SANITY; heroes of olympus

04.9

Jason had pulled his hoodie off the moment he noticed the goosebumps on her arms, smiling as he wrapped her up in a hug, his warm body heating her up.

"We can't talk up here," he decided. "Let's postpone the meeting."

They'd all gathered on the quarterdeck to discuss strategy as they got closer to Epirus. Now it was clearly not a good place to hang out. Wind swept frost across the deck. The sea churned beneath them.

Zara didn't mind the waves so much. The rocking and pitching reminded her of visiting the beaches in California. But she could tell Hazel wasn't doing well. The poor girl got seasick even in calm waters. She looked like she was trying to swallow a billiard ball.

"Need to—" Hazel gagged and pointed below.

"Yeah, go." Nico kissed her cheek, which Zara found surprising. He hardly ever made gestures of affection, even to his sister, even to her. He seemed to hate physical contact. Kissing Hazel's cheek...it was almost like he was saying good-bye.

"I'll walk you down." Frank put his arm around Hazel's waist and helped her to the stairs.

Zara hoped Hazel would be okay. The last few nights, since that fight with Sciron, they'd had some good talks together. The girls had all gotten together in Andy's room, even Eden, and shared stories, complained about the guys' gross habits, and shed some tears together about Andromeda Storm. Hazel had told them what it was like to control the Mist, and Piper had been surprised by how much it sounded like using charmspeak. The daughter of Aphrodite had offered to help her if she could. In return, Hazel had promised to coach her in sword fighting—a skill at which Piper epically sucked. Zara and Eden both added in, saying they could help to teach her, while Annabeth shrugged and said, "I'm more of a knife person. Andy poked me with a sword when trying to show me how to use one after I arrived at Camp Half-Blood." Zara felt like she had a new friend group, just between the small group of them, which was great...assuming they lived long enough to enjoy the friendship.

Nico brushed some ice from his hair. He frowned at the sceptre of Diocletian. "I should put this thing away. If it's really causing the weather, maybe taking it below deck will help..."

"Sure," Jason said.

Nico glanced at Piper and Leo, and hardly spared a glance at Percy, who was too busy fiddling with the seams of his shirt to notice—stuck in his head—as if worried what they might say when he was gone. Zara felt his defences going up, like he was curling into a psychological ball, the way he'd gone into a death trance in that bronze jar.

She tipped her head up towards Jason after Nico was gone, resting her chin on his chest. He looked down at her, meeting her eyes, and shook his head before laying a kiss on her forehead.

Leo pulled a screwdriver from his belt. "So much for the big team meeting. Looks like it's just us again."

Donnie smiled and looped their arms together, not noticing the way everyone looked between the two of them. They were all just waiting for one of the two boys to say something, but no matter how much time passed or how much they flirted with each other, neither said a thing.

Zara gazed into the cold rain. She would have given anything to be back at Camp Jupiter, where the weather was almost always warm from the sun that occasionally dipped behind clouds that cried rain.

Jason squeezed her shoulder, as if sensing her anxiety flaring up. "Hey, it'll be fine. We're close to Epirus now. Another day or so, if Nico's directions are right."

"Yep." Leo tinkered with his sphere, tapping and nudging one of the jewels on its surface. "By tomorrow morning, we'll reach the western coast of Greece. Then another hour inland, and bang—House of Hades! I'ma get me the T-shirt!"