Logan and I were far from Scylla and Charybdis. By then, it was scorching hot, and the ocean was not helping. We slowed down by now, but that didn't mean we were safe, not by a long shot.

"We couldn't have shadow traveled to Polyphemus's Island?" I asked. "That would have been way much easier than this."

'Well, I didn't hear you coming up with that idea before I swam 122 miles away from Scylla.'

I opened my mouth to say something but then immediately closed it. "Touche," I said before laying my head on his back. "Wait, you counted?"

'I was bored.'

I picked a floating seashell and just began playing with it. "How close are we to land?" I asked Logan.

'The closest island is about 50 miles away from here.' he answered.

"I bet it's super lucky that you have perfect bearings right now, huh?" I muttered sarcastically.

'You know I can push you off my back, right?'

"You know you're not going to do it."

We were in silence for about two minutes. He didn't do it.

We were just drifting along for about an hour until we finally came across some land. Though it looked less like an Island and more like something you'd see off of a WELCOME TO PARADISE gift card or something. I was confused at what I was seeing and I bet Logan was too. Once I hopped off of him he transformed back into his normal self and we walked onto the shores of the Island.

For something in the middle of nowhere, this place looked fancy. It looked like the spa part of the Lotus Casino, where you would sit in this warm bathtub and just relax as the water cleansed your nerves. This is what this looked like.

Once we got far enough in, we were met with a black-haired woman. She had on a light blue business suit with a clipboard in her hand and her hair was braided so neatly that I couldn't help but be jealous of how well it was kept.

"Oh hi!" she greeted warmly. "Welcome to C.C.'s. I'm Hylla and I will be assisting you today."

Logan and I looked at each other. "C.C.'s?" Logan asked. "Is this some sort of spa or something?"

Hylla stared blankly at him for a moment before answering him. "Yes it is, this place is a spa as well as a relaxation center. We have everything you can desire to calm your nerves and make you feel young again."

The more I stared at Hylla, the more she started to remind me of someone. From how she spoke to the way her eyes looked so dark and mysterious.

Hylla then turned to me. her eyes trailed down my body, like it was looking for everything wrong with it ad just marking it down mentally. When she reached my eyes once again she smiled.

"Okay, so for you," she pointed her pen at Logan. "You need a total makeover. And for you," she turned to me. "We're going to have to give you a special treatment."

That made me flinch for some reason. I didn't mind getting a makeover, but her saying 'special treatment' made me feel like everything was wrong with me and they were going to make me better.

Hylla smiled at the two of us (it was more forced when she looked at Logan) and we followed her down the hall. There we looked at multiple women just walking around, catering to others or just enjoying themselves. All of them were like Hylla, just drop-dead gorgeous. I wonder what they'll do to me.

After some walking we made it to an office room. Hylla turned around to face us with her back to the door.

"Okay," she started. "C.C. will be checking you in. You will have a few minutes with her before I come and take you where you need to go, okay?"

I nodded as she finally opened the door. In there we were welcomed with a tall, black-haired woman. She had on a black dress that flowed across the floor, making her look elegant on top of the dark makeup she was already wearing. She was humming a song when we came in, which filled the room with a lovely echo that just hit my ears like a symphony of sound. I looked at the walls and noticed some knitted scarves hung against it. I'm no child of Athena but I can appreciate some good thread work.

"This looks...beautiful," I took a breath as I examined the work.

C.C. looked my way and smiled at me. "You like weaving, dear?"

I shrugged. "Well, it's not my strong suit, but it's a good pastime."

C.C. nodded as she looked at the two of us. She then smiled. "Well, I guess Hylla was right about you needing a special treatment," she told me. " But, no need to worry, after this, you're gonna feel like heaven!"

Logan gave me an uncertain look, which I returned. It didn't take a while for Hylla to come into the room with another girl walking behind her. She looked just like Hylla, but only the outfits drew them apart.

"I think you've already met Hylla," she introduced. "And behind her is her sister, Reyna. They'll have everything taken care of for you."

Reyna grabbed my arm and started leading me towards the door. I then looked at Logan. "Wait! What about my brother?" I asked.

Hylla put a reassuring hand on mine. "Don't worry, dear, he's gonna receive some extra help from C.C."

I just kept looking at my brother as Hylla and Reyna walked me out of the door, closing it behind us.

[LOGAN'S POV]

I stood alone with C.C.. She kept staring at the door, probably waiting for someone to burst through there, kind of like I was.

I don't like that Heather was taken to a fancy salon and I wasn't. I like makeovers too, just not to the extent that the Aphrodite kids do.

After a long minute, C.C. finally looked at me, her smile never wavering. I got a bit nervous so I started to think of something to get me out of this.

"Umm, before you, uh, speak, let me just say," I moved over to the plants that were on the far side of her room. "What lovely plants you have. Just lovely. I could stare at them all day if I could. Nothing ever surpasses them, honestly."

C.C. just stared at me as I just talked about her plants. If I was dying, I might as well smooth talk my way to an easy one. Though I knew she was getting bored of me talk so I moved on to her scarves on the wall.

"And these!" I said, trying my best to be amazed. They were really beautiful, but if I wanna live, I gotta express it. "Oh, they are just an awe to look at, oh gods!"

I knew C.C. was thinking I was crazy, which I probably was since I was just gushing over some tapestry.

After a long minute of me asking about the details of the scarf, C.C. finally spoke.

"What is your name?" she asked.

I stopped what I was doing, thank the gods honestly, and turned to her. "Uh, Logan. Logan Agulera."

C.C.'s brows furrowed in confusion. "I never knew Martha had a child."

I looked at her confused. "You know my mom?"

"I knew her," she admitted. "We were very close friends me and her when she arrived on my island. She stayed for years, and when she did go out, she always had a story to tell me for when she came back. She always found me, which I was rather happy about."

I hesitated but walked closer to her. "Do you know where she is now?" I asked. Though I almost didn't. Like my brain didn't want me to know more than I should.

C.C. shook her head. "No clue," she said. "She promised to come back for me, but it's been years. A little birdie did tell me that she got mangled up with one of the gods."

I nodded. "Two actually. Hades and Poseidon," I muttered. "How long has it been since she's been gone?"

C.C. shrugged. "I always kept count, but after the hundred-year mark, I just stopped."

My brows furrowed this time. "A hundred years?" I asked. "She has to be dead by now but she isn't. Someone is keeping her prisoner somewhere." my voice trailed off as I looked at C.C. again. "Wait, how does she get in and out of the Sea of Monsters without getting attacked by Scylla and Charybdis? She has to have some divine intervention or something."

C.C. was silent for a moment. Once she gathered her thoughts, she tired to speak, but then Hylla and Reyna burst through the doors, a panicked and worried expression painted their faces. I then realize Reyna's carrying Heather bridal style. What made me extremely worried was the fact that she was unconscious and was getting paler by the second.

"Heather!" I yelled rushing towards Reyna. She flinched back at the sight of me, but I didn't care as I grabbed my sister from her hands and gently placed her on the ground. I brushed away the curls that were on her face and quickly tried checking if she was breathing.

"What happened to her?" C.C. asked the girls. I was thinking the same thing, but I was too focused on my sister to even think of anything else.

"We don't know!" Hylla cried. "We tried giving her a relaxing bath, but when she got out and was putting on the clothes we set out for her, she winced as her head hurt, and when we went to check on her, she was on the ground, unconscious."

Tears threatened to fall down my face as I tried to save my sister. I tried performing CPR, but with every push of her chest I was afraid I was going to hurt her, so I was just panicking while doing it.

I looked at C.C. "Is there anything you have that can help?" I asked. "Please!"

C.C. blinked rapidly before going to a dresser at the far end of the room and grabbed a bottle. She then opened the bottle while she made her way to us. As soon as she was close enough, she bent down and poured the liquid on Heather's head. She rubbed it on her forehead and spoke a cantation in Greek. It glowed as she was rubbing it in. After the liquid disappeared, we waited to see what would happen, but nothing did. The tears that I was holding in during this moment just spilled out. I was a sobbing mess as I just held my sister.

"No, no, no, no, no," I muttered. "Please don't leave me, please..."

Is this how she felt when I jumped from the arch? She thought she was going to lose me, and now I'm living in a nightmare that we both fear.

I hugged her tighter, briefly ignoring the repeated pats on my shoulder.

"Logan...I...can't...breathe."

I ignored the voice for a moment before I literally backtracked. I pulled away–gently–and looked to see my sister breathing heavily. She was awake but looked really tired.

"Heather?" I muttered, trying to see if this was either real or a hallucination.

Heather groaned. "What happened?"

I didn't answer. I just hugged her again. This time, she hugged back, but I could tell how weak she was.

"What happened to you?" I asked, still hugging her.

She was silent for a moment before she lied her head on my shoulder. "I don't want to talk about it right now."

I nodded, not wanting to stress her. I just held her and we laid there for a moment until I looked at C.C.

"You saved her," I said. "How did you..."

C.C. sighed. "I am a powerful woman," she smirked. "I know how magic works, dear."

My brows narrowed in confusion until it hit me. C.C....sounds a lot like...

"You're Circe," I asked. "You were mentioned in the Oddesy."

Circe scoffed. "Of course, I was only 'mentioned'." she grumbled. "But yes, I am Circe, powerful sorceress."

"But," Heather muttered. "I thought you hated people."

"I hate men," Circe corrected. "Women I cherish, men I despise."

"But why didn't you kill me when I first came in?" I asked.

Circe's gaze softened. "I see your mother in you," she smiled. "She always saw the best in people, and since I do have a heart, I won't turn you into a pig. For now."

I chuckled nervously. "I'll take it."

Heather looked over at her desk. "Why are there guinea pigs on your desk?"

Circe looked over at the cage of guinea pigs and smiled. "Oh, those were...past victims."

"What did you do to them?"

"All I did was reveal their true forms."

"You turned them into pigs."

Circe paused. "Guinea pigs, darling."

Heather and I looked at each other. "Uh, Circe," she spoke, trying to get up. I helped her. "If you don't mind, we're trying to get to Polyphemus's Island to rescue our friend and save our camp and we need to get there quickly. Can you help us?"

Circe looked at us. With a small smile, she turned to Hylla. "Hylla, dear, why don't you fetch a boat for our two questers?"

Hylla nodded and walked out with Reyna following behind her. I stood there stunned.

"Wait, you're helping us?" I asked. "I thought you were going to–I don't know–be offended at us for leaving–at least with Heather."

Circe rolled her eyes. "Are you going to accept my help or not?"

I tried to speak again, but Heather nudged me. "Thank you, Lady Circe," she said before dragging me out of the room. "Your gratitude will never be forgotten."

Once we walked outside, we noticed Hylla fixing a speedboat with Reyna standing beside her. Heather walked closer to them.

"I am so very sorry for scaring you two," she apologized. "May you please forgive me, I don't–"

Hylla placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's perfectly fine."

Reyna walked to Heather and shook her hand. "I'm Reyna."

"Heather."

I looked at the boat. It had two seats as well as a large bag and extra clothes.

"Uh," I muttered, getting the girls' attention. "Thank you for, uh, not trying to kill me."

Hylla and Reyna looked at each other. Hylla spoke. "You're safe, boy. For now."

I nodded. "I'll take that," I said before hopping into the boat. I helped Heather into the boat and started the engine.

Heather gave me a concerned look. "You know how to start a boat?"

"No, I do not," I responded. "I just knew how to start the engine."

I then noticed pedals in front of my legs. So it's like starting a car, huh? I pressed what I thought was the 'go' pedal, and I yelped as the boat jumped forward. I looked around for Heather to see her at the back of the boat. She glared at me as I gave her an apologetic smile.

"Let me drive."

"Gladly."

I moved to the other seat while she took the driver's seat. We quickly put our seatbelts on as I turned back to see Hylla and Reyna watching us.

"We're okay!" I shouted though I was not driving another boat again.

Heather kept her eyes on the wheel, and I thought she wasn't going to drive it until she pushed the 'go' pedal and got us moving. For real this time. We waved back to Hylla and Reyna as we went out of view of the Island.

Unbeknownst to us, their tranquility was going to be heavily destroyed about ten minutes later.