Ethereal

III

Alessandra

AFTER A MORNING OF STORM SPIRIT'S, goat men, and flying future boyfriends, Alessandra should've been losing her mind. Instead, all she felt was dread.

It's starting, she thought. Just like they warned.

She stood in back of the chariot with Piper, Leo and Jason, while the bald guy, Butch, handled the reins, and the scary attractive blonde girl, Annabeth, adjusted a bronze navigation device. They rose over the Grand Canyon and headed east, icy wind ripping straight through Alessandra's jacket. Behind them, more storm clouds were gathering.

The chariot lurched and bumped. It had no seat belts and the back was wide open, so Alessandra wondered if Jason would catch her again if she fell. That had been the most disturbing part of the morning—not that Jason could fly, but that he'd held her in his arms and yet didn't know who she was.

All semester she'd worked on a relationship, trying to get Jason to notice her as more than a friend. The cute idiot was oblivious and dense and could never pick up her signals. She had finally decided to just straight out tell him to be her boyfriend so they could stop jumping through hurdles and finally just date. But then, three nights ago, the dream had ruined everything—that horrible voice, giving her horrible news. She hadn't told anyone about it, not even Piper, her best friend.

Now everything is ruined and she can't confess her feelings. Someone had decided it was a good idea to wipe his memory and now she was stuck in the worst "do over" of all time. She wanted to scream and hit something. Jason stood right next to her: those sky blue eyes, close-cropped blond hair, that cute little scar on his upper lip. His face was kind and gentle, but always a little sad. And he just stared at the horizon, not even noticing her.

Meanwhile, Leo was being his usual self. "This is so cool!" He spit a pegasus feather out of his mouth. "Where are we going?"

"A safe place," Annabeth said. "The only safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."

"Half-Blood?" Piper questioned and Alessandra knew she was immediately on guard. She hated that word. Piper had been called a half-blood too many times—half Cherokee, half white—and it was never a compliment. "Is that some kind of bad joke?"

Alessandra put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Relax, Pipes. She means demigod, right?"

"Yes," Jason said. "Half god, half mortal."

Annabeth looked back. "You two seem to know a lot. But, yes, demigods. My mom is Athena, goddess of wisdom. Butch here is the son of Iris, the rainbow goddess."

Leo choked. "Your mom is a rainbow goddess?"

"Got a problem with that?" Butch said.

"No, no," Leo said. "Rainbows. Very macho."

"Butch is our best equestrian," Annabeth said. "He gets along great with the pegasi."

"Rainbows, ponies," Leo muttered.

"I'm gonna toss you off this chariot," Butch warned.

Alessandra elbowed Leo in the stomach before looking at Butch. "So are you straight?"

He looked at her confused and nodded. "Yes. Why?"

She shrugged. "I kinda figured you'd be a little gay or something, I mean, your mom is the goddess of rainbows."

"Okay, wait," Piper interrupted her friend. "You think we're—"

Lightning flashed. The chariot shuddered, and Jason yelled, "Left wheel's on fire!"