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"um... okay." was percy's response.
i would've smacked him for his stupid response if it weren't for grover.
he gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow and started yammering, "thank you, lady artemis! you're so... you're so... wow!"
"get up, goat boy!" thalia snapped. "we have other things to worry about. annabeth is gone!"
"whoa," bianca di angelo said. "hold up. time out."
everybody turned to look at her. she pointed her finger at all of us in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. "who... who are you people?"
artemis's expression softened. "it might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you! who are your parents?"
bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at all of us.
"our parents are dead," bianca said. "we're orphans. there's a bank trust that pays for our school, but..."
she faltered. i guess she could tell from our faces that we didn't believe her. that may have been the story she was told, but it probably wasn't the real one.
"what?" she demanded. "i'm telling the truth."
"you are a half-blood," zoë nightshade said. her accent was really old. older than shakespeare. "one of thy parents was mortal. the other was an olympian."
"an olympian... athlete?"
"no," zoë said. "one of the gods."
"cool!" said nico.
"no!" bianca's voice quavered. "this is not cool!"
nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. i had to restrain myself from grabbing him. "does zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? does he get extra movement points for—"
"nico, shut up!" bianca put her hands to her face. "this is not your stupid mythomagic game, okay? there are no gods!"
even though i was worried about annabeth, i couldn't help feeling sorry for the di angelos. learning that you're a demigod, and your whole world's a lie, is not easy.
