afraid ツ l. valdez

19. eden is afraid of mermaid horses

Eden woke up slumped over on Jason's shoulder with Piper trying to spoon feed her ambrosia. Her expression was sympathetic, like something bad was going to happen.

Annabeth was trying to get Jason and Percy, who looked exhausted, to get water. Hazel and Frank were arguing quietly to the side.

Eden groaned. "What happened?"

"You surrounded yourself in this cloud of shadows or something. It was really scary, your eyes and hair turned black. The Romans looked terrified at least." Piper grimaced. "And then you threw the cloud up as a shield and hit the deck- literally."

"Your idea worked, though, with all of us working together." Jason said. "Nice job, Eden."

Eden blushed, but it went away when she saw Leo walking over. Hazel and Frank joined too, and the eight of them gathered together at the mast.

Frank scowled like he was trying hard to turn into a bulldog. "No sign of pursuit," he said.

"Or land," Hazel added. She looked a little green, though it could have been from either the boat rocking or the arguing.

Eden wouldn't have burrowed her head into Jason's neck in any other circumstance. But, she felt like she just ran around the diameter of earth on two hours of sleep. Piper patted her back.

Leo turned to Annabeth. "Did you find the map you wanted?"

She nodded, though she looked pale. "I'll have to study it," she said, and quickly changed the subject. "How far are we from those coordinates?"

"At top rowing speed, about an hour," Leo said. "Any idea what we're looking for?"

"No," she admitted. "Percy?"

Percy raised his head slowly, like it hurt. "The Nereid said Chiron'sbrothers were there, and they'd want to hear about that aquarium in Atlanta. I don't know what she meant, but..." He paused, like he'd used up all his energy saying that much. "She also warned me to be careful. Keto, the goddess at the aquarium: she's the mother of sea monsters. She might be stuck in Atlanta, but she can still send her children after us. The Nereid said we should expect an attack."

"Wonderful," Frank muttered.

Jason tried to stand, which wasn't a good idea. Eden fell over onto her side, and Piper grabbed them both to keep from falling over, and he slid back down the mast. "Can we get the ship aloft?" he asked. "If we could fly—"

"That'd be great," Leo said. "Except Festus tells me the port aerial stabilizer got pulverized when the ship raked against the dock at Fort Sumter."

"We were in a hurry," Annabeth said. "Trying to save you."

"And saving me is a very noble cause," Leo agreed. "I'm just saying, it'll take some time to fix. Until then, we're not flying anywhere."

Percy flexed his shoulders and winced. "Fine with me. The sea is good."

"Speak for yourself." Hazel glanced at the evening sun, which was almost to the horizon. "We need to go fast. We've burned another day, and Nico only has three more left."

Eden groaned again.

"We can do it," Leo promised. "We can make it to Rome in three days—assuming, you know, nothing unexpected happens."

Frank grunted. He looked like he was still working on that bulldog transformation. "Is there any good news?"

"Actually, yes," Leo said. "According to Festus, our flying table, Buford, made it back safely while we were in Charleston, so those eagles didn't get him. Unfortunately, he lost the laundry bag with your pants."