Apparently, I didn’t say the right thing, because for the first time I think ever, Hermes’s grin fades. “You wouldn’t understand,” he mumbles, looking at the dirt as he nudges it with his shoe.

“Stopping you?” he says with a chuckle. “Oh, no, I wouldn’t dream of stopping my beloved king from getting to where he needs to go.”

“Can’t you just trust Chiron for once?” Hephaestus begs. "Why can’t Chiron trust me for once?” I shoot back.

Hephaestus frowns. “The fridge?” At my raised eyebrow, he startles and says, “Oh, right! The fridge! Yes, I’ve definitely looked into that already.”

The vision runs through my head for a third time of the day as I tell Chiron. He just stands there, expressionless...