"Percy, Valen, wait." Chiron said before they could leave.

"Yeah?" Valen said, stopping at the door.

Chiron sighed, settling down in his wheelchair, "War is on the horizon, and I fear our new recruits and younger members are undertrained to fight in it."

Valen narrowed his eyes, connecting the dots, "And you want us to train them?"

Chiron sighed, "I would prefer not to send them to fight in the first place, but we need as much firepower as we have."

Sharing a glance with Percy, Valen said, "Consider it done."

Chiron sighed, "Thank you, you may leave."

"Actually," Valen said, stopping Percy from going out, "There is one thing I would like to address."

Chiron furrowed his brows in dreading suspicion. "Go on."

"Hold on a moment," Valen said, disappearing into his shadow. He arrived a moment later, grabbing Silena Beauregard's arm.

"Wha-?"

"What is this about, Valen?" Chiron asked, furrowing his brows.

"She's the spy." He said, grabbing her neck and pulling out the Scythe charmed necklace.

Both Percy and Chiron were taken aback, and while Percy's shock gave way to anger, Chiron had a somber expression. "Why?" He asked, sadness and disappointment dripping from his tone.

Silena looked down in shame, and gulped, "Before . . . before I liked Charlie, Luke was nice to me. He was so charming. Handsome. Later, I wanted to stop helping him, but he threatened to tell. He promised . . . he promised I was saving lives. Fewer people would get hurt. He told me he wouldn't hurt Charlie."

"And you believed him?!" Percy exploded, "Silena he's not even Luke anymore, it's Kronos in that body-!"

"Percy," Valen said, holding his hand up, "Getting worked up won't help us, calm down."

"Calm down? She's the spy, Valen!"

"We can use this to our advantage." He said, narrowing his eyes at Silena.

"How?" Percy asked, narrowing his eyes.

"A double agent," Valen elaborated, "She can keep spying for Kronos as usual, but pass on false information, slightly turning the tides in our favor."

"She must give them some helpful information, the titan lord would suspect something amiss otherwise," Chiron suggested.

"How can we be sure she won't betray us?" Percy said, still suspicious of her.

Valen kneeled down and faced his shadow, moments later two bright red eyes appeared in it, darkening the room ever so slightly. Speaking in a language unknown to the other two demigods, he got up, the pair of eyes vanishing from his shadows.

"Valen!" Chiron gasped, being the only one who understood what he had said, and he disapproved of it strongly.

Valen turned back and growled something out in the language the other two demigods didn't understand.

Chirons features oftened and he sighed, "Are you sure about this?"

Valen nodded in affirmation, "If she does betray us, and trust me we'll know, the hellhound I just sent to watch over Beckendorf will do a little more than just watch over."

Silena gasped, holding her hands to her mouth, looking at Valen with fear and disdain.

Percy looked appalled, "Hey, Beckendorf has nothing to do with this!"

Valen shrugged, "We can't afford to be soft during these times. Besides, it's a good failsafe."

He turned to Silena next, "So, what will it be?"

.

.

.

"Widen your stance," Valen said, watching over the rookies, "It's a sword, not a stick, hold it as such."

The demigods complied, fixing their stances and holding their swords properly.

"Good, now choose a partner and begin sparring." He ordered, before turning away and facing his friend. "What do you think?"

Percy swept his gaze across the arena once before answering, "I see some faring better than the others, but some of them don't seem to be comfortable with the weapon they're using."

Valen narrowed his eyes and looked. Sure enough, more than a few were having trouble with the sword. He sighed, "I'll take them to the armory, you keep watch over the rest."

Percy nodded, and Valen gathered the aforementioned demigods and left for the armory.

Not much later, the conch horn blew, signaling the start of breakfast. The class disbanded and the two demigods walked together.

"They're going to die," Valen said bluntly.

"Come on, cut them some slack. They've only just begun." Percy protested, "Besides, they'll only be fighting monsters, we did fine on our first quests when we had no training."

"We didn't have an entire army of monsters coming for us in those quests."

"They will be fine as long as they don't run off on their own."

Valen sighed, "Either way, don't expect all of them to survive." Patting his friend's shoulder once more, he left off to join his cabin at their table.

After breakfast, Valen continued training the new demigods, while Percy had to go for cabin inspection. He was relentless in his classes, giving them no more than five minutes to rest per hour. It wasn't until later than afternoon that Percy walked in, but before he could walk over to them, he was assaulted by none other than Mrs. O'Leary.

"WOOF!"

"Ow!" Percy said. "Hey, girl. Good to see you too. Ow!"

It took a few minutes for Mrs. O'Leary to calm down and get off. And as Percy let her out for a walk, a very familiar soul's presence hit Valen.

He stumbled back, surprised at his sudden visit. "Stop," He ordered, "Take a break."

The demigods sighed collectively, and plopped down, drenched in sweat. Valen took off, following Percy. When they finally found her, she was in a glade with the strangest trio he'd expect to see together, A dryad, a satyr, and his brother, Nico di Angelo.

Nico was the only one who didn't seem freaked out by Mrs. O'Leary's appearance. He was wearing an aviator's jacket, black jeans, and a T-shirt with dancing skeletons on it. His Stygian iron sword hung at his side.

He was scratching the hellhound's ears when he noticed them walk in. Valen grinned, "It's been a while Nico."

A small smile fell upon Nico's face as he noticed him, "Good to see you too Valen."

The old satyr didn't look nearly so happy. "Will someone—what is this underworld creature doing in my forest!" He waved his arms and trotted on his hooves as if the grass were hot. "You there, Percy Jackson! Is this your beast?"

"Sorry, Leneus," Percy said. "That's your name, right?"

The satyr rolled his eyes. His fur was dust-bunny gray, and a spiderweb grew between his horns. His belly would've made him an invincible bumper car. "Well, of course I'm Leneus. Don't tell me you've forgotten a member of the Council so quickly. Now, call off your beast!"

"WOOF!" Mrs. O'Leary said happily.

The old satyr gulped. "Make it go away! Juniper, I will not help you under these circumstances!"

Juniper, the dryad, turned towards Percy, "Percy," she sniffled. "I was just asking about Grover. I know something's happened. He wouldn't stay gone this long if he wasn't in trouble. I was hoping that Leneus—"

"I told you!" the satyr protested. "You are better off without that traitor."

"Oi," Valen said, stopping his conversation with Nico, "Say another word about him and I'll shove you down straight to Tartarus.

The satyr gulped, muttering, "Savages."

Juniper stamped her foot. "He is not a traitor! He's the bravest satyr ever, and I want to know where he is!"

"WOOF!"

Leneus's knees started knocking. "I . . . I won't answer questions with this hellhound sniffing my tail!"

Nico looked like he was trying not to crack up, "We'll walk her."

Valen raised an eyebrow at that, "We will?"

"Come on," He said, whistling and Mrs. O'Leary bounded after him. Valen sighed, before jogging off behind him.

"I'm going to bring Percy to the underworld, to take a dip in the Styx." Nico said, dropping a metaphorical bomb.

"Achilles' curse, it's dangerous." Valen nodded, "Does he agree to it?"

"Yes, but that's not all." Nico said, sighing, "It's…father."

"What of him?" Valen said. He hadn't talked to their father for months, so he knew nothing about the current state of the underworld.

"He refuses to help in this war, says it's not his war to fight and that he's not an Olympian." He continued.

Valen furrowed his brows in irritation. "That's stupid, he is still an Olympian, no matter what Zeus says."

"There's more, he doesn't want us fighting in the war, he wants us to stay in the underworld with him."

Valen snorted, "Like hell, I'll hide away there."

"Knowing him, he'd go far enough to force us to stay behind." Nico said.

Valen narrowed his eyes, "I won't go quietly."

Nico smiled slightly, "Neither will I."

"We'll need to be quick." Valen said as they turned back. "Get in and out before he can mobilize the entire army."

Nico frowned, "That is a very short time window, I don't think we can do it that fast."

"I can hold off the army for a while, as long as Father doesn't join." Valen suggested, "But let's be honest, the moment he does, it's over."

Nico nodded, "We will need to convince him to fight."

"Good luck with that," Valen snorted as they reached the clearing."

Nico nodded, not getting the sarcasm, and walked forward, "Good job, Percy. Judging from the trail of goat pellets, I'd say you shook him up pretty well."

Percy tried smiling but failed miserably. In the end, he managed something between a smile and a grimace, "Welcome back. Did you come by just to see Juniper?"

Nico blushed. "Um, no. That was an accident. I kind of . . . dropped into the middle of their conversation."

"He scared us to death!" Juniper said. "Right out of the shadows. But, Nico, you are the son of Hades and all. Are you sure you haven't heard anything about Grover?"

Nico shifted his weight. "Juniper, like I tried to tell you . . . even if Grover died, he would reincarnate into something else in nature. I can't sense things like that, only mortal souls."

"But if you do hear anything?" she pleaded, putting her hand on his arm. "Anything at all?"

Valen placed an arm over his shoulder, "We'll tell you if we hear anything."

"We'll find him, Juniper," Percy promised. "Grover's alive, I'm sure. There must be a simple reason why he hasn't contacted us."

She nodded glumly. "I hate not being able to leave the forest. He could be anywhere, and I'm stuck here waiting. Oh, if that silly goat has gotten himself hurt—"

Mrs. O'Leary bounded back over and took an interest in Juniper's dress.

Juniper yelped. "Oh, no you don't! I know about dogs and trees. I'm gone!"

She went poof into a green mist. Mrs. O'Leary looked disappointed, but she lumbered off to find another target, leaving the three of them alone.

"I had a vision you were on Mount Tarn," Percy told Nico. "Was that—"

"Real," he said. "I didn't mean to be spying on the Titans, but I was in the neighborhood."

"Doing what?"

Nico tugged at his sword belt. "Following a lead on . . . you know, my family."

"Wait a minute, hold up, you were on titan territory, alone?" Valen turned to Nico, grabbing his shoulders.

Nico blinked, "Yes?"

"Do you want to get killed?"

Nico knitted his brows, "No-"

"Why in Hades did you think it was a good idea to enter titan territory alone?"

"I didn't really have any companions?"

"Ever heard of Iris Messaging?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"You could've messaged me."

Nico sighed, there was no winning this, "Fine, I'll call you next time when I go into titan territory."

"Make sure there won't be a next time."

Percy watched the two bicker, maintaining his silence, and keeping himself from laughing.

Nico cleared his throat, "Anyways," He turned to Percy, who instantly schooled his features, "You know why I'm here."

"Nico, I don't know," Percy said uncertainly. "It seems pretty extreme."

"You've got Typhon coming in, what . . . a week? Most of the other Titans are unleashed now and on Kronos's side. Maybe it's time to think extreme."

At that, Percy glanced back at the camp, it's noises reaching them even then.

"They're no match for the Titan army," Nico said. "You know that. This comes down to you and Valen. And there's only one way you two can beat Luke."

Valen wanted to argue, but he was right. Luke was hosting Kronos,and if his past experience with him was any indicator, he could not beat him.

"We can give you the same power," Nico urged. "You heard the Great Prophecy. Unless you want to have your soul reaped by a cursed blade . . ."

"You can't prevent a prophecy," Percy said.

"But you can fight it." Nico said, "Valen did it on the quest to save Artemis."

"Maybe we should wait. Try to fight without it and see how it goes."

"Do you really want to take that risk, Percy?" Valen said, "Besides, it would be difficult getting you to the underworld in the middle of the battle."

Percy looked conflicted and glanced between the two of them.

"This is our last chance, Percy." Nico said, "You must decide now."

Percy sighed, "All right, what do we do?"

Nico smiled coldly, "First we'll need to retrace Luke's steps. We need to know more about his past, his childhood."

Percy shuddered, thinking about Rachel's picture from his dream—a smiling nine-year-old Luke. "Why do we need to know about that?"

"I'll explain when we get there," Nico said. "I've already tracked down his mother. She lives in Connecticut."

Percy stared at him, "Luke ran away when he was really young," he said. "I didn't think his mom was alive."

"Oh she's alive." Nico said, with a hint of pity, it made Percy wonder what was wrong with her.

"Okay . . ." Percy said. "So how do we get to Connecticut? I can call Blackjack—"

"No." Nico scowled. "Pegasi don't like me, and the feeling is mutual. But there's no need for flying."

He whistled, and Mrs. O'Leary came loping out of the woods. "We're going to shadow travel."

Nico whispered in Mrs. O'Leary's ear. She tilted her head, suddenly alert.

"Hop on board," He said.

Percy had never considered riding a dog before, but Mrs. O'Leary was certainly big enough. He climbed onto her back and held her collar.

"This will make her very tired," Nico warned, "so you can't do it often. And it works best at night. But all shadows are part of the same substance. There is only one darkness, and creatures of the Underworld can use it as a road, or a door."

"I don't understand," Percy said.

"No," Nico said. "It took me a long time to learn. But Mrs. O'Leary knows. Tell her where to go. Tell her Westport, the home of May Castellan."

Percy leaned down and whispered into her ear. Mrs. O'Leary sniffed the air. She looked into the gloom of the forest. Then she bounded forward, straight into an oak tree.

Valen and Nico glanced at each other once before melting into their own shadows.

They appeared on a cliff in the woods of Connecticut. Down one side of the cliff, a highway cut through a ravine. Down the other side was someone's backyard. The property was huge—more wilderness than lawn. The house was a two-story white Colonial. Despite the fact that it was right on the other side of the hill from a highway, it felt like it was in the middle of nowhere

They could see a light glowing through the Kitchen curtains, and a rusty old swing under an apple tree.

Mrs. O'Leary staggered and Percy slipped off her back. She let out a huge toothy yawn that would've scared a T. rex, and shook her head to gather herself.

"So, what now?" Percy said as the other two appeared.

"We ring the doorbell," Nico said.

Lukes's home was…strange to say the least. The sidewalk was lined with those little stuffed beanbag animals you see in gift shops. There were miniature lions, pigs, dragons, hydras, even a teeny Minotaur in a little Minotaur diaper. Judging from their sad shape, the beanbag creatures had been sitting out here a long time—since the snow melted last spring at least. One of the hydras had a tree sapling sprouting between its necks. The front porch was infested with wind chimes. Shiny bits of glass and metal clinked in the breeze.

The front door was painted turquoise. The name CASTELLAN was written in English, and below in Greek: Διοικητής φρουρίου.

Nico looked at him, "Ready?"

He'd barely tapped the door when it swung open.

"Luke!" the old lady cried happily. She looked like someone who enjoyed sticking her fingers in electrical sockets. Her white hair stuck out in tufts all over her head. Her pink housedress was covered in scorch marks and smears of ash. When she smiled, her face looked unnaturally stretched, and the high-voltage light in her eves made me wonder if she was blind.

"Oh, my dear boy!" She hugged Nico, and Valen tilted his head in confusion, they looked nothing alike?

He was about to point that out when she turned to Percy and said, "Luke!"

Valen furrowed his brows, inverting his vision and looking at her soul. The stench of a thousand shattered fragments stared back, and Valen stumbled backwards.

"She's…" He cleared his head, no wonder Luke ran away.

"Come in!" she insisted. "I have your lunch ready!"

She ushered them inside. The living room was even weirder than the front lawn. Mirrors and candles filled every available space. Above the mantel, a little bronze Hermes flew around the second hand of a ticking clock

"This way, my dear!" Ms. Castellan steered them toward the back of the house. "Oh, I told them you would come back. I knew it!"

"I have a bad feeling about this." Valen muttered.

Nico grimaced, "I don't think even death would free her soul."

She sat them down at the kitchen table. Stacked on the counter were hundreds of Tupperware boxes with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches inside. The ones on the bottom were green and fuzzy, like they'd been there for a long time.

"How does she even have the money to afford this much stuff and keep her house?" Valen muttered again.

Nico shrugged, "Maybe Hermes has something to do with it."

On top of the oven was a stack of cookie sheets. Each one had a dozen burned cookies on it. In the sink was a mountain of empty plastic Kool-Aid pitchers. A beanbag Medusa sat by the faucet like she was guarding the mess.

Ms. Castellan started humming as she got out peanut butter and jelly and started making a new sandwich. Something was burning in the oven and for some reason Valen felt like more cookies were on their way.

Above the sink, taped all around the window, were dozens of little pictures cut from magazines and newspaper ads—pictures of Hermes from the FTD Flowers logo and Quickie Cleaners, pictures of the caduceus from medical ads

Nico coughed. "Um, Ms. Castellan?"

"Mm?"

"We need to ask you about your son."

"Oh, yes! They told me he would never come back. But I knew better." She patted Percys cheek affectionately, giving him peanut butter racing stripes.

"When did you last see him?" Nico asked.

Her eyes lost focus. "He was so young when he left," she said wistfully. "Third grade. That's too young to run away! He said he'd be back for lunch. And I waited. He likes peanut butter sandwiches and cookies and Kool-Aid. He'll be back for lunch very soon. . . ."

Then she looked at Percy and smiled. "Why, Luke, there you are! You look so handsome. You have your father's eyes."

She turned toward the pictures of Hermes above the sink. "Now, there's a good man. Yes, indeed. He comes to visit me, you know."

The clock kept ticking in the other room. Percy wiped the peanut butter off my face and looked at Nico pleadingly, like Can we get out of here now?

"Ma'am," Nico said. "What, uh . . . what happened to your eyes?"

Her gaze seemed fractured—like she was trying to focus on him through a kaleidoscope. "Why, Luke, you know the story. It was right before you were born, wasn't it? I'd always been special, able to see through the . . . whatever-they-call-it."

"The Mist?" Percy said.

"Yes, dear." She nodded encouragingly. "And they offered me an important job. That's how special I was!"

Valen furrowed his brows, "What job?"

Ms. Castellan frowned. Her knife hovered over the sandwich bread. "Dear me, it didn't work out, did it? Your father warned me not to try. He said it was too dangerous. But I had to. It was my destiny! And now . . . I still can't get the images out of my head. They make everything seem so fuzzy. Would you like some cookies?"

She pulled a tray out of the oven and dumped a dozen lumps of chocolate chip charcoal on the table. "Luke was so kind," Ms. Castellan murmured. "He left to protect me, you know. He said if he went away, the monsters wouldn't threaten me. But I told him the monsters are no threat! They sit outside on the sidewalk all day, and they never come in." She picked up the little stuffed Medusa from the windowsill. "Do they, Mrs. Medusa? No, no threat at all." She beamed at Percy. "I'm so glad you came home. I knew you weren't ashamed of me!"

"Ms. Castellan," Percy said.

"Mom," she corrected.

"Um, yeah. Have you seen Luke since he left home?"

"Well, of course!"

Nico sat forward expectantly, "When?" he asked. "When did Luke visit you last?"

"Well, it was . . . Oh goodness . . ." A shadow passed across her face. "The last time, he looked so different. A scar. A terrible scar, and his voice so full of pain . . ."

"His eyes," Percy said. "Were they gold?"

"Gold?" She blinked. "No. How silly. Luke has blue eyes. Beautiful blue eyes!"

"So it was pre kronosification." Valen muttered, and Percy glanced at him.

"Ms. Castellan?" Nico put his hand on the old woman's arm. "This is very important. Did he ask you for anything?"

She frowned as if trying to remember. "My—my blessing. Isn't that sweet?" She looked at them uncertainly. "He was going to a river, and he said he needed my blessing. I gave it to him. Of course I did."

Valen connected the dots, Achilles' mother held him in the Styx, it makes sense you'd need your mothers blessing for it.

Nico looked triumphant. "Thank you, ma'am. That's all the information we—"

Ms. Castellan gasped. She doubled over, and her cookie tray clattered to the floor. The trio of demigods jumped to their feet.

"Ms. Castellan?" Percy said.

"AHHHH," She straightened. Percy scrambled away and almost fell over the kitchen table—her eyes were glowing green.

"My child," she rasped in a much deeper voice. "Must protect him! Hermes, help! Not my child! Not his fate—no!"

She grabbed Nico by the shoulders and began to shake him as if to make him understand. "Not his fate!"

Nico made a strangled scream and pushed her away. He gripped the hilt of his sword. "We need to get out—"

Suddenly Ms. Castellan collapsed. Percy lurched forward and caught her before she could hit the edge of the table and managed to get her into a chair.

"Ms. C?" He asked.

She muttered something incomprehensible and shook her head. "Goodness. I . . . I dropped the cookies. How silly of me." She blinked, and her eyes were back to normal—or at least, what they had been before. The green glow was gone.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked.

"Pretty sure her mental state isn't the best, Perce." Valen muttered under his breath, wincing as he glanced at her soul once more.

"Well, of course, dear. I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

Percy glanced at Nico, who mouthed the word Leave.

"Ms. C, you were telling us something," he said. "Something about your son."

"Was I?" she said dreamily. "Yes, his blue eyes. We were talking about his blue eyes. Such a handsome boy!"

"We have to go," Nico said urgently. "We'll tell Luke . . . uh, we'll tell him you said hello."

"But you can't leave!" Ms. Castellan got shakily to her feet, and Valen grabbed his friends arms, preparing to shadow travel away.

"Hermes will be here soon," she promised. "He'll want to see his boy!"

"Maybe next time," Percy said. "Thank you for—" he looked down at the burned cookies scattered on the floor. "Thanks for everything."

She tried to stop them, to offer them Kool-Aid, but they had to get out of that house. On the front porch, she grabbed Percy's wrist and he almost jumped out of my skin. "Luke, at least be safe. Promise me you'll be safe."

"I will . . . Mom."

That made her smile. She released his wrist, and as she closed the front door they could hear her talking to the candles: "You hear that? He will be safe. I told you he would be!"

As the door closed, the trio ran, away from the stuffed animals and mad ramblings of a once sane woman.

"If I had known we would be dealing with an insane parent, I would've prompted to stay behind." Valen grumbled.

"At least we got what we need?" Percy said, trying to find a silver lining.

Back at the cliff, Mrs. O'Leary had found a friend. A cozy campfire crackled in a ring of stones. A girl about eight years old was sitting cross-legged next to Mrs. O'Leary, scratching the hellhound's ears.

Next to Mrs. O'Leary, scratching the hellhound's ears. The girl had mousy brown hair and a simple brown dress. She wore a scarf over her head so she looked like a pioneer kid. She poked the fire with a stick, and it seemed to glow more richly red than a normal fire.

"Hello," she said.

Valen narrowed his eyes and switched his vision. He almost stumbled when the intensity hit him, her soul was one of the brightest, if not the brightest he had seen. And it was warm, welcoming, smelling of homemade cookies.

He bowed, "Lady Hestia."

Hestia shook her head, "Please, relax, I am not an Olympian anymore."

"You are more worthy of that title than most of the twelve." Valen said, sitting down.

"I agree." Nico said, sitting beside him.

"I recognize you now," Percy said suddenly. "The first time I came to camp, you were sitting by the fire, in the middle of the commons area."

"You did not stop to talk," the girl recalled sadly. "Alas, most never do. Nico talked to me. He was the first in many years. Everyone rushes about. No time for visiting family."

Valen suddenly felt guilty for not noticing her and winced. As Percy sat, plates of roast beef, baked potatoes, buttered carrots, fresh bread, and more appeared in front of them.

The three picked up their meals and scraped part of the food into the fire, like they did in the camp.

"For the gods." They said in unison.

Hestia smiled, "Thank you. As tender of the flame, I get a share of every sacrifice, you know."

"My lady," Nico asked, "why aren't you with the other Olympians, fighting Typhon?"

"I'm not much for fighting." Her red eyes flickered. They were filled with flames—but not like Ares's eyes. Hestia's eyes were warm and cozy.

"As the eldest Olympian, your latent power should be the most, right?" Valen asked.

"Correct, but I will never partake in conflict, not until absolutely necessary." She said, shaking her head, "Besides, someone has to keep the home fires burning while the other gods are away."

"So you're guarding Mount Olympus?" Percy asked.

"'Guard' may be too strong a word. But if you ever need a warm place to sit and a home-cooked meal, you are welcome to visit. Now eat."

Valen hadn't realized how hungry he had been until that moment, his plate was empty the fastest, even before Percy.

"Thank you for the food, Lady Hestia." Valen said, and the others nodded in agreement.

She nodded. "Did you have a good visit with May Castellan?"

The mood changed drastically, for a moment they had forgotten abut the insane woman.

"What's wrong with her, exactly?" Percy asked.

"She was born with a gift," Hestia said. "She could see through the Mist."

"Like my mother," Percy said.

"And Rachel." Valen added.

Percy nodded, "But the glowing eyes thing-"

"Some bear the curse of sight better than others," the goddess said sadly. "For a while, May Castellan had many talents. She attracted the attention of Hermes himself. They had a beautiful baby boy. For a brief time, she was happy. And then she went too far."

"One minute she was all happy," Percy said. "And then she was freaking out about her son's fate, like she knew he'd turned into Kronos. What happened to . . . to divide her like that?"

The goddess's face darkened. "That is a story I do not like to tell. But May Castellan saw too much. If you are to understand your enemy Luke, you must understand his family."

"No wonder Luke ran away," Percy said. "I mean, it wasn't right to leave his mom like that, but still—he was just a kid. Hermes shouldn't have abandoned them."

Hestia scratched behind Mrs. O'Leary's ears. The hellhound wagged her tail and accidentally knocked over a tree.

"It's easy to judge others," Hestia warned. "But will you follow Luke's path? Seek the same powers?"

Nico set down his plate. "We have no choice, my lady. It's the only way Percy stands a chance."

"Even with it, it might not be enough." Valen added.

"Mmm." Hestia opened her hand and the fire roared. Flames shot thirty feet into the air. Heat slapped them in the face. Then the fire died back down to normal.

"Not all powers are spectacular." Hestia looked at me. "Sometimes the hardest power to master is the power of yielding. Do you believe me?"

"Uh-huh," Percy said, looking somewhat scared.

"Let's be honest, the entire rule about non-interference is absurd. I mean if demigods are the conduits by which the gods get their jobs done, wouldn't it make sense to keep in touch?"

Hestia sighed, "Even gods have to follow certain rules, but you are an exception."

Valen blinked, "Say, what now?"

"You are not a demigod, or a god. You are somewhere in between, a tri-blood if you will. You do not apply to the ancient rules, as such we can interact with you as we please."

"Wait, what is a tri-blood? And What do you mean Valen is one?" Percy asked, confused at the sudden development.

Hestia shook her head, "It is not my secret to reveal."

Valen forced his face to remain neutral, she might as well have revealed his heritage. He sighed, "I'll tell you two after we're done with the curse."

Percy nodded, "Alright."

The goddess smiled. "You are a good hero, Percy Jackson. Not too proud. I like that. But you have much to learn. When Dionysus was made a god, I gave up my throne for him. It was the only way to avoid a civil war among the gods."

"It unbalanced the Council," Percy remembered. "Suddenly there were seven guys and five girls."

Hestia shrugged. "It was the best solution, not a perfect one. Now I tend the fire. I fade slowly into the background. No one will ever write epic poems about the deeds of Hestia. Most demigods don't even stop to talk to me. But that is no matter. I keep the peace. I yield when necessary. Can you do this?"

"I don't know what you mean."

She studied him closely. "Perhaps not yet. But soon. Will you continue your quest?"

"Is that why you're here—to warn me against going?"

Hestia shook her head. "I am here because when all else fails, when all the other mighty gods have gone off to war, I am all that's left. Home. Hearth. I am the last Olympian. You must remember me when you face your final decision."

Percy glanced back at his friends, and back to the goddess' warm glowing eyes. "I have to continue, my lady. I have to stop Luke . . . I mean Kronos."

Hestia nodded. "Very well. I cannot be of much assistance, beyond what I have already told you. But since you sacrificed to me, I can return you to your own hearth. I will see you again, Percy, on Olympus."

Her tone was ominous, as though their next meeting would not be happy.

The goddess waved her hand, and everything faded.