This chapter is a little shorter than the others, but I hope it's as good as the others.

I do not own Percy Jackson.

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I didn't meet Ethan's searching gaze as I turned and stumbled away from there. I don't remember going down the long hallway with its flickering lamps, don't see the demigods who glanced at me in surprise. I barely feel the bed beneath me as I near collapse on it. Only after that do I realize where I came from. Even now, just thinking about it, I felt a cold chill sweep through me.

I wasn't sure how I felt about Kronos kissing Rowan. It was creepy, but then again, the dating ritual of gods wasn't something I concerned myself with. No, it was the fact that Rowan had returned the kiss, that she was willing to kill me to prove herself to Kronos that made me worried. Would she creep up to slice my throat? Poison me during dinner?

"Ugh." I groaned, hands tangling in my hand in anger. Between me and her, I knew she was better than I was. Stronger than I was, smarter. I couldn't beat her, and I knew that. It made my skin prickle just thinking about it.

After a few more minutes spent sulking, I realized that tears had ran down my face, silently. They collected on my cupped hands on my lap and once I'd realized that, I couldn't stop crying.

Was I really so pathetic, I wondered, that Kronos would really want me gone after all the work he had done to get me on his side? And what was all the talk I had heard about him making the demigods have a change of heart? Would it be my fault that they were killed as well? My heart swelled up at the thought, and it brought a fresh batch of tears fueled by guilt.

Someone knocked on my door, making me jump in surprise. My heart jumped in my throat. What if it was Rowan? I couldn't bear the thought of having to fight her now…I was too much of a mess…

"It's me," Ethan said, almost reluctantly. The relief I felt nearly choked me. "Can I come in?"

I knew something was wrong. Ethan was never polite to me, mocking at times, but never polite. I slid off my bed, smoothing down my shirt and opened the door. His one eye was serious, his mouth jammed into a snarl. It scared me enough to take a step back.

"What-," I started to say, but he shook his head, shoving past me into my room.

"We need to talk," he said.

I felt slight irritation about his mood, but his tense posture made me slightly curious. I shut the door and gestured for him to sit down on one of the chairs shoved against the wall. He didn't take it. Instead, he paced back and forth, snarling under his breath. I sat on my bed, drawing my pillow toward me. After a few minutes of him doing this, I lost my patience.

"If you wear a path in my nice carpet, I'll make you pay for it," I threatened. It made him look up in shock. "You came in here as though a monster was chasing you and now you're not saying anything. Are you going to tell me what we need to talk about or do I have to toss you out of my room?"

"Touchy," Ethan said, making me scowl. I was wound up tighter thane ever, the thought of Rowan looming overhead. "Okay, fine. But be warned that it will only make you even more terrified."

"I don't think I can be anymore terrified," I muttered.

When I saw his face, though, it made me falter in my next words. The fear in them, the intensity of me made me gasp despite myself.

"Don't be so sure," he said. He settled back down on a chair, looking as though he'd aged since coming in.

"What is it?" I asked in a small voice.

"Okay, so after you left, I stayed and followed Rowan," he said, making me blink in surprise. How could he not have gotten caught?

"And she didn't see you?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I borrowed something from one of the demigods, allowed me to be invisible. Anyway, she went back to her room, and there wasn't much I could do about that. So, I stayed outside, and a few minutes later, Kronos came back and asked her to come out."

I sucked in a deep breath at that. His eye flickered to me, dark with intensity.

"They talked right in front of me. Kronos gave her something. It was wrapped up, and Rowan asked what it was. Kronos said it was a way to kill you."

He paused as I choked on my own breath. He waited for my coughing hack to reside. Once it passed, I felt icy terror grab hold of me.

"Rowan asked him why she couldn't just use her whip, and he said because the weapon he gave her wouldn't just kill you, it would eat you away until not even your soul was alive, so there was nothing to go to the afterlife with. It would eat away at your soul without damaging your body at first, and then it would eat at your flesh-,"

"Stop it!" I screamed. "Stop it!"

I was on my feet before I realized what was happening. My entire body was trembling, and I felt cold. I shivered, trying desperately to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. Ethan's face was momentarily puzzled.

"Jamie, what-,"

"Don't," I said, my voice quivering. "Don't talk for a second. Please."

He nodded, crossing his legs while I paced the room, trying to control my breathing. I'd known that she would try to kill me, but I hadn't known the specifics. And now that I knew…it made me even more horrified. I swallowed several times before settling back down on my bed, light-headed.

"Then what happened?" I asked faintly.

"She didn't say anything else," Ethan said, shrugging. "She just accepted it. And then…,"

"Then they kissed?' I finished for him.

He made a face, and I realized that there was a look of jealousy in his face. I gasped, sitting upright.

"You…," my voice didn't work for a few seconds, but I pushed on. "You like Rowan, don't you?"

His eye flashed to me. "I don't-,"

"Don't lie to me," I said. "I know that you do. That look on your face a few seconds ago."

Ethan was quiet for a few seconds. Then, he said, "Yes. I've liked Rowan for some time now. She helped me when my mom took away my eye, and she's the only one that ever bothers to stand up for the rest of us when the Titans decide to pick on us. She's fearless and…I guess it made me attracted to her."

"But she liked Luke," I said, understanding flashing within me. "That's why you never liked him. That's why you looked somewhat happy when Kronos took over his body. Because you thought you had a chance now but then-,"

"But then Kronos happened," he finished, his voice bitter. "And she won't let him go."

I wished I knew what else to say, but what could I say? Rowan had made it clear that she loved Luke, and I didn't think that she'd like Ethan just because Luke was gone. The impossible love triangle between the three made my heart break.

"Don't say anything," Ethan said to me. "I don't want to hear your pity."

I hadn't even realized that my mouth was open to say something, but I shut it, nodding. For a few seconds , I floundered around in my head, trying to figure out what to say.

"What was the weapon, do you know?" I asked.

He swallowed. "Yeah, it's a black dagger."

"Well, I don't know what-,"

"It was enchanted," Ethan said. "I've been around Hecate and Rowan long enough to know magic when I see it and it was dripping with magic. I think it was honed into your blood. Kronos has something planned. I'm just not sure what."

I paled ."Well, I…..,"

"Then there's more," he continued. "Rowan went back to her room. For a second, Kronos stood in the same spot, then he looked right at the place where I was standing and he said, 'Be sure to tell my daughter what's coming for her'. Then he went into her room, and after a few minutes, I ran away to tell you."

A cold pit formed in my stomach, though it was because of what Ethan had said or the unspoken reason Kronos stayed with Rowan, I didn't know. Kronos could see through the magic that allowed Ethan to stay invisible.

"He didn't kill you?" I found my voice again.

"No, and that made it worst. I don't know if he let me hear that so I would tell you or what. But if I were you, I'd be careful."

"I figured as much," I said, my heart hammering in my chest.

Ethan shrugged, fingering the pattern on the chair for a little. Then, he stood up and headed for the door without bothering to say goodbye. I didn't care that much, because the second he left, I collapsed on my bed.

I wished I could say it was because of fear, but it wasn't. It wasn't about Rowan at all. It was more about Kronos's betrayal. How strange it was to think that he actually cared about me at all. No, I was just a weapon that he could use and discard when he didn't need me anymore.

A small sob escaped from my lips, before it was cut off by a suffocating feeling of drowsiness. I hadn't realized how tired I was until I was fighting to keep my eyes open. I allowed myself to succumb to the heavy feeling…..

I didn't even realize I was asleep until I was dreaming.

Nico P.O.V

After Percy had explained how Camp Half Blood had been divided down the middle, the only thing Nico could do was sit down in the infirmary and stare at the bed dejectedly. Apparently, his injuries were bad enough that he couldn't leave, and besides, some of the healers wanted to figure out who had placed a mind barrier in him. So far, nobody was having any luck, but that didn't stop them from annoying him.

Whatever.

The most annoying thing of all this was the fact that the only thing he could think about was the look on Jamie's face as she left. It had been a look of total heartbreak, like the world was crumbling at her feet. If Nico had been a nicer person, he would've felt bad, but he wasn't so he didn't. Much.

Nico glared at the wall as though it were the reason for his irritated mood. All it did was make the wall appear a little darker, though maybe it was because of his shadow.

Disgusted, Nico flopped back onto his pillow.

"In that good of a good, are you?" said a soft voice.

Nico sat up slowly, staring at the air in front of him, where a girl's voice had sounded. Instantly suspicious, Nico grabbed his sword. Normally, when ghosts found their way to him, it was either to complain about a problem they had or to kill him. Either way, he wasn't too thrilled.

"Show yourself," Nico demanded, trying to stand and finding that his legs wouldn't support him. "Who are you?"

"Have you forgotten me already, Nico?" The voice sounded so sad.

The air in front of him turned freezing cold, and then began shimmering. It was then that Nico got very suspicious, because when ghosts came, they just blinked into existence. When the girl's face appeared, he tried very hard not to drop his weapon as he stared in disbelief.

"Bianca?" he said, his voice cracking.

"Nico, you've gotten so big," her voice said sadly. "You're taller than me now."

Bianca's face slowly appeared, her dark hair, sad eyes. She floated in front of him, trying for a smile but it kept breaking apart.

"You….," Nico's voice quivered. "You never came when I tried to summon you. You wouldn't come when I summoned you. Why-,"

She sighed sadly. "Nico, I'm sorry. But I thought if I kept coming when you called on me, you'd never let me go and move on. I thought I was protecting you."

"Then who summoned you this time?" Nico said, anger cooling into disbelief. "I know that's not the way spirits usually cross over, especially one who went to Elysium."

"I was summoned," she said, her lips twisting, "By a powerful demigod. They told me to come here to talk to you."

"Who?" Nico's voice cracked.

"I can't tell you, I'm sorry," she said. "Maybe after the war, you can figure it out. But this person's been on your side from the beginning, even if you're on opposite sides."

"Someone from Kronos's army summoned you to talk to me?" Nico said in disbelief.

Bianca nodded. "I'm not saying you have to trust them, but at least listen to me. I don't have a long time here, otherwises Hades will know I'm missing."

Nico's lips went white. "You mean he doesn't know you're here?"

She shook her head. "This demigod…this demigod is really powerful, almost too powerful to be born to a minor….but even the most powerful of demigods have a time limit. And I think my time limit for being here is fifteen minutes."

"What's so important, then?" Nico asked, resigned.

She almost smiled. "I'm here to tell you about some of the things that are going on in the enemy camp, but you can't tell anybody, or else Jamie will end up getting killed."

"What do I care if she gets killed?"

"I know you better than that, Nico. And her life is being threatened right now."

"What?" Nico said, his eyes wide. "But she's Kronos's daughter!"

"Do you really think he's going to care?" she asked gently. "Jamie's rebelling, Nico, she's not happy there. Kronos has hired somebody to kill her, and it'll happen tonight."

Nico's tongue went dry. "Tonight?" he asked hoarsely.

Bianca nodded. "There's a chance that she'll survive…and this is where I'm supposed to see if it would be a good idea for Jamie to be spared."

"What are you talking about?" Nico asked.

"If Jamie survives," Bianca said, "She'll be exiled from the camp. She'll have no choice but to seek refuge by herself, and she'll attract a lot of monsters. Even if she survives, she'll be dead before Kronos strikes, in a week's time."

"A week," Nico said hoarsely. "The day of Percy's birthday."

"A few days before, actually, but the fight will be decided on his birthday, yes."

"But what bout Jamie?" Nico interrupted.

Bianca's eyes went unfocused, like they usually did when she was thinking. "If she survives and makes it out of there alive, where will she go, Nico? She has enemies on both sides. She'll be killed by one side or another. Where can she go?"

Understanding blazed. "You want her to come here? To Camp Half Blood?"

Bianca sucked in a breath. "This is why you can't tell anyone," she said. "Except maybe Percy. Otherwise, she would be in danger again. I can guide her as far as New York, but once she gets here, I can't penetrate Camp Half Blood's defenses again. She'll be on her own. If you aren't here to help her, she's as good as dead."

"She…," Nico didn't know what to say. "She broke my heart. She betrayed us."

"I know," Bianca said ."But I hope you have an answer. If she makes it, she'll be here in the next two or three days. Think hard, Nico. If you don't want her here, then at least kill her swiftly."

"I…..,"

"Now, I have to go," she said sadly. "I'm sorry this is happening to you, Nico, but you're …."

"Her only hope?" he finished.

"Horribly cheesy, I know, but yes," she smiled as her face began to disappear. "Good bye, Nico."

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A/N: It's been such a long time since I've updated, but I hope that this chapter more than makes up for it. I'll have the next chapter posted as soon as I can/ Now that school's over, I can update more regularly.

Review, please, and tell me what you think.