The Meadow at Dawn - Chapter 1 - SallyHansen2 (2024)

Chapter Text

“Our source remains in place, sir.”

“Good. They should be in contact in 3 days. If not, wait for further instruction. What do we have so far?”

“The girl has recovered and has begun working on her powers again. The boy is still recovering. It will be a long time before he regains his strength.”

The man smirked. Good.

“What is the sentiment in the rest of the country?”

“Mixed, sir. We are gaining points across red states, as planned. The blue states are split. Some argue that these are just children. Others stand against their violence.”

“They’re useless anyway. The real power lies with our supporters. Strengthen those ties.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What about that idiotic senator from South Carolina? Has she been taken care of?”

“Unfortunately not, sir. She was gone before we got there. We suspect it had something to do with some of the terrorist supporters or even the terrorists themselves.”

“You know where her family resides, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Don’t do anything just yet. Just send them a friendly reminder in the mail so they know we’re watching.”

“Will do, sir.”

“Have you spoken to the siblings?”

“They have been in contact, sir.”

“And?”

“They have requested a meeting.”

“A meeting? For what?” his blood simmered. He was meant to be in charge around here. Yet, everyone seemed too scared to stand up to the siblings. It just felt like they were not meant to be questioned. They felt powerful.

“They wish to hear about our progress, sir.”

“Have they not been adequately updated?”

“Of course, sir. We remain in frequent contact. They… They wish to hear it from you, sir.”

“Why?” he turned to his communications manager, “I don’t have time for this.”

“I tried to tell them that, sir. I reminded them of our agreement and where you stand in all this, but they insisted. I can go back and-”

“No,” he sighed, “Don’t piss them off. The man seems a little fickle, I must say.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Find a slot in my calendar for tomorrow. Move some stuff around if you have to.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’re doing a good job, Bryan. Keep up the good work.”

“Thank you, sir,” Bryan lowered his head respectfully.

“Have we heard anything about Idris?”

“They have him, sir.”

“And? What do they plan on doing? He’ll never talk.”

“Apparently, they question him. His half-sibling leads most of the interrogations. Our source doesn’t have much information as they keep it tight-lipped, but rumors spread from those that are close.”

“We should have killed that bitch when we had her. I understand why he wanted them alive, but she has been nothing but trouble for us. Do you know how many of our men she’s killed?”

“Upwards of 30, sir.”

“That’s not normal, Bryan. She is not even of legal drinking age and she is a highly trained killer. We can’t let our kids end up like them.”

“You’re right, sir.”

“How long will it take to get clearance to move on the camp with our troops? Idris did the work. We know how to take them down. The siblings provided the weapons. Why hasn’t the oval office given us the go ahead yet? You followed up with them, right?”

“Yes, sir. Unfortunately, the senator from South Carolina still has some influence up there. She has contacts within the organization. They hesitate to sign off because of the ages of the suspects. There has been a small but noisy group petitioning for weeks now. It will be weeks before we can get this underway, sir.”

“Who gives a sh*t how old they are?” he boomed, “They’re not children. Not anymore. No child of God murders grown men so easily. They are terrorists, no matter their age.”

“I agree, sir. The oval office is still unsure.”

“It’s that old ass man in charge. I still don’t know how they managed to elect someone without a spine. We’ll never get anything done with him in charge.”

“The siblings’ offer still stands, sir,” Bryan reminded him.

“Quiet,” he hissed, “Don’t ever speak of that again, boy. Not in here. They will get you strung up for treason before you can blink. Don’t even think about their offer. That’s mine to deal with and mine alone. You just do what I tell you.”

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

“You’re dismissed.”

Bryan walked out with a single nod. Nothing else needed to be said. Bryan was a man of little words anyway. That’s why his boss liked him.

He chewed his lip as he thought. How many men would he have to lose before the government gave in? How many innocent people had to die? Why delay the war? They knew how much money they’d make from this war. The NRA was growing impatient.

He could feel them breathing down his neck. Come on, let us supply you. We’ll keep you safe. We’ll keep your pockets full.

He knew it would make him quite a bit of money, but he would lose hundreds, if not thousands, of men. How many lives were worth a few million dollars?

There is no limit, he thought. He thought about his family at home. He knew they’d disapprove, but they didn’t have much of a choice. His daughter was sick. They weren’t lucky enough to be healed by gods. He needed this money for his family.

The world was a mess anyway. Once he got his hands on some money, he’d retire early. He’d spend the rest of his days with his family and get away from all the blood. He’d finally be able to protect them.

These mere children were holding him back from doing that. As he stared at the ever-familiar map of that wretched camp, he seethed. They think they’ve won.

They have no idea what’s coming.

Estrella POV:

“I told you, keep your weight on your back foot for now,” Mateo reminded her as she fell flat on her face once again. She spit dirt out of her mouth and rubbed her eyes.

Estrella was growing frustrated. That hurt. Still, he wouldn’t let up. She didn’t want him to. She just wanted to beat him once.

“I was,” she complained, pushing herself to her knees. Dirt stuck to her sweaty body as she tried to dust herself off. Her efforts proved futile.

“You obviously weren't,” Mateo pointed out, gesturing at her on the floor. She stood up with a huff.

“Again.”

“Drink some water first,” he suggested, handing her a frustratingly warm bottle. She took a meager sip and tried not to make a face.

“Now you,” she panted, handing him back the bottle. He looked annoyingly perfect. There was a small ring of sweat around the neck of his t-shirt, but otherwise, he looked unphased. Estrella was drenched.

“Thanks, babe,” he chuckled, and took a large gulp. She tried not to blush as she stared at his throat. She was still getting used to the pet names. “Babe” was the calmest of them. She quickly shut down “mi amor,” as it painfully reminded her of her dead aunt and uncle at home.

Terra was giving her a hard time about it. Estrella was new to dating and felt a bit defensive when faced with questions. She tended to shut down when asked about their past. It was new. It was unserious. She didn’t understand why everyone was on her ass for agreeing to be his girlfriend. People met new people all the time. Sure, 2 weeks was a little fast, but she’d seen much quicker relationships form in high school. No one gave them a hard time.

Plus, it wasn’t like Estrella was a home wrecker.

That was a low blow.

Estrella banished the petty thought from her mind and accepted Mateo’s kiss with a smile. He was being so sweet to her. She knew how busy he was training the younger campers, but he took his lunch break to have 1:1 privates with her.

Yes, they often got distracted by each other, but she was learning some things. She could feel her arms getting stronger. She could hold her own against Leo when they sparred as long as he used a sword too. Annabeth was another story.

Maybe that’s another reason why Estrella was annoyed with Terra. Maybe it was immature and irrational of her to bring it out on Terra, but Estrella’s pride was bruised. So was her face.

Sue her.

She’d get over it eventually.

For now though, Estrella would be staying away from Annabeth. Clarisse proved quite helpful as well, and Estrella was shocked to discover she had a little soft spot forming for the formidable teacher. Clarisse wasn’t so tough now that Estrella knew how to communicate with her.

Don’t get her wrong, they wouldn’t be doing manis and pedis anytime soon, but Estrella was beginning to enjoy their time training together. They got along quite well when they shared a common goal. Plus, Estrella buttered her up with lots of homemade treats.

She was beginning to develop a certain notoriety around camp for her cooking. Almost everyone had tried at least one of her confections and came crawling back for more. It felt good. If she could make people feel good while doing something she loved, she’d do it. As much as they wanted.

Chiron did put in a request for healthier options, though, which stumped her for a day. Annabeth saw her dire mood and surprised her with another cookbook. Whole grain, low sugar baking.

It almost made up for her giving Estrella a black eye. Almost.

“Okay,” Mateo glanced down at his watch, “We have time for one more round. Then I have the Ares cabin coming in. You’re free to stick around if you want, but it won’t be as private.”

“It’s fine,” Estrella smirked, “You can come by later. Leo finally cleared out a room for me in Bunker 9.”

“Hmm,” Mateo smiled, pulling Estrella closer with his hands around her lower back, “I think I’ll take you up on that.”

“Will you now?” Estrella grinned back, tilting her head up at him suggestively, “I’ll tell Leo to take Calypso on a date.”

“Mmm, privacy,” Mateo hummed, and Estrella felt butterflies stirring in her stomach, “Will you still have energy to burn after this?”

Estrella playfully smacked his chest and blushed.

“You know I have the most energy at night.”

Now Mateo was blushing. Estrella tried not to let her chest puff out in victory. She loved embarrassing him. It seemed like he was always doing it to her but was not easily embarrassed himself. Now look at him.

“Damn, mami, ok,” he chuckled, and she smiled evilly at him, scrunching up her nose and poking the tip of her tongue out against the point of her top canine.

He lightly pushed her away with a chuckle.

“You’re gonna get me in trouble,” he laughed, nodding for emphasis. Estrella didn’t want to stop. She loved the effect she had on him. Seeing him flustered because of her just made her want to…

One of the youngest Ares kids walked in early. Estrella stepped away from Mateo and straightened out her clothes. She was a bit disappointed to be interrupted but knew she should probably get back to her day. There was a meeting with the 9 soon anyway.

“See you tonight,” she called as she picked up her things and left. She could feel Mateo’s eyes on her the entire way.

“I’ll be there,” he called back, and she turned around to hide her grin.

As she walked to the big house, she spotted a broken wheel from the chariot races that occurred 2 nights ago. She smiled as she remembered the last minute upset she took against Annabeth and Terra.

Chiron had announced the chariot race as a special treat to take the campers’ minds off of the looming danger of the prophecy. Campers cheered and shook the pavilion as Chiron reiterated the rules.

1. Quarter-mile track
2. Complete two laps first to win
3. Two horses per chariot
4. Each team will consist of a driver and a fighter
5. Weapons are allowed
6. Dirty tricks are allowed
7. Killing will result in "harsh" punishment (i.e. no s’mores?)

Normally, Estrella would have stayed far away from activities like these. She wasn’t the violent type and knew she didn’t hold a candle to the skill of most, if not all of the campers there. She was inexperienced and weak.

Yet, a few days prior, she had been given a chariot riding lesson by none other than Percy Jackson. He was still not cleared for most activities, so instead, he shouted instructions at her from his seat off to the side.

She was shocked and delighted to discover that she was actually quite skilled at chariot riding. Who would’ve thought?

It just felt natural as she snapped the reins and zipped around the track. She could hear Percy cursing and shouting in surprise as she raced away from him. All she could do was beam as the horses seemed to do exactly what she wanted them to do. Without even trying, she could see wisps of shadows beginning to trail off the chariot behind her.

When she passed Percy for the second time he was barely a blur. She could hear him shout after her but didn’t want to stop.

“Ok Toretto!” he laughed, and she couldn’t hold back her smile.

“I do it for my familia!” she shouted back, to which she heard his laughter echo across the track.

They discovered, likely because of her mother, that she was naturally good at riding a chariot.

“And you said you’ve never ridden a horse before?” Percy asked, baffled once she stopped after 4 laps.

“I mean, I rode one once on a trail with Terra. She was obviously a natural but I couldn’t get mine to listen to me. It wouldn’t stop eating the grass so I got left behind,” she explained, remembering how stressful it had been. Terra wouldn’t stop laughing at her once she broke down in tears and walked the rest of the way on foot.

“Hmm,” Percy thought, “Maybe it’s just the chariot then. Your mom is famous for riding her chariot. I’m not even kidding when I say that’s maybe the fastest I’ve seen anybody ride other than Hazel on Arion. Even the horses could sense that you knew what you were doing. I tried to tell them to slow down but they didn’t want to. They felt energized by you.”

Estrella was mildly thrilled at the thought. Another power discovery was always exciting, but this one didn’t seem especially helpful for surviving a war. She didn’t think a chariot would stand up well to a tank.

A little part of her, though, was pleased at the fact that she could maybe win something. Estrella was nothing if not competitive. She tried not to let it show in her everyday life, like say, Annabeth, but every once in a while, it was obvious.

Mario Kart was no laughing matter for Estrella.

So, when Chiron announced the chariot race, Estrella looked straight at Terra with a huge smile, ready to team up like they had on countless group projects in school. Instead, when Estrella turned to face her, Terra was turned away, beaming at none other than Annabeth Chase.

Estrella’s heart sank but she tried not to show it. Terra heard about Estrella’s newfound skill in chariot racing but maybe forgot in her excitement. I mean, who wouldn’t want to team up with Annabeth?

She decided to pretend not to be interested. Annabeth paired with Terra, Hazel with Nico, Clarisse with Chris, Leo with Calypso, Will with Kayla, etc. Everyone seemed to have someone they wanted to be with, so Estrella knew she’d be alone.

That was until she made eye contact with her budding friend, Jason. He raised his eyebrows at her from across the pavilion and pointed at her, then himself. Partners? he mouthed.

Estrella’s chest grew warm. She nodded rapidly. If anyone could help her win, it was Jason. Sure, Terra was great with horses, but Estrella already knew how to ride. She needed a fighter.

Mateo would be the obvious choice, but he wasn’t a big fan of chariots. Jason would be perfect.

Without another word to Terra, she got up from their table and joined Jason at the lonely Zeus table.

“Have you done this before?” she asked as she sat down. Jason nodded.

“Yeah. We do these at Camp Jupiter too. I can get Tempest and one of his buddies to help us out,” Jason suggested, and Estrella nodded enthusiastically.

“Perfect. Do you think Leo will help us with our chariot?”

“I think we can convince him. Don’t you? Just keep those sweet Mexican breads you make coming and we’ll wear him down eventually.”

“I think we could have a good shot at this,” Estrella whispered, chest tightening with excitement.

“Me too. Now, can we put lightning bolts on the outside of the chariot?”

Estrella tried not to roll her eyes at the suggestion. Instead, she let Jason drag her to the arts and crafts station where they collected a sketchbook and colored pencils. They walked toward Jason’s cabin shoulder to shoulder as they excitedly talked strategy. Then, an idea occurred to her.

She knew Percy was bored around camp without much to do as he recovered. So, she pulled Jason along as they hunted Percy down. Once she spotted him, they bombarded him.

“We need your help,” she begged, to which Percy raised an eyebrow.

“Bro, you’ve won like so many chariot races. You know how this works,” Jason added. Estrella nodded along as Percy put his hands on his hips.

“You taught me how to ride, Percy. I wouldn’t be able to race without you,” she buttered him up and he rolled his eyes.

“You and I both know that you would,” he responded, but she could see the corners of his lips twitching. She was making progress.

“Ok, maybe, but I wouldn’t want to.”

“Come on, bro, please.”

Percy sighed. She knew he was about to give in.

“What exactly are you asking?”

“Help us win, man!” Jason exclaimed.

“You know better than anyone how to design a good chariot,” Estrella added, “Just- come on!”

She grabbed his wrist and dragged him along with them. He was reluctant until she finally mentioned that she made muffins this morning and had some extras to snack on while they worked.

“What flavor?”

“Lemon blueberry.”

“You know that’s my favorite,” he gave in, and picked up his pace on the way to Jason’s cabin. He was almost the first to the door, which left Estrella trying to hide a smile.

For the next 2 hours, they perfected their sketch of the chariot with only a few shouting matches between Percy and Jason. Estrella, the most talented artist between the three, was tasked with doing the drawing while Jason and Percy suggested tweaks and additions.

In the end, they were left with a sleek black chariot with purple streaks of lightning across the sides and blue wheels, per Percy’s request. Estrella even added a trident as a thank you to Percy, which left their chariot looking like it was sponsored by maserati.

“You guys are gonna be like Jason Statham in the 7th movie,” Percy joked, remembering the car Shaw crashed into Dom in the Furious 7 movie.

“I don’t understand the fascination, you guys,” Jason grumbled. He wasn’t as big of a fan of the movies as Estrella and Percy were. He just didn’t understand how great they really were.

“This guy,” Estrella gestured at Jason while looking at Percy, “It’s almost like he was raised by wolves or something.”

Jason groaned in exasperation while Percy burst into laughter. Estrella grinned victoriously.

“You know what, I’m gonna go see if Frank wants to be partners instead,” Jason threatened, which only made Estrella laugh harder.

They had 3 days to make their chariot, but it flew by. Leo helped with the structure on the first day, but left them to put finishing touches themselves. He wanted to win, so he wasn’t going to go easy on them and help them too much.

Estrella’s dad was quite handy, so she took over most of the sanding, painting, and assembling. Jason helped with the heavy lifting while Percy mostly just sat off to the side rambling and making fun of them. Occasionally, he’d point out places where they could improve, like using less material to give the horses less weight to carry.

By the end of day 3, Estrella was sore all over and had countless splinters. It was worth it, though. Their chariot was beautiful. It was aerodynamic and light while also being built to withstand high speeds.

Nico and Hazel’s was light and fast because they knew they wouldn’t have to defend much. With Arion, they’d be miles ahead of everyone. All they had to do was keep the chariot together.

Annabeth and Terra’s was the perfect chariot, of course. It was decorated with owls and various animals but still looked aerodynamic and sturdy. They would be Estrella and Jason’s main competition, Estrella thought.

Will’s chariot was gaudy and beautiful, while Clarisse’s was red and hideous. They used skeleton horses to pull it, while Apollo had gorgeous horses that almost seemed to match their golden chariot.

Leo’s chariot was bronze, which surprised nobody. He would be difficult to defend against, as his chariot was sturdy and no doubt hiding many different weapons. It had a magical aura to it as well, no doubt Calypso’s doing.

The rest of the chariots didn’t seem as intimidating, but Estrella did not let her guard down. Everyone at that camp had skills she knew would be dangerous.

“Alright, Estrella, you know how to ride. Just focus on that while Jason does his thing. Try to stay away from other chariots. If people throw projectiles at you, don’t worry about the horses. It’ll go right through them. Just try to protect the chariot. You can absorb projectiles, right, Es?”

“Yeah. If Jason doesn’t deflect them first. I was hoping to not use too much of my powers. Will is on my ass still.”

“Don’t I know,” Percy grumbled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle the fighting,” Jason grinned. He looked a little too excited in Estrella’s opinion, but who was she to judge? She was excited too.

“Target their wheels, ok bro?” Percy told Jason, who nodded, “Stay away from Annabeth’s chariot and don’t engage. The less she focuses on you guys, the better. Let her take out the others. You guys will be too busy winning anyway.”

“What if she does focus on us, though?” Estrella asked.

“Then try to get away unscathed. Jason has long range powers. Annabeth does not. Just don’t let her get close to you or she’ll do some serious damage. She’s not afraid to fight dirty.”

“Do you think Will and Kayla will be dangerous?” Estrella wondered, and Percy chewed on his lip in thought.

“They can be,” he said honestly, “But odds are, they’ll be too distracted with Ares. They butt heads a lot in chariot races. Jason can deflect their arrows anyway.”

“What about Leo?” Jason questioned, and Percy grimaced.

“I’d stay as far away from them as possible too. I believe Calypso is driving, so her magic will most likely be used for defense. Leo can set you guys on fire if he gets too close, though. And I’m sure he has nasty tricks up his sleeve.”

“Ok,” Estrella said as she climbed into their chariot, “Anything else? Any last minute tips?”

Jason followed her into the chariot. It was quite cramped with both of them but his presence was comforting. He’d protect her to the best of his abilities.

She spotted Mateo in the stands chatting with Tobi as they waited for the race to begin. Chiron called the racers to the starting line, so Percy walked alongside their horses as he guided them to their starting position.

“Trust in your abilities,” he told Estrella, “You might be new and inexperienced, but you’ve got natural talent. You can win this.”

Estrella sent him a sweet smile. She was really starting to like Percy. No matter what he’d been through, he was still a sweet guy once you got to know him.

“Thanks, Percy. We’ll try. See you on the other side.”

“You guys got this! Do me proud!” he yelled as he joined the people in the stands. Estrella noticed Mateo watching Percy as he walked by. For some reason, they just couldn’t seem to get along, which made Estrella sad. She wanted Mateo to like her friends, and wanted her friends to like her boyfriend.

“You ready?” Jason interrupted her thoughts. He was nearly vibrating with energy.

“Yep. You?”

“Absolutely,” he grinned.

Chiron counted down from 3 and then they were off.

Estrella cracked the reins and they shot off, the first off the block besides Arion. Hazel and Nico disappeared, Arion zipping around the track so fast they looked like a blur. It wasn’t as fast as he usually ran because he was pulling an entire chariot as well as a skeleton horse that couldn’t run nearly as fast. Still, they would be unbeatable. It was almost unfair.

She decided not to focus on them. Whoever got second place was basically the winner. Arion, the literal fastest horse in the world, was guaranteed first place. It would be embarrassing otherwise.

So, Jason and Estrella raced away from their competitors, trying to gain as much distance as they could. Already, she could hear the sounds of chariots crashing and flipping behind them, but she didn’t dare turn around.

Annabeth and Terra were quickly approaching in her peripheral vision, so she urged her horses to go faster. The wind sung as it whipped past her ears, a testament to how fast they were going.

The sky above the track grew cloudy as Jason summoned a massive thunderstorm. Tempest and his friend winnied in excitement as static filled the air. Each time their hooves touched the ground it sounded like thunder.

As Estrella grew excited, she could feel shadows trailing behind them. She wouldn’t cheat and use them to appear in first place, but they did help smooth their ride.

Jason was a whirlwind, deflecting arrows, nets, cannons, and more. A few chariots fell when he struck them with lightning, including Clarisse’s. Estrella saw their smoking chariot pull off into the grass as their skeleton horses burst free from their reins and ran far away.

In Estrella’s brief moment of distraction, Annabeth and Terra managed to pull ahead. Terra pulled up so close that Estrella had to run her and Jason’s chariot into the grass to avoid a collision. Rude.

It took her only a few seconds to pull back onto the track, but it was enough for Terra to gain an even bigger lead. Leo was quickly approaching from the back too. Estrella could feel the heat against her back as Leo blew fire at their chariot.

Jason desperately tried to deflect the flames with the wind, but an angry Clarisse threw a spear at the same time from the center of the track. Jason could either deflect the fire and let the spear impale Estrella, or deflect the spear and let the fire hit their chariot.

Thankfully, he chose to save her life once again and sliced the spear right in half with his sword. Unfortunately, that meant that Leo’s fire was able to reach them. It spread like crazy as soon as it came in contact with their wooden chariot, and nearly set Estrella’s pants on fire.

“Leo, ¡me cago en tu puta madre!” she shouted, and Leo cackled behind her. Jason hissed as he tried to swat out the flames and burned his hand, so Estrella sighed. Time to use her powers.

She took a deep breath and tried to steady her heart rate as she called the shadows to her. They came, slowly at first, until they began to congregate around her body.

Estrella sent them to surround their chariot and snuff out the flames. It took a few seconds because they were moving too fast to keep the shadows in place, but eventually they did their job. They were just in time too, as Annabeth had just turned around and thrown a ball and chain right at their wheels.

The shadows absorbed the projectile at the last second and their chariot continued on like nothing happened. Jason and Estrella were almost halfway through their second lap and still hadn’t caught up to Annabeth and Terra. Hazel and Nico had finished about 2 minutes prior.

Thankfully, Will and the Stolls twins teamed up against Leo, which slowed all 3 of them down. Estrella took that as her opportunity. She lowered her head and raced, purely with skill. No tricks, no fighting, just speed.

Jason whooped as they went faster and faster. Annabeth turned around at the sound, and shouted at Terra as she saw them quickly approaching.

Jason shot a bolt of lightning at their wheels, but Annabeth managed to deflect it straight at Estrella. She barely had time to duck before the lightning crashed right into their chariot. The horses obviously weren’t phased, but Estrella could hear their chariot creak and crack beneath them.

Only a quarter of a lap to go.

At that point, Estrella was basically holding their chariot together with shadows alone. Annabeth could see how close Estrella and Jason were getting and decided to focus all of her attacks on Estrella.

She fought viciously, aiming to hurt. Estrella’s eyes widened when Annabeth pulled out a bag full of knives and started chucking them at Estrella with deadly accuracy. Jason deflected most of them, but one managed to get by him and lodged itself in Estrella’s shoulder.

She screamed in pain as the momentum of the strike sent her stumbling backwards and out the back of the chariot. Estrella’s back smacked against the ground so hard that the wind was knocked from her lungs and her head spun.

Thankfully, she recovered quickly enough to roll off the side of the track and avoid being run over. Leo and the Stolls were approaching so quickly that they could have easily run her over.

Annabeth should know better than that. An accident could easily happen in such a chaotic environment. Who’s to say Estrella could have moved out of the way in her dazed state? What if the knife had been a few inches down to the right? Would she have been stabbed through the heart? Would she have been killed?

Estrella heard Percy shout from the stands in outrage, but she ignored him. Estrella and Jason agreed to fight fair. They wouldn’t aim to hurt people. They wanted to win on skill without accidentally killing anyone. Jason might have shot lightning at some of the teams, but he only ever aimed for their wheels or chariots. Never did he try to harm his competition.

“What the hell, Annabeth?” he shouted, and she only smirked. That pissed off Estrella even more.

If Annabeth wanted to fight dirty, fine. Estrella could fight dirty.

Just as Terra whipped around to see why Jason was turning the chariot back, Estrella summoned a wall of shadows right in front of Annabeth’s chariot. Terra didn’t turn around fast enough, and suddenly they drove straight into the darkness.

One second they were about to cross the finish line, and the next, Annabeth and Terra were 100 yards behind everyone else. Jason laughed in surprise while Estrella turned around and gave Annabeth a smug little wave.

Jason pulled up to Estrella just a few seconds after Will, Leo, and the Stolls passed them. With all of their fighting, though, all 3 chariots had taken a lot of damage. Estrella’s was in much better shape.

As he passed, Jason reached an arm down and yanked Estrella up into their chariot without stopping. Her entire body protested at the sudden change in momentum, but Jason held her securely in the chariot this time as she re-grabbed the reins and took off.

They zipped off, leaving Annabeth and Terra in the dust. With Estrella’s intense anger, Tempest and his friend took off at a dizzying speed and caught up to the Stolls easily. Estrella maintained a thick veil of shadows around them so none of their attacks could hurt.

Jason kept targeting their wheels, which slowed down the 3 front running chariots significantly. It was all a blur as they raced to the best of their abilities, but when Estrella and Jason crossed the finish line, she could hear cheers echoing from all around her. Jason wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tightly, screaming in her ears.

She could only smile as she watched Annabeth’s chariot approach.

Estrella could see Annabeth’s sour look from yards away. They crossed the finish line sixth, much to the annoyance of Annabeth. Terra cheered nonetheless, but Annabeth was reluctant to celebrate with her.

“You cheated!” she shouted at Estrella, to which Estrella shrugged.

“I don’t think so. I didn’t hear anything in the rules against that.”

“You can’t just teleport people! At that rate, you ought to have just teleported yourself into first place!”

“Nah, I think second was good enough for us. I mean, we beat you,” Estrella smiled, and Annabeth snarled.

“Babe, come on,” Terra poked Annabeth in the side, “It was just a race. You did so good!”

“Yeah,” Jason agreed snarkily, “She almost murdered Estrella so I’d say job well done.”

“What?” Terra asked, and gasped when Estrella moved the hand covering the knife lodged in her shoulder.

“Sorry,” Annabeth grimaced, “You should have dodged it.”

Terra tsked and sent Annabeth a warning look. Annabeth backed down and put her hands up, realizing she just maybe had been in the wrong.

“What? Ok, fine. I’m sorry. You guys had the advantage of your combined power and we didn’t. I needed to use every skill I had. I got carried away. I would never actually try to kill you, Estrella.”

“Are you ok?” Terra fretted, and Estrella waved her off.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Will will sort me out. Just… maybe don’t try to play so dirty next time. It’s just a race.”

Annabeth nodded as Jason guided Estrella away from them. He was gentle as he placed a hand on her back but she could feel him tense with excitement.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Jason leaned in.

“Dude, we won!”

“I mean, we got second, but yeah.”

“Same thing! Arion is basically a cheat code. We won in my book! That was awesome, dude!”

Estrella tried to hold back her smile, but she couldn’t. It was kinda cool.

“I know, right?” she giggled and Jason shook her good shoulder.

“You did it!” Percy congratulated as he approached. Estrella put out her good arm for a hug, and Percy was about to grab her when Mateo brushed by him, bumping his shoulder, and wrapped his arms around her. Estrella laughed as he picked her up and spun her around.

When he set her down, she caught Percy awkwardly standing to the side and she felt bad for a moment. She leaned up and gave Mateo a quick kiss before turning to Percy and giving him a quick, excited hug.

“Congrats,” he whispered, and Estrella gave him a squeeze.

“Thanks for teaching me,” she whispered back, “Hopefully we can be partners next time.”

Percy pulled back with a grin. Estrella beamed back before Mateo wrapped his arms around her stomach.

“Come on, let’s go get that shoulder healed. Nice job, bro,” Mateo congratulated Jason, then led Estrella away without acknowledging Percy. Estrella looked back and caught Percy frowning at the action.

“Mati, can’t you be a little nicer to Percy? He’s a good guy. He helped us win that race. You could have congratulated him at least,” she told Mateo, and he rolled his eyes.

“I was nice,” he insisted.

“Just to Jason,” Estrella pointed out.

“Ugh, can’t we just go like 5 minutes without talking about Percy, babe? I am nice to him, I was just too busy focusing on my girlfriend. Is that a bad thing? Would you rather I talk to him instead of you?”

“No,” Estrella frowned, ready to give up on the conversation, “I’m sorry. I just want you guys to like each other.”

“Maybe if he was a little nicer to me, it’d be a different story.”

“You’re right. It goes both ways. I’m sorry. Nevermind.”

Mateo pulled her closer as they walked to the medical tent together.

“You did so good out there,” he complimented, and she nearly swooned at the praise. She was on a high. Maybe the blood loss was making her a little loopy, but otherwise, she felt great.

“Thank you. All I was listening to was you cheering me on,” she lied, and Mateo kissed her forehead.

“Hey, Will. Sorry about the chariot, dude. Can you heal Estrella real quick?” Mateo interrupted Will who was busy healing an Ares camper with a broken leg.

“Yeah, just give me a second,” Will replied, and Mateo tried again.

“Uh, she’s like bleeding out here, dude.”

“One moment, I just gave him ambrosia so I need to set the leg before it heals incorrectly.”

“Yo, is anyone else available to help?” Mateo shouted around the tent, and Estrella squeezed his arm in warning. She was tempted to shush him but didn’t want to be rude. He shook her off and pulled aside Kayla, who was healing one of the Stolls.

“Hey, my girl needs some healing real quick,” he demanded, and Kayla just complied to avoid a conflict.

“Hey, dude , I told you to wait just a second,” Will snapped, and Mateo crossed his arms in defiance. Estrella cringed in embarrassment and tried to apologize to Kayla, who just waved her off.

“Bro, can you not see that Estrella is bleeding?” Mateo challenged, and Will took a deep breath to calm himself.

“I’m fine, guys,” Estrella piped up, “Sorry for the disturbance.”

“No, babe, you’ve got to stick up for yourself,” Mateo argued, and she pulled on his arm again.

“I’m fine now, Mateo ,” Estrella hissed, and gratefully accepted a square of ambrosia from Kayla.

“Ok, I’m done now,” Will turned around, “See how long that took me? A whopping… what do you say… 20 seconds? Was that not quick enough for you?”

“You got a problem, bro?” Mateo raised his eyebrows, and Estrella dug her nails into his arm.

“Do you?” Will threw back, and Estrella tried in vain to pull Mateo away.

“I don’t know, should I?”

“Mateo, stop it ,” she whispered, and he yanked his arm away from her again.

“Babe, I’m just trying to stand up for you. You deserve better treatment.”

“I’m fine ,” she emphasized as she dragged him away from the medical tent, “Sorry, Will. I’m good now. Thanks for the help, Kayla!”

“Anytime!” Kayla called back, and Will frowned after them.

Estrella wanted to go celebrate with everyone else at the finish line, but now Mateo seemed angry after he was just trying to help. Estrella ruined things once again.

She tried not to let that drag down her mood, but it was difficult. She just wished she knew how to treat Mateo better. Sometimes he was so confusing.

He was so sweet to her though, which is why she was excited to meet him later that night. Estrella smiled as she recalled the events of that chariot race and continued on her journey to the big house. Apparently, Annabeth had news about Idris and their quest.

Estrella bumped into Percy on the way over and they walked the rest of the way together.

“Why are you covered in dirt?” he asked, jokingly wrinkling his nose at her.

“I fell down.”

“Uhh, ok…”

“What do you want me to say? That’s the truth.”

“I mean, I guess you’re right,” Percy chuckled and dusted off the back of her shirt.

“I was training with Mateo and he beat my ass,” she admitted, and Percy scowled.

“Your boyfriend beat your ass?”

“You know what I mean, Percy. We were training. I told him to not go easy on me. In case you’ve forgotten, I suck at fighting.”

“You don’t suck,” Percy began, but stopped when Estrella shot him a look, “You’re just inexperienced.”

“Yeah, well I’m trying to gain some experience so I don’t get myself killed again.”

“Wasn’t the first time kind of your fault?”

“Percy-”

“I’m joking. Sorry, low blow. I’m just annoyed that I can’t train too. I’m probably as bad as you at this point.”

“Gee, thanks, Percy,” Estrella scoffed, hurt. She knew she was bad but she didn’t need her friend bagging on her as well.

“That came out wrong,” Percy amended, looking exasperated with himself, “I’m all over the place today, I’m sorry.”

“What’s up? Can I help?” Estrella asked, suddenly concerned for her friend.

“Nah, just a bad dream and a sh*tty morning. I’m kind of stressed about this meeting too. Things are too quiet right now. I don’t feel right.”

Estrella had actually been feeling the same thing the past few days after the chariot race. Now that the fun had died down, they felt like they were in limbo. Percy wasn’t getting his strength back quick enough. The government and news were suspiciously quiet.

“I’ve been thinking the same thing. My gut tells me something is coming,” she admitted, and Percy frowned deeper.

“Great. Just what I like to hear.”

“Sorry. Maybe I should have kept that to myself,” Estrella backtracked, and Percy sighed.

“Don’t feel guilty. I’m not annoyed with you. I’m annoyed with the world right now. I just need a distraction. How about we have a movie night tonight?” he asked, and Estrella cringed.

“I totally would, but I’m spending the night with Mateo. We can hang out after the meeting though. We can grab lunch or something,” she suggested. Percy’s shoulders sagged a little more.

“Oh right, my bad. I can’t after the meeting, I have another physical with Will.”

“Sorry,” Estrella apologized as they stepped into the big house together, “Maybe tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Percy sighed, “Maybe tomorrow.”

He sounded exhausted. Estrella’s chest tightened. Percy surely could use a friend more than Mateo, but she didn’t want to cancel on her boyfriend. Especially when her boyfriend was so unfavorable towards Percy. She tried to imagine how it’d sound.

Hey, Mateo, can we cancel our date tonight? Instead of sleeping with you, I’d rather hang out with my male friend that you hate and watch movies alone in his cabin. Is that good with you?

She shook her head and sat down next to Piper at the ping pong table with a sigh.

“Hey girl, I haven’t seen you around much lately,” Piper began, and Estrella turned to her with a small smile.

“I know, I’ve been kinda all over the place, sorry. How have you been? What have you been up to?”

“I’ve mostly been with Annabeth. We’ve been interrogating Idris,” Piper whispered as she leaned close, and Estrella’s eyes bugged. She’d almost forgotten about him. He’d been kept so under wraps some of the campers didn’t even know he existed.

“Really?” Estrella whispered back, “How has that been going?”

“About as well as you’d expect. He was brought in against his will and is probably torturing us in his mind. We’ll talk about it more during the meeting.”

“Wow,” Estrella breathed, and leaned back in her chair. Her heart was already racing just at the thought of him. She honestly had no idea what he looked like. She never got to see him at the facility and once they arrived at camp, he’d been held in a secret location only privy to a select few.

Will was the last one to walk through the door and Estrella gave him a small wave. He sent her a small smile and sat next to Nico with a huff.

He’d been so stressed lately. Estrella was spending quite a bit of time around him helping out in the infirmary, so they’d gotten a bit closer, but she still hadn’t seen the “sunny” Will Solace that everyone talked about. Since they’d met, he’d been quite the opposite.

She couldn’t blame him though. The people at this camp put way too much pressure on the 17 year old boy. She planned on talking to him later.

“Alright, let’s get started,” Annabeth began, and Estrella crossed her arms. She was still feeling a little annoyed with Annabeth and was trying her best to get over the grudge, “As most of you know, we’ve been speaking with Idris to try and get any information as to why we’ve been targeted and what our enemies plan on doing with his research.”

“We destroyed his research though,” Frank spoke up, and Annabeth nodded.

“Yes, you all destroyed physical evidence but they may have had time to transfer things digitally before we came. I’ve had Mateo working on that but there’s not much he can do now that they’ve removed him from the system.”

Estrella furrowed her eyebrows at that. Mateo hadn’t mentioned anything about that. Weird.

“Great,” Leo grumbled. Estrella could tell he was quite uncomfortable already. Any mention of Idris set him on edge, and Annabeth limited this meeting to specifically just the 9 of the prophecy. Unfortunately, that did not include Calypso, which Estrella found quite unfair.

“As you can imagine, Idris has been… reluctant to share any information,” Annabeth treaded carefully as she spoke, but the message was clear. He’d been very difficult.

“Of course,” Jason urged her on, and she glanced at Piper.

“Piper obviously was able to make some progress, but he seems to have built up a slight immunity to charmspeak. We are still wearing him down, but he is headstrong to say the least,” Annabeth explained.

“He’s a sociopathic piece of sh*t, Annabeth,” Leo snapped, and Estrella’s eyebrows shot up.

“You could say that,” Annabeth responded, and Leo scowled. Tensions were high.

“I am saying that. Can you just get to the point please? What did he say? The less I have to hear about that man, the better,” Leo demanded impatiently, and Estrella found herself nodding along unconsciously.

“Well, one of the main things we wanted to discover was why. He was more than willing to share that information,” Annabeth told them.

“And?” Percy gestured impatiently.

“Well, it’s not great. He, uh… Well, if it wasn’t obvious before, he definitely hates us.”

“Why?” Nico asked, one eyebrow raised.

“This is starting to sound familiar,” Percy frowned.

“Yeah,” Annabeth sighed, “And he assured us he’s not the only one who has a similar story. We saw the same thing in Tyler. He hates the gods.”

Estrella’s stomach dropped. Her mind raced as she imagined all the people that had died because of “natural” disasters. Being from Florida, she’d seen her fair share of hurricanes. Were those all because of Poseidon?

How many people have been collateral damage because of the gods’ boredom? How many innocent people have died? How many people feel the same way as Idris?

She looked up and made eye contact with Percy. Both of their eyes were wide with fear and realization.

“How deep does this go, Annabeth?” he asked, voice shaking. Everyone turned to look at Annabeth.

“Deep,” she admitted.

“How many people have died because of the gods? How many people know people who have been hurt? This could be so much bigger than us,” Leo realized, and Estrella’s blood ran cold.

“It is bigger than us,” Piper stated, “Much bigger. Idris has revealed the extent of his operation and it’s massive. He has people all over the world who have been affected by the gods. People who have been wronged. He has been recruiting them for years, training them with the help of the government. It’s been happening under our noses all this time. While we’ve been running around the world, fighting off titans and gods and monsters, they’ve been quietly at work, plotting how to take us all down.”

The room went silent. Estrella’s heart was racing so quickly and loudly that it was all she could hear. Her chest felt tight with anxiety and she knew she was on the verge of a panic attack. Her sympathetic nervous system was lit up with tingling nerves and a hot, uncomfortable feeling building in her stomach.

“How much time do we have?” Frank asked grimly.

“Idris will not budge on that,” Annabeth scowled.

“They have records of every demigod ever claimed,” Piper told them, “All over the world, they know who we are. That first attack on camp was nothing. They weren’t really trying to hurt us then. That was a warning. A personal trip for Moros, nothing more.”

“S-so what are we still doing here?” Terra asked, face pale, “If they know we’re here, we need to be in hiding!”

“It isn’t that simple,” Annabeth answered, “The public doesn’t all know about us. The government is biding its time. They don’t want a flat out war right away. They want to hit the gods where it hurts first. In the meantime, they’re going to do everything they can to discredit us and turn the public against us.”

“What do you mean hit the gods where it hurts?” Will asked, and Estrella could see by the look on Nico’s face that he’d already pieced it together.

“The gods aren’t exactly reachable to humans,” Piper explained, “They are up on Olympus and mortals can’t exactly storm up there and kill them. The mortals know this. They know they have no chance against the gods right away anyway. They want to go after the piece of the gods that are not on Olympus. Those that are easier to kill.”

“Us,” Estrella breathed, and Annabeth nodded grimly.

“Yes.”

“It’s not all bad yet though,” Piper amended, “The government is hesitant to agree to their demands. They don’t want the blood of hundreds of children on their hands. That’s why they won’t attack camp flat out. And it’s not like we don’t have protections in place.”

“Do the gods know about this?” Percy asked, face looking pale and grey.

“We hope,” Annabeth said, biting her fingernails, “Hecate has been trying to get back in contact with them, but from what Chiron has told me in confidence, Olympus appears to be on lockdown.”

“Why?!” Leo burst, “Why do they always do this? Literally when we need them most, they ghost us.”

“We can’t give up hope yet,” Piper insisted, “Maybe we haven’t heard from Hecate yet because she made it back up there. Maybe they’re investigating her disappearance and looking into how they can help us.”

“Right,” Nico scoffed, “So why don’t we just go up there and hide while the mortals calm down? I’m sure if the Olympians are on top of this, they wouldn’t mind protecting their children.”

“My dad would never be up for that,” Jason frowned. They all knew he was right.

“So what do we do?” Hazel asked, looking straight at Annabeth for answers, “They want to kill us. They know where we are. They know who we are. We’re fugitives and have killed multiple government officials. They have every reason to sign off on a siege.”

“You’re right,” Annabeth told her, “It will happen at some point. When that happens, we will be prepared. This isn’t our first time running. We know how to hide. They might have a network of people around the world, but so do we. The Greek and Roman worlds stretch much further than any of us can imagine. There are eyes and ears everywhere. Whispers get carried in the wind. Dryads spread secrets like wildfire. We are not without resources of our own.”

“But they aren’t willing to help us!” Frank snapped, “They never are! If we can take the fall for them, of course they’ll be willing to let us.”

“Plus, what about all the other beings that want to end the gods?” Will piped up, “Titans, giants, monsters, even other gods! We can’t forget that Moros and Apate are a major proponent of the plan to get us out of the way. They’re the ones behind it all.”

“That’s what we thought at first,” Annabeth pointed out, “But we were wrong. Moros and Apate aren’t the sole reason for the attacks and captures. They’re just helping speed the process along. Mortals have hated the gods long before this. The public may be deceived by them, but the initial network of the HRC has hated the gods long before we ever existed.”

“So we’re f*cked,” Leo deduced, “What I’m hearing is that basically everyone hates us and wants us to die. What chance do we stand if the gods won’t help us?”

Estrella glanced over as Annabeth ran shaking hands through her hair. At first, she had seemed calm and in control, but Estrella started to realize it may have been a facade. Terra grabbed one of Annabeth’s hands and gave it a squeeze.

“Our main priority is still to prevent a war. People are incredibly angry, but they haven’t been given the go ahead to kill us all. We must show the world that we are not a threat. We are not the ones killing their families and friends. We are the ones fighting the hardest to save them,” Annabeth told them.

“How are we supposed to do that if they just keep trying to kill or capture us?” Hazel asked.

“Listen,” Annabeth began, “People love an underdog. It’s part of our nature to root for those that are weaker than us. We need to make them believe we’re just like them. That we’re less than them. They need to see that we are humans just like them, but incredibly unlucky to be born into the families we are. If the gods won’t fight for us… we will denounce them.”

Gasps echoed around the table at her harsh statement. It was bad enough that the gods weren't talking to them. What good would come from denouncing them? That wouldn’t prevent a war. If anything, it would spur one along.

“I know, I know. That is a last resort. We need to appear relatable. We need to show them all the good that we do. If they want to use propaganda, so can we,” Annabeth finished. Estrella’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. Propaganda? How the hell does Annabeth expect to take on mass media while staying in hiding?

“If we put ourselves out there, it’ll be impossible to stay in hiding. Who’s to say they won’t come attack camp the minute we say anything?” Estrella questioned.

“It will be difficult, yes. But not impossible,” Annabeth corrected, “They may be familiar with technology, but we have magic on our side. We have children of the most intelligent being on Earth. We have children of the best mechanic. We have people who know how to sneak and steal. We have some really, really persuasive people. If they try to censor us, we can use the godsdamn mist if we have to. We’re not going to act like the good guys. We are the good guys. We’ll make that known.”

“Look,” Piper added on, “We are already well known. People have seen our faces. There is no hiding for us. Why not use that notoriety for something else? Why not change people’s image of us? We can show how our powers are used for good. We can show that we aren’t a threat. The public will know about our heritage soon anyway. Why not just lay it all out there for them? That massive storm that killed thousands of people a few years ago? They think it was our doing. We can show them that not all beings are the same. The mist was lifted. We don’t have to hide the fact that it was Typhon. We can tell them about Gaea.”

“Why would they believe us?” Percy muttered, “We’re not completely innocent. I woke Typhon. I caused that. They think I’m a terrorist. I’ve been on the news since I was 12 years old. There’s nothing Americans can bond over more than their hate of terrorists. I’m enemy number one. Why would they want to listen to us?”

“Because you’re not a terrorist!” Piper urged, “You’ve saved more lives than all of us combined. You’ve been wronged by gods and mortals your whole life. Your story is tragic and inspiring. You’re one of the most likable people I’ve ever met.”

“What are you talking about? Everyone that meets me hates me. Everyone in school assumed I was a troublemaker. People think I’m bad news. People love to hate me.”

Estrella stared at him. Her heart felt a little heavy at his words. Nobody hated Percy. Percy was the most popular guy at camp. He was a hero.

“Percy, we can talk about this another time. We all love you. The camp loves you. You are a good person, and that’s obvious to see,” Annabeth argued, “For now, let’s focus on the next steps. Like Piper said, we’re already in the news. We have nothing to hide anymore. We’ve got nothing to lose. Let’s be in the news for other reasons.”

“Mateo was able to download the camera feed of the HRC before he cut it. We have proof that they held minors against their will without any sort of arrest. It was technically kidnapping. Sure, it was done by the government, but the public didn’t know about it. The government hid it from them. Why? That’s a thread we can pull on,” Piper went on.

“We have over 30 people who were rescued from that facility by a certain someone. She needs to be the first one we put out there,” Annabeth looked right at Estrella.

“What?” Estrella balked. She was in the news for murdering her entire family. No one would believe her.

“You, Estrella,” Annabeth urged, “You are the perfect face for it. You’re innocent. You’re young. You save people. You’ve never killed a mortal.”

“I got my whole family killed, Annabeth,” Estrella snapped, tears building in her eyes, “Everyone thinks I’m a murderer. I fled the scene of the crime. I didn’t call 911. My powers don’t help anyone. I can’t cure droughts or famine. I’m not the right person.”

“They don’t have any proof that you did it, Estrella. You didn’t get them killed. We have over 30 people ready to swear by you. You saved so many of those men at the facility too. They’re alive because of you. They could swear by you too.”

“They won’t!” Estrella protested. It was obvious. Why couldn’t Annabeth see it? Piper was the perfect face for this. She was the daughter of a beloved famous actor. She was absolutely beautiful. People love to listen to pretty people. Piper was persuasive. Estrella was not. Estrella was awkward and average.

“Estrella, there’s no one better for this,” Annabeth insisted, and Estrella looked around the table for help. Nobody wanted to look her in the eye. They didn’t want to be the face of this. Why would they? They’d immediately be marked as a target. The target.

“Of course there is!” Estrella shouted,” What about Terra? She’s great with people and animals. She’s one of their victims. She’s so likable. Everyone that meets Terra loves her. She looks innocent and sunny. I don’t. Or-or Piper! Piper can persuade people to our cause. Whatever Piper says feels like law!”

“Terra has already agreed to be one of the faces as well. You’re right. She is likable. She hasn’t been in the news as often, though,” Annabeth pointed out.

“That’s a good thing! She didn’t kill her whole family!” Estrella was getting desperate now. Nobody seemed to be sticking up for her.

“You didn’t either,” Annabeth replied calmly, “You get to clear your name. Your face is everywhere. Terra will back you up. We all will.”

“But why do I have to be the one in the front? Why can’t we find anyone better?” Estrella’s voice was petering out as the fight left her body, “I don’t want to be the face of it all. I’m not the right choice.”

“You are,” Annabeth maintained, and her eyes wouldn’t meet Estrella’s either, “We’ve all agreed. We already decided. You’re the face.”

Estrella froze. Desperately, she tried to get someone to just look her in the eyes. Nobody would.

“Y-you decided? You guys met… without me?”

“Even Chiron agreed,” Annabeth verified.

“I don’t give a sh*t what he says!” Estrella raged as she stood up so quickly that her chair crashed to the floor behind her, “That man has no say in my life! I’ve spoken to him once. One time! He has no idea who I am. He knows nothing about me!”

“He’s the leader of this camp. He’s more knowledgeable than you think,” Annabeth countered. Estrella’s eye twitched as her body filled with blinding rage. They betrayed her. They wanted to throw her to the wolves.

“He doesn’t tell me what to do and neither do you, Annabeth ,” Estrella hissed as she got millimeters away from Annabeth’s face. Annabeth sat still and merely raised an eyebrow.

Estrella felt trapped and ganged up on. Even her best friend wouldn’t just look her in the eye.

“Terra, don’t let them do this,” she begged. Finally, Terra looked up regretfully.

“Really it isn’t that bad,” she tried to console Estrella, “All you need to do is give a few statements. We’re all doing it too. We just want you to be the one people think of when they think of demigods. You’re the perfect choice.”

“Don’t you hear anything I’m saying?” Estrella grabbed fistfulls of her own hair as she pleaded with Terra, “I don’t want to do this. I can’t. I can’t be the one responsible for everyone’s expectations. I’m not a role model. Please don’t make me do this.”

“I’m sorry,” Terra whispered, “We already voted.”

Estrella couldn’t stand it anymore. Without another word, she stormed from the room, ignoring them calling her back, and slammed the door with as much force as possible.

Her mind was blank as her feet carried her through the forest. There was nowhere to hide. Dryads lurked among the trees. Campers worked in the strawberry fields. The only place that usually remained relatively empty at this time of day was the armory. Estrella wasn’t a particular fan of weapons, but if she could be alone she’d deal with it. Plus, she was feeling particularly violent.

The armory sat the perfect distance away from the forest and pegasus stables that she felt secluded enough to let her body slump to the ground. As her fight gave out, so did her legs, and she slid down the back wall of the armory as the tears began trailing down her cheeks.

Then the panic attack started.

The more she cried, the louder her heartbeat got. Her mind spun with a vicious hurricane of thoughts, none of them pleasant. She felt like she was going to die right then and there. And if she just so happened to survive the heart attack, she knew she would die first out of her friends. They wanted to offer her up on a silver platter. They wanted her to be the face of their resistance and take the wrath of the public and the government. They wanted her to give up any hope of living a peaceful, quiet life after all this. They wanted her to give up her life and they weren’t even giving her a choice. They went behind her back and plotted against her.

That’s what she got for letting her guard down. She trusted the people she thought were her friends. She allowed herself to let loose and have fun at camp without listening to the feeling in her stomach. She ignored the feeling she’d get whenever she’d see her friends talking without her.

She trusted her friends and now she was going to pay for it. Her ignorance would be her downfall.

Estrella would not only be the number one person the public associated with the resistance, but the gods as well. They would see her parading around, pretending to be a hero and kill her for her disobedience. They would kill her for denouncing them.

A major part of her felt betrayed, but a smaller, more pessimistic part wasn’t surprised. She’d had a feeling deep inside from the moment she saw her abuelita die. From then on, she knew she was destined to die young. She knew there’d be no turning back. She knew her life was over.

Still, she let herself be lulled into a false sense of security. She let her supposed friends gain her trust. She trusted that they wanted the best for her.

As her panic reached its peak, she couldn’t stop the tears and wails that poured from her. She wanted to cry and scream and curse the world. Why her? Why couldn’t they just choose another damn person? What did she do to deserve this?

Estrella sobbed desperately and tried to hide herself among the bushes behind the armory. When she let loose a broken scream, she heard a clamber from within the armory.

She cursed herself and pressed a trembling hand against her mouth. Why hadn’t she checked that no one was inside?

Estrella heard the creak of the door opening slowly and opened her eyes to hide herself among the bushes further. Except, when she grabbed a branch to try and maneuver it, it snapped off into her hand and began to crumble.

That was when she noticed that the grass around her had withered and died. The bush had turned black and ashy, like all the light and life had been smothered right out of it. All the life in a 3 foot radius around her had been drained from the earth.

Estrella gasped, and then choked. Then her next breath came more quickly. Suddenly, her chest was tight and she felt pain radiating down her arm. Her breaths were short and fast, and her vision swam with tears. She was having a heart attack. She was going to die.

Well, at least the gods wouldn’t have to finish her off. She’d go on her own.

She didn’t even see the man approaching until he snapped off another branch of the bush she hid behind. Estrella could barely see him through her tears, but she started to cry harder. Couldn’t they just let her die in peace?

“Hey, easy now, Stellar,” the man said in a low, steady yet commanding voice, “Breathe. You’re alright.”

“W-what?” Estrella squinted through the bush up at the man who looked vaguely familiar. What did he call her?

“I said just breathe. Focus on my voice. You’re safe.”

“W-who are you?” she stuttered, unable to catch her breath as she hyperventilated.

“I’m Grant,” he told her calmly, “You’re the one who got me out of that hell hole. I was just in there taking inventory when I heard a scream. Came back here to check it out.”

Estrella trembled as she stared at him. He was in a position above her where he could easily overpower her. He could easily catch her if she tried to run away.

“I can leave if you’d like,” he drawled, a hint of a southern accent poking through his speech, “I didn’t mean to intrude. I, uh, I just know a panic attack when I see one.”

Estrella said nothing as she gripped her shirt above her heart in a tightly clenched fist. As if that could ease the pain.

“Ma’am, are you alright? Do you want me to get someone for you?”

“I-I think I’m having a heart attack,” she admitted, voice small and terrified. Grant sighed and sent her a small smile.

“I doubt that, ma’am. Demigods rarely suffer from heart conditions. Especially at your age. We’re much more likely to be killed in the line of battle.”

“It hurts,” Estrella hiccupped, opening her fist and pressing her hand against her chest.

“May I join you?” Grant asked respectfully, and Estrella surprised herself by nodding. She was in no position to stop him anyway.

With surprising grace and ease, Grant stepped over the bush and slid down the wall next to Estrella. Now that he was closer, she did recognize him a bit. He was the man who tripped over her during the extraction and helped her up. He seemed like a nice dude, if not a little too serious.

“Where does it hurt?”

“My-my chest,” Estrella gasped.

“You need to calm down for the pain to ease up. Your muscles are probably seizing due to stress. Relax with me. Follow my breathing.”

Gently, Grant placed a hand on top of Estrella’s over her heart. The pressure was reassuring and grounding.

“Now do as I do, ok?” he instructed, then took a deep breath in through his nose. When Estrella tried to copy, hers was choppy and short. “Don’t get discouraged. It will take a minute, ok?”

He took another breath, and Estrella did the same. This one was a little smoother.

“Now, in through your nose and hold it for 4 seconds. It’ll be harder at first because your muscles are tight, but if you hold your breath, your heart will slow down a bit. Do it with me.”

Estrella held her breath for about 2 seconds before she had to gasp for air. Her chest rose and fell unevenly as she tried desperately to get her breathing under control. Grant held her hand through it all, patiently breathing with her. She met his eyes like a scared little girl and felt a bit of comfort in his calm, assured gaze. He didn’t seem stressed in the slightest. Looking at him made her feel safe. Like nothing was wrong in the world.

“Ok, try again. In through the nose, hold for 4. Out through the mouth, hold for 4. Repeat. Now I’ll shut up and we can do it together, ok? Just do what I do.”

Estrella leaned her head back against the wall as she breathed, trying to ignore the lump in her throat that formed as tears rolled down her cheeks. It only made it more difficult to breathe.

Each exhale sounded like a desperate sigh or whimper. She tried her best to not let them turn into more sobs.

Grant stayed quiet as she tried to get herself under control. Slowly, after about 10 minutes of steadying breaths, her chest muscles loosened up a bit and her heart rate leveled out. The pain in her chest was receding slowly, but Grant kept his hand over hers.

Finally, as she began to focus on her breathing, her mind cleared enough to remember what he said to her.

“What did you call me?” she asked suddenly, and Grant turned to her.

“Hm?”

“When you walked up. You said something but I didn’t hear you. What did you call me?”

“Oh, Stellar,” he answered, one corner of his lips curling up at the nickname.

“Stellar?”

“Mhm.”

“Is that a nickname?”

“I guess so. It worked, didn’t it? Now you’re talking. Not cryin so much.”

“Uh, I guess,” Estrella admitted shyly.

“Came up with it myself. I didn’t know who you were at first. Back in that hell, you were the first person I saw in days. They kept me in solitary. Then, all hell broke loose and suddenly you appeared. You gave ‘em hell and got me out of there. I’ve never properly thanked you by the way. So, uh, thank you.”

Estrella blinked in surprise. Him thanking her? He was one of the biggest fighters they managed to free. He helped them get out. Not the other way around. Now, here he was. Helping her.

“You don’t need to thank me. You got yourself out of there. You fought with us.”

“You and I both know I was not getting out of there unless someone broke me out. I tried for months. You were the shining star. You got us out,” he told her seriously.

Estrella stayed quiet at that. She didn’t want to argue. It was obvious that her powers were more destructive than anything. The circle of dead plants around her was proof enough.

“So, I didn’t see you again after you transported us to the trucks. They loaded me in the other one and I had no idea you’d died. When we met back at camp, they rushed you away and I didn’t get to thank ya. I asked around and found out your name was Estrella.”

“You visited me,” Estrella realized, putting the pieces together. Someone mentioned there had been a man coming around folding the corners of her sheets as she slept.

“Course I did. I owe you my life and I wanted to make sure I could act on that one day. I’m in your debt till the day I die.”

“What?” Estrella burst, “No you’re not! You don’t owe me anything!”

“Can argue all ya want, but I ain’t changing my mind. As far as I’m concerned, we’re loyal to you. You’re the one who fought for us. You didn’t have to free us. You could’ve found your friends and left. But you stayed there, killin yourself going room to room till we could free the rest of em. Chiron and Annabeth may be the ones tellin everyone what to do, but you’re the one who’s earned my respect. That ain’t no easy feat.”

“Grant, really, I-I… you don’t need to follow me. I’m not in charge around here. I’m inexperienced and the weak link.”

“Ain’t no weak link in my eyes. You did the hard work. You save people. That’s why I gave you the nickname. You’re stellar. You’re one of the good ones.”

Estrella scanned his face, looking for any hint that he was joking. She found none. His face was set seriously, with a few thin wrinkles standing out along his forehead and at the outer corners of his eyes.

This was something Estrella had never experienced. Sure, she was always good with adults like her teachers and family friends, but never had they expressed such blatant respect for her. Never had they made it seem like they’d be willing to follow her.

“I-I, uh, I appreciate it. Seriously. I just think you might be better off putting your trust elsewhere. I’m not so sure my powers are good. Look around. Everything’s dead.”

“You insultin my judgment?” Grant challenged, “You think I can’t decide for myself who I trust?”

“No! No, not at all! I just wanted you to be sure, you know?”

“You think I should doubt myself?”

“No! I, ugh… I trust your judgment, Grant. Truly. I just… I don’t trust myself.”

“Well, it’s a damn good thing I do then, isn’t it? I got enough trust for the both of us.”

Estrella was surprised when a laugh bubbled out of her throat. Grant may have looked serious and demanding, but he was actually kind of sweet and funny. He reminded her of her dad in that way. Her dad was great with people.

“Now, what’s got you so stressed out?”

Estrella sighed. Where could she start?

Grant listened intently as she described her journey to where she was today, and the events that unfolded in the counselors’ meeting. He nodded along when she recited their reasoning for their decision.

“Now, they’re cowards for not includin you from the get go, but they’re right,” he told her. Estrella whipped her head to him so fast that she got a crick in her neck.

“What?!”

“They’re right. All of us escapees stand behind you. You’re the north star. It’s in your name, Stellar.”

“Grant,” Estrella huffed impatiently. Cheesy metaphors would get them nowhere.

“All I’m sayin is that we respect you. We’d stand with you, no questions asked. Like I said, you save people. You are a cause people can get behind.”

“What about the fact that everyone thinks I killed my family?”

“That’s easy enough to disprove. Sure, government officials can falsify records, but we can get the official autopsies if necessary. People killed by monsters are obvious. No human can inflict the same kind of blows a monster could. Plus, what would your motive be? They suspected you before they started seeing monsters. Now they know monsters exist. You tellin the truth won’t seem so far-fetched now.”

“But I fled the scene.”

“You didn’t have a choice. It wasn’t your fault.”

“I’m not the right person, Grant. I know I’m not. This is a mistake. Nobody will listen to me.”

“I ain’t gonna lie, Stellar. People will take convincing. People will hate you at first. You’ll be putting yourself at risk. But you’re also giving a voice to so many of us. You get the power to decide how to portray us. You get to speak up for once.”

“I don’t want to speak up,” Estrella said quietly, “I want to remain hidden.”

“Do you, though? I saw how hard you fought to save as many people as possible back there. You want to help. You want to save people. You can do that now. You can prevent this war. You can save the lives of millions. And we’ll stand behind you the entire time. You won’t be alone in this. You just need to be our face. Our star.”

Estrella rolled her eyes. Another wordplay with her name.

“If I fail, people will die. War will break out and it’ll be all my fault.”

“If a war breaks out, it was bound to happen. It ain’t your fault if the gods refuse to change. Ain’t your fault if the government ignores the public and pushes for war anyway. I think it’s unavoidable at this point. But you can be a voice for people who have lost members of their family because of the gods. You can be a voice for people who have been discriminated against because of their heritage. You can be a voice for the oppressed. For those that feel wronged by the government. You can be the one people look to. You’ve already done that with us. Now you just have to do it with a few more people.”

“You mean a few billion people,” Estrella pointed out.

“Eh, numbers.”

“I don’t want to be responsible for all this. I don’t want to be the one in charge,” Estrella admitted quietly.

“You won’t be doing it alone. You won’t be the only one responsible.”

“You think I should do it?”

“It’s up to you,” Grant told her.

“It’s not though, is it?”

“It is. You can walk away from all this and pretend it doesn’t exist. You can hide when a war breaks out. You don’t have to fight. I think you want to though. Don’t you?”

“My dad would want me to do this.”

“Sounds like an honorable man.”

“He was. You remind me of him.”

Grant nodded solemnly.

“I don’t feel ready for this,” Estrella confessed, “I feel like a little kid. I don’t have my dad here to tell me what to do. I turned 18 like a month ago. Why do I have to be the one fighting? Why aren’t there people fighting to protect us ?”

“I know it might feel like it sometimes, but you ain’t a kid no more. I still feel like that when I get scared. Sometimes when I’m in the heat of battle, all I can think about is my momma. But I choose to fight. I want the world to be safe for her. She made it safe for me as I grew up. Now it’s my turn to do the same. There are people who can’t fight for themselves. We’ve been given the power to fight. As much as it sucks, you’ve got a responsibility. I ain’t supposed to say nothing like this, but you can’t count on the gods to get you out of this. It’s just nature. They don’t think the same way we do. They aren’t meant to fight our battles.”

“That’s not fair!” Estrella protested, then cringed at how childish it sounded.

“Ain’t nothing fair about bein an adult. You’ll learn that soon enough. You gotta make hard decisions everyday. But one decision that wasn’t hard for me was trustin you. People will see that you’re good. You’ll see.”

Estrella heaved a massive sigh and set her face into a grim, determined line.

“Fine. I’ll do it. But you have to help me. I want your advice and expertise. I want you to help me make decisions. I want you to be honest with me and not do sh*t behind my back.”

“I can do that,” Grant agreed, “With pleasure.”

“Ugh,” Estrella grunted, “Should I go back to the meeting?”

“Nah,” Grant smirked, “Let them sweat a little. They gotta learn not to go behind your back. You’re not their dog who sits when they ask. If they want you to be the face of the demigods, they’ve got to earn it.”

“I don’t think they care what I want.”

“Well that’s too damn bad. You don’t have to do what they say. You have the power now. If they want to put you in front of the nation, you get to decide what to say and do. Don’t let Annabeth boss you around.”

“Easier said than done. You try sticking up to her.”

“I’d rather not,” Grant chuckled, and Estrella rolled her eyes.

“See! She’s scary.”

“She’s a soldier. She makes tough decisions too.”

Estrella sighed again as the tiniest bit of guilt began to mix with the rage in her blood. She saw how stressed Annabeth really was. She tried to come off as nonplussed but Estrella saw through it. It was time for Estrella to be a team player.

“You’re right. I’ll let them worry for a day and then tell them I’ll do it,” Estrella grumbled reluctantly, “I’m gonna make sure you’re the face of the escapees though.”

“Nah, we’ve got Emily for that,” Grant pointed out. Estrella’s blood boiled for a moment as she thought of the poor, traumatized girl thrust into the spotlight. Absolutely not.

“I’m messin with you,” Grant rectified once he saw Estrella’s dark look, “She’s agreed to speak, but we won’t put her in the front. I’ll take the lead. Amanda will speak too.”

“Who’s Amanda?”

“She’s the daughter of Apollo who helped heal Percy.”

“Oh she’d be perfect!” Estrella remembered. Amanda was a beautiful, bright blonde girl who would appeal to right wing people all over the country. She had the perfect look. Grant would appeal to them too with his accent and rough exterior.

“What about James? The son of Pax,” Estrella asked, remembering how good he was with people.

“He will be one of our biggest voices too. He’s already agreed.”

James would be perfect with liberals across America. He had the look and the peaceful intentions left wing people loved.

Yet, something Grant said rubbed her the wrong way. Grant, Amanda, and James had already spoken to Annabeth about her big plans. It seemed like everyone knew except Estrella. It was wrong. What did she do to deserve such treatment?

“We spoke about it today,” Grant added to try and placate Estrella, “Not long ago.”

“Whatever,” she waved him off, “Thanks for helping me out. I need some alone time now, so I’ll be going. I’ll see you around, ok? Thanks, Grant. I owe you one.”

Estrella stood up on shaky legs and removed herself from the bushes. Or the dead bundle of twigs.

“You alright?” Grant double checked, raising his eyebrows.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

Estrella avoided people for the rest of the day. Calypso could tell from her sour mood that she did not want to be disturbed and thankfully kept Leo from badgering Estrella as she ransacked their kitchen.

All by herself, Estrella baked for hours. She moved on autopilot, trying to sort out her thoughts as she sifted flour, rolled dough on the countertop, and threw random confections into the oven. She didn’t stop until Calypso popped her head in and told her that she and Leo were leaving for their date.

Estrella’s face paled as she suddenly remembered her promise to Mateo. He’d be coming over any time now and Estrella was covered in flour.

Without another word, she raced out of the kitchen, ignoring Calypso and jumped into Leo’s shower. Estrella frantically scrubbed herself clean, shaved basically every hair off her body, and lathered herself in Calypso’s rich coconut shea butter.

By the time she got out, Estrella’s face was red with exertion and she felt ready to collapse from the effort. Knowing Calypso wouldn’t mind, she raided her underwear drawer and pulled out a lacy pair of matching bra and panties. Estrella slid them over her now smooth, hydrated skin and threw on a simple white sundress. She knew she probably wouldn’t be wearing it long. Mateo tended to have that effect on her.

She had just finished running her fingers through her wet curls when Mateo walked into Bunker 9. He looked like a god with his short sleeve shirt barely buttoned and flowy pants low around his hips. Suddenly, she forgot about all the drama from the day. All Estrella wanted to do was be with her man for the night. She wanted him to make her feel good.

“Hi baby,” he greeted, pulling her in for a tender kiss. She nearly folded at his freshly washed scent of eucalyptus and bergamot. His curly hair was a bit wet too, which made her want to run her hands through it.

“You look gorgeous,” he complimented, and she glowed.

“Thank you. You look and smell amazing.”

“You like how I smell, hm?” he pulled her a little closer and smiled down at her. She tried to hide back her goofy smile but the butterflies in her stomach were raging.

“I always like how you smell,” she told him, and he grinned at her. He leaned down to kiss her neck and let out a hum.

“You smell delicious,” he breathed, trailing kisses down her throat and chest. Goosebumps rose along her skin.

“Are you hungry?” she asked, hoping he’d say no. She hadn’t prepped any dinner other than baked goods, and she was much too flustered to go out to the pavilion.

“Not for food,” he replied, and Estrella shivered.

“Hm?” she hummed as his kisses got closer and closer to the top of her bra line, “What do you want?”

“You.”

“Good,” she smirked, grabbing some of the hair at the base of his skull, “Me too.”

Mateo chuckled as he picked Estrella up in one fell swoop and dropped her onto the two twin size cots she’d pushed together. It wasn’t the most romantic bed, but it was private. That’s all they cared about.

For the first time all day, her worries subsided as Mateo worked magic on her. In a few minutes, she was completely undone by him. Something about his energy did strange things to her. They were passionate in bed. There was no denying it.

All she wanted to do was be closer to him. She wanted to be anything he wanted. She’d change her entire personality if he asked. She was honestly kind of afraid of what she’d do for him. He was intoxicating.

So, they slept together that night and all her problems seemed small. Mateo made her feel important. He made her feel wanted.

After they finished, Mateo fell asleep with Estrella in his arms and a smile on his face. Estrella had to restrain herself from leaning up and kissing him as she watched him sleep. He was even handsome with his face slack.

Eventually, she fell asleep for a few hours before she jumped awake. She whipped her head around, looking for the source of the noise before she realized it was a snore from Mateo.

She pulled out of his embrace and turned onto her back to stare up at the ceiling. As soon as she was not skin to skin with Mateo, the racing thoughts came flooding back. No matter what she tried to do, she couldn’t shut them off. Her heartbeat was in her ears again, pounding as she tried desperately to fall back asleep.

Estrella tried falling asleep for an hour before she finally gave up and sat up with a frustrated huff. Mateo was deep asleep like usual, not a care in the world as Estrella fought off another panic attack. Instead of sitting around and accidentally waking him up, Estrella pulled back on her dress and snuck out of the bunker.

Under the light of the moon, she wove her way through the forest and headed straight toward the beach. Estrella figured the sound of the waves were the only thing that could combat the looming panic attack.

As soon as she emerged from the treeline, she spotted a lone silhouette sitting watching the waves. From the broad, slender shoulders and bony spine, she knew who it was immediately. Percy.

When she began walking towards him, he turned back and spotted her instantly. His tired eyes widened for a moment as he took in her appearance before he turned back to the waves.

“Hi,” she greeted softly as she sat down next to him.

“Hey,” he replied, voice weary and strained. He looked awful. Red rimmed half-lidded eyes, dark purple bags, and hollow cheeks. His gaze was dull as he stared at the calm, dark water. He held himself with arms much too skinny for a 19 year old boy.

“You guys met without me,” she blurted before she could stop herself. If there’s anyone she thought would understand what it feels like to be dumped into a leadership position, it was him.

Percy dragged his eyes to meet hers and she could spot the regret immediately.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why didn’t you guys just tell me?” she asked, voice cracking. Percy’s face fell even more.

“I wanted to. I didn’t think Annabeth was going to tell you today. I wanted you to have a heads up before but I f*cked up.”

“It feels like you guys don’t care what I want. Like I have no choice in the matter.”

“I really tried to change their minds, Es. I told them to include you. I told them it was f*cked up. Terra tried too. She got in a huge fight with Annabeth over it. Jason was pissed too. But they outnumbered us.”

“Who gives a sh*t? You’re Percy f*cking Jackson. If you didn’t want them to do it, you could have stopped them,” Estrella accused. She didn’t realize how harsh and unfair of her it was to say such a thing.

“You’re right,” he sighed, giving up quickly, “I’m Percy Jackson. People totally listen to what I say. I’m totally not forced to be a leader in this quest or any of the ones before it. I definitely get to do whatever I want around here. I absolutely don’t have to worry about everyone else’s expectations. I’m invincible and I should be perfect.”

The self loathing in his voice was palpable. Estrella hadn’t been spending as much time with Percy lately and this missed how down he was becoming.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Of course it was,” he snapped, “Everyone wants something from me. Even you. You want me to be happy all the time. You want me to gain weight and get stronger like everyone else. You want me to be in charge because you don’t want to do it yourself.”

Estrella pursed her lips and stared out at the horizon. He was right. Of course she wanted him to be stronger. She wanted him to be happy. But most of all, she just wanted him to be honest with her.

“I don’t want you to pretend to be happy, Percy. I mean, of course I want you to be happy, but nobody is happy all the time. I want you to feel what you need to feel when you need to feel it so one day you can be happier. I don’t need you to pretend around me.”

“Well I’m not happy,” he spit, “I’m f*cking mad. Everything f*cking sucks and I actually want to die sometimes. I think everyone would be better off if I had died in that godsdamn extraction chamber. Maybe then we wouldn’t all have such bad luck.”

Estrella’s shoulders felt heavier as he unloaded one thing after another onto her.

“I feel like I don’t deserve to be alive when so many of my friends have died. I don’t want to do this quest. I don’t want to do another quest in my whole godsdamn life. I can’t sleep for sh*t because every time I close my eyes I’m back in that place. I can feel their hands on me to this day. I look in the mirror and I hate what I see. I look like a skeleton. I’m disgusting.”

Estrella opened her mouth to respond but he wasn’t finished.

“I miss my ex like crazy and she doesn’t even seem to care. She looks happier than ever with Terra while I’m feeling like absolute sh*t. I’m weak as f*ck and will probably die if we get attacked anytime soon. I can barely lift riptide because all my muscles are gone and I just don’t get why it won’t stop. I want it all to end so I don’t have to deal with this bullsh*t anymore. I’m tired, ok? I’m not happy and I can’t do what everyone wants me to do all the time.”

By the time he finished ranting he was trembling all over. Estrella didn’t know what to say.

“Can I hug you or do you just want me to listen?” she asked carefully. Percy sighed before pulling her into a hug.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled into her hair, “That was a lot.”

“Don’t apologize. Thank you for telling me how you’re feeling. That’s all I want from you. I want you to trust me enough to tell me things. I care about you.”

“I’m a bad f*cking friend,” he muttered, and she squeezed him tighter.

“You’re not,” she insisted, “You’re great. I’m really glad to have met you. I want you in my life and I don’t need anything about you to change. You are a real human with real complex feelings. I can’t expect you to always put my feelings first. And that’s not to say this is your fault. There were eight of you. Any one of you could have stood up and said ‘hey, maybe this isn’t right.’ It isn’t always up to you. I trust that you tried your best.”

“I don’t get why you want to be friends with me.”

“Maybe it’s just your sunny disposition,” she joked, and Percy pulled away from the hug with a glare, “Kidding.”

“Funny.”

“I want to be your friend because you’re a good person. You’re kind and thoughtful. You’re almost as funny as me sometimes.”

“Almost?”

“It’s hard to reach my level. You’re close though.”

“Right,” he scoffed, “Because fart humor is so funny.”

“Farts are the purest aspect of humanity. Everyone can laugh at them. They’re just funny. That’s one thing we have over the gods and I’ll never take it for granted, no matter how stupid or gross it is. They’ll never understand what it feels like to share an unconscious response to a fart. They’ll never know what it feels like to share an involuntary laugh over an involuntary bodily function.”

“Estrella, are you really trying to draw a conclusion between farts and humanity?”

“I’m not trying, I’m succeeding. Farts will always be funny and that’s just a fact of life. Nothing the gods do can take that away. It’s just part of our nature. As children, we find the sound hilarious. As adults, we try our best to hold back our laughter, but the response remains the same. Something about farts brings us together.”

“You sound so ridiculous right now, I hope you know that.”

“Shut up, Percy. It’s not just about farts. It’s about the fact that us mortals can all relate on some level, on more than just farts. We know what it feels like to fear death. We know what it feels like to have a limited amount of time. We know what it feels like to live to the fullest, knowing that any day might be our last. We know what passionate love feels like. We know what fear feels like. We feel things on such a deeper level and we’re all connected. I might be half goddess, but I will never feel as connected to my mother’s side as I do to all of you humans around me.”

Finally, Percy seemed to understand what she was saying. He watched her for a moment before speaking.

“That’s why we chose you,” he told her.

“What?”

“That’s why you’re the face of it all. You understand them better than anyone. You know how to relate to people. You might not be as persuasive as Piper or as chatty as Terra, but you’re 10 times more empathetic than any of us. You know how to put yourself in people’s shoes. You are the person people can relate to.”

“Oh,” she breathed. She felt like the air was knocked from her. It seemed much clearer suddenly. She knew how to relate to people. She wanted to feel for them. Estrella would be the face of their resistance if she had to because if she could show people that she understood, she would.

“Yeah.”

“I wish you guys would have just included me from the start. It makes it really hard to trust you guys in the future.”

“I know. I’m sorry. From now on, I’m telling you everything right away. I’ll drag you to all the meetings. Who gives a sh*t what Annabeth says. You’re one of us. You need to be included.”

“Thank you. See, that’s why I want to be friends with you, Percy. You’re a good person.”

“If you say so.”

“I do. And you’re not disgusting. You’re handsome and sweet and deserve a break. Your feelings are entirely valid. I’m sorry you’ve been put through so much. You didn’t deserve any of it and I wish I could take away some of that pain. I’m sorry you’re not feeling well. I should have been there for you more lately. I’m here now,” Estrella apologized and leaned her head on Percy’s pointy shoulder. He leaned his head against hers.

“Thanks,” he sighed, “Sorry I dumped that all on you. I know you’re going through a rough time too.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Estrella told him, “I want to be there for you no matter what’s going on in my life. I wanna be your friend. I want to hear when you feel like sh*t so maybe I can make you feel less sh*tty. Or we can feel sh*tty together.”

Percy let out a small puff of air from his nose in lieu of laughter.

“Sounds like a plan. That’s what we’re doing right now, isn’t it?”

“Yep,” Estrella sighed, “Feelin sh*tty, lookin at the waves. But you’re here so now I feel a little bit less sh*tty. Progress.”

“Why are you up so late?” he asked, “Weren’t you supposed to be with Mateo tonight?”

“I couldn’t sleep. His snoring woke me up and then I couldn’t fall back asleep. Then I couldn’t stop thinking and stressing about today’s meeting. I figured the waves would calm me down a bit. I’m not trying to have another panic attack today.”

“You had a panic attack?”

“Yeah. Grant helped calm me down though. He’s a nice dude.”

“Did we cause that?” Percy asked, sounding concerned and guilty.

“It was a mix of everything, I’d say. Not your fault.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t stick up for you in there. You would have done it for me.”

“Percy, I told you it’s fine. No need to beat yourself up about it. I’ve had pretty bad anxiety for the past year now so panic attacks are nothing new. This time was extra fun because I thought I was having a heart attack.”

“You’ve never spoken about that before…” Percy frowned. Estrella didn’t really talk about the depth of her anxiety to anyone. It didn’t feel like they’d understand. Plus, everyone has a lot going on already anyway.

“I don’t know,” Estrella shrugged, “It just never came up.”

“And I’ve never asked… Gods, Estrella, I’m sorry I’ve neglected you as a friend. Honestly, you do so much for me and I don’t pay it back.”

“Hey, I’m not telling you now so you can feel guilty or beat yourself up about it. We all have some sort of anxiety. Mine is just… heightend for some reason. The trauma of the last few weeks doesn’t help.”

“Yeah, you’ve been through a lot. I’ve never really asked, but are you okay?”

Estrella sighed as another wave crashed along the shore. Moonlight rippled as the water shifted and rolled.

“Not really,” Estrella admitted honestly, “But I’m managing. Some days are more difficult than others. I try not to think about my family often because I don’t think I’d be able to keep going. I just need to get through all this first.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine losing my mom. Piper said you went through some sh*t in Salem too. What happened? I know you told me the basics but I feel like you left stuff out.”

Estrella sucked her teeth as the pain of it all rushed back into her mind. For a moment, she could feel her entire body lit up with pain from the pseudologoi. She felt the overwhelming panic that left her mind scarred. She felt the sting of the blade entering her abdomen and the truth registering in her heart.

“The pseudologoi trapped me downstairs alone. I couldn’t find my way out. They ambushed me and tormented me for what felt like hours. I thought I was going to die down there,” Estrella recounted, and lifted her head from Percy’s shoulder. She stared at the moon as if in a trance as she remembered it all. Percy sucked in a sharp breath at her words.

“They had some ability to inflict pain unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. They infiltrated my mind and lit my pain receptors on fire. Every time they touched me it was agonizing. At some points, the pain was so overwhelming that I thought I was about to die. I tried to outsmart them but they only got angrier. Nobody was there to help me so I had to think of anything I could…” Estrella’s voice got thick when a lump formed in her throat.

“I tried to trick them into believing that I had the power of truth and could tell when they were lying. In all reality, I had absolutely no idea. I was also lying through my teeth just hoping I could get out so I could see Terra again.

“They made me think I was in a burning field of grass with snakes biting me constantly. They tricked my body into thinking it was real so I felt every burn, every bite, every wound. I think a part of me did die down there. Some days I feel phantom pains all over my body. Sometimes I’ll zone out and hurt myself without realizing it. I wake up with bruises that I don’t know how I got.

“I thought I sensed Hecate or something, so I pushed through the pain and found a door. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get it to open, and the pseudologoi threw everything they had at me. Finally, when I refused to budge, they gave in. They gave me the option to choose which one of their statements was a lie. I knew I had to try for Terra. I was absolutely willing to die so she could live.

“They gave me three statements. The first was that my dad regrets begging my father. I almost laughed at that. I thought that was obviously a lie. Then they told me the second. Terra wishes she never met me.”

Estrella’s voice shook so much she felt like she couldn’t go on. Percy reached down and grabbed her hand gently, giving it a light, reassuring squeeze. She couldn’t meet his eyes.

“Obviously, from that point on, I knew at least one of those was the truth,” Estrella continued, “But I never imagined it could hurt so badly. On one hand, my dad, my favorite person, someone who died to protect me, secretly regretted being my father. He’s dead. There’s no way to take that back. I have to live knowing that he died regretting being my father. And the third statement ended up being a lie. Some bullsh*t about my mom not wanting to get to know me or something. As if I care. I wish that was the truth. Turns out my best friend, the one person I thought I could trust more than anyone, the person I was killing myself to save, wishes she never met me.

“How is that okay, Percy? How am I supposed to look her in the eye everyday knowing how she feels? How am I just supposed to pretend that my heart isn’t broken? I feel like such an idiot. A waste of space. Sometimes I just think, ‘maybe if I bake them a little something extra’ or ‘maybe if I give them a gift’ or ‘maybe if I just show them how useful I can be’ that maybe they’d like me,” Estrella had to stop when her lips trembled too much to keep speaking and tears streamed down her face. Her voice was hoarse with tears she desperately tried to hold back. Percy stayed quiet.

“Everyone keeps telling me it’s not the full truth, or that I can’t trust the truth from pseudologoi, but deep down, I know at least some part of it is true. And that hurts. It hurts so bad that sometimes I feel like I can’t breathe. It makes me doubt every friendship I’ve ever had. If Terra, the person I love the most, can’t love me back, who on Earth can? Even my own dad didn’t want me,” Estrella sobbed, and finally, Percy couldn’t hold back anymore, pulling Estrella into another tight hug. She clutched onto his shirt desperately as she cried, tears soaking the thin fabric instantly. Percy held her tenderly, rubbing soothing circles onto her back and shushing her gently as she cried.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he breathed, rocking her back and forth with his chin resting on top of her head.

“I wish I could cut that part out of my brain. I wish I could go back in time to the way things used to be before all this mess. I just wish people were honest with me.”

“I’m so sorry, Es. I had no idea you were feeling this way. I was so focused on my sh*tty life that I didn’t notice you were hurting too,” Percy apologized, and she grabbed his shirt in two fists. She was so confused and overwhelmed and the he smelled so good and-

“No, I’m sorry, that all just kind of came out,” Estrella pulled away and wiped her face with trembling fingers.

“Hey, you listen to me. Let me listen to you. No apologizing for telling me how you feel. I asked, ok?”

“Ok,” she sniffled, “Sorry for wetting your shirt.”

“No biggie. I can dry it,” he told her, and dried it with nothing more than the tip of his finger.

“You’ve been working on your powers again?” she asked, and he nodded.

“Yeah. Bit by bit. I’m still too weak to do much. Drying a few tears isn’t too difficult though.”

“Lucky me,” Estrella laughed.

“Hey,” he said, she looked over at him, “I’m here for you too, ok? I know how hard this transition can be and you’ve been thrown into the deep end right away. I don’t know what’s true and what isn’t, but I know that Terra loves you. She’d be an idiot not to. And I’m really sorry about your dad. Maybe I can convince Nico to let you see him and get some clarity.”

“You’d do that?” she gasped, forgetting that was a possibility. She never thought she’d see her dad again any time soon.

“Of course. You saved our lives. You’re my friend. I’d do just about anything…”

…for you… The unspoken words lingered in the air.

“Thank you, Percy. I haven’t told many people about what really happened. Terra doesn’t know what I heard, so I’d appreciate it if it stayed between us.”

“Of course. I’d never share what you tell me in confidence. You can trust me.”

“I know. I do.”

“Me too,” he smiled, and she smiled back.

“I don’t think I’m falling asleep anytime soon,” Estrella mentioned, “Can we go in the water and look for seahorses and sea turtles?”

Percy perked up a little at the request. That was something he could do. The water still made him feel stronger.

“Sure,” he grinned, and pushed himself to his feet. She accepted his outstretched hand and stood with him.

“I’ve never seen a wild seahorse,” Estrella babbled, “They’re my favorite animal. And sea turtles are a close second.”

“There’s actually a seahorse native to Long Island,” he informed her, and her eyes widened massively, “There’s also 4 species of sea turtles that like to hang out around here. The seahorses are shy but the turtles love to stop for a leisurely chat.”

“Oh my god I need to speak to a seahorse,” Estrella gushed as Percy pulled her into the Long Island Sound. This time, the bubble around her head was a bit smaller.

“Is that good enough? I’m kinda struggling to keep it together,” he told her, gesturing at the bubble. She nodded.

“Yeah, it’s perfect. We don’t have to go too deep this time either. I’ll stay near the surface so you don’t have to do too much work.”

Without another word, they shot off, riding the currents under the moon. Estrella felt immensely energized both by the cool water and the twinkling stars above her.

Finally, when Percy slowed to a stop, he shushed her and pointed at a bundle of grass at the bottom of the water. There, curled up among the softly swaying plants was a small seahorse, about the length of Estrella’s middle finger.

“This is a northern lined seahorse. They’re not great swimmers so they stay around plants and rely on camouflage to stay away from predators. They use their little beaks to suck up tiny shrimps that float by in the current,” Percy explained, and Estrella had a hard time holding back her smile. His explanation was so knowledgeable and gentle that Estrella’s heart felt warm and full. The tiny, fragile creature seemed so at peace in the quiet lull of the water that it brought tears to Estrella’s eyes for some reason. It was just so beautiful and pure.

“I love it,” she cooed, “What’s its name? Can we talk to it?”

Percy sent her an amused smile and she was pleased to see that it finally reached his eyes.

“Yeah, let me say hi. It’ll probably be a bit intimidated at first like the rest of them but I’m sure it’ll stay to talk.”

Estrella watched as Percy knelt by the creature and quietly introduced himself. The little seahorse wasn’t very expressive, but it seemed to straighten up at his presence. Estrella sat down next to him.

“His name is Samuel,” Percy whispered to her.

“Hi Samuel. I’m Estrella,” she introduced herself.

“Samuel says ‘hello.’ He is shocked I am speaking to him as a son of Poseidon. I tried to tell him he’s much more interesting than me but he disagrees.”

“I think you’re way cooler than Percy, Samuel. You suck up tiny shrimps. Percy doesn’t do that.”

“I mean I probably could if I wanted to,” Percy told her, giving her a weird look.

“If you could, wouldn’t you have done it by now?” she countered, and he ignored her.

“Samuel thanks you for the compliment. He is quite fond of shrimp. He wishes there were more this time of year. He’s also tired of accidentally sucking up microplastics.”

“Aren’t we all, Samuel,” Estrella agreed.

“Estrella says you are her favorite animal,” Percy told Samuel, and Samuel responded by uncurling his tail from the blade of grass and floating toward Estrella. Percy put his finger out and gestured for Estrella to follow. When she did, Samuel gently grabbed onto her finger with his tail and held on.

Her chin wobbled at the action, then her tears got more difficult to hold back. Percy rolled his eyes with a laugh.

“She is a little star-struck, Samuel,” Percy told him, and Estrella nodded, choking back the lump in her throat.

“Samuel says to not be afraid,” Percy translated, “He is a gentle creature who simply wants to live a quiet life. He loves the feeling of the current making the grass dance. When he gets bored, he likes to float along in the current in search of more shrimp and grass.”

“That sounds like a beautiful life,” she choked out.

“Are you ok?” he whispered at her, and she nodded rapidly.

“Yeah,” she whispered as tears trailed down her cheeks, “This is the best moment of my life.”

“Samuel says it is a pleasure to meet you, Estrella. He likes the warmth of your finger.”

“Oh, Samuel,” she sniffled, “The pleasure is all mine. You’re a beautiful being and I hope you get all the shrimp you want. I hope you get to live your peaceful life and keep finding even better patches of grass.”

“Samuel says ‘thank you.’”

“And, um, watch out for fake grass. Sometimes a white piece of grass will come down from the sky and look really tempting, but don’t grab onto it unless you’re sure. Sometimes it will be a net and you can get dragged up to the surface accidentally,” she remembered.

“Samuel thanks you for the warning. He tries to stick to familiar land anyway.”

“O-okay. You’ve made my night much better, Samuel. Thank you for sticking around to talk.”

“He thanks you for being kind and inquisitive. He hopes you can live a peaceful life too,” Percy relayed, and the second sentence seemed to have impacted him as well.

“Thank you, Samuel,” Estrella said, “I hope to see you around sometime. Stay safe.”

Percy dragged her away in search of a sea turtle. She was getting frustrated at how emotional she was. Get it together! It’s a seahorse…

“You still okay?” Percy checked in, and Estrella nodded as she wiped her cheeks.

“Thank you for this,” she sniffled, and he sent her a sad smile.

“Anytime.”

By the time they found a sea turtle, the peaceful water made Estrella quite sleepy. After a relatively brief conversation, Percy led her back to the surface where she rubbed her weary eyes and shuffled up the beach. He dried her with a chuckle when she surprised him with a tight hug.

“Thank you for tonight,” she mumbled into his chest. He hugged her back.

“Thank you for talking. I had a great time. I always enjoy hanging out with you,” he replied, and she pulled away with a smile.

“Sorry we couldn’t watch movies tonight.”

“Don’t be sorry. I still got to see you. It helped a lot.”

“Let’s have movie night tomorrow. Or technically tonight I guess.”

“I’m down. I’m always down. Now get to bed, Toretto.”

“I don’t have friends. I have family,” she rasped in response, and he jokingly shoved her toward bunker 9.

“See you later.”

“Goodnight, Percy.”

“Goodnight, Estrella.”

Estrella trudged through the forest back to Bunker 9 where she quickly tried to dust as much sand off her as possible before promptly collapsing back into bed next to Mateo. He wasn’t snoring as loudly as before, so she cuddled up next to him and closed her eyes before falling into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.