ON THIS SPRING DAY
━━━━━ chapter four

━━━━━ IF SHE WAS HONEST, Violet had never quite forgiven Mrs. O'Leary for what happened last winter. Really, if the hellhound had tried to run Violet headfirst into a tree trunk then maybe Persephone wouldn't have dropped the bomb of Violet's legacy to Percy.

( Or maybe Violet was just looking for someone—or something—to blame. And it wasn't like hellhounds could exactly argue for their innocence. )

Mrs. O'Leary was the only friendly hellhound Violet had ever met. The hellhound was the size of a big garbage truck, and she smelled like sulfur and dog shampoo ( lavender and chamomile specifically ). She used to be Daedalus's pet hellhound, but Violet became the monster's caretaker after his death the previous summer. She wasn't the only person to take care of Mrs. O'Leary—Annabeth and AJ helped at times, but it was mainly Beckendorf who helped. And sometimes Percy, on the rare occasion he was at Camp rather than New York City.

Mrs. O'Leary saw Violet and Percy before they saw her, which was a pretty good trick considering her size. The moment the two walked into the arena, a wall of darkness slammed into Perc, knocking him to the ground. Violet grinned, glad it wasn't her this time.

"Ow!" Percy yelped. "Hey, girl. Good to see you, too. Ow!"

It took a few minutes for Mrs. O'Leary to calm down and get off him. By then, he was pretty much drenched in dog drool. Violet gave him a look when he reached for her hand. "I am not touching you," she said as Mrs. O'Leary bounded away. The hellhound barked at a bronze shield, her tail wagging. She wanted to play fetch; Violet grabbed the shield and tossed it across the arena. Percy tried wiping the drool off himself, but it wasn't looking good for him.

"I know Daedalus asked you to watch Mrs. O'Leary and all, but I thought she liked me more," Percy grumped, stopping beside Violet.

She glanced at him. "I'm her person." She shrugged. "What can I say? It's my stunning personality."

"Oh, really?" He raised his eyebrows at her. "Stunning personality?"

Violet didn't expect that to fluster her. She cleared her throat, tossing the slobbery shield. "That's what I said, isn't it, Jackson?"

He grinned at her. "Well, should I be jealous?"

She blinked at him. "Of me?"

"No!" He lolled his head to look at her. "I meant of Mrs. O'Leary. You're my best friend, and this hellhound is threatening my status as your best friend."

"I think AJ would fight you for that status," Violet dodged what Percy was implying.

"I could win against him in a fistfight."

"Anyways." Violet brushed past Percy, picking up the shield Mrs. O'Leary dropped. "I am sorry for snapping at you earlier. It wasn't right, and I didn't help any. It's okay you're scared."

"Violet," Percy crossed his arms, "I thought we were passed this."

"Yeah, but I dunno ..." She shrugged. Mrs. O'Leary became tired to fetch and laid down. "I feel bad, I guess. I called you a coward when anyone would be afraid in your shoes."

"Well, thanks." He tapped his fingers against one arm. "But I'm not that afraid."

She looked at him. "You're almost as lousy of a liar as me, Percy. It's fine that you're afraid."

His shoulders deflated. "Okay, fine. I'm scared. I would like to keep my soul instead of having it reaped. But ... Forget it."

"What?" Violet asked.

He shook his head. "It's nothing."

Before she could pry more, Mrs. O'Leary started barking—a sound that was only slightly louder than an artillery gun. It was her way of saying ( barking? ) that she needed to get out of the arena. Violet gave Percy one more glance before turning and letting the hellhound through the gates to the place. The monster bounded straight towards the woods.

Percy and Violet trailed after Mrs. O'Leary, their arms barely brushing together before Violet hurried forward. If the prophecy was right, Percy's soul would get reaped. She didn't want to think of what would happen to him, so it was better to ignore him the best she could. And she couldn't stop being jealous, and this wasn't the time for jealousy. But like any other emotion, Violet couldn't stop feeling it. As sick as it was, she was jealous of the recognition Percy received. He was the son of Poseidon, he was the hero of the Great Prophecy, and he would ( hopefully ) be the one to save the world. But what was Violet?

She found the hellhound in a familiar clearing—the clearing the Council of Cloven Elders had put Grover on trial. The place didn't look so good. The grass had turned yellow. The three topiary thrones had lost all their leaves. But that's not what surprised Violet. In the middle of the glade stood the weirdest trio she had ever seen: Juniper the tree nymph, Nico di Angelo, and a very old, very fat satyr.

Nico was the only one who didn't seem freaked out by Mrs. O'Leary's appearance. He looked pretty much like Violet had last seen him on her sixteenth birthday—an aviator's jacket, black jeans, and a T-shirt with dancing skeletons on it like one of those Day of the Dead pictures. His Stygian iron sword hung at his side. He was only twelve, though he looked much older and much sadder.

When he looked at Violet, she knew there was no backing out.

He nodded when he saw her, then went back to scratching Mrs. O'Leary's ears. She sniffed his legs like he was the most interesting thing since rib-eye steaks. Being the son of Hades, he'd probably been traveling in all sorts of hellhound-friendly places.

The old satyr didn't look nearly so happy. "Will someone—What is this Underworld creature doing in my forest!" He waved his arms and trotted on his hooves like the grass was hot. "You there, Violet Beaumont! Is this your beast?"

Mrs. O'Leary barked happily, shaking some birds from their nests.

"Um, yes, Leneus." Violet hooked her finger under the hellhound's pink collar. Though, she knew if Mrs. O'Leary took off, that wasn't going to stop her. "Sorry about her. She really is harmless."

The satyr scoffed and rolled his eyes, and she knew he didn't believe her. His fur was dust-bunny grey and a spider web grew between his horns. His belly would've made him an invincible bumper car. "Harmless? Highly unlikely. She is an Underworld monster! Things from there are the worst of the worst. Now, call of this beast!"

Mrs. O'Leary barked happily again. She couldn't tell the satyr was insulting.

The old satyr gulped. "Make it go away! Juniper, I will not help you under these circumstances!"

Juniper turned towards Violet and Percy. She was pretty in a dryad-y way, with her purple gossamer dress and her elfish face, but her eyes were green-tinted with chlorophyll from crying. "Percy, Violet," she sniffled, rubbing her pointy nose. "I was just asking about Grover. I know something's happened. He wouldn't stay gone this long if he wasn't in trouble. I was hoping that Leneus—"

"I told you!" the satyr protested. "You are better off without that traitor."

Violet frowned. "You don't mean that, Leneus."

Juniper stamped her foot. "He is not a traitor! He's the bravest satyr ever and I want to know where he is!"

Mrs. O'Leary trotted closer and barked again.

Leneus's knees started knocking. "I—I won't answer questions with this hellhound sniffing my tail!"

Nico's cheek twitched. "I'll walk the dog," he volunteered. He whistled and Mrs. O'Leary bounded after him to the far end of the grove.

Leneus huffed indignantly and brushed the twigs off his shirt. "Now, as I was trying to explain, young lady, your boyfriend has not sent any reports since we voted him into exile."

"You tried to vote him into exile," Percy corrected, stepping beside Violet. "Chiron and Dionysus stopped you."

"Bah!" The satyr shook his head. "They are honorary council members. It wasn't a proper vote."

The son of Poseidon crossed his arms. "I'll tell Dionysus you said that."

Leneus paled. "I only meant—Now see here, Jackson. This is none of your business."

"Grover's my friend," Percy snapped. "So, yes, it is my business. He wasn't lying to you about Pan's death. I saw it myself. Violet saw Pan die. You were just too scared to accept the truth."

Leneus's lips quivered. "No! Grover's a liar and good riddance. We're better off without him."

Violet gritted her teeth. "Are you?" She nodded to the withered thrones. "The Elders haven't met in a while. And the plants ... well, they're dead."

"Maron and Silenus ..." Leneus's eyes became glassy. "I—I'm sure they'll be back," he said, but she could hear the panic in his voice. "They're just taking some time off to think. It's been a very unsettling year."

"Because Pan died," insisted Violet. "And things are only to get stranger. Leneus, we need Grover. Don't you have some satyr magic to see if he's okay?"

The old satyr's eye twitched. "I'm telling you I've heard nothing. Perhaps he's dead."

Juniper choked back a sob. Violet wrapped an arm around the dryad.

"He's not dead," Percy insisted. "I can feel that much."

"Empathy links," Leneus sniffed disdainfully. "Very unreliable."

"Just like you," snapped Violet, giving him a nasty look. "Since you don't believe in empathy links, go find Grover. War is right around the corner, and you're sitting on your ass, doing nothing. At least Grover's trying. He's trying to prepare nature spirits, and he's not an Elder."

"Without my permission!" Leneus wagged a finger in Violer's face. Part of her was tempted to see how he'd react if she bit it off. "And it's not our war."

"Everyone is affected by this war, so it's everyone's war," countered Violet.

"That is not true!"

"Yes, it is!" she snapped back. "Listen, Leneus—it won't be hellhounds like Mrs. O'Leary. They won't be tamed, they won't just sniff at your fur. They'll rip you apart, limb by limb. And they'll be hundreds of those kinds of hellhounds. And when Kronos attacks, it won't just be hellhounds he'll bring. And he won't just stop with demigods. He'll kill and destroy anything and everything in his path—mortals, gods, demigods, nature spirits, and satyrs."

Leneus's bottom lip trembled, but Violet needed to make sure he understood; "You're a lousy fucking leader, Leneus. Grover's done more for nature—and Pan—than you have ever done. And you're an idiot if you think Kronos won't kill you and every other satyr he can find. So you if you wanna have a chance at surviving, fucking lead. Do what you were supposed to have done for however long you've been one of the elders." When he didn't immediately move, she grabbed the front of his rumpled shirt. "Go, you goat-brained dumbass!"

The elder scrambled backward, and Violet swears she didn't even push him. But the satyr was top-heavy, and so he fell back on his furry rump. He crawled along the dirt for a moment before he managed to climb back onto his hooves. He ran away, yelling, "Grover will never be accepted, Beaumont! He will die an outcast!"

When he'd disappeared into the bushes, Juniper wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, you guys. I didn't mean to get you involved. Leneus is still a Lord of the Wild. You don't want to make an enemy of him."

Violet looked after where Leneus had run off too. "I have worse enemies."

For a moment, she thought about Ms. Aarden, Elain, and Dahlia. But she shook the thought away. Ms. Aarden hadn't been a problem, really, since four summers ago. Beyond the dreams, Ms. Aarden hadn't tried to hurt Violet any longer. But Elain also said that Ms. Aarden wasn't dead, so there was always a chance ...

"Yeah, it's no problem," Percy promised Juniper. "We've both got worse enemies than overweight satyrs."

Nico walked back over. Despite appearing nonchalant, Violet could tell he was nervous. His shoulders were steeled, and his hands were balled inside his jacket pockets. "Judging by the trail of goat pellets, I think you scared Leneus just enough, Vi. Good job." He grinned at her.

"He deserved it," she sniffed, turning her head. "He doesn't even care about nature. He just likes the status that comes from being one of the elders."

Juniper rubbed at her nose with her dress sleeve. "You and Grover would make great elders, Violet."

"I—I can't be one of the elders," Violet replied. "I'm not a satyr."

"But you care about nature. Just like Persephone."

All three demigods stared at her. "You know?" Percy asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Nature talks." Juniper shrugged.

"Anyway." Violet crossed her arms over her chest. If Juniper knew, that meant almost every other dryad knew. And that meant the naiads knew. And ... that meant a lot of satyrs knew, too. "Nico, you didn't come to see Juniper right?"

"Uh, no." He sighed and looked over. "That was just an accident. I kind of ... dropped into the middle of their conversation."

"He scared us to death!" Juniper yelped. "Right out of the shadows. But, Nico, you are the son of Hades and all. Are you sure you haven't heard anything about Grover?"

Nico shifted his weight. "Juniper, like I tried to tell you ... even if Grover died, he would reincarnate into something else in nature. I can't sense things like that, only mortal souls."

"But if you do hear anything?" she pleaded, putting her hand on his arm. "Anything at all?"

His shoulder curled as she reached for it. "Uh, you bet. I'll keep my ears open."

"We'll find him, Juniper," Percy promised. "Grover's alive, I'm sure. There must be a simple reason why he hasn't contacted us."

She nodded glumly. "I hate not being able to leave the forest. He could be anywhere, and I'm stuck here waiting. Oh, if that silly goat has got himself hurt—"

Mrs. O'Leary bounded back over and took an interest in Juniper's dress. The dryad yelped. "Oh, no you don't! I know about dogs and trees—I'm gone!"

She went poof into green mist. Mrs. O'Leary looked disappointed, but she lumbered off to find another target, leaving Nico, Violet, and Percy alone.

Nico tapped his sword on the ground. A tiny mound of animal bones erupted from the dirt. They knitted themselves together into a skeletal field mouse and scampered off. "I was sorry to hear about Beckendorf."

Percy's Adam apple bobbed. "How did you—"

The son of Hades's answer was simple: "I talked to his ghost."

"Oh ... right." Percy cleared his throat. Violet figured he still had trouble understanding and getting used to Nico's son of Hades powers. That's why she never wanted him to know she was Persephone's descendant. "Did he say anything?"

"He doesn't blame you. He figured you'd be beating yourself up, and he said you shouldn't."

"Sounds like Beckendorf alright." Violet shifted her weight from foot to foot, looking around the woods. "Will he try for rebirth?"

Nico shook his head. "He's staying in Elysium. Said he's waiting for someone. Not sure what he meant, but he seems okay with death."

Her heart lurched. He was waiting for Silena. She needed to know, but ... what could Violet say? Short recap so I can tell you about your dead boyfriend! I'm a legacy of Persephone, and I learned that by sneaking my way into the Underworld and Hades's Palace by using the Labyrinth. And I can talk to the dead. By the way, Beckendorf's waiting for you after death.

That would go horribly. But Silena deserved to know. And Violet knew she wouldn't be able to bring herself to give Silena that truth.

"I had a vision you were on Mount Tam," Percy told Nico suddenly. "Was that—"

"Real." Nico licked his lips. "I didn't mean to be spying on the Titans, but I was in the neighborhood."

Percy's brows pinched together. "Doing what?"

The son of Hades tugged at his sword belt. "Following a lead on ... you know, my family."

Nico's past was a painful subject. Until two years ago, he and his sister Bianca had been frozen in time at a place called the Lotus Casino. They'd been there for roughly seventy years. Eventually, a mysterious lawyer rescued them and checked them into a boarding school, but Nico had no memories of his life before the Lotus Casino. He didn't know anything about his mother, he barely knew her name. He didn't know who the lawyer was, or why they'd been frozen in time or allowed to go free. After Bianca died and left Nico alone, he'd been obsessed with finding answers. Violet couldn't blame him. She wasn't any different. She had sent herself and Nico on a wild goose chase last summer through the Labyrinth to unearth her family secrets.

"Did you learn anything?" she asked gently. That was the only way to cross the subject with him; gentleness, kindness, patience. Nico had to tell her, she couldn't pry the answers out of him.

"No," he murmured. "But I may have a new lead soon."

She frowned. "And that is?"

Nico chewed his lip. "Not important right now. Percy, you know why I'm here."

Percy swallowed hard. Ever since Nico first proposed his plan on Percy's fifteenth birthday, he's always avoided answering. Even now, almost an entire year later, he had never said Yes or No to Nico's plan. But he had to soon. There wasn't time for dodging anymore. "I—I don't know," he admitted. "It seems pretty extreme."

"You've got Typhon coming in what ... a week? Most of the other Titans are unleashed now and on Kronos's side. Maybe it's time to think extreme."

Percy looked at Violet, and she sighed. "Percy, he has a point. Last year, when we were in the Titan's Palace, you couldn't even touch him. And on the Princess Andromeda, you said Riptide just bounced off him."

Behind her, she heard even from a long distance, the Ares and Apollo campers still arguing. The curses and horrible poetry were only getting worse.

Nico looked between Violet and Percy. "That's no match for the Titan army." He nodded toward Camp Half-Blood. "And you both know that. This comes down to you and Luke, Percy. And there's only one way you can beat Luke."

Percy didn't respond. He looked from Violet and toward Camp. He watched Austin Lake and Sherman Yang start a yelling match.

"We can give you the same power," the son of Hades urged. "You heard the Great Prophecy. Unless you want to have your soul reaped by a cursed blade ..."

Percy whipped his head back toward Nico. "You can't prevent a prophecy," he replied.

"But you can fight it." Nico had a strange, hungry light in his eyes. It was a look Violet had seen Hades wear before. "You can become invincible."

"Maybe we should wait. Try to fight without—"

"No!" Nico snarled. "It has to be now!"

Violet held out a hand. "Nico." She gave him a look, a look mixed with shock and disgust. She hadn't seen his temper flare like this in a long time. This felt like it was more than just trying to save Percy's life.

"Violet, you know I'm right!"

She watched him for a while. Percy took a deep breath before asking, "Are you ... okay?"

The son of Hades took a deep breath. "All I mean ... when the fighting starts, we won't be able to make the journey. This is our last chance. I'm sorry if I'm being too pushy, but two years ago my sister gave her life to protect you. I want you to honor that. Do whatever it takes to stay alive and defeat Kronos."

Emotional manipulation. Maybe Nico had learned too much from Violet. She winced silently, rubbing her neck. Beyond the manipulation, Nico still had a point, but she didn't like how pushy he was being. If Kronos attacked New York, the campers would be no match for his forces. Nico's way was dangerous—deadly, really. But it might just give them a chance.

"All right." Percy took a deep breath. "What do we do first?"

Nico's cold, creepy smile made Violet's skin crawl. "First we'll need to retrace Luke's steps. We need to know more about his past, his childhood."

Beyond the final goal, Violet knew nothing about Nico's plan. And that's how he wanted it. No matter how much prying and bothering she tried, he didn't spill a single detail beyond the end. It made her mind crawl thinking about what he was keeping from her. It also made her angry. You think they'd been through enough that they could tell each other anything. But that's what Percy asked of Violet last summer.

Percy frowned. "Why do we need to know about that?"

"I'll explain when we get there," Nico promised. "I've already tracked down his mother. She lives in Connecticut."

Violet frowned. It was pretty common for kids to run away, and it was pretty common for demigods not to want to share why they ran away. It was always an unspoken rule: Don't ask about another camper's past if you don't want to share yours. And Luke never asked about pasts to the point he had to share his. Violet knew nothing of his life before Camp Half-Blood, nothing of his life before he found Annabeth on the street.

"Luke ran away when he was really young," she said. "That's all that anyone knows about his past. I mean, besides maybe Annabeth or Thalia. He never told anyone about his life before Camp."

"For a reason." Nico looked Violet in the eye, and her spine shivered. What could be so bad that it made Luke never want to tell anyone about his mother?

Violet glanced at Percy. He was thinking along the same lines she was. "O-kay ..." he murmured. "So how do we get to Connecticut? I can call Blackjack and—"

"No." Nico scowled and shook his head. "Pegasi don't like me, and the feeling is mutual. But there's no need for flying." He whistled, and Mrs. O'Leary came loping out of the woods.

"Your friend here can help." He patted the hellhound's head. "You haven't tried shadow travel yet?"

Percy glanced at Violet. "Shadow travel? What is that?"

"It's exactly as it sounds," she answered.

"That's not making me feel better."

"And you're only going to feel worse after."

"Really, Love Bug?"

Nico whispered in Mrs. O'Leary's ear. She tilted her head, suddenly alert.

"Hop on board." Nico gestured to Mrs. O'Leary, giving Percy a wry smile.

Percy looked down at the hellhound. "Like a horse?"

"This will make her very tired," Nico warned, "so you can't do it often. And it works best at night. But all shadows are part of the same substance. There is only one darkness, and creatures of the Underworld can use it as a road, or a door."

Percy sat on Mrs. O'Leary's back. She didn't even notice as he hooked his fingers behind her collar. "I don't understand," he admitted.

"I never really did, either," agreed Violet. "Just hold on tight. Mrs. O'Leary understands how to shadow travel. Nico" —she looked at the son of Hades— "where does Luke's mom live?"

"Westport, Connecticut. The home of May Castellan."

Percy looked at Violet and Nico. "You're not coming?"

She smiled at him, her arms crossed. "We don't need Mrs. O'Leary to shadow travel, Percy. We'll be right behind you. Just tell Mrs. O'Leary where to go."

🌷  FEB. 1ST, 2024  /  i wasn't gonna post this chapter today but i couldn't wait LMAO

i don't know how i feel about this chapter. i think some of that has to do with the fact that i'm intentionally putting two weeks between each update and these current chapters are just ... not exciting lol. like, we just haven't gotten to the important bits. yet. they ARE coming, and i'm giggling and kicking my feet thinking about it huhuhu

i also feel like vi and percy are so ... off this chapter but i don't know why. it hasn't been that long since i've written for them, but my excuse - things are awkward between them because of ... everything lol.

i think i'll write the next chapter in percy's pov. thoughts?

alsoalso, i've gotten more readers recently and they've been answering about my ship name question for percy and violet - two contendars! one is perlet, second in perclet. they're very similar, but i like perclet personally. like now that i look at it more, it's not as ugly as it used to be LMAO

anyways, thoughts?? opinions??

(not edited nor proofread)