𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 - 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒋𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒙 𝒐𝒄

.•°*¯'*¤° 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑻𝑬𝑬𝑵 °¤*'¯*°•.

Distance was shorter in the Labyrinth. Still, by the time Rachel got them back to Times Square, Phoenix felt like they’d pretty much run all the way from New Mexico.

They climbed out of the Marriott basement and stood on the sidewalk in the bright summer daylight, squinting at the traffic and crowds.

Phoenix couldn’t decide which seemed less real—New York or the crystal cave where she’d watched a god die.

Percy led the way into an alley, where he could get a nice echo. Then he whistled as loud as he could, five times.

A minute later, Rachel gasped. “They’re beautiful!”

A flock of pegasi descended from the sky, swooping between the skyscrapers.

Blackjack was in the lead, followed by four of his white friends.

“Yeah,” Percy spoke to the horse  “I’m lucky that way. Listen, we need a ride to camp quick.”

Everybody started saddling up—except Rachel.

Annabeth and Davey sat on a pegasus together while Grover and Tyson had their own and Percy had Blackjack. Nico just stood looking at the Pegasi that he was supposed to share with Phoenix.

“Well,” Rachel told Percy, “I guess this is it.”

Percy nodded uncomfortably. They both knew she couldn’t go to camp.

Percy glanced at Phoenix, who was pretending to be very busy with her Pegasus.

“Thanks, Rachel,” Percy said. “We couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it. I mean, except for almost dying, and Pan…” Her voice faltered.

“He said something about your father,” Percy remembered. “What did he mean?”

Rachel twisted the strap on her backpack. “My dad…My dad’s job. He’s kind of a famous businessman.”

“You mean…you’re rich?”

“Well, yeah.”

“So that’s how you got the chauffeur to help us? You just said your dad’s name and—”

“Yes,” Rachel cut him off. “Percy…my dad’s a land developer. He flies all over the world, looking for tracts of undeveloped land.”

She took a shaky breath.

“The wild. He—he buys it up. I hate it, but he plows it down and builds ugly subdivisions and shopping centers. And now that I’ve seen Pan…Pan’s death—”

“Hey, you can’t blame yourself for that.”

“You don’t know the worst of it. I—I don’t like to talk about my family. I didn’t want you to know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No,” Percy said. “It’s cool. Look, Rachel, you did awesome. You led us through the maze. You were so brave. That’s the only thing I’m going to judge you on. I don’t care what your dad does.”

Rachel looked at Percy gratefully. “Well…if you ever feel like hanging out with a mortal again…you could call me or something.”

“Uh, yeah. Sure.”

She knit her eyebrows. Percy assumed he sounded unenthusiastic or something, but that’s not how he meant it. He just wasn’t sure what to say with all his friends standing around. And he guessed his feelings had gotten pretty mixed up the last couple of days.

“I mean…I’d like that,” Percy said.

“My number’s not in the book,” she said.

“I’ve got it.”