Wild Heart ⋆ Riordanverse¹

xxii. master plan

xxii. master plan

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WHEN THEA WAKES UP, THE FLEECE IS NO LONGER AROUND HER. She can't remember what it felt like, only that it was cold and she was scared. Thea nearly expects to be faced with a waiting room but she knows it isn't the case. Charlie's arms are wrapped around her, holding her in place.

"What happened? How—how did I—"

"The Fleece," he answers, his voice catching. "We had to pass the Fleece around to heal everyone but—are you okay? You didn't wake up right away and—"

"'Fleece works like a rapid magic antibiotic," she says through a yawn. "My mom 'n I studied it, it was our favorite subject. She knitted me this—this little sweater with golden yarn she'd gotten from someone. She taught me everything she knew about it. It works fast but if you have severe internal damage the Fleece can fix it but your body has to catch up and refuel itself."

Her legs are crossed and—she's on a hippocampus, the same one from before. She can feel the muscles move beneath her, which is oddly comforting. The sound and feeling of the ocean around her feels almost like home and she wants to dive into it.

"Where are we heading?"

"Miami. At least that's where Tyson told them to go."

"How long have you been awake?"

"I . . . I don't know. Most of us passed out from exhaustion."

Annabeth is awake. She smiles from where she's sitting in front of Percy but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. Thankfully, the Hippocampi are far enough apart that Thea can talk to Charlie without her hearing.

"Is she okay? Did the Fleece work?"

"It did, she woke up a bit after me, but—"

"And you? Does anything hurt?"

He hugs Thea from behind, a small shake to his hands. "Thea, I was hurt real bad, but not like you. Annabeth, she—she was hurt bad too, but . . . it was different. You were dying right in front of everyone, you were still there."

A spark of anger flares in her chest. "Annabeth was there too! She wasn't awake but she was hurt and—"

"Thea." He's angry. "You have to stop. Remember what we talked about back in Clarisse's ship? You can't just—just risk your life like it doesn't mean anything. You've died once and you keep testing it. Our family's lucky, but we're not that damn lucky."

"Charlie, that isn't—"

"What? Fair? Thea, everyone was terrified. I wasn't there but—no one would even talk about it but Grover. It terrified them. Imagine if you had to watch me die. Or Percy and Annabeth. I'm not trying to guilt you but—gods, you can't just be reckless anymore. You're not on the road by yourself, there are things at stake now."

She knows he's only worried, but it hurts more than she would like.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I keep doing this. It's . . . it felt like I was on the road so long, y'know? And it was just me against the world. Any time I found someone it always ended badly so I just—I stopped trying to find people. I was mean and I was angry and I liked it. Gods, I liked it and I don't even know why. It felt like I was untouchable, like no one could hurt me if I hurt them first. But then Medusa and—I just felt so lost. But Camp's home now and I can't lose it. It's easy to risk yourself for something like that."

"Camp isn't home without you," he says. "Not for me, not for my siblings—not for your friends, either. We're in this together, alright? No more self-sacrificial stuff."