The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus Book 4)

beneath him again.
    It would have been a shorter trip to Athens over land, but after the crew’s experience with mountain spirits in Italy, they’d decided not to fly over Gaia’s territory any more than they had to. They would sail around the Greek mainland, following the routes that Greek heroes had taken in the ancient times.
    That was fine with Percy. He loved being back in his father’s element – with the fresh sea air in his lungs and the salty spray on his arms. He stood at the starboard rail and closed his eyes, sensing the currents beneath them. But images of Tartarus kept burning in his mind – the River Phlegethon, the blistered ground where monsters regenerated, the dark forest where
arai
circled overhead in the blood-mist clouds. Most of all, he thought about a hut in the swamp with a warm fire and racks of drying herbs and drakon jerky. He wondered if that hut was empty now.
    Annabeth pressed next to him at the rail, her warmth reassuring.
    ‘I know,’ she murmured, reading his expression. ‘I can’t get that place out of my head, either.’
    ‘Damasen,’ Percy said. ‘And Bob …’
    ‘I know.’ Her voice was fragile. ‘We have to make their sacrifice worth it. We have to beat Gaia.’
    Percy stared into the night sky. He wished they were looking at it from the beach on Long Island rather than from halfway around the world, sailing towards almost certain death.
    He wondered where Nico, Reyna and Hedge were now, and how long it would take them to make it back – assuming they survived. He imagined the Romans drawing up battle lines right now, encircling Camp Half-Blood.
    Fourteen days to reach Athens. Then one way or another, the war would be decided.
    Over in the bow, Leo whistled happily as he tinkered with Festus’s mechanical brain, muttering something about a crystal and an astrolabe. Amidships, Piper and Hazel practised their swordplay, gold and bronze blades ringing in the night. Jason and Frank stood at the helm, talking in low tones – maybe telling stories of the legion or sharing thoughts on being praetor.
    ‘We’ve got a good crew,’ Percy said. ‘If I have to sail to my death –’
    ‘You’re not dying on me, Seaweed Brain,’ Annabeth said. ‘Remember? Never separated again. And after we get home …’
    ‘What?’ Percy asked.
    She kissed him. ‘Ask me again, once we defeat Gaia.’
    He smiled, happy to have something to look forward to. ‘Whatever you say.’
    As they sailed further from the coast, the sky darkened and more stars came out.
    Percy studied the constellations – the ones Annabeth had taught him so many years ago.
    ‘Bob says hello,’ he told the stars.
    The
Argo II
sailed into the night.

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