ONE LAST TIME . . . heroes of olympus

47

"WHO IS AUNT Rosa?" asked Hazel.

Kat grimaced. She hasn't heard the whole story, but she's heard enough. "Luchik—"

"Long story," Leo said, awkwardly gesturing at Kat to show that he was fine. "She abandoned me after my mom died, gave me to foster care."

Hazel's expression flashed with regret. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well . . ." Leo rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "What about you? What Nemesis said about your brother?"

Hazel blinked like she'd gotten salt in her eyes. "Nico . . . he found me in the Underworld. He brought me back to the mortal world and convinced the Romans at Camp Jupiter to accept me. I owe him for my second chance at life. If Nemesis is right, and Nico's in danger . . . I have to help him."

"Sure," Kat said. She'd never really met Nico, but he'd helped in the war. He was probably decent. "And what Nemesis said about your brother having six days to live, and Rome getting destroyed . . . any idea what she meant? 'Cause I don't have a clue."

"None," Hazel admitted. "But I'm afraid . . ."

Whatever she was thinking, she decided not to share it. She climbed one of the largest boulders to get a better view. Leo tried to follow and lost his balance. Hazel caught his hand while Kat snickered at him. She pulled him up and they found themselves atop the rock, holding hands, face-to-face.

"Um, thanks." He let go of her hand, but they were still standing so close, Kat didn't bother trying to climb up after them.

"When we were talking to Nemesis," Hazel said uneasily, "your hands . . . I saw flames."

"Yeah," Leo said. "It's a Hephaestus power. Usually I can keep it under control."

"Oh."

After some moments of awkward silence, Kat called: "hey, see anything up there?"

"Not really." Leo's tone worried her.

"Luchik," she said. "You can't take what Nemesis said to heart."

He frowned. "What if it's true?"

"She's the goddess of revenge," she reminded him. "Maybe she's on our side, maybe not; but she exists to stir up resentment. Besides, you know I'll always be here. Someone's gotta carry on the extraordinary family legacy, right?"

She couldn't help the bitterness in her voice, but she pushed that thought out of her head. She didn't have time to think about this shit.

"We should keep going," said Leo. "I wonder what Nemesis meant about finishing before dark."

Hazel glanced at the sun, which was just touching the horizon. "And who is the cursed boy she mentioned?"

Next to Kat, a voice said, "Cursed boy she mentioned."

She flinched, putting her back to the boulder and looking around. At first, she saw no one. Then her eyes adjusted. She realized a young woman was standing only ten feet from the base of the boulder. Her dress was a Greek-style tunic the same color as the rocks. Her wispy hair was somewhere between brown and blond and gray, so it blended with the dry grass. She wasn't invisible, exactly, but she was almost perfectly camouflaged until she moved. Even then, Kat had trouble focusing on her. Her face was pretty but not memorable. In fact, each time Kat blinked, she couldn't remember what the girl looked like, and she had to concentrate to find her again.

"Hey," said Kat. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" the girl answered. Her voice sounded weary, like she was tired of answering that question.