It turned out, thanks to the speed of the centaurs, that we only arrived at camp a few minutes after Clarisse, so we got to watch as she hung it from the lowest branches on the tree. Several other campers had also come out to watch.

The changes were almost immediate; the remaining needles on the tree turned green again; new ones started to grow as well. Not only that, but the air suddenly felt a lot cleaner, as if the pollution which the barrier had been failing to keep out was now absent. The light from the sunset felt almost warmer. Many of the scars and burns stretching over the hill - the results of several battles against monsters over the past few weeks - started to heal over. Many of the campers, some of whom were wounded, stood up straighter. I too felt slightly less exhausted.

Everybody present cheered, and I smiled. The tree was healing, along with the rest of the camp. We could finally begin to rebuild (apparently the arts and crafts cabin had burned down in an attack, as well as other more minor damage to other buildings).

Slowly, the campers began to head back towards camp. We all collected in the amphitheatre, where Chiron presented Clarisse with laurels for her successful quest.

No one mentioned Annabeth, Tyson, and I. If they did, they would have to acknowledge that we had run away. I found I didn’t mind it.

After the presentation, while the Stoll brothers were telling ghost stories to scare some of the younger campers, Clarisse came over to me.

“Look, Jackson. Just because you were cool one time, doesn’t mean you’re off the hook with Ares. I’m still going to try to pulverize you.”

I just smiled back at her.

“What, Jackson?” she demanded.

I shrugged. “Just good to be home, I guess.”

When Chiron stood to make his final announcements, there was the usual, capture the flag, tomorrow’s activities, and then there was the unusual but still expected, that we would need to start a guard rotation to guard the fleece until he could find a more permanent guard. Finally, a more surprising announcement: the chariot races would continue, at least for the next scheduled race. We had figured they were over with, but it was already on the schedule, and it just felt right to do one properly this time, without demon pigeons showing up to ruin everything (although, Clarisse still had a good shot at winning that race anyway).

Tyson wasn’t overly eager at getting back on a chariot with me, but he was more than happy for Annabeth and I to team up, manning (womanning?) the chariot together while he acted as our pit-crew.

While I prepped our team of horses, Tyson began repairing and modifying the Athena chariot, adding some fun surprises for the upcoming race.

We began to spend the next couple of days practicing. Annabeth and I agreed to split the prize of no chores if we won. Since Athena had more campers, they would get the bulk of the time off. Fine with me, I just wanted to win.

---

The night before the race, I was staying late at the stables. I was talking to our horses, brushing out their manes one more time.

Then I heard a throat clear behind me. “Fine animals, horses. I wish I had thought of them.”

I turned. A middle-aged man, wearing a mailman uniform, was leaning against the door. He was wearing a helmet adorned with wings.

“Hermes,” I said. I could only think of one reason why he’d be visiting me. “Look, about Luke…”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Uh, well, we saw him, alright,” I said, “but-”

“You weren’t able to make him see sense?”

I shook my head. “No, uh, we kinda tried to kill each other, actually.”

He nodded. “I see. You tried the diplomatic approach.”

“I’m so sorry. I mean, you gave us those gifts, they really helped a ton, and well,” I gestured at myself, “I think those multivitamins did a lot more for me than expected.”

He nodded. “They have been known to do that on rare occasions. I assume Chiron told you what all this means?”

I nodded. “But, uh, anyway. Luke.” I had to think a little to find the words. “I know you wanted him to come back, and everything, but… he’s turned bad. Really bad. He’s got Kronos is a sarcophagus, bringing him back piece by piece. And he said he feels like you abandoned him…” I trailed off.

I waited for Hermes to get mad at me. I figured he would turn me into some animal. If so, I would prefer not to be a rodent. I had spent enough time as one, thank you very much.

But instead, he just sighed. “Percy, do you ever feel like your dad abandoned you?”

“Oh, fuck,” I muttered.

I half expected Hermes to admonish me for my language, but he said nothing.

I thought about it. At first, I wanted to respond with, only a few thousand times a day. I hadn't even spoken to him since last summer. In fact, it had been nearly a year to the day since then. And then, with Tyson, there had been no warning. Just boom - you have a brother. You’d think he’d have given me a little heads up. An Iris Message, perhaps.

I realised that I did actually want recognition for the quest. Not necessarily from the campers, but from my dad? Absolutely. I wanted him to at least say something, a ‘good job.’

Hermes readjusted the strap of his bag sling over his shoulder. “Percy, the thing is, the hardest part about being a god is that you need to act indirectly most of the time. Especially in regards to your own children. If we intervened in every one of our children’s problems, that could only create more problems and more resentment. However, I think that if you really gave it some thought, you’d realise that Poseidon has answered your prayers. He was paying attention to you. I hope that someday, Luke might realise the same about me. You spoke to him, you reminded him who he was.”

“I tried to kill him,” I replied.

Hermes shrugged. “Families are messy; immortal families eternally so. Sometimes, the best we can do is to remind each other that we care. Also to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum.”

I figured that it didn’t sound like the recipe for a perfect family. Then again, as I thought about the quest, I realised all the ways my dad had helped me. He’d sent the hippocampi, and had granted me powers over the sea I’d never known before. And then Tyson… the big guy had saved my life so many times over the summer. Had Poseidon brought us together on purpose? Guided us together?

I heard, in the distance, the conch horn sounding, signalling curfew.

“You should get to bed,” Hermes said. “But, before I go, I need to make a delivery.”

“A delivery?”

“I am the messenger of the gods, Percy.” He pulled out an electronic signature pad. “Sign here, please.”

I picked up the stylus before I realized it was entwined with a pair of small snakes. I yelped and dropped the pad.

Ouch, said George.

Really, Percy, Martha scolded me. Would you want to be dropped on the floor of a stable?

“Oh, sorry,” I said, bending down to pick the pad back up. As I held the stylus, George and Martha wriggled under my fingers, forming a sort of grip like my teacher had had me use back in second grade.

Did you bring me a rat? George asked.

“Uh, no,” I said. “We, uh, didn’t find any.”

What about a guinea pig?

George! Martha said. Don’t tease the poor girl.

I signed my name. “Uh, it’s alright. Being turned into a guinea pig might have been one of the best things to ever happen to me.”

Hermes laughed. “I think what came after is significantly better.”

I shrugged, handing the pad back. “I wouldn’t have taken any of the multivitamins if I hadn’t had to because of that. And, thank you, Hermes. Thank you so much for that.”

“You’re welcome, Percy,” he said as he took the pad back, stowing it in his bag. He then took out an envelope. A sea-blue envelope.

My fingers trembled as I took it. Even before I opened it, I could tell that it was from my father. I could sense his power in the paper, as if the envelope had been made out of a wave.

“Good luck tomorrow,” Hermes said. “That is a fine team of horses, though you’ll have to excuse me if I root for the Hermes cabin.”

Don’t be discouraged when you read it, Martha said. Lord Poseidon does have your best interests at heart.

“What do you mean?”

Don’t mind her, George said. And remember,  for next time, snakes work for tips.

“Enough, you two,” Hermes said, smirking. “Good-bye, Percy Jackson. At least for now.”

I averted my eyes as he began to glow, reverting to his true godly form. And then, with a bright flash, he was gone. I was alone with the horses once more.

I stared at the envelope. It was addressed in elegant handwriting I had seen once before, last summer, on a package my father had sent me.

Percy Jackson

℅ Camp Half-Blood

Farm Road 3.141

Long Island, New York 11954

An actual letter from my father. Maybe he would tell me ‘good job.’ Maybe he’d acknowledge the whole gender thing I had going on. Maybe he would explain about Tyson, or apologise for not talking to me sooner. There were so many different things I wanted to be on the letter.

I opened the envelope, pulling out and unfolding the paper inside.

There were only two short words printed on the paper, right in the middle of the page, in that same elegant handwriting:

Brace yourself

---

The next morning, everyone was super excited for the race, although plenty of them kept glancing nervously at the sky, as if expecting the return of the demon pigeons. Fortunately, the skies were clear. It was just another beautiful summer day. The sky was blue and largely clear of clouds, and the sun was bright and hot. The camp was back to looking as it should; the meadows were green and lush once more, the columns on the buildings gleamed in the sunlight, and dryads and other nymphs played happily in the woods.

But I still felt miserable. I had been awake almost the entire night thinking about my father’s warning.

Brace yourself.

What was that even meant to mean? Brace myself for what?

Maybe he didn’t know what it was, but just knew something big was about to happen. Something so strange and out of left field, he had wanted me to be prepared. It was difficult, but I forced my thoughts towards the race instead.

---

As Annabeth and I drove our chariot out to the track, I couldn’t help but admire Tyson’s workmanship on the chariot. It gleamed in the sunlight with new bronze reinforcements. The ride out to the track felt so smooth, and the horses turned with the slightest tug of the reins.

Tyson has also made two javelins, each with three buttons on the shaft. One button primed the javelin to explode on impact, releasing razor wires designed to shred through an opponent’s wheels. Another button caused the javelin to gain a blunt, but still painful, tip designed to knock a driver or fighter out of a carriage. The final button gave us a grappling hook that could be used to latch onto another chariot or to shove it away.

I figured we were plenty well prepared, but Tyson still told me to be careful. The other teams had plenty of tricks of their own to pull on us.

“Here,” he said, just before the start of the race. He handed me a wristwatch. There didn’t appear to be anything special about it, but as soon as I saw it, I knew; this was what he’d been working on all summer so far.

I usually wasn’t one to wear watches, but I couldn’t say no to Tyson.

“Thanks, Tyson,” I said, putting it on. It was surprisingly light; I hardly noticed I was wearing it.

“Didn’t finish in time for the trip,” he said. “Sorry sorry.”

“Hey, man, it’s ok,” I said.

“If you need protection in the race,” he said, “just hit the button.”

“Uh, ok,” I said. I wasn’t sure how using the stopwatch feature would help me, but I promised him I would remember. “And hey, Tyson…”

I wanted to apologize for how much of a jerk I’d acted like when he’d first been claimed, but I had trouble finding the words.

“I know,” Tyson said. “You’ll tell me that Poseidon did care for me after all.”

“Uh, well, Tyson-”

“He sent you to help me, just like I asked for.”

I blinked, my brain processing those words. “You asked Poseidon… for me?”

“For a friend,” Tyson corrected. “Young Cyclopes grow up alone on the streets, learn to make things out of scraps, learn to survive.”

“But that’s… so cruel!”

Tyson shook his head. “Makes us appreciate blessings, not be greedy and mean like Polyphemus. But I got scared, monsters chased me so much, clawed me sometimes-”

“The scars on your back?” I asked.

His eye teared up. “Sphinx on seventy-second street. I prayed to dad for help. Soon the Meriweather people found me. Then I met you. Best blessing ever. I’m sorry I said Poseidon was mean, he gave me a big sister.”

I stared at the watch that Tyson had made for me. Knowing all of that now, it felt even more special.

“Percy!” Annabeth called. “The race is starting.”

“Tyson…” I said. “I-”

“Go,” Tyson interrupted. “You will win!”

I nodded. “Yeah, ok. We’ll win it for you, big guy.” I gave him a quick hug then climbed on the chariot with Annabeth. I took the reins and we got in position just in time for Chiron to signal the start of the race.

We pulled ahead quickly, the horses knew what to do, and we rounded the first turn well ahead of Clarisse, who was bust fighting off the Stoll brothers.

I was quick to celebrate our early wins, but Annabeth shouted to look out, throwing our first javelin to knock away a net thrown by the Apollo team. Before Annabeth could prepare the second javelin, the fighter in the Apollo chariot threw a javelin, shattering several spokes in our wheel. Our chariot wobbled, and I was worried the wheel would collapse, but our chariot stabilized.

I urged our horses to keep going. We were neck and neck with Apollo, and Hephaestus was quickly gaining on us. Fortunately, Ares and Hermes had by now been left well behind.

“You’re mine!” The Apollo camper taunted.

“Yeah, right,” Annabeth shot back, before prepping the second javelin, a huge risk this early in the race, with an entire second lap to go, and throwing it right at the driver.

Her aim, luckily, was as good as ever, and with an OOF, the driver toppled out of the chariot, smacking into his teammate and sending them both to the ground. As soon as the reins went slack, the Apollo horses went nuts, veering off the track and into the stands. Several campers screamed as they scattered out of the way.

We took the second turn of the race, our damaged wheel groaning, and we drove right past the starting line, into the final lap.

The damaged wheel was starting to slow us down, and Hephaestus was still gaining.

Beckendorf pressed a button, and steel cables shot out of the front of his mechanical horses, attaching to our chariot. He pressed another button, and the cables started to retract, pulling our chariot closer together.

“Shit,” Annabeth said, trying to cut the cables, but they were too thick.

The Hephaestus horses were getting uncomfortably close to us.

“Switch with me!” I shouted.

“What?”

“Just trust me!”

She pulled herself up to me and grabbed the reins. I handed them off to her, before I turned around, pulling out Riptide. I uncapped the pen, and my sword grew to full size in my hand. I swiped at the cables, and they snapped. We lurched forwards, no longer weighed down by the Hephaestus chariot, but Beckendorf’s driver pulled up alongside us. Beckendorf drew his sword and slashed at Annabeth, but I parried.

We were coming up on the last turn, but we wouldn’t make it with Beckendorf harassing us like this.

“See ya later, Percy!” Beckendorf shouted over the sound of hooves. “Here’s a little parting gift!”

He tossed a small leather pouch into our chariot, where it quickly stuck to the floor and started billowing green smoke.

“Greek fire!” Annabeth yelled.

“Oh shit,” I said.

“Get rid of it!”

Problem was, I couldn’t if I tried to shove it off with my sword, Beckendorf would be able to slash at Annabeth. The Hephaestus chariot was still next to us, waiting for their gift to blow up in our faces. I tried kicking at it, but that didn’t work.

Then I remembered Tyson’s gift. I wasn’t sure how it was going to help, but I hit the button anyway. Immediately, the watch started to transform. It expanded, the metal rim spiralling outwards, a leather strapped wrapped around my arm until I was holding a large round bronze shield, around 4 feet wide. The outside was decorated with small designs I didn’t have time to examine.

I raised the shield, and Beckendorf’s sword shattered against it.

“What the-” he shouted.

But he didn’t have time to continue as I smacked him with my new shield, sending him tumbling out of his chariot. I was about to slash at the driver too, but Annabeth yelled, “Percy, the bomb!”

It was starting to shoot off small green sparks. I shoved the tip of my sword under it, and flicked it. Is dislodged easily, flying right into the Hephaestus chariot.

The driver took the smart option and dove out of his chariot before it blew up. Fortunately, it careened away from us before it exploded. The horses short-circuited and glitched, dragging the flaming remains of the chariot backwards along the track, nearly crashing into Clarisse and the Stolls, who had to swerve, giving us just enough time to round the final corner and speed right across the finish line, winning the race.

The crowd roared; our friends ran over to us, the entire Athena cabin among them. They chanted our names.

“Listen!” Annabeth shouted, but they drowned her out. She shouted louder. “Listen! Hold up!”

The crowd quieted down. “We couldn’t have done it without someone else. We couldn’t have won the race, or retrieved the fleece or saved Grover! We owe our lives to Tyson, Percy’s…”

“My brother!” I shouted. “Tyson, my little brother!”

Tyson blushed in response. The crowd roared and swarmed him as well, dragging him with me and Annabeth over to the winner’s circle, where Chiron was waiting to award the laurels.

Annabeth planted a kiss on my cheek, and I definitely did not blush at all.

---

The rest of that day was one of the best afternoons I’d ever spent at camp, which really goes to show you can never really know when things are about to go sideways really fast.

Grover announced that he’d be able to spend the rest of the summer with us at camp, since the Council of Cloven Elders was so impressed Grover hadn’t died, and had managed to clear the way for future searches that they had granted him two months before he needed to resume his quest. And they had also given him a new set of reed pipes, which Grover then insisted on playing all afternoon. Specifically, he played “YMCA,” which apparently drove the strawberry plants nuts.

Grover told me he could dissolve our empathy link now that we were back face to face.

“Nah, keep it. If you get in trouble again, I want to know. And if I need you, I want to be able to contact you easily.”

He agreed not to break it, then went back to playing YMCA for the plants.

---

Later, Chiron pulled me aside to tell me he’d fixed my problems with Meriweather, which I hadn’t even thought about, and had also pulled some strings with the government for me. Apparently, according to the government, I was a girl, and had always been one.

“How’d you manage all that?” I asked.

His eyes twinkled. “On the subject of the gymnasium, I merely suggested that the mortals had seen something different that day. A gas leak, specifically. As for what the government sees your gender as, that was a much simpler matter. Of course, should you decide to change your name, I can handle that for you as well.”

I nodded and thanked him, promising to let him know if I decided on a name. Although, I was quite happy with Percy.

“So, I can go back next year?”

Chiron chuckled. “Oh, no, they’ve still expelled you. Your Headmaster, Mr. Bonsai, said you had a - how did he put it? - an un-groovy karma that disrupted the school’s educational aura. But you aren’t in any legal trouble. Oh, and speaking of your mother…” He unclipped a cell phone from his quiver and handed it to me. “It’s about time you called her.”

---

My mom did try to act angry. She’s just bad at it. She managed to yell at me about running off and doing a quest for all of 5 seconds before catching her breath and saying, “oh, I’m so glad you’re safe, Percy!”

“I’m so sorry, mom,” I responded. “I won’t scare you like that again.”

“Don’t promise that, Percy. You know it will get worse.” She tried to sound casual, but I could tell she was shaken up. “Anyway, what’s this I heard about you apparently being a girl?”

I winced. “Well, you see, there was this sorceress, and she turned me into a guinea pig…” I told her the story.

“So you prefer this?”

I nodded, before I remembered she couldn’t see me. “Yeah, I like it like this.”

“Well, in that case, and since Chiron has already squared away everything on the government side of things, then that’s that. You’re my daughter.”

I smiled. “Really?”

“Of course, honey. It’s your life, you do what you want with it, I will always support you!”

“So uh, mom,” I said. “So Chiron mentioned he could also deal with my name too if I wanted to change that.”

“I know. Do you want to change your name?”

“Yes,” I said. “And also no. I like Percy, it’s just that Perseus…”

“I understand,” my mom said. “So like… a girl’s name that shortens to Percy, maybe?”

“That would be great, yeah.”

“How about… Persephone? That’s still based in Greek Mythology, and can be shortened to Percy.”

I smiled again. “That sounds perfect, mom.”

Persephone. I liked that.

“So, uh, what about school?”

A pause. “We’ll think of something, honey,” she said. “Somewhere they don’t know us yet.”

“That might be a little easier now.”

My mom laughed. “That’s probably true.”

“I love you, mom.”

“I love you too, Persephone.”

I smiled, blushing, as I hung up.

Chiron trotted over, and I handed the phone back.

“Alright, Percy?”

I nodded. “Yeah.” I turned to leave, then stopped. “Oh, uh. About the name thing, we decided on something.”

“Oh?”

I smiled. “Persephone. That’s my name now.”

Chiron nodded. “It works. Am I to assume you would still like to be called Percy?”

I nodded.

“Well in that case, I shall take care of the paperwork. Have a nice evening, Percy.”

I waved as I walked towards the beach to meet up with Tyson, Grover, and Annabeth.

Once there, Tyson waved me over. It turned out, he had a surprise announcement for us.

“Dream came from daddy last night. He wants me to visit.”

I wondered if he was kidding, but Tyson didn’t really kid. “Poseidon sent you a dream message?”

Tyson nodded. “Wants me to go learn to work at Cyclopes’ forges. He called it an inter… an intern…”

“An internship?” Annabeth asked.

“Yes.”

I had to let that sink in. I admit, I was a little bit jealous of him. Poseidon had sent him a dream message, but had only sent me two words in a letter. He had also certainly never invited me to visit him. But then, I thought, Tyson was leaving? Just like that?

“When do you leave, Tyson?” I asked.

“Now.”

“Now? Like… now now?”

“Now.”

Oh.

I stared out at the water, which was starting to shine red in the light of the sunset.

“I’m happy for you, big guy,” I said. “Really happy.”

“Hard to leave my big sister,” he said, his voice trembling. “But I want to make things; weapons for the camp, you will need them.”

Of course he was right. Not all of the Camp’s problems were solved yet. Just because our barriers were once again strong, didn’t mean Luke and his minions weren’t any less of a threat.

“You’ll make the best weapons ever, bro.” I indicated my watch. “I bet they’d tell good time too!”

Tyson sniffled. “Brothers and sisters help each other.”

“You’re my brother, no doubt,” I said.

He pulled me into a hug that nearly cracked a rib. When he let go he said, “use the shield well.”

I nodded, “I will, Tyson.”

“Save your life someday.” The way he said it, as if it were plainly obvious, made me wonder if he could see into the future a little. Or maybe he had just connected the dots and determined that with how much danger I got into on the regular, that was basically a guarantee.

He turned and headed towards the surf. He whistled, and Rainbow the hippocampus emerged from the waves. I watched as the two rode off, away from shore, sinking beneath the surface.

Once I could no longer see them, I looked at my new watch. I pressed the button to summon the shield again.

Hammered into the bronze were several pictures, in an ancient Greek style, depicting scenes from the summer. Annabeth, stabbing a Laistrygonian in the back, me fighting the bronze bulls on Half-Blood Hill, Tyson riding on Rainbow towards the Princess Andromeda, Clarisse ordering the CSS Birmingham to fire on Charybdis, and a picture of Tyson battling the hydra as he held a box of Monster Donuts.

I blinked away tears. I knew Tyson would have a great time under the ocean, learning to craft even better weapons. But, I would miss him. I’d miss everything about him, from the way he could crush metal with his bare hands, yet could easily work on delicate contraptions such as my shield, to the way he’d snore like an earthquake at night.

“Hey, Percy.”

I turned. Grover was trying to get my attention.

“He’ll be alright,” Annabeth said.

“I know,” I replied. “I’m just going to miss him a lot.”

Annabeth nodded, and held out her hand. “Come on, Seaweed Brain. It’s time for dinner.”

I took her hand, but Annabeth surprised me by pulling me into a hug.

“Did I ever tell you that I am so glad you aren’t a guinea pig?”

I blushed. “So am I.”

---

There was a storm that night, but it parted around the valley as usual, our magical barriers holding strong as they should.

My dreams were restless regardless. I could hear the voice of Kronos, taunting me. Polyphemus sits blindly in his cave, young hero, believing he has won a great victory over his oldest foe. Are you any less deluded?

The dream changed as his laughter sounded. I was now following Tyson as he made his may into Poseidon’s underwater palace. It was radiant, the floor made of pearls. And there, on a throne formed from coral, was my father. I looked at his face, into his eyes. He looked back to me, and said two words: Brace yourself.

I woke up to the sound of banging on my door. Grover flew inside. “Percy! Annabeth… on the hill… she…”

My blood ran cold. Annabeth had been on guard duty for the Fleece the night before. If something had happened to her…

I tore off the sheets, jumping out of bed, suddenly wide awake. Grover averted his eyes as I pulled on some clothes. He kept stammering, trying to explain, but what came out made little sense. “She’s just lying there…”

I sprinted out the door, Grover following. I raced across the yard, towards the hill. The sun was barely up, but the whole Camp was already beginning to wake up. Word was spreading fast that something had happened last night. Something big.

Chiron trotted up to us, looking grim. “Is it true?” he asked Grover.

Grover gulped and nodded.

I was about to ask what was going on, but Chiron grabbed my arm and effortlessly lifted me onto his back. Together, we raced to the top of the hill.

I was expecting the Fleece to be gone, but it was still there, glittering ever so slightly in the morning sun.

“Curse the Titan lord,” Chiron said. “He’s tricked us once again; he’s given himself another chance to control the prophecy.”

“What?” I said, my head spinning. “What do you mean?”

“The Fleece,” he said, starting to move forwards, the crowd parting for us. “The Fleece worked its magic too well.”

I had no idea what he meant by that.

When we reached the tree, what I saw made my heart skip a beat. A girl was lying at the base of the tree, unconscious, another girl kneeling next to her in armor.

Had Annabeth been attacked? But why was the Fleece still hanging on the tree? It didn’t make sense.

But then I realised that obviously the unconscious girl wasn’t Annabeth; her hair was black, not blonde, for one thing. The girl in armor was Annabeth.

Had another Half-Blood arrived at Camp during the night, passing out on the top of Half-Blood Hill? But why would the entire Camp be coming to see her, it wasn’t like that was out of the ordinary?

Annabeth looked up and saw us, and she ran over to Chiron as I climbed off his back.

“It… she… just suddenly there…”

There were tears streaming down her cheeks, but I was still confused. I ran over to the unconscious girl.

“Percy, wait!” Chiron called, but I ignored him.

I knelt next to the girl. She had short black hair and freckles over her nose. She was built like a runner, lithe and strong, and she wore clothes one with call somewhere between punk and Goth - a black t-shirt under a leather jacket, and a pair of ripped black jeans.

I didn’t recognize her from any of the cabins. Definitely a new camper. And yet, she felt somewhat familiar to me…

“It’s true!” Grover said, panting as he ran up the hill. “I can’t believe it’s…”

Nobody else was coming close to the girl.

I put my hand against her forehead. Her skin was cold, but my fingers tingled as if burning.

“She needs nectar and ambrosia!” I called. She was clearly a Half-Blood, I could tell just from that touch. But I couldn’t understand why everyone else was so nervous.

I grabbed the girl by the shoulders, lifting her to a sitting position.

“Come on! What’s wrong with you people? We need to get her to the Big House right now,” I said.

But no one moved, not even Chiron. They were all too stunned.

Then the girl took a breath, coughing and opening her eyes.

Her eyes were a startling blue color. Electric blue.

She stared at me, bewildered. “Who are-”

“I’m Percy Jackson,” I said. “You’re safe now, don’t worry.”

“I had the strangest dream…”

“It’s ok.”

“Dying?”

I shook my head. “No, you’re gonna be fine. What’s your name?”

Even before I finished asking, I knew. She didn’t even have to say it. She stared back into my eyes, and I finally understood exactly what this quest had been all about. The poisoning of the tree had been very intentional and calculated. Kronos had ordered it to bring another piece into play, another chance to control the prophecy.

Even Chiron, Grover, and Annabeth, who would otherwise have been celebrating, were instead simply shocked, their minds realizing the ramifications of what had happened. And here I was, holding someone who could either be a great friend, or a terrible enemy.

“I am Thalia,” she said. “Daughter of Zeus.”