First Lie || Deception Book I ||

The Return Pt. 1

"Can I leave?" I asked Will.

He turned around and sighed. "That's like the seventh hundred eighty-ninth time you've asked that in the last half hour. You haven't even been here four hours yet! And you slept through three of them!"

I groaned, leaning back against the wooden headboard. "What time is it?"

"Almost noon." Will finished taking inventory of the medicine, handed me a square of ambrosia, and plopped down on a white bed beside me. "You're all good. It's just levels of fluctuation in your magic. Other than that, everything's fine. If it were up to me, you'd be out. But . . ."

"I know," I said. I popped the square in my mouth. It tasted like the apple blueberry tarts on Olympus. Suddenly, I was swamped with homesickness for the city in the clouds. I missed training with Hecate, sparring with Athena in the arena, bantering with Apollo, flying through the skies with Blackfire and Artemis, and just sitting around the hearth in comfortable silence with Hestia.

Not the time, I reminded myself.

I glanced at Will. "You know, Will, you're awfully young to be at camp."

Will shrugged. "It's just camp. Summer camp. It's not like I'm staying year-round."

"Are you planning to after?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged again. "I don't know yet."

I let the subject drop, sensing that he didn't want to talk about it, and we just sat there, staring off into space, each in our thoughts.

After five minutes, I couldn't take it anymore. "I just want to get out. Apollo! Let me leave!" I growled in frustration, breaking the silence.

Will snorted. "That's not going to work, you know."

"I don't know. Maybe he'll notice," Ally said, creaking open the door. "I mean, when we were searching for Percy, Mr. Ocean and Mr. Sky were wreaking havoc and she just screamed at them to stop and they did. For like a minute, but still."

"Oh, thank the gods," I said, waving at her. "I'm going to die of boredom."

"Luckily we're here to keep you company," Luke said as he stepped through the door.

"Hey," I replied.

Will stood up. "I'm gonna leave. Ten minutes," he warned Luke and Ally as he walked past them. "She needs to rest."

"I don't! I want to leave," I grumbled.

"Then why don't you?" Luke asked. "You've never had a problem with that before."

Ah, shit. "You're pissed off at me, aren't you?"

Luke crossed his arms. "You could have at least told me you were going to leave."

"Stop it," Ally said, sitting down beside me. "Just be glad she's back."

"See, this is why she's my best friend," I said as I hugged her.

"Where were you?" Luke asked, not perturbed in the slightest.

Thank the gods I had an excuse and alias ready. Waking up after my nap to see Will organizing the cabinet had reminded me that I was supposed to have had a younger brother. I'd wondered why Artemis told me that his name was William when she probably knew that her brother had a son with that name, but it was none of my business to ask. Whatever the case, that was my perfect excuse for vanishing abruptly. Now, I just had to play it right.

"None of your business," I replied flatly, conveying with every molecule of my body that I had no intention to tell him, or anyone for that matter.