❦𝓕𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓒𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓮❦ - 𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓬𝔂 𝓙𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓼𝓸𝓷

𝒳𝒳𝐼𝐼𝐼. 𝒩𝒾𝒸𝑜 𝐼𝓈 𝒢𝑜𝓃𝑒

𝓐𝓷𝓷𝓪𝓫𝓮𝓽𝓱 came to find them some time later, pulling Zoe back into the crowd and the two of them danced together until the sun rose. The four campers, Zoe, Annabeth, Grover, and Percy, found each other to watch the sun rise, then they all headed down into the city together.

Compared to Mount Olympus, Manhattan was quiet. It may have been the Friday before Christmas, but it was early in the morning, and hardly anyone was on Fifth Avenue. Argus, the many-eyed security chief, picked up Annabeth, Grover, Percy, and Zoe at the Empire State Building and ferried them back to camp through a light snowstorm. The Long Island Expressway was almost deserted.

They trudged back up Half-Blood Hill to the pine tree where the Golden Fleece glittered and Peleus snored. Chiron greeted them at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches. Grover went off with his satyr friends to spread the word about their strange encounter with the magic of Pan. Within an hour, the satyrs were all running around agitated, asking where the nearest espresso bar was.

Annabeth, Zoe, and Percy sat with Chiron and some of the other senior campers—Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers. Clarisse was there, back from her scouting mission in the labyrinth. She had a new scar on her chin, and her dirty blond hair had been cut short and ragged, like someone had attacked it with a pair of safety scissors. Zoe dreaded what the daughter of Ares had to say about the dark place she had ventured into.

"I got news," Clarisse mumbled uneasily. "Bad news."

"I'll fill you in later," Chiron said with forced cheerfulness. "The important thing is you have prevailed. And you saved Annabeth!"

Annabeth smiled at Percy and Zoe gratefully, the brunette sending her a small smile in return.

"Luke is alive," Percy said. "Annabeth was right."

Annabeth sat up. "How do you know?"

Percy told them what his dad had said about the Princess Andromeda.

"Well." Annabeth shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "If the final battle does come when Percy is sixteen, at least we have two more years to figure something out."

Chiron's expression was gloomy. Sitting by the fire in his wheelchair, he looked really old. Well... he was really old, but he usually didn't look it.

"Two years may seem like a long time," he said. "But it is the blink of an eye. I still hope you are not the child of the prophecy, Percy. But if you are, then the second Titan war is almost upon us. Kronos's first strike will be here."

"How do you know?" Percy's brow furrowed. "Why would he care about camp?"

"Because the gods use heroes as their tools," Chiron said simply. "Destroy the tools, and the gods will be crippled. Luke's forces will come here. Mortal, demigod, monstrous... We must be prepared. Clarisse's news may give us a clue as to how they will attack, but—"

There was a knock on the door, and Nico Di Angelo came huffing into the parlor, his cheeks bright red from the cold.

He was smiling, but he looked around anxiously. "Hey! Where's... where's my sister?"

Dead silence. Zoe felt the telltale sting in the back of her eyes that signaled the tears. She couldn't look Nico in the eye, her gaze darting everywhere but the young demigod.

"Hey, Nico." Percy got up. "Let's take a walk, okay? We need to talk."

Zoe started to stand, intent on going with them. As painful as it was going to be, she wanted to be there for Nico.

Percy made eye contact with the daughter of Aphrodite and shook his head, gesturing for her to sit back down. He had to do this alone.

Sitting back down, Zoe stared at the table, gaze unfocused as people continued to talk in hushed tones around her.