𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒆 ― percy jackson

021. DANGER IS NEAR

                         Nathaniel was now a common presence in her life, a formidable one at that as she'd spend time with him about the same as she'd spend with her own father. But, as much as she appreciated his comforting presence . . . his origin story and how she was able to see him were still shrouded in darkness.

                         And, oh, did Aurora swear she would uncover what lay beneath the cloud.

                         And as much as she wanted to tell her friends and siblings about it, she couldn't. Not with the lack of information, and not while the entire world was on their shoulders.

                         She pursed her lips and sighed, "It's a hypothesis," she said noticing the way Annabeth's eyes flared in disappointment at the response. "Brainiac, you know how I feel about hypothesis'. Without the correct amount of evidence—"

                         "They can lead to a wrong outcome," Annabeth finished with a scoff. "I get it."

                         Aurora winced, "Brainiac—"

Before Aurora could finish her sentence, Annabeth nudged her head in the direction of camp and all of Aurora's words of apologies died in her throat. The air of danger growing more prominent than ever.

The Big House was still there with its blue gabled roof and its wrap-around porch. The strawberry fields still baked in the sun. The same white-columned Greek buildings were scattered around the valley-the amphitheater, the combat arena, the dining pavilion overlooking Long Island Sound. And nestled between the woods and the creek were the same cabins-a crazy assortment of twelve buildings, each representing a different Olympian god.

The air of danger reminded Aurora of the shroud of darkness she was looking to uncover, but it was much different here at camp. You could tell something was wrong. Instead of playing volleyball in the sandpit, counselors and satyrs were stockpiling weapons in the tool shed that had a bold : STARK INDUSTRIES logo on the side. Dryads armed with bows and arrows talked nervously at the edge of the woods.

The forest looked sickly, the grass in the meadow was pale yellow, and the fire marks on Half-Blood Hill stood out like ugly scars. Aurora's eyes hardened in stone, a fury of rage building up in her chest as she took in the damage.

As they made their way to the Big House, Aurora recognized a lot of kids from last summer. Nobody stopped to talk. Nobody said, "Welcome back." Or stopped to gape at the daughter of Anthony Stark. Instead they glanced at her and did double-takes when they saw Tyson, but most just walked grimly past and carried on with their duties-running messages, toting swords to sharpen on the grinding wheels.

The camp felt like a military school. None of that mattered to Tyson. He was absolutely fascinated by everything he saw. Aurora found his excitement amusing, the only bright thing to occur while in their journey was his delighted expression.

"Whasthat!" he gasped.

"The stables for pegasi," Percy said. "The winged horses."

"Whasthat!"

"Um . . . those are the toilets."

"Whasthat!"

"The cabins for the campers. If they don't know who your Olympian parent is, they put you in the Hermes cabin-that brown one over there-until you're determined. Then, once they know, they put you in your dad or mom's group."