Invisible ― Jason Grace

xii. camilla's first tea party

CAMILLA PASSED OUT almost immediately after their meeting, which was all well and good—the water stunt at the aquarium had left her completely drained. And luckily for her, she slept without any scary demigod dreams, so she woke fully rested and ready to meet a ghost.

But first, she got to have an early breakfast with her boyfriend of barely two days, which was the most peaceful thing she'd done in the last twenty-four hours.

"Just be careful at the Battery," he said as they walked up onto the deck. "I don't know what that ghost said to Reyna, but I doubt it was anything good."

"We'll be fine," Camilla reassured him. "Four of us against a ghost—plus Hazel's a daughter of Pluto. We'll be good."

Jason's lips quirked up in a smile. "Good to see your optimism is still as intact as ever."

"Someone has to be the optimist here," Camilla said. "I'll leave the realism to you and Annabeth."

Jason laughed softly. "Okay," he said. "And, look... about Nico, what I said yesterday... I was just trying to be careful. I shouldn't have been so callous. I just... We have to be cautious on this quest. A lot's riding on this."

"I know," Camilla said quietly. "But Nico's a good kid. Maybe he's done a few sketchy things, but that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve saving."

Jason nodded. "Yeah, I know," he murmured. "And we will save him. You were right—that's what we do."

"Jason, waiting on you, bro!" Leo called from next to the gangplank, Frank right beside him. "I took a shower for this!"

Jason rolled his eyes, waving at Leo to tell him he'd head. "Bye," he said, leaning down to peck Camilla on the lips. "See you at sunset."

"Bye."

As Jason, Leo, and Frank descended the gangplank, Camilla joined Hazel and Piper at the bow. Piper was smirking and Hazel was bouncing on the balls of her feet as Camilla approached.

"When did that happen?" Hazel asked.

"Day before yesterday," Camilla said, trying to tamper her grin.

"Thank gods, I was wondering how long we were all going to have to deal with your pining," Hazel teased.

"Oh, don't even start, you and Frank were way worse," Camilla said.

"Well, now I can tell you about how much Jason talked about you the past six months without him getting mad," Piper said, slinging an arm around Camilla's shoulders. "And trust me, he would not shut up about you."

Camilla's cheeks flushed red. "Really?"

Piper laughed. "Oh, yeah."

At the starboard rail, Percy called out, "Milla!"

Camilla joined him at the rail. "What's up?"

Percy shrugged. "Not much," he said. "I'm gonna see if I can talk to the local Nereids, figure out a way to free the captives in Atlanta. Wanna ditch the girls' trip and join?"

Camilla considered it for a moment. "I don't know. I think it'll be fun. Plus, it'll be nice to have a girls' trip, right? Do some sightseeing, meet some ghosts."

"Yeah, I guess," Percy said. "But we're taking a dip in the Atlantic before we reach the Mare Nostrum. You are seriously lacking in sea experience."

Camilla rolled her eyes, smiling. "Deal."

"So." He turned to face her, leaning against the railing. "You and Grace?"

Camilla's cheeks burned again. "What about us?"