We quickly realized that the park was far bigger than we anticipated. There were trails in every direction and forest everywhere. We decided to walk along the water, under a large cliff.

Charlie still wasn't wearing shoes. He rolled up his pant legs and walked with his feet in the water. He convinced me to take my shoes off too, which I nearly threw into the ocean because they were disgusting and stained with blood, but I didn't want to pollute. The feeling of sand between my toes was delightful. The waves licked at my skin. I wanted so badly just to jump into the waves and disappear into the coral.

"We don't even know what we're fighting," I said.

Charlie frowned. "We know his name is Ate and he's the god of delusions," he said.

"Yeah but how do we fight him? Do we need a god, or at least a god's blessing? I might be able to use Nyx's hand but it's in the bag that Luke has."

Charlie's gaze moved to the sea. He looked to be thinking. "You could ask your grandfather for help," he suggested.

I chuckled, kicking at the water. "I don't even know how to communicate with him if I wanted to. Iris messages are down, remember?"

Charlie gave me a dumb look, then balled his hand into a fist and knocked on my head as if it were a door. "Are you really the grandson of Athena? Jason, you're literally standing in the ocean."

I stopped walking. Sometimes, I am amazed by my own stupidity.

"You're right," I said. "You're absolutely right! I'll be right back!" I handed Charlie my dagger in case anything happened, took a few seconds to kiss him in case anything happened, and took a running dive into the ocean.

The water was cool and inviting against my skin. Each breath I took underwater seemed cleaner than the breaths I took on the surface. I swam until I was surrounded by seemingly nothingness.

Then I took a deep breath and yelled, "POSEIDON!" My voice echoed through the water much louder than it ever would have above land. Poseidon perks.

Nothing happened for a few minutes. With every second that passed I was sure that this was just a waste of time. But I took back my words when the water turned a bright blue in front of me. It seemed to light up, so bright that I had to turn away.

When I looked back again, Poseidon was standing in front of me. "Grandfather," I greeted, smiling. I bowed slightly.

I'd never seen a god look so shocked before. "Jason!" he bellowed in disbelief.

"Well it's good to know I can communicate with somebody," I joked.

Poseidon took me into a hug, which was very awkward. Gods don't usually hug their kids, or grandkids, and it felt almost forced.

"It's good to see you alive, kid. Hades said you had died!"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I did, but Charlie Valdez was able to use powers from his mother to bring me back. As much as I would like to stay down here and talk, we have a bit of a situation Nyx has waged war on Olympus. I've killed her, but she still has an army headed for the camps and—"

"You killed Nyx?" Poseidon interrupted.

"Yes." I nodded. "With help from Luke Castellon. Yes he's alive, and if the gods mess with him I will make their lives living hell, which I happen to know a lot about. It's a long story but he's a good guy. But right now, a god named Ate is attacking my family. They're in danger, and I need your help to fight them."

"A blessing?" Poseidon asked.

Asking for a blessing from an Olympian was a big deal, and I suddenly felt myself feeling more unworthy than I ever had.

"Not necessarily. I know I am not worthy a blessing but—"

"Worthy? Jason, you defeated Nyx! You prevented Olympus's downfall! Of course you are worthy," Poseidon said. He held out his hand. "My grandson. Come forth."

I didn't know what to say, so I did as I was told and kept my mouth shut. My grandfather placed his hand on the top of my head. A warming sensation filled my body, sending a tingle through my toes and fingers. I felt weightless, purely like air, the most relaxed my body had been since last June before I jumped into The Pit.

I opened my eyes and watched turquoise vines of light wrapping around my body and burying into my skin. It took me a minute or so to realize that Poseidon was no longer holding me up.

I took a deep breath. "Woah," I breathed.

Poseidon nodded in agreement, looking over his work as if it was something new to him. "Each blessing is different," he said, "but yours fits you. If you fight well, and if you are strong, you can defeat Ate. This does not secure your success, but if you do succeed, you will be able to kill him."

I smiled and clenched my fist, feeling the energy migrating through my body. "Thank you, grandfather."

Poseidon bowed his head. "Thank you."

When I emerged from the water, I found Charlie skipping stones on the beach. He dropped his pile of rocks when he saw me.

"You got a tattoo!" he said. "Lots of tattoos!"

I looked down and realized he was right. I already had my Camp Jupiter ranks burned into the upper part of my left arm, but I now had thick dark blue lines curling around my bicep, lower arm, and chest.

"Is it on my back too?" I asked. I turned around and tried to look.

Charlie nodded. "Where'd your shirt go?"

I chuckled. "Honestly, I have no idea. But I feel great!"

Charlie smiled. He looked a bit better, as if the poison was slowly fading away. Damasen's potions must have been working.

"Let's go. I think I heard commotion up the cliff."

We walked further down the beach to where he was pointing. He was right. As we got closer I realized that I could hear yelling. It was too far to make out the voices, but it was a lead.

"Do we have to climb the cliffs? Last time we tried that I nearly died," Charlie pointed out. I nearly rolled my eyes, but stopped when I saw something fall over the cliff's edge.

"What's that?" Charlie asked.

The black blob flailed its arms. My eyes widened and I ran forward. "Nico!"

Before he had a chance to hit the rocks, I lifted my arm and willed the water upwards as quickly as I could, which seemed easier than before. The water flowed smoothly in my grip. It caught him just in time to prevent him from being butchered by jagged rocks at the bottom of the cliff. It was easier than usual to control.

"Hold onto me!" I called. Charlie listened and grabbed onto my torso. I willed the water to our feet, then we shot into the air.

I saw the god first. He was large, maybe fifteen feet tall, with a wicked smile and shining white eyes. My family, the family I hadn't seen in months, stood before him with their weapons drawn. Well, most of them. The littles were nowhere to be found, which I took as a good sign. My mother stood over Nico, and my dad was the closest to Ate. Casey stood behind my mother.

The sight angered me. I felt the same energy Poseidon had blessed me with filled my body. The stripes of blue glowed brightly and the water around me seemed to obey my every command.

I held my dagger in my hand and got ready to attack. I allowed the water to push us forward and landed on the ground with one knee to my chest and the other beneath me so I could jump up and attack if needed.

"You called?" I asked.