𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 ― j. grace ² ✓

three

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EIGHT LETTERS

CHAPTER THREE
[ L E O ]

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LEO WISHED HE could invent a time machine. He'd go back two hours and undo what had happened. Either that, or he could invent a Slap-Leo-in-the-Face machine to punish himself, though he doubted it would hurt as badly as the look Annabeth or Natalia was giving him.

"One more time," Annabeth said. "Exactly what happened?"

Leo slumped against the mast. His head still throbbed from hitting the deck. All around him, his beautiful new ship was in shambles. The aft crossbows were piles of kindling. The foresail was tattered. The satellite array that powered the onboard internet and TV was blown to bits, which had really made Coach Hedge mad. Their bronze dragon figurehead, Festus, was coughing up smoke like he had a hairball, and Leo could tell from the groaning sounds on the port side that some of the aerial oars had been knocked out of alignment or broken off completely, which explained why the ship was listing and shuddering as it flew, the engine wheezing like an asthmatic steam train.

He choked back a sob. "I don't know. It's fuzzy."

Too many people were looking at him: Annabeth (Leo hated to make her angry; that girl scared him), Natalia (yeah, he definitely hated to make her angry), Coach Hedge with his furry goat legs, his orange polo shirt, and his baseball bat (did he have to carry that everywhere?), and the newcomer, Frank.

Leo wasn't sure what to make of Frank. He looked like a baby sumo wrestler, though Leo wasn't stupid enough to say that aloud. Leo's memory was hazy, but while he'd been half conscious, he was pretty sure he'd seen a dragon land on the ship — a dragon that had turned into Frank.

Annabeth crossed her arms after sharing a look with Natalia. "You mean you don't remember?"

"I . . ." Leo felt like he was trying to swallow a marble. "I remember, but it's like I was watching myself do things. I couldn't control it."

Coach Hedge tapped his bat against the deck. In his gym clothes, with his cap pulled over his horns, he looked just like he used to at the Wilderness School, where he'd spent a year undercover as Jason, Piper, and Leo's P.E. teacher. The way the old Satyr was glowering, Leo almost wondered if the coach was going to order him to do push-ups.

"Look, kid," Hedge said, "you blew up some stuff. You attacked some Romans. Awesome! Excellent! But did you have to knock out the satellite channels? I was right in the middle of watching a cage match."