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chapter eighty-eight. ☄︎. *. ⋆
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I SHOULD PROBABLY EXPLAIN MYSELF.
First of all, I'm not the spy. Just because I'd snuck one of the enemy demigods onto our base and orchestrated a stabbing to keep the blame off me in case he was caught.. it didn't mean I was automatically the bad guy. I was still Camp Half-Blood, through and through. But Ethan was... different.
We'd crossed paths once over the winter. I was in the city, on an assigned mission to try and track down Grover (obviously to no avail). He was clearly also on some sort of quest—or whatever the enemy called those. He was undercover, or something. A hood over his head, shadowing his eyes. His face was downcast. I wouldn't have picked him out of a crowd if I hadn't run dead into him and knocked his hoodie off his head.
He stumbled back, his good eye widening in recognition. My apologetic murmurs faded off out of surprise, and I felt my gaze harden. He tried to shuffle past me, but I threw out a hand and caught him by his shirt, shoving him into the alleyway behind me.
"What—the—fuck," I said, emphasizing each word with a shove on his shoulder, "do you think you're doing?"
He shoved me back once, hard and with built-up force. "It's a big city, Scott. People are allowed to walk."
"You know good and well that's not what I'm talking about." My fingers itched for my bow, but since I'd left camp thinking this was going to be a maybe twenty-minute mission, all I'd armed myself with was my dagger. I unsheathed it and twirled the hilt around in my hand so the very tip was inches from his chest. "What is one of Kronos's minions doing out and about right now? Because I know you're not on the town for a cup of coffee and a donut."
"And you think I would tell you if I was up to something?" Ethan scoffed, not even phases by the dagger in front of him. "I thought you were supposed to be smart."
My eyes scanned his face. He had always been hard to read, even for me, but something about him on that specific day was just... off. He had a hardened glare. His jaw was set. I knew he wasn't going to tell me anything. Not without a little game of chicken, if I knew him well enough. I clenched my jaw, lowering my dagger.
"Just stay out of my city," I said, before turning and walking off back down the alley.
I'd barely made it a few steps before he was calling after me: "I have a message."
I froze in my tracks, turning my head over my shoulder. "Why should I care about your stupid message?"
"It's from Kronos. Luke, more rather. He says his offer still stands. And... that it will be accepted."
