no matter how many times a snake shed its skin, it would always be a snake. no matter how hard kit dempsey tried to prove he was no longer a traitor, camp half-blood would always view him as the boy who betrayed them for kronos. but not leo valdez...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: LIKE MOTHER, LIKE SON
■ ■ ■ ■ ■
KIT CAME TO ONE horrifying conclusion after riding Arion with Leo and Hazel; he much preferred the creaky bronze body of Festus the Dragon. Arion was like mist slipping through his fingertips, a body that wasn't a body, though he moved with the speed of a sports car, muscles working in tandem. Kit had to cling to Hazel's waist for dear life, squashed between her and Leo, the latter of which laughed in glee. Leo loved Arion.
"Must you give me a heart attack, Valdez?" Kit snapped through gritted teeth as, once again, the son of Hephaestus foolishly released Kit's waist to throw his arms in the air. He was like Rose on the Titanic, holding his hands out from his sides and grinning up at the sun, his skin a warm brown beneath the midday light.
"Must you be so obvious, Christopher?" Leo retorted with a sly grin. "If you want me to hold your waist, all you have to do is ask."
Kit pretended not to notice Hazel's uncomfortable shudder.
Hazel pretended not to notice Kit's rosy cheeks.
A compromise, really, of friends in the making.
It was just a shame she kept giving Leo moon-eyes. Now that could be a problem. A problem that friends in the making typically didn't face. But whatever. Kit could ignore it for now.
Ahead of them, an island of white sand was dwarfed by an expanse of rolling grassy dunes and dark blue water. From first glance, it seemed like it was uninhabited, but Kit didn't trust it for a second. It was peaceful, serene... and as dangerous as a knife kept beneath one's pillow... which Kit totally hadn't taken to doing since sleeping on the same ship as Percy Jackson and Jason Grace combined. Sure, they were having a power trip right now, but Kit didn't trust that they one day wouldn't join forces just to get rid of him. Then, they'd go back to squabbling like overgrown toddlers.
But that wasn't the point (hah!) At long last, Arion thundered onto the beach. Leo laughed again; though this time, he kept his hands on Kit's hips as Kit yelped and eyed the sand desperately. He'd take Gaea over Zeus at that moment. Gaea came and went. But Zeus... he was always looking for a reason to barbeque Kit Dempsey with lightning. He was the first one off the horse, leaving Leo to help Hazel dismount, the two fussing over Arion like concerned mothers.
"He needs to eat," Hazel insisted as Arion pawed at the sand. Talk about fussy, Kit thought. "He likes gold, but--"
"Gold?" Leo asked.
Case in point.
"He'll settle for grass, though," Hazel said like Leo hadn't interrupted. She couldn't quite meet Leo's eyes. Instead, she settled for gazing at where Kit waited several feet away, well out of kicking distance in case Poseidon decided to have a go and send Arion his way. "Go on, Arion. Thanks for the ride. I'll call you."
