The Titan's Curse

wanted archery lessons—
    “Thanks,” I told him. “But seriously, I’m no good at archery.”
    “Ah, nonsense,” he said. “Target practice from the chariot as we fly over the U.S.? Best fun there is!”
    I made some excuses and wove through the crowds that were dancing in the palace courtyards. I was looking for Annabeth. Last I saw her, she’d been dancing with some minor godling.
    Then a man’s voice behind me said, “You won’t let me down, I hope.”
    I turned and found Poseidon smiling at me.
    “Dad . . . hi.”
    “Hello, Percy. You’ve done well.”
    His praise made me uneasy. I mean, it felt good, but I knew just how much he’d put himself on the line, vouching for me. It would’ve been a lot easier to let the others disintegrate me.
    “I won’t let you down,” I promised.
    He nodded. I had trouble reading gods’ emotions, but I wondered if he had some doubts.
    “Your friend Luke—”
    “He’s not my friend,” I blurted out. Then I realized it was probably rude to interrupt. “Sorry.”
    “Your former friend Luke,” Poseidon corrected. “He once promised things like that. He was Hermes’s pride and joy. Just bear that in mind, Percy. Even the bravest can fall.”
    “Luke fell pretty hard,” I agreed. “He’s dead.”
    Poseidon shook his head. “No, Percy. He is not.”
    I stared at him. “What?”
    “I believe Annabeth told you this. Luke still lives. I have seen it. His boat sails from San Francisco with the remains of Kronos even now. He will retreat and regroup before assaulting you again. I will do my best to destroy his boat with storms, but he is making alliances with my enemies, the older spirits of the ocean. They will fight to protect him.”
    “How can he be alive?” I said. “That fall should’ve killed him!”
    Poseidon looked troubled. “I don’t know, Percy, but beware of him. He is more dangerous than ever. And the golden coffin is still with him, still growing in strength.”
    “What about Atlas?” I said. “What’s to prevent him from escaping again? Couldn’t he just force some giant or something to take the sky for him?”
    My father snorted in derision. “If it were so easy, he would have escaped long ago. No, my son. The curse of the sky can only be forced upon a Titan, one of the children of Gaia and Ouranous. Anyone else must choose to take the burden of their own free will. Only a hero, someone with strength, a true heart, and great courage, would do such a thing. No one in Kronos’s army would dare try to bear that weight, even upon pain of death.”
    “Luke did it,” I said. “He let Atlas go. Then he tricked Annabeth into saving him and used her to convince Artemis to take the sky.”
    “Yes,” Poseidon said. “Luke is . . . an interesting case.”
    I think he wanted to say more, but just then, Bessie started mooing from across the courtyard. Some demigods were playing with his water sphere, joyously pushing it back and forth over the top of the crowd.
    “I’d better take care of that,” Poseidon grumbled. “We can’t have the Ophiotaurus tossed around like a beach ball. Be good, my son. We may not speak again for some time.”
    And just like that he was gone.
    I was about to keep searching the crowd when another voice spoke. “Your father takes a great risk, you know.”
    I found myself face-to-face with a gray-eyed woman who looked so much like Annabeth I almost called her that.
    “Athena.” I tried not to sound resentful, after the way she’d written me off in the council, but I guess I didn’t hide it very well.
    She smiled dryly. “Do not judge me too harshly, half-blood. Wise counsel is not always popular, but I spoke the truth. You are dangerous.”
    “You never take risks?”
    She nodded. “I concede the point. You may perhaps be useful. And yet . . . your fatal flaw may destroy us as well as yourself.”
    My heart crept into my throat. A year ago, Annabeth and I had had a talk about fatal flaws. Every hero had one. Hers, she said, was pride. She believed she could do anything . . . like holding up the world, for instance. Or saving Luke. But I didn’t really know what mine was.
    Athena looked almost sorry for me. “Kronos knows your flaw, even if you do not. He knows how to study his enemies. Think, Percy. How has he manipulated you? First, your mother was taken from you. Then your best friend, Grover. Now my daughter, Annabeth.” She paused, disapproving. “In each case, your loved ones have been