Indigo Eyes

Chapter 43

The Hunters broke camp just as quickly as they set up and waited for sunrise. Thalia had been equally as angry about Bianca joining and blamed Zoë and then she almost lost her mind when Percy mentioned Cressida's offer.

Cressida had simply hugged herself as she looked Thalia unflinchingly in the eyes and said, "It is absolutely none of your damn business what I decide to do with my life."

She'd also looked pretty hurt that Percy had gone and blurted out something that had nothing to do with him. She'd shied away from the three of them after that, sticking closer to Grover who had no opinion on her offer and was more than happy to keep her and Nico company. Cressida was also reminded of her brothers when she saw Apollo (who was ridiculously hot and not just because he was the sun god) and Artemis interact. It was so similar to the way Pollux and Castor acted with each other and even with her.

She really wanted a hug from them right now. With everyone hating her for even considering Artemis' offer, she really needed them, especially with everything that happened to Annabeth on top. Even Apollo's flirting with her didn't change her mood much. She'd never really been flirted with before, so her reaction wasn't much more than some red cheeks and squeezing her arms around herself even tighter. Only her brothers could make a difference right now. And she almost didn't get a chance to see them when Apollo turned his sun chariot into a bus that they were all loaded onto, and that Thalia almost crashed. Why the lord of the Sun didn't drive his own chariot was a whole other question as Cressida buckled Nico down with the only seatbelt on their seats. The boy had hardly said two words to his sister after finding out what she'd done, and Cressida didn't blame him. She couldn't imagine how she'd feel if her brothers joined some sort of cult where they'd live forever, without even telling her. Which was why she refused to make a decision without talking to them first.

Though, it was rather awkward when Thalia made a ridiculously sharp turn that sent Cressida flying into Percy who was sitting in the seats across from them. The whole bus and he still chose to sit next to her.

After assuring her that everything was ok, she shifted back onto her seat next to Nico, holding on tightly to the boy who was treating this as the best rollercoaster ride of his life.

Snow had piled onto the camp as they all disembarked, very grateful to be back on the ground again as the Hunters headed for Cabin Eight and Apollo turned to leave.

He'd warned Percy about prophecies, told Thalia to be good and he told Cressida to be careful with that fatal flaw of hers.

The second Percy told Nico about Chiron, two blonde twins were making their way over to them and Cressida was already in tears as she crashed into Castor's arms, him being the first one she could reach and the one who saw the distress on her face as he held his arms open.

"You're a dead man, Jackass," Pollux threatened.

"Polly," Castor called as he scooped his sister into his arms, her head buried in the crook of his neck. "Kill him later. Take care of our sister now."

"Watch your back," he warned before chasing after them, making sure that there was no way her eyes could even remotely see Percy.

"Whoa!" Nico gasped. "That was intense. Who are they?"

"Cressida's brothers," Percy answered.

"What did you do to her? Why was she crying?"

Percy just sighed as he realised just how much she'd been burying her emotions to make sure everyone else was ok, and how sucky of a person he really was.

"I...I was a bad friend."