Changing the Future

Chapter 63

I wasn't so lucky as to land on top of the Aphrodite cabin's table like the trio. Instead, I landed in some poor satyr's lap, causing him to jump so hard that he snapped his reed pipes in half. I apologized and fixed his reed pipes, quickly getting out of his lap and composing myself, standing next to the trio as they climbed down from Aphrodite's table.

That didn't last long, however, as Piper clutched her stomach like she was about to sick, and Leo dashed off to the nearest bronze brazier, throwing up in it. I wasn't too sure the gods would be too keen on that particular offering, but I'm sure they've seen weirder.

"Jason?" Chiron trotted forward. I know that my half-brother had seen thousands of years' worth of weird stuff, but even he looked totally flabbergasted. "What – How –?"

"Hi," Piper said, as casually as she could, ignoring the gawking looks of the Aphrodite campers. "We're back."

I turned towards the Hermes and Apollo tables, searching out for the two very familiar mops of blond hair that belonged to some of the people I cared most about. My heart just about stopped when Kayla Knowles met my gaze, shaking her head sadly as she returned to her conversation with Austin Lake.

The Hermes table was greatly subdued, the older campers pushing around their food while the younger kids stared, uneasy about the siblings' moody demeanor. Not even Connor and Travis attempted to crack jokes, looking worse for wear as they gently goaded the younger kids to eat their dinner. From the Demeter cabin, Katie stared at Travis, worry evident in her eyes as Miranda jostled her back into their conversation.

"No," I exhaled softly, biting my lip so harshly that I tasted blood. "She was lying. She can't have..."

Jason patted my back sympathetically. "I'm so sorry."

I scowled as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, gold ichor smearing across my skin. "You have nothing to apologize for, Jason," I said, trying to keep the anger out of my voice. "I'll get my friends back, even if I have to jump into Tartarus myself."

"Andy, what are you doing?" Chiron asked, grabbing me by the wrist before I could leave the dining pavilion. "You cannot throw yourself into Tartarus after coming back from a quest, I forbid it."

I felt everyone's eyes on me, all other conversations dying out almost instantaneously. They wanted to know how this would end.

"I can't let them suffer because of me," I said through gritted teeth, staring Chiron directly in the eyes. "I should've been here, keeping them safe-"

"My dear, you can't be in two places at once. Don't blame yourself for something you had no control over. You're acting on your emotions, just like when Percy-"

"Percy's gone, Chiron!" I shouted, digging my nails so harshly into my palms that I felt the skin break underneath. "Now Luke and Will have been taken too, but this time they were taken by the personification of everything dark and evil, not the Queen of Olympus! I cannot, will not, stand by knowing that every second that I am here, they are being tortured beyond anything my worst nightmares can conjure up!"

Chiron pressed his lips together in a thin line, his expression grim. "We will talk about this later, Andy," he said, his voice impossibly soft, barely louder than a whisper. "Until then, let us celebrate the return of our questers for freeing Queen Hera and preventing G-"

"Mother Earth," I insisted.

"And preventing Mother Earth from waking."

The dining pavilion broke out into roars of approval, the sounds of cheering and the Ares cabin pounding their weapons against the ground flooding the valley. I pushed down my anger again, finding a weak smile make its way onto my face as I applauded loudly for my friends, watching as they stood there awkwardly, unsure of how to react.