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The Naiads of the Great Lakes were the most possessive of the water spirits. Perhaps it was something about the destructive storms that would rage upon their surfaces, claiming many lives, or perhaps it was the cold that meant they rarely if ever gave up their dead. Regardless, while they were the most possessive, all water spirits, from the weakest spring nymph to old Oceanus himself, were possessive.
Kymopoleia was visiting Ontario, the naiad of the eponymous lake when she felt it. Ontario was a little boring, in her opinion, not enough destructive storms for her taste, so her attention had begun to wander. Sue her, she was only here because Superior had asked anyway.
A hurricane was forming in New York. Small and focused, but immensely powerful. And it was forming over land. Kymopoleia knew she had to see the creator of this little hurricane, for no such storm would form naturally.
In the eye of a hurricane that ripped through central park, Kym found a demigod, and she instantly knew he was one of theirs. A child of the water in some way. Subtly, in a way she hoped the Titans he fought wouldn't notice, Kym granted the boy a fraction of her power. Something to give him an edge, make his abilities tear through their enemies just a little easier. Their enemies, because his enemies were hers, and vice versa. Such was the way of things.
In response to the additional power, the hurricane grew, the storm cell swirling faster and more dangerously now. It teetered on the edge of the boy's power, dancing in and out of his rigid control.
The boy launched Hyperion clear across the little park, to an area where a satyr was clearly waiting. Perhaps he was that one satyr, the one who was saying the truth about her friend Pan. Regardless, the satyr acted quickly while the Titan was still stunned, entrapping him in a tree. Oh she was so proud of this boy, he was so powerful, so dangerous for a mortal scion.
She would have to visit, teach him to harness the power that lay underneath his skin. Her father would be upset, but he had that forbidden son of his, didn’t he? She could have a student, as a treat.
Kymopoleia watched the boy from a distance during the battle. She wouldn’t interfere, aside from the lightest of nudges on his power, bringing out the more destructive side of his abilities. It was for the best if she could inoculate him to the destruction inherent in storms. He was a mortal, one used to the stories of devastation and death following their works, his natural reaction would be one of horror and fear. But hurricanes were releases of energy from the ocean. They ended droughts, distributed nutrients, and kept the temperatures of the oceans balanced. Without this, life would be much harsher for the mortals. He would come to understand this in time, she was certain.
When her father rose from the depths to defeat Typhon with the other Olympians, Kymopoleia retreated. Undoubtedly, her father's attention would be on his favorite son, the prophecy child, who she knew to be somewhere within the city as well. It would not do to prematurely draw her father's attention to her would-be student, so, reluctantly, she withdrew her presence. He would survive, or he wouldn't have the potential to learn from her. They were the only possible outcomes.
Kymopoleia did not find another opportunity to seek him out until after battle had resolved and her Father's attention on land waned.
The boy was sitting on a dock, watching the lake inside the training camp Chiron run. It was a pitiful mirror of Atlantis’s training grounds, but it did at least have a lake. A low bar to clear to be certain, but little could be expected of mortals.
“You have much potential, young half-blood,” she said as she surfaced from within the lake.
The boy yelped. “What? Who the Hades are you? I know you’re not one of the Naiads that live in the lake here.”
“And how do you know that?” Kym challenged.
“Because I talk to them? And I know them and they know me?”
“I am Kymopoleia, the goddess of violent sea storms, and daughter of Poseidon.”
The boy muttered something under his breath. Had she not been focusing on disguising her presence on land, she would have heard the whole of it. As it was, she thought he said something about “didn’t tell me about you.”
Of course, Perseus wouldn’t dare tell anyone about the family shame. He and her father were both hypocrites. She knew Atlantis had been nearly destroyed again, the palace decimated. And of course, it was Perseus’s fault. They feared any who embraced destruction, and refused to acknowledge their own potential for it. When she destroyed the palace, she was exiled, but when Perseus did, he was celebrated as a hero.
“Of course he would not have. The family does not like to speak of me. They find my domains too distasteful.”
The boy stuck out his hand. “I’m Percy. It’s uh, nice to meet you?”
Kymopoleia grinned. This was certainly too good an opportunity to pass up. A boy with all the power to summon his own storms, and a name similar to her half-brother. Yes, she would teach him, and together, they would teach her father the nature of his folly.
“It’s nice to meet you as well, Percy.”
“So, uh, no offense, but usually when a God tracks me down, they want something from me. So, uh, what do you want now?”
“There is much power within you, Percy, I wish to see you unlock it.”
Percy’s expression grew flat, a barely restrained rage clearly whipping within him. The water’s surface responded eagerly to his emotions, even clearly without any conscious effort on his part.
“Look, I already told Zeus I don’t want to be a God, okay? My answer hasn’t changed at all in the last month.”
“Oh yes he would do that wouldn’t he? It would be smart of him, to limit you now, before you learned the true extent of your powers.”
“He – what?”
“No, Percy, what I want is to teach you. I was watching you, during the battle of Manhattan. I sensed the hurricane you formed during the fight and came to see who exactly had such potential. You did not disappoint.,” Kym said.
“I don’t want any more power. I only took the Curse of Achilles because I needed to do it, okay? Nobody else would’ve stood a chance against Kronos, I never wanted that power. If I could, I’d get rid of it in an instant. I don’t wanna hurt anyone else.”
Most demigods of the sea exhibited a particular fatal flaw. Loyalty. They couldn’t bear the thought of hurting one of their own, an ironic flaw considering her father’s own past. Percy, it seemed, had inherited it in droves. And it would provide the perfect motivation for him to learn from her.
“The Curse of Achilles could not have given you the ability to summon that storm. That is either a power you have, or a power you don’t. Nothing can be done, but to train you.”
“But what if I hurt my mom? Or Annabeth, or Grover, or even a mortal? I don’t want to do that again and risk hurting one of my friends.”
“Do you remember when you summoned that storm? Did you try to bring it about? Or did it happen naturally as you fought? Could you prevent it from happening again? Maybe when your mother is in the room with you, unable to defend herself against all the power of a hurricane, trapped in a small, mortal room? You already began to form one unconsciously during this conversation.”
Percy paled.
“The only way to do so is to train your power, learn it, live it, and use it. There is no other alternative. Not one that won’t just lead to a worse accident than had you not learned to control this power at all.” Kymopoleia knew that an edge of bitterness seeped into her voice.
“It happened to you, didn’t it?” Percy asked, nothing but concern on his face.
“It did. When I came into my strength, my powers scared my father and mother. To appease them, I suppressed my powers thoroughly. In the end, it tore out of me, and destroyed my father’s palace. I have been exiled since.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Kymopoleia detected naught but genuine sorrow and sympathy from the demigod.
“It is long past. But you see the reason why you must learn? The consequences should you choose not to would be severe.”
“You won’t make me?” Percy asked.
“It would be unwise for you not to, but I will not force you. An unwilling student is no student at all.”
She didn’t genuinely believe Percy would choose anything other than to learn from her, but she would not force him to learn. His resentment would render him unsuitable as an ally. The power over storms would change him, like all other godly abilities. He would see things her way, but only if he was nurtured correctly.
“Okay. If you really think it’ll be safer for everyone if I can learn to control storms like that, then I’ll learn from you.”
Kym grinned, and this time, she let her shark teeth show. “Excellent. One more thing though. You must never mention this training to Poseidon, or any of his other children. They wouldn’t understand. Father, out of genuine hypocrisy, my siblings out of fear. None of my father’s other children hold the same power, and without it, they fear what they cannot understand. When we speak, you should avoid mentioning them by name. Their attention would be risky.”
“Can I tell anyone else?” Percy asked. “Like my girlfriend Annabeth, or maybe my mom? They deserve to know what’s going on.”
“Of course, so long as you can be sure they will not let word slip back to my father, or worse, Triton. His reaction to me training you would be poor, to say the least.”
Percy wrinkled his face. “I don’t think, uh, T, liked me very much when I was in Atlantis.”
“Of course. My little brother wouldn’t like you. He’s much too stuck up, much too disapproving of the power that sings in both you and me. Don’t worry, in the eyes of everyone else, Triton’s disapproval is practically a stamp of endorsement.”
“Alright,” Percy said.
“Who is this Annabeth?”
Percy watched her suspiciously, but the brightness of his love for the girl shone even through his cautious expression. “She’s a daughter of Athena. She’s in charge of rebuilding Olympus, and a great fighter. We couldn’t have beaten Kronos without her.”
“I do not share my father’s distaste for Athena, Percy. I understand their rivalry, but I hold no enmity for her.”
In truth, she considered Percy’s closeness to one of Athena’s children an additional boon to needle her father with. Poseidon had his precious Perseus, the hero who could do no wrong, and she would have Percy, a hero in his own right, and the beloved of a daughter of Athena.
“Good,” Percy said. “That will make everything easier. Heck, she might even be able to help. She’s pretty smart.”
“Perhaps she could indeed,” Kym mused.
“So, how do I make a storm? I mean it’s not like this is something we cover at camp or anything.”
“Storms are an emotional power, Percy. They respond to our feelings, and to some degree, our feelings respond to them.”
“Is that why I like sitting out in the rain so much?”
“It could be,” Kymopoleia replied. It wasn’t what she meant, but he would see the true meaning of her words soon enough.
“So, emotions?”
“Emotions. You can’t summon a storm when you don’t have the emotions for them. If you aren’t genuinely scared, or angry, or feeling some other powerful emotion, you won’t be able to access that power.”
“Really? Doesn’t seem like a huge issue. I’m a demigod, I’m probably going to be scared for most of my life,” Percy said.
“Perhaps not, but it is important. You cannot just summon a storm to show off, or to flash your power. They aren’t as easily controlled as a simple wave.”
Percy frowned. “But why would I want to show off? I mean it might be good to spar with, so my friends are better prepared, but beyond that…”
“Many mortals would seek power for vain reasons, Percy. It is not your way, perhaps, but it bears mentioning.”
Percy floundered before her for a moment.
“Now, enough of that boring shit. You say you’re probably going to be scared for most of your life? Prove it. Focus your power, your emotions, everything that drives you. Focus and push it all out.”
Percy nodded, and she could feel the storm beginning to form from his power. It was a nascent storm, still weak – much more so than the one he had summoned in Central Park – but it was a storm she could feel nonetheless. It built, slowly at first, but it swelled under her student’s will.
He couldn’t make a large storm, not yet, but he would be able to.
“Kym, help!”
She heard the cry before it could even leave Percy’s mouth. As his training progressed, and he learned more, she found that he was more and more attuned to her. An ardent devotee of her own. It had been so long since she’d had one of those.
“You shouldn’t just call upon a Goddess, Percy, even if she is your teacher. Did that girlfriend of yours teach you nothing?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know who else to call because you said not to tell any other sea deities about you training me, and I’m worried and I think it’s related to the training and I don’t know what to do,” Percy said, words rushing out of his mouth like a river down a cliff.
“What’s happened, Percy?”
“I … it’s hard to say. But I can feel something tugging on my emotions, like a storm inside me. I nearly snapped at my mom, Kym. I did snap at Clarisse, and she flinched.”
Kym grinned. The changes had begun to manifest. “And you liked her flinch, didn’t you? That’s what has you calling for me, isn’t it?”
“No!” Percy lied.
“Don’t lie to me, Percy. You’re good, but I’m better.”
“What’s happening to me? You knew this would happen to me,” he accused.
“I did. Power has a price, Percy, and this is no different.”
“I didn’t want this power! You talked me into learning from you!”
Percy was pacing aggressively, and a light pressure front had formed around him.
“It would have been much worse for your loved ones had I not.”
“And what, I’m just supposed to believe you taught me out of the goodness of your heart? I’m sorry to disappoint but that’s hard to believe. Gods hardly ever do anything just to be nice.”
“It wasn’t. I have never lied to you, Percy, and I don’t plan on starting now. I wanted a student, someone to teach storm-calling to, and even if I had done nothing, that power had already manifested within you. The storm relishes fear, Percy, and you are worthy of it.”
“I don’t want people to fear me!”
“They already did. You defeated the king of the titans in single combat, Percy, and that is not something most demigods are capable of. I doubt even my brother could achieve such a feat.”
“Is there nothing I can do?”
“No. But it is healthy for them to fear you, Percy. They should fear your power. Without fear, they will not take the necessary precautions to keep themselves safe. Fear is not bad, not all the time.”
“But they shouldn’t fear me. Fearing people isn’t good!”
“You aren’t just people, Percy. You are half mortal, and half god. All demigods are more than mere people, but especially the children of any of the sea. We are all of the tides and the waves, storms and surges. They should fear us, as they fear the ocean. Fear of the ocean keeps humans from drowning themselves.”
Percy said nothing, and for a while, she sat next to her student in silence.
“For what it's worth, I'm sorry it disturbs you. But I cannot find it in myself to be angry you embrace the storm so thoroughly. Few do, and fewer still understand those of us who do.”
“Not even –”
“No. My father would rather I did not embrace it so, but there is nothing to me but that embrace.”
“I’m not happy you didn’t tell me about this, but I get it. I’m sorry he doesn’t approve.”
“Thank you, Percy.”
Kymopoleia teleported to her father’s palace in a rage. Percy was still missing, it had been months, and there was neither hide nor hair of her student.
“Poseidon, I know it must have been you, now tell me, what have you done with my student!”
Her father blinked. “What?”
“I know it must have been you, you learned I was teaching a demigod and decided we couldn’t have that, now didn’t you? Just like when you exiled me, or when you married me to that oaf, Briareos. Poseidon always knows best, and anyone who doesn’t like it suffers. What did you do to him?”
“Kymopoleia, my daughter, I had no idea you were training a student. I must admit I am concerned, but I would never kidnap a demigod just because you took a shine to them. Is he yours? You know about the ancient laws –”
“Damn the ancient laws,” Kym snarled. “And damn you too, for expecting me to hold to them, when you yourself see Perseus as often as you wish. He is not my son, but that does not make him any less mine.”
“Peace, daughter. I did not know of your student, and have done nothing to harm any demigods. Your half-brother is missing as well, Kymopoleia. If you would join me in the search, I would have you.”
Kym snorted. Of course her father went back to his little mortal favorite.
“I am sorry, Kym. I know your pain. For what it’s worth, I wish you had never needed to experience it first hand, despite our disagreements.”
More useless platitudes. It was almost worse than if he had admitted to taking Percy. At least then she could see his honest dislike on his face, rather than the facsimile of regret he painted on now.
“If I find out you were involved with the disappearance of my student, father, then I will see to it that you regret every action since you turned me out of your home.”
She did not stay around long enough to hear her father’s next words. She knew they would be useless to her.
Kym did not expect to see her student descending from Perseus’s own ship, and with the son of Jupiter in tow. Perhaps Perseus was too injured from battle – she had not missed when her father’s rage had gripped the seas for two weeks – or more likely, he thought resolving the storm was beneath him. If Triton was any model to go by, then her youngest brother was almost certainly self-important.
“It’s good to see you again, Percy,” she said. “I must admit, I did not expect you to be traveling for them.”
She knew he would understand exactly which them she meant. She knew the magnitude of his anger towards the Olympians.
“Hey, Kym. Sorry for disappearing like that. Hera kinda kidnapped me, stole all my memories, and handed me to the Romans.”
Hera. Kym felt little for her brother Perseus, but even she had been outraged when the truth of his disappearance was revealed. Stealing one of the sea’s own was nearly a declaration of war. Two was much too far. She would ensure the Queen of the Gods suffered, after Gaea arose.
Perseus would not be happy with being used to raise Gaea, but he would not be killed. Percy, of course, would be unharmed.
“It is no fault of yours, Percy. You can hardly be blamed for her madness.”
“Percy, do you know this woman? Is she the one making those storms?” asked Jupiter’s son. Jason, she thought his name was.
“Of course,” Kym and Percy said in unison.
“She’s the one who taught me how to control storms. What, you thought that I could just do that naturally?” Percy asked.
“Which, speaking of, would you mind cutting that storm out? It’s pretty awesome, but my friends are up there, and I don’t want them to die.”
“The friends with whom you sally forth in the name of Olympus? I think perhaps you should pick better friends, Percy.”
“I’m not fighting for them, Kym.”
“Then why are you in the Ancient Lands? I know that is something your little camp forbids.’
“Gaea is rising. And if she wakes, she will slay my friends. I can’t let that happen.”
Kym frowned. She’d hoped he would be more amenable to her plans, and he would have been, had her scheming aunt not stolen him from her. Undoubtedly, that was why Hera had stolen him. To mold him into a tool for the Olympians once again, and to deny him the opportunity to save his friends by siding with Gaea.
She changed tacks.
“If that’s so, then why haven’t you stopped the storm? I know you can, Percy.”
Percy winced. “I’m not at full strength yet with storms. Annabeth and I, we fell into Tartarus.”
Kym had to fight her anger to keep from tearing the ship above into splinters. Even Zeus feared Tartarus. That her painfully mortal student had to face it with only his equally mortal girlfriend by his side infuriated her. If she had known he lived, she could have convinced him of the value in the winning side, and he never would have been forced to experience those horrors.
Not for the first time, she wished Percy had taken Zeus’s offer to become a God. He would be so much more limited, but he would be safe from so much harm.
“And yet you appear to be alive,” Kym remarked.
“It wasn’t easy,” Percy muttered before raising his voice. “Can we not talk about that though? I’d really rather not relive that experience right now.”
“Of course. I have an ally of mine arriving shortly, one I hope you will find as useful as I do.”
Kym felt Polybotes rise from the depths, as he took his cue to enter the conversation.
“The son of Neptune,” boomed Polybotes as he glared venomously at Percy.
Kym frowned to herself. She knew Percy resembled Perseus strongly, but she’d expected Polybotes to be able to tell the difference between her student and her half-brother.
“Polybotes,” said Jason, “the anti-Poseidon.”
“Indeed, son of Rome,” the giant said. “But if you’ll excuse me, my immediate business is with Perseus Jackson. I tracked him all the way across Tartarus. Now, here in his father’s domain, I intend to crush him once and for all.”
Again, Polybotes was looking directly at Percy when he said that. Percy had fallen into Tartarus, he’d just told her as such. But, so had Perseus, by the word of Polybotes. It explained her father’s blind rage, and the storms that wracked the mortal coastlines. Perseus would likely be powerful enough to control storms, if the scattered rumors she heard were to be believed. And the names. The names were similar, and Percy could be a nickname for Perseus.
She couldn’t believe she hadn’t made the connection, but none of what she’d been told about Perseus matched the boy she knew. When she’d heard tales of a hero to rival Heracles, she’d taught a boy who would never dream of harming his friends or family.
“You will not touch my baby brother,” Kym said.
Polybotes was their father’s bane, but neither her nor Percy were their father. They both understood the storms that rode the waves, and the freedom within them. The giant would fall.
“You lied to me, Polybotes. I was told my younger brother would live, so he could free our great-grandmother, and my student was promised a place in Gaea’s legions. I will not tolerate threats to my family. Had I realized my student was also my baby brother, I would never have permitted your foul presence within the ocean, much less listened to your designs or your mother’s.”
“Traitor!” bellowed Polybotes.
“You are the one who would have had me betray my own family, Polybotes. But further, you are the one who abandoned our deal first. My brother was not to be touched, nor my student. You threatened both, and for that, you shall pay.”
“Petulant goddess, you know that you cannot kill me alone,” Polybotes said.
“Then it is good that I am not. Even weakened by Tartarus, my student does not need his power over storms to fight. And I would be most ashamed if his companions were not suitably able. Go, brother mine, and know that I will aid you.”
Percy surged forward, Jason moving alongside him. They fought well together, she had to admit. Perhaps Juno’s darling held some of the storm in him as well. A storm spirit surrounded him, granting him the ability to breathe and prevented the pressure from crushing him, so it was a possibility.
Polybotes summoned poison, flinging it from his hands towards the demigods. Before she could summon a current to sweep it away, she noticed that the flow of poison bent around Percy, avoiding him. Interesting. He hadn’t exhibited casual control over circulation like that before. Perhaps Tartarus had forced him to adapt, to hone his powers.
Whatever the reason for the new expression of their father’s power, her brother’s face contorted with horror as he realized what he was doing.
“Fight, Percy, and deal with your concerns later,” she called.
Percy caught her gaze, nodded, and returned to the fight.
Polybotes summoned basilisks, which the demigods worked together to overcome. After a brief battle that was far more boring than it should be, Jason managed a suitable blow on the giant. Lazily, she threw a trident into Polybotes’ head. That would keep him dead long enough.
As Polybotes’ body dissolved, Kym turned to Percy’s companion.
“So, son of Jupiter. Tell me. Why should I spare that puny ship of yours?”
She wouldn’t kill them, but she enjoyed making Percy sweat. He deserved a little healthy fear, especially after that scare.
“Well, they’re Percy’s friends, and he won’t be happy if you kill them?” Jason tried.
“I am currently very annoyed with my baby brother, for not telling me he was, even though he very clearly knew. Unless he can stop the storm himself, he can do nothing to stop me. Why should I side with you, instead of Gaea? Why shouldn’t I just take my brother to the deepest crevasse of the ocean, where nothing can possibly harm him again?”
Percy squawked at her protectiveness, but what did he expect? She left him alone for practically no time at all, and crawled his way into the worst, most inhospitable place she could think of. And his girlfriend had let him. She would have to re-evaluate how willing to tolerate Annabeth she was.
“Well, let’s say you destroy our ship and whisk Percy away where he’ll be safe. Ignoring that he’d completely hate that, let’s say it happens. What next? Gaea rises anyways, because you stopped the only demigods who were on the way to prevent that. When she kills all the humans, there won’t be anyone left to fear or remember you.”
Jason’s tactic was not entirely a terrible one. She wouldn’t say no to some fear and respect from the Romans. They’d barely done anything more than disrespect her father. More respect from the Romans than her father got would certainly be something to lord over him, even if it didn’t last. But she thought she could hold out for a little bit more.
“Actually, Jason Grace, now that you mention it, I do enjoy being feared by mortals. I am not feared enough.”
He brightened, and Kym knew she had him. All she needed was to play uninterested a little while longer, and she’d have quite a sweet bargain.
“I can help with that! You know gods depend on mortals. The more we honor you, the more powerful you get!”
Perhaps the Roman wasn’t as naive as he seemed. Even if she’d been set against their cause, that would have been a compelling argument. She hadn’t ever known true worship, and until Percy came along, she hadn’t had any offerings since Poseidon banished her.
“I wouldn’t know! I’ve never been honored!”
“If you help us, then the mighty Kymopoleia will have been instrumental in defeating Gaea. Every demi-god, Greek and Roman, will honor you big time!”
“Kym, please,” Percy begged.
“Less talking from you, and more trying to shut down the storm, Percy. Jason, will there be cowering?”
“Tons of cowering! Plus your name in the summer program. A custom-designed banner. A cabin at Camp Half-Blood. Two shrines. I’ll even throw in a Kymopoleia action figure.”
She had to admit, an action figure was not what she’d expected him to offer. It was also a little tempting.
“And what if you’re lying to me, like Polybotes did?”
Jason shrugged. “Well, you can always kill me if I don’t follow through. That’s not something you could do with Gaea.”
“True.” She snapped her fingers, and the storm raging above dissipated. “There. Friends saved.”
“You were always going to do that, weren’t you,” Percy accused.
“Yes, I was. I’m not heartless, Percy. But it was fun making you sweat. Now come, I need to learn everything about these friends of yours.”
“Kym!”
“No protesting, baby brother, I was already dubious of them when I only knew you were my student, and now I know I must be doubly sure none of them have nefarious intentions.”
“Nefarious intentions? What nefarious intentions? You were the one who sided with Gaea, not me! What about your friends?”
“I am several thousand years old, and can call and dismiss storms whenever I need to. My friends do not need inspecting.”
“Just decapitating”
“He was not a friend.” Kym ground out.
Percy seemed to recognize that he’d touched a sore spot. “Sorry, sorry, should’ve known.”
“Lady Kymopoleia,” Annabeth said.
“Annabelle,” Kym replied, to be petty.
Annabeth’s eyebrow raised in question. “I know you know what my name is, my lady.”
“You seem to know a great many things, and yet, you don’t share any of them.”
“Ah. That. I was wondering when you’d realize.”
“So you knew,” Kym said flatly.
“So did Percy.” Annabeth returned.
“I find it highly unlikely that this was kept from me by accident.”
“It was not, my lady.” Annabeth’s head was bowed ever so slightly.
“Why.”
“Out of all his immortal family, you were the only one aside from your father who seemed to like him. He didn’t want that to all go away when you found out.”
“I would never abandon him. It only made me treasure him more.”
“He didn’t know that, my lady. He only had briefly met your brother and mother shortly before he met you, and they were, well, dealing with the circumstances of the war, you could say.”
“They were not kind.”
“It was a difficult time for everyone,” Annabeth said.
Kym frowned. She knew the girl was being diplomatic, and it bothered her, but she clearly would not be able to force the girl to speak her mind without more effort than it was worth.
“So. What are your intentions with my baby brother, Athena-spawn?”
“I think perhaps I should ask your intentions with my boyfriend, Kymopoleia.”
“I’m his sister!”
“And I’ve known him longer. Well before he appeared as interesting, or useful to you. You wouldn’t be the first who just wanted him for his power. Surely, as his sister, you can understand my concern.”
Kym ground her teeth at Annabeth’s reversal. Not only was it aggravating, but even worse, it was valid. As she had recently learned, Hera herself had used Percy for her own gain, with no regard for the harm it may have rendered to him, or his family. She herself was furious over Hera’s overreach. In her position, she would be suspicious of any deity expressing interest in Percy, even if it was one who’d been benign in the past.
“I swear on the River Styx that I bear no ill will to my youngest brother Percy Jackson,” Kym said. “I will bring no harm to him, and I do not see him as a tool to be used.”
Thunder boomed from the sky above the roof of the cabin, and Kym realized how true it was. At first, she had only seen Percy as a weapon to jab their father with, but over time, she truly began to care for him as her student. Him being her brother was merely an excuse to let more of the fondness through.
Annabeth visibly relaxed at the oath. Even had she not been an ancient goddess, millennia old, the sudden lack of tension would have been obvious to Kymopoleia. The girl knew what her swearing of that oath, unprompted, meant.
“I cannot stay, not long. Not for nearly as long as I would like. It would not do to garner Father’s attention, not more than I already have by my presence and by my oath. But know, both you and Percy, that you need not so much as utter my name to receive my aid.”
“I understand. But Lady Kymopoleia?”
Kym turned from the doorway. Annabeth’s voice held more tenderness and cautious respect than she had heard from her since the first twenty seconds of meeting her.
“Yes?”
“Percy always appreciated your visits. He will need you too, after the war. Please, don’t leave him, now that you know.”
Kym grinned sharply. “Worry not, Annabeth. You two can’t get rid of me that easily.”