Indigo Eyes

Chapter 33

They'd pit-stopped at the side of a lake to catch up, Chiron needing to talk to them, specifically Percy about the prophecy, the one when he turns 16. The prophecy that apparently gave Annabeth nightmares when she found out what it was unknowingly. 16 was a while away, so they tried to reassure him that they still had time.

And before they left for Long Island, Percy really just needed a friend.

"I'm going to die."

Cressida blinked hard. "What? What in Tartarus are you talking about?"

"What do you know about the prophecy? The big one from when I'm 16?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"Just that it involves a 16-year-old half-blood child of the Big Three. Why?"

"I'm the only half-blood child of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. And last year, I, uh, I saw the Fates snip someone's life string. I thought it meant I was going to die right away but it -"

"Ok, I'm going to stop you right there," she interrupted. "Fish Face, I know it's probably a mess inside your head right now, but I need you to listen to me," she said softly. "If I know anything, it's that prophecies never work out the way you think they will. Look at the one from last summer. You were supposed to get answers from me. It didn't mean answers about the quest, it meant answers about me. And that only happened a couple of days ago," she pointed out, their gaze locked and unbreaking. "Three years is a long time. And we don't even know what the full prophecy is. So, how about we just focus on now and cross that bridge, when and if, we get to it?"

He nodded his head, but she could still tell that the realisation had jarred him.

"And if there is anyone stubborn enough to stay alive when everything around him says otherwise, it's you."

He cracked a smile at that. "Hey, uh, remember that thing you did on the plane last summer? Think you could do it again?"

Cressida pulled him into a hug, her arms around his neck as her fingers brushed the skin between his shirt and hairline. "Calm," she said, and she felt the tension leave his body as he relaxed in her arms. "Better?"

"Much. Thank you," he answered.

"This isn't going to be a regular thing," she told him.

"I hope not."

"Good. Then let's go home."

Percy was asked to ride on Chiron's back and before the black stallion could hoist Cressida onto his back, Percy offered her his hand, knowing that the ride back would be awkward if he went by himself.

She'd taken it, letting him play with the charms on her bracelet as she wrapped her arms around his waist, and they rode for Long Island.

They arrived just after Clarisse thanks to their travel powers. The centaurs were anxious to meet Cressida's father after they heard he threw some really wild parties, but they were disappointed. Dionysus was in no mood to celebrate even with his daughter's return as the whole camp gathered at the top of Half-Blood Hill.

The camp had been through a hard two weeks. The arts and crafts cabin had burned to the ground from an attack by a Draco Aionius, which was apparently a really big lizard that blows up stuff, it was the creature that Cressida's brothers had been injured whilst stopping. The Big House's rooms were overflowing with wounded. The kids in the Apollo cabin, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid. Everybody looked weary and battered as we crowded around Thalia's tree.

The moment Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece over the lowest bough, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from grey to liquid silver. A cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley. Everything came into sharper focus – the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach. Gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green. Everybody cheered. It was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt – the Fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison.