Sam couldn't sleep that night. Just hearing Ethan so concerned he was going to die was enough to keep her up. His logic made sense. Nemesis wanted revenge on their, mostly his, parents. And if she wants their parents to feel what it's like to lose a child, one of their friends is going to die.
But Sam couldn't accept it. Ethan had been her best friend for so long. He had to live. He was so important to so many people.
The Romans are going to start moving the next day and Sam still can't technically go with them. But that doesn't mean she couldn't go ahead of them on Arion. She just had to be sneaky about it.
She waits until the sun starts to rise before she leaves New Rome. She doesn't tell her parents that she's going to Camp Half Blood, thinking that she'll be able to stop the war before the first shot.
She calls Arion, whispering to him that she needs to go to Ethan at Camp Half Blood. A short time later, Arion drops her off in front of the Legacy cabin. Sam drops from his side, tossing him thanks in the form of a gold nugget before barging through the door.
When she sees Ethan on his bed, she rushes past the glares and shouts of his fellow campers, choosing instead to fall down on his bed beside him.
"Ethan, you aren't going to die. You can't. You mean too much to everyone. To me. There will be a way to stop this." Ethan attempts a smile for her, but Sam sees past it without any trouble. He's petrified.
"It's okay, Sam. Really. Nakamura was around my age when he died. Nemesis wants revenge on my father, my mother, and my camp for not saving him. The Fates have a thing with going full circle, I guess. Ethan Nakamura died to stop a war. It makes sense for me to die, too, to stop this war. I was about to go talk to my parents. Just to tell them I love them, you know?"
Sam wraps her arms around him, her heart cracking under the weight of the tears in his eyes. "I won't let it happen. We'll find some way to prevent it, we will. I swear it on the Styx."
Ethan jerks back from her, about to object only to be interrupted by the Ares head counselor barging through the door.
"Roman!" He calls, pointing the tip of his sword at her. "Your camp has declared war with ours by you trespassing on our land without permission. We have no choice but to lock you in the Big House as a traitor to your camp, and a spy to ours until everything has been resolved."
More Ares and Hermes campers come through the door, grabbing Sam by the arms and dragging her away. Despite fighting against them, she can do little more than turn her head to see the look of rage on Ethan's face as she's taken out of the cabin and to the Big House.
"As for you, Jackson," the son of Ares says, "Put your armor on. We've got a war to fight, unless you'd like to waste more time with the enemy."
Ethan gets up and glares at him. "She isn't the enemy here! Nemesis is!"
"Nemesis? She would have better business elsewhere than with creating a war between the camps," the Ares counselor scoffs. "Are you trying to protect your girlfriend, Jackson?"
"I'm trying to protect both the camps!" He shouts. "We all have friends at Camp Jupiter and now we have to fight them? Because of what? Assuming that we saw some of their campers here?"
The Ares counselor stalks up to him, towering over him. "Either get your armor on or be punished as a traitor."
Ethan's face twists into a scowl, vexed that he's being told what to do after his friend was practically taken hostage. He takes a step closer to the boy, raising his fist. When the Ares camper smirks and places his hand on the hilt of his sword, Ethan uncurls his fist and takes deep breath. Muttering a curse as he shoves past the kid, Ethan heads to the Big House, determined to set things right and free Sam.
Hopefully, he'd live up to his name and be able to stop this war, too.