riordanverse · demigods · camp half-blood · ensemble cast · holiday setting · friendship · magic · adventure · surprise visit · percy jackson
Thick, silent snow falls, burying the long driveway that leads to an isolated white Victorian farmhouse. The house stands alone, framed by ginkgo and oak trees whose bare branches are sketched in frost. Blue shingles show through the drifting white; dormant shrubs line the foundation. Most curtains are drawn shut, but a warm light glows from a high window and another larger one overlooking the front yard. A minivan rolls to a halt, its tires crunching through the fresh powder. The driver's door swings open and Percy steps out, his breath pluming in the cold air. "Alright," he says, his gaze fixed on the silent house. "We made it." One by one, the others emerge—Hazel, her hand tucked into Frank's, her eyes wide with wonder at the winter scene; Annabeth, already assessing the architecture…