Ria frowned at the group that had appeared in the middle of their war games. She had been in the middle of helping her cohort dominate in battle when they sort of stumbled into existence in front of her, and Connor Stoll stumbled and collapsed on the ground. She had had to protect him from her own cohort.

Now they were gathered in the courtyard, talking in a way that must have been aimed to look completely casual.

Ria could see how tense Jamie was. She was used to seeing him completely relaxed, even as he fought. He was one of the demigods that she found challenging in the ring because he was so effortlessly good at fighting. A natural. She had seen him getting one-on-one lessons with Percy—who was well-known as the best sword fighter in Camp Half-blood.

Connor looked half-dead, slowly sipping water from the bottle that Katie had handed him. They had only managed to wake him about five minutes ago, after he'd been out for about twenty minutes. If transporting people did this to him, there must have been an insanely good reason for him to do so.

Katie Gardner stood beside Connor, and watching him with worry. That was new. Normally they couldn't even stand within ten feet of each other, but today she was checking on him and even smoothed his hair a bit.

Ria wasn't sure who the other girl was, but she could read the fear that the girl was trying to hold back. She looked like a good breeze would knock her over and shatter her. Not impressive at all.

Andy walked over. "Any idea?"

She shrugged. "Something happened. Had to have been bad for Connor to bring them, especially given how he collapsed. That small girl is petrified and trying not to be. Jamie is tense, which is strange given how relaxed he normally is. It takes something big to get him nervous. At least, that's what I would assume. Katie's worried, and using Connor as an outlet. Reyna and Frank seem to be absorbing whatever it was that they were told."

Andy sat beside her. "Assumptions?"

"The girl, she's the cause for the trouble. Unclaimed, most likely, which is why Connor is taking an interest in her. Katie got caught in the crossfire which is why she's here. Jamie…maybe they grabbed him for some more man-power?" Ria frowned.

Andy was quiet.

"What's wrong?" Ria asked.

"Shelly," He said. He didn't need to say more.

Ever since the last group from Camp Half Blood had left, Shelly had been a serious problem. She'd become more irritable, and defensive. Mopey. And she was taking out all of her frustrations and emotions on the guys, especially Andy.

He'd taken to avoiding her, just to be safe.

Jade attempted to run interference, but there really wasn't anything they had found that helped.

"Dagris, if you're done eavesdropping with Gallus, would you care to join the conversation?" Reyna's voice cut through the distance in a partially scolding tone.

Ria felt her eyes widen slightly. Why would they want her? She was technically still on probatio. Maybe it was because she knew Connor, Katie, and Jamie.

Andy's eyes widened slightly and nodded toward the group. "Better get over there."

Ria nodded and headed over to the group.

"You too, Gallus."

Ria glanced back at Andy, worried. It couldn't be good…or maybe it was good that they were being included. Maybe it wasn't as bad as she had assumed.

From closer, Ria could see that this girl was actually around fifteen. Maybe even a little older. She was just so small and frail that she looked like a twelve-year-old.

Pathetic.

Jamie had finally cut his hair, so he wouldn't have to take time to push it out of his face, which would make him even more efficient on the battlefield. He glanced at Ria, then went back to subtly scanning their surroundings.

But she just realized something else.

They were all dressed up…suits and dresses dressed up. Katie and the other girl both had flowers in their hair and were wearing makeup and nicer shoes than the normal footwear used at camp. Connor probably would have looked more dapper if he hadn't ripped a hole in the knee of his pants and his hair wasn't all over the place. Jamie looked like he had just casually walked here in a three-piece suit.

That's when she knew that it was really bad.

"What's up?" She asked hesitantly.

"This is Petunia," Katie introduced the other girl. "She's a daughter of Persephone."

Oh.

Oh damn.

Andy let out a nervous laugh. "This is going to be really bad, isn't it?"

Connor inhaled sharply. "It's about to get worse."

Ria followed his gaze and saw Rachel, the oracle of delphi, was walking slowly toward them with green smoke billowing out of her mouth.

That was how their quest started.

—~~—

Ria rubbed her arm where the tattoo was. "Was that completely necessary?"

Andy showed her his own, he had four lines on his arm. "Every legionnaire has one. It's an honor that you got yours so quickly."

She remembered talking with Frank after having a prophecy spouted out at her. He was technically her half-brother, but it had been kind of awkward. He had told her about quests and helped her figure out a few different things, and tried to convince her that going on this quest with that weak girl, Petunia, might not be a bad thing.

She had no objections to Andy or Jamie going with her. But Petunia?

Ugh.

The only thing that girl would bring is trouble—monsters were targeting her, Hades wanted her dead, she didn't look like much of a fighter, and the girl was terrified practically out of her skin. She didn't have enough fighting spirit.

But she couldn't complain to Andy right now, because Jamie and the girl were also within hearing distance, packing their own bags with supplies.

Katie hovered close to Petunia, whispering.

Jamie seemed stoic as ever, but he was on high alert and kept glancing at his watch.

Andy examined a box for a moment, then shoved it in his bag.

"What's that?" Ria asked.

He shrugged. "Some emergency never know, right?"

"We should get moving," Jamie told them, his voice firm.

Petunia zipped up her bag and nodded to Katie before standing at Jamie's side.

Ria let out a reluctant breath. "You're sure about this, flower-power?"

Petunia frowned slightly. "About as sure as you, Amaryllis."

"Excuse me…?" Ria stared at the girl.

Jamie had a smirk for just a brief second. "Play nice, Nia."

"How's that gonna work? Nia and Ria?" Andy asked, started to lead the way to the exit as if the exchange between the two girls hadn't happened.

"I'm not giving up my name," Ria said firmly. "No way in hell anyone is calling me by my full name."

"You and Andy can call me by my last name," Petunia offered, her expression blank again.

"Which would be?"

"Green."

Andy shrugged. "Works for me."

"What about him?" Ria jutted her chin out toward Jamie.

Jamie arched an eyebrow. "I'll call her whatever I want. Normally, it's Nia. Sometimes it's Petunia. I'm able to differentiate."

Ria rolled her eyes. So the rivalry continues, eh? It still bugged her that she had only beat him once. Well, they'd have to prove who the better fighter was by battling monsters and whatever this thing at the end of their quest was.

Some incredible danger.

They climbed into one of the camp vehicles that they were taking part of the way.

"So, any guesses as to what might await us in Idaho?"

"Potatoes?" Jamie guessed.

"Rhododendron…" Petunia almost whispered.

"What?" Ria asked, completely baffled. What was with this girl?

"Hyssop, Cyclamen, Tansy, Willow…" She rattled them off, not looking at anyone.

Jamie seemed to write them down, maybe to ask about later. "What does Rhododendron mean?"

"Danger," She whispered.

Ria felt herself grow tense. So this girl spoke in flower meanings. That could actually prove useful… "Really? What about the others?"

"Willow means sorrow, Tansy means hostile thoughts, Hyssop means cleanliness, but also sacrifice, and Cyclamen means resignation and goodbye." She defined the plants she had named without even thinking about it.

"Any that stand for warning?" Ria pressed.

Petunia frowned at the seat in front of her. "Begonias mean beware or caution, Oleander means beware as well, and Redbud is betrayal. At least, that's what I remember."

"Okay, so if we ever need to convey warnings to each other, we use Rhododendren for when there's actual danger and Begonia to let other's know that we see something is off. Have some strategy between us before encountering any fights, right?" Ria offered it, thinking it was a good idea to have something that was just a secret between all of them. Something to build comradery, like Frank had suggested. They were going to be fighting together, best to start building some sort of trust.

Petunia nodded firmly. "I can remember that."

Jamie tilted his head slightly to agree.

Andy gave a thumbs up from the driver's seat. "Sounds good to me. But where's our first stop?"

"Well, the prophecy mentioned something along the lines of 'roots of youth', but I'm not sure what that means. Also, it sounded like we had to reach some sort of mountain…" Ria was being vague, afraid of worrying them.

She, Frank, and Reyna had tried to intercept Rachel before she could utter a prophecy where everyone could hear out of concern for Connor's health—he looked like he had been about to pass out, and like one more shock would kill him.

They hadn't expected Ria—a Roman—to be the one receiving the prophecy.

And it wasn't exactly a reassuring one. Knowing that someone would die…and it would probably be Petunia, now that Ria considered it. Or whoever else would die protecting Petunia.

But because it talked about Spring's daughter and the wrath of Hades, it was a pretty safe bet that Petunia was part of this quest.

Jamie and Petunia were staring at her.

"What?"

Jamie had gone pale. "Roots of youth…what exactly did it say about that?"

Ria hesitated. "Delving deep amongst the evergreen roots of youth," She quoted that line, but was hesitant to continue.

"Why did you pick Idaho?" Jamie asked, his gaze cold.

"Because a couple lines later…" Ria bit her lip. "Deep within the Gem State's lands…"

Andy glanced back. "Why won't you tell us the whole thing?"

"Because…" She couldn't think of a response. Give her a fight and she would easily finish it. People? She would definitely need saving.

"Peonies," Petunia murmured.

Jamie stiffened slightly, then nodded. "Guess we need to make a trip to Washington first."

"What? Why?" Andy asked.

"One, because Washington is the Evergreen State. Two, because that's where I used to live. Roots of youth. I'm a son of Hebe. Couldn't mean much else," He muttered and turned to look out the window.

Ria noticed that the flowers Petunia had in her hair were wilting, rapidly wilting. If flowers reflected the girl's mood…

"Washington it is, then. Right Ria?"

"Right, best to follow any lead." She felt a knot of worry growing in her stomach. She was the youngest one there, yet it was her quest. She wouldn't choke under the pressure…but her choses could decide who would die…

And that poor person would die in Idaho, of all places.