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King of Titans.

The silver scythe charm twirled in front of me.

Prophecy.

If I squinted, I could see the charm glowing in the early sunlight.

Lord of Time.

Something about the necklace shifted, but I was expecting more to happen. Biting the inside of my cheek, I twirled the silver chain around my fingers as I brainstormed. I needed to figure out how to work this thing. Luke had left such cryptic words when he had left me with this necklace.

Just think of it as a way to contact me, Luke said.

"In case you change your mind," I mimicked his voice. "Oh, hear me, the rebellious demigod who leaves camp to betray everyone and become a cool villain who says mysterious words as goodbyes."

I sighed and put down the necklace, leaving it lumped together in my fist. The weather today was really nice: it wasn't uncomfortably humid, the sun didn't burn, there was a soft breeze, and I could hear campers at their extracurriculars. Clarisse had left several days ago on her confederate battleship manned with dead people, courtesy of her father. The gift had caused quite a stir in camp when the ship first magically appeared the morning after Clarisse received her prophecy. To her credit, she managed to look confident when she left, yelling promises of success.

Tantalus was annoying as ever. Everyone hated him now, for sure. He would keep organizing different games and events, ancient Greek Olympic style: javelin throws, discus, wrestling, foot races, and worst of all, pankration. Pankration was a martial arts mix of boxing and wrestling, and it wasn't always pretty to watch. If we were in a professional setting, in a professional match between professional fighters, pankration would be entertaining, fun even. However, we were in a camp full of hyperactive teenagers with godly blood and pankration was a terrible way to deal with our ADD and ADHD. Though Tantalus would claim that the sporting events were for our benefit, it was all just for his own entertainment. We were like little game pieces to him. The sporting events were a waste of time and it interfered with our guard duties. We had to drive away a small band of gryphons that had flown into camp borders during lunch two days ago.

I adjusted my hat so that it fully covered my eyes, nestling comfortably against the trunk of my favorite tree that overlooked the lake. I gripped the necklace and tried one more attempt in working the dumb charm. I had no idea what I was doing; I was simply wishing for it to work through sheer mental power.

Luke, I silently called out, not fully expecting anything to happen.

There was a split second where I suddenly felt my body glitch through the Mist before settling back to reality.

Jade, you took so long to call, a voice entered my head. I've been waiting.

I stiffened and shifted around from where I sat. No one was around, but me. The nearest camper was at the beach volleyball pit, nearly a hundred meters away.

Quiet chuckling filled my head, No, Jade, this is all in your head.

I exhaled, agitation and mistrust churning in my gut. The silver charm was growing warm in my hand.

Luke, I acknowledged, allowing mistrust to bleed into the mental transmission. I was wary of what Luke could do with this mental connection, if he could take advantage of me while communicating. Would he be able to read my mind? Feel my emotions? See what I see? Know what I'm doing? Was all of this one-sided, or would I be able to take advantage of him too?

I can't read your mind, if that's what you're thinking.

That meant he could only know what I directly relay to him, which was way better than reading my mind.

I wasn't.

He changed the subject, Anyway, what took you so long? I missed talking to you.

My mouth twisted down. I don't make a habit of keeping touch with traitors, how's your cruise going? Did your visitors interrupt your vacation?

Luke's ire slammed into my head and I grimaced at the impact, it was enough to nearly cause a headache. The mental link was closer than I assumed if I could sense his emotions so clearly. Just how much power is in this necklace? Did Silena's bracelet have the same purpose or different properties?

How did you know Percy, Annabeth, and their cyclops friend got on my ship?

I pulled out Silena's bracelet from my other pocket and twirled it around a finger.

I saw them off, I cheerfully told him and didn't elaborate by switching the topic. Oh, and how's it going with Silena? Are you two an item?

His annoyance increased and I even picked up some frustration through the link.

What does she have to do with anything?

Oh, didn't you give her a bracelet?

Ignoring his heightened agitation, I continued, "You didn't actually think I wouldn't notice the bracelet? It had the exact same silver charm as the necklace you gave me.

I didn't even try to block my amusement.

Luke was quiet for a moment before carefully asking, What did you do with it?

I took it from her, she didn't want it, I said gleefully. I was now regressing to my habits of poking fun at Luke. He could try and be as evil as he wants, but I would never stop making fun of him.

She didn't want it, he repeated in a monotone. I bet it hurt his pride a bit, maybe his feelings too, to know that all that wooing, time, and attention for Silena didn't work.

Yeah, so how are you going to spy on us now?

When Luke didn't answer, I let out a sigh, controlling my nerves. I couldn't mess this up what I was about to say next.

Well, I'll just let you know that Tantalus came back from the dead and he's our new camp director. When Thalia's tree got poisoned, the gods suspected Chiron and fired him, someone who's been teaching demigods children for thousands of years on how to survive when the parents are the ones who leave us.

I intentionally let out a wave of anger at the thought of Chiron having to take the blame of Luke's deed. Luke may feel my anger, but he wouldn't know my thoughts. Hopefully, he'd misinterpret my anger for towards the gods and not him.

The gods are never right, Jade, now you know, he said confidently. How about you keep me up to date about camp news, I won't ask for anything else.

Yeah, right, I thought to myself. Luke had such a way with words, to make certain actions seem harmless. I could definitely see how Silena could have followed along with Luke's manipulation. Now that I've led Luke into the assumption of me holding a bit of dissatisfaction towards the gods, I had to make it seem that I wasn't completely willing to listen to him. I couldn't suddenly switch my loyalties without making him suspicious; this plan had to go slowly and painstakingly carefully for it to fully work.

Don't think I'll let you in on camp secrets, Luke, I'm not dumb, I know you want a spy in camp, I retorted.

Luke laughed, Of course you're not, I'm just letting you know that I'll always have an ear ready for you. You're always welcome to talk to me. As you just figured out, you only need to think of my name while holding onto the necklace. Anyway, I've got to go now, a ship as big as this doesn't run by itself, you know.

Hey-

And the connection was cut off.

I blinked and looked down at the two pieces of jewelry in my hands. Staring at the point where the horizon of the lake touched the sky, I leaned against the tree.

"Jade?"

Stuffing the necklace and bracelet back into my pocket, I craned my neck upwards.

"'Sup," I greeted the Stoll brothers.

"Lunch time, let's go," they chorused. Letting them help me up to my feet, I cracked a grin when the brother began relating an incident that happened earlier today. Apparently a pegasus nearly took out a camper's eye after she had commented the winged horse's weight.

"I think it was Guido," Connor added.

I got confused. "There's a camper named Guido?"

"No, the pegasus' name is Guido," Connor corrected me. Oh, right, that explained some of the story.

"In Judy's defense, Guido had been putting on some weight, though," Travis commented.

"Who's Judy?" I mumbled.

"Light brown hair, shoulder length, freckles everywhere, green eyes, unclaimed," Connor described.

"Just came nearly a month ago," Travis added. I let the details roll in my head until an image of a frowning, stocky-build girl of around thirteen years came to mind. Ah.

As we jumped a thin strip of water to the other side where the mess hall was located, I asked, "How's she settling in camp?"

Travis scratched his head. "I'm not so sure, I think she had a rough time wherever she used to live, so she's still getting used to it."

There was a moment of silence between the three of us when suddenly Connor, grabbed our shoulders and forced us to stoop down with him.

"You know," he began in a low voice. "I don't think she's all that happy about being a demigod."

Travis and I exchanged glances. Unhappy campers weren't new to anyone. We had all gone through a stage where we experience a mix of disbelief, confusion, maybe some anger, maybe even betrayal and sadness during the revelation of our blood and births. Not all of us had perfect childhoods. Growing up with one blood parent while having to keep seeing other seemingly perfect families on a daily basis in the regular world wasn't very fun. Plus, almost none of us were past nineteen years of age since Luke had been one of the oldest campers around before he had left. Demigod identity issues, puberty, and teenage hormones wasn't a pretty time for us.

"Is it bad?" Travis spoke up first.

Connor jerked his head into a nod. "Yeah, she skips out on camp activities a lot and even refuses to talk about anything related to the gods or Greek stories as if they're not real."

If she didn't come to some of the camp activities, that would explain why I hadn't recognized the name in the beginning. I sleep through a number of cabin schedules so I miss out on a lot sometimes in camp life. We let another second silence draw out until someone join our huddle.

"What're you guys up to?"

Wordlessly, Travis and I shoved mistrusting Malcom's face out of ours.

"Betting on what today's lunch menu is," I said to the son of Athen's bewildered expression.

"I heard that Tantalus finally got fed up with the harpies that he's ordering them for barbeque today," Travis hitched on my white lie without pausing.

Connor shook his head. "Nah, I heard that the kitchen got their hands on some fruit from the Underworld."

"It's grilled cheese, buffet style," Malcom informed us with a touch of annoyance. It might be because my hand and Travis' were still on his face or maybe it was because of our immature antics. He shoved our hands off of him.

"Thank you, Malcom," Connor said brightly. Without waiting for his response, Connor slung an arm over his shoulder and dragged the camper alongside with us for our walk to the hall.

"You know, how is it that your cabin knows everything that goes around camp?" Travis asked in the voice of a news reporter.

Malcom answered almost scathingly, "Unlike you two, we actually make a point to read the announcements Chiron posts daily on the Big House."

Connor and I gasped dramatically.

"My goodness, I would have never guessed, looking at the announcements? Daily?" I questioned in astonishment.

"Your cabin is truly a model for the rest of us to follow," Connor exclaimed with a pompous tone.

"You can let go of me," Malcom muttered.

The Stoll brothers simultaneously grinned and at that moment I knew both of them were going through the guy's pockets. Malcom's uneasiness suddenly increased tenfold upon seeing the mischievous smirks on the children of thieves' faces.

"Get your hands out of my-"

Immediately, the sons of Hermes bolted, cackling with a wallet and several golden drachma in their fingers.

"STOLLS-"

Malcom sprinted after them, shouting a mixture of Greek and English slurs. I was more surprised that he even allowed Connor and Travis to stand next to him that long.

"If you want to skip stones, the rocks on the other side of the lake are better."

The girl in front of me flinched.

"How long have you been there?" She asked warily. The water reflected light off her guarded green eyes. Even her shoulders were tense.

"Since you started to try skipping those rocks." I yawned, ears popping from air pressure.

Judy followed suit, yawning widely before she shook her head.

"Have you ever skipped rocks before? You're not very good," I pointed out. The rocks on this side of the lake weren't as smooth, round, or flat as the far side, but it should at least muster two or three skips. She couldn't even get past one.

Judy's ears turned pink as she kicked a pebble into the water.

"My dad taught me, but I never got the hang of it," she muttered in a low voice. She looked awkward in her growth spurt, still getting used to her lengthened arms and legs, but alright as as kid. Judy wasn't a bad kid, I hoped.

I got up from my napping spot, dusting off the dirt. "I'm Jade, by the way."

"Judy," was her clipped reply.

"Where're you from?"

"Montana."

"Cool, did you like it there?"

Instantly, her face lit up with some fondness and nostalgia.

"Yeah, I really do," she said earnestly.

"I bet the scenery even beats camps'," I said lightly.

"It does, oh man, once you see the mountains and forests, you'll never want to leave," Judy gushed. "It's got one of the most beautiful national parks in the country."

We kept talking like that. I'd dig up whatever I could that made her happy and kept her interested, and she'd answer and even ask questions of her own. The more and more we talked, the more I was sure that Judy was simply insecure about her godly parent. We were trying to best each other on skipping rocks when I began asking about her misfit tendencies.

"So what's this I hear about you skipping camp activities?"

Predictably, Judy's small smile faltered as she looked away. She was never giving me direct eye contact in the first place, but had been having enough courtesy to at least look my way during our conversation.

"It's...hard," she managed to answer after being quiet for a second. "I miss home, and my dad, and friends."

"How come you came to camp?"

"A monster attack," she replied bitterly. "It was just some little plant-demon-spirit-thing, but it nearly got my dad killed. When one of those camp guides came and offered to take me here, I followed him because I didn't want to put my dad in danger like that again."

"I see." I gave her a moment of privacy by pretending to be distracted by my loose shoelaces when she sniffled, tears leaking at the corner of her eyes.

"I think it's brave of you to make a decision like that," I told her. Judy's head drooped in embarrassment, but I could tell she was comforted by the words.

"I think you should join camp activities more often, it'll ease some stress and you can learn how to fight, so that if you go back home, you can protect your dad," I said encouragingly.

"You mean, when I go back home," she cut in, but she wasn't being rude. In fact, she was smiling and seemed determined to start a new camp life.

I returned her smile. "Atta girl."

"Draco Aionius!"

"Get water!"

"Hey, you, GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

I woke up from my nap to the sound of chaos.

"Wha-"

Feet pounded outside of cabin eleven, all heading to the same direction. I could hear campers shouting, some screaming, and sounds of weapons clanging, and was that a dragon's roar?

"Jade!" Connor burst into the cabin, rushing over to my bunk, and climbed the ladder.

"Get up, get up!" he pleaded frantically.

"It's the afternoon," I groaned as he pulled away my blankets.

"We need you to sing to it," Connor snapped. "Jade, get up."

"What's it?" I snapped back, irritated.

"A draco aionius," he hissed in return, dragging me down the ladder. Running a hand over my face, I trailed after Connor like a rag doll as he took me down to the arts and crafts cabin near the Big House. He was practically giving me a piggyback ride by the time we got down there. I was in that state where I could be shoved into the Ares cabin their blasting boomboxes and speakers and I'd still sleep.

"Jade, come on," Connor bemoaned. "Wake up!"

I yawned, Connor copying me. "Can't."

"At least sing!"

Blinking heavy eyes, I recognized a metallic snake-like body with legs breathing fire that made everything explode upon lighting it up. It shot a ball of fire at a girl who yelped, but ducked in time.

"Oh shi-"

Connor yelped as he dove to the side, taking me down with him. Heat seared my skin and dirt rained on us, but otherwise, we were unharmed.

"Anytime would be good," the son of Hermes pointed out, alarm ringing in his voice. He pulled me up, taking me to a spot within hearing distance of the dragon. It shrieked in our direction. Contrary to common sense, my godly abilities worked best when I was most sleepy and tired. The more drowsy I felt, the better the effect. On the flipside, I could lose control.

"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream-"

Somewhere in the back of my head, I heard Connor yelling for everyone to cover their ears. I was now entering a haze. There was just me, the Void, and the Mist. This might be the best lullaby I had sung since the Stymphalian bird incident.

"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream-"

White noise entered my ear drums, my own voice fading into the background. My eyes were closed, but I could still see and feel the Void. Everything tangible faded into the background. Singing was so relaxing. It was easier to sing and forget, to fall asleep and worry about life concerns until another time.

Waste away time and sleep. Life could wait.

Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream-

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream-

I understand now. I understand the song.

Gently down the stream,

Gently down the stream,

Gently down the stream-

Life is but a dream,

Life is but a dream,

Life is but a dream-

Jade.

Gently down the stream,

Life is but a dream-

Jade.

Row, row, row, your boat, gently down the-

"Jade!"

Someone tackled me to the ground, and instantly, my singing stopped.

And suddenly the world spun around me as I returned to the physical plane. The senses flooded my brain; the stench of things burning, an uncontrolled fire roaring, the brilliance of blue sky hurting my eyes, and Connor hovered over me, panicked blue eyes searching my own unfocused brown ones.

"It's over, the dragon's dead," he said breathlessly. "You can stop singing."

My bleary gaze slid over to the arts and crafts cabin, or rather, what's left of it. The roof and two walls were gone. There was nothing recognizable inside. All black and smoking and still on fire, crackling.

"Th's good," I murmured.

"You did a good job," Connor spoke softly.

"Connor, guess what?" I yawned. He yawned with me.

"What?" He sounded so exhausted.

"I understand," I said. "I understand the song."

"What? Understand what?" Connor repeated, this time perplexed.

"The song," I giggled gleefully. I understood the song. It may have taken a life and a rebirth, but I now understood the song.

"Hey, wait, Jade-"

I went back to sleep.

Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream-

River Styx.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream-

Fields of Asphodel.

I understand.

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