Sea Green Eyes

Chapter 76

Coach had seemed to know exactly what Cressida needed when he disembarked. His hug was soft and gentle, and no one could hear the words being murmured in her ear as silent tears slid down her face and no offence to her boyfriend - but she really hated salt water right now. Coach had no idea what she'd been through other than the fact that it had broken something in her, but it was very similar to when they first met in that alleyway. It had been about calming her down and helping her realise that yes, what she went through sucked, it monumentally sucked, but right now in this moment, she was ok. She just needed to be ok for a while before she even touched what happened in an effort to work through it.

While that was happening, Percy was staring at the Athena Parthenos waiting for it to strike him down after Leo's new mechanical hoist system lowered the statue onto the hillside with ease.

"Incredible," Reyna admitted. She was still red-eyed from crying. Soon after she'd landed on the Argo II, her pegasus Scipio had collapsed, overwhelmed by poisoned claw marks from a gryphon attack the night before. Reyna had put the horse out of his misery with her golden knife, turning the pegasus into dust that scattered in the sweet-smelling Greek air. Maybe not a bad end for a flying horse, but Reyna had lost a loyal friend.

The praetor circled the Athena Parthenos warily. "It looks newly made."

"Yeah," Leo said. "We brushed off the cobwebs, used a little Windex. It wasn't hard."

The Argo II hovered just overhead. With Festus keeping watch for threats on the radar, the entire crew had decided to eat lunch on the hillside while they discussed what to do. After the last few weeks, Percy figured they'd earned a good meal together—really anything that wasn't fire water or drakon meat soup, even though that soup had been delicious.

"You got my message," came Cressida's voice as she moved away from Gleeson, her eyes also still red as the praetor met her gaze and walked over. "Thank you for coming."

"Well, we've yet to have that conversation you promised me in New Rome," Reyna said and the corners of Cressida's lips lifted the tiniest bit before dropping back down. "And I simply had to discover if your words proved true or not. I assume it was not easy to get me that message?"

"You assume correctly," Cressida confirmed, still hugging herself as Reyna eyed the strange tunic she wore. "And I would also assume that I owe you an apology for the first time we met."

Reyna held up a hand. "You owe me nothing. It's already forgiven. If you hadn't done it, I suspect neither of us would be standing here right now."

"Perhaps."

"I also suspect that you did not need a reminder of who I was?"

"No," Cressida confirmed. "Circe presented me with an offer I almost couldn't refuse. I remembered everything about that island, including the girl who did my hair."

"Likewise. Your eyes in particular are a difficult thing to forget."

"So, I've been told."

Cressida then glanced at the picnic spread, particularly at her boyfriend and best friend who just gave her an encouraging nod.

"Come, praetor of New Rome," Cressida said as she held her out to be shook. "Join us for lunch."

The praetor glanced at her hand, her dark eyebrows furrowed, as if join us didn't quite compute.

Percy had never seen Reyna without her armour before. It was on board the ship, being repaired by Buford the Wonder Table. She wore a pair of jeans and a purple Camp Jupiter T-shirt and looked almost like a normal teenager—except for the knife at her belt and that guarded expression like she was ready for an attack from any direction.