are you mine[?]

.onze.

Patroclus couldn't lie — the campfire was a downright mess.

He ran his hands through his hair as Annabeth pointed out that Jason was obviously important since Patroclus and Nico had shown up. Jason had admitted he recognized Patroclus — then proceeded to ask if he was king of New Troy and when Patroclus responded that, yes, he was, Jason knelt as if it were some ceremony.

He burrowed his face in his hands and picked invisible lint off his t-shirt.

"We skip those formalities. Unless, of course, you're an enemy. Don't worry. You're not. We've met. We've even collaborated, for the gods's sakes. Don't worry, you're a good person."

"To be honest," Nico muttered to Patroclus, "I like him better as an amnesiac."

Patroclus stifled a laugh.

Finally the singing ended with a lot of rowdy applause. Then Chiron trotted forward. He brandished a spear impaled with toasted marshmallows. "Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first —"

"What about capture the flag?" somebody yelled.

Grumbling broke out among some kids in armor, sitting under a red banner with the emblem of a boar's head.

"Yes," Chiron said. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."

"And kill people!" one of them shouted.

"However," Chiron said, "until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"

He turned to Leo's group. Nyssa stood uncomfortably. She wore an army jacket a lot like Leo's, with her hair covered in a red bandanna. "We're working on it."

More grumbling.

"How, Nyssa?" an Ares kid demanded.

"Really hard," she said.

Nyssa sat down to a lot of yelling and complaining, which caused the fire to sputter chaotically. Chiron stamped his hoof against the fire pit stones — bang, bang, bang — and the campers fell silent.

"We will have to be patient," Chiron said. "In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss."

"Percy?" someone asked. The fire dimmed even further.

Chiron gestured to Annabeth. She took a deep breath and stood.

"I didn't find Percy," she announced. Her voice caught a little when she said his name. "He wasn't at the Grand Canyon like I thought. But we're not giving up. We've got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, the Hunters of Artemis — everyone's out looking. We will find him. And Nico and Patroclus are here today, as you might've noticed. But Chiron's talking about something different. A new quest."

"It's the Great Prophecy, isn't it?" a girl called out.

Everyone turned. The voice had come from a group in back, sitting under a rose-colored banner with a dove emblem. They'd been chatting among themselves and not paying much attention until their leader stood up: Drew.

Everyone else looked surprised. Apparently Drew didn't address the crowd very often.

"Drew?" Annabeth said. "What do you mean?"

"Well, come on." Drew spread her hands like the truth was obvious. "Olympus is closed. Percy's disappeared. Hera sends you a vision and you come back with three new demigods in one day. I mean, something weird is going on. The Great Prophecy has started, right?"