EDEN AND CONNOR sat next to each other at the Hermes banner, grinning at Travis and Chris before she put her feet up on his lap. Shit was good, she said her hellos. She noticed Rachel waving her over, so Eden stood up and winked at Connor before going over to sit right next to her on her log, too euphoric to notice the other girl sitting there.
"What's up?" Eden asked, grinning at Rachel before seeing Piper. "Oh. Hi."
Piper sent her a small smile, but Eden forced herself to focus on Rachel. "Where'd you go after Hera?"
"Me and Con went shopping," Eden nodded toward his direction, showing off her nails. "We got matching ones. Ate some Panda Express and went to Bath and Body Works. That was basically it."
"Him?" Piper looked at him. "You two are cute."
Eden snorted. "Why do people think we're together? We're just friends. He's after Drew, anyway."
"Drew?" Piper crinkled her nose in disgust.
"She's nice once you get under her exterior," Eden shrugged. "Love to talk, but I think that I'll probably fall asleep on him before this shit is over. Annie Bell forced me to be here." She stood up and grinned at Rachel. "Talk to me anytime, yeah? I've painted some stuff that you can take as inspiration."
"You're the best, E," Rachel blew her a kiss, and Eden was reminded of that time when they'd had a fling, while her, Percy, and Annabeth were having that stupid love triangle. She went back to her spot next to Connor and hummed.
"Good talk?" Connor asked her.
"She thought we were together." Piper was very obviously sitting next to Rachel, so obvious that Eden didn't know how she didn't notice her. She was very noticeable. Not that Eden had noticed. "Second one today."
"I'm so glad you're very fucking gay," Connor smirked at her. Stupid fucking shit Hermes smirk.
"Me too," Eden sighed. "Girls are the best."
Connor opened his mouth, but then Chiron spoke cause the songs were ending, brandishing a spear with marshmallows.
"Very nice! 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?" some dude yelled. Grumbling broke out among the Ares kids. They were stupid, but also, Eden could relate to them. She loved murder.
"Yes," the horsie said. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."
"And kill people!" one of them shouted. Eden let out a snort. She loved them. Especially Clarisse.
"However," Chiron said, "until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"
He turned to Gay Best Friend's group. The girl next to him, what's her face — Nessa? — stood uncomfortably. She wore an army jacket a lot like Leo's, with her hair covered in a red bandanna. "We're working on it."
More grumbling.
"How, Nyssa?" an Ares kid demanded. Oh, her name was Nyssa. Whatever.
"Really hard," Nessa said.
She sat down to a lot of yelling and complaining, which caused the fire to sputter chaotically. Eden winced at it. Chiron stamped his hoof against the fire pit stones — bang, bang, bang, like a gun — and the campers fell silent.
"We will have to be patient," Chiron said. "In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss."
"Percy?" someone asked. The fire dimmed even further, but Eden didn't need the mood flames to sense the crowd's anxiety. She had a little bit of common sense.
Chiron gestured to Annabeth. She took a deep breath and stood.
"I didn't find Percy," she announced. Her voice caught a little when she said his name. "He wasn't at the Grand Canyon like I 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?" a girl called out.
Everyone turned. The voice had come from a group in back, sitting under the Aphrodite banner. They'd been chatting among themselves and not paying much attention until their leader stood up: Drew.
Connor was staring at her. Eden snickered and whispered in his ear, "simp."
"Drew?" Annabeth said. "What do you mean?"
"Well, come on." Drew spread her hands like the truth was obvious. "Olympus is closed. Percy's disappeared. Hera sends you a vision and you come back with three new demigods in one day. And you got Eden out of her cabin. I mean, something weird is going on. The Great Prophecy has started, right?"
Eden snorted at her comment. "And you're attracted to her?"
Connor shrugged. "She's attractive. Especially when she charmspeaks me."
"Fucking simp," Eden muttered, but it was drowned out by Drew's yelling.
"Well?" Drew called. "You're the oracle. Has it started or not?"
Rachel's eyes looked sorta scary in the firelight. She stepped forward calmly and addressed the camp.
"Yes," she said. "The Great Prophecy has begun."
Pandemonium broke out. Eden's eyes caught with Piper's and she frowned before looking away.
When the talking finally subsided, Rachel took another step toward the audience, and fifty-plus demigods leaned away from her.
"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—"
Perfect Jason shot to his feet. His eyes looked wild, like he'd just been tasered.
Even Rachel seemed caught off guard, which was unlikely for her, considering she fucking sees the future. "J-Jason?" she said. "What's—"
"Ut cum spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus," he chanted. "Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem."
An uneasy silence settled on the group. What the actual fuck.
"You just . . . finished the prophecy," Rachel stammered. "—An oath to keep with a final breath/and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. How did you—"
"I know those lines." Perfect Jason winced and put his hands to his temples. "I don't know how, but I know that prophecy."
"In Latin, no less," Drew called out. "Handsome and smart."
There was some giggling from the Aphrodite cabin. Connor stiffened from next to Eden. But it didn't do much to break the tension. The campfire was burning a chaotic, nervous shade of green. Eden hated green with a passion.
Perfect Jason sat down, looking embarrassed, but Annabeth put a hand on his shoulder and muttered something or other. Eden didn't know or care.
Rachel still looked a little shaken. She glanced back at Chiron for guidance, but the centaur stood grim and silent, as if he were watching a play he couldn't interrupt — a tragedy that ended with a lot of people dead onstage. Probably his favorites. Like Romeo and Juliet. Love is overrated.
"Well," Rachel said, trying to regain her composure. "So, yeah, that's the Great Prophecy. We hoped it might not happen for years, but I fear it's starting now. I can't give you proof. It's just a feeling. And like Drew said, some weird stuff is happening. The eight demigods, whoever they are, have not been gathered yet. I get the feeling some are here tonight. Some are not here."
The campers began to stir and mutter, looking at each other nervously, until a drowsy voice in the crowd called out, "I'm here! Oh . . . were you calling roll?"
"Go back to sleep, Clovis," Connor called, and Eden snickered.
"Anyway," Rachel continued, "we don't know what the Great Prophecy means. We don't know what challenge the demigods will face, but since the first Great Prophecy predicted the Titan War, we can guess the second Great Prophecy will predict something at least that bad."
"Or worse," Chiron murmured. That sounded absolutely perfect.
Maybe he didn't mean everyone to overhear, but they did. The campfire immediately turned dark purple.
"What we do know," Rachel said, "is that the first phase has begun. A major problem has arisen, and we need a quest to solve it. Hera, the queen of the gods, has been taken."
Shocked silence. Then fifty demigods started talking at once. Eden pressed her hands to her ears. Too loud. No thoughts. Brain hurts. Ow. She curled herself into Connor and then let herself fall into Rachel's storytelling. Eden hated books, but they were okay when someone was explaining them to her.
"Jason," Rachel said. "Um ... do you remember your last name?"
He looked self-conscious, but he shook his head. What kind of little shit didn't know his last name?
"We'll just call you Jason, then," Rachel said. "It's clear Hera herself has issued you a quest."
Rachel paused, as if giving Perfect Jason a chance to protest his destiny. Everyone's eyes were on him; there was so much pressure. Eden probably would've buckled if she wasn't. Well. Eden Achilles-Fairchild. "I agree," Perfect Jason said grimly.
"You must save Hera to prevent a great evil," Rachel continued. "Some sort of king from rising. For reasons we don't yet understand, it must happen by the winter solstice, only four days from now."
"That's the council day of the gods," Annabeth said. "If the gods don't already know Hera's gone, they will definitely notice her absence by then. They'll probably break out fighting, accusing each other of taking her. That's what they usually do."
"The winter solstice," Chiron spoke up, "is also the time of greatest darkness. The gods gather that day, as mortals always have, because there is strength in numbers. The solstice is a day when evil magic is strong. Ancient magic, older than the gods. It is a day when things . . . stir."
The way he said it, stirring sounded absolutely sinister — like it should be a first-degree felony, not something you did to cookie dough. Then again, anything was a felony when you were Eden Fairchild and a Stoll.
"Okay," Annabeth said loudly, glaring at the centaur. "Thank you, Captain Sunshine. Whatever's going on, I agree with reddie. Jason has been chosen to lead this quest, so—"
"Why hasn't he been claimed?" somebody yelled from the Ares cabin. Noobs. "If he's so important—"
"He has been claimed," Chiron announced. "Long ago. Jason, give them a demonstration."
At first, Perfect Jason didn't seem to understand, which was unusual because he was, well, perfect, basically. He stepped forward nervously.
He reached into his pocket. A coin flashed in the air, and when he caught it in his hand, he was holding a lance — a rod of gold about seven feet long, with a spear tip at one end.
The other demigods gasped. Rachel and Annabeth stepped back to avoid the point, which looked sharp as an ice pick.
"Wasn't that . . ." Annabeth hesitated. "I thought you had a sword."
"Um, it came up tails, I think," Perfect Jason said. "Same coin, long-range weapon form."
"Dude, I want one!" yelled somebody from Ares cabin.
"Better than Clarisse's electric spear, Lamer!" one of his brothers agreed. Eden had to agree with them for once. Even though she adored Clarisse, the spear was not it. Bad memories. Gross.
"Electric," Perfect Jason murmured, like that was a good idea. It wasn't. "Back away."
Jason raised his javelin, and thunder broke open the sky. Every hair on Eden's arms stood straight up. Lightning arced down through the golden spear point and hit the campfire with the force of an artillery shell. She jumped back. She hated lightning with a passion. And flying through the air in general.
When the smoke cleared, and the ringing in Eden's ears subsided, the entire camp sat frozen in shock, half blind, covered in ashes, staring at the place where the fire had been. Cinders rained down everywhere. A burning log had impaled itself a few inches from the sleeping kid, who hadn't even stirred.
Perfect Jason lowered his lance. "Um . . . sorry."
Chiron brushed some burning coals out of his beard. He grimaced as if his worst fears had been confirmed. "A little overkill, perhaps, but you've made your point. And I believe we know who your father is."
"Jupiter," Perfect Jason said. "I mean Zeus. Lord of the Sky."
Everything broke into chaos, with dozens of people asking questions until Annabeth raised her arms.
"Hold it!" she said. "How can he be the son of Zeus? The Big Three . . . their pact not to have mortal kids . . . how could we not have known about him sooner?"
Chiron didn't answer, but Eden got the feeling he knew. And the truth was not good.
"The important thing," Rachel said, "is that Jason's here now. He has a quest to fulfill, which means he will need his own prophecy."
She closed her eyes and swooned. Two campers rushed forward and caught her. A third ran to the side of the amphitheater and grabbed a bronze three-legged stool, like they'd been trained for this duty. They eased Rachel onto the stool in front of the ruined hearth. Without the fire, the night was dark, but green mist started swirling around Rachel's feet. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing. Emerald smoke issued from her mouth. The voice that came out was raspy and ancient — the sound a snake would make if it could talk:
"Child of lightning, beware the earth, The giants' revenge the seven shall birth, The forge and dove shall break the cage, And death unleash through Hera's rage. Fuck rhyming and all that shit I'm too lazy so I, the author, decree that Eden will be in this prophecy somehow."
On the last word, Rachel collapsed, but her helpers were waiting to catch her. They carried her away from the hearth and laid her in the corner to rest.
"Is that normal?" Piper asked. Eden turned to her, raising her eyebrows. Did she not realize what she was doing? "I mean . . . does she spew green smoke a lot?"
"Gods, you're dense!" Drew sneered. Eden had to agree with her. Good woman Connor simped for. "She just issued a prophecy — Jason's prophecy to save Hera! Why don't you just—"
"Drew," Annabeth snapped. "Piper asked a fair question. Something about that prophecy definitely isn't normal. If breaking Hera's cage unleashes her rage and causes a bunch of death . . . why would we free her? It might be a trap, or — or maybe Hera will turn on her rescuers. She's never been kind to heroes."
"Gee, you fucking think?" Eden said louder than she thought. And by louder, she meant she fucking yelled it instead of muttering it to Travis and Connor.
"Language, Eden," Chiron scolded her, though he knew that it wouldn't work on her. Eden rolled her eyes and leaned against Connor.
Perfect Jason rose. "I don't have much choice. Hera took my memory. I need it back. Besides, we can't just not help the queen of the heavens if she's in trouble."
Nessa stood up. "Maybe. But you should listen to Annabeth. Hera can be vengeful. She threw her own son — our dad — down a mountain just because he was ugly."
"Real ugly," snickered someone from Aphrodite.
"Shut up!" Nessa growled. "Anyway, we've also got to think — why beware the earth? And what's the giants' revenge? What are we dealing with here that's powerful enough to kidnap the queen of the heavens?"
No one answered.
Annabeth took a deep breath. "It's Jason's quest," she announced, "so it's Jason's choice. Obviously, he's the child of lightning. According to the prophecy, he may choose any three companions."
Travis yelled, "Well, you, obviously, Annabeth. You've got the most experience."
"No, Travis," Annabeth said. "First off, I'm not helping Hera. Every time I've tried, she's deceived me, or it's come back to bite me later. Forget it. No way. Secondly, I'm leaving first thing in the morning to find Percy."
"It's connected," Piper blurted out. "You know that's true, don't you? This whole business, your boyfriend's disappearance — it's all connected."
"How?" demanded Drew. "If you're so smart, how?"
Piper tried to form an answer, but she couldn't.
Annabeth saved her, which was lucky of her. "You may be right, Piper. If this is connected, I'll find out from the other end — by searching for Percy. As I said, I'm not about to rush off to rescue Hera, even if her disappearance sets the rest of the Olympians fighting again. But there's another reason I can't go. The prophecy says otherwise."
"It says who I pick," Jason agreed. "Achilles's blood. ( we are going to pretend that the prophecy said that. ) That has to be . . ."
Everyone looked at Eden.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Eden scoffed, letting out a bitter laugh. "Why would you think that I would want to help Hera out of all people? She's ruined my life more than she's ruined yours." She pointed at Annabeth, raising an eyebrow. "Or Thals. Unless you've forgotten that?"
"What did she do to you and Thalia that could've been worse than mine?" Annabeth asked her.
"For the prized daughter of Athena, you sure are dumb half the time," Eden rolled her eyes.
Annabeth was the one who was on the streets with Thalia, yet a semester together brought her and Eden closer than that.
Then again, they were closer than that at one point . . .
"There is no chance I'm going if you don't have to go." Eden crossed her arms.
"Come on, E," Connor said quietly to her. "I think you need a break from here. And, besides, the world will probably be ruined if you don't go."
Eden bit down on her lip, looking over at him. "And a plausible break is going on another death defying quest? Will you even survive without me for that long? There's no way I could ever die."
Connor sighed. "Come on, E. We can go and cripple another rich white man after."
"So soon?" Eden hated to admit that a bubble of happiness took over her gut.
He smirked at her. "Can't deny it's not fun."
"Fine." She said loudly. "Fine, I'll go. But we'll bounce. Fucking sick of this place."
Eden's gaze bounced from Annabeth to Rachel before she got up and left, hearing the familiar quiet footsteps of Connor behind her, hoping to just escape her nightmares for another night.