The Hunt for Life (Fem Percy Guardian of the Hunt)

Chapter Six

Cold water splashed on my face. It dripped along the curve of my nose and brow, some of it sliding into my eye. I blinked and sat up. Electric blue eyes stared at me. Thalia dropped the canteen before letting go of the bed frame.

"You overslept," she said, and that was all. She left the cabin, leaving me there alone. So much for getting up early. Maybe I would get a chance to sneak away and wash off. I needed to, even if sweat wasn't much of an issue. I sighed. After pulling my belts around my waist and my boots onto my feet, I slipped out of bed. For a moment, I thought about skipping breakfast, then my stomach rumbled and I took off after Thalia. A snack wouldn't hurt. Right?

My feet carried me to the dining pavilion, and yet I didn't join a table. I scanned the area, eyes searching for those looking at the Poseidon table. Clarisse sent over the occasional glance, lips pressed into a firm frown. Nico wasn't as subtle with how he stared. A few other scattered campers all did the same. At least they noticed I was gone.

Really I was hoping they wouldn't.

I shook my hands. Everyone was looking at me, I could feel them watching, questioning, even if they were being cautious about looking at me. My appetite vanished. I turned on my heels and walked away. Should be able to shower now that I think about it. Nobody will be there, they'll all be too busy eating breakfast.

I walked back down the path to the cabins. The campfire burned with gray flames, and a nine year old sat tending to it. Hestia stared into the fire and said nothing as I walked past. I ducked between the cabins and entered into the girls' bathroom. Dents and chips were in the wall, all that remained of what happened between me and Clarisse. I walked into a shower stall and pulled the curtain closed. I turned on the water, hot enough that steam swirled in the air.

"I'm going to get a shower," I mumbled, hoping that would be enough for me to take off the cloak. Thankfully, it seemed to be. The cloak and shirt piled on the ground, water pattering against the cloth. My nails picked at the edges of the tape, and I winced as bandages unravelled. Dried blood stuck to the cotton. Water ran red.

Gentle fingers grazed over the now healed wounds. Jagged scratches, jagged reminders. Things I'd rather have remain unseen.

Washing went fast, as did cleaning my clothes and drying them. The heat remained and left me feeling like I was wrapped in a blanket fresh out of the dryer when I put them back on. I sighed. A bit of water swirled around my hands. How could something so little turn so damning so quickly? Doing this in the open would only lead to bad things for me and my plans. And I knew- I knew there was a good reason for people to not want me to do what I was, that me keeping it secret is so they don't try to interefere, and that it should show me how bad my plan is. But they don't understand. They'll only see what they want and refuse anything I have to say.

I dropped the water and let it gurgle down the drain. Slipping out of the bathrooms, I walked back to the campfire and sat. Hestia said nothing and neither did I. Eventually, warm eyes slipped to me.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Hello, Lady Hestia."

"You recognize me?"

"Should I not?" I grinned under my hood. "You are a goddess, and it would be odd for me not to acknowledge that. I'm the Hunt's guardian for the moment. Your brother was concerned about the dwindling numbers, and thus I was assigned." The formality made me feel weird. It was how I should respond to a goddess, respectful and polite, but it wasn't right. It was stifling.

Hestia hummed, and passed me a plate of food, only sending me a warning look when I didn't eat it. The look only intensified when I tried to protest, saying that I wasn't hungry, that I had eaten. How could a nine year old look so disappointed in me? My shoulders fell; I scraped half of the food into the fire. A sacrifice with no intent behind it, aside from the fact Dad would know I'm doing the bare minimum. While I knew the food was good, because the food Hestia gives out is good, it all tasted the same. Nothing seemed appetizing, and it was a chore to choke the food down.