Vines and Thorns

𝟘𝟙𝟜-𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝔻𝕠, 𝕄𝕠𝕤𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝔻𝕚𝕖

"If I had known this would become a yearly thing, I would have never gone on the last quest." I grumble to Thalia, crossing my arms over my chest.

Whatever had possessed the oracle to come down from the attic left as swiftly as it had appeared, and Chiron had Jackson and Grover take the sack of bones back to its rightful place while the rest of camp gossiped and whispered.

Zoë was going on and on about how she and the other Hunters had to leave immediately, while Chiron was arguing that there had to be a camp meeting—meaning all the cabin leaders would be in attendance, as well as the Hunters, my father, and Chiron. Since I was the only one in my cabin who had been on a quest, cabin leader fell to me, a fact that my brothers loved considering it got them out of the extra work.

Chiron and Zoë stop their argument as my father approached, a frown on his face, and his eyes dark. I can't help but notice the way his eyes don't meet my gaze, the way he was refusing to look at me, or even acknowledge my existence. No doubt he had heard about the prophecy by now, and no doubt he knew what it meant as well as I did.

A childhood home...

Gods I hope it wasn't mine.

"I'm calling a council of the cabin leaders—be in the rec room in 10 minutes, or be excluded entirely, I don't care." He turns around a second later, the campers around him practically buzzing with the information.

Zoë gives Chiron a hard look before stalking off. I could practically see the steam coming out of her ears. Chiron sighs loudly, shaking his head. "Thalia, would you mind grabbing Percy from the main house?"

Thalia grimaces, and I remember that only a few minutes ago we had all been in a screaming match with each other. She gives the centaur a brief nod before stalking off towards the Big House, her back straighter than a sheet of metal.

Chiron took the moment to turn to me. "Are you...calm enough for this meeting?" I bristle at the question, knowing that while it came from a good place, it still hurt.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I respond blandly, my voice flat. Chiron raised a brow at my tone, but I raise a brow, practically daring him to tell me that I couldn't go.

He sighs, waving a dismissive hand instead. I don't stick around for him to change his mind though, walking through the small clusters of campers towards the rec center. I spot a few of the other cabin leaders heading that way too, the majority of them giving me a wide berth.

After I came back from the quest last summer, the campers warmed up to me for about a day—until word had spread about what had happened on Luke's boat. After that, it's like I became a ghost.

I'm sure that my little outburst with Jackson earlier didn't help things either. I ignore everyone else as I walk into the rec center, reigning in the left-over power that was still buzzing through my body.

I felt tired when it left—like my body missed it. My father had drilled into me to accept the power in its entirety, to not be afraid of it. But I couldn't help it. Every time I used it it felt like I was dancing on the edge of a tightrope, too close to falling off. He said that I would never control it until I learned how to live with it, which was something I didn't know I would ever be able to do.

The long ping-pong table in the center of the rec room had been turned into a temporary meeting area, and I ignore my father entirely as I take a seat on the other side of the table from him, folding my hands in my lap.

The other cabin leaders slowly trickle into the small room, the air quickly becoming stuffy and hot. The chairs on either side of me stay empty until Thalia, Jackson and Grover walk in, all of them settling in on either side of me.