𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 • 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘰𝘯

WAT R A D

"Oh sure," Annabeth said. "He caught them together once. I mean, like, literally caught them, in a golden net, and invited all the gods to come and laugh at them. Hephaestus is always trying to embarrass them. That's why they meet in out-of-the-way places, like..." 

I stopped. In front of us was an empty pool. It was at least fifty yards across and shaped like a bowl. 

Around the rim, a dozen bronze statues of Cupid stood guard with wings spread and bows ready to fire. On the opposite side from us, a tunnel opened up, probably where the water flowed into when the pool was full. The sign above it read, THRILL RIDE O' LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS' TUNNEL OF LOVE! 

"Like that," I finished.

Grover crept toward the edge. 

"Guys, look." 

Marooned at the bottom of the pool was a pink-and-white two-seater boat with a canopy over the top and little hearts painted all over it. In the left seat, glinting in the fading light, was Ares's shield, a polished circle of bronze. 

"This is too easy," Percy said. "So we just walk down there and get it?" 

Annabeth ran her fingers along the base of the nearest Cupid statue. 

"There's a Greek letter carved here," she said. "Eta. I wonder..." 

"Grover," Percy said, "you smell any monsters?" 

He sniffed the wind. 

"Nothing." 

"Nothing—like, in-the-Arch-and-you-didn't-smell-Echidna nothing, or nothing?" 

Grover looked hurt. 

"I told you, that was underground." 

"Okay, I'm sorry." 

Percy took a deep breath. 

"I'm going down there." 

"I'll go with you." 

"No," Percy told him. "I want you to stay up top with the flying shoes. You're the Red Baron, a flying ace, remember? I'll be counting on you for backup, in case something goes wrong." 

Grover puffed up his chest a little. 

"Sure. But what could go wrong?" 

"I don't know. Just a feeling. Y/n, come with me—" 

"Are you kidding?" 

I could feel my face heating up. Annabeth smirked at me, and I gave her a death glance.

"What's the problem now?" Percy demanded. 

"Me, going with you to the 'Thrill Ride of Love'. Sum up the dots." 

"Nobody's gonna see you!" 

But he was blushing too.

"Fine," he told me. "I'll do it myself." 

Percy started down the side of the pool. I hesitated, and finally decided to go with him, just in case.

"Boys. Always messing things up," I muttered.

We reached the boat. The shield was propped on one seat, and next to it was a lady's silk scarf. I tried to imagine Ares and Aphrodite here, a couple of gods meeting in a junked-out amusement-park ride. Why? Then I noticed something I hadn't seen from up top: mirrors around the rim of the pool, facing this spot. We could see ourselves no matter which direction we looked. That must be it. While Ares and Aphrodite were smooching with each other they could look at their favourite people: themselves.