Wildfires, Heroes of Olympus ₂

041, average demigod day easy claps

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
SILVIANA        DUVALL

By the morning Leo had docked the ship at a pier in Charleston Harbor, right next to the seawall. Along the shore was a historical district with tall mansions, palm trees, and wrought-iron fences. Antique cannons pointed at the water. 

By the time Sylvie came up on the deck, Jason, Leo, and Frank had already left for the museum. According to Hazel, they'd promised to be back by sunset. Annabeth, Finley, and Piper were ready to go, but first Sylvie turned to Percy, who was leaning on the starboard rail, gazing over the bay.

Sylvie laced their fingers. "What are you going to do while we're gone?"

"Jump into the harbor," he said casually. Sylvie thought he was joking until she realized it was Percy speaking. "I want to try communicating with the local Nereids. Maybe they can give me some advice about how to free those captives in Atlanta. Besides, I think the sea might be good for me. Being in that aquarium made feel... unclean."

His hair was dark and tangled as usual. Sylvie raised her free hand to run her fingers through it, settling on the gray streak forever there, and tugging at it. When he and Annabeth were fourteen, they'd taken turns (unwillingly) holding the weight of the sky. Percy himself had given up doing it to try and save Sylvie, but the strain still left him with some gray hair. Even after so much time had passed, the gray streak was still ceasing to fade. Oddly, that made Sylvie a little happy. It felt like no matter what happened to Percy, there was still something permanent Sylvie could remember him by.

Sylvie kissed him, and Percy kissed her back with enthusiasm. "Good luck, Fishstick. Just come back to me, okay?"

"I always do," he promised. "You do the same."

Sylvie tried to push down her growing unease.

She turned to Annabeth, Finley, and Piper. "Okay, y'all. Let's find the ghost of the Battery."

╰━━━ ◦ ✸ ◦ ✸ ◦ ━━━╯

Afterward, Sylvie wished she'd jumped into the harbor with Percy. She even would've preferred a museum full of ghosts.

Not that she minded hanging out with Annabeth, Finley, and Piper—even if Finley and Piper bickered at every opportunity. They had a pretty good time walking along the Battery. According to the signs, the seaside park was called White Point Gardens. The ocean breeze swept away the muggy heat of the summer afternoon, and it was pleasantly cool under the shade of the palmetto trees. 

Charleston Harbor glittered in the sun. To the north and south, strips of land stretched out like arms enclosing the bay, and sitting in the mouth of the harbor, about a mile out, was an island with a stone fort.