[1] 𝐼𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑢𝑠 - 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑦 𝐽𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑠𝑜𝑛

2.10

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DISTANCE WAS SHORTER IN THE LABYRINTH. Still, by the time Rachel got them back to Times Square, Cassiopia felt like they'd pretty much run all the way from New Mexico. They climbed out of the Marriott basement and stood on the sidewalk in the bright summer daylight, squinting at the traffic and crowds.

She couldn't decide which seemed less real—New York or the dark fortress where Katniss had become Kronos.

Percy led the way into an alley, where he could get a nice echo. Then he whistled as loud as he could, five times.

A minute later, Rachel gasped. "They're beautiful!"

A flock of pegasi descended from the sky, swooping between the skyscrapers. Blackjack was in the lead, followed by five of his white friends.

Everybody started saddling up—except Rachel. After speaking briefly with Percy, she walked off down Seventh Avenue and disappeared into the crowds.

When he got back to the horses, Nico was having trouble. His pegasus kept shying away from him, reluctant to let him mount.

"Go without me!" Nico said. "I don't want to go back to that camp anyway."

"Nico," Percy said, "we need your help."

He folded his arms and scowled. Cassiopeia put her hand on his shoulder.

"Nico," she said. "Please."

Slowly, his expression softened. "All right," he said reluctantly. "But I'm not staying."

"Where would you go?" She asked.

Nico's expression turned even more guarded than before. But it only lasted a moment before his face fell into a brief flash of panic.

"Nothing," he said hurriedly. "Forget it."

As he walked to mount his Pegasus, Percy, Cassiopeia and Annabeth exchanged looks.

"What was that about?" Annabeth asked.

Percy shook his head in confusion. "I don't know."

At last they got everybody on a pegasus. They shot into the air, and soon they were over the East River with Long Island spread out before them.

☽☽☽☽☽

They landed in the middle of the cabin area and were immediately met by Chiron, the potbellied satyr Silenus, and a couple of Apollo cabin archers. Chiron raised an eyebrow when he saw Nico and they told him about everything important that had happened...including Katniss becoming Kronos.

Chiron seemed to age ten years in a matter of seconds. He knew Katniss longer then any of them. He would be taking it harder than anyone. But he was a leader. He wasn't able to show his grief.