❦𝓕𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓒𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓮❦ - 𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓬𝔂 𝓙𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓼𝓸𝓷

𝒱. 𝒞𝒶𝓂𝓅 𝐻𝒶𝓁𝒻-𝐵𝓁𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒲𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇

𝓩𝓸𝓮 kinda missed seeing camp during the winter. She loved the snow she never saw in Malibu, and there was a majestic aesthetic woven into the atmosphere.

The camp has the ultimate magic climate control. Nothing gets inside the borders unless the director, Mr. D, wants it to. This year, he had decided to let it snow lightly. Frost covered the chariot track and the strawberry fields. The cabins were decorated with tiny flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they were to be balls of real fire. More lights glowed in the woods, and a fire flickered in the attic window of the Big House, where the Oracle dwelt.

"Whoa," Nico said as he climbed off the bus, Zoe right behind him. "Is that a climbing wall?"

"Yeah," she said.

"Why is there lava pouring down it?"

"Little extra challenge," Percy chuckled. "Come on. I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoë," both Zoes looked at him. "Nightshade, have you met—"

"I know Chiron," she said stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me."

"I'll show you the way," Grover offered.

"We know the way."

"Oh, really, it's no trouble. It's easy to get lost here, if you don't"—he tripped over a canoe and came up still talking—"like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!"

Nightshade rolled her eyes, but everyone knew there was no getting rid of Grover. The Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off toward the cabins. As Bianca Di Angelo was leaving, she leaned over and whispered something in her brother's ear. She looked at him for an answer, but Nico just scowled and turned away.

"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters. He winked at Percy.

"Watch out for those prophecies, Percy. I'll see you soon."

"What do you mean?"

"Good luck little Stark, you'll need it."

"Wait, what?"

Instead of responding, he hopped back on the bus. "Later, Thalia," he called. "And, uh, be good!"

He gave Zoe that half smirk again before giving Thalia a wicked smile, as if he knew something they didn't. Which wouldn't be surprising, considering he's the god of prophecies. Then he closed the doors and revved the engine. Zoe lowered her gaze to her shoes as the sun chariot took off in a blast of heat. When she looked back, the lake was steaming. A red Jeep soared over the woods, glowing brighter and climbing higher until it disappeared in a ray of sunlight.

Nico was still looking grumpy. Zoe pulled him into a side hug and started off towards the Big House, Thalia beside them.

"Who's Chiron?" he asked. "I don't have his figurine."

"Our activities director," Percy said, walking with them. "He's... well, you'll see."

"If those Hunter girls don't like him," Nico grumbled, "that's good enough for me. Let's go."

No matter how many times she saw it, the emptiness of camp during the winter always struck Zoe differently. She spotted Charles Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin stoking the forge outside the camp armory. The Stoll brothers, Travis and Connor, from the Hermes cabin, were picking the lock on the camp store. A few kids from the Ares cabin were having a snowball fight with the wood nymphs at the edge of the forest. That was about it.

Zoe half expected Clarisse to be there, even though the young Stark knew the daughter of Ares was MIA. She had delved into the labyrinth almost a month ago now, and they hadn't heard from her since. As much of a bully Clarisse could be, Zoe hoped she was okay. The daughter of Aphrodite had read about the labyrinth almost as much as Annabeth, and she knew that those books and scrolls only contained a fraction of what was down there.