This Cold Year ― Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase²

―xv. jeff bezos WHO?

AS THEY SPED DOWN THE COLUMBIA RIVER, Ella roosted comfortably in the stern in a nest full of old books and magazines from the library's recycling bin. She nibbled on bits of jerky and recited random lines from Charles Dickens and 50 Tricks to Teach Your Dog.

Percy knelt at the bow, steering them toward the ocean with his  powers. Naomi sat on the bench behind him, braiding and unbraiding her hair purely to give herself something to do. Hazel and Frank sat together on the center bench, their shoulders touching. 

Soon, the river widened into the ocean. The Pax turned north. The sky eventually began to darken, the sea turning the same rusty red as Ella's wings. June twenty-first was almost over. The Feast of Fortuna would happen in the evening, exactly seventy-two hours from now. 

Finally Frank brought out some food from his pack—sodas and muffins he'd scavenged from Phineas's table. He passed them around.

"It's okay, Hazel," he said quietly. "My mom used to say you shouldn't try to carry a problem alone. But if you don't want to talk about it, that's okay."

Hazel took a shaky breath.

"You were right," she said to Frank, "when you guessed I came back from the Underworld. I'm... I'm an escapee. I shouldn't be alive."

Hazel explained everything—how her mother had summoned Pluto and fallen in love with the god, her mother's wish for all the riches in the earth, and how that had turned into Hazel's curse. She described her life in New Orleans; the Voice, and how Gaea had slowly taken over her mother's mind. She explained how she had moved to Alaska, how Hazel had helped raise the giant Alcyoneus, and how she had died, sinking the island into Resurrection Bay.

She must have known everyone was listening, but she spoke mostly to Frank. When she was finished, the boat was quiet for a few moments.

Frank took her hand. "You sacrificed yourself to stop a giant from waking. I could never be that brave."

"It wasn't bravery. I let my mother die. I cooperated with Gaea too long. I almost let her win." 

"But you stopped her," Naomi reminded her gently. "By yourself. You saved the world single-handedly, Hazel." 

Hazel still looked skeptical. 

"Hazel," Percy said. "You stood up to a goddess all by yourself. You did the right..." His voice trailed off, as if he'd had an unpleasant thought. "What happened in the Underworld... I mean, after you died? You should've gone to Elysium. But if Nico brought you back—"

"I didn't go to Elysium," Hazel said. "Please, don't ask..."

"Hazel?" Frank asked.

"'Slip Sliding Away,'" Ella muttered. "Number five U.S. single. Paul Simon. Frank, go with her. Simon says, Frank, go with her."

Hazel and Frank both passed out at the same moment, holding hands. 

Naomi blinked, tilting her head in confusion. 

"Uh... should we be worried?" Percy asked. 

"Sharing," Ella said from her nest. "Sharing is caring. Hazel is sharing." 

❈

Hazel and Frank stayed passed out until they reached Seattle. 

Naomi gently shook Hazel's shoulder. "Hazel. Wake up. We're in Seattle." 

Hazel sat up slowly, squinting in the morning sunlight. "Frank?" 

Frank groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Did we just... was I just—?"

"You both passed out," Percy said. "We don't know why, but Ella said not to worry about it. She said you were... sharing?"