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Percy squinted over at his father. “You want me to visit your palace next week?”
“Yes,” Poseidon agreed, sipping his tropical drink nonchalantly as they sat on the sand.
Percy had only been to his father’s palace a handful of times, and those had mostly been emergency situations. There wasn’t a joint-custody situation where Poseidon took him for holidays and summer break—not unless you counted Camp and deadly quests over Winter Solstice, which were kind of his dad’s fault. “Why?”
Poseidon blinked, his fingers twitching on the tiny, paper umbrella. “You are my son. It is your birthright.” He looked at the rippling waters across Long Island Sound. “Also, Amphitrite has noticed all of your marine rescues, and she has softened towards you. She wishes to meet properly.”
“Huh. I wasn’t doing it for attention.”
Poseidon chuckled, and the sound warmed Percy despite his reservations. “She knows. That is why it impressed her.”
Percy ran a hand through his hair. “Alright. I suppose I can come.”
“Excellent. I’ll send Tyson and the hippocampi to pick you up.”
Percy watched his father vanish in a spray of sea foam. He looked down at his untouched blue pineapple soda. He plucked the little blue umbrella out of the coconut and sighed. He suspected his father was hiding something about this request.
Oh well. At least he would get to hang out with Tyson for a few days.
…
“Father,” Percy asked with barely leashed control, “what is this?”
Poseidon winced at the formal address and then gave him an innocent look. Fuck, had the baby seal eyes come from his dad? “Formal attire.”
“For what?” Now he sounded like Annabeth, asking a leading question.
“The party tonight, of course.”
Percy raised his arms. The dolphins and merpeople had just finished bedecking him in a formal chiton hemmed with waves and tridents, stitched in bronze thread and accented with pearls. More pearls had been draped on his throat and wrists, accenting the bronze bracelets and armbands. “What kind of party?” he demanded, suspicion hammering in the back of his throat, making him feel a little bit hysterical.
“To recognize you as a member of the ocean’s royal family.”
Percy’s brows furrowed. For years now, naiads, nereids, and all manner of aquatic creatures had been referring to him as Prince. He had not thought anything of it, but now, his heart hammered.
“The royal family? Like your godly children?”
Poseidon nodded, his face carefully controlled.
“But… I’m mortal.”
Poseidon eventually nodded. “Yes, but no other demigod has achieved what you have, my son. No other hero of my blood has been so attuned with so many of my domains. You are unique, and the people of my realm wish to claim you as theirs.”
“No.” Percy said immediately, thinking of his mom. She had rejected this life. “I’m not— You can’t just—!” He forced his mouth closed. His father loved him—favored him—but he was still a god, and his love was not without conditions. He had to remember that, no matter how much warmth Poseidon showed him. Percy took an angry breath, his nails digging into his palms hard enough to bleed. “If that is what you command, my lord,” he gritted out.
Poseidon inhaled sharply. “Percy, my boy. Please, do not address me so coldly.” He cupped Percy’s cheek with one large, calloused hand, but he did not force Percy to look at him. “It is not a command. I swear this to you.”
Percy drew in ragged breaths, not trusting himself to speak.
“I know that, in many ways, I have failed you as a father. I could not protect you as a child. I could not shield you from the prophecies. Or the Pit.” A dark, bitter anger tinged Poseidon’s voice, and Percy felt a storm stir in the Atlantic. “You are right that it is selfish of me to add you to the royal family now. I am a selfish god. You were born with the best parts of me and all the goodness of your mother. I want to capture some of that goodness. I want to share it with my people.”
Percy swallowed hard, and Poseidon took his hands, gently unfolding them. He rubbed his thumbs over the bloody crescents, healing them with a soft, green light. “I want everyone to know how much I love you. Hundreds, if not thousands of ocean creatures, both mythic and not, already speak of you—their savior. Their prince. Please, my son, allow me to recognize you as what you already are.”
Finally, Percy looked up. “Would I have to stay here?”
Poseidon’s eyes widened, green just like his. “No. No, Perseus.” He rested his forehead against Percy’s, and this time, he leaned into his father’s touch. “The sea and its children cannot be contained. I would never suggest to keep you here. I would never deny you the life and love of the world above. I only hope you will remember that you have another home—a second family—under the waves.”
With one more steadying breath, Percy sighed and nodded. “Okay, Dad. I’ll be your prince.”
“Excellent.” His father gave a playful grin as he stepped back. “Your sisters are eager to greet you.”
“I’m sure Kym’s mostly eager to kill me,” he muttered.
“Actually, after you finished her temple and offered tribute, her anger softened. She is even listening to your suggestion and meeting with Briares monthly to see if their marriage can be salvaged.”
Percy quashed down the stab of grief as he remembered why he had been the one to finish his sister’s temple in New Rome. “Good for her.” Then, Percy shook his arms. “Do I have to wear this all day? It’s pretty heavy.”
Poseidon snorted, snapping his fingers. The ornate chiton and accessories materialized on a nearby mannequin and cushion, and Percy was back in a faded band shirt and jeans. “Now you see why I favor my bermuda shorts.”
Percy conceded the point. He liked to be comfortable. Sue him.
“Come, Percy,” his father called, swimming towards the doorway. “It is time for lunch, and your siblings await.”