First Lie || Deception Book I ||

The Return Pt. 2

"I win," Luke panted beside me.

"I would have won if I hadn't spent the last four hours cramped up in bed," I shot back, gulping down the fresh air hungrily.

"Sure, whatever you say," Luke smirked, messing up my hair.

I glared at him, raking my fingers through my hair.

"Aww, don't be like that," Luke said. "Here." He tucked a strand of hair behind my ears and smiled softly.

I forced a smile back, pushing down the guilt that came with the lies. It couldn't be helped, I reminded myself, but a job was a job.

"Stop it," Ally grumbled from behind me. "Not only am I third-wheeling here, but it's also gross."

"Y-yeah, stop it, Luke," I said.

"Sure," Luke said and stepped back. "Let's go find Grover and Annabeth."

I hastily pulled my hair into a ponytail and walked into the mess hall, where Chiron, Annabeth, and Grover, along with the rest of the campers, were gathered.

"Annabeth!" I called to her, shoving my way through the crowd.

Annabeth turned around, her sharp grey eyes scanning the crowd for me. I met her eyes over the head of other campers, but I saw the flash of recognition in them and suspicion before they flashed into relief.

Crap. Annabeth was too smart for her own good sometimes. If she had somehow managed to put two and two together, I was in deep trouble. Just pretend nothing happened, I reminded myself. After all, you didn't do anything other than visit your brother.

"I'm so glad you're okay," I said, relieved, and crushed her in a hug. "You are okay, right?" I added, pulling back to scan her for any injuries.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Annabeth replied, a little startled. "It's Percy I'm worried about."

"I'm sure he's fine," Grover said. "Oh man, I'm so glad that it's over."

"Dude, they're definitely going to give you the licence after that," Luke added, punching him on the shoulder lightly. "You did great. And nobody got turned into a tree."

"Th-thanks," Grover stammered, blushing from the praise.

I tossed him an apple and tin can. "You deserve it."

"Where did you get that?" Luke asked me suspiciously. "Did you magick it from somewhere? I know that you didn't have it with you a minute ago."

"So what if I did?" I replied casually.

"Will said no magic." Ally reminded me. "But then again, I wasn't expecting you to listen to him."

"Regardless, if you do it again, I'm turning you back over. And then you'll have to stay in the Big House for the rest of camp," Luke added.

"Why can't she use her magic?" Annabeth asked. "Did something happen?"

I sighed. "I got attacked by a monster when you guys were on your quest."

"And she almost died," Luke added unhelpfully. "And right after she recovered, no before she recovered," he added, "she left camp to attend to some . . . business. Without a word to anyone."

"I told you why I did that," I muttered.

"But you still have told us you were leaving instead of just vanishing into thin air."

Annabeth watched us with narrowed eyes, her face unreadable, as she noted our exchange. "What monster was it? I thought you were the most powerful demigod in camp? What happened?"