²Olden Crown, heroes of olympus

008.

OLDEN CROWN
━━ chapter eight

━━ ABILENE'S STOMACH DIDN'T agree with the ocean. By the time they passed the piers along the San Francisco Embarcadero, she kept taking deep breaths, hoping the cool air would help. ( Spoiler: it wasn't helping. ) They sped by a pack of sea lions lounging on the docks, and Abilene swore she saw an old homeless guy sitting among them. From across the water, the old man pointed a bony finger at Percy and mouthed something like Don't even think about it.

               "Huh?" she croaked, leaning forward. "Did you see that? That old man!"

               Percy's face was red in the sunset. "Yeah. I've been here before. I ... I don't know. I think I was looking for my best friend."

               "Elisa?" Frank frowned.

               "No," said Percy. "Well, maybe. But a blonde girl. Annabeth, I think is her name."

               "And Elisa is your girlfriend?" asked Frank.

               "Yeah."

               "When would have needed to look for this Annabeth girl?" asked Frank curiously.

               Percy shrugged. "I have no idea ..." He scanned the city like he was still looking for Annabeth—maybe even Elisa this time—until they passed under the Golden Gate Bridge and turned north.

               Abilene tried to settle her stomach by thinking of pleasant things—the euphoria she'd felt last night when they'd won the war games, fighting along side Frank, Frank's sudden transformation into a leader. He'd looked like a different person when he'd scaled the walls, calling on the Fifth Cohort to attack. The way he'd swept the defenders off the battlements ... Abilene had never seen him like that before. She'd been so proud to pin the centurion's badge to his shirt. He hated the spotlight, but it looked good on him.

               Then her thoughts turned back to her mortal family—George Briar, Raleigh Briar, and her grandmother, Barbara. By all accounts, the Brairs were completely normal; however, something just felt ... off. George never spoke of his family, he never spoke of Ceres, and he kept Abilene from them until she was a month from turning thirteen. And only then, Barbara reached out—through a letter, and a letter that gave Abilene a bad feeling.

               From what Abilene knew, her grandmother had been dead. That was how George always talked about his mother; he made it seem like Barbara Briar was deceased—or dead to him. Then to learn Barbara wasn't dead, and that she knew of Abilene's birth—her mother being a goddess and Abilene being a half-blood—it was a lot to take in. Some of what she felt was betrayal, most of it was shock, however. The shock became even worse when her grandmother suddenly stopped sending letters once Abilene knew "everything". The daughter of Ceres still had so many questions, but her grandmother stopped replying right after Abilene's thirteenth birthday.

               The boat shuddered, jolting Abilene back to the present. They entered the Pacific currents and skirted the rocky coastline of Marin County. Frank held his ski bag across his lap. It passed over Abilene's knees like the safety bar on an amusement ride.

               "Abi, you okay?" Frank asked. "You look queasy."

               "Seasickness," she confessed. "I've never liked being in the air or the sea. But I didn't think it'd be this bad."