This Cold Year ― Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase²

―iv. prophecies are cryptic assholes

NAOMI WASN'T REALLY IN A SING-ALONG MOOD, but the only other option for her was to wallow in her cabin about her missing boyfriend and distant mother, so she forced herself to go to the campfire.

Given that Nico was now Naomi's only cabinmate, Naomi pretty much got free rein to sit just about wherever she liked. Since the end of the war she, Annabeth, and Percy would usually sit together by Chiron, but some nights Naomi would sit with Drew and her siblings, or with Miranda and her old cabinmates.

Tonight, Naomi, Annabeth, and Jason sat together in the front.

Annabeth was holding her hand, which was all it took to make coming to the campfire worth it for Naomi. Still, she couldn't bring herself to join in the singing.

When the last song ended with a round of applause, Chiron stepped forward, brandishing a spear and several impaled marshmallows. "Very nice!" he complimented. "And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first—"

"What about capture the flag?" Sherman Yang from Cabin Six yelled. Agreeing grumbles broke out from the rest of the Ares cabin.

Naomi fought the urge to roll her eyes, tuning the Ares kids' complaints out until a name re-captured her attention.

"Percy?" someone asked. The fire dinned down, responding to the campers' mood shift.

Chiron gestured to Annabeth, who took a deep breath and stood.

"We didn't find Percy," she announced. Her voice caught a little when she said his name. "He wasn't at the Grand Canyon like we thought. But we're not giving up. We've got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis—everyone's out looking. We will find him. Chiron's talking about something different. A new quest."

"It's the Great Prophecy, isn't it?" Drew called out.

Naomi looked, raising her eyebrows in surprise. Drew didn't address the crowd very often.

"Drew?" she asked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, come on, Nay." Drew spread her hands like the truth was crystal clear. "Olympus is closed. Percy's missing. Hera sends Annabeth a vision and you guys come back with three new demigods in one day. I mean, something weird is going on. The Great Prophecy has started, right?"

Everyone looked at the oracle, hoping for an answer that didn't promise suffering and war on the horizon.

Unfortunately, Rachel didn't deliver. She stepped forward calmly. "Yes," she said. "The Great Prophecy has begun."

Pandemonium broke out.

Annabeth sat down, and Naomi reached for her hand as soon as it was within reach. They both ignored how each other's hands trembled slightly in the fire-warmed night.

When the talking died down enough, Rachel took another step toward the audience, and fifty-plus demigods leaned away from her, as if one skinny redheaded mortal was more intimidating than all of them put together.

"For those of you who have not heard it," Rachel said, "the Great Prophecy was my first prediction. It arrived in August. It goes like this: Eight half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall. Darkness falls where the ancestor dwells—"

Jason shot to his feet. Naomi leaned back, looking up at him with a confused frown. He looked like he'd just been electrocuted.

Even Rachel seemed caught off-guard. "J-Jason?" she said. "What's—"