Invisible ― Jason Grace

xvi. welcome to the family

CAMILLA EXPLAINED her dream to Hazel and Percy over Hazel's unfairly delicious poached eggs and bacon on toast. 

"I don't understand," Hazel said. "How did no one figure it out? Children of the Big Three are supposed to be magnets for monsters." 

"My mom put a spell on me, apparently," Camilla grumbled, taking a sip of her orange juice. "According to Neptune, it blocked my Neptune-y powers and hid my scent from monsters—for the most part anyway." 

Percy studied her for a moment. Without a word, he stood up from the table and grabbed an empty glass from one of the cabinets and filled it with water from the sink. He set the glass down in front of Camilla. "Make the water come out of the glass." 

"Wh—I don't know how!" Camilla protested. 

"Just try it," Percy insisted. 

"How?" 

"It's like instinct," he explained. "Just... will the water to come to you." 

Camilla stared at him. "That's the vaguest set of instructions anyone has ever given me."

"Just do it!" 

Camilla huffed. "Fine," she said. "But don't laugh when it doesn't work."

She focused on the glass of water. She felt stupid, and she probably looked stupid, too, but she concentrated on the glass. She pictured the water coming out of the glass, suspending in the air in a glob of water. 

She felt something strange—some kind of tug in the pit of her stomach. She closed her eyes, focusing on sensation. 

Beside her, Hazel gasped. 

Camilla opened her eyes. The water in the glass was floating above it, suspended in the air just as she'd pictured it. Across the table, Percy was grinning like a madman. 

Camilla flicked her hand, and the water followed the motion, splashing Percy in the face. Hazel laughed at Percy's surprised expression, and Camilla couldn't help but join in. 

Percy was completely dry. He narrowed his eyes at Camilla, but there was no heat in his glare, and it only lasted a few seconds before he was grinning again. "I have a sister!" 

◈

After breakfast, Frank's grandmother sent them up to the attic, which looked more like an armory than a regular attic. They took stock of the multitude of weapons and waited for Frank on the roof, watching the army of ogres grow more and more restless with every passing minute. 

It didn't take the son of Mars long to join them in the attic. 

"Morning," Percy said grimly. "Beautiful day, huh?" 

He and Camilla were sitting on the roof, Percy dual-wielding his sword and a garden hose that was conveniently placed on the roof. Camilla had Hurricane. As much as she didn't want to like the gift her estranged father had given her, the sword fit so comfortably in her hand and was so perfectly balanced that she almost liked wielding it. It was like it had been forged just for her. 

Percy had spent the morning up on the roof teaching Camilla how to control her powers better. Every time the giants sent up a cannonball, Percy had her summon a high-powered blast of water to detonate the sphere in midair. For once in her life, Camilla felt like a badass. 

Hazel patrolled the widow's walk between the two attic gables. She gripped her sword. She looked at Frank. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Why are you smiling?" 

"Oh, uh, nothing," Frank managed. "Thanks for breakfast. And the clothes. And... not hating me." 

Hazel looked baffled. "Why would I hate you?"