Indigo Eyes

Chapter 22

They'd barely escaped as Tyson held onto the three of them and Percy partially opened the flask Hermes had given him, releasing the winds trapped inside as they blasted away from the Princess Andromeda, which became nothing more than a smudge in the distance before it was gone.

They'd then used the sea spray created by the winds to send Chiron an Iris message, and then it was Cressida's turn.

"Where the hell are you?!" Pollux raged making Cressida cringe. "We get to camp, expecting a nice welcome from our sister and not only are you not here..."

"But that Tantalus guy saying you're expelled forever?!" Castor finished.

"What did that Jackson punk drag you into this time and when are you getting back so I can flatten him?" Pollux continued, Percy appearing slightly scared from where he sat.

"Ok, so technically it wasn't Percy's fault. It was Luke's for poisoning Thalia's tree and Grover's for finding the fleece instead of Pan and then it was Hermes for asking me personally to go on this quest. And as for the expulsion thing - please, you think Papa will let that stand?"

"Gods, stop pushing!" Castor said as Pollux was trying to knock him out of the way to see his sister.

"You're in my way," he returned.

"And you're annoying."

"Oh, for Papa's sake!" she scolded as they stopped. "Listen, we're heading to the Sea of Monsters to try and find the Fleece and save Thalia's tree. I'll check in when I can, just try not to die on border patrol and I swear to Papa if you touch my cheesy Doritos, you'll be the ones being kicked out of camp."

The twins only looked at each other before yelling, "Dibs!"

They went running towards their cabin, pushing and pulling each other out of the way as the Iris message followed them.

"Love you, Cress," Castor said.

"Come back alive," Pollux said.

"And if you don't..."

"Make sure Jackson lives so we can kill him."

"Bye!" they sang together

"Bye," she farewelled with a smile as she shook her head and waved her hand through the message.

"So, your brothers -"

"Don't like you?" she finished for Percy. "Yeah, this is the second time I'm being dragged on a deadly quest with you. It's easier to blame you than Luke. You're within killing distance."

"They're not actually going to kill me though, right?" he asked nervously.

"Only if I ask them not to," she answered, twisting the locket on her charm bracelet, but she didn't say that she would. "But I still wouldn't spar with them anytime soon."

"Noted."

"Your brothers sound nice," Tyson said, surprising Percy who didn't realise he meant that he liked how protective they were of one another.

"They are," she replied. "I think they'd like you. They gave me this before my first quest," she explained as she showed him the heart-shaped locket that he carefully opened to see the happy photos of her and her brothers inside.

"It's pretty. What about this one?" he asked as he pointed to the pinecone after closing the locket.

"My father, Mr D, gave me that one for my ninth birthday. It turns into my spear."

Tyson seemed intrigued by the idea that the charm could turn into her weapon before he pointed to the last charm.

"And this one?"