LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE . . . hoo

XLIII.

ALL AROUND THE Piazza del Colosseo, traffic had come to a standstill. A crowd of mortals had gathered, probably wondering about the strange lights and sounds that had come from the ruins. As far as Mia could see, none of the giants' spectacular plans for destruction had come off successfully. The city looked the same as before. No one seemed to notice the huge Greek trireme rising into the sky.

The demigods gathered around the helm. Jason bandaged Piper's sprained shoulder while Percy, Frank, Leo, and Coach Hedge decoded Bacchus's advice on where to find Annabeth.

Mia and Hazel sat at the stern, feeding Nico ambrosia. The son of Hades could barely lift his head. His voice was so quiet, they had to lean in whenever he spoke. Mia examined him as he spoke about what had happened, her chest hurting with each word he'd said. He'd always been pale, but now his skin looked like powdered milk. His dark sunken eyes reminded Mia of her eyes after she'd ran away from the war last year.

"There it is!" Leo cried, making Mia flinch, pointing to his monitor. "Frank, you're amazing! I'm setting course."

Frank hunched his shoulders. "I just read the name off the screen. Some Chinese tourist marked it on Google Maps."

Leo grinned at the others. "He reads Chinese."

"Just a tiny bit," Frank said.

"How cool is that?"

"Guys," Hazel broke in. "I hate to interrupt your admiration session, but you should hear this."

She and Mia helped Nico to his feet.

"Thank you," Nico rasped. His eyes darted nervously around the group. "I'd given up hope."

"You knew about the two camps all along," Percy said. "You could have told me who I was the first day I arrived at Camp Jupiter, but you didn't."

Nico slumped against the helm. "Percy, I'm sorry. Mia and I discovered Camp Jupiter last year. My dad led us there, though we weren't sure why. He told me the gods had kept the camps separate for centuries and that I couldn't tell anyone. The time wasn't right. But he said it would be important for me to know . . ." He doubled over in a fit of coughing.

Mia held him upright until he could speak again.

"I — I thought Dad meant because of Hazel," Nico continued. "I'd need a safe place to take her. But now . . . I think he wanted me to know about both camps so I'd understand how important your quest was, and so I'd search for the Doors of Death."

The air turned electric — literally, as Jason started throwing off sparks.

"Did you find the doors?" Percy asked.

Nico nodded. "I was a fool. I thought I could go anywhere in the Underworld, but I walked right into Gaea's trap. I might as well have tried running from a black hole."

"Um . . ." Frank chewed his lip. "What kind of black hole are you talking about?"

Nico started to speak, but whatever he needed to say must have been too terrifying. He turned to Mia.

She put her hand on her brother's arm, half supporting him, half supporting her. "Nico told us that the Doors of Death have two sides — one in the mortal world, one in the Underworld. The mortal side of the portal is in Greece. It's heavily guarded by Gaea's forces. That's where they brought Nico back into the upper world. Then they transported him to Rome."

Piper must've been nervous, because her cornucopia spit out a cheeseburger. "Where exactly in Greece is this doorway?"

Nico took a rattling breath. "The House of Hades. It's an underground temple in Epirus. I can mark it on a map, but — but the mortal side of the portal isn't the problem. In the Underworld, the Doors of Death are in . . . in . . ."