LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE . . . pjo

XXX.

FLYING A PEGASUS toward an out-of-control helicopter? Not fun. If Guido had been any less of a fancy flier, Mia and her friends would've been chopped to confetti.

Mia could hear Rachel screaming inside. For some reason, she hadn't fallen asleep, but Mia could see the pilot slumped over the controls, pitching back and forth as the helicopter wobbled toward the side of an office building.

"Ideas?" Percy asked.

"You're going to have to take Guido and get out," Annabeth said.

"What are you going to do?"

In response, she said, "Hyah!" and Guido went into a nosedive.

"Duck!" Annabeth yelled.

They passed so close to the rotors Mia felt the force of the blades ripping at her hair. They zipped along the side of the helicopter, and she grabbed the door, hoisting herself up with her bad arm as Annabeth went to follow her.

That's when things went wrong.

Guido's wing slammed against the helicopter. He plummeted straight down with Percy on his back, leaving Mia and Annabeth dangling from the side of the aircraft.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," Mia muttered as Rachel helped her in the helicopter, then they both helped Annabeth. "Fuck, my shoulder."

"You've done this before, right?" Annabeth asked Mia as she got to the controls, shoving Rachel's pilot out of the way. "With your sister?"

"That was years ago," Mia admitted, patting Rachel's arm before joining Annabeth. "And I barely remember shit. But you have to do this . . ."

They pressed buttons and pulled levers until Mia was able to stop the helicopter from slamming into a building — barely, and she spun the helicopter in a circle and whooped.

"We are so fucking good!" Mia raised her hand to Annabeth.

"Hands on the controls, Starfury." Despite this, Annabeth high fived her. "We have to get out of here first."

Slowly, they started descending until they landed, not perfectly bit good enough.

Rachel opened the side door and dragged out the pilot that Annabeth had shoved to the ground. Mia hadn't noticed what Rachel was wearing, but she was still dressed like she was on vacation, in beach shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals. Her hair was tangled and her face was green from the helicopter ride.

Annabeth climbed out, then she and Percy helped Mia down.

Percy stared at them in awe. "I didn't know you could fly a helicopter."

"Me and Soph tried a few years back," Mia smirked. "Annabeth did most of the work."

Annabeth shrugged. "My dad's crazy into aviation. Plus, Daedalus had some notes on flying machines. I just took my best guess on the controls."

"You both saved my life," Rachel said.

Annabeth glared at her. "Yeah, well . . . let's not make a habit of it. What are you doing here, Dare? Don't you know better than to fly into a war zone?"

"I—" Rachel glanced at Percy. "I had to be here. I knew Percy was in trouble."

"Got that right," Annabeth grumbled. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have some injured friends I've got to tend to. Glad you could stop by, Rachel."

"Annabeth—" Percy called.

She stormed off.

Mia snorted, then she gave Rachel a one-armed hug. "It's good to see you," she grinned. "But, sadly, I'm injured and I need tending from Annabeth, so see you later!"