Chapter Thirty-Nine:
Rise, Daughter of Lightning.
— When I awoke,   the moon still
hung. The night so black that the
darkness                               hums !

It had been a long time since Camp Half-Blood felt like home to most campers.

The afternoon after the Chariot Races was as happy as camp had been for a while. Even Colette Victoire found enough reasons for a smile to become a permanent fixture on her visage. Despite everything, she'd found some closure. Her most recent fight with the traitor was one she wouldn't forget. She'd felt the bones of his shoulder nearly shatter after she'd imbedded one of her knives into it, hearing him cry out as her molten flesh held him down. The sight of the blood on her dagger had been a reward for her. She'd leaned down to whisper in his ears, wanting the words to linger in his mind and his alone. "Remember, after every time you have seen me, you continue to breathe because I allow you to — because I do not want to be the one to kill you." It was what she'd told him before she struck again. Feeling her blade graze the bottom of his rib cage only to be ripped out.

And she'd felt satisfied.

Until the traitor dug his own sword down the length of her calf to her ankle, hitting bone.

She hadn't carved his lungs out for it because the Centaurs and Chiron had arrived.

(Moreover, because two people — whose opinions about her were very important to her — were watching her every move with hawk-like eyes. She did not want them to fear her. Not like everyone else she'd ever met did.)

Walking with a cane was something she thought she would've struggled with for longer, but her instincts on how to use it kicked in before any difficulty could render her bedridden. She'd looked to Beckendorf for help on creating one, only trusting his hands.

"Genuinely, Beck," she'd looked up at him with grateful eyes, "you don't know how much I appreciate this. And on such short notice, too." She'd admired his handiwork for another short moment, the sun engraving on the handle lying beneath the gold material. "You really have a talent, mon ami." My friend.

He'd looked away somewhat sheepishly. He was used to the compliments, but hearing it from Colette seemed to make the words from everyone else feel real. "It was nothin'." He had shrugged, humble. "Let me know if you have any problems with it. Or if you end up needing another one. Gods know how often you get into trouble with the other two."

She had flashed her eyes at him jokingly, smirking for a second at the truth in his words. "We do get into a lot of trouble, don't we." She'd phrased it rhetorically, no questioning tone beneath any syllable.

"So," he'd cleared his throat to break the small silence, "did Luke really ..." his inquiry trailed off as his eyes darted to her stitched leg that was barely covered by the white linen she'd acquired on Circe's Resort.

Her eyes had darted away from him.

It was almost a shame he hadn't known just how much worse she'd hurt the boy.

But it was better that way.

Easier, even.

His lips had pursed sadly at the unspoken answer, his expression thoughtful.

Rather than pitying her, he'd slapped a firm hand on her shoulder, and squeezed reassuringly. He was heavy handed, strong, if working with nothing but metals and sharp edges was anything to go off of. But he knew she'd worked hard enough from the beginning of her training to not have even jolted at his affection.

"We're here for you."

By "we," he had meant all the other campers who'd grown up alongside her to see the relationship she once had with the damned boy, ones who'd been of similar ages as the traitor, ones who'd gotten close enough to call him a friend or something more.

That only got her thinking.

Remembering what Luke had said.

Knowing that there were people within the camp grounds conspiring with him, feeding him the information that was supposed to keep everyone at camp safe. Spies and traitors.

She'd shaken her head discreetly to herself, pushing the thought away.

She had looked at Beckendorf one more time, not changing her slightly hurt expression, but internally questioning his naïvety.

Afterward, she'd found Clarisse again in the training arena. Laurel still hanging around her neck proudly as she hacked away at the nearby training dummies. Rather than interrupting her in her element, Colette sat down. She'd watched silently, knowing that the other girl knew she was there yet continuing to ignore her — simply waiting to be acknowledged.

By the time Clarisse turned to face her, the moon was shining a little bit brighter. Those coal-colored eyes had focused on the cane resting beside the blonde, narrowing them slightly. She looked around the blonde's legs, searching for the wound to have caused such a need.

Colette had to be the one to turn her leg, showcasing the haphazard stitches Chiron had put together that afternoon.

Those coal eyes found a way to darken. "Who the fuck—"

The blonde had given her a knowing look, cutting her off. "Who else?"

Clarisse had inhaled sharply, almost shakily as she teetered on the edge of her bottled fury. "When I get my hands on him, he's gonna' wish he'd never fucked with us."

"You'll have to get in line." A weary grin had etched itself onto Colette's face.

Then they'd gone to the campfire.

The girls found each other again after the Chariot race. So many people wanted to congratulate Colette, but she was becoming overwhelmed. She enjoyed winning, don't get her wrong. But after everything, being surrounded by people wasn't something she enjoyed much anymore.

So, again, she'd sat down with her cane by her side, and watched as War's Daughter did as her instincts demanded of her.

When Clarisse turned to face her, rather than standing like the previous time, she'd sat down next to the blonde. Their knees knocked together fondly, basking in each other's presence.

Colette had spun out her left earring into her dagger, sharply gleaming eyes staring at just how stained the gold had gotten with Luke's blood. The light of blade illuminating their faces as they stared at one another.

"I got him," the blonde had murmured — the words floating and dissipating like a secret between the two of them, "three times."

The older girl had licked her lips slightly, just barely grinning at the sight of the blood. "You should've killed him."

Colette had nodded slowly, darkening blue eyes never once leaving the coal-hued ones in front of her. "I could have." She'd corrected the sentence. "But I didn't. So he'd know he lives because I let him."

"I have the weirdest feeling," Clarisse muttered slowly, "that you're gonna' be the one to kill him when it comes down to it."

"... me, too."

And like a haunting whisper, the name of that specific dagger had shone brighter under the light of the setting sun.

Executioner.

The next time the original questing quartet finally had a moment of bonding together was after Tyson left for the forges.

               "Hey, Perce."

Percy frowned his lips tighter at the familiar, warm voice that called to him. He turned around to find Colette, Annabeth, and Grover standing at the top of the nearby sand dune.

He blinked firmly, trying to push away all the tears that wanted to fall.

               "Tyson ..." he tried. "He had to ..."

               Annabeth smiled softly at him, right arm locked with Colette's left to stabilize the cane the blonde was holding. "We know." She didn't make him say it. "Chiron told us."

               "Cyclopes forges." Grover shuddered, lightening the mood with his next words. "I hear the cafeteria food there is terrible! Like, no enchiladas at all."

               Colette held out her free hand. "Come on, Perce. It's time for dinner."

Percy swallowed back the lump in his throat, letting his fingers interlock with hers as the four of them walked to the dining pavilion — just the four of them. Just like old times.

The night was coming together beautifully. Everything was going back to normal, the way it was before the camp was betrayed.Dinner had been as per usual, certain cabins causing food fights, some joining for the fun of it, and others trying to mediate. Then, Annabeth's favorite time of the night rolled around. The entertainment portion. The one where the Apollo kids sang a little more professionally than they did during the child-friendly campfires before the younger campers were sent off to the cabins.

Annabeth loved that time of night simply because of how radiant Colette looked under the makeshift lights on the makeshift stage her and her siblings had taken to.

In a pair of low rise, baggy, camouflage printed jean shorts that reached just above the start of her most recent wound and a white haphazardly cropped tank top, Colette sat upon a stool — her cane resting against her thigh as she adjusted the microphone in front of her. She was in a pair of black Vans, too. Her gold jewelry remained the same. Her hair was the best part of the outfit. Two wide braids at the top of her head, leading to two purposefully messy buns.

It suited her.

Annabeth's focus sharpened when Colette cleared her throat lightly into the microphone, also hyper aware of Percy's presence next to her.

             "Bonjour, amis!" She chuckled lightly at the echo and excited everyone's silence. "How are we? Are we ready for tonight?"

The silence quickly turned into cheers.

             Austin smirked. "We're happy to hear it, aren't we, Munchkin?"

             "I guess." Kayla replied after sighing dramatically into her microphone.

             "Cheer up, chérie!" Colette grinned playfully. "We've got happy songs to sing. I mean, you even helped me write this first one."

             A pleased blush reddened the younger girl's nose as she looked down. "Yeah, yeah."

             Even Austin let out a low chuckle at her reaction, adjusting the guitar around his shoulders. "This is Birds of a Feather."

             Everyone on the instruments started playing for  quick second before Colette started singing the first verse. "I want you to stay till I'm in the grave — uh, till I rot away, dead and buried, till I'm in the casket you carry. If you go I'm goin', too, uh, 'cause it was always you. Hm, if I'm turnin' blue, please don't save me. Nothin' left to lose without my baby."

               "Birds of a feather," she glanced back slightly to smile brightly at Kayla to cue the younger girl into joining in on singing the chorus with her, "we should stick together. I know I said I'd never think I wasn't better alone. Can't change the weather, might not be forever. But if it's forever, it's even better."

               "And I don't know what I'm cryin' for. I don't think I could love you more, it might not be long but, baby, I—" Kayla, the young girl with a big voice, extended the last note. "—I'll love you till the day that I die. Till the day that I die, till the light leaves my eyes. Till the day that I die." And to make it her own, she added her own run to the end of the post-chorus — truly showing off the R&B influence of her voice.

               With an attempt to smother her proud smile, Colette continued the second verse alone after another round of instruments. "I want you to see, hm, how you look to me. Hm, you wouldn't believe if I told ya', you would keep the compliments I throw ya'. But you're so full of shit, hmmm, tell me it's a bit." Austin added a few ad libs in the small pocket of silence there. "Say you don't see it, your mind's polluted. Say you wanna' quit, don't be stupid."

               Instead of a post-chorus, they'd chosen to write it in as a pre-chorus that time around. Colette and Kayla harmonizing beautifully, the instruments sounding lightly in the background. "And I don't know what I'm cryin' for. I don't think I could love you more. It might not be long, but, baby, I—"

               "—don't wanna' say goodbye." Colette belted while Austin, Kayla, and the others playing instruments picked up the chorus together.

               "Birds of a feather, we should stick together. I know—"

               "Till the day that I die."

               "—I said I'd never think I wasn't better alone—"

               "Till the light leaves my eyes."

               "—can't change the weather, might not be forever—"

               "Till the day that I die."

               As Colette belted that last note, going octaves higher in scale, the other two continued the last and final line of the chorus. "But if it's forever, it's even better."

               Like echoes of each other, Kayla and Colette took the last three lines of the song — the older of the pair going a second after the younger to create the effect. "I knew you in another life. You had that same look in your eyes. I love you, don't act so surprised."

Everyone playing an instrument rode out the song harmoniously, letting each note fade out into the slight breeze that'd picked up.

The crowd burst into applause, none louder than Percy and Annabeth. The brunette knew they'd had to have hearts in their eyes the way they were staring at her so intently.

Despite being heard by everyone, Colette leaned into the microphone, and turned to face her baby sister. "I told you that you'd be good at writing, mon petite chérie." My little darling.

Kayla blushed brightly. "Sunny, stop."

Colette laughed but agreed.

Annabeth sighed dreamily, sure she was mimicked by Percy.

There was nothing quite as beautiful sounding as Colette's genuine laugh.

The night of the races was when everything changed for the camp.

Despite the raging storm, Colette had found her way to Thalia's tree. She sat next to it, never having missed the older girl more than she had in that moment. She wished for someone to empathize with what she was feeling toward the boy she once thought of as a brother. Annabeth didn't feel the anger she did. But she knew Thalia would understand. Thalia knew anger the way Colette did. So, carried away as she murmured away her feelings to the bark, she didn't notice how her veins at lit up or how pulses of gold light flowed onto the roots.

And before she knew it, there was a girl lying in her arms. Rather than the roots of a tree at the palm of her hands, Thalia was unconscious in her arms — nearly corpse-like temperature wise. As in she was freezing cold.

Colette had panic attacks before where she shook uncontrollably. But the way she was shaking from every part of her body was new.

She screamed her voice raw for Chiron, tears flowing freely down her eyes. By the time the Centaur and other campers were there, she was hyperventilating. A shaking hand caressing Thalia's face gently, tentatively, but with enough weight to make others know she was corporeal with flesh and bones and a pulse.

Annabeth collapsed to her knees, in the same amount of shock as the blonde.

When Percy approached, Chiron was speaking to him grimly. But he ran toward the scene with speed no one knew he had.

He kneeled next to the girls, unbeknownst to either of them. He put his hand on Thalia's forehead, checking her temperature the way Colette already had.

No matter how he moved, Colette's eyes were dead set on her older sister.

Her previously dead older sister.

Percy yelled and screamed for ambrosia and nectar, for medical aid.

Then Thalia took a shaky breath. She coughed and opened her eyes.

Colette's hands started shaking even more, ripping them away from her face.

Her irises were as startling blue as they'd always been — a shade of electric blue.

               The girl in Colette's lap stared at Percy, the first thing in her line of sight, in bewilderment — shivering and wide-eyed. "Who—?"

               "—I'm Percy." He responded quickly, trying to be calm. "Ya' safe now."

               "Strangest dream ..."

               "S'ight."

               "Dying."

               "No." Percy assured her. "You're okay. What's ya' name?"

               "I'm Thalia," she answered him easily, "Daughter of Zeus."

And as the Fates declared it, the Daughter of Lightning rose on a summer night, thunder crackling above the camp.

ICARUS INQUIRES:

^^^^^^^^^^and with that, the sea of monsters comes to a close.

CAN YOU GUYS BELIEVE IT??? WE'RE FINALLY DONE WITH THIS ONE. AND NOW WERE ONTO THE NEXT.

Ladies and gentlemen and everything in between, introducing Thalia Grace as Willow Smith:

Because tell me that's not fuckin Thalia Grace right fuckin there. Like??? Are you kidding me??? Silver jewelry. Heavy eyeliner. Sick ass hair. No fucks given at all. UGHHHH.

I was gonna wait a little bit to post this, but today's been a really bad day here in the states. Please, to all my fellow Latinos: To the citizens, keep your documents on you at all times to prove your citizenship — the color of our skin is enough proof for their bigotry. To those that aren't citizens: Do not open your doors, do not answer their questions, do not sign any sheet of paper they give you. If you would like to help keep us safe, keep a look out for ICE. If you spot them, please yell out "LA MIGRA," Latinos will know what to do when you do.

Anyway, DEBRIEF:

— A mix of povs here: Lettie, Percy, Annie, then Lettie one more time

— A slightly dark internal monologue from Lettie in the beginning there. She's slowly accepting just how feral she is, and she's not caring much

— I'm just now realizing we've only had one father-daughter moment in tsom, which kinda sucks considering everything that's gonna happen next lmao

— Percy had to see Tyson off :(( but he was comforted by his closest peeps, so it's all good

— Yes, yes, ik Birds of a Feather by Billie Eilish is a little overplayed now. But when it first came out, I'd planned to add it in this book. Sorry, but it's too good of a song lol

— Annie falls in love so hard every time she hears Lettie sing

— Just now realizing this situation is "she fell first, they fell harder" LMAOOO, it's okay. I love it sm and I'm sure you all do, too

— Guess who's back from the dead?

— THALIA GRACE THATS WHO

— WOOOHOOO WELCOME BABYYYY

— Can't wait to play with her character a little bit in my writing lols

— So maybe not that much dialogue between the soulmates, but I feel like I do better adding my own little moments of affection between them and I didn't know where to add them here — felt kinda overwhelmed to follow canon v. not following it. All in all, pls forgive me for it lol

ANYWAYYYYY

Thank you all so much for your patience with me, you all dont know how much I truly appreciate it. I love all your comments and support so deeply. I hope you've all enjoyed this part of the journey, and I can't wait for you all to keep reading as these little shits continue to grow up.

Don't forget to vote (if you'd like) and comment (plsplspls do that at least).

See you guys in The Titans Curse (where I'm gonna ask for some time to set up a few chapters to see which I'm gonna add into the dividing chapter of TTC) <3