When she met Percy outside the Hermes cabin, she was shocked to find he wasn't alone. He had company, and most importantly, this company wasn't human. It was a black pegasus. Percy explained it all very quickly — too quickly. Blackjack (that was the pegasus' name) came banging at Percy's door asking for help with "a little sea friend"; Percy said they could both go and give this sea friend a hand, and then leave after that. That would give them a fair head start over the official group for the quest. The rest, he said, he hadn't figured out, but they could work out the details as they went. Alexis must've been half-asleep, stupid, or just too desperate to get home, because she agreed.

    Minutes later, she was being given a ride down the beach on the back of a pegasus. She'd never been on a horse before, much less a flying horse, even less a flying horse that skimmed over the waves at a hundred miles an hour. The wind rippled through her short hair and tugged at her face until she was grinning. Her arms were wrapped around Percy and she was doing her best to ignore how strange she felt holding onto him so tight. The sea spray kept her awake and alert, but so did the erratic beat of her heart. She was worried Percy could feel it pounding against his back.

    Finally, Blackjack slowed and turned in a circle. Percy and Alexis peered down, but it was so dark it was impossible to make anything out from that high up.

    "Thanks, Blackjack." Percy said, then he looked over his shoulder, and Alexis had to lean back so they could actually meet eyes. "I'll, uh... just wait here for me, okay?"

    Alexis nodded and let go of him reluctantly, then watched as Percy tumbled off Blackjack's back and plunged into the sea.

    She squinted, but she still couldn't see much. Percy had fully disappeared into the water to save an animal, or whatever that sea friend could be. Alexis felt so dumb for swooning, but she figured she might as well do it over something like this rather than something like... well, anything else Percy did that made it hard to stare without blushing (like smiling at her, for instance).

    He was taking a while, and in the meantime Blackjack carried Alexis on his back while he circled over the spot where Percy had plunged into the water. It was clear they were both getting bored of waiting when Blackjack began flying back and forth like he was pacing, low enough for Alexis to get cold with all the breeze his hooves picked up and sprayed over them.

It took about an hour for Percy to reappear. He broke through the surface and Blackjack dove forward toward him so fast Alexis nearly toppled over him, having to hold on to his neck as tight as she could manage to avoid falling into the water. She only let go to offer Percy a shaky hand and pull him up. He settled behind her, his hands moving tentatively from her shoulders to her waist and then back again, though he ended up choosing the second option when Blackjack picked up speed and flew them to the shore.

    "How'd it go?" Alexis managed to ask, thankful he couldn't see how pathetically flushed her face was.

    "Good, yeah. We rescued a baby... something or other. Took forever. Almost got stampeded."

    "We?"

    "The hippocampi and I." Percy explained. "What — ? No, Blackjack, she's not my — "

    "What?"

    "Nothing." she heard Percy sigh. "It's Blackjack, he's just... he's making crazy questions."

    "He talks?" Alexis wanted to clean out her ears. Why wasn't she hearing it?

    "He does to me." Percy said. "Being the son of Poseidon and everything, I can understand most equestrian animals, and they can understand me back... even if I don't talk out loud. That includes Blackjack."

    Alexis nodded in understanding, wondering what on Earth Blackjack could have asked Percy for him to forget he could communicate wordlessly and get all defensive. She didn't get much time to wonder, however, as Blackjack was already flying them toward Percy's cabin.

    Suddenly, Percy spoke up again. "Blackjack," he said, "set us down over there, will you? Behind that column."

    Blackjack followed this request and dropped them off close enough to the dining pavilion for Alexis to spot Nico di Angelo hiding behind one of the columns, but far enough for him to not notice them. It wasn't even dawn yet, but the kid looked very much awake.

    "Come on," Percy whispered, still not letting go of Alexis's hand even though he wasn't helping her climb off Blackjack's back anymore.

    This is dumb, Alexis thought as she followed him. This is dumb, this is dumb, this is dumb — I'm dumb for doing it.

    But when she lost her footing and nearly stumbled, Percy looking back at her and giving her a small smile after making sure she was okay, she knew.

    She was in too deep already.

𓇼

    Alexis's almost-tumble caused by Percy's eager pace almost cost them their anonymity while they approached Nico. He still somehow did not notice them at all, too focused on whatever was going on in the dining area. He was peeking around the corner from behind the column. They were just feet away from him when Percy stopped abruptly.

    They heard the voices of two girls talking down at one of the dining tables. Percy looked at Alexis and placed a finger to his lips before he took the magic Yankees cap out of his pocket and put it on. As soon as he did, he disappeared. Alexis's eyebrows shot up. She was as quiet as she could manage, keeping an eye on Nico as she slinked to the nearest column to play spies as well, hoping she wasn't getting in Percy's way. From her new spot, she managed to make out Zoë and Bianca, and it sounded like they were arguing.

    "It cannot be cured," Zoë was saying. "Not quickly, at any rate."

    "But how did it happen?" Bianca asked.

    "A foolish prank," Zoë growled. "Those Stoll boys from the Hermes cabin. Centaur blood is like acid. Everyone knows that. They sprayed the inside of that Artemis Hunting Tour T-shirt with it."

    Well, first of all, Alexis liked the Stolls, so she didn't appreciate the tone Zoë took when talking about them. Second, not everyone knew that. She didn't.

    "That's terrible!" Bianca said.

    "She will live," Zoë said. "But she'll be bedridden for weeks with horrible hives. There is no way she can go. It's up to me... and thee."

    "But the prophecy," Bianca said. "If Phoebe can't go, we only have four. We'll have to pick another."

    "There is no time," Zoë said. "We must leave at first light. That's immediately. Besides, the prophecy said we would lose one."

    "In the land without rain," Bianca said, "but that can't be here."

    "It might be," Zoë said, though she didn't sound convinced. "The camp has magic borders. Nothing, not even weather, is allowed in without permission. It could be a land without rain."

    Alexis needed to invest in a notebook to keep track of all these silly details about being a demigod. Then she shook the thought away. She didn't need to know these things about camp. She was leaving, anyway.

    "But — "

    "Bianca, hear me." Zoë's voice was strained. "I... I can't explain, but I have a sense that we should not pick someone else. It would be too dangerous. They would meet an end worse than Phoebe's. I don't want Chiron choosing a camper as our fifth companion. And... I don't want to risk another Hunter."

    Bianca was silent. "You should tell Thalia the rest of your dream."

    "No. It would not help."

    Oh, yes it would, Alexis thought, almost scoffing but deciding against it at the last moment.

    "But if your suspicions are correct, about the General — "

    "I have thy word not to talk about that," Zoë said. She sounded really anguished. "We will find out soon enough. Now come. Dawn is breaking."

At the column to her left, Alexis saw Nico scoot out of the girls' way. Alexis hid behind her column and held her breath.

She heard Bianca say, "The lights of the Big House are on. Hurry!"

When she looked again, Zoë was following her out of the pavilion. She sighed with relief.

Alexis came out from behind her column and was about to call Nico over when she saw him look ready to run after his sister. She hurried over and hissed, "Stop!" just as Percy materialized out of think air and told him, "Wait!"

Nico almost slipped on the icy steps as he spun around to look at them both. "Where did you come from?"

Alexis pointed vaguely at the other column while Percy said, "I've been here the whole time. Invisible."

Nico mouthed the word invisible. "Wow. Cool."

"How did you know Zoë and your sister were here?"

Nico blushed. "I heard Alexis leave, and soon after that I heard Bianca and Zoë walk by the Hermes cabin. I don't... I haven't been sleeping too well at camp. So I heard footsteps, and them whispering. And so I kind of followed."

"And now you're thinking about following them on the quest," Percy guessed.

"How did you know that?"

"Because if it was my sister, I'd probably be thinking the same thing. But you can't."

It was clear Percy was thinking about Annabeth. Alexis didn't have siblings, but she wondered if she'd feel the same if Sebastian went missing and stopped correcting every little thing she did when surfing. Definitely not good, she decided when she felt a weird stabbing sensation in her chest.

Nico looked defiant. "Because I'm too young?"

"Because they won't let you. They'll catch you and send you back here. And... yeah, because you're too young. You remember the manticore? There will be lots more like that. More dangerous. Some of the heroes will die."

Nico's shoulders sagged. He shifted from foot to foot. "Maybe you're right. But... but you can go for me."

"Say what?"

"You can turn invisible. You can go!"

"The Hunters don't like boys," Percy reminded him.

"She can go," Nico said, looking up at Alexis. She averted her gaze, muttering something incoherent under her breath. She couldn't let herself be manipulated into joining a dangerous quest because this kid was making puppy dog eyes at her.

"Nico, I think Percy's better suited for this," she said.

But Percy was shaking his head. "If they find out — "

"Don't let them find out." Nico said. "Follow them invisibly. Keep an eye on my sister! You have to. Please?"

"Nico — "

"You're both planning on going anyway, aren't you?"

Percy looked at Alexis, and she puffed up her cheeks before huffing. Were they seriously that obvious?

"Yeah," Percy said. "We have to find Annabeth, and Alex's mom. We have to help, even if they don't want us to."

"I won't tell on you," Nico said. "But you have to promise to keep my sister safe."

"I... that's a big thing to promise, Nico, on a trip like this. Besides, she's got Zoë, Grover, and Thalia — "

"Promise," he insisted.

Alexis cringed. She could never do that. Not to a kid. But Percy sucked in a deep breath.

"I'll do my best. I promise that."

Then, to her dismay, they both turned to look at her expectantly.

"Yeah," she stammered. "Sure — of course."

"Get going, then!" Nico said, satisfied. "Good luck!"

Alexis blinked. Neither of them were packed. Of course, she didn't have much with her, but she expected Percy to be a bit more prepared if they were about to travel across the country. He had nothing but the invisibility hat,
his sword, and the clothes he was wearing. Alexis only had a multi-tool she hoped would work if they need to carjack somebody in order to move faster.

"Tell Chiron—" Percy started.

"I'll make something up." Nico smiled crookedly. "I'm good at that. Go on!"

Percy and Alexis looked at each other for a second before they both ran. As the sun came up, they hurried to get to Half-Blood Hill, looking back every now and then to make sure no one had seen them. They made it to the top in time to see the camp's van disappearing down the farm road, most likely taking the quest group into the city.

    Alexis looked behind her one more time to take in Camp Half-Blood for the last time: the forest, the dining pavilion, the cabins, the chariot track, the Big House. It was beautiful. Alexis had seen the kids at camp, the way they lived their lives. They'd accepted the fact that they had godly parentage and they were proud of it. Alexis was convinced then: if she'd been born from a god, there had to be more to her than she knew. There was more for her out here. And she was dying to go and find out what that was.

    Though she suddenly felt like her mind had gone blank. She had so much determination to find her mother and get home, and now to find her purpose, that she'd forgotten to even think of how she was going to do all that. She'd been following Percy's lead blindly, trusting whatever he said and did without so much as a second thought. But she didn't regret it. It felt right, somehow. Again, she found herself looking at him for direction. But he looked just as lost as her on this.

    Then they heard the beating of huge wings. Blackjack landed next to them. He began casually nuzzling a few tufts of grass that stuck through the ice.

    Alexis couldn't help but grin when she saw him, shaking her head in disbelief.

    Whatever Blackjack had said to Percy, he agreed with, for he said. "Yeah. Let's fly."

    Percy looked at her for confirmation, and even though she knew just how wrong it could go, she smiled.

    At least it was good to know she was aware she was losing her mind.