Do-over (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

19. I let Bianca choose

'You are a half-blood,' she said looking Bianca up and down like she was already thinking about her as a Huntress. 'One of thy parents was a mortal. The other was an Olympian.'

Way to be blunt, Zoë. It kind of reminded me of the first time Chiron told me about my true heritage. Why does nobody know how to settle in the news slowly?

'An Olympian....athlete?' Bianca asked confused.

'No,' Zoë said shaking her head. 'One of the gods.'

'Cool!' Nico said grinning.

'No!' Bianca's voice quivered nervously. 'This is not cool!'

'Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage?' Nico asked excitedly, dancing around like he just won the lottery. 'Does he get extra movement point for-'

'Nico, shut up!' Bianca ran her hands through her hair. 'This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!'

I looked at Bianca in empathy. I could understand where she was coming from. Being introduced to this world of magic and monsters is nowhere near a fun time but such was the life of a demigod. 

'Bianca, I know it sounds...unbelievable,' I said softly as I took a step closer to her. 'But the gods are still around. They're immortal, just like Lady Artemis here. They've been around for a long time and when they have kids with regular humans, we're the products: demigods; half-human, half-god.'

I paused for a while, giving her some time to process everything.

'It's hard to believe, but this is your reality now,' I continued in a calm tone, trying not to spook Bianca any more than she already was. 'And with us being part god, our lives can be pretty dangerous.'

'Dangerous,' Bianca said. 'Like the girl who fell.'

I winced. Thalia looked away and Artemis gained a pained look.

'Do not despair for Annabeth,' Artemis said after composing herself. 'She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I will find her.'

I knew Annabeth was still alive. I knew that Dr Thorn had transported her somewhere before he hit the water. I also knew where that somewhere was, and I was not keen on going there again.

'Oo! What about Dr Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows,' Nico exclaimed before turning to look at me. 'And the way you fought. When you threw his own spike at him, that was so cool! Is he dead?'

'Well, yes,' Grover said helpfully. 'But at the same time, not really.'

'He was manticore,' Artemis replied, completely ignoring Grover's comment. 'Hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear.'

'Or they will hunt us,' Thalia added ominously.

Bianca seemed to come upon a revelation, 'That explains...Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in D.C.?'

'And that bus driver,' Nico said, seeming to catch on to his sister's thoughts. 'The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real.'

'That is why we are here. We came here to help,' I said before motioning towards Grover. 'Grover was the one that called us here.'

Bianca turned to look at Grover with an anxious look on her face, 'Grover? You're a demigod?'

'Well, a satyr, actually,' Grover said smiling before kicking off one of his shoes to show off his hooves. Bianca took a step back in pure shock.