Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
99
99
Golden Fleece.
"It healed the tree," Chiron said, his voice ragged. "And poison was not the only thing it
purged."
Then I realized Annabeth wasn't the one lying on the ground. She was the one in armor,
kneeling next to the unconscious girl. When Annabeth saw us, she ran to Chiron. "It... she ... just
suddenly there ..."
Her eyes were streaming with tears, but I still didn't understand. I was too freaked out to
make sense of it all. I leaped off Chiron's back and ran toward the unconscious girl. Chiron said:
"Percy, wait!"
I knelt by her side. She had short black hair and freckles across her nose. She was built like
a long-distance runner, lithe and strong, and she wore clothes that were somewhere between punk
and Goth—a black T-shirt, black tattered jeans, and a leather jacket with buttons from a bunch of
bands I'd never heard of.
She wasn't a camper. I didn't recognize her from any of the cabins. And yet I had the
strangest feeling I'd seen her before....
"It's true," Grover said, panting from his run up the hill. "I can't believe ..."
Nobody else came close to the girl.
I put my hand on her forehead. Her skin was cold, but my fingertips tingled as if they were
burning.
"She needs nectar and ambrosia," I said. She was clearly a half-blood, whether she was a
camper or not. I could sense that just from one touch. I didn't understand why everyone was acting
so scared.
I took her by the shoulders and lifted her into sitting position, resting her head on my
shoulder.
"Come on!" I yelled to the others. "What's wrong with you people? Let's get her to the Big
House."
No one moved, not even Chiron. They were all too stunned.
Then the girl took a shaky breath. She coughed and opened her eyes.
Her irises were startlingly blue—electric blue.
The girl stared at me in bewilderment, shivering and wild-eyed. "Who—"
"I'm Percy," I said. "You're safe now."
"Strangest dream ..."
"It's okay."
"Dying."
"No," I assured her. "You're okay. What's your name?"
That's when I knew. Even before she said it.
The girl's blue eyes stared into mine, and I understood what the Golden Fleece quest had
been about. The poisoning of the tree. Everything. Kronos had done it to bring another chess piece
into play—another chance to control the prophecy.
Even Chiron, Annabeth, and Grover, who should've been celebrating this moment, were too
shocked, thinking about what it might mean for the future. And I was holding someone who was
destined to be my best friend, or possibly my worst enemy.
"I am Thalia," the girl said. "Daughter of Zeus."
To be continued…