TERRIFIED . . . annabeth chase

sixty six.

AFTER THEIR ENCOUNTER in Sparta and with Kymopo-what's-her-name, the Argo II limped through the Aegean, too damaged to fly, too slow to outrun monsters. They fought hungry sea serpents about every hour. They attracted schools of curious fish. At one point they got stuck on a rock, and Percy and Jason had to get out and push.

Percy and Annabeth went ashore to scout at the island of Mykonos, while Val stayed on the ship, throwing up every hour and basically just dying. Leo had literally made her a bed on the main deck so she could just lie down while they had important discussions.

She was on that bed now, basically trying to tan as she rested her eyes. Her skin had gotten paler and paler, so she assumed that it wasn't working, but she didn't know what else to do. Dancing exhausted her, and she didn't feel like playing her piano again.

She debated going to the mess hall to bake something when Annabeth called her name softly, and she opened her eyes.

"My angel," Annabeth took Val's hand, and one part of her was like yes, yes, yes! and the other part of her was like stop taking my hand, you're making it worse. "I brought gelato."

"Really?" Val let the blonde help her sit up and reached out for the gelato. "You're the best. Thank you."

Annabeth gave it to her. "Of course. You're my better half. And my better half's better with ice cream."

Val hummed, and the crew joined them.

The day was hot and windy. Curving off to the starboard side was the town of Mykonos – a collection of white stucco buildings with blue roofs, blue windows and blue doors.

"We saw these pelicans walking around town," Percy reported. "Like, just going through the shops, stopping at the bars."

Hazel frowned. "Monsters in disguise?"

"No," Annabeth said, laughing, "just regular old pelicans. They're the town mascots or something. And there's a 'Little Italy' section of town. That's why the gelato is so good."

"Europe is messed up." Leo shook his head. "First we go to Rome for Spanish steps. Then we go to Greece for Italian ice cream."

Piper set down her ice-cream cup. "So, the island of Delos is right across the harbor. Artemis and Apollo's home turf. Who's going?"

"Me," Leo said immediately.

Everybody stared at him.

"What?" Leo demanded. "I'm diplomatic and stuff. Frank and Hazel volunteered to back me up."

"We did?" Frank lowered his half-eaten apple, which he was eating because he was lactose intolerant. Sadly. "I mean . . . sure we did."

Hazel's gold eyes flashed in the sunlight. "Leo, did you have a dream about this or something?"

"Yes," Leo blurted. "Well . . . no. Not exactly. But . . . you got to trust me on this, guys. I need to talk to Apollo and Artemis. I've got an idea I need to bounce off them."

Annabeth frowned. She looked like she might object, but Val spoke up.

"If Leo has an idea," she said, "we need to trust him."

Leo smiled at her. "Thanks, Valentine."

Percy shrugged. "Okay. But a word of advice: when you see Apollo, don't mention haiku."

Hazel knitted her eyebrows. "Why not? Isn't he the god of poetry?"

"Just trust me."

"Got it." Leo rose to his feet. "And, guys, if they have a souvenir shop on Delos, I'm totally bringing you back some Apollo and Artemis bobbleheads!"