CHAPTER TWENTY:
IF YOU LEAVE ME

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KIDNAPPING A GODDESS WASN'T nearly as easy as Khione made it look. When Mel, Leo, Hazel and Frank returned from their quest with Nike wrapped in a net like a life-sized burrito, Annais immediately regretted deciding to take a nap. Nike had one of Frank's sweaty socks stuffed in her mouth (the poor Goddess -- Annais didn't say this lightly) and a square of duct-tape sealed over her lips for good measure. But even though her voice was silenced, her eyes were twin hurricanes that told Annais everything she needed to know.

Nike was fucking pissed.

Should she escape the makeshift prison in the stable she now shared with Arion (and Blackjack and Eddie, when they decided to pay them a visit), Annais had no doubt she'd obliterate the Argo II and the demigods on board with no remorse. The Goddess' Roman and Greek sides -- Nike and Victoria respectively -- had been locked into war as tensions only continued to rise. She was unable to determine who would be victorious in the end and her own morals had been lost in the haze of bloodlust.

When the four demigods tracked her down in a Temple of Zeus that used to be inhabited by an old statue of her -- and by provoking her to reveal herself by loudly declaring that Adidas shoes were better than Nike shoes! -- she quickly turned a challenge of her own against them. She dared the four demigods to fight to the death (was there any other way to fight?) Greeks against Romans, Mel and Leo against Hazel and Frank. When they refused (obviously) she sent four bronze statues Leo dubbed as the Nikettes to herd them into an arena.

Annais almost couldn't believe the master plan they came up with. Part of her wished she'd insisted on going in Mel's place but it worked out and Annais was impressed to hear that Mel played a role in overthrowing the Nikettes. While Hazel used her powers to control the underground tunnels, Mel and Frank tied up Nike like a lassoed pig while she shouted delirious curses and declared they would never get their hands on the Physician's Cure.

One of the seven was going to die. Supposedly, Nike had seen it.

So now Annais was helping Piper and Frank hunt down one of the ingredients, the Poison of Pylos.

Who would've thought that tracking down one of the deadliest poisons in existence would be so difficult? Certainly not Annais! Frank had asked her to accompany him as backup in defence while he invited Piper along as he thought her charmspeak might've been useful if they ran into his shape-shifting relatives. Annais decided not to question that. She was the last person who could talk about questionable relatives, and Frank made sure to emphasise they were a very distant relation!

As it turned out, Annais' sword was much more in demand. So far, they had slain a Laistrygonian ogre in the bakery and thoroughly destroyed the ovens in the process. The port of Pylos would not be getting fresh bread anytime soon. Then they battled a giant warthog in the public square and defeated a flock of Stymphalian birds with the help of some well-aimed vegetables from Piper's cornucopia. Annais was relieved to have Piper watching her back. The monstrous activity was constant and could've easily forced her and Frank into a corner.

She also got to tease Piper relentlessly every time they came across a poster for her dad Tristan McLean's brand new movie. Annais thought the title was a bit wordy but couldn't deny that her eyes did linger on his ripped open shirt and impish grin. Then she remembered the state of him when she saw him in person last and her temporary lapse in judgement became a passing memory (one Piper would no doubt share with Jason when they got back, as payback.)

Finally, as the sun was at its peak above them, they made some progress in their search. Piper put her charmspeak to work and led them to an ancient stronghold where Frank's relatives supposedly liked to congregate. The so-called stronghold was all but abandoned. Like a gaping mouth, a cave jutted out halfway up the beachside cliff it perched on, parting the stone walls with inky darkness. Annais, from where she stood impatiently a little behind Piper, raised a hand to shield her eyes and squinted into the sun at Frank's retreating figure.

"Don't be an idiot," Annais had grumbled when Frank brazenly declared he would scope the place out alone.

But Frank hadn't budged, leaving the two girls on the stretch of pale white sand that hugged the foot of the hills. It was well populated with various sunbathers sprawled on brightly coloured beach towels. Children laughed and squealed as they splashed in the shallows along the shore. Dogs on leashes barked in a state of glory. Nobody spared them, the cave or its ruins a second glance. There were no signs of life up there anyways, nothing that made Annais believe it was part of the shape-shifter's hideout.

"The Laundromat ghost called it Nestor's Cave," said Piper to fill the silence. After laying on the charm with said ghost, Frank and Annais hadn't stopped to hear the extent of the details he'd divulged to Piper. Now, almost like she could hear Annais' blood simmering with frustration, she spoke as much as she could to keep her distracted. "Supposedly the old king of Pylos had stashed his treasure here in times of crisis."

Annais pursed her lips. "Interesting. Well, a nice vial of poison would be treasured by us right about now."

Piper barely batted an eye. "The ghost also claimed that Hermes had once hidden Apollo's stolen cattle in this cave..."

The corner of Annais' mouth curled into a tentative grin. Slowly, she looked away from the stronghold. "That's one story Apollo can never tell without spiralling into a rageful rant. Not even Penelope could calm him down."

She regretted saying it almost as soon as the words left the tip of her tongue.

Piper's head tilted. "Do you think Apollo helped her through the Underworld?"

"I think it's a possibility," Annais admitted, then sighed, toeing the sand with her scuffed boot. "But I'm also torn between Dad and Gaea."

"You think Gaea brought her back? Can she even do that?" Piper's brows pinched together. As the thought lingered and spread, she couldn't help but fix her bottom lip between her teeth. "If this is Gaea's doing, she must expect Penelope to bring us down from the inside. Would she do that to Ezra?"

Annais couldn't be sure. "She resisted her dad. She'd find a way to thwart Gaea if she wanted to. But if Gaea has promised her a second chance at life with Apollo... I think Penelope will do whatever she can to survive."

Wryly, Annais wondered if Gaea, Apollo and Hades all had a role to play in Penelope's grand return. She had no doubt that Gaea would have studied the Mins and their weaknesses. Penelope was the reason they were involved in the first place, it was only fitting to thrust her back into the thick of it.

Not to mention the first line of the prophecy. Time taken from mortality's grasp. She rules from the shadows, guides the Sun from his trap. Penelope, dead so young, lying in wait as Apollo navigated the depths of Death itself to bring her back. Annais wished she'd given this more thought before it was too late. Penelope's part of the prophecy had often been glazed over. As cruel as it sounded, what good was a dead girl in their quest?

But if Gaea was the reason she'd come back and she had her in the right place at the right time, then Annais believed it was Apollo who, desperate to find Penelope, had led her to the doors. It would explain some of Zeus' building tension with his son. And if he wasn't lost to the insanity of his Roman self, then Annais had no doubt that Hades would have overseen everything that happened. He'd stop her if he felt he had to. Clearly, he didn't.

"Frank's taking too long," Annais huffed, her shuffling foot beginning to tap in an anxious rhythm. "I'm going up there."

Without waiting to see what Piper wanted to do, Annais made for the winding path that would lead up to the stronghold. She didn't get very far before Frank emerged from its darkness, but he wasn't alone. A tall, grey-haired man in a white linen suit and a pale yellow tie dogged his footsteps. He caught Frank by his shoulder and pressed a small shiny object that Annais couldn't make out into Frank's palm. Then he said something, and Frank nodded gravely, and just as Annais closed the gap between them, the man turned into a seagull and disappeared into the glittering horizon.

"Who was that?" she demanded just as Piper caught up to them.

For a moment, they stood beneath the shade of an old, thick-trunked tree. Frank gazed at the horizon even after the seagull disappeared, his mouth curving around the words 'my cousin' in a now wistful whisper.

"You good?" Annais nudged his arm when he said nothing else.

"Yeah, sorry."

"Don't be," she shrugged. "What did he say?"

Frank forced himself to focus on her and Piper. "My, uh... cousins, they've been living here for generations, all descended from Periclymenus the Argonaut. I told them my story. How the Zhang family had gone from Greece to Rome to China to Canada. I told them about the legionnaire ghost I saw in the House of Hades, urging me to come to Pylos. They... Well, they didn't seem surprised. They said it's happened before. Long-lost relatives coming home."

That last word hung in the air for a moment too long. Home. Had Frank underestimated how he would feel finding this place?

"You were expecting something different," said Piper.

Frank nodded. "A bigger welcome, maybe. Some party balloons. I'm not sure. My grandmother told me I would close the circle. Bring our family honour and all that. But my cousins here... they acted kind of cold and distant, like they didn't want me around. I don't think they liked that I'm a son of Mars. Honestly, I don't think they liked that I'm Chinese, either."

Annais' shoulders stiffened. "Then they don't deserve to be called your cousins. Family isn't racist, Frank."

"Yeah," mumbled Frank.

"They must be idiots," Piper said while glaring into the sky. "They don't know how great you are."

Frank's smile was slow to return but at least it wasn't gone for good. "They got a little more friendly when I told them I was just passing through--" Annais made a noise of disgust, shaking her head. "They gave me a going-away present."

There, in his hand, the glint of silver. It was a metallic vial no bigger than an eyedropper but Annais could feel its energy calling to her. This was a thing of Death. Not unlike any other poison or weapon that could go as far as to take a life, but somehow stronger.

"That's it?" she confirmed.

Frank nodded, carefully holding it up so Annais could see the silver liquid move in the light. "They call it Pylosian mint. Apparently the plant sprung from the blood of a nymph who died on a mountain near here, back in ancient times. I didn't ask for details."

"I doubt they would've given them to you," Annais muttered. "Well, we got what we came here for, right? Let's go, before I change my mind about meeting your cousins."

Frank grimaced, quickly taking the lead in their descent back down to the beach. Somehow, in the few minutes they spent up on the hillside, more tourists had gathered. Like ants, they sprung up through the sand, making Annais feel uncomfortable, like the air was limited around her. She stuck close to Frank and Piper, grateful that Frank's bulky body parted people away from them at least a little bit.

"I wish Vitellius Reticulus were here," Frank remarked, making Annais blink at his back.

"Ridiculous who?" Piper frowned.

Frank gave a small but fond smile. "Gaius Vitellius Reticulus, although we did call him Ridiculous sometimes. He was one of the Lares of the Fifth Cohort. Kind of a goofball but he was the son of Aesculapius, the healing God. If anybody knew about this Physician's Cure, he might."

Annais' grin appeared to mirror his. "Makes me think of Will Solace. Son of Apollo. Goofball when he wants to be but that boy's patched up more of my wounds than I could count on both hands."

Now Annais could feel the thoughts flooding in. Thinking of Will made her think of the Stoll Brothers, then Chiron and Mr D, even Drew Tenaka. She thought of late-night campfires, Capture the Flag, the strawberry fields dotting the hillside. The way the sun's reflection glittered on the surface of the lake, just like this sun did at this beach. Quickly, before Annais could forget where she was, she slammed on the brakes, forcefully blinking as if she could erase those people and places from her memory along with the sting of her tears.

It took her a second too long to realise both Frank and Piper had already seen her face twist. She swallowed thickly, muttering, "The sun's crazy bright today. I should've made Leo fashion up some sunglasses from that belt of his."

Fortunately, they let it go, but a moment later Piper's hand landed on her elbow and squeezed. "A healing God would be nice," she redirected the conversation. "Better than having a screaming, tied-up victory Goddess on board."

"Hey, you're lucky," Frank scowled. "My cabin is closest to the stables. I can hear her yelling all night." He cleared his throat, raising his voice into a higher but booming pitch, "'First place or death! An A-minus is a failing grade!'"

"Sounds like you need to find another sock," Annais chuckled weakly.

"More like Leo needs to design a gag that's better than my sock. I'll run out at this rate."

They kept walking. On the topic of Gods, the discussion moved along to the next captive entity they were meant to track down. "So your cousins, did they have any advice about what comes next? This chained God we're supposed to find in Sparta?"

Frank's jaw clenched. "Yeah. I'm afraid they had some thoughts on that. I should wait until we're back on the ship to tell everyone about it."

"Sounds great," Annais grunted, scanning the horizon for the Argo II. "Okay, how are we doing this? Shadow travel or shape-shifting?"

Judging by Piper's expression, she preferred neither but Leo hadn't exactly parked their warship close to shore, and Annais was nowhere near that good at swimming.

"Hello, nice tourists!" The voice by her ear had her heart jolting with panic. She glared dangerously at the man it belonged to, a scraggly fisherman with a white captain's hat and a mouth full of gold teeth that smelled like tobacco. He looked like something out of a storybook. "Boat ride? Very cheap."

Piper's smile was a stark contrast to Annais' unwavering look of distrust. "Yes, please," she said with tooth-rotting sweetness. "And we'd like you to take us somewhere special."

"Somewhere special," Annais repeated under her breath to the girl as they boarded this man's skiff. "The bottom of the ocean, perhaps?"

Piper shook her head. "I think you've reached your limit for human interaction today."

"I'm starting to agree."

The boat captain's skiff moved slower than grass grew. At long last, he anchored beside the Argo II and waited patiently for them to climb up the rope ladder. Annais had reached the deck before Piper could even search her pockets for the wad of euros she'd insist on paying the captain.

Her voice was a faint whisper caught and taken away by the wind. "... If anyone asks, you took us around the island... dropped us at the docks in Pylos... never saw a giant warship."

"No warship..."

Once she'd joined Annais and Frank, she didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around them in a big group hug. Annais let her arm hang loosely around Piper's shoulders. She shook with faint laughter as Frank's face went bright red.

Awkwardly, he patted both of them on the back. "Nice killing giant warthogs with you."

"You too, Mr Zhang," Piper giggled.

"If only they were seagulls," Annais added wryly.

"What a sweet moment. I'm tearing up," Leo drawled as he watched them from his usual spot behind the controls. Annais rolled her eyes as Frank's blush spread to the tips of his ears and he stepped away. "Everyone's over on the foredeck. Percy's gone gaga for a giant red sea serpent."

Annais soon realised that Leo wasn't exaggerating. Percy was practically hanging over the edge of the ship so he wouldn't lose sight of the giant serpent. Its red appearance made the water ripple like blood.

"I wonder if it's cherry-flavoured," said Percy, his thoughts wandering in the opposite direction to hers.

"Why don't you swim over and find out?" Annabeth smiled at the back of his head.

"How about no."

"Do you think you could communicate with it?" Mel asked with a bright-eyed stare as she leaned over the railing beside him.

"I'm not sure," Percy admitted, but he sounded like he was really considering it.

It took Annais a second of watching them to realise that the typical trio didn't seem right. Ezra. Where was she?

Scanning the rest of her fellow demigods, Annais found her beside Jason. Her head was pointed in the direction of Percy and Annabeth's voices but she was nodding along to whatever Jason was saying in her ear. Annais' boyfriend seemed oddly serious, more so than usual. His hand gripped his side, indicating to her that his pain hadn't eased up, but he seemed determined to focus on Ezra.

"Hey," she wandered up behind him, her hands resting on his hips so she could sneak a kiss on his cheek. "What are we talking about?"

"Hey baby," Jason greeted her before answering her question.

The moment he turned his head towards Annais, Ezra detached herself from their conversation and joined her partners and Mel. Her sister seemed overjoyed as she struck up a new conversation with her. Jason watched her go before remembering that Annais was waiting.

"What did she say to you?"

"Nothing bad," he assured her. "We were talking about Penelope."

"She's still in the bad books then?" Annais glanced at Penelope, alone on the other side of the group except for Hazel, who seemed to feel obligated not to leave her isolated.

Something didn't seem right about her -- well, more than usual. When Annais had departed with Frank and Piper, Penelope had locked herself up in Ezra's room. But Annais swore Penelope's hair had still been shoulder-length from where it'd been slashed away, so why did it now trail down her back like strings of shadow?

"That's one way to put it," Jason mumbled. "We should have a date night tonight."

"Oh?" Annais' cheeks flooded with warmth, caught off guard from the obvious change in subject. But the heat didn't last long. "Are you sure you're feeling up to it?"

"I'm sure," he answered firmly. "Let me do something nice for you. Just you and me. Some good food. Maybe a couple candles..."

"Romantic," she said, though she couldn't deny the slight smile that tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Is that a yes?"

"Hmmm."

He squeezed her waist. "Say 'yes, Jason.'"

"Yes, Jason," she murmured, pressing her smile against his in a quick kiss.

They re-joined the others and Frank wasted no time redirecting the conversation. "According to my Pylos cousins, the chained God we're looking for in Sparta is my dad... uh, I mean Ares, not Mars. Apparently the Spartans kept a statue of him chained up in their city so the spirit of war would never leave them."

"Ooh-kay," Leo drawled. "So the Spartans were freaks. Of course, we've got Victory tied up downstairs, so I guess we can't talk."

Annais scoffed. "Remind me who you're talking about when you say we."

"You're an accessory to the crime, Annie."

Jason, leaning against the ballista, cleared his throat pointedly. "On to Sparta, then. But how does a chained God's heartbeat help us find a cure for dying?"

"How does dangerous poison cure you from death?" Mel countered.

Jason grimaced. "Good point."

"Piper, you were saying earlier that your knife had shown you visions. What have you seen?" Piper didn't answer Hazel. She was staring at the weathered boards beneath her sneakers, lost to the conversation that had continued on without her. Hazel stepped up beside her, finally leaving Penelope's side to squeeze Piper's elbow. She returned to the present with a violent flinch, then flushed pink when she realised everyone was staring.

"Sorry, what did I miss?"

"I was asking you about the visions," Hazel prompted gently, gesturing towards the dagger strapped to Piper's waist.

"Uh... right. Well, I don't see anything now." She even unsheathed the dagger just to prove she was telling the truth. Her face remained blank, carefully composed. "But one vision kept popping up. Annais, Annabeth and I are exploring some ruins--"

"Ruins," Leo rubbed his hands together. "Now we're talking! How many ruins can there be in Greece?"

"Too many to count," Ezra grumbled with a hint of impatience. "Piper, do you think it was Sparta?"

The direct question seemed to startle her. Forcing her eyes to leave her blade, she slipped it back into its spot at her waist. "Maybe. Anyway, suddenly we're in this dark place like a cave. We're staring at this bronze warrior statue. In the vision, I touch the statue's face and flames start swirling around us. That's all I saw."

"Flames," Frank scowled. "I don't like that vision."

Neither did Annais.

"Me neither," Percy mumbled. "If the statue engulfs people in fire, we should send Leo."

"I love you too, man."

Percy waved a hand at him. "You know what I mean. You're immune. Or, heck, give me some of those nice water grenades and I'll go. Ares and I have tangled before."

Annabeth shook her head. "If Piper saw the three of us going after the statue, then that's who should go. We'll be alright. There's always a way to survive."

Ezra made a noise under her breath and turned her back, making her disagreeable opinion known. Percy still wasn't entirely convinced either, and it certainly didn't help when Hazel issued them with a stern warning.

"Not always," she said, but those two words were enough.

Frank held out the vial of Pylosian mint. "What about this stuff? After the House of Hades, I kind of hoped we were done drinking poison."

"Store it securely in the hold," Annabeth decided. "For now, that's all we can do. Once we figure out this chained God situation, we'll head to the island of Delos."

"The curse of Delos," Hazel recalled. "That sounds fun."

"Hopefully Apollo will be there," Annabeth said with a careful glance at Penelope, whose face remained impossible to read this time. "Delos was his home island. He's the God of medicine. He should be able to advise us."

Annais was eager for his reaction when he saw Penelope. By now, the Gods would surely know she had somehow defied the Fates for a second time, but Annais knew that Apollo's reaction would tell her everything she needed to know. If he was unmoved by seeing her, then she'd be certain that he helped her escape the Underworld.

Off the port bow, the red sea-serpent spewed steam and circled closer to the ship. Percy grimaced at it, no longer as captivated, and suggested to Leo that he should take them into the air for a while.

"Airborne it is!" Leo declared. As soon as the words 'definitely checking us out' came out of Percy's mouth, he'd all but rushed back to the control panel, punching his fingers against the buttons frantically. "Festus, do the honours!"

The bronze dragon creaked and groaned before the ship's engine started to hum. The oars lifted, spraying water in every direction as they expanded into aerial blades with a sound like nails on a chalkboard.

"We should reach Sparta by morning," Leo told them. "And remember to come by the mess hall tonight, folks! Chef Leo is making his famous three-alarm tofu tacos!"

Jason, tugging on Annais' hand, said, "You'll have to count us out for tonight."

"Oh," Leo's face dropped. His lower lip jutted out in a dramatic pout. "Can't you two bone another night?"

Jason's free hand moved to rub the back of his flushed neck. Annais' lips pressed into a bloodless line. With a warning glare, she corrected him, "Actually, Jason's taking me on a date."

Leo's shoulders lifted in a shrug. "You've been dating for how many months now?"

But Jason and Annais were already walking away, the former desperate to escape from their friends' sly smirks and muffled laughter. "Sorry, Leo! Another time."

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

ANNAIS KNEW HER BOYFRIEND was a romantic at heart but this was almost nauseatingly sweet. Annais loved it. She had her back pressed against his chest. One hand had gotten lost in her hair while the other curled around her waist, staking a claim on her hip so she wouldn't be tempted to move. The hand in her hair deliberately smoothed it away from her neck, allowing Jason a clear path to trace soft kisses from the spot behind her ear down to the juncture of her shoulder. Up and down, he repeated the gesture, making Annais giggle and squirm when he meticulously found the parts of skin he remembered were sensitive.

"You're supposed to be telling me a story," Annais complained, grasping at fragments of a memory. He'd been telling her about his first time sparring someone at Camp Jupiter, how it felt to hold a weapon almost as tall as he was, when Annais had leaned back and tucked her head under his chin.

Jason groaned, lifting his warm mouth to ghost over her ear. "It's not my fault. You smell good."

After retreating (running away) from their friends, Jason had left Annais in her room with a request for her to change into something comfortable while he took an hour to 'set up.' She'd searched her scattered clothing for her softest hoodie and sweatpants but soon after changing, she'd decided it wasn't good enough. Leo wasn't wrong when he said that Annais and Jason had been dating for a while, but in that time they hadn't really had many opportunities to date. If Jason wanted to surprise her with something 'romantic', then Annais would surprise him by dressing up for it. Well, as best as she could given they were on a giant warship. Annais hadn't really thought about packing cute clothes for the occasion. 

She sought out Piper and Mel, who were ecstatic that she'd admitted to needing their help, and they flipped her room upside down until they had something worthwhile. Annais had been left standing in front of her mirror in the nicest (and by default cleanest) figure-hugging jeans she owned and a plain but accentuating black tank-top. While putting together the outfit, Piper had all but thrown Annais into the shower and demanded she scrub her hair, then wrestled her into allowing Mel to use her mascara on Annais' lashes. They'd also found a half-empty bottle of perfume buried in the bottom of a suitcase and gave her another shower in its contents.

Ever since Jason showed up to collect her, grinning from ear-to-ear, he hadn't been able to take his eyes off her. He knew his girlfriend was pretty. Even covered in sweat, blood and monster dust, he couldn't help but worship the ground she walked on. But that night, he truly felt so special getting to call Annais his date.

"You're beautiful," he said, and everything but the way she smiled at him faded from existence.

He'd led her upstairs, back to the deck, then asked so sweetly if he could cover her eyes with his hands. She agreed, trusting him to guide her safely.

"If you're about to surprise me with Leo, I'm jumping overboard," she joked.

Jason's breath ghosted against her neck as he laughed. "They're all in the mess hall eating tofu tacos. I made sure of it."

"Good," she said, just as Jason came to a stop.

Slowly, he let his hands fall from Annais' face, revealing the set-up he'd worked so hard on. For a moment, Annais squinted against the sudden brightness of the late afternoon sun, and then her vision cleared. A red and white picnic blanket had been carefully laid across the deck. Cushions were piled along the edge, pinning the blanket down as it fluttered with the soft breeze. In the centre was a large wooden basket overflowing with bite-sized sandwiches, fruit and sweets Jason had gathered from the kitchens. All Annais' favourites. A towering decanter of orange juice sat beside it, along with two cups. To the side was Leo's little life-beaten radio, a stack of matches and unlit candlesticks. The radio had been tuned to avoid Leo's usual station, instead playing a low indie song that Annais didn't recognise.

Jason watched her expression change with eagle eyes, not wanting to miss a single piece of her reaction. He was worried for a second that she thought it too much. And then, on the other end of the spectrum, nowhere near enough. Jason couldn't remember ever putting so much thought into a date. He couldn't remember any dates before Annais. Like Annais' outfit, he made do with what he had, and he had no reason to believe that she would laugh at him, but his heart had swelled to block his airway until he found it hard to breathe. He was startled when her eyes started to shine.

No, he thought miserably. I've made her cry.

Then she threw her arms around his neck, pressing sweet kisses to his cheek.

Oh.

"No one's ever done something like this for me before," she said, sounding a little breathless.

Jason's smile was tentative. "I know it's not much..."

"It's everything," she corrected him. "Thank you."

They spent the night switching between channels on Leo's radio. Annais told Jason stories about her childhood; the few memories she had of her mum, those days in the orphanage, Hea the light in her darkness, her first thoughts when arriving at Camp Half-Blood and meeting Penelope. In return, Jason shared his own stories. The first time he sparred, how proud he felt when he was promoted to Praetor, what it was like remembering everything from his old life when he'd only just started a new one. It was everything you'd want on a first date, laid bare between two teens who already loved each other. Who knew so much about the other person already but would never get tired of hearing more.

When it got dark, they lit the candles Jason had promised her. Annais force-fed Jason strawberries and kissed the juice from his chin. After, when the picnic basket had been emptied, they wrapped themselves in the blanket and curled up on the mountain of cushions, Jason's head on Annais' stomach, Annais' hand massaging through his hair, and they fell asleep under the open sky feeling foolishly invincible.

Like nothing could ever hurt them again.