Daughter of Wine

Callida

I'm in complete awe of the garden. I'd never say it out loud, but deep down, I wish camp had gardens like this. Grapevine trellises make a canopy overhead. Bees buzz through honeysuckle and jasmine, which fill the afternoon air with a dizzying mix of perfume, similar to that of the Dionysus cabin. In the middle of the terrace stands a statue of Bacchus in a sort of ballet position, wearing nothing but a loincloth, his cheeks puffed out and lips pursed, spouting water into a fountain.

I can't help but laugh out loud at the statue. "Looking good, dad." I reach up to touch the grapevines, which curl towards my fingers naturally.

Reyna smiles. "I wanted to show you this place. Bacchus and Dionysus are not too different from each other. They represent the same things in both Greek and Roman aspects. The main difference is that Dionysus is a bit more... chaotic."

She says it warily, as if I might be insulted, but I nod. "Nothing wrong with a little chaos from time to time." I walk around the garden instinctively, picking a honeysuckle flower and opening it to taste the sweet little drop inside.

"I wanted to speak to you away from my officers." Reyna tells me, leaning on the rail of the terrace. "I have to admit, I am surprised that a child of Dionysus is included in the eight."

"Don't worry, most people are." I tell her. "I'm surprised too." I hop up on the rail fearlessly, despite the long fall below.

"Calli is tougher than she looks." Annabeth steps in to defend me.

"I can imagine." Reyna inspects me, and I do the same to her. I get the feeling that she knows we have more in common than it seems. "From what I can tell, Calli may be the most dangerous out of the eight."

"You've got that right." I wink and pop a grape from the vine into my mouth, even though I don't think that's entirely true. "Apparently I'm psychologically terrifying."

"Jason said you brought the giant king to his knees." She raises her eyebrow at me. "In fact, he said you fought a giant all on your own."

"Yeah, well," I wave it off. "All in a day's work."

"Well, either way," Reyna sighs. "I think you have more to offer than it seems."

She turns to face the terrace, and I finally notice that the view was worth the climb. The whole city spreads out below us like a 3-D mosaic. To the south, beyond the lake, a cluster of temples perches on a hill. To the north, an aqueduct marches toward the Berkeley Hills. Work crews are repairing a broken section, probably damaged in the recent battle.

"I wanted to hear it from you two." Reyna says.

Annabeth turns. "Hear what from us?"

"The truth." Reyna replies. "Convince me that I'm not making a mistake by trusting you. Tell me about yourselves. Tell me about Camp Half-Blood. Your friend Piper has sorcery in her words. I spent enough time with Circe to know charmspeak when I hear it. I can't trust what she says. And Jason... well, he has changed. He seems distant, no longer quite Roman."

The hurt in her voice is as sharp as broken glass. The same way Annabeth had sounded when Percy was gone. At least Annabeth got Percy back. Reyna has no one. She's responsible for running an entire camp all by herself. I couldn't do that. I wouldn't want to do that. I can tell she wants Jason to love her, but he disappeared and came back with a new girlfriend. Meanwhile, Percy had risen to praetor, but he had rejected her too. Reyna is left alone again, with a job meant for two people.

I hadn't come here prepared to feel sorry for Reyna, but the more I talk to her, the more I read her, the more I feel for her.

Annabeth speaks first, telling her about her life. Her dad and stepmom and two stepbrothers in San Francisco, how she ran away when she was seven. Meeting Thalia and Luke on the run, meeting me at camp. She describes camp and her years growing up there, meeting Percy, their adventures, then when I started going with them.