Chapter 83 - Please

"We have burdened these children enough,"Artemis announced shortly after he spoke, a faint blush on her cheeks that no one noticed. She turned to her lieutenant and said, "Zoe, we will rest here for a few hours. Set up the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."

"Yes, my lady."

"And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you."

"What about me?"Nico asked uncertainly.

Artemis considered the boy and replied, "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you like. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while... as a favor to me?"

Grover stumbled as he stood up, excited at the suggestion. "You bet! Let's go, Nico!"

Nico and Grover headed toward the forest, chatting about points, armor rankings, and a lot of other nerdy things. Artemis led a confused-looking Bianca along the cliffside.

Ikki observed in silence, his eyes briefly glancing at the Hunters, who had begun unpacking their gear and setting up camp. Zöe shot another angry glare at Thalia before walking off to supervise the preparations.

As soon as she was gone, Thalia fidgeted with her foot in frustration:"Those Hunters are so infuriating! They think they're so... Ugh!"

"I'm with you,"Percy said, recalling how they had completely ignored Annabeth's safety. He clenched his fists and added, "I don't trust—"

"Oh, you're with me?"Thalia snapped, turning to him angrily. "What were you thinking back at the gym, Percy? Were you planning to take down Dr. Thorn all by yourself? You knew he was a monster! If we had stayed together, we could've handled him without the Hunters getting involved..."

"But it worked out, didn't it? So what are you complaining about?"Percy frowned, looking at the furious girl with displeasure.

Annabeth tried to step in and stop the argument, but Ikki held her back.

"Worked out?"Thalia seemed to direct all her anger about the Hunters' interference and everything else at Percy. Just as she was about to say something more, something invisible covered her mouth.

"Enough,"Ikki said calmly, looking at her with indifference:"I think Percy did what he believed was right for the best reasons. He doesn't need you to judge him. If he hadn't intervened, you wouldn't have arrived in time to stop the Manticore. He did a good job protecting Nico and Bianca. I understand you're upset because he disobeyed your orders, but don't forget, you're not in charge here. Since I arrived, I've been leading this mission."

"Don't like it? Then be stronger than me."

With that, he didn't spare her another glance. His gaze shifted to Annabeth, whose cheeks were slightly flushed, and Percy, who looked proud.

"I know you must have a lot of questions, but let's wait until we reach the camp."Finishing his words, Ikki walked toward the forest to find Nico and Grover.

Annabeth and Percy reluctantly accepted his words for now. They still had unresolved questions and emotions, but they could wait until they reached Camp Half-Blood. For now, it was good to see their friend again after months apart.

Thalia felt a twinge of jealousy, noticing how much the two seemed to value the boy's opinion. She also felt anger at his arrogant words. How dare he say, 'Be stronger than me'? She was older and more experienced, so logically, she should be more powerful... But then she remembered how the boy had slain the Manticore with a single word and destroyed the helicopter with just a glance—something she couldn't have done even at her peak.

Clenching her fists tightly, she felt a sense of injustice. She was also a child of Zeus, but why was she so inferior to him? Why did her father seem to care more about the boy than any of his other children?

Seven years ago, she had been transformed into a pine tree by her father to prevent her death. She had defended herself against an army of monsters atop Half-Blood Hill to give her friends Luke and Annabeth time to escape. Now that she was back to normal, everything felt so different from what she remembered.

Maybe it was the Zeus in her, but she hated being treated as second-in-command. She was used to being the leader. That's how it had been when she, Luke, and Annabeth were on the streets. Though Luke was the eldest, he treated her as the leader, and she took pride in that. Despite the daunting responsibility, she had managed to stay strong.

But that wasn't how things were now. Whenever she walked through the camp during the week after she woke up, she could hear people whispering behind her about the legendary Ikki Phoenix. And now, here he was in front of her.

Thinking about all the legendary monsters he had defeated, the gods he had humiliated, she couldn't help but feel inferior. And being who she was, she didn't like it. She was used to being the strongest and the one in charge.

Grinding her teeth, she followed the rest of the group.

The Hunters set up their camp in a matter of minutes. Seven large tents, all of silver silk, were arranged in a crescent around one side of a campfire. One of the girls blew a silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves emerged from the woods.

They began circling the camp like guard dogs.

The Hunters moved among them, feeding and petting them fearlessly.

Hawks watched from the trees, their eyes glinting in the firelight, as if they, too, were standing guard.

Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, Grover, Nico, and Ikki stayed near the tents.

The satyr and the youngest boy chatted about various topics, but soon their conversation turned to the son of Zeus. Nico wanted to know everything about the supernatural side of this world.

Eventually, even he seemed convinced it was all real. The air was still cold, but the wind had died down, and the snow had stopped falling, making it almost pleasant to sit by the fire.

Thalia wandered through the snow at the edge of the camp, walking among the wolves without fear. She paused and glanced back at Westover Hall, now completely dark, looming on the hillside beyond the forest. She was still uneasy about the arrival of her half-brother, showing a rather unpleasant expression every time she saw him. The worst part was that his perfect appearance stirred certain feelings within her.

"Don't blame Thalia, Ikki,"Annabeth said, noticing the girl's state and looking at the boy beside her. "She's trying to deal with everything after her long sleep. She's a good person..."

Percy shifted uncomfortably on Annabeth's other side. He agreed, but with one difference—Thalia was way too snobby for his taste.

"'I know. I have nothing against her, but you know how I feel about arrogant people. Even though she hasn't said anything to show it, I can sense her arrogance, as if she's the only one capable of taking command... I simply stated facts: she doesn't command me and never will. If she wants to, she'll have to be stronger than me,' Ikki said calmly, looking up at the overcast sky with an unreadable expression.

Annabeth shifted slightly at his words, noticing that he seemed a bit different. There wasn't the usual lighthearted and laid-back tone he used when talking to others; it was just calm and indifferent, as if nothing else mattered to him... And that bothered her a lot. What had truly happened during the year he'd been off the grid?

"Don't worry, Anne. Sooner or later, she'll adapt to everything, and things won't be so tense between us,"Ikki said, glancing at the girl beside him. Then, he observed Nico and Grover chatting about various cards. The younger boy seemed to have absorbed everything quite well, or perhaps his ADHD had simply made him lose focus and return to his card game again.

"Ikki, why were you here?"Percy asked, confused. Of all places, why had his best friend shown up here? He had many questions that could wait, but he figured a simple one like this might be answered.

"Because of a favor..."Ikki replied with a faint smile, avoiding further details. He dodged the question again: "I'll explain it better later..."

He then asked the two about their year in his absence, during which Percy and Annabeth eagerly recounted everything. Nico was captivated, listening to their adventures, and Grover seemed somewhat distracted, glancing toward Artemis's tent.

Ikki didn't appear surprised upon hearing about Thalia's tree being poisoned, Luke's involvement in everything, or his friends' adventure in the Sea of Monsters. He only seemed distant.

The Hunters soon brought the group's backpacks, sparing a long, lingering glance at the son of Zeus, who appeared indifferent to their arrival.

Nico rummaged through his backpack, which the Hunters had packed for him. How they had escaped Westover Hall unseen, he didn't know.

He placed a bunch of figurines in the snow—small replicas of battles involving Greek gods and heroes.

Ikki recognized Zeus with his lightning bolt, Ares with his spear, and Apollo with his sun chariot.

"Nice collection," Percy admitted, glancing at the figurines.

Nico grinned and said, "I have almost all of them, plus their holographic cards! Well, except for a few really rare ones."

"Did you start playing this a long time ago?"Percy asked, trying to make conversation.

"Just this year. Before..."He furrowed his brows.

"Before what?"

"I forgot. That's weird." He seemed shaken, but it didn't last long. "Hey, can I see that sword you were using?"

Percy took out his pen and showed him Riptide, explaining how it transformed from a pen into a sword just by uncapping it.

"Cool! Does it ever run out of ink?"

"Uh, well, I don't really write with it."

"Are you really the son of Poseidon?"

"Well, yeah."

"So you must be great at surfing, right?"

"I've never tried... so I don't know."

Percy glanced at Grover, Annabeth, and Ikki, who were trying not to laugh at him. He almost retaliated until he saw Nico peppering Annabeth with a flurry of questions. The daughter of Athena felt like putting the boy in a meat-flavored sack and throwing him to the wolves. The questions ranged from whether she, as a daughter of Athena, could come up with something better than turning invisible and trailing them, to why she and Percy got along since their parents were rivals, and even if she and Ikki were dating (which almost gave her a heart attack). Percy couldn't hold back his laughter at that point, earning a punch in the stomach in return.

As for Ikki? Nico almost asked how many attack points the boy had.

In the end, he even asked about Ikki's powers, to which the boy simply raised his hand, summoning golden lightning bolts to flash across his palm, followed by a gust of wind forming a small tornado, and then rain clouds. Nico seemed to have an overdose of excitement at the display.

Their conversation was soon interrupted by Zöe, who approached the group.

"Percy Jackson."

She had dark brown eyes and a slightly upturned nose. With her silver circlet and proud expression, she looked so much like royalty that Percy had to resist the urge to sit up straight and say, "Yes, my lady."

Zöe studied him with disdain, as if he were a bag of dirty laundry she'd been sent to collect.

"Come with me,"she said coldly. "Lady Artemis wishes to speak with you."

She cast one last glance at Ikki before turning to leave. Percy followed her, confused by her treatment of him.

Ikki remained silent, his gaze fixed on the tent where Zöe had taken his best friend.