Daughter of the Sea God

Chapter 21

"Thanks to this mortal you two are reinstated for capture the flag. I believe the Hades and Poseidon cabins are on the same team, yes? The ballistas have been repaired, you can use them for the upcoming game. Talk to the Hephaestus cabin about Greek fire," Chiron informed with a smile.

As he finished I blurted, "Poseidon called him a child of Nike." I let out a sigh of relief, finally able to get that out. That seemed to shake Peyton out of his thoughts as his head snapped to me. Chiron's eyebrows rose and a thoughtful look came over his face.

"We'll see," he said, slight doubt in his voice. I glanced at Peyton, who seemed confused and pissed all at once, then zoned out once again. "I suppose he'll stay in the Hermes cabin until he's claimed. Hopefully we'll know tonight at the campfire."

"I can show him there," I offered, shooting a smirk at Nico who seemed anxious to get out of there. He smiled gratefully, obviously fighting the urge to roll his eyes at my silent teasing. Chiron nodded in acceptance to my offer. Nico stood up with a sigh and left the office, taking the silence as a chance to leave. As he left he shot a glare at Peyton, silently warning him not to follow. I almost laughed. I had figured out that Nico was headed to the infirmary, as he spent a good amount of his time at camp there. I left the dracaena weapon in Chiron's office, figuring he had some use for it, seeing as I didn't, and Peyton and I took our leave.

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I gave Peyton a quick tour of the camp on our way to the Hermes cabin, pointing out the general area of all the important things such as the dining pavilion. I also explained what claiming was and how he wasn't claimed yet.

"You're staying here for the meantime," I said, stopping in front of the Hermes cabin. The door swung open and the Stoll brothers emerged. I wasn't in the mood for their teasing right now, so I turned and left quickly, strolling across the green to my cabin. I hadn't seen Percy yet, and I was reminded that he had no idea where I actually went, since I'd kept him in the dark about it, saying I just had to handle some things. I wasn't really looking forward to explaining it.

I pushed open the door and to my great disappointment, Percy was inside, stretched across his bed. Don't get me wrong, I was glad to see him, but I was fairly certain he was going to be mad.

When he heard the door creak open, Percy turned to the door, a smile across his face, making me inwardly cringe.

"Mira! Where have you been, kiddo?" He asked, rolling off the bed and pulling me into a hug.

"Um... The Underworld, Florida, back to the Underworld, and then Seattle," I answered, my voice barely above a whisper. I felt Percy stiffen before he pulled back, putting his hands on my shoulders and holding me at arms length as he looked into my eyes, trying to determine if I was joking. Obviously I wasn't and he could tell.

"Wait, what? The Underworld? Seattle? As in Washington?!" he questioned. I nodded. His eyebrows furrowed. "Sit," he ordered, pointing to my bed. I sat lightly on the edge, him sitting across from me. "Spill." I took a deep breath.

"I went to the Underworld to yell at Hades," I rushed.

"You WHAT?!" Percy shouted, causing me to flinch away. "Mira that's idiotic! He could've made you a permanent resident right then and there!"

"He didn't, okay?! And at least then I would've been with Jake!" I yelled back. Percy seemed taken aback momentarily before his face morphed into a scowl.

"We don't get to go on suicide missions because we lose someone, Mira," he growled.

"It wasn't a suicide mission!" I protested. Percy raised an eyebrow disbelievingly and I dropped my gaze to my lap. That wasn't convincing, even to me. Maybe it had been a suicide mission. I was completely prepared to die. I didn't realize I was crying until water hit my hand. I blinked, confused, and brought my hands up to my face. I quickly wiped the tear trails from my cheeks before feeling arms wrap around me once more. In my emotional moment I hadn't realized Percy had moved from his position to right next to me.