BLOODSHOT . . . piper mclean

74.

EDEN DIDN'T KNOW MUCH about the Mediterranean, but she was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to freeze in July.

Two days out to sea from Split, gray clouds swallowed the sky. The waves turned choppy. Cold drizzle sprayed across the deck, forming ice on the rails and the ropes.

"It's the scepter," Nico murmured, hefting the ancient staff. "It has to be."

It made sense that the scepter might have caused this weather change. The black orb on top seemed to leach the color right out of the air. The golden eagles at its base glinted coldly. The scepter could supposedly control the dead, and it definitely gave off bad vibes. Coach Hedge had taken one look at the thing, turned pale, and announced that he was going to his room to console himself with Chuck Norris videos.

So, yes . . . maybe the scepter could cause a freak ice storm. But Eden didn't think that was it. Something else was going to happen. As if the last three days hadn't been hard enough.

"We can't talk up here," Perfect Jason decided. "Let's postpone the meeting."

They'd all gathered on the quarterdeck to discuss strategy as they got closer to Epirus. Now it was clearly not a good place to hang out. Wind swept frost across the deck. The sea churned beneath them.

Eden didn't mind the waves so much. Despite not being a daughter of Poseidon apparently, she liked the sea. But she could tell Hazel wasn't doing well. The poor girl got seasick even in calm waters. She looked like she was trying to swallow a billiard ball.

"Need to—" Hazel gagged and pointed below.

"Yeah, go." Nico kissed her cheek.

"I'll walk you down." Frank put his arm around Hazel's waist and helped her to the stairs.

Nico brushed some ice from his hair. He frowned at the scepter of Diocletian. "I should put this thing away. If it's really causing the weather, maybe taking it below deck will help . . ."

"Sure," Eden said. "Just don't put it in my room, Bone Boy."

Nico glanced at Piper and Leo, before heading below.

Leo pulled a screwdriver from his belt. "So much for the big team meeting. Looks like it's just us again."

Just us again.

Eden remembered a wintry day in Chicago last December, when the four of them had landed in Millennial Park on their first quest. Well, it wasn't hers, but still.

Leo hadn't changed much since then, except he seemed more comfortable in his role as a child of Hephaestus. He'd always had too much nervous energy. Now he knew how to use it. His hands were constantly in motion, pulling tools from his belt, working controls, tinkering with his beloved sphere. Today he'd removed it from the control panel and shut down Festus the figurehead for maintenance — something about rewiring his processor for a motor-control upgrade with the sphere, whatever the fuck that meant.

As for Perfect Jason, he looked thinner, taller, and more careworn. His hair had gone from close-cropped Roman style to longer and shaggier. The groove the turtle dude had shot across the left side of his scalp was interesting too — almost like a rebellious streak. His icy blue eyes looked older, somehow — full of worry and responsibility.

Piper honestly looked happier. Her hair was still in those braids that she adored, her eyes were still kaleidoscopes. But she looked happier, in her eyes and in her posture. Maybe that was because she was dating Eden now, but she didn't know. Her wardrobe had changed a little bit, but she also wore Eden's shit half the time.