True Blue ✷ Leo Valdez.

31: Oh.

  THE VERY FIRST DINNER with all eight demi-gods aboard the ship was very dreadful, in Blaire's truthful yet dismal opinion. Maybe the other's presence should've reassured Blaire, but seeing all of them in one place only reminded her that the Prophecy of Eight was unfolding at last and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

There was no more lazy days she'd spend pretending to help Leo finish the ship but actually just avoiding chores. No more easy days at Camp Half-Blood, pretending the future was still a long way off. They were under way, with a bunch of angry Romans behind them and the ancient lands ahead. The giants would be waiting. Gaea was rising. And unless they succeeded in this quest, the world would be destroyed.

The others must've felt it too. The tension in the mess hall was like an electrical storm brewing, which was totally possible, considering Percy's and Jason's powers. In an awkward moment, the two boys tried to sit in the same chair at the head of the table.

  Sparks literally flew from Jason's hands. After a brief silent standoff, like they were both thinking, Seriously, dude?, they ceded the chair to Annabeth and sat at opposite sides of the table.

  Blaire was still shaken up from the earlier events of the day; seeing Olivia, phantom blood staining her hands, leaving Echo and then returning aboard to immediately torture herself with the warmest water aboard the argo. She wasn't in the mood to eat anything— then again she never was. Her stomach was too full of dread to withstand a proper meal.

The crew compared notes on what had happened in Salt Lake City, but even Leo and Blaire's ridiculous story about how they tricked Narcissus using a made up relationship wasn't enough to cheer up the group.

"So where to now?" Leo asked with a mouthful of pizza. Blaire elbowed him with a look of pure disgust, picking at her own greasy slice. "I did a quick repair job to get us out of the lake, but there's still a lot of damage. We should really put down again and fix things right before we head across the Atlantic."

  Percy was eating a piece of pie, which for some reason was completely blue—filling, crust, even the whipped cream. He'd always had a weird obsession with the color blue. "We need to put some distance between us and Camp Jupiter," he said. "Frank spotted some eagles over Salt Lake City. We figure the Romans aren't far behind us."

That certainly didn't improve anyones mood.

"I don't suppose we should go back and try to reason with the Romans? Maybe—maybe I didn't try hard enough with the charmspeak." Piper's voice was laced with something sorrowful and mildly guilty.

Jason took her hand. "It wasn't your fault, Pipes."

Beside Blaire, Leo looked down at his plate, obviously blaming himself. Piper was recieving the reassurance he so badly needed and this much was obvious to his friend.

"It wasn't Leo's either," Blaire said, her tone challenging like she was daring someone to argue with her— argue against Leo. She glanced around the table, breifly meeting everyone's eyes with raised eyebrows. "Whatever happened, it was Gaea's doing, to drive the two camps apart."

She could feel Leo's eyes on her, his gaze heavy and greatful but she couldn't find it within herself to turn and meet it. Instead, she just let him knock his shoulder against her's, accepting his silent thank you.

Piper nodded in agreement. "Maybe if we could explain that, though—"

"With no proof?" Annabeth asked. "And no idea what really happened? I appreciate what you're saying, Piper. I don't want the Romans on our bad side, but until we understand what Gaea's up to, going back is suicide."