𝑾𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑽𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔－ 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧

𝑬𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏

[Josie Totah as Andrea Star]

I 018. I

𝑾𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑽𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔

❝ good night ❞

    ARIADNE HAD DRAGGED TYSON AND ANNABETH AWAY. She fiddled with her rings as they gave her a confused look.

"Ari?" Annabeth said. "What's up?"

She pursed her lips. "Um... well, I only just realized it's Percy's birthday today. And I was going to make something for him in the kitchens, but I don't know how to bake. I thought you two could help me somehow."

Tyson clapped his hands. "Yes! Baking with pretty girl and blondie for my big brother!"

Annabeth raised an eyebrow and a teasing smile crossed her face. "Baking for your..." she trialed off. "What do I call him? How many times have you guys kissed? Five, six, ten—"

Ariadne punched her shoulder. "Shut up!" She blushed heavily. "Let's go. I want to at least have enough time to make sure that we don't burn down the kitchen."

***

THE REST OF THE DAY WAS AS STRANGE AS THE BEGINNING. Campers trickled in from New York by car, pegasus, and chariot. The wounded were cared for. The dead were given proper funeral rites at the campfire.

Silena's shroud was hot pink, but embroidered with an electric spear. The Ares and Aphrodite cabins both claimed her as a hero, and lit the shroud together. No one mentioned the word spy. The secret burned to ashes as the designer perfume smoke drifted into the sky.

Even Ethan Nakamura was given a shroud—black silk with a logo of swords crossed under a set of scales. As his shroud went up in flames, Ariadne hoped Ethan knew he made a difference in the end. He'd paid a lot more than an eye, but the minor gods would finally get the respect they deserved.

Dinner at the pavilion was low-key. The only highlight was Juniper the tree nymph, who screamed, "GROVER!" and gave her boyfriend a flying tackle hug, making everybody cheer. They went down to the beach to take a moonlight walk, and Ariadne was happy for them, though the scene reminded her of Silena and Beckendorf, which made her sad.

Mrs. O'Leary romped around happily, eating everybody's table scraps. Nico sat at the main table with Chiron and Mr. D, and nobody seemed to think this was out of place. Everybody was toying Nico on the back, complimenting him in his fighting. Even the Ares kids seemed to think he was pretty cool.

Slowly, the dinner trickled away. Some went to the campfire for a sing-along. Others went to bed. Percy sat at the Poseidon table by himself and watched the moonlight on Long Island Sound. He could see Grover and Juniper at the beach, holding hands and talking. It was peaceful.