undoing [percy jackson]

v. the great escape

ANDROMEDA

It was nearly six in the morning when Nico woke Andi up.

He didn't mean to, but Andi had taken special precautions (leaving her sneakers by the end of his bunk) to make sure he did. She was awake seconds after he tripped over her shoes and stage-whispered, "Darn it!"

"Nico?" she said sleepily. "Where are you going?"

He hesitated. "Zoë and Bianca..."

"I'll come with you," she offered, sliding out of bed. She slipped her sneakers on and told Nico to wait outside for her. As soon as he was gone, she grabbed her backpack from under her pillow and positioned it by the door. Hopefully, she'd have time to grab it before she left.

Then she and Nico were trailing after Zoë and Bianca, who were so busy whispering to each other that even Artemis's lieutenant herself didn't notice the demigods following her. Eventually, Zoë and Bianca came to a stop in the dining pavilion. Nico and Andi crouched down behind one of the Greek columns and craned their heads to see.

Andi had to stop herself from sighing in relief when she heard Zoë say, "Phoebe and Marie cannot go with us."

"Are you sure?" Bianca pressed. "Isn't there anything we can do for them? There's got to be some kind of cure, right?"

"It cannot be cured," Zoë explained heatedly. "Not quickly, at any rate."

Bianca ran her fingers through her hair. "But how did it happen?"

"A foolish prank," Zoë snarled. "Those Stoll boys from the Hermes cabin. Centaur blood is like acid. Everyone knows that. They sprayed the inside of those Artemis Hunting Tour T-shirts with it."

Andi smirked. She'd have to thank Connor and Travis once they got back.

"That's terrible!" Bianca said, eyes wide.

"They will live," Zoë assured her. She let out a deep sigh. "But they'll be bedridden for weeks with horrible hives. There is no way they can go. It's up to me...and thee."

"But the prophecy," Bianca protested. "If Phoebe and Marie can't go, we'll only have five. Percy could take Phoebe's spot, but we'll still have to pick another."

"No," Zoë snapped. "There is no time. We must leave at first light. That's immediately. Besides, the prophecy said we would lose two."

"In the land without rain," Bianca reminded her, "but that can't be here. And if centaur blood isn't fatal, then neither of them have exactly perished at a parent's hand."

Zoë hesitated. "It might be. This camp has magic borders. Nothing, not even weather, is allowed in without permission. It could be a land without rain."

"But—"

"Bianca, hear me," Zoë said. She sounded stressed. "I...I can't explain, but I have a sense that we should not pick someone else. It would be too dangerous. They would meet an end worse than Phoebe and Marie's. I don't want Chiron choosing a camper as our seventh companion. And...I don't want to risk more Hunters."

"And Percy?"

"No," Zoë said. "I will not travel with a boy. This quest is enough of a challenge as it is."

Bianca must've sensed there was no point in arguing further because she switched topics. "You should tell Thalia the rest of your dream."

Zoë shook her head. "No. It would not help."

"But if your suspicions are correct, about the General—"

"I have thy word not to talk about that," Zoë cut in. "We will find out soon enough. Now come. Dawn is breaking."