NAOMI DREAMED SHE WAS ON OLYMPUS. The throne room was empty, which shouldn't have been a surprise—the gods were all off trying to slow down Typhon before he could reach this very room and tear it apart.
In the center of the space, visible from every throne, stood a brazier Naomi had never given much thought to. She'd seen it the two times she'd been on Olympus, of course, and felt its gentle warmth when she was close enough to it, but she hadn't paid it much mind besides reveling in its heat.
But now, it was all her dream-mind could seem to focus on.
I will give you victory beyond your dreams, a voice whispered into Naomi's mind, ancient and knowing. She flinched at the sound of it. Snuff the flames of Olympus. Bring these haughty gods to their knees.
"No," Naomi whispered, but her feet brought her to the brazier against her own will. Shadows followed her feet, like smoke billowing along a ceiling, or mist on the ground in the early morning. It spread out in front of her, tendrils of it reaching toward the brazier, toward the fire within it.
It is your destiny, the voice murmured. Let the Olympians fall. Their time has long since past.
"No!" Naomi tried to fight her own limbs, but before she knew it, she was standing right in front of the brazier, once more reveling in its warmth.
She didn't want to snuff these flames out; they were too welcoming. They made her feel at home in a way she rarely felt, even at Camp Half-Blood, even with the people she loved. They made her feel content.
The Olympians have wished time and time again for your death, the voice whispered, but now it sounded more like a serpent's hiss. They killed your father. They tried to kill you. These are the gods you wish to defend?
"Stop!" Naomi demanded, her voice shaking. "Stop it!"
If the gods do not fall, you will face horror beyond even the gods' worst nightmares, the voice said. It sounded like a promise, not a threat. But you can save yourself that pain. You can prevent the suffering in your future, the agony you will face in defense of Olympus. Make the right choice. Claim victory for the Titans.
"You're insane!" Naomi shouted. "I'm not fighting for the Titans!"
Not even to save those you love most?
In the flames, an image came to life. Percy, his eyes lifeless, his body still. Annabeth was laying beside him, just as still—just as dead.
Naomi choked on a sob. "No."
You can prevent this, the voice promised. Pledge your allegiance to Kronos. Damn the gods, just as they have damned their children.
Naomi shook her head. "You—you're trying to trick me."
No, darling, the voice murmured. I would never trick you.
"Who are you?" Naomi demanded. "Why are you showing me this?"
To remind you of all you have to lose. Perseus and Annabeth do not have to die in this war. You can save them.
"You're lying," Naomi croaked.
I swear on the River Styx, the voice murmured. The marble floor beneath Naomi's feet shook. Or was that just her? If you pledge your allegiance to the Titans, Perseus and Annabeth will live.
"No," Naomi whispered. But she could feel it, could feel the power of that oath even in a dream.
If she fought for Kronos, Percy and Annabeth would live.
Choose wisely, my dear, the voice whispered. You have time. Not much—but enough. Remember my promise.
❊
The next morning, Naomi couldn't bring herself to get out of bed until long after her cabin-mates had given up, leaving for breakfast without her.
By the time Annabeth and Percy came around for cabin inspections, she'd only just managed to get dressed, sitting on her messily-made bunk, her eyes dry from staring at the wall.
"Nay?"
Naomi looked back, seeing Annabeth with her clipboard in hand, but all of her focus was on Naomi. It hurt to be looked at like that—like you meant enough to someone that looking away took effort, that looking away hurt.
"You okay?" Percy was looking at her like that, too—like to look away was to put her in danger, like that was the last thing in the world he wanted.
Perseus and Annabeth will live.
Naomi wiped her face, erasing any lingering evidence of her cry-fest from earlier. She doubted it helped much—Percy and Annabeth had an annoying habit of always knowing when she was upset. Or maybe she just wore her heart on her sleeve a little too much.
"I'm fine," she said, her raspy voice immediately betraying her. She cleared her throat. "Bad dream, that's all."
Annabeth sat down on the bunk next to her, setting down her clipboard. She tucked a piece of Naomi's hair behind her ear so she could see her face. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Her voice was too soft, her actions too tender. It was like Naomi could feel herself slipping, too fast, too far. It was the scariest thing she'd ever experienced, which was saying something.
Naomi shook her head sharply, standing up. "No," she said. "I just—I'm supposed to be in the strawberry fields. I—I'll see you later."
She hurried out of the cabin, ignoring the two calling after her, her heart pounding with the one thing she couldn't say out loud, the one truth that would make Naomi's choice for her, gods be damned.
(That truth: she was in love with Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson. That was the long and short of it, the simplest yet scariest truth of the known universe. She was in love with them, so in love it hurt, so in love she could see herself accepting the mysterious voice's offer, so in love she could damn the gods to hell and all their children with them, so long as Annabeth and Percy survived.)
❊
That afternoon, to Naomi's surprise, Chiron asked her to lead the assembly to burn Beckendorf's burial shroud. It made sense, though—with Nico out doing whatever it was he was doing, Naomi was the only one at camp with a proper connection to the Underworld.
She already knew the burial rites—she'd unfortunately had a lot of practice after the Battle of the Labyrinth. She said a prayer in Ancient Greek, praying to her mother, her stepfather, and her old friend Death to ensure Beckendorf's spirit would end up in Elysium, where he belonged.
When his shroud was burned, most of the other campers drifted off to their afternoon activities. Naomi stayed next to Silena, Clarisse and Chris on the daughter of Aphrodite's other side, all of them trying to comfort her.
After a moment, Percy came over. "Hey, Silena, I'm really sorry."
Silena sniffled. Clarisse glared at him, though that was her default expression nowadays.
Percy cleared his throat. "Silena, you know Beckendorf carried your picture. He looked at it right before we went into battle. You meant a lot to him. You made the last year the best of his life."
Silena sobbed.
"Good work, Percy," Clarisse muttered.
"No, it's all right," Silena said. "Thank... thank you, Percy. I should go."
"You want company?" Naomi asked gently.
Silena shook her head and walked off. Naomi watched her go, her heart heavy.
Surprisingly, Clarisse squeezed Naomi's shoulder. "She's stronger than she looks," she muttered. "She'll survive."
"You could help with that," Percy suggested. "You could honor Beckendorf's memory by fighting with us."
Clarisse's hand dropped from Naomi's shoulder, going for her knife, but it wasn't there anymore. She'd thrown it on the ping-pong table in the Big House.
"Not my problem," she growled. "My cabin doesn't get honor—I don't fight."
"All right," Percy said. "I didn't want to bring this up, but you owe me one. You'd be rotting in a Cyclops's cave in the Sea of Monsters if it wasn't for me."
She clenched her jaw. "Any other favor, Percy. Not this. The Ares cabin has been dissed too many times. And don't think I don't know what people say about me behind my back."
"So what—you're just going to let Kronos crush us?" Percy asked.
"If you want my help so much, tell Apollo to give us the chariot."
"You're such a big baby."
Clarisse charged him, but Chris got between them. "Whoa, guys," he said. "Clarisse, you know, maybe he's got a point."
She sneered at him. "Not you too!"
She trudged off with Chris at her heels. "Hey, wait! I just meant—Clarisse, wait!"
Percy huffed, visibly frustrated. "What are we supposed to do?" he asked Naomi. "If she won't fight—"
"Just give her space," Naomi said quietly.
He sighed. "Fine," he mumbled. "I'm going to go see Mrs. O'Leary. Wanna come?"
Naomi bit the inside of her cheek. "I—I need air," she said, as if they weren't standing in the middle of the amphitheater. "I'm just gonna take a walk or something."
He frowned. He was looking at her again—like she was the sun, or maybe the moon, or some other lone celestial wonder in a sky full of stars. It made her ache.
"What's up with you today, Nay?" His voice was infuriatingly gentle. "You've been off since this morning. What's wrong?"
I'm so selfishly in love with you and Annabeth that I'd join the Titans if it meant you'd live, even if you'd never forgive me for it.
"I just—I need air," she managed. "I'll—I'll see you later."
She left before she lost the nerve to.
❊
Skia found her as soon as she stepped into the forest, though Naomi hadn't even meant to summon her. She just appeared like that, sometimes—maybe she sensed Naomi's despair.
"Hey, girl," she whispered, scratching behind Skia's ear.
The beast licked her face, and Naomi grimaced slightly, though a small smile quickly took over. "I missed you, too."
Skia walked by her side as Naomi wandered through the forest. She had no destination in mind—she was content just to walk, if only to get her mind off of more harrowing matters.
It was only somewhat successful.
She felt Nico appear before she saw him. She turned, watching him stumble slightly as he stepped out of a shadow, having to steady himself.
"Your landing's still sloppy," Naomi mumbled.
Nico scowled at her. "Not all of us are Umbra Electi—whatever the Hades that means."
"You say that like I know what it means," Naomi muttered. She'd spent a lot of time since her foray into Tartarus-born darkness last summer doing research with Annabeth, and they had yet to come up with any existing information about Umbra Electi or her father, which were not mutually exclusive topics.
Her mother, of course, wasn't any help. She refused to speak of Naomi's father—she only ever said he was a good man, and that was it.
"I'm guessing this isn't a friendly pop-in?" Naomi asked, burying her hand in Skia's fur. The dog's wagging tail nearly knocked Nico over, and he stepped out of the line of fire, petting the beast's back.
"No," he admitted. "I need to talk to you and Percy."
Naomi sighed. "Of course you do."
Before Nico could ask where the son of Poseidon was, they both heard yelling a few yards away.
Nico raised an eyebrow at her, as if Naomi was supposed to know what was going on.
She shrugged and walked toward the noise, Nico and Skia right behind by her.
The yelling was coming from the clearing where the Council of Cloven Elders had once put Naomi's friend Grover on trial. The place had clearly seen better days—the grass had turned yellow, the topiary thrones had lost their leaves. In the middle of the glade, Grover's girlfriend, Juniper, and a very ornery satyr were having an argument.
Before Naomi could even ask what they were arguing about, a second hellhound bounded into the clearing, almost running Skia over in her haste to greet her. Both hellhounds bodies shook happily as they reunited, licking all over each other's faces and nipping playfully at each other.
Percy was right behind Mrs. O'Leary, looking confused as to what he'd just stumbled upon.
The old satyr squeaked in terror. "What are these Underworld creatures doing in my forest?" He waved his arms and trotted on his hooves like the grass was hot. "You there, Underworld brats, are these your beasts?"
"Who're you calling brats?" Nico asked, glaring at the old goat.
"Yeah, I'm the only one who gets to call Nico a brat," Naomi said.
"Hey!"
"Call them off!" the old satyr yelled.
"WOOF!" Mrs. O'Leary said happily.
"ARF!" Skia responded gleefully.
The old satyr gulped. "Make them go away! Juniper, I will not help you under these circumstances!"
Percy walked over to Nico and Naomi as Juniper turned toward them. "Naomi, Percy," she sniffled. "I was just asking about Grover. I know something's happened. He wouldn't stay gone this long if he wasn't in trouble. I was hoping that Leneus—"
"I told you!" the satyr protested. "You are better off without that traitor."
Juniper stamped her foot. "He is not a traitor! He's the bravest satyr ever, and I want to know where he is!"
"WOOF!"
Leneus's knees started knocking. "I... I won't answer questions with these hellhounds sniffing my tail!"
Nico looked like he was trying to not crack up. "I'll walk the dogs," he volunteered.
He whistled, and Mrs. O'Leary and Skia bounded after him to the far end of the grove.
Leneus huffed indignantly and brushed the twigs off his shirt. "Now, as I was trying to explain, young lady, your boyfriend has not sent any reports since we voted him into exile."
"You tried to vote him into exile," Percy corrected. "Chiron and Dionysus stopped you."
"Bah! They are honorary Council members. It wasn't a proper vote."
"We'll tell Dionysus you said that," Naomi said.
Leneus paled. "I only meant... Now see here, you two. This is none of your business."
"Grover's our friend," Percy said. "He wasn't lying to you about Pan's death. We saw it. You were just too scared to accept the truth."
Leneus's s lips quivered. "No! Grover's a liar, and good riddance. We're better off without him."
Naomi pointed at the withered thrones. "If things are going so well, where are your friends? Looks like your Council hasn't been meeting lately."
"Maron and Silenus... I... I'm sure they'll be back," he said, but there was clear panic in his voice. "They're just taking some time off to think. It's been a very unsettling year."
"It's going to get a lot more unsettling," Percy promised, a dangerous edge to his voice that was not helping Naomi's stupid-in-love problem. "Leneus, we need Grover. There's got to be a way you can find him with your magic."
The old satyr's eye twitched. "I'm telling you, I've heard nothing. Perhaps he's dead."
Juniper choked back a sob. Naomi put a hand on her arm.
"He's not dead," Percy said. "I can feel that much."
"Empathy links," Leneus said disdainfully. "Very unreliable."
"So ask around," Percy insisted. "Find him. There's a war coming. Grover was preparing the nature spirits."
"Without my permission! And it's not our war."
Percy grabbed him by the shirt, which was very out of character for him, though Naomi couldn't blame him for getting angry. "Listen, Leneus. When Kronos attacks, he's going to have packs of hellhounds. He's going to destroy everything in his path—mortals, gods, demigods. Do you think he'll let the satyrs go free? You're supposed to be a leader. So LEAD. Get out there and see what's happening. Find Grover and bring Juniper some news. Now, GO!"
He didn't even push him very hard, but Leneus was kind of top-heavy. He fell on his furry rump, then scrambled to his hooves and ran away. "Grover will never be accepted! He will die an outcast!"
When he'd disappeared into the bushes, Juniper wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, guys. I didn't mean to get you involved. Leneus is still a lord of the Wild. You don't want to make an enemy of him."
"No problem," Percy said. "I've got worse enemies than overweight satyrs."
Nico walked back to them. "Good job, Percy. Judging from the trail of goat pellets, I'd say you shook him up pretty well."
Percy must've had an idea of why Nico was there, but he managed a smile. "Welcome back. Did you just come by to say hi?"
"Of course he didn't," Naomi muttered. "That's not his style."
"Wait, Nico," Juniper said. "You're the son of Hades and all. Are you sure you haven't heard anything about Grover?"
Nico shifted his weight. "Juniper... even if Grover died, he would reincarnate into something else in nature. I can't sense things like that, only mortal souls."
"But if you do hear anything?" she pleaded, putting her hand on his arm. "Anything at all?"
Nico's cheeks were red. "Uh, you bet. I'll keep my ears open."
"We'll find him, Juniper," Percy promised. "Grover's alive, I'm sure. There must be a simple reason why he hasn't contacted us."
She nodded glumly. "I hate not being able to leave the forest. He could be anywhere, and I'm stuck here waiting. Oh, if that silly goat has gotten himself hurt—"
Mrs. O'Leary bounded back over and took an interest in Juniper's dress.
Juniper yelped. "Oh, no you don't! I know about dogs and trees. I'm gone!"
She went poof into green mist. Mrs. O'Leary looked disappointed, but she lumbered back toward Skia, and the two set off to find another target, leaving Naomi, Nico, and Percy alone in the clearing.
❊