ENTRAPPED ₂

115

ETHAN NAKAMURA COULD NOT REMEMBER THE LAST TIME HE HAD RUN SO FAST IN HIS LIFE.

Of the two of them, Madeleine had always been faster. Ethan was decent at catching up with her, but since Tartarus, his agility was shit. He crouched next to Thalia's tree, a stitch in his side, his throat searing.

After separating from Tyson and Ella, Ethan had decided his best course of action would be to get into the cabins. From there, he could discuss his plan with the other demigods. The trouble was getting there.

So far, Ethan had detected no opposition, a fact that deeply unnerved him. As the sun slowly rose in the sky, he couldn't help but worry about Reyna and Nico. And what about the others, the ones on the Argo II? It was August 1, and the time zone in Greece would probably be around late afternoon by now. Were they fighting? Were they okay? Ethan didn't think Gaea had risen yet, so that was probably a good sign.

He took a deep breath, leaning heavily against the Thalia's tree.

"Sorry for almost hitting you," he murmured. "I'm pretty fucked up."

The tree didn't respond, so Ethan kept running. He made a dead sprint into the valley, nearly tripping down the hill in his haste, and made a beeline for the Aphrodite Cabin. His heart was racing, though he wasn't sure if that was his anxiety or his exertion. Probably both.

Ethan threw open the door of the Aphrodite Cabin and slammed it behind himself. He had been in the cabin enough to know its occupants by now, and was unbothered by the fact that all of them were staring at him. All he wanted to see was Drew's face.

"Ethan Nakamura?" a boy asked. Ethan thought it was Mitchell.

"Uh-huh," Ethan gasped, leaning against the wall. He realized he must look terrible, but he decided not to think about that right now. "Drew? Where's Drew?"

"Drew!" someone called, one of the younger campers. "Some kid is here to see you!"

Drew turned the corner in full body armor, looking plenty intimidating. She shooed away the younger campers, instructing them to get ready for battle, then turned and caught sight of Ethan. Her mouth flew open.

"Hi," Ethan gasped. He was so relieved to see her he thought he might pass out.

"You smell terrible," Drew told him. Then she embraced him so tightly that Ethan couldn't breathe. Her bronze armor dug into his ribs but he didn't care even a bit.

"Oh, Ethan," Drew said. She pulled back, holding him at arms-length. "Gods. Lee told me about your Iris message. Is Nico―"

"Alive," Ethan breathed. "He's alive, thanks to Lee and Grover. Hey, listen, I need you to pass a message for me―Reyna is coming with the Athena Parthenos. We cannot shoot her out of the sky."

Drew paused. "Like, Roman Reyna? Praetor Reyna?"

Ethan nodded.

"Okay." Drew let go of Ethan, taking a deep breath. "Okay. Mitchell, Lacy, I need you to pass that on. Go from cabin to cabin."

"You got it, Drew," Mitchell said. Together, he and Lacy ran out of the cabin.

Drew turned her attention back to Ethan. "How's Madeleine? Why isn't she with you?"

Ethan paused. He couldn't tell Drew what Madeleine was planning. She would never forgive either of them. The crushing weight of it hit Ethan like a ton of bricks.

Drew's face changed. "Ethan? What's wrong?"

Ethan took a deep breath. "I―"

Before he could figure out what to say, though, an explosion sounded. Ethan closed his eyes.