𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 • 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘰𝘯

Camp

Just then a mop of blonde hair ran towards us. He was a little taller than Nico and had a small glow in the snow. I recognized him as Y/n's cousin, Will.

"You're back!" he said happily. "And I see you've brought some friends! You succeded then?"

Grayson looked at Will sadly and then looked at me.

"Yeah," Grayson said.

Will looked around, then to cabin 8, where the Hunters were getting settled into. "Where's Y/n?" he asked.

His blue eyes gleamed with innocence and I couldn't help but choke back a sob.

"Where's my cousin?" he asked again, this time, the worry was clear in his voice.

I looked down. "She...um...she fell...off a cliff."

Will's eyes trembled as if he were about to cry. Then his emotion changed.

"You're lying to me!" he accused.

"No!" I told him. "I'm not!"

"No, he isn't," Thalia intervened.

"Where's Annabeth?" Will demanded. "I wanna speak to her. She'll tell me the truth."

"She fell down the cliff with Y/n," Grayson told Will.

"I'm telling you the truth," I said.

Will looked down. His face was red with anger. Then he gasped and grabbed my hand. He hovered his index finger above Y/n's ring, which was on my middle finger.

"No," he whispered. Will looked at me, teary-eyed. "Are you really telling the truth?"

Grayson, Thalia, and I nodded. Will choked back a sob and ran towards the Apollo cabin.

"Who is he?" asked Nico.

Right, I thought. I forgot he was here.

"Will Solace," Grayson explained. "Son of Apollo and healer. He's also Y/n's cousin."

The Big House was decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch but didn't seem to catch anything on fire. Inside, flames crackled in the hearth. The air smelled like hot chocolate. Mr. D, the camp director, and Chiron were playing a quiet game of cards in the parlor. 

Chiron's brown beard was shaggier for the winter. His curly hair had grown a little longer. He wasn't posing as a teacher this year, so I guess he could afford to be casual. He wore a fuzzy sweater with a hoofprint design on it, and he had a blanket on his lap that almost hid his wheelchair completely. He smiled when he saw us. 

"Percy! Grayson! Thalia! Ah, and this must be—" 

"Nico di Angelo," I said. "He and his sister are half-bloods." 

Chiron breathed a sigh of relief. "You succeeded, then." 

"Well..." 

His smile melted. "What's wrong? And where are Y/n and Annabeth?" 

"Oh, dear," Mr. D said in a bored voice, "Not another one lost." 

I'd been trying not to pay attention to Mr. D, but he was kind of hard to ignore in his neon orange leopard-skin warm-up suit and his purple running shoes. (Like Mr. D had ever run a day in his immortal life.) A golden laurel wreath was tilted sideways on his curly black hair, which must've meant he'd won the last hand of cards. 

"What do you mean?" Thalia asked. "Who else is lost?" 

Just then, Grover trotted into the room, grinning like crazy. He had a black eye and redlines on his face that looked like a slap marks. "The Hunters are all moved in!"