Click.
Once my cabin door was locked, I sighed and slumped to the floor. My wolf, who had been dozing in the corner, lifted an ear, one golden eye peering at me in concern.
"I'm fine," I said, waving a hand around in the air. "Just . . . " I trailed off as Avalanche fixed her other eye on me.
"Fine. Ally just swore her allegiance to Kronos. And I can't help but wonder how things may have gone differently if I'd done more."
If I had done anything different last summer, would Ally have still been here? Heck, why had I even decided that befriending her would have been a good idea? I thought she'd just been a mortal, but still. I should have known that forming relationships would only drag more people into this mess.
"Godsdammit," I muttered, closing my eyes and leaning against the wooden walls of my cabin.
"It's not your fault," Ava rumbled softly as she padded towards me. "She was the one who made her choices, not you. Stop blaming yourself for everything, Clari."
"I know. But still, I was the one who showed her this whole other world. One full of monsters, danger, and death."
"She's a demigod Clari," Avalanche pointed out. "This was bound to happen sooner or later."
Right. Us demigods had no chance of ever living a peaceful life. Zero. Nada. Zilch.
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck," I said, standing up. I picked up one of my daggers and threw it at the wall. It landed with a thunk, the blade sunk up to the hilt in the wood, quivering.
Kronos and his army.
Thunk.
The Olympians and their lack of . . . . everything.
Thunk.
Ally joining Kronos army, my siblings, every single goddamn demigod led astray.
Thunk.
Luke.
Thunk.
My current helpless situation.
Thunk.
"Are you feeling better after abusing the poor wall?" Avalanche growled as she plopped down on her haunches in front of me. She jerked her muzzle at the wall. "Seriously, Clari? FOCUS. You have your mission. No one ever said infiltration was going to be easy, but you did it. Luke's heart is literally in the palm of your hand. And this army is as well. Waiting sucks, but it's just something you have to do since Percy isn't magically sixteen yet. Besides, don't you have something to do? Like calling Chiron and telling him about Miami?"
Oh. Right.
"Fu-Frog," I said as Avalanche eyed me. I walked over to my wall and yanked out each of the daggers embedded there. "Sorry," I sighed, running my hand through my blond hair. "I don't know what got into me."
"No one is immune to their emotions, not even you, Clarianna," Avalanche pointed out. "I'm honestly surprised you've been handling the situation as well as you have. Any other would have probably snapped from the pressure and paranoia a long time ago. It's not easy having to constantly wear a mask and hide your identity."
"Yeah. Thanks, girl," I said as I ruffled my wolf's ears affectionately. "I honestly don't know what I'd do without you. And Blackfire," I added, my thoughts leaping to my pegasus who was probably somewhere racing with Artemis' peregrines. Blackfire was a creature of the wild so, needless to say, he hated the ship and had flown off to gods knew where the moment he'd dropped me off last summer. Pegasi were born to the wind, and it was for that reason that I desperately wanted to free the black pegasus that was Luke's trapped down in the brig, but I couldn't.
Yet another reason to add to my current situation of doing nothing.
I shook my head. Focus, Clari. You have a job right now.
Sighing, I took out the glass prism hidden behind my tiny bookshelf and pulled out a drachma.
"O Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Chiron, at . . . wherever he is."
After I tossed the coin into the mist, the air shimmered and Chiron appeared. Along with rock music so loud my ears hurt and hysterical screaming and laughter in the background. Cursing, I threw up a sound barrier using the mist around my room so Luke or anyone wouldn't come running to see what in the name of Hades' I was doing.
"What the hell is going on over there?" I said as soon as Chiron appeared.
Surprise flashed across the centaur's face as he saw me. "Rianna?"
"I have something important to tell you!" I said, hoping he could hear me over the noise. "And please move somewhere quieter!"
Chiron sighed, looking aggravated. Suddenly, a glass bottle flew through the air, nearly hitting Chiron in the head as he ducked. The mist shimmered unsteadily, the connection lost for a moment, before stabilizing again.
"What is it?" Chiron said as the music died down a bit, though not by much. "Where are you?"
Uh. How the hell was I supposed to explain everything to him? I pressed my fingers to my temple. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are going after the Fleece. And Luke's planning to ambush them."
"I just received a call from them," Chiron replied, watching me warily with those ancient eyes full of several lifetimes of experience. "I caught something about Luke, a ship, and a coffin. And since they're going after the Fleece, it's pretty obvious they sneaked away from camp."
Chiron narrowed his eyes at me. "How exactly do you know this? You didn't come back to camp this year."
Even through the unstable connection, I could tell he was scanning my surroundings and putting the pieces together in his mind. "I'm . . . well, I'm on the Princess Andromeda," I admitted, pushing my hair back. "Luke's ship."
Chiron's eyes widened slightly and he didn't say anything for a long moment. Finally, he nodded. "And I presume Ally's with you?"
I nodded. "I know it's kinda, well, suspicious, but you have to believe me. I'm on your side. I can't tell you much right now, but the Olympians sent me as a spy to Kronos' army. I'll explain later, but the only thing that matters right now is that you send help for when Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson emerge from the Sea of Monsters. Luke's planning to ambush them in Miami and steal the Fleece."
Chiron nodded. "It's a very strategic decision on his part. They will likely wash up there. After Percy called me, I told him to watch out for any traps, but I'm not sure how much he heard over the noise. If I can get them to sober up, we'll set out for Miami."
Just then, a plate flew through the air, causing the connection to break up, the image fracturing like glass before reforming.
"Where even are you?" I asked, scanning the background, though it was futile. The only thing I could see was flashing neon lights.
"I'm with my relatives-" Chiron ducked as another plate flew by, "In the Everglades."
I opened and then closed my mouth, remembering that Chiron had gotten replaced by Tantalus at camp after Luke poisoned the tree.
"Okay. I'm sorry for just dumping this on you all at once."
"It's fine, my dear," Chiron replied, looking a bit weary. "I thought something was going on with you last summer. But it seemed like the Olympians didn't want me to know, so I didn't ask. Anyways, I'm sure you're busy on your end, so I won't keep you any longer."
I nodded. "Okay." I raised my hand to cut the connection but stopped when Chiron spoke again.
"Oh, and Rianna, please do try to change Luke's mind. I know it's hard, probably impossible, but I know he's a good person. An honourable demigod. And no one should have to walk a path that he is on. He’s been poisoned by Kronos, but it’s not too late. It never is.”
I nodded, suddenly feeling tears pressing against my eyes. "I know. I'll try."
Chiron nodded, giving me a sad smile, and cut the connection.
I stared at the empty space where Chiron had been and felt a tear trickle down my
"It's not too late. It never is."
I hope so, I thought as I wiped it off and donned my mask again, my true self hidden behind a flippant smile like it had been for over a year.
I hope so.
***
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