Indigo Eyes

Chapter 73

Cressida was passed out for most of the day after Percy laid her to sleep in her bed, laughing at the sight of the Lightening McQueen plushie that was strewn on her bed. He did stop in around lunch to drop off a plate of food for her but she was still asleep, Percy gazing at her sleeping form probably longer than he should have.

He only saw her that night after dinner when everyone was suiting up for war games.

"Oh, good timing. You mind fixing this strap for me?" Cressida asked as Percy approached her table.

"What the hell are you doing here? You really think you're up for war games?" he asked and she rolled her eyes.

"I've been doing this for months. I'm fine. I ate the food I'm assuming you left in my cabin and I had dinner and another dose of nectar. I'm more than up for kicking your lying ass in a war game."

Percy just sighed at her smug expression as he reached for the strap on her shoulder that was twisted and began fixing it.

"You're wrong by the way. I'm going to be the one kicking your ass and I don't plan on taking it easy on you."

"As if. And I don't want you to take it easy on me, because I'm sure as hell not going to take it easy on you," she returned as she spun back around to face him.

"You think you're so good?"

"Oh, I know it," she shot back, the two of them almost chest to chest. "And when I win, I'm going to make you sing it out loud for everyone to hear."

Quintus, thankfully, saved Percy from not being able to come up with a comeback. "Right," he announced as he stood on the head dining table. "Gather round."

He was dressed in black leather and bronze. In the torchlight, his grey hair made him look like a ghost. Mrs O'Leary bounded happily over to Cressida who grinned at the sight of the hellhound as she pulled a stem of grapes from her plate and tossed it into her mouth. "You will be in teams of two," Quintus announced. When everybody started talking and trying to grab their friends, he yelled: "Which have already been chosen!"

"AWWWWWW!" everybody complained.

"Too bad you can't pick Annabeth or Clarisse now. Things aren't looking good for you, Drama Queen."

"Don't be so sure, Barnacle Brain. I don't need a partner to beat you, which is why it doesn't matter who they pick."

"Your goal is simple," Quintus continued, "collect the gold laurels without dying. The wreath is wrapped in a silk package, tied to the back of one of the monsters. There are six monsters. Each has a silk package. Only one holds the laurels. You must find the wreath before the other teams. And of course ... You will have to slay the monster to get it, and stay alive."

The crowd started murmuring excitedly. The task sounded pretty straightforward and Cressida and Percy had slain more than enough monsters in their lives.

"I will now announce your partners," Quintus said. "There will be no trading. No switching. No complaining." He then produced a big scroll and started reading off names. Beckendorf would be with Silena Beauregard, which Beckendorf looked pretty happy about. The Stoll brothers, Travis and Connor, would be together. No surprise. They did everything together. Percy imagined that Castor and Pollux would've been paired together had they been there but both of them would be arriving at camp late as they were attending a sporting competition for the boarding school they attended. Clarisse was with Lee Fletcher from the Apollo cabin – melee and ranged combat combined, they would be a tough combo to beat. Annabeth was paired with Will Solace who was also from the Apollo cabin, much to Cressida's dismay. Quintus kept rattling off the names until he said, "Percy Jackson with Cressida Lynn."