¹Royal Cries, p. jackson

004.

ROYAL CRIES
━━ chapter four

━━ CHIRON CALLED ELISA over to the Big House to talk. A ball of fear settled in her stomach, afraid that the teacher found out about Nico and Percy going away on their secret mission ( she was still bitter about being left in the dark, mind you ). However, that's not what he wanted to talk about with her; he wanted to talk about Callum Belshaw and how the son of Aphrodite was trying to help.

Elisa had a nasty feeling that Chiron was just leading her into a trap and letting her lower her guard with false security, ready to pounce on her for hiding information from him. But the more she thought about that, the more she realized she was just being paranoid.

"Mr. Belshaw has been staying in Manhattan for a week or so now," said Chiron, clipping his hooves on the wooden boards of the front porch of the Big House. "He has been keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. He is waiting for me to tell him what to do next."

"And what are you going to tell him?" Elisa asked, leaning against the railing. She peered at the centaur curiously, finding it hard to read his expression.

"I'm not sure." Chiron's eyebrows knitted together. "I was going to ask you what you thought."

Elisa's eyes widened. "Oh." She licked her lips. "What I thought? I ... I don't know, really. He could be helpful in the infirmary?"

"He could," Chiron said. "But as I recall, Mr. Belshaw was also a skilled fighter. He gave you that knife of yours. What is it called?"

Elisa was suddenly very aware of the blade strapped to her arm. "Scion," she said. "It's called Scion, it means 'heir' or something."

Chiron nodded. "That it does. Did you suggest Mr. Belshaw help in the infirmary to keep him off the battlefield?"

Elisa blinked. Where had that question come from? "What?"

"I know you didn't just forget about what happened to your brother last summer," said Chiron. "Mr. Winward nearly lost his life from a stab wound given to him by an enemy."

The daughter of Dionysus swallowed the bile in her throat. "I know that," she said, sounding harsh. She internally winced at the tone; Chiron didn't deserve it. "Believe me, I never forgot about that. But no, that's not why."

Chiron looked at her, his brown eyes feeling as if they were looking through her skull and straight into her brain. He looked like he knew she wasn't telling the truth, but he was still kind enough to not call her out on it.

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If he was honest, Percy hated this. He looked at the river ten feet from him; the River Styx, which swirled with all sorts of strange objects—broken toys, ripped-up college diplomas, wilted homecoming corsages—all the dreams people had thrown away as they passed from life into death. Looking at the black water, he could think of a million other places he'd rather swim.

               He looked back at the son of Hades, who was sitting on the ground, looking exhausted. "So ... I just jump in?"

               "You have to prepare yourself first," Nico said, "or the river will destroy you. It will burn away your body and soul."

               "Oh." Percy glanced back at the swirling black currents. "Sounds fun."

               "This is no joke," Nico warned. "There is only one way to stay anchored to your mortal life. You have to ..."