Veronica Sawyer was an iconic name. And so that was what she called herself.
She would've liked to be simple, with the basic life of demigods for a backstory-mortal parent didn't want her, she ended up a year-rounder. But the Fates didn't like Veron...
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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝟗: 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐄𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞
December 19, 2007
THERE WAS A TOW TRUCK AT THE EDGE OF THE DUMP. Thalia drove. While everyone else was shaken to their core, she didn't seem as stunned about Bianca dying.
"The skeletons are still out there," she reminded them as she started the engine. "We need to keep moving."
She navigated them through the desert, a clear day above them that just seemed mocking. Veronica sat in the pickup bed with the boys, Zoë up front with Thalia.
Veronica fiddled with the figurine Bianca had given her while she buried herself in her book. This weird tug kept pulling at the corner of her mind as she tried to focus on whatever spell was on this page. Something about forging an athame. But her mind felt fried, like there were too many things going on in her head at once.
She kept getting the feeling she was being watched, but she couldn't tell how she was being watched or who was watching her. She just couldn't shake the feeling of at least two pairs of eyes being on her. Odd as it was, she couldn't help but think it was true.
Too many things going on in her head at once...
Somehow, she understood this book—her mother's spellbook—perfectly. It wasn't in Ancient Greek, just plain modern American English. And yet, she wasn't struggling with it. Sure, she'd never really struggled with dyslexia to the extent most of her peers did, but she still had it. To not struggle in the slightest was... strange. Yeah, this was just a little off.
Too many things going on in her head at once...
The ten year old boy waiting for his sister to get back from the quest wouldn't leave her mind. What was he gonna think when he found out Bianca was gone? How was Veronica gonna tell Nico about this?
Too many things going—
"It should've been me," Percy finally said, breaking the silence. "I should've gone into the giant."
"Don't say that!" Grover jumped up in a panic. "It's bad enough Annabeth is gone, and now Bianca. Do you think I could stand it if..."
He sniffled. "Do you think anybody else would be my best friend?"
"Ah, Grover..." Percy sighed.
Grover wiped his eyes with an oily cloth that left his face grimy. "I'm... I'm okay," he assured them.
Veronica buried her nose deeper into her book as she resolved to tell Nico about Bianca's death. She felt that she owed it to him after standing there as a witness to the tragedy.
