It almost worked ✸ Apollo ¹

XXV. Mine all mine

Dryads armed with bows and arrows talked nervously at the edge of the woods. The forest looked sickly, the grass in the meadow was pale yellow, and the fire marks on Half-Blood Hill stood out like ugly scars. Lydia had only been here for a couple of days, and it made her angry that the tree was poisoned.

This had been her home for years, and the only safe place in the world for demigods like herself. Now the whole camp was in danger. Lydia couldn't stand it anymore. She clutched her necklace from Apollo as they walked.

As the group made their way to the Big House. Nobody stopped to talk. Nobody said, "Welcome back." Some did double takes when they saw Tyson, but most just walked grimly past and carried on with their duties-running messages, toting swords to sharpen on the grinding wheels. The camp felt like a military school.

None of that mattered to Tyson. He was absolutely fascinated by everything he saw.

"Whasthat!" he gasped.

"The stables for pegasi, The winged horses."

"Whasthat!"

"Um... those are the toilets."

"Whasthat!"

"The cabins for the campers. If they don't know who your Olympian parent is, they put you in the Hermes cabin- that brown one over there-until you're deter-mined. Then, once they know, they put you in your dad or mom's group."

He looked at Lydia. "You guys have a cabin?"

"Yeah. Cabin 12, it means I'm a daughter of Dionysus." Lydia told him "The god of wine and other things."

The cabin's roof and walls are lined with grape vines. It has only three known occupants so far, including Lydia. Dionysus didn't have many demigod children because he was strongly dedicated to his immortal wife. Unlike most of the other gods around here.

"I'm Number three." Percy pointed to a low gray building made of sea stone.

"You live with friends in the cabin?" Tyson asked his friend.

"No. No, just me." Percy sighed.

Lydia looked at him with an expression that made him feel better. Percy being the son of Poseidon meant he didn't have any demigod siblings, at least not they were aware of. "Big Three" gods —Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades- had made a pact after World War II not to have any more children with mortals. They were more powerful than regular half-bloods.

When Lydia got to the Big House, she found Chiron in his apartment, listening to his favorite 1960s lounge music while he packed his saddlebags.

As soon as we saw him, Tyson froze. "Pony!" he cried in total rapture.

Chiron turned, looking offended. "I beg your pardon?"

Annabeth ran up and hugged him. "Chiron, what's happening? You're not ...leaving?" Her voice was shaky. Chiron was like a second father to her.

Chiron ruffled her hair and gave her a kindly smile. "Hello, child. And Percy, my goodness. You've grown over the year!"

Percy swallowed. "Clarisse said you were ... you were ..."

"Fired." Chiron's eyes glinted with dark humor. "Ah, well, someone had to take the blame. Lord Zeus was most upset. The tree he'd created from the spirit of his daughter, poisoned! Mr. D had to punish someone."

They all looked at Lydia. "Hey! What my father does has nothing to do with me. If I could convince him that Chiron had nothing to do with Thalia's tree I would've already done it."

"I understand, Miss Winslow. It is not your fault, but some in Olympus do not trust me now, under
the circumstances." He admitted.

"What circumstances?" Percy asked.