CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
FINLEY                   BRIGGS

Jason visited her cabin that evening.

He did that sort of thing now. A few weeks ago, if Jason Grace had even dared to knock on Finley Briggs's door, she would've slammed the door in his face after threatening to shoot off his ballsack. 

But things had been different between them after Cupid, so she let him in. He sat criss-crossed in the middle of her bed. She sat with her back against the headboard, legs sprawled out.

"I was about to go on duty," Jason said. "Just wanted to check on you first."

Finn nudged his leg with her foot. "The idiot who got run through with a sword wants to check on me? Check yourself first."

He gave her a lopsided smile. His skin was so tan from their time on the coast of Africa that the scar on his lip looked like a chalk mark. His blue eyes were even more outstanding. His hair had grown to a length that would've never been acceptable in the legion. She found her eyes drawn back to his lips.

"I've been worse," Jason assured her. "During that quest I went on in Oregon, this dracaena cut off my arms."

Finn blinked. Then she slapped his arm. "Shut up."

"I had you for a second."

Her hand settled on his thigh, unmoving. They sat in comfortable silence. For a moment, Finn could almost imagine they were normal teenagers, enjoying each other's company and learning to be together as something more than enemies and—well—maybe something more than friends.

Finn wondered what it would be like if they didn't have to worry about dying a dozen times every day. She wondered what it would be like if they could just be with each other, away from the roles that were forced upon them as children. She wondered what it would be like if there wasn't a prophecy out there marking Finn for death.

"I never thanked you." Jason's expression turned serious. "Back on Ithaca, after I saw my mom's... remnant, her mania... When I was wounded, you kept me from slipping away, Finn. Part of me..." His voice faltered. "Part of me wanted to close my eyes and stop fighting."

Finn's heart did a slow twist. Her hand tensed against his thigh. "You wouldn't have given up. When you faced your mom's spirit—that was you. Not me."

"Maybe." His voice was dry. "It's just... I have my mom's DNA. The human part of me is all her. What if I make the wrong choices? What if I make a mistake I can't take back when we're fighting Gaea? I don't want to end up like my mom—reduced to a mania, chewing on my regrets forever."

Finn had to take her hand off his thigh, because it had started shaking too much. She scooted away from her headboard to get closer to Jason.

"Take this from someone who is the epitome of insanity," she whispered, "you could never end up like your mom. I don't know what will happen to any of us, but I know that. You'll make the right choices."

"How can you be so sure?"

Finn studied the tattoos on their forearms. For her—SPQR, the chalice of Bacchus, nine lines for her years in the legion. For him—SPQR, the eagle of Jupiter, twelve lines.

"You need to trust your instincts, Wonderboy," she told him, forcing her gaze away from the black ink. "I know I give you crap all the time, but... I've known you since I was seven. Whatever annoying qualities you have, you're a genuinely good person who always tries to make the right choice. So no more talk about giving up."

Jason frowned. "Wait. Annoying qualities?"

She rolled her eyes. "Do you ever focus on the important things I say?"

"When you say important things," he quipped.

"Okay, I was trying to be nice to you for once," Finn glared, "but forget it."

Jason's grin widened, and Finn could see the spark of mischief in his eyes that she had gotten excellent at recognizing. He leaned back on his palms, looking entirely too smug. "Oh, I heard that part too. You think I'm a genuinely good person. Very sweet of you, Briggs—"

Finn grabbed a pillow and tried to swat him with it. He just easily grabbed it in his possession, still grinning as if she hadn't just threatened his dignity.

"Get out of my room if you're just going to be an asshole," she demanded, but there wasn't much bite to her tone.

Jason laughed, the sound low and warm, and Finn felt it settle into the space between them like a comforting weight. She couldn't remember the last time they'd had a moment like this—quiet, light, and entirely their own.

How old had she been? Twelve?

Jason leaned forward, placing the pillow on her lap, his expression softening. "Can we talk about something else before I go?" he asked, voice quiet now. "I've been meaning to bring up... Camp Jupiter."

Finn wanted to brush it off, to make some sarcastic comment that would keep the moment from getting too serious, but when she looked at him—really looked at him—she couldn't. Somehow they always ended up here. Finley Briggs and Jason Grace, the real versions of themselves; the sides of each other that only ever came out when it was just the two of them.

She felt a lump form in her throat, and it took her a second to find her voice. "What do you want to know?"

"What you said about being at Camp Half-Blood," he said softly. "Was that—That was true?"

But Jason already knew it was. He remembered what Michael Varus had told her, just as much as she remembered what Michael Varus had told him. You're not even Roman anymore.

"I can't go back to Camp Jupiter," Finn confessed. She thought saying that would make her throat constrict, but it was surprisingly easy. "I mean—you know I never fit in there. Not really. And when we..." she looked away, "when we stopped being friends, it got worse. The longer I was there. The more I realized I wasn't any of the things they wanted me to be."

Finn laughed humorlessly.

"Story of my life, I guess. I'm never what anyone wants me to be."

She couldn't look at him. She didn't dare to see what his reaction to her pitiful words was. She felt embarrased and repulsed by herself. Jason was suffering from real-life issues, and now she was dumping her own problems onto him, as if they even mattered.

Jason shifted closer, his knees brushing against hers. "Forget Camp Jupiter," he said, his voice low but packed with conviction.

Finn froze, blinking like she hadn't heard him correctly. "Forget—what?"

Jason leaned closer, his blue eyes piercing but not unkind. "I mean it," he said. "Forget Camp Jupiter. Forget anyone who ever made you feel like that." His tone was soft and reassuring, but there was an angry edge to it, as if he were about to start sparking electricity. "There isn't a single thing I'd change about you."

Finn didn't know what to say to that. Her heart was beating too fast, and she was suddenly very aware of how close he was, of how warm he felt. She wanted to tell him he was wrong, that he didn't know what he was talking about, but something in the way he stared at her made her quiet.

It was ironic. Finley "Loudmouth" Briggs getting shut up by just the look in Jason Grace's eyes. 

"You're a troublemaker." His lips curved into a faint smile. "And impulsive, with no respect for authority. You just act instead of thinking."

Finn snorted. "Wow. Way to flatter me."

"I'm not finished," he said, rolling his eyes fondly. "You make me laugh and act stupid in a way I never would have allowed myself to before." Suddenly, his gaze turned serious. "And I like myself so much more when I'm with you. I've spent my whole life learning to be a hero and a leader—being exactly the kind of person everyone else wanted me to be. But when I'm with you, I'm just learning to be happy."

Finn's breath caught in her throat. She wanted to come up with something clever, something that would keep this moment from feeling so vulnerable, but the words wouldn't come. Jason's expression was so open, so achingly sincere, that it left her completely unmoored.

Her heart was racing, her pulse thrumming loudly in her ears. Jason leaned in ever so slightly, his face hovering just inches from hers now. Finn wasn't sure who moved first, but somehow the space between them had evaporated. She was hyperaware of everything—of the way Jason's hand had shifted to rest on her knee, of the faint spark of static in the air, of the way his eyes searched hers like he was memorizing her.

"I mean it," he murmured now, almost a raspy whisper.

Finn's gaze flickered to his lips, like it always did, and she felt as if her heart might just break out of her chest. She hated this. She hated how much she wanted this. 

Jason tilted his head, leaning closer still, and Finn's breath hitched. Her hand lifted of its own accord, brushing against his arm as if drawn there by some invisible force.

They were so close now. A half-inch, maybe less, separating them.

And then—

"Hey, Finny, have you seen—OH, HOLY CRAP!" Leo's voice shattered the moment, loud and unmistakable.

Finn and Jason jerked apart like they'd been electrocuted. Jason's cheeks turned pink, and he coughed awkwardly as he leaned back, clearly trying to look casual. Finn, on the other hand, grabbed the pillow in her lap and threw it with impressive force.

"Leonidas Valdez!" she shouted, her face burning. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

Leo dodged the pillow with a grin that was entirely too smug. "My bad! Didn't realize I was interrupting a moment."

"Get out!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." Leo held up his hands in mock surrender, but he was laughing as he pointed upstairs. "First, though—there's venti trying to destroy the ship. Smooching time is over. You ready for guard duty, Jason?"

"Uh—yeah." Jason pushed himself off the bed, brushing down his shirt in a futile attempt to regain some composure. His cheeks were still pink, and he avoided Finn's gaze, though he spoke to her in a strained voice. "I'll, um, see you later?"

Finn could barely muster a response, her throat dry and her face still burning. "Yeah," she managed to croak.

Jason gave a small, awkward nod before ducking out of the room, his steps a little quicker than usual. As Leo retreated after Jason, Finn heard him cackle down the hallway.

"I owe Percy so much money!"

Finn groaned, throwing herself backward on her bed and burying her face in her hands.

╰━━━ ◦ ✸ ◦ ✸ ◦ ━━━╯

Piper had a dream that night about the giants in Acropolis. It revealed to her that a dude named Mimas was waiting for Finn and Sylvie at Sparta.

When she recounted her dream for Percy, the ship's toilets exploded.

"No way are you two going down there alone," Percy said.

Leo (Finn's current nemesis) ran down the hall waving a wrench. "Man, did you have to destroy the plumbing?"

Percy ignored him. Water ran down the gangway. The hull rumbled as more pipes burst and sinks overflowed. Finn guessed that Percy hadn't meant to cause so much damage, but his glowering expression made her want to leave the ship as soon as possible.

"We'll be alright," Sylvie told him. "Finley foresaw the two of us going down there, so that's what needs to happen."

Percy glared at Finn and Piper like it was all their fault. "And this Mimas dude?" he asked Piper. "I'm guessing he's a giant?"

"Probably," she said. "Prophyrion called him our brother."

"And a bronze statue surrounded by fire," Percy said. "And those... other things you mentioned. Mackies?"

"Makhai," Piper said. "I think the word means battles in Greek, but I don't know how that applies, exactly."

"That's my point!" Percy said. "We don't know what's down there. I'm going with you two—"

"No." Sylvie put her fingers around his wrist. "If the giants want our blood, the last thing we need is a boy and girl going down there together. Remember? They want one of each for their big sacrifice."

"Then I'll get Jason," Percy said. "And the two of us—"

"Skipper." Finn put a hand on her chest, feigning offense. "Are you implying that two boys can handle this better than two girls?"

"No. I mean... no. But—"

"Good," she said, smiling smugly. "So you should have no issue with Sylv and I going. Think of it as us battling misogyny."

Percy's eyebrows rose. "Battling misogyny—?"

Sylvie kissed him.

Percy froze for a split second, and then—without missing a beat—he kissed her back. His hands moved immediately to her waist, pulling her closer like it was the most natural thing in the world. His tense posture melted away, and Finn saw something softer in him, something genuine as he kissed her.

Finn almost expected Leo-The-Kiss-Interupter to break them up, but instead, it was like everything else in the world faded away. It was just Sylvie and Percy, wrapped up in each other, like this was the only moment that mattered.

When they finally pulled away, it was more because they both needed to breathe than because they wanted to stop. Percy's face was a shade of red Finn hadn't seen since... well, since ever. His eyes were wide, still caught up in the aftershock of the kiss, but there was this new warmth in them too. He was flustered, but it was clear he was totally okay with it.

"We'll be back before you know it." Sylvie smiled, clearly pleased with herself.

Finn followed her upstairs before the whole lower deck could flood with toilet water.

An hour later, the two of them stood on a hill overlooking the ruins of Ancient Sparta.

They'd already scouted the modern city—a bunch of low, boxy, whitewashed buildings sprawled across a plain at the foot of some purplish mountains. They scouted until they ran out of places to look.

There wasn't much to see. Sylvie somehow knew the hill they stood on had once been Sparta's acropolis—its highest point and main fortress—but it was nothing like the massive Athenian acropolis Finn had seen in her dreams.

The weathered slope was covered with dead grass, rocks, and stunted olive trees. Below, ruins stretched out for maybe a quarter mile: limestone blocks, a few broken walls, and some tiled holes in the ground like wells.

Finn almost couldn't believe that the Spartan legacy had been reduced to a field of rubble and a small modern town with an olive oil museum.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead. "You'd think if there was a thirty-foot-tall giant around, we'd see him."

Sylvie stared at the distant shape of the Argo II floating above downtown Sparta. She fidgeted with the red coral ring around her necklace the same way Percy used to fidget with the blue and gold ring around his necklace during their quest to Alaska. That was how she knew Sylvie was thinking about Percy.

For a second there, Finn urged to ask for Sylvie's advice. She and Percy were the definition of true love and romance. They were a team, a pair. It was clear to anyone who looked that they were perfect for each other, filling in for each other's weaknesses, making each other stronger. They were the kind of couple that made the world seem a little brighter, even in the face of all the chaos.

Finn wondered how they had gotten to this point. A little embarrassingly, she wondered if Sylvie or Percy could give her a few tips and tricks to get that kind of certainty.

Because, well, the best thing she could get with Jason was an almost-kiss.

Things were kind of complicated right now.

Suddenly a roaring sound came from the ruins. One of the stone-lined pits, which Finn had mistaken for wells, spewed out a three-story geyser of flames and shut off just as quickly.

"The fuck?" Finn asked.

Sylvie sighed. "I dunno, but I have a feeling it's something we should check out."

╰━━━ ◦ ✸ ◦ ✸ ◦ ━━━╯

Three pits lay side by side like finger holes on a recorder. Each one was perfectly round, two feet in diameter, tiled around the rim with limestone; each one plunged straight into darkness. Every few seconds, seemingly at random, one of the three pits shot a column of fire into the sky. Each time, the color and intensity of the flames were different.

"They weren't doing this before," Finn commented as she walked a wide arc around the pits. "The timing, the color, the height of the fire... There doesn't seem to be any pattern."

Flames shot from the middle pit. Finn counted silently. The next time, a geyser erupted on the left. She frowned.

"Okay, this can't be right. It's inconsistent. What's its deal?"

She didn't like it. Each time one ignited, a horrible thrill went through her—fear, panic, but also a strong desire to get closer to the flames. Finn tried avoiding the emotions like they were a physical threat.

"It isn't rational," Sylvie realized. "It's emotional."

"How can fire pits be emotional?"

"Like they are at Camp Half-Blood—" Sylvie realized Finn had never been to Camp Half-Blood. "Uh, sorry. Quick Greek lesson number three for the Camp Jupiter kid. We have a campfire at camp that changes size and colors based on the campers' emotions. This fire pit's the same."

Finn shook her head. "Nuh-uh. I don't like that. Sounds creepy."

Sylvie held her hand over the pit on the right. Instantly, flames leaped up. Sylvie barely had time to withdraw her fingers.

"Sylvie!" Finn ran over. "Did you lose the ability to think in the past twenty-four hours?!"

"I wasn't thinking. I was feeling. What we want is down there. These pits are the way in. I'll have to jump."

"No, I'm supposed to be the crazy one! Haven't you done enough falling into terrifying places recently?"

"Probably."

"So you're going to do it again?!"

"Yup." Sylvie transformed her glove into Halcyon and tossed it into the pit on the right. "I'll let you know if it's safe. Wait for my word."

Percy had made Finn promise to keep Sylvie safe. He was going to kill her.

"Don't you dare," Finn warned.

Sylvie jumped. 

╰━━━ ◦ ✸ ◦ ✸ ◦ ━━━╯

BAILEY YAPS...

Okay get it? Because Leo is from Houston? And he. Well.

HE RUINED EVERYTHING THAT BITCH NAMED LEONIDAS!!!

Oh sorry but unfortunately Jinley has taken over my soul. And oh wow. They were about to kiss. Guys KISS. Like. For real. Like THEY WERE ABOUT TO KISS. WHO DO I SPEAK TO ABOUT THIS.

Also Persylv is there serving love as they always do

Anyways let's get to Ms. Timidity in the Temple of Fear that sounds fun