ruffled the boy's hair. "This is Leo, your new brother. Leo, this is Harley. He's nine."