Page 67 of Wrath of the Triple Goddess

I grinned. “That’s a yes.”

She looked at my octopus arms. “You, however…”

“Yeah…” I looked in the bowl. One blob of paste was stuck to the bottom. It was even smaller than the doses Grover and Annabeth had taken.

Annabeth seemed to understand the problem. It was nice to be able to read her expressions again, even if she was looking at me with a mix of anxiety and dread.

“Your call,” she said.

I walked over to Gale’s fruit crate. I knelt so we were eye to eye.

“There’s only enough left for one of us, isn’t there?”

She chirped—definitely ayes.

“I don’t suppose we can make more when we get back to Hecate’s?” I asked.

She gave me a longer series of barks and chitters. I looked at Grover for a translation.

“She says no,” he told me. “Some of those ingredients take centuries to grow.”

I imagined Hecate could change me back with a wave of her hand. Then again, if I looked like a half octopus when she got home, the truth would come out. She’d blast me into deep-fried Percy calamari.

Maybe I could ask my dad for help. He was an expert on sea stuff. Then again, he already had one immortal son, Triton, with two fish tails. Poseidon might not see the issue. Then we’d get into a wholesea animals are better than land animalsconversation. He’d probably tell me he’d always wanted an octopus for a son and I should consider myself lucky.

I shuddered, my tentacles rippling with revulsion.

I offered the bowl to Gale. “I promised I would help you if you helped me. And you did. You saved my friends. If you want to be human again, you deserve it. You’re an incredible witch, maybe the best ever.”

Gale tilted her head, considering me. I got the feeling she knew exactly what I’d seen when I touched her back in the lab. I was determined not to show her any pity. I meant what I said. She was incredible. She deserved more than a curse.

The polecat started chittering again.

“She says she likes you,” Grover translated. “You’re not bad for a demigod.”

“Thanks?”

“She appreciates you keeping your word.”

I nodded. No problem. I could have tentacles forever. Maybe I’d finally learn to tie my shoes.

“But she doesn’t want to change back to human,” Grover added.

I caught my breath. “Wh-what?”

“Polecats are much prettier,” Grover said. “And she’s had centuries to get used to her new form. Besides, she’s immortal. If she turned human, she’d get old and die. Then she’d have less time to research new recipes. She wants you to take the antidote. But she also wants you to keep your promise about asking Hecate to let her have an alchemy lab and assistants with opposable thumbs.”

“I…Yeah, of course!”

Gale pushed the bowl toward me with her little paws.“CHARK!”

“Thanks, Gale,” I said, tearing up all over again. “You are a polecat among polecats.”

I scooped up the paste with the tip of my tentacle and choked it down.

I will spare you the details. There was much retching. Things came out of my mouth that should never come out of a human mouth. But once I was done throwing up, I had my old arms back again. The first thing I did was pull Grover and Annabeth into a group hug.

Gale hopped onto my shoulder and farted in camaraderie. I kissed Annabeth, though my breath probably smelled like cinnamon and bug shells.

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