A few weeks later

Emily POV

"There's no way, girl," Bee and I were playing Mythomagic, sitting on the fuzzy purple carpet of her living room at her house in New Athens. "Cerberus doesn't have that much attack damage," I said, in shock.

"Yes, it does," Bee said triumphantly, sliding the card toward me. "I win."

"But I have Medusa," I protested. "She cancels out all attacks directed to her."

Bee groaned, knowing I was right. "But-"

I interrupted her, gloating about my win. She was usually better at it than this, and won half the time (we were both BIG Mythomagic nerds) but she'd been off her game today.

"What's wrong, Bee? You've been losing all day," I asked. "You okay? You can trust me," She shivered slightly like she was either scared, had a fever, or had drunk way too much coffee. Knowing Bee, it could easily be all of them.

"I-I've been having new visions," Bee stuttered. "Also, my dads have been acting weird around me for days. Like they both had particularly worrying demigod dreams."

"I thought you said you didn't have visions anymore," I cried, surprised.

"I was wrong. It happened twice while I was sparring, once when I was drinking some coffee and ruined my shirt, and four times when I was listening to music."

"What are the visions about?"

"Some of them are about my past in Germany and Italy. Some of them are of us in the Labyrinth. Papá said Auntie Hazel had blackouts until she shared one with Uncle Frank. But I was never brought back to life and I'm from modern Germany, so I don't think it's like that. I'm scared, Em. I don't wanna deal with this stuff. I don't want..." Her voice cracked at the end.

"It's okay," I enveloped her in a hug, trying to comfort her. I could feel her heat radiating off her, making me feel feverish. "Do you want to talk to someone else about it?" Someone else, meaning Uncle Will and Uncle Nico.

"Not yet."

"Do you want to get some fresh air?"

"I'm grounded, remember? You're only allowed in because you're my cousin."

"Oh yes…"

"Well, I think your dads will let you go outside, at least. Sun is important, especially for Apollo kids."

"Apollo's actually like my grandfather, and Hades is my… something. I dunno. I can shadow-travel and raise the dead, at least. I don't know why I have visions, it's not like I'm an Apollo kid. I guess it was some trait that showed up in me." She pulled away and sat staring out her windows, looking at the noon sky.

"So, do you want to or not?" I asked again. "We can just not go outside if you don't want to."

"I want to. I've got nothing better to do." I cringed, a bit hurt. I don't think Bee noticed.

We lay in the scratchy greenish-brown grass outside, watching cars go by. New Athens looked just like New Rome, except Greek. Little suburb-y though. There were trees everywhere, and little campers pulling their parents along.

"It's peaceful here," I said. I could almost forget about Sam, my big brother, and how he and my parents were arguing, probably right now.

"It is. This is where I go for sketching. I sketch nature scenes. I don't like painting much."

"I usually paint the temples. I'm doing a big mural for the Fifth Cohort right now." I looked around. It was dark outside now. Uncle Will and Uncle Nico were walking up the driveway, talking.

"Hello!" I jumped up, brushing grass off my varsity jacket. Bianca followed suit.

"Hi, Em. How are your parents doing?" Uncle Nico asked, smiling.

"Um, fi…fine." I was tempted to turn into an ant and crawl into the bushes.

Uncle Nico nodded, though he didn't look convinced. "Bee, what'd you do while we were gone?"

"We played Mythomagic and I sketched Em."

"It's dark out, why don't we go inside?" Uncle Will asked.

Bianca POV

I'm lying in bed, trying to fall asleep again. "Em?"

Em shifted slightly on the cot. "Yes, Bee?" She asked tiredly.

"It's fine, never mind."

Em sighed and threw a hand over her eyes. "What time is it?"

"Six thirty. What, were you having a dream about Daniel? " We had had a truth-or-dare game and she had answered honestly, so now I knew she had a crush on the Fourth Cohort's newest centurion, Daniel Alvarez. They had hit it off quickly.

"No, I was not, Bee. I have a bad headache and I need coffee. Also, thank you very much for the wake-up. I was going to sleep in a little today! It's the last day of Visitation Week! We leave at eight!" Em sighed so long it looked like it hurt.

"Luckily for you, Em, we have coffee. And Advil."

"I'm not allowed to drink coffee before nine A.M. And I have Advil in my bag."

"Aren't you fourteen?"

"Shut up, Bee."

I cackled.

She sat up from her cot and stretched, grabbing her black jeweled backpack that she said I was not allowed to look in. She trudged to my bathroom.

She came out twenty minutes later, with a Camp Jupiter shirt, jeans, beat-up lavender Converse, and a French crown braid with sparkling daisy clips and a pastel yellow ribbon woven through. She looked like a million drachmas. (credits to Rick Riordan for that sentence)

"Okay, so now you go in, and I'll wait here, and after you're done we'll go downstairs for breakfast." Em ordered.

I grabbed an old CHB shirt and cargo shorts and threw them on. I washed my face and brushed my teeth quickly. I brushed my dark, glossy hair.

"Ok, I'm done," I said, throwing my PJs on my bed. Em, ever the neat roommate, had folded hers and put them on her cot.

"Race you!" I said, dashing out of the room.

"Not fair!" Em screamed, taking the stairs two at a time to catch up. I could hear her footsteps right behind me.

"Hahahaha!" I laughed, putting my hands on my knees. "I won!"

Papá was staring at me with an eyebrow, no doubt thinking "What the hell are these girls doing?"Should I ask?" Papá asked, sipping his ridiculously sweet coffee. His coffee was more like sugar and cinnamon with a side of coffee. It annoyed me and Dad so much. We liked our coffee bitter and dark.

"No, no you should not," an out-of-breath Em appeared next to me out of nowhere.

"Oooooookay," Papá went back to his coffee. "Em, you should round your cohort up."

"Yeah, I was just about to meet up with Willie," Em explained, stuffing a soggy chocolate-chip waffle in her mouth, so it sounded more like Yeah, I was just' bout' mee up Willwee. She slung her backpack across her shoulder and picked up her phone and bronze scimitars. (You see, Chiron? A million billion demigods and legacies have phones!)

We walked out, looking at the sunny day. Em had put her phone back in her bag and was still holding her scimitars. She sheathed them quickly. "I have to get the Fifth Cohort on our bus,"m pressed her palms to her eyes. "Get as many legionnaires as you can to the Lake."

I ran off to the Ares cabin, where I could see teenagers lounging and talking in front. Most of them saw me coming and immediately were on edge, remembering the war games where I snapped multiple arms and made multiple death threats to the Mars kids. They must have known I wasn't anywhere near their experience, but they learned not to underestimate the 4'7 eleven-year-old girl anymore.

"It's seven thirty! Fifth Cohort! Hurry! I'm not gonna be late!" A girl with the same hairstyle and wearing the outfit as Em, except her hair was straight, brown, and green, Willow, shouted in Latin.

"Come here!" I yelled at the Mars kids. "Stop sitting around staring at me! Get up!" I cursed in German. They scrambled to get their bags and got in line for roll call. Em arrived with the last few kids and they got in line. Willow and Em called out their names and they all said, 'Here'!

"Okay," Willow pointed to the bus. "Get on that charter bus. Please, don't separate. I'm not doing roll call again."

Ten minutes later, all the buses had rolled out of Camp Half-Blood and I was supposed to be at sparring practice with Mina, but I was still standing there. My phone buzzed with a message from Em: Did you think I was leaving?

Emily POV

"Hey, Emmie," Daniel plopped down next to me. He had taken to calling me Emmie, even after multiple attempts to just get him to call me Em or Emily.

"Aren't you supposed to be with the Fourth Cohort?"

"Willie let me switch with her."

"Isn't one centurion supposed to sit in the front and one sit in the back?"

"Whatever, Emmie." He hefted his gladius into the overhead bin.

Forty minutes later

My headache had just gotten worse as we drove through snowy Ohio. Being at Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter, where it always felt like summer, made it hard to adjust to the December weather everywhere else. We weren't even an hour in, and I already felt like throwing up. I knew it was just carsickness, but still. I rested my head on the freezing window, put my earbuds in, and pressed play on my Lyn Lapid mix.

I knew that I was going to ask someone for a barf bag in the next five miles, but I was trying not to think about it. Daniel was sleeping next to me, his head on my shoulder.

If Bee were here, she would be screaming, Kiss him already, idiot!

I shifted slightly, waking up Daniel. "Wha-" He sat up groggily.

"Shhh," I said, wincing. "Do you have a barf bag?"

Daniel's eyes widened, and he ran up to another girl, Wylie, mouthing something and motioning to me. She shoved multiple white things in his hands and he ran back to me, giving me one. I ripped my earplugs out, trying to fall asleep.

I tossed my cookies and waffles into that bag, trying to be quiet about it. I finally finished, wiping my mouth and tying the half-digested waffle-filled bag off, putting it in the bottomless pit of my backpack. Daniel stared at his tattoo, Bellona's spear and torch with one line. He patted my back reassuringly. The gesture still sent zings through me.

"Sorry, Emmie," he apologized. "Do-are you sick?"

"No, it's motion sickness." I put my head back on the cold window, trying to wish the headache away. "I'm trying to sleep. So shut up, Daniel." The room spun, even when I had my eyes closed. His head drooped sideways, his dark hair falling on my shoulder.

Two hours later: Nebraska

I was woken up by collective whispering and squeals. "Should we wake them up?"

"Oh my gods, they look so cute!"

"I ship them so hard!"

"What's their ship name again?"

"Danimily."

"Give me my money, Elle! I knew it!"

I jerked awake, woken up by everyone on the bus staring at me and Daniel. Gods, this was embarrassing. I was going to throw Willie in Tartarus once I got my hands on her. She had set this whole thing up. I looked at Daniel. He was still asleep, smiling slightly. I shook him awake. I tucked a hair behind his ear, leaning closer to his ear.

More squeals.

"You do realize what they're saying, right?"

"Yup."

And this is where I leave you. This was the fluffiest chapter I've ever written. I hope you like it! Please review! - Glasses Girl