cupiditas |PERCY JACKSON| [book 3]

XV

WHEN SELENA WOKE UP, the train had stopped. They'd arrived on the outskirts of a little ski town nestled in the mountains. The sign said WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. The air was cold and thin. The roofs of the cabins were heaped with snow, and dirty mounds of it were piled up on the sides of the streets. Tall pine trees loomed over the valley, casting pitch-black shadows, though the morning was sunny.

Selena was freezing by the time they got to Main Street, which was about half a mile from the train tracks. They stopped in the middle of town. You could pretty much see everything from there: a school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafes, some ski cabins, and a grocery store.

"Great," Thalia said, looking around. "No bus station. No taxis. No car rental. No way out."

"There's a coffee shop!" said Grover.

"Yes," Zoe agreed, "Coffee is good."

"And pastries," Grover said dreamily. "And wax paper."

Thalia sighed. "Fine. How about you two and Selena go get us some food. Percy, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions."

Selena quickly followed Zoe and Grover into the coffee shop and ordered a few drinks and pastries. She nibbled on her chocolate chip muffin as Zoe walked over, "Have you thought about the offer?"

"I already told you I'm not interested," Selena replied,

"Do you not understand how big this opportunity is?" Zoe questioned,

"I do, but I don't care." Selena turned toward the leader of the Huntresses, "You can't ask me to leave Percy and Annabeth behind. You can't ask me to leave Camp Half-Blood behind. It's my home and they're my family."

Zoe nodded, "If you think so."

"I know so." Selena snapped, grabbing a few of the drinks and leaving the shop with the other two behind her.

She quickly walked over to the other three and handed Percy a hot chocolate, knowing he isn't a fan of coffee, and a muffin before giving Thalia and Bianca their own coffee cups.

"We should do the tracking spell," Zoe stated, turning towards the satyr, "Grover, do you have any acorns left?"

"Umm," Grover mumbled. He was chewing on a bran muffin, wrapper and all. "I think so. I just need to—" He froze.

Selena was about to ask what was wrong, when a warm breeze rustled past, like a gust of springtime had gotten lost in the middle of winter. Fresh air seasoned with wildflowers and sunshine. And something else—almost like a voice, trying to say something. A warning.

Zoe gasped. "Grover, thy cup."

Grover dropped his coffee cup, which was decorated with pictures of birds. Suddenly the birds peeled off the cup and flew away—a flock of tiny doves.