Powerful | REWRITE

꓄ꃅꋪꍟꍟ ꂦ꒒ꀸ ꒒ꍏꀸꀤꍟꌗ ꓄ꋪꀤꍟꌗ ꓄ꂦ ꀘꈤꀤ꓄ ꓄ꃅꍟ ꌗꂦꉓꀘꌗ ꂦꎇ ꀸꍟꍏ꓄ꃅ

Loki shot Thor a look that clearly said, Did he not pay attention to the whole reading and why she said it, though?

I opened the nearest door and slipped inside. A few seconds later I heard a slow clop-clop-clop, like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.

Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."

"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn . . ."

"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."

"Don't remind me."

“Number one—what the hell is up with that shadow? Number two—someone’s there, probably the Kindly Ones. And screw the exams! Protect Percy!” Apollo said, his voice sharp with urgency.

“Clearly, her old world can’t protect her. They’ve already failed,” Poseidon said, catching Apollo’s envious glare. “She wants to be with me.”

“He means us,” Zeus corrected, recalling how Percy seemed to prefer staying with them over returning to her previous life.

The lights went out in Mr. Brunner 's office.

I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.

Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.

Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.

"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"

I didn't answer.

"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"Just . . . tired."

I was still pissed off, so I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.

“She looks beautiful even when she’s exhausted,” Poseidon said, though he kept his next thought to himself: Even when her eyes rolls back in ecstasy.

“If he didn’t catch on that she’s pretending to be tired, I don’t know what kind of friend he’s supposed to be,” Apollo said, clearly unimpressed.

“We’ve already established that,” Athena replied flatly, glancing at Apollo. “He’s a fake—just like Mr. Brunner.”

I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to be delusional, that I'd imagined the whole thing. And that I'm pissed off because of Nancy.

But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They knew I was in some kind of danger. So now I can't believe them, in everything they say.

Poseidon nodded firmly. “That’s right—don’t trust a word they say.”

“Her finding out the truth… it’s going to come with a cost,” Apollo said gravely.

Buddha glanced at him and added calmly, “Of course it will. Everything does, in the end.”

The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam, my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.

For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.

"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's . . . it's for the best."