This Cold Year ― Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase²

―ii. the queen of the gods is an unhelpful bi―

THE NEW END OF THE WORLD started gradually. On November twenty-third, Zeus recalled all the gods to Olympus and shut the city's gates, denying access to any and all demigods. The next day, Nico relayed a message from Persephone and Hades: Naomi was forbidden from entering the Underworld until further notice.

When winter break came around, after about two dozen unanswered prayers to her mother for an explanation, Naomi was determined to make the most of her unanticipated time off and spend it at camp with her partners and her closest friends.

Then, on December fourteenth, in the dead of night, Percy Jackson disappeared without a trace.

Three days later, Naomi, Annabeth, and Butch Walker set off for the Grand Canyon, following a lead from the least helpful goddess of them all—Queen Hera herself.

Find the boy with one shoe, she'd told Annabeth. Despite knowing that Hera could very well be leading them on a wild goose chase, Naomi and Annabeth both hoped beyond hope that said one-shoed boy was their missing boyfriend.

They should have known that nothing in the demigod world could ever be so simple. 

The Apollo cabin's flying chariot touched down on the Grand Canyon skywalk, and Annabeth was out before it was even finished moving. Naomi followed quickly, catching the near-murderous look in Annabeth's eyes as she stormed toward the three figures standing on the skywalk.

As she walked, she scanned the area, and her heart plummeted.

There was no sign of Percy.

Annabeth drew her knife, her stormy glare fixed on the trio of confused and frightened teenagers.

"Where is he?" she demanded.

"Where's who?" the blond dude asked.

Annabeth scowled, visibly displeased by his answer.

Before she could further interrogate the clearly disoriented boy, Naomi put a hand on her arm and turned to the other two kids. "What about Gleeson? Where is your protector, Gleeson Hedge?"

The other boy cleared his throat, staring at Naomi with wide eyes. "He got taken by some... tornado things."

"Venti," Jason said. "Storm spirits."

Annabeth arched an eyebrow. "You mean anemoi thuellai? That's the Greek term. Who are you, and what happened?"

The blond guy explained what had happened on the skywalk, though Naomi could tell he was having a difficult time meeting Annabeth's eyes. Naomi only half-paid attention, keeping an ear out for Percy's name or a description that could match him. As the blond talked, she scanned their surroundings again, taking in the hairline fractures in the glass floor beneath their feet, the storm clouds still lingering above them, the security guards trying—and failing—to open up the doors onto the skywalk.

Halfway through the blond's story, Butch joined them. From an outsider's perspective, the son of Iris probably just seemed like extra muscle she and Annabeth had brought to up their intimidation factor, but Naomi knew Butch was a pacifist at heart.

When the blond—who'd said his name was Jason—was done, Annabeth looked like she was contemplating throwing him into the canyon. She looked at Naomi, and she caught the despair in her eyes.

Annabeth shut her eyes for a moment. "No, no, no! She told us he would be here. She said if we came here, we'd find the answer."

Naomi reached for her hand, stopping her from launching into a bout of furious pacing. "We knew there was a chance Hera was just baiting us," she said softly. "It's just a minor setback—we'll find Percy. I promise."