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When they’d first found her, Thalia hadn’t really wanted to bring Annabeth along. She and Luke—they had a system down. One of them would keep watch, stay up half the night, keeping an eye on things. Then they’d switch, and the other would be up, and in the morning, they’d be on the move all day, stealing food and money and fighting monsters once more.
They couldn’t really do that with a seven year old around. Sure, the seven year old was a demigod, and a strong one at that, who’d managed to survive on her own for weeks with nothing but a hammer. But Annabeth, despite how determined and focused she was, was just a little kid. She got tired so easily. She couldn’t keep up with their pace all day. And she needed, like, actual shelter and food and care. So Thalia wasn’t sure if she really wanted her there.
But there was something about the way Annabeth held her chin up, stormy eyes bright, that made Thalia recognize that the little girl wasn’t going anywhere. And so, once Thalia realized Annabeth was sticking around, she got attached. Who could really blame her, though? Annabeth looked like a tiny little lumberjack in her red flannel shirt, and she had the prettiest little gold ringlets in her hair, just a few shades darker than Luke’s sandy blond. She babbled on about anything and everything as they walked, spouting facts about Virginian military history and post-war architecture and other things a seven year old had no reason to know anything about. It should have been annoying, Thalia thought, but it was really just endearing. She was adorable, and she needed their help, and she’d also been screwed over by the gods. And Thalia was a lot of things, but she wasn’t her father, and she wasn’t about to abandon a child whose only crime was being born.
Before Annabeth, Thalia and Luke had been surviving, and just barely. What kind of life was it, running from monster to monster, not having anywhere safe to call home, nothing to rely on? But Thalia had someone who needed her now. Thalia had to take care of Annabeth. She swore that she’d never leave this girl behind, and that she’d always care for her, unlike the multiple shitty parent figures in Annabeth’s life who’d already kicked her to the curb like trash.
//
They steal a sleeping bag for Annabeth from a camping store in Charlottesville, but the little girl much prefers curling up next to either Thalia or Luke at night. She gets cold easily, it seems, but Thalia suspects it was more than that. Had Annabeth’s mortal father or step mother ever let her crawl in between them at night? Had they ever given her a good morning hug, or kissed her on the forehead just because? Thalia doesn’t know much about little kids, let alone how to raise them, but she knows it’s important to have physical contact. And Annabeth was clearly touch-starved. Add that to the list of reasons why Thalia hates Annabeth’s parents, mortal or otherwise.
So she keeps Annabeth close. She holds her little hand as they walk through cities looking for their next meal. She pulls Annabeth onto her lap as they sit around the fire. She stays up on watch duty all night, because Annabeth had tucked her head under Luke’s chin, and Thalia doesn’t have the heart to disturb either of them.
How long can they go on like this? What’s their plan for Annabeth? It’s no life for a seven year old, living out on the streets. Especially not a kid like Annabeth. She’s smart and driven. They’ve stolen a few books from kid’s libraries, and Annabeth reads through them like wildfire, even with her dyslexia to slow her down. This kid needs school, needs teachers who can recognize her talent and push her to achieve. Annabeth’s gonna be something one day, an inventor or a business woman or the president, and she needs an actual education in order to get where she deserves to go.
She’ll be something one day, if she manages to make it past childhood.
She and Luke have to start being better at stealing food. They’ve done it for years now, rummaging through dumpsters outside grocery stores and fast food restaurants. They’re not picky eaters; they don’t have the option to be. But stale bread and half-rotten fruit isn’t food for a seven year old. Especially not a tiny, malnourished seven year old who’s always running. They need to figure out a better option in order to get her fed.
It’s not only food that’s an issue. They’ve had a few too many close calls. A few too many monsters and traps that catch them off guard. In the outskirts of Baltimore, they’re chased by a pack of hellhounds. They make it ten blocks before Annabeth stumbles, exhausted and overwhelmed. Luke picks her up and throws her over his shoulder like she doesn’t weigh a thing, and Thalia throws her shield at the hellhounds to slow them down, knowing it will soon return to bracelet form on her wrist. They manage to find an abandoned lot and they break inside, barricading the door from the monsters. Annabeth cries, and Luke holds her and comforts her, and Thalia keeps watch, and the hellhounds don’t stop scratching at the front door until morning.
Annabeth is small for her age. Thalia doesn’t know how big seven year olds are supposed to be, but she can see the deep dips of Annabeth’s collarbones, and her spine protrudes a little too much when she curls up next to Thalia at night, and even the kid sized shoes Thalia manages to steal are too big on her small feet. All this running and hiding and leaving can’t be good for her. Something needs to change.
They turn things into a game for Annabeth. They build little hideaways and pretend they’re a wolf pack looking for a den, or that they’re a prince and princesses sneaking out of their castle to adventure in the woods.
It might be a game for Annabeth, but it’s never been more real for Luke and Thalia.
Luke says, “We’re a family now. We’ll keep you safe.” And Thalia agrees. She thinks of her baby brother, Jason, who also had blond hair and bright eyes and an innocent smile. She’s already lost one sibling because she hadn’t tried hard enough. She’ll keep Annabeth safe.
Luke starts shoplifting from grocery stores. There’s much more selection inside on the shelves than out in the dumpsters, and he can get stuff with actual protein and nutrients and shit. They discover that canned soup is easy to steal and even easier to heat up over a fire. They get actual fruits and vegetables now, not just moldy scraps. Thalia discovers that Annabeth loves olives—they’d already suspected that the little girl was a daughter of Athena, but this fascination with the fruit confirms it. Luke almost gets caught one day because he’s crammed too many jars of olives into his pockets, and the stress of seeing him running from the security guard has Annabeth sobbing, so they leave that town and stick to the woods for a few days.
Annabeth isn’t jaded like Thalia and Luke are. She’s internalized all her negative feelings about her parents, both her mortal father and her godly mother. Even if she hasn’t said anything, Thalia knows that Annabeth thinks she’s at fault for her parents’ absence. If she hadn’t mentioned all the monsters she’d seen in the shadows, then her father wouldn’t have pushed her away. If she was smarter, or braver, or a little more cunning, then she’d be good enough for the goddess of wisdom. If she tries harder and does better, then maybe her parents will recognize her, will notice her, will love her.
Thalia hates that about Annabeth.
Thalia hates even more the fact that one day Annabeth will have to learn that there’s nothing she can do to gain Athena’s affection.
On nights when it’s clear and they’re far away from any cities, the three of them lie out on the ground and look up at the stars. Annabeth asks about the constellations, and Luke and Thalia tell her the stories as best they can. Thalia tells her about the eagle and the goat, and Luke tells her about Orion and the bears and Hercules. They include the beautiful details about changing shape and brave fighters and true love and they leave out the bits about the gods abandoning their heroes. Annabeth takes a particular interest in the story of Perseus and Andromeda, and Thalia ends up spending half a day in a library trying to read more about it to explain to the young girl. “He defended Athena’s honor by slaying Medusa,” Thalia tells her. “He befriended the first Pegasus. He saved the princess Andromeda and then they fell in love. They were married and they ruled her kingdom together.” Thalia doesn’t understand half of what she’s reading, especially when the book gets into the more scientific parts of stars. But she’s not about to discourage Annabeth from asking all her questions.
“Was Princess Andromeda beautiful?” Annabeth asks her.
The most beautiful , Thalia thinks. But smart, and strong, too. Thalia tells Annabeth these things, emphasizing that Andromeda was a ruler in her own right, and that she was brave and strong enough to survive on her own until Perseus found her. Thalia doesn’t tell Annabeth that Andromeda was left for dead by her own parents, that she was meant to die as a punishment against them.
“I want to be a princess like her one day,” Annabeth says, sleepily, as she curls her little body against Thalia.
“You’ll be all that, and more,” Thalia promises her.
Then they meet the satyr. He says his name is Grover Underwood. He says he’s twenty three, even if he doesn’t look more than thirteen. He says he wants to take them to safety, some place called Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth says the satyr is nice, and that she likes his music. Luke says they can’t trust him. Luke says they will not be going to Camp Half-Blood. Thalia doesn’t know what she wants to do.
She’s tired, honestly. She’s exhausted from all the fighting. She’s been on the run with Luke for upwards of two years at this point, and maybe it’s the fact that they have Annabeth to protect now, but it’s getting hard to always be moving. Grover says that Camp Half-Blood is safe, that there’s magical enchantments to keep away the worst of the monsters. And there’s other kids like them, other demigods, and they’ll be trained in how to properly sword fight and how to shoot a bow and arrow. But it’s more than just training to survive, he says; there’s a climbing wall, and there’s weekly games of capture the flag, and everyone lives in cabins and makes good friends and lasting memories. Then he mentions there’s Arts and Crafts, and Annabeth’s eyes light up.
And maybe that’s the moment where Thalia makes up her mind. Annabeth deserves to go to Arts and Crafts. She deserves to be silly and creative, to learn how to paint and how to sculpt clay. Annabeth is only seven years old and she’s already had to live through so much. She should be able to have a bit more of a childhood. Are Thalia and Luke really so selfish as to deny her that?
Thalia tells Grover that they’ll think about it. Grover asks if he can stay with them until they decide. Luke looks like he wants to send Grover on his way, but Thalia shoots him a pleading look, and he relents.
So then Grover joins their little group. And even Luke, who’s reluctant about letting in someone new, has to admit that the satyr is a good addition. Grover knows what plants in the woods are edible, and he can smell monsters from a ways away, and he’s got a knack for finding good hiding spots. He’s also surprisingly good at cooking over their little campfires; when they combine Grover’s foraging with Luke’s shoplifting, they start having some half-way decent meals.
As they travel along the east coast, Grover tells them more and more about Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth doesn’t bother holding back her excitement about the camp, and she starts pleading with Luke to let them go and check it out. Thalia can see Luke become more and more against the idea of going there.
Thalia doesn’t quite get why. She knows Luke has always wanted to be independent. He doesn’t trust the gods, and he keeps making comments about how the camp is just a way for the gods to pretend to care for their kids. But it’s not just about him and Thalia anymore. His grudge against Hermes, Thalia’s grudge against Zeus, do those really take precedent over Annabeth? Her safety? Her happiness? They argue about it at night, quietly so as to not wake up Annabeth.
The little girl has gained back a bit of the weight she lost from when she was on her own, so she doesn’t look as scrawny as she used to. And her blonde hair, while constantly tangled, has become a lot less dull. She’s doing better, Thalia thinks, now that she’s with them. Still not great, still not the way a seven year old should be living, but better.
So that’s what Thalia says to Luke. She tells him that Annabeth would be better cared for at camp; that she’d be able to spend time with kids her own age. Thalia thinks she’s making progress on convincing him, but then he’ll shake his head and look at her with eyes cold as ice and tell her that the only people they can trust to take care of Annabeth are themselves.
The monster attacks start to get worse. They get more frequent, with more than one run-in per day. Grover’s usually able to change their course in order to avoid running into the monsters, but that’s not working anymore. There’s too many. And Luke seems dead-set on fighting all of them, not just running away. Annabeth’s getting good at handling the knife Luke gave her. Thalia hates that the little girl has to use a weapon at all.
They decide to make their way north to New York City. It’s close to camp, Grover says, but that’s not why they’re going. Luke still hasn’t agreed to go to Camp Half-Blood, and Thalia hasn’t made enough progress convincing him. But New York is a good place for runaway teens, she reminds him. They can find an abandoned building to set up camp for a few months, and they can steal some food from places too big and busy to notice, and maybe they can even make some money working some under-the-table jobs. Besides, it’s getting colder every day now. They need somewhere to wait out the winter.
They take a ferry from New Jersey into Brooklyn, and when a flock of gryphons tries to attack them at the pier, it’s an easy win for the demigods. So maybe it’s the high of a successful fight that has Thalia putting her guard down, because when they find an abandoned townhouse in Flatbush and Luke suggests they stay the night there, Thalia agrees easily. Grover says he doesn’t smell any monsters nearby, and it’s been at least a week since they’ve slept on anything that isn’t the cold ground, so the idea is quite appealing.
Luke breaks them in easily. The main security system is already down, so it’s just a deadbolt on the front door. None of them stop to think that maybe it’s too easy, that maybe it’s all a little too convenient. They choose a living room with long, luxurious couches to lay out all their stuff, then Grover and Luke offer to go look for any food or supplies that they might be able to scavenge from the other rooms. Thalia stays back with Annabeth. There’s no power in the house, of course, but they’ve got flashlights, and they’re eating granola bars while they wait for the boys, and Thalia’s wrapped in a big blanket, and Annabeth is next to her, flipping through a book she found in the entrance hall, and Thalia feels like she’s a regular mortal just hanging out with her little sister.
Annabeth’s face is scrunched up as she tries to make out a particularly long word. “What does sin-chon-ise mean?” she asks, and Thalia leans over and tells her that it’s actually pronounced synchronize . Annabeth nods like she’d known that all along, and Thalia feels a surge of affection run through her. So she pulls Annabeth into a hug, laughing as the little girl protests at the sudden movement, and presses a kiss to Annabeth’s cheek.
Then things go to shit.
She hears Luke cry out for her. “Thalia! Thalia, I need your help!”
Thalia freezes.
Annabeth turns to look at her, worry clear in her stormy eyes. “Luke?”
“It’s all right, he probably just found something cool, and needs help carrying it back,” Thalia says, knowing full well that his voice was much too desperate for it to be about something like that. She stands up from the couch and wraps the blanket around Annabeth’s shoulders. “I’ll go help him. You stay here.”
“Thalia! Come quick!” he calls again, and Thalia shoots one more glance at Annabeth before running into the hallway to try to find him.
Luke’s voice leads her deeper and deeper inside the townhouse, and Thalia is suspicious about what’s going on, but her concerns are outweighed by her fear that Luke is in danger, so she pushes on. It’s not until she finds herself face to face with a Cyclops, who grins his greedy yellow smile at her, that she realizes just how much they’ve fucked up. “I knew you would come find me,” the Cyclops says, imitating Luke’s voice perfectly.
Then Thalia finds herself with a gag over her mouth and her hands tied behind her back. Luke and Grover are tied up next to her, and in front of them is a huge cooking pot, and two grotesque Cyclopes. This is it , Thalia thinks. This is how I die. All those years surviving against the odds, just to be bested by a couple of hulking brutes who can copy voices like big ugly parrots.
It would be one thing if it were just her and Luke. After so many years, it was about time that their luck would run out. There’s a reason most demigods don’t make it to their twenties.
But it’s not just her and Luke. There’s Grover, who’s only goal has been to get them to safety. And there’s Annabeth. Sweet, innocent little Annabeth. Thalia closes her eyes and sends a prayer to the gods, to her father or to Athena or to anyone who happens to be listening. She prays that somehow Annabeth won’t get tricked by the Cyclopes. That by some miracle, Annabeth will get out of the house unharmed and make it safely to Camp Half-Blood.
But it seems like Thalia underestimated their little daughter of Athena. All of the sudden, with no warning or notice, Annabeth runs into the room. The girl is yelling, or howling, really, and the Cyclops tending the fire looks up in confusion. Annabeth runs at him, and Thalia feels her heart drop because there’s no way the little girl isn’t going to get swatted away, but Annabeth must have surprised the Cyclops even more than she surprised Thalia, because Annabeth stabs her knife into his foot and leaves him roaring out in pain. Annabeth immediately runs to Thalia and uses her knife to cut the gag and the ties. She’s shaking, and she almost drops her bronze knife, but then Thalia is free from her bindings.
“Get out of here,” Thalia says, reaching for the Mace canister in her pocket and expanding it into her spear.
“I’m not leaving you,” Annabeth protests, putting on a brave face despite how terrified she must feel.
Thalia shakes her head as she unties Luke’s bindings, knowing that they only have a few seconds before the Cyclops is back on them. “I’ll fight better if I know you’re safe. Get outside, we’ll find you soon.” Before Annabeth can get the chance to argue, Thalia whips around, facing the Cyclops. Once Luke and Grover are both by her side once more, the fight is over quickly.
Later, Thalia asks Annabeth how she was able to resist the Cyclopes.
“They used my dad’s voice,” she says. “He was saying that he was sorry for leaving me, and that he wanted me to come back home.” She looks up at Thalia, and her eyes are darker than Thalia’s ever seen them. “I know he’d never say that to me. So I knew it was a trick.”
Thalia can see the way Annabeth has closed in on herself after their run-in with the Cyclopes. It makes Thalia hate herself. She hates that, after all their talk of protecting Annabeth and keeping her safe, it was Annabeth who had to do the actual saving. She hates that they’d wanted so badly to minimize Annabeth’s exposure to the evils of the world, and still they’d failed. She hates the gods for letting them be born and for letting the monsters chase after them. She hates that, if anything else goes wrong, if anything happens to Annabeth, it’ll be her fault.
But it’s too late, because things have already gone wrong. Gone is the bubbly little kid spouting facts about national monuments late into the night. They’re left with a little blonde ghost following after them, looking haunted and exhausted.
The only good thing to come from that encounter is that Luke agrees to let them go to Camp Half-Blood.
Something in him has changed, too. Thalia can’t name what it is, can’t parse through the layers of emotions behind his blue eyes, but she can’t say she loves the change. He seems more distant now, a little more reserved. Maybe he feels like the run-in with the Cyclops was his fault. Thalia can understand that guilt. Once they’re at camp, they can talk about it more; they can start to work through the trauma and issues they’ve both built up over the years.
She keeps returning to that thought; once they’re at camp . Once they’re at camp, Thalia will be able to do more than just survive. Once they’re at camp, she can ride pegasi, and forge weapons, and learn Ancient Greek, or any of the other things Grover tells her about. She can meet other demigods, and compare experiences, and make friends. Grover says that there’s a magical barrier around the camp that keeps most monsters away, but sometimes things manage to sneak in. He says that it’s normal, though, and that it’s easy for the campers to work together and defeat anything that enters. She can hardly imagine what it must be like to fight with dozens of teammates—dozens of friends —by her side. She can hang out with Luke without constantly looking over her shoulder for a sign of trouble. She’s never going to be a normal kid, she’s known that for years, but maybe camp will be a place where she can be a kid.
Grover says they’re close to camp now. They’ll probably make it by tomorrow night.
Tomorrow night.
It’s their last day out on the run together.
It’s still early when they choose a place to camp for the night, but after the Cyclopes, they don’t want to risk being exposed in the dark. So Grover finds them a little cave to bunker down in, and they set up their sleeping bags around their campfire, just as they’ve done for hundreds of nights before this. They eat their dinner; little microwavable pizza rolls that only get a little bit droopy as they’re heated over the fire. None of them seem up for much conversation tonight. Maybe they’re all too busy thinking about what might change in the next twenty-four hours.
Once they’re at camp.
In silence, they clean up their meals. Grover eats the cardboard box and Thalia puts their pan back into her backpack. When she looks back over, Annabeth is curled up next to Luke, getting ready to go to sleep. She’s tucked in under his arm, a tiny little thing, and he’s looking over at her with so much affection and love. That, at least, hasn’t changed since the Cyclopes. He still loves Annabeth more than anything. Thalia smiles at the sight, giving herself a moment to take it in and remember it. She hopes they’ll all stay close once they’re at camp.
She gets ready for bed herself, pulling out her sleeping bag and laying it next to Luke and Annabeth. Grover volunteers to keep the first watch, and he goes to the entrance of the cave. They leave the fire burning for warmth.
“I’m not tired,” Annabeth complains, ever the seven year old.
Thalia has to resist rolling her eyes at the girl. “You haven’t even tried to sleep,” she says.
“I don’t have to try. I know I’m not sleepy,” she declares, certain. “But maybe…” she continues, “There’s something you could do to make me sleepy?”
She’s obviously prompting something for them. Thalia can’t be frustrated, though, because she’s truly glad Annabeth has it in her to be a bit of a pest right now. She’s been a little too complacent since the Cyclopes, and it’s good to see her return to her spirited self. So Thalia gives in easily. “What do we need to do to get you to sleep?”
Annabeth scrunches her face for a moment as if considering. “Maybe if you told me a story, that would help,” she suggests. She’s got a look of innocence on her face, even though it’s clear Thalia just played right into her hands. Thalia’s sure she must have gotten that from Luke.
He laughs, having come to the same conclusion as Thalia. “She’s a tricky one, our Annabeth,” he says fondly. “Cunning, too. Hard to believe she’s not a Hermes kid.”
Thalia scoffs. “Please. We both know she’s way too smart to be anything but Athena’s,” she says. Annabeth almost glows at the praise. Then she looks back and forth between Luke and Thalia expectantly.
“So who’s gonna tell me a story?” she asks, once more the picture of earnestness.
This time, Thalia does roll her eyes. “Annabeth, you’re going to be the death of me,” she says. But she relents. “What story do you want?”
Annabeth perks up, looking delighted in herself for having won. “Perseus and Andromeda!” she says.
“You really love that story,” Luke notes.
Annabeth nods. “It’s got a happy ending,” she explains. “I like stories with happy endings.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Thalia concedes. Then she tilts her head and squints her eyes. “Now, which one was Perseus again? I can’t remember.”
Annabeth sighs, exasperated. “ Thalia ,” she says.
“Fine, fine, I know the story,” she says. Annabeth adjusts her position, pulling the covers of the sleeping bag up to her shoulders and closing her eyes. Luke presses a kiss to her forehead and smooths the unruly curls. Thalia begins the story.
“Once upon a time, there was a hero named Perseus, and a princess named Andromeda…”
They’ll have to wake up early tomorrow if they want to make it to camp by nightfall. They’ll be put in separate cabins by godly parent, like how Grover explained it, which means Thalia is going to be by herself, once again. That’s one of the only things she’s not looking forward to about camp: being forced to be alone. She’s gotten used to having her little family around all the time.
But she doesn’t want to worry about that right now. She’s got one more night with Luke and Annabeth. They’re safe right now, in the shelter of the cave with Grover keeping watch. And they’re warm, with the fire burning and the warmth of each other. Thalia can’t really remember the last time she was happy , per se. It’s not really a luxury they get to have on the run. But she feels at peace right now, here with Luke and Annabeth. She loves both of them with all her heart, and she knows she’d do anything to keep them safe.
She continues telling the story, and she watches as Annabeth and Luke both drift off to sleep.