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The outer appearance of the Princess Andromeda cruise ship looked perfectly normal and benign in its expensive silver and gold shell, but the sculpture of the screaming woman on the hull ruined the picture. If the gruesome carving wasn't an indication of something wrong with the ship, the thousands of monsters crawling on the deck and nearly every floor should be the clear sign. The Mist shrouded the entire ship, cloaking it with heavy magic that warded away curious mortal eyes.

There were exactly eight levels in the gigantic cruise ship and each level spanned so far that it was a journey in itself to walk across the opposite ends. Monsters flooded every floor except the boiler and engine rooms on the sixth floor. They especially liked the dark basement at the most bottom level and demigods were explicitly ordered to never go near there.

The runaway rebellious demigods all stayed in the south end corridors on the third floor where each one shared a room with another person or two others. The youngest demigod was around ten years old while the oldest was a twenty-three year old. There were a fair amount of young adult demigods, which was a bit disconcerting since I haven't met many older demigods. They weren't a commonplace at camp because they'd usually leave after getting trained with everything Chiron had to offer. Talking to a few, I found out that some of them had actually gone to camp but left.

Chiron would be devastated.

Not only was it depressing to recognize camp alumni, my stomach clenched every time another kid that looked a little too young joined the crew.

Walking down the fourth floor, I came across a familiar flock of harpies cornering two kids where the wall curved out of sight. This particular group of monsters had a habit of camping in that corner to pounce on demigods who didn't know better.

"Hey, this is the sixth time I've told you featherbrains that you can't eat demigods," I called out.

The harpies turned around and angrily hissed at me, their yellow spiky teeth gleaming. One of them even dared to take a threatening step towards me.

I stared them down, summoning one of my swords out of the Void. "What're you ugly pieces of crap looking at?"

Their aggressive stances immediately lessened at the sight of the weapon. Adamantine metal gave off a silver gleam that was deeply unsettling to monsters. I could've pulled out one of the knives on me, but these monsters only reacted to special metals like celestial bronze.

"Scram, before I scatter your dust into the ocean," I said with irritation.

Opting to fly away instead of going past me, the harpies spread their wings and took off to the sky while sending me baleful glares the entire time. I let my sword return to the Void and turned to the two demigods stiffly standing in front of me. They were both young teenage boys, about a year younger. One was Hispanic with black hair and the other was Caucasian with brown hair.

I narrowed my eyes at them. "I remember telling everyone to stay away from this specific corner."

They ducked their heads at my admonishing words.

"Sorry," one of them muttered.

"So, even though I warned you guys, why'd you still walk over here?" I asked with my arms crossed. Giving them a cursory glance, I recognized them as recent recruits when the Princess Andromeda docked at San Francisco about a week ago.

The two of them shifted uncomfortably at my question.

"The harpies said they could fly us back home," one reluctantly answered, his tone extremely afraid. They looked at me with twin expressions of fear.

Ah, I realized. They're scared I'll tell Luke and get them in trouble.

"Did you both already swear the oath?" I asked.

"Yeah," the Hispanic one said nervously. "Right when we got on the ship."

I internally sighed at that.

"Then you can't leave," I said coldly to their defeated faces. "Once you swear allegiance to the Titan Lord, your life is bound to his service. Disobeying will break your oath and a broken oath is a curse, it'll follow you everywhere you go and ruin your life."

They both blanched in horror at my explanation. Obviously, no one had told them of the severity of swearing on the River Styx or the consequences of breaking it.

"We can't leave?" The other kid whispered. "What're we supposed to do now?"

I gave them pitying looks.

"Watch out for each other's backs, get strong, refine whatever godly abilities you have, don't die, and hold out until the war is over," I listed on my fingers.

"What war?"

My sympathy for them multiplied tenfold. "The war against Olympus, of course."

Their confusion was palpable, but I couldn't stay to explain everything to them. I was supposed to meet Luke in his office right now.

"Don't trust any monsters," I said over my shoulder. "I'm not always going to be around to save you guys."

I made my way up to the second floor to Luke's office. The circular window on his door was covered with the sliding drape, indicating that he didn't want to be disturbed.

I firmly rapped on the metal door, saying, "It's Jade. You wanted to meet?"

There was a minute or two of silence. The office cabin was fairly soundproof, no sound came out of it, but I was sure that someone was inside.

Kelli was the one who opened the door, wearing a wraparound yellow beach dress. She looked slightly peeved to see me to which I raised an eyebrow.

I haven't killed a monster in the last few days, so I don't know why she's annoyed with me, I wondered as I walked in. Then I saw Luke sitting at his desk, the dull red flush on his neck, his eyes looking at anywhere except me, and the crinkled blue collar shirt messily buttoned three-quarters up. With a closer look, his lips were slightly bruised and his eyes were a little too focused and heated to be casual.

There was a short pause where I examined Luke for a second, making him squirm in his seat, and then looking at Kelli where she sat on the couch.

Well, this is confusing. I thought Luke had been turned off from Kelli when she killed the boy in Seattle.

I wrinkled my nose. "Gross, you two fornicated, didn't you?"

Luke's face blushed crimson while Kelli giggled across the room.

"No," he refuted vehemently. "And why would you call it that?"

"Then would you prefer 'bone'? Squish? Tush cush?" I said blandly, going over to sit on the couch for single seating next to the empousa.

"'Tush cush' is cute," she remarked. "I like that."

Luke stalked over to the couches, growling, "We did none of that."

Kellie feigned a pout. "Aw, Luke, still in-denial about us?"

"Yeah, Luke, it's not good to lead on a girl," I chimed. "You have to be clear with your expectations in a relationship."

"See? Even Jade knows how to handle relationships," Kelli gestured at me.

Luke ran a hand over his face in frustration.

"I regret having you come here," he said.

"What're you talking about? I'm a positive influence on you," I said in mock-innocence.

The older demigod shook his head. "You're a headache, that's what you are."

"I'm the best deterrent for your ego," I insisted sarcastically. "You'd have the biggest head on the planet if it weren't for me."

"I don't have a big ego," Luke argued back, feeling offended. My wide smile aggravated his scowl.

Kelli openly cackled at our banter. She always loved that I could rile up Luke so easily.

"Yeah, you do," I said decisively. "But that's a topic we'll have to revisit another time. What're we talking about for today's meeting?"

The empousa happily launched into the regular weekly updates which contained details of the monster count on the ship and offshore willing to fight for the Titan Lord, recently recruited demigods, news from other contacts, and where we were headed next. Luke eventually loosened up from his irritation and gave his own input about where the ship should dock while also recounting orders he'd received in a dream sent by Kronos.

"You don't have to swear the oath," he added off-handedly to me.

I tilted my head. "I don't? Shouldn't I?"

Kelli confirmed it, saying, "If you make the oath to the Titan Lord, then you won't be able to pass the barriers surrounding Camp Half-Blood. The barriers are meant to only accept demigods who live under the Olympian gods' rule, swearing your life to Lord Kronos will change that."

"We need you to go back to the camp, so you won't swear it, yet," Luke summarised.

Not that I'm complaining, but…

I hummed lightly and shrugged my shoulders. "Alright, do you know when?"

Kelli's pearl white fangs gleamed while Luke visibly stiffened at my question, but the empousa didn't notice the change in his demeanor.

"Yours will happen right before the Titan Lord's resurrection," the empousa answered in satisfaction. "Your sworn life will be the final nail in the coffin, or actually, the final nail off the coffin. It'll be an honor to have the last oath."

I eyed Luke's pinched face while she said so. "Then you won't need me as a spy afterwards?"

"If our plans with the camp are successful in the coming months, then we won't have to worry about keeping you there," Kelli explained, her perky tone not faltering for one second.

"Got it," I said while making a mental note to tell Chiron about this when I return. Whatever Kelli was implying about camp definitely didn't sound good; it seemed like the invasion was set in stone if I wasn't going to be kept there for too long. Luke was still quiet, his hands tightly interlaced at his knees, and he looked worried by something.

"Anything you wanted to talk about?" Kelli offered me a turn to speak. "Luke says your thoughts can be very insightful."

My throat went a little dry when she paired the compliment with a sweet smile. I briefly squeezed my eyes, willing the Mist to dissipate temporarily, and saw her red eyes and fiery hair instead of the pretty girl disguise.

"Well, I came across the harpies trying to eat two demigods before I got here."

The empousa chuckled, "And? That's not anything new."

I wanted to stab her for the unsympathetic tone.

"I bring it up because after chasing off the harpies, I found out that they don't know anything about being a demigod. I've also met the rest of the demigods on the ship and at least half of them don't have any formal training in fighting or they don't have a grasp on their godly powers," I went on. "How're they supposed to use their lives for the Titan Lord when the majority of them can't properly fight? As of now, they're literally useless for anything except physical labor. We should train them."

Kelli waved off my concerns. "Lord Kronos only requires their lives sworn to his name in order to strengthen his existence. We don't need to care for clueless babies, they're already under the rule of the Titan Lord which will benefit them once the Olympians are torn down from power."

"They're extra mouths to feed," I pointed out. "And they're extra weight to carry on this ship. Demigods take up space and money. If there are demigods worth keeping around, we should just keep those ones and leave the rest of them in a designated zone."

The empousa levelled me with a steady stare. "Lord Kronos does not care for money," Kelli said slowly.

"Lord Kronos should care for his subjects, including the useless demigods wasting away on the third floor," I maintained evenly. "I say we either use them or leave them somewhere."

"Luke?" Kelli nudged him. "What do you think?"

For a second, I saw something of a nightmare shadowing Luke's eyes and fogging over his head. Something sinister and oppressive, like a force that was pressuring him into doing something dangerous. Lately, he hasn't been sleeping well.

The curse of Achilles.

The dark cloud cleared away when Kelli brought him back to the conversation.

"Actually, Lord Kronos doesn't want to rely on Triumvirate Holdings anymore than we already do. Jade's right, cutting back on costs will please him," Luke contemplated. "But we'd still have to use money wherever we put the demigods."

"We could get rid of them by having them perform impossible services for the Titan Lord," Kelli reasoned. "It'll be killing two birds with one stone!"

I flicked my eyes at Luke.

"We're not sending demigods into suicide missions," he finally said to the empousa's disappointment. Luke took another couple minutes to come to a decision and then looked at me with authority.

"Have Alabaster pick out the ones who want to prove themselves," Luke ordered me. "A lot of them are going to volunteer whether or not they're skilled, so he'll have to weed out the weak among the eager. We're about to arrive in Los Angeles, you can take the weeded ones to the safehouse there before you go back to camp. Tell them to find part-time jobs as the property is already paid for, but they'll need money to eat. After checking the Titans palace, we'll take the remaining demigods with us into the Labyrinth."

Kelli appeared quite pleased with the command and patted the sandy-haired demigod on the knee. "That's a great idea!"

I nodded and waved good-bye to Kelli who left to relay today's meeting discussion to the leaders among the monster population on ship. I got up to follow her, but Luke tapped my shoulder.

"Jade, can I have a word?"

After a moment of consideration, I said, "Word."

Luke rubbed the bridge of his nose. "That's not what I meant."

After the empousa closed the door, Luke made sure to lock it and then went over to where Kelli had sat on the long couch, gesturing for me to sit across him. I opened my mouth to ask what he wanted to talk about when I realized that the mood had become considerably somber. Luke's shoulders were tense and his hands gripped each other, trembling. Whatever strong front he had put up during the meeting in front of Kelli was now gone. Instead of being stoic, he looked scared.

When Luke spoke, he looked straight at me with desperation.

"Jade, you have to help me." The Adam's apple of Luke's throat bobbed. I raised an eyebrow, feeling very unsettled by his uneasy eyes.

"The Titan Lord… he wants me to do something that might kill me," he whispered.

I leaned back, a little overwhelmed that Luke was sharing this with me. In the past summer that I'd spent on the cruise ship, Luke and I had built up some sort of rapport that he couldn't have with anyone else on deck. He didn't fully trust any of the recruited demigods since he wasn't particularly close with any of them even if they were closer to his age. The demigods on board idolized Luke, sometimes to an unhealthy degree, so he couldn't build meaningful friendships with them. Of course, the same went for the monsters, even for Kelli. Especially for Kelli. Everyone expected him to be strong because he was their commander for the Kronos' army; leadership was a lonely role and he had no one to confide in.

As a result, Luke relies on me. Someone who doesn't shower him with hero worship and shared years with him at camp, I reflected. It was something I'd been expecting.

"You should have gone to Annabeth," I responded carefully. He winced.

"I did, when we were in San Francisco last week, she….," he trailed off and gazed downwards, unable to bring himself to say that his first choice had rejected him.

Annabeth listened. It would also explain why Luke's been welcoming Kelli's advances ever since we left San Francisco. He's been needing distractions to cope with the hurt.

"So, you want me to help you," I concluded coldly. "I'm probably your only other option."

Luke's head shot up and his eyes betrayed his shame and panic, but he didn't say anything to contradict the statement. He knew it too. There was no one else friendly or even remotely neutral enough he could appeal to. He couldn't imagine himself going against Kronos at this point, so Luke felt cornered in every possible way.

"The Titan Lord expects me to-to," the words spilled out of Luke, about what Kronos demanded of him with the River Styx and how Luke's body was only a stepping stone for the Titan's ultimate form. Luke was nearly trembling when he finished saying everything.

A moment of silence filled the cabin as I crossed my arms and legs.

I sighed. "Oh Luke, how many times have I called you an idiot so far?"

The older demigod snapped at my indifferent tone. "This isn't funny, Jade."

"Of course it isn't," I sniffed. "I'm just beating a dead horse right now by calling you an idiot for the eighth time."

Luke jolted to his feet, angry. "You-"

"How do you gain the Achilles curse? What are the directions?" I cut him off.

"You have to have your parent's blessing," he muttered. "And imagine a tether on your body to choose a vulnerable spot. The tether is supposed to be what grounds you to the world, something important to you."

I nodded along his explanation. "Got it, and how much longer until we get to L.A.?"

Luke glared at me for the non sequitur. "Six hours," he mumbled out.

I raised my eyebrows. "I should find Alabaster now, he'll need time to go through the demigods before we arrive," I said and got up. Luke grabbed my wrist, twisting me around. I thought he was going to yell at me out of frustration from my lack of sympathy, but Luke didn't do that.

"Please," he begged quietly. "Jade. Please help me."

He was too ashamed to look me in the face and say it. I calmly took his hand off me.

"I'll help you," I said to him as I opened the office cabin door. "Keep the silver scythe on you, I'll contact you when I get to camp."

Just as I remembered: a parent's blessing, I mentally recounted in my head as my mind raced about the future plans I had in store. Fortunately, things were going along as well I could hope for.

Right when I turned a corner, a stained feathery wing blocked my sight and loud screeches pierced my ears. It was the flock of harpies from before, presumably to take revenge for my constant meddling in their human meals.

"Die, demigod!" One snarled, its talons reaching for my face.

I ducked, whipping one dagger from its sheath on my waist and threw it at the closest harpy. It shrieked in pain, but it wasn't dead. Rolling away from more razor sharp beaks crusted with remains of its last food, I reached into the Void and pulled out my twin swords.

With the extra physical training I'd undergone before getting on the ship plus being Luke's punching bag whenever he wanted to blow off steam, I'd gotten even better with sword fighting. I was in near peak physical shape and fighting someone who was way more skilled with swordwork than me was forcing me to grow. The harpies released alarmed squawks when I slashed through every single one with ease, like warm butter, until their ashes covered the wooden deck. I covered my mouth and nose with a sleeve as I watched the ocean breeze sweep the monster dust away into the air.

Hopefully Kelli doesn't find out about this, I thought to myself, letting the katanas disappear. Honestly, the empousa was a pain whenever she berated me for killing monsters in the ship even though it was always for self-defense. She claimed it didn't 'foster healthy relations' with the monsters which made me snort every time she said it.

Can't expect too much humanity from a demon, even if it's a hot one, I grumbled.

Luke POV

Jade didn't look back when she exited, but she adjusted the drapes to cover the window and locked the door behind her.

Luke slumped to the ground, leaning against the wooden table and feeling thoroughly exhausted. Against his best efforts to fight against the onslaught of emotions, Luke's throat ached and tears pricked his eyes. He covered his face with his hands, muffling a quiet sob.

He'd fallen so low, Luke miserably thought to himself. It'd cut him up inside when Annabeth rejected him in San Francisco and he had been so afraid that Jade was going to do the same. Wiping away stray tears, Luke stared at the covered door window in front of him.

"Always so considerate," he said bitterly to the empty cabin.

Jade, when looking past her bluntness and inappropriate language, was impossibly considerate in her own way. It was the little things that no one else really noticed. Holding the door for others, giving someone else the last piece of pie, refusing something if someone else wanted it, and things like this: making sure the window was covered and voluntarily locking the door so that no one else would enter because she knew that Luke would want privacy right now.

Jade's words echoed. I'll help you, she said. She said it so simply. Jade made it sound so simple that it nearly frustrated Luke.

As expected, Jade didn't make a fuss when Luke told her everything that had been weighing heavily on him. She seemed a bit surprised, but not completely shaken, and Luke wasn't sure if he was relieved about her mild temperament or if he should be concerned.

Luke trusted Jade to a large degree, but deep down where his selfishness laid, he secretly wished that it was Annabeth who said those words. It wasn't the same to have Jade's help compared to Annabeth. With Jade, Luke was sure that she'd come up with something that could quite possibly work, or at least, it'd be a plan of a lesser evil. With Annabeth, the girl's mere presence would comfort him. Annabeth, even if she was the daughter of the goddess famed for masterful strategies, wouldn't have to come up with an ingenious plan to help Luke because just being with him would be enough.

It wasn't fair to compare the two, but Luke had promised Annabeth long ago that they were going to be family. He'd promised that he'd keep her safe, that he'd take care of her, that he wouldn't leave her. She and Thalia had been his entire world for years. Luke just wanted a better world for Annabeth and Thalia to live in, a world that wouldn't be so harsh to demigods. They had depended on him for protection and he had depended on them as a reason to fight and live another day. When Thalia threw him off the mountain, Luke knew that the bridge between them was burned to nothingness. Even though the rocks shattered his body and caused him to feel the worst pain he'd ever felt in his entire life, Thalia's abandonment broke him more. Thalia wasn't a demigod Luke could fight for anymore after she joined the Hunters and became immortal. The only string of hope he clung to was Annabeth. The backup string, one that wasn't as valuable as Annabeth, was Jade.

Despite his selfish thoughts, Luke was still grateful.

She was the only one who saw his ugly side and didn't judge him for it. She never questioned his hatred for the gods because she felt it too even though Jade had always been good at hiding her innermost thoughts. Annabeth and Thalia didn't accept him anymore after he chose a different path, which he could understand, but Jade stuck by him.

For this, Luke felt forever indebted to her. If she hadn't joined him on the side of the Titans, he would've felt so alone. When Annabeth refused to run away with him, he was so sure he had been abandoned by every person he held dear. Yet now, Jade was going to help him. Jade's younger age was exceedingly deceptive to her true nature, which was one that was startlingly calculative. Maybe Annabeth could come up with a foolproof plan, but Jade was the next best option.

It was more than he could ask for. He wasn't alone anymore.

In Los Angeles, a pack of ten midnight black hellhounds accompanied me as I escorted the weeded demigods to the safehouse created especially for hiding demigods. We had to rent two large vans to get there from Santa Monica where the Princess Andromeda docked. There were two demigods among us who knew how to drive but they didn't have licenses, so it was a nerve racking thirty minute drive to southwest L.A. The hellhounds followed along behind us, disguised by the Mist as obnoxious black pickup trucks, mustangs, and BMWs that didn't follow traffic rules and honked the entire time. The drive was a complete nightmare, so I was constantly snapping my fingers in the shotgun seat for the Mist to cloak our two vans to avoid attention from law enforcement.

The safehouse itself was a sturdy plain beige house that sat right next to a large dumpster, which helped mask the smell of three dozen demigods packed in one building. The ten dog-like monsters camped outside, serving as fixed bodyguards so that nothing could get in, nor could anyone attempt deserting. The hellhounds' abilities to shadow travel was a huge factor in why we chose them to watch over the demigods. The hellhounds would stalk the demigods through their shadows, shadow traveling to a person if they were in trouble. This wasn't exactly comforting despite Kelli explicitly ordering the monsters to not kill demigods. They were to also alert surrounding entities that the demigods belonged to Kronos, which helped deter many. Five of the hellhounds were of average size, like a grizzly bear, but the biggest one was the size of a garbage truck and it led the pack. All of us hated going near it.

The house was big with numerous bedrooms but there weren't enough beds, so many of them would have to sleep on the ground. A bunch had to go to the basement or attic and some of them even claimed the closets. The mixed group of kids, teens, and older teenagers had brought their own little battered bags of belongings including whatever they scavenged from the cruise ship like pillows, store-raided clothes, blankets, toiletries, and metalware. Before they got settled in, I spent an hour lecturing them in the living room about safety and having part-time jobs to pay for their own bills. The older demigods seemed especially apprehensive at the prospect of financially sustaining and feeding three dozen growing demigods. It was going to require a heavy budget.

"Any questions so far?" I asked the edgy crowd in front of me. They were a mishmash of different varieties of demigod. A third were the feeble sort, whose personalities didn't suit the harsh environment of Kronos' army. The other third were ones who had already lost their will to fight for anything and no longer cared about serving Kronos and neared desertion. The last group were the overzealous yet undertrained and 'weeded' out. Along with these three groups, there were a few diamonds in the rough who simply hadn't had the opportunity to sharpen their skills and prove themselves.

One older teenager spoke up. "Are you staying with us?"

Several hopeful faces dropped when I said, "No, I'm leaving."

"So what're we supposed to do while we're here?"

"Don't die," I responded seriously. "And watch out for each other. Also, who knows their way around the kitchen?"

A few raised their hands tentatively and I pointed at them. "Okay, you guys will be in charge of the kitchen. Don't burn it down. Next, who's the oldest here?"

One guy who was standing at the side pointed at himself. "I am," he said with a quiet confidence.

I observed him, making quick judgement of his composed appearance. He had scars on his tan arms and a small one on his forehead covered by loose brown hair, evidence that he wasn't a stranger to dangerous situations. There was a short sword strapped to his thigh along with a bronze ring on his left hand which I suspected to be celestial bronze. His stance was relaxed but poised, like he was ready to spring into action any moment.

"You're in charge now. Can you handle it?"

He was briefly surprised by the sudden shift of leadership, but determination quickly took over his dark eyes.

"Yeah, I can do it." I liked the firm resolve in his voice when he said so. The task I'd placed on him was a daunting responsibility; I didn't want to give it to someone who would snap under pressure.

"Alright, last order of business," I clapped my hands. "Who knows how to manipulate the Mist?"

No hands went up, so I revised my question. "Who wants to learn how to manipulate the Mist?"

This time, almost everyone raised their hand. I gave a quick rundown on the basics of initiating the magical phenomenon and not surprisingly, no one got it on their first try. With a few more pointers and fifteen minutes later, one twelve year old boy was already casting illusions and temporary memory alterations. He was most likely a child of Hecate or some magic-ability related god since he caught on the lesson very quickly. I focused on him and two others who showed talent and then told them to work on it until they could cast visual and auditory distractions with the Mist.

"Alright, so listen to me carefully," I said sternly to the three kids. "Use the Mist only to keep away attention, don't use it to mess with people's lives. If you make a mess, mortal law enforcement will catch on and find out about this place."

"Can't we handle them?" The maybe-Hecate son questioned daringly.

I jerked my chin to the hellhounds standing guard outside. "Those monsters will alert the Titan Lord about the mess. I'm sure you don't want to face a Titan's wrath."

The three of them shuddered and nodded in fear, wanting to avoid that at all costs. They looked so anxious about the possibility of attracting Kronos' anger that I felt sorry for bringing it up.

I flicked their foreheads. "Relax," I told them.

I left the safehouse without much fanfare, highly satisfied that I'd manage to weasel out a good number of demigods off the ship. It had taken some thinking on how to approach the matter in addition to biding my time before suggesting to move the 'weaker' or 'unwilling' demigods. I had to wait for Kelli to accept me as a part of the ship's leadership hierarchy before bringing up topics like that.

Got one good thing done this summer, I congratulated myself as I waved over a random jaywalker to call a taxi for me. It was a long drive to my step-dad's house since I was coming from the southwest part of L.A. and my family lived on the west side. As per my usual habit of zoning out while deeply thinking, I stared out the window while I sorted out everything that I'd learned on the cruise ship.

Right when I get to camp, I'll first tell Chiron about their current numbers so that camp could prepare for an attempted invasion and inevitable warfare. Then, the matter about the runaway demigods stashed in the safehouse. I'll hand over the River Styx water, too, hopefully the Hephaestus cabin could handle it with some help from the Athena demigods since what I'm thinking of is a dangerous and rarely attempted venture. And lastly, I'll let Chiron know when I officially 'betray' camp.

And after meeting with Chiron, I'm gonna take a fat nap. The longest nap I'll ever have.

Mentally sorting through what I needed to do in camp, I held out fingers for each point. After the nap, give Clovis half of the Lethe water. Meet Nico in the Underworld. Take a gamble. Get back before Annabeth leaves camp to enter the Labyrinth for the quest.

All of these details were beginning to give me a headache. I rubbed the temples of my forehead and then closed my eyes, lightly stretching my neck and rolling back my shoulders.

You got this.

No one was home when I got there, so I had to pull out my own keys out of my duffel bag to open the front door.

It's better that no one is home right now, I mused as I went to the kitchen and grabbed a sports drink from the refrigerator. Cracking open the bottle, I made my way to my room on the second floor and set my duffel bag on the ground next to my bed. There was no use unpacking since I was leaving this place soon.

Taking swigs out of the sweet drink, I glanced around my room, noting the changes Yuri had made in my long absence. The wallpaper was its usual pastel blue, but the bed sheets, curtains, and pillow covers were all changed to a dark grey, being a stark contrast to the previous pure white color scheme. Even though there was obviously a lot of care and thought invested in the room's furnishing and color theme, it felt empty. It's because I never lived here long enough to put life into the room. Ever since my mom married Fritz, I was always in and out of here throughout the past two years. The longest I'd stay here was a month.

I pulled out two carefully wrapped vials of the River Styx and Lethe water out of the Void. I stared at the enclosed grey water before removing the stopper and gingerly touching a tiny droplet on the inner rim with my index finger.

I frowned at my finger. As expected, my body gave no reaction to the River Styx water.

The door downstairs swung open and slammed shut, judging by the footsteps, I guessed it was Yuri.

Nice timing.

Putting the stopper back, I dropped the vial back into the Void and hopped down the stairs. Rushing to the living room, I shouted to surprise her in the foyer.

"Mom!"

Yuri dropped her work bag and clutched her chest. "Jade!" She nearly screamed.

Getting over the fright, my mom welcomed me with open arms and hugged me, not letting go right away. In the past two years, I'd grown to reach her height and I was sure I'd be taller than her within another year. I had really missed her this summer.

"How was the cruise?" She asked me affectionately, smoothing down my hair. She knew nothing about the looming war between the Titans and Olympian gods, nor did she know that my cruise trip was filled with monsters. Of course, I didn't tell her any of that. I had lied to her that it was a camp organized trip and she believed it since I got Chiron into the lie, too. It was only because the centaur affirmed it through Iris messaging that Yuri let me go this summer.

I grinned at her. "It was great. Also, I need to ask you something."

Yuri pressed her lips together, suspicious of my sudden appeal. "Are you in trouble? What did you do?"

My smile turned into one of fake innocence. "Nothing!"

My mom narrowed her eyes at me with suspicion and I wheezed when her arms around my waist tightened.

"Mom," I squeaked. She relented seconds after and let me go.

"Alright," she sighed, poking me in the ribs. "What did you want to ask?"

I flinched when she knowingly hit my ticklish spot. "Do I have your blessing?"

Yuri stopped the tickling when she heard my question. "For what, Jade?"

I feigned an easygoing expression and shrugged. "For everything I do. For trusting me."

Even though I'd say I was a fairly decent actor, a mother always knew better. Yuri Adalstan examined me closely and placed her hands on my shoulders. I had to consciously force my body still so I wouldn't fidget under her stare.

"Of course you have my blessing for all of that," she said gently, tucking a hair strand behind my ear. A small smile crept up my face at the words, but something inside ached when she said it.

"You have my blessing, Jade. I love you," Yuri asserted with conviction. Her warm eyes looked at me with so much care that I had to fight back a choke. I moved to hug her a second time, wanting to remember the feeling of her embrace before I left for camp.

"Thanks, mom, I love you too," I whispered. A tear slid down my cheek. When we broke away, I sniffed my nose.

Yuri patted my cheek. "Why don't you get some sleep? You look like you need it."

Thankful for the excuse to get away, I nodded and went upstairs. Instead of lying down on my bed right away like my mom advised, I went to the bathroom and took out the River Styx water again from the Void. Dragging the bottom surface of the stopper against the tile floor, I left a small streak of Styx water. I put away the vial into the Void, rolled up a thick layer of toilet paper in one hand and then promptly swiped the trail of water off the floor with my index.

Compared to before, this reaction was different. Right when my finger came in contact with the grey water, it scorched my skin and the burning sensation penetrated down to my finger bone.

"Fuck," I hissed and hurriedly wiped my finger with the toilet paper, my skin turning white from the pressure. I bit down a whimper and scrambled to my feet to turn on the sink faucet. Even after a few minutes of holding my hand under cold running water, the pain didn't fade and my finger felt like it was still on fire.

This past summer, I hadn't allowed fear to get the better of me. When I was on the ship infested with monsters, I didn't let them scare me.

But this. This. How did Percy do this.

I shut off the water in the bathroom, giving up on reducing the pain, and laid down on my bed. I raised my right hand where the skin on my index fingertip was still flaming red. Loosening my tight jaw, I closed my eyes for a nap.

A broken balance of fate. A fracture in destiny. A prophecy that won't mend the frays even if completed.

An unstained, omniscient soul.

Sacrifice.

Suddenly, I felt very, very, alone.

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