𝒊𝒗. 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐘𝐎𝐔

𝒙𝒊𝒗.

"Something was wrong with Luke," Annabeth muttered, poking at the fire with her knife. "Did you notice the way he was acting?" 

"He looked pretty pleased to me," Percy said. "Like he'd spent a nice day torturing heroes." 

"That's not true! There was something wrong with him. He looked...nervous. He told his monsters to spare me. He wanted to tell me something." 

"Probably, 'Hi, Annabeth! Sit here with me and watch while I tear your friends apart. It'll be fun!'" 

"You're impossible," Annabeth grumbled. She sheathed her dagger and looked at Rachel. "So which way now, Sacagawea?" 

Rachel didn't respond right away. She'd become quieter since the arena. Now, whenever Annabeth made a sarcastic comment, Rachel hardly bothered to answer. She'd burned the tip of a stick in the fire and was using it to draw ash figures on the floor, images of the monsters they'd seen. With a few strokes, she caught the likeness of a dracaena perfectly. 

"We'll follow the path," she said. "The brightness on the floor." 

"The brightness that led us straight into a trap?" Annabeth asked. 

"Lay off her, Annabeth," Noelle said. "She's doing the best she can." 

Annabeth stood. "The fire's getting low. I'll go look for some more scraps while you guys talk strategy." And she marched off into the shadows. 

Rachel drew another figure with her stick—an ashy Antaeus dangling from his chains. 

"Annabeth's usually not like this," Noelle told her. "She has a problem with outsiders. I'm gonna go help her." 

Noelle stood up and walked away too, feeling Percy's stare on her back as she did. She easily found Annabeth in the dark thanks to her enhanced vision.

Annabeth was leaning over a pile of scraps, collecting them in her arms. She had heard Noelle walk up and turned to look at her before looking back to what she was doing.

Noelle knelt down next to her. "You know that whole being mean to someone you like doesn't actually work, right?"

"I don't like her," Annabeth said sternly. "She's mortal."

"I'm your best friend. I know you," Noelle said, picking up a few scraps of her own. "You don't have to admit it, but just ease up a bit. It'll make this experience a lot easier to endure."

"How could I like her? She's practically the opposite of me," Annabeth said.

Noelle shrugged. "The heart works in mysterious ways. Besides, opposites attract."

Annabeth scoffed, standing up. "You're so cliché."

"That's why Percy loves me." Noelle winked and Annabeth pretended to gag.

"You're disgusting. I regret ever liking you."

Noelle feigned hurt at her words. "You wound me."

Annabeth just laughed as they made their way back with their small piles of scraps. She tossed some of the sticks on the fire. She looked at Rachel, then at Noelle, who was moving to sit down next to Percy.

"I'll take first watch," she said. "You two should sleep, too." 

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Noelle smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.

Percy looked up at Annabeth for confirmation, and she nodded. With the small reassurance that everything was semi-okay for now, he maneuvered both him and Noelle into a laying down position. He was so tired he fell asleep as soon as his eyes closed.