Summer was ending, and you couldn’t shake the bitter taste it left in your mouth. From your spot on the porch, you watched the other demigods pack up and head out, hugging their friends goodbye before reuniting with their families and setting off home. Home. What a concept.

Lost in your own thoughts, you didn’t even notice the soft clop of hooves on the wooden floor until Chiron spoke up. “You okay?” By the time you looked up, he was already settled in his wheelchair, wise eyes watching you with certain gentleness.

Lately, you’d been spending more time with him, and Chiron seemed to welcome it. He let you tag along on his walks around the camp and even invited you to sit with him in the Big House—especially, and almost always, when Mr. D wasn’t around.

You’d started seeing him like a father, and he knew. Chiron always seemed to know.