After dinner Teresa said it was the Davis twins who had been trying to get into cabin two and she had to usher them to the big house to face Jason's wrath. She apologized for ditching him, thinking he was left alone. Luckily, she never made it back before the dinner gong to see him wander into the cabin thirteen. He was anxious for the rest of the evening and didn't even attempt to sing along at the campfire. He thought he knew what he needed to do, but the closer it got to lights-out the less confident he became. Was it really worth it? Right now it was just simple curiosity that even had him considering touching the sword again. He didn't need this sword. There was a whole armory at camp and Jason had offered to help him pick out a new sword whenever he was ready to resume training. On top of that, Hades didn't believe it was Cupid who wanted him to master it. So, now there was some weird conspiracy he didn't want anything to do with.

He threw a quick goodnight at Teresa after the Sing-a-long was over and tried not to look suspicious. He spent the next hour pacing and when lights-out finally sounded he paced in the dark. He just couldn't make a decision. Part of him knew it was his pride eating at him. It took jagged little bites out of his ego every time he remembered how Hades had dismissed him –flippantly declaring that he would never master the sword. And no, he didn't have any heroic deeds to his name so the Elysian Fields were a distant dream, but was he ever going to get there without taking any risks?

The other part of him tried to be reasonable, to remind him of how betrayed and shattered his Dads would feel if he failed and died. They didn't even know he had the sword. It would come as a complete shock to them. And after everything they've done for him. Death wouldn't save him from seeing it either, not with the son of Hades as his father. He could already picture Nico summoning his soul just so he and Percy could scream at him.

He heard the wind pick up outside and knew it was time for the Harpies. Cesare threw himself onto the bed and buried his face in the pillow. He missed all his friends he'd left at Camp Jupiter, even Blaine, because at least they could tell him he was being stupid. He didn't know if Blaine would encourage him to do this or not but at least he could bounce the idea off of him. He turned his face toward the opposite wall where the other set of bunk beds were. They didn't even have sheets. When his Dad was here, he had Cesare's uncle Tyson as a cabin mate for a little while. But as the only grandchild of Poseidon and Hades, Cesare was all alone.

"Nobody to talk to," he muttered and reburied his face.

He had resigned himself to putting off the decision until tomorrow and was about to roll over when the cabin started getting brighter. He could see light through his eyelids and when he opened them he saw the fountain in the corner glowing brighter and brighter.

"What the…"

He got up and walked over to it slowly. Usually the mist from the water only made a rainbow during the day but the extra light from the abalone was causing one now. He plucked a coin from the basin and flicked it into the tiny rainbow.

"Hello?" he asked tentatively.

"Hello?" someone answered back. The image was just as small as the rainbow and for a moment he thought he wouldn't be able to see anything until a pair of bright, teal-colored eyes came into focus.

"Who's there?" Her voice caught him off guard. It was sweet but strong and made him stammer when he tried to answer.

"Who are you?" she asked again.

"C-Cesare," he said stupidly.

"Cesare?" she repeated it like she was tasting his name on her tongue. "And where are you, Cesare?"

"Umm…Camp Half-Blood?"

Her eyes got wider and the excitement in them looked faintly dangerous. "You're at Camp Half-Blood right now? You're a demi-god?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered vaguely. There wasn't a Greek equivalent of a "legacy" so he shrugged and went with demi-god.

"Who is your godly parent?"

"Well, technically…I don't have a godly parent," he said hesitantly. Her eyes narrowed at him suspiciously.

"But you said you're a demi-god living at Camp Half-Blood."

"I am, kind of. My parents are both demi-gods and I guess I'm just as strong as a demi-god, but I'm a grand-demi-god or something." He really did hate the 'I'm a magical baby' conversation and it didn't get easier to explain not matter how many times he did it.

"How is it possible that you're just as strong? Who are your parents?" she demanded.

"Nico di Angelo and Percy Jackson."

The annoyance in her gaze was replaced by surprise.

"Perseus Jackson?" she asked. "Son of Poseidon?" He nodded in confirmation.

"And your other parent is the son of Hades?"

"Yeah, my Dad did Cupid a-"

"Aphrodite made you," she said cutting him off. He could see that she was very excited now and he was about to ask her why it mattered when she cut him off again.

"Can you get to Hera's cabin?"

"Why?" he asked. "No one can go near there."

"Please? I just need you to open the doors!"

"No! Are you kidding?"

She yelled in frustration, blurring the image, and hearing her sweet voice in that furious tone jogged his memory. She sounded just like the voice screaming from inside the cabin two doors.

"Who are you?" he asked urgently. "Are you the girl locked inside Hera's cabin?"

"Yes! And I want out now!" she shouted causing the abalone to shudder in the fountain. "Please," she said a little more calmly. "I need to get out."

"Who are you?" Cesare asked again.

"I'm Teles," she said as her eyes came back into focus, "Queen of the Sirens."

"What?"

His tone was heavy with an amount of indignation that was only possible after hearing something incredibly unbelievable.

"Great," said Teles sarcastically, "he can't hear now either. I said my name is Teles and I am Queen of the-"

"The sirens don't have a queen," Cesare said.

"They do as of fifty years ago when I was born," she said matter-of-factly.

"So your mother is Aphrodite and your father is…"

"The river god Achelous. He's also the father of the other sirens, my sisters." Cesare had just enough good sense not to point out that her father was a talking bull-man but he couldn't resist asking, "Piper's your sister too, right? She has a cornucopia-"

"Yes," Teles said tensely. "She cut off my father's one remaining horn. I refuse to speak to her."

"Okay," Cesare said, backing away from the touchy subject. "Why did your mom lock you up?"

"No more small talk," she said. "Can you get me out of here?"

Her eyes were beautiful and beseeching and he wanted to tell her yes, he knew she'd been locked up for days, but he couldn't.

"I'm sorry, Teles, but I can't. I'd probably be kicked out of camp and that can't happen. Anyway, Aphrodite said she'd be keeping an eye on me so she would probably know."

There was a moment when he saw her eyes gloss over with tears and then the Iris message ended.

"So how long are you here?"

"I start back at school in the city, this fall," said Madison. At fourteen, Madison was already displaying some very Jupiter-like leadership skills. She wasn't a year-round camper since Piper wanted her to have a normal childhood, but it was easier on her since she didn't give off a strong smell to monsters. That's what it was like for any normal children of demi-gods. They could blend in with mortals more easily, and Cesare often wished he wasn't so "special" so he could be one of them.

Madison was serious for fourteen and people listened to her. He couldn't tell if that was her Jupiter blood or if she possessed a mild form of her mother's charmspeak. She looked more like Piper, with the same tanned skin and brown hair. Her eyes were hazel and like her mom she chose not to make a big deal about her looks and dressed down. Today she was wearing a ratty pair of jeans with her camp t-shirt and her hair was in a ponytail.

That morning he'd hugged Piper and answered all her questions about how he was doing at camp so far. The whole time Cesare was bursting to ask Piper about Teles but he didn't. It would only cause trouble because he couldn't explain how the fountain had done what it did. So, once again he found himself lying by omission. He hated it but honestly couldn't see any good in telling anyone. His troubles with the sword nagged at him too but they were drowned out by the memory Teles's eyes floating in front of him and the sound of her voice.

"Hey, did you hear me?" asked Madison.

"Sorry," Cesare said, trying to sound innocent. "I must have spaced out. What did you say?"

"I asked if you wanted to go to sword practice? My Dad is about to start teaching," she said pointing at the sword area.

Indeed, Jason was there with a group of campers, passing out armor, shields, and practice swords.

"Yeah," said Cesare. "I actually haven't had a lesson here yet."

They went to the arena and suited up in helmets, breast plates, and greaves. Cesare was given an ordinary bronze sword that had been dulled to reduce the risk of serious injury, though he questioned the judgement of this when he knew kids in the Hephaestus cabin were making real live flame throwers. Jason paired him up with Sam, a son of Ares, who sneered at him immediately. He was Cesare's height but whereas Cesare musculature was lean, Sam was slightly bulky. He had muddy brown hair cut short and a permanent sour look on his face.

"Sam, this is Cesare. He was trained at Camp Jupiter so his skills might be a bit too much for others."

"Hmph, that Roman style won't get you far here," Sam said with contempt.

"That's fine. My Dads are Greek so I know both styles," he responded lightly.

"Excellent," Jason said. He gave Cesare a weird look before he walked away.

"Woo! Go, Cesare!"

He whipped his head around and there was Teresa sitting in the stands surrounded by girls that he could only assume were her half-sisters from cabin ten. They were all staring at him and erupting into giggles every time he looked at one of them. Honestly, it was kind of terrifying, he felt like an exhibit at a zoo. He tried to ignore them and focus on his partner but this unwanted attention seemed to make Sam hate him more.

"Did your groupies come to watch you eat dirt?" he asked.

"Not my idea, trust me," he said.

Before Sam could respond, Jason called the class to attention and showed them some simple blocking techniques that he then had them try out. Sam's hits were harder than necessary but Cesare didn't let it bother him. He could tell Sam was trying to make him mad and he wouldn't give in. His emotions triggered his powers when he got too upset so it was better to hold them in.

When it was time for individual sparring two people would fight in front of the class with Jason calling out tips. The first three partners were fairly basic in skill. Cesare imagined he could have taken all six of them at once and still won. The next two groups were better but not by much.

When it was time for him and Sam to go up, Teresa's group let out a cheer. He tried not to laugh but he couldn't help a little chuckle when Teresa gave him a-double-thumbs-up. Sam looked so heated that Cesare imagined he could see steam rising from the other boy's ears when they squared off. Jason signaled the start by yelling "spar!" and Sam came at him, thudding across the ground like a JV football player. Cesare raised his shield and blocked the first hit. The force jarred his arm almost to the shoulder. When Sam swung again Cesare used his shield to knock the sword away and attacked.

The noise of fighting all but drowned out whatever Jason was saying to them. Cesare had stopped trying to listen, more interested in finding the openings in Sam's defense. The son of Ares was strong but slow and he was getting angrier by the second. He must have expected the fight to be over by now and the fact he hadn't managed to land a single hit on Cesare was royally pissing him off. He swung again and again and Cesare stopped wasting his strength on blocking the heavy blows. He was faster and it was easier to dodge. Finally, he'd had enough dancing around and hit Sam with his shield faster than the other boy could notice. Cesare aimed at Sam's shield but the hit still knocked him down flat on his back and when he opened his eyes Cesare was standing over with his sword tip pointed right at his nose.

"Okay, guys enough, enough," Jason said when he jogged over to stop them.

Cesare backed away and lowered his sword. Sam got to his feet, chest heaving and glaring at Cesare like he wanted to send him straight to Tartarus. Jason ended the lesson and Teresa came down the steps with her entourage as he was stripping off pieces of armor.

"You look hot like this," she said, grinning as he swept his wet curls away from his face. "A little stinky but hot."

"Thanks," he said as the girls around her giggled. He looked around for help and spotted Madison collecting armor with Jason. She looked at him with an expression that clearly said, I can't help you, and went back to helping her Dad.

"This is Kylie," Teresa said, drawing his attention back. She was pointing to one of the girls and Cesare recognized her from his first day. She was the one sitting on the Green with Teresa when Jason told him and his Dads about cabin two.

"This Marie," she said pointing to another who was really working the smoky-eye make-up thing and he doubted that those long eyelashes were real.

"And this is Clare," she said pointing at a redhead. Clare had one of those cute upturned noses and a sprinkle of freckles across it and her cheeks. These three looked to be the same age as him and Teresa. The other three girls were younger and kind of stared at him like he was a One Direction poster. It felt like being cornered by a cheerleading squad. He said hi to all of them and Teresa was about to say something else when Kate walked up and interrupted her.

"Your technique is very good," she said. Her blonde hair was in a French braid over her shoulder and she didn't spare the Aphrodite's daughters so much as a glance.

"Thank you," he said.

"If you ever need to talk just find me."

"Talk?" he asked, confused.

"About math equations, probably," said Marie, crossing her arms.

"Athena is a virgin goddess," said Kate, ignoring Marie completely. "Her children are born from the inspiration she feels when she meets a man worthy of her."

"Really?" he asked, surprised. "Annabeth never mentioned that!"

"Oh yeah," Kate said happily, "I forgot your Dad, Percy, used to date her when they were at camp! Their quests are legendary."

"They still talk and she sends me a present every year on my birthday. She never mentioned that Athena kids were born like that."

"Yeah, I know your situation is similar so if you ever want to talk the whole Athena cabin can relate."

"I was going to go back to my cabin to shower before dinner, you wanna walk with me?" he asked.

"Sure," Kate said smiling.

"I'll see you later, Teresa," he said quickly. He could feel the other girls brooding and tried to walk away quickly.

Kate was nice and as it turned out he really could relate to her. She told him how other kids at camp stared whenever they found out how Athena had kids and how she always got asked if she had a bellybutton. She was a literal brainchild so it stood to reason that she shouldn't have a bellybutton, but of course she did. It was nice to talk to someone who got it, the whole magic birth thing, too bad it was all they had in common. They talked about the differences between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter, and how Kate wanted to go see the other camp one day, but they had no real interests in common. Kate wasn't into video games or Doctor Who and Cesare knew nothing about Astro Physics, so he wasn't sure they would have many more conversations in the future.

Inside cabin three he showered and spent a few hours staring at the duffle bag shoved under his bed. He still had a choice to make. Maybe it was time to tell his parents? Maybe this was too much for him? Gambling everything to master some sword sounded stupid once you thought about it for a while. The Dinner gong rang and he decided he could dwell on it while he ate a whole plate of BBQ. Teresa caught him before he entered the Dining Pavilion and had to separate to their different tables. She jumped in his path and blocked him from going in.

"How did it go with Kate?" she asked. She looked like she was dying to say something but waited for him to answer.

"She's a good listener but probably not my type," he said, trying to move around her.

"Oh! That's a shame," she said blocking him again. "I thought her personality would suit you. Kylie, Marie, and Clare will be thrilled."

"Yeah, I'm not sure they're my type either. I mean, Clare's cute but-"

"Oh I agree!" she laughed and then her face froze. "You think Clare is cute?"

"She is but I don't think that's enough-"

"It isn't," Teresa agreed. "We need to find someone you're comfortable with and you're such a little introvert-"

"Teresa, I gotta tell you that I'm so hungry right now that you just look like a talking steak."

"Oh, sorry," she said, moving aside. "I guess that workout left you hungry. You dominated by the way. I've never seen anyone beat Sam so easily." Her expression was gleeful as they walked in, slowly making their way to the BBQ line.

"Maybe we shouldn't say that so loud," Cesare said, as he glanced at the Ares table and saw Sam glaring at him.

"Oh the whole camp is talking about it," Teresa said happily.

"Of course they are," he said sarcastically and eyeing her. "I'm sure he and I will be best friends now."

"Forget him," she said, waving dismissively. "He's always been a sore loser that's why I dumped him."

"You dated him?"

"Momentary lapse in judgement. He was just too intense about everything."

"I can see that," he said flatly.

"I need someone with more chill. Chill is sexy. Well, I gotta go. I can feel my table staring. They're waiting for an update."

"Teresa, I don't want Kate's feelings to get hurt," he said seriously.

"No worries, I'll just tell them you're still on the market and didn't give details," she said sincerely before walking away.

Cesare was poking around the fountain in the corner, trying to figure it out. The water burbled into the basin and its glow was normal, but not enough to make a rainbow. He didn't know how to make it turn on, which had to be the wrong expression for a magical fountain –especially since he'd looked all over it for an on/off switch and found none-but that's what it had done the other night, it turned on by itself.

"Work," he ordered it, "please?" and he instantly felt stupid. But, against all reason, the fountain started to glow brighter. A faint rainbow appeared and he snatched a drachma from the basin and tossed it into the rainbow quickly.

"Teles?" he called out uncertainly.

"You again?" her voice floated back to him, making his stomach flip-flop. He didn't even care that she sounded annoyed again.

"What do you want?" she asked. Her teal eyes were still the only thing he could see. The rainbow made by the glow of the fountain was small so he supposed it was the best he could hope for at night.

"I just wanted to see if you were okay. You looked upset the last time," he said gently.

"Of course I was upset! I'm still upset because I'm still here!" she thundered.

"And I'm sorry about that, I really am, but I can't let you out. Didn't Apollo do something to the cabin anyway?" he asked. Teles made a disgusted noise.

"My mother had him charm this place so the sound of my singing can't escape. I would have been out long ago if he hadn't."

"Oh, that was smart," he said without thinking.

"Yes, it was very smart," she sneered. "Thank you for reminding me how very clever my captors are."

"Okay, I'll just- I'm sorry, I'll leave you alone," he stammered.

"Wait," she called out before he could wipe his hand through the mist. "I've been stuck in here for over a week. You could at least tell me what's happening outside. The nymphs wont, they're too scared of my mother."

"Uh well, I haven't been here long but-"

"Where were you before?" she asked.

"Venice, Italy…technically."

"Venice?" she asked with surprised interest. "The city of water? I've always wanted to go there."

"It's beautiful," he said honestly.

"I doubt I'll ever know for myself," she said sadly.

"I'm sure your mom won't keep you locked up in there forever."

"Tell me about Venice," she said, ignoring his last comment.

Cesare told her about the hotel, the Doge's Palace, Saint Mark's Basilica and all the gold mosaics. He went on about the food and even got her to laugh when he told her about Percy eating so much and making himself sick, and about how Nico insisted they all ride a gondola underneath the Bridge of Sighs on their last day there–because legend has it that if you pass under the bridge with someone you love, you'll be together for eternity.

Then before he knew it he was spilling everything about Favonius, the sword, and his visit from Hades.

"You have to do it," she said instantly.

"I do?"

"Yes, you have to do it or you'll never stop wondering if you should have. It's a chance to prove yourself, you heroes live for this. Do you think the Lord of the Underworld pops up to give advice to all his children? Or grandchildren?"

"I guess not."

"You'll never give it up," she said certainly. "You'll never admit defeat that way and you know it. So, you might as well stop pacing back and forth and do it." Her eyes bored into him and he felt his stomach do another summersault.

"Or are you a coward, Cesare Jackson?"