26

Nico POV

Nico usually kept away from the main crowds at camp, but he always at least tried to be aware about what was going on. It was easy to eavesdrop on people when they tended to ignore your presence.

It was one of the reasons why he liked Jade so much. When Bianca died, everyone was uncomfortable with him and unable to talk to him normally, but Jade wasn't like that. She looked him in the eye, had him get back up on his feet albeit roughly, but she was there when no one else reached out a hand. Sure, the Stoll brothers tried to check on him, but there were three dozen other unclaimed kids who needed supervision. Jade gave him undivided attention, and though Nico knew that she wanted favors in return, he didn't care. She helped him settle into camp, figured out his powers, and kept tabs on him to make sure he wasn't in trouble. It was everything that he imagined an older sister would do; Jade treated him like a younger sibling in ways Bianca hadn't done the second she joined the Hunters. He wasn't so angry about that now, Nico was more sad that he'd lost a sister.

But now, Nico didn't want Jade to go on the quest with Percy and Annabeth. After Bianca, he didn't believe quests were as cool as he thought they were. He thought they'd be fun adventures full of meeting awesome gods, defeating monsters, and saving people, but he learned firsthand that it was nothing like that. People died. His sister died.

Nico learned the hard way that quests were dangerous. Jade had warned him, but he didn't realize how bad it was because he was just a kid. He didn't know that demigod business was a literal matter of life or death.

Quests are actually incredibly dangerous. Usually the camp never allows a quest because demigods would die all the time. This time, the chances of everyone surviving is slim.

Jade's words rang ominously through his head. Nico lost a sister and then gained a new one, but the new sister left on a quest too. What if something happened to Jade? Just like Bianca.

Walking towards the pavilion for lunch, Nico shook his head of the scary thought. He was just worried, he told himself. There was no need to worry about Jade because she was strong and smart. Bianca didn't have much experience fighting compared to Jade, so it was different this time.

As he got close, Nico noticed that there were a lot of people crowded at the dining pavilion, but the mood in the air was awfully subdued. He tried to tiptoe around to see what was going on, however taller demigods blocked his view so Nico couldn't see anything.

Tugging on the sleeve of a random older girl, he asked, "What's going on?"

The girl was the Demeter cabin counselor, the one who yelled at the Stoll brothers a lot. She glanced down at Nico and pressed her lips together tightly.

"Annabeth and Percy came back," she said quietly. "But the rest of their party is missing."

Nico's eyes widened in shock.

No-

Nico pushed through the crowd to the center of the pavilion. Chiron was there and standing in front of him were Percy and Annabeth. They both appeared roughened by the Labyrinth, and Annabeth had her left arm covered with a strange, flexible metal plating. The metal didn't look like it was for decorations, but for support because Annabeth's arm seemed to be healing from a serious injury. The three of them looked like they were discussing something serious because none of them had pleasant expressions on their face.

"Where's Jade?!" he shouted anxiously, hoping for good news.

Instead, he felt a heavy weight drop in his stomach when Annabeth shamefully hung her head. Percy couldn't look at him in the eye, but Nico could see the overwhelming guilt flooding the sea green eyes. Nico recognized it as a terribly familiar look that he associated with Percy from last winter when Bianca didn't return from the quest to save Artemis.

Then, a horrible sense of déjà vu rammed into him.

It was happening all over again. It was just like Bianca, but this time, it was Jade.

"Where's Jade?" Nico repeated, his voice cracking from incoming panic. "Where is she?!"

Instead of Annabeth or Percy answering first, Chiron spoke up.

"It seems that Grover and Tyson are still in the Labyrinth along with Briares, the One Hundred Handed One, who they found," the centaurs said carefully. "But Jade is…"

Nico's head swivelled. "What happened?" he demanded.

Percy covered his face with a hand. "We were inside Mount St. Helens and she helped us escape telekhines, sea demons," he muttered. "She said she'd put them to sleep, but there were too many. I saw them attack her before the Labyrinth separated us."

Nico felt numb. "So you're saying that….Jade's gone?"

Silence hung over the pavilion. No one refuted Nico's question.

"Annabeth and Percy have yet to complete the mission, so they must return to the Labyrinth once Annabeth has healed," Chiron solemnly announced. "If they cannot find Jade in the Labyrinth, then we shall wait the standard two weeks for her to return to camp."

The implication was heavy. If she didn't return, then she'd be determined dead. The centaur said more after that, but Nico couldn't process anything as his world was now in turmoil. A white, fuzzy sound filled his ears as the possibility of losing another person began crushing him.

Again.

He'd lost another person in his life again.

This was too much.

It was unfair.

Annabeth tried to approach Nico, but Nico ran out of the pavilion, not caring about the campers around him.

His feet took him to the tree next to the lake. The place where Jade could always be found.

Nico's chest heaved from the sprint and the deep breaths soon turned into choked sobs. His knees hit the flattened patch of dirt in between the tree roots.

It was unfair.

Why a second time? How could Jade be gone? She wasn't supposed to be gone like this, she was supposed to come back with everyone.

They talked about her like she might be dead. Percy and Annabeth had to go back to the Labyrinth, but how could they find Jade down there? They didn't have anything to help them navigate. Nico could help them, but Annabeth had to heal before going back underground and he didn't want to wait. Plus, this was the second time Percy and them had lost a person in a quest. Nico didn't know if he could trust them. He wanted to go find Jade by himself when she could still be alive.

She had to be alive.

Nico stiffened at the sudden bold thought.

It was a gut feeling, but Jade wasn't dead. Nico was sure that she's alive somewhere.

He was the son of Hades. Could it be that he could sense people's deaths?

The idea made Nico's thoughts run wild. His fingers twitched before forming tight fists, fingernails digging into his palms. For some reason, he was confident that Jade wasn't dead. He had to find her before it was too late.

Nico beelined towards Cabin Eleven where he'd taken temporary shelter in Jade's top bunk bed. She'd let him have the bed while she was gone, which didn't help missing her, but it was useful for keeping stuff safe away from prying eyes. Nico already had a list forming in his mind, just like how Jade had taught him how to pack and what to prepare. Jade had already taught him how to navigate the Labyrinth with his powers over the earth.

It was like she prepared him for this exact task.

Nico was going to find Jade himself.

Percy POV

Percy didn't have the courage to go after Nico. Shame burned him and weighed down his feet, preventing him from following the son of Hades. What would he even say if he faced Nico? Percy couldn't imagine it.

This was the second time he failed Nico. The first was losing Bianca in the desert.

Now, they lost Jade in the Labyrinth.

He shouldn't have just left her at the mountain. Why did he let her convince him that it'd be okay? Jade literally pushed him and Annabeth away, did she really believe that she'd get away and reunite with them? Did she already know that she didn't have a chance of returning?

Percy remembered looking back, desperately wanting to catch a glimpse of Jade safe and singing but instead, he saw the sea demons circling around her. The glow of lava from below casted a red light and among the dark silhouettes, one telekhine lunged at Jade, biting her down. Jade cut one down, but there were too many of them. Then the Labyrinth twisted the walls before his eyes, cutting off the mountain entrance as if taunting him with that last scene. Ever since then, the sight of Jade being surrounded by telekhines haunted Percy.

They just left her there.

He left her.

The mood at camp was especially heavy after reporting to Chiron.

Annabeth was particularly snippy and on edge. When they returned to Hephaestus, the god had fastened a bronze healing sleeve for Annabeth's burned arm. He assured her that the injured skin and bones would be good as new in just a few days. Percy assumed that they'd wait until Annabeth was completely healed to take their next step in navigating the Labyrinth, but the daughter of Athena was impatient.

The morning after they returned to camp, Annabeth showed up at Percy's cabin, her arm still in the shiny metal sleeve.

"Did you think about Hephaestus' clue?" she asked icily.

The sharp tone took Percy aback. He wasn't sure why she sounded like that.

"Uh, yeah, I think I understand what he meant."

"Good, let's go to Chiron now," was her clipped response.

They headed over to the Big House, but there was no easy conversation, no banter, or small talk. The stiff silence on Annabeth's end unnerved Percy, but he could understand. They lost Jade, one of Annabeth's oldest and closest friends. She was upset and now wanted to complete the quest and find Jade as soon as possible.

As they walked the beaten path, Percy reflected on Hepheastus' words. As promised, the god awarded Percy and Annabeth for the mission and told them of a way of finding Daedalus as he couldn't explicitly tell them where to find the man in the Labyrinth. He said that they could try obtaining Ariadne's string, but the Titans Army was already after it. Plus, there was a better way, a more reliable method of going through the maze. Hephaestus told them of Theseus and Princess Ariadne, pointing out that the princess was a regular mortal and didn't have an ounce of mortal blood in her however she was able to see very clearly.

Hephaestus' words reminded Percy of his mom who could see through the Mist but not as well as she used to as she got older. He could only think of one other person who could see like his mom.

Chiron welcomed them in his office and after getting settled in chairs and taking a sip of freshly brewed tea, Percy gave his answer to Hephaestus' advice.

"Rachel. I think we need her."

Behind her cup, Annabeth's scowl deepened even further. "You're kidding me."

Percy let out a short sigh. "I wish I was, but it makes sense."

The centaur sat back in his wheelchair and stroked his beard. "There is precedent. Just as Theseus had the help of Ariadne, Harriet Tubman, daughter of Hermes, used many mortals on her Underground Railroad for this exact reason."

"But this is my quest," Annabeth said tightly. "I need to lead it."

Chiron looked uncomfortable. "My dear, it is your quest, but you need help."

Percy saw the flip in Annabeth before it happened. Something that Chiron said was the tipping point for Annabeth. She slammed her cup of tea on the coffee table, got up, and stalked out of the office. It was the most disrespectful thing Percy had ever seen Annabeth do to Chiron. In fact, it was the first time he'd seen her do something like this, but the centaur didn't seem to take personal offense to it.

"She will calm down," Chiron promised. "She's hurt, I do not blame her. I also must tell you of two unpleasant things."

Percy had to fight the urge to complain. What now?

"Chris Rodriguez, our guest's health has deteriorated. He's much worse and in the infirmary now, too weak to move. Without Jade's hypnosis, he doesn't respond to anything. None of my medicines help. Our only hope is for Mr. D to return as soon as possible."

A pang of sympathy for Clarisse hit Percy. Even though they never got along, he felt horrible for her. She tried so hard to help him. They still didn't know what caused the madness in the first place.

"The other news is equally distressing. Quintus has disappeared."

Chiron told Percy of Juniper watching the sword instructor slipping into the Labyrinth three nights ago and Mrs. O'Leary being left behind. It seemed that Percy's suspicions of Quintus were correct despite it being strange that the man would abandon his beloved monster hellhound. And even though it was bad to be betrayed, it allayed Percy's secret fears of Jade being the spy. Percy decided against telling Chiron of this.

"With that said, go after Annabeth," Chiron said with a heavy voice. "You're all she has as of this moment."

Those words gave Percy a bit of confidence to find his angry friend, but the sight of Chiron in his wheelchair, staring sadly into the fireplace was very melancholic. He wondered how many times he'd sat there, waiting for heroes that never came back.

It wasn't too hard to figure out where Annabeth was hiding, she was at the lake staring at the water's edge. Percy went over and stood next to her, joining her nature gazing. She seemed less on edge and less angry, which was a good sign.

"Hey."

"Is Chiron mad I walked out?" Annabeth asked self-consciously.

Percy scratched his cheek. "No, he's just worried."

The daughter of Athena's shoulders slumped. "Percy, I just can't take it that I need help."

The admission slightly confused Percy. "What do you mean?"

"I studied so hard for a quest like this," Annabeth said sadly. "But nothing I prepared for could be used for the Labyrinth. Instead, I get one god's help because he was Jade's dad, and now, I need a mortal's help?"

"Hard to admit we need a mortal's help," Percy agreed. "But it's true."

Annabeth glared at him, snapping, "That's not the point, Percy!"

Percy wanted to snap back, but he pushed down the urge at the last moment.

"What is the point, then?" he asked tiredly. He couldn't understand her if she wasn't spelling it out clearly to his face.

"We could've had Nico guide us!" Annabeth nearly shouted. "But he's gone-"

Worry flooded Percy. "What do you mean he's gone?"

"The Stolls said he disappeared last night," Annabeth griped. "So, what I'm saying is that Jade is gone, Nico is gone, we have to get a mortal's help, and nothing is going right!"

The last part seemed to carry in the wind. Annabeth's chest heaved from the explosion of temper. Percy had never seen her so riled up. It seemed like he was seeing a lot of sides of Annabeth today. Even though she was spitting fire and angrily yelling, Percy knew that deep down inside, Annabeth was hurting. She was scared, unsure, and sad about Jade; Percy could relate to all of those feelings.

Percy usually wasn't good at comforting, but he pulled Annabeth into a hug. It wasn't long until she returned the hug, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. There were some sniffling sounds that Percy pointedly didn't comment on because he knew that Annabeth hated crying and hated it even more when someone noticed.

"It's hard," he said quietly. "But I'll do anything it takes for a chance to find Jade. What about you?"

He felt Annabeth nod her head.

"We'll find her," Percy said. It sounded like a promise and he meant it.

So, it looked like they were going to have to find Rachel.

The night before heading into the city, Percy had a restless night of dreaming. The first was about three princesses drowning King Minos and Daedalus escaping into the Labyrinth with his nephews notes in hand. The second dream was the one that bothered Percy more. It was of Luke trying to get through the maze with another half-blood. Luke talked about Quintus and Ariadne's string among other details until he was interrupted by news of dracaenae bringing a half-blood. Percy was worried that it was Jade they found.

The next morning after feeding Mrs. O'Leary, Percy told Annabeth about his dreams while they were in the van driven by Argus. They dropped by his mom's apartment to prove that he was still alive, then went to Times Square where Rachel agreed to meet them.

They found the redhead in front of the Marriott Marquis completely covered in gold paint. Her face, her hair, her clothes were all gold like she'd been touched by King Midas. Five other kids stood just like her, statuesque, and painted in different metallic colors. Tourists hustled past or stopped to stare, some throwing money at the tarp on the sidewalk. Rachel didn't even move or blink when Annabeth and him walked up in front of her.

"Maybe if we push her over," Annabeth suggested.

Percy thought that was a little mean, but Rachel didn't respond. After a few minutes, a kid in silver came over from the hotel taxi stand where he'd been taking a break. He took a pose like he was lecturing the crowd, right next to Rachel. Rachel unfroze and stepped off the tarp.

"Hey, Percy!" She grinned. "Good timing, let's get coffee."

The three of them went to a place just a street over. Rachel got a drink with triple shots of espresso while Annabeth and Percy got fruit smoothies. After settling into a table and everyone taking a few sips of their drink, Rachel broke the ice.

"Where's the other girl?"

Percy stiffened at Rachel's innocent question. He felt Annabeth next him do the same and desperately prayed that she wouldn't explode.

"She's gone," Annabeth tersely answered. "And we need to find her."

"We need your help," Percy clarified.

Percy did his best to explain why he called to meet her, saying that they were demigods and on a quest. That they lost friends in the Labyrinth and have to go back in to find them and the long lost inventor, Daedalus.

"So, that's why there were skeletons chasing you the first time I met you, and then dragon-cyborg girls attacking you the second time?" Rachel asked. "And now you need my help to guide you through a place I've never been just because I can 'see' these weird incidents?"

She did finger quotation marks at that part. When she said it like that, Percy knew just how unbelievable their story sounded.

"We wouldn't be here if we had another way," he said.

"Well, we did, but he ran off," Annabeth muttered under her breath.

Rachel looked amused at the side banter. "I'm guessing this is very dangerous demigod business stuff."

"This isn't a joke, mortal girl," Annabeth said. "Our friends' lives are at stake."

Surprisingly, Rachel did back off with the lighthearted comments and cut straight to the heart of the matter.

"I'll do it," she decided.

Percy blinked. He hadn't figured it would be so easy to convince her. "Are you sure?"

"Hey, my summer was going to be boring and you guys seem like you really need help," Rachel reasoned pleasantly. She pulled a big blue plastic hairbrush from her pocket and started brushing the gold out of her hair.

"How do we get started?"

So, I wasn't exactly stoked about rejoining the Kronos' Army, but seeing Ethan's reaction to my entrance was funny.

"Jade?" Ethan choked out.

I did a little hand wave. "Ethan! 'Sup, nephew?"

After my loyalty had been confirmed by Kelli through a hellhound messenger, the monster escorted me to the Titan palace via shadow travel where there were a group of demigods who had yet to pledge their allegiance to Kronos. Apparently this time, the Lord of time was being particular who he'd allow to join his servitude, so he wanted the demigods to prove themselves before swearing the oath. Because of me, Kronos actually didn't require more demigods loyal to his name, however he still wanted them on the reserve once he'd begin invading Olympus. Until then, the demigods were left in cells lined alongside the walls of the palace to wait for their chance. I was passing by a hall full of caged demigods when I recognized Ethan who stuck out like a weed among the rest of them with his eyepatch and tall, lanky frame.

"What are you doing here?" he nearly shrieked. The demigods next to him assessed me who stood freely outside of the bars and escorted by a hellhound.

His confusion was so plainly obvious on his face that I laughed. "Why else would I be here?" I said. "I'm here for Kronos."

Ethan gaped at me behind the metal bars.

"Ah, but people at camp don't know, so you can't tell them," I said as I held a finger to my lips in a shush gesture. "It's a secret, got it?"

Ethan suddenly gasped and pointed at me. "After we talked about the ship Princess Andromeda, hellhounds tracked me down once I left camp. Was that because of you? Did you recruit me?"

"You're welcome."

The eye-patched teenager lowered his hand and continued staring at me in disbelief. Something crossed his face, a mix of shock and… was that disgust?

How interesting.

I tilted my head. "Are you judging me for betraying camp?"

Ethan caught himself and schooled his expression into a neutral one. "I never expected you to join the titans," he muttered. "Everyone at camp won't take it well to know that you're here. I thought you were happy there."

I corrected him, "I am happy at camp."

"Then why are you here? If you were happy, then you wouldn't join Kronos."

I went closer to the bars, beckoning Ethan to step forward.

Lowering my voice, I said, "I want to make this clear: I hate the Olympians. I never said that I loved them, but you know, that doesn't mean I like the Titans, either. Makes you wonder why I'm doing this, right?"

Ethan stared at me when I drew back with a shallow smile.

"Who's side are you on?" he asked, sounding extremely guarded. "What're you up to? And why are you telling me this?"

"I'm just maybe suggesting that you reconsider who you're fighting for," I said with a shrug. "There's stuff happening beyond this upcoming war, but it's up to you to decide if you still want to support the Titans."

A myriad of emotions flashed across Ethan's face, but confusion stood out the most.

"See you later, Ethan."

I walked past the cage and continued my way down the wide hall, the hellhound following me the entire way. The entire palace was created with a special black marble stone that radiated with magic, attracting the Mist like crazy. With a huge fortress-like structure being made out of this material, the entire piece of architecture was more like an interdimensional space. Though it was technically located on Mount Othrys, modern day Mount Tamalpais, the Mist and magic created gaps of altered realities around it. Certain hallways in the Titan Palace were connected to the Labyrinth and if you weren't careful, there were even a few pits that fell down to Tartarus. Kronos' coffin attracted Tartarus since the Lord of Time was slowly collecting his remnants from its depths.

Briares said that Tartarus targeting me would attract Kronos' attention.

Let's hope he's right.

The end of the hallway led to one tall room that was structured in a way to imitate a shrine. It had double doors with a frame ornately designed in black marble. Kelli met me at the entrance, looking absolutely excited.

"Jade! You have perfect timing," the empousa said enthusiastically. "We're just about ready for the next phase of the Titan Lord's plans."

I tried to match her energy by returning her grin. "Nice, and where's Luke?"

Kelli pointed behind her. "He's inside, waiting for you."

She pulled the doors open for me and let me walk in by myself.

The second I stepped inside, I nearly reeled at the onslaught of Mist and magic permeating the wide room. A tall dais stood at the center upon which a long golden sarcophagus laid. The entire place reeked of old, heavy magic that slowly shifted and collected near the fancy coffin.

With his back facing me, Luke stood in front of the coffin. He wore a traditional Greek chiton made of a heavy, expensive white fabric with gold trimming.

His voice had a slight echo. "Annabeth got hurt."

The telekhines must've reported the full details to Kelli. They tended to be annoyingly gossipy like that.

"Nothing ambrosia and nectar can't fix."

"You could've brought her."

My jaw tightened. "It would've been too risky," I said. "It's better that she goes back to camp."

Luke turned around, letting me see his face. I didn't know how I sensed it, but the second I laid my eyes on him, I knew. That barely perceptible glow in his skin, the confident set in his shoulders, and the way how he carried himself all told me one thing.

Luke had dipped in the River Styx. Even though I explicitly told him not to.

"You didn't listen to me." The disbelief in my voice was so clear.

The son of Hermes let out a harsh laugh. Luke flexed his fingers in front of his face, examining the skin.

"If you recognize the curse, that means you have it too, huh?" Luke said quietly. "Jade, tell me, why didn't tell me how good it'd feel to be invulnerable?"

"Almost invulnerable," I hissed. "The Achilles spot is enough to kill you. Luke, what the hell?"

This was bad. This was very, very bad.

The flickering flames on the walls and faint glow of the golden sarcophagus highlighted the icy blue in Luke's eyes. Just a few months ago, he'd been on the verge of giving up everything with the look of a dead man walking, but there was nothing of that now. Luke was smiling like he just discovered the solution to a difficult problem. Where was this newfound boldness coming from?

What in the world happened to him while I was gone?

Luke began pacing, the long chiton clothing gracefully trailing after his movements. He was behaving almost like a mad scientist who could barely contain their joy at a great discovery.

"Hear me out," he said eagerly, appealing to me. "I was thinking, sure, I didn't want to risk getting burnt to crisp by the River Styx, but then I thought of something-"

The son of Hermes abruptly broke his stride and headed straight for me. I nearly flinched when his two hands settled down on my shoulders, forcing me in place to look up at him. The warm lighting casted distracting shadows over the sunken pale scar down his face, but what caught my attention were Luke's eyes. They were laser focused and unwavering. He was fully confident about whatever it was he was thinking of.

"The Ophiotaurus."

What.

"The Ophiotaurus," Luke repeated impatiently. "We sacrifice that monster and with this curse, we'll be invincible."

Oh hell.

The glee in Luke's voice was unmistakable. His hands weighed heavily on my shoulders.

"We'll practically be gods. No one will be able to stop us."

x