Changing the Future

Chapter 48

Quick note about the song - it has nothing to do with this chapter, but since it's the beginning of June, why not?

Also, happy pride month! 🏳️‍🌈 I'm not LGBTQ+, but I care about the community and this is a safe place for everyone.

Without further ado, please enjoy the chapter! Thanks for reading!

0o0o

If you want to be popular at Camp Half-Blood, don't return from a mission with bad news. God knows I've learned that fact over the years, but I could tell from Percy's face as we walked out of the water, he was just now learning the veracity in that statement.

That afternoon, Connor Stoll had been on guard duty, and apparently he got so excited that he fell out of his tree. Then, without missing a beat, he blew the conch shell, signaling to the rest of the camp that we'd come back. While the sound of running campers filled the air, Connor was the first to approach us, his infamous smile resting easily on his face.

I kept my hand against my bracelet, no longer trusting either of the Stoll brothers after the time they'd somehow pried my most prized possession off my body. Needless to say, I got them back for stealing my bracelet and have an oath on the Styx from the two of them that they would never take my bracelet again.

Still, both Connor and Travis were so jovial and shared a crooked sense of humor that usually had people laughing that it was hard to believe that their brother was Kyle.

"Percy! Andy!" he yelled. "What happened? Where's James?"

Our faces told the whole story. Connor no longer seemed so happy to see us, his smile melting. "Oh, no. Poor Lucy. Holy Zeus, when she finds out..."

As we walked over the sand dunes and toward the dining pavilion, where we were supposed to debrief in front of the entire camp, I felt a sharp pressure behind my eyes, causing me to stumble.

"Andy, are you okay?" Percy asked, helping keep me upright. "Did you get hurt?"

The pressure got so intense that I couldn't respond. I fell to the ground, clutching at my head and writhing in pain. It felt as if someone had set my head in a vice covered in spikes.

"Go get Will!" I heard Percy tell Connor.

"What do you want?" I asked, watching as the three Fates stepped out from behind a few trees.

"Who are you talking to?"

"Tell me!" I shouted at the Fates, ignoring Percy's question. "I can't be doing this every time you need to talk to me. So I'll ask you this one more time. What do you want with me?"

The three sisters held a silent conversation with their eyes before Clotho stepped forward, a piece of parchment in her hand. She set the parchment onto the ground beside me, saying, "Here are the instructions about how you are to proceed until further notice. Oh, and I think now would be a good time to tell everyone the truth about your father before you're thought to be a traitor by your fellow demigods."

"You couldn't have told me this in a dream?" I asked bitterly.

Atropos and Lachesis shrugged. "This was more convenient."

"For you guys." I sighed, wincing as I pressed my palms against my temples. "Could you please leave? I feel like my head is going to explode."

"The girl is right, sisters," Clotho said. "We have stayed for too long. Goodbye, Andromeda, and heed our warnings."

The second that the Fates disappeared, the intense pressure vanished as well, eliciting a sigh of relief from me. Though I still had a dull ache behind my temples, it was nothing like the pain I felt whenever immortals thought it was okay for them to hijack my mind as a location to talk.