▬▬▬ CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR ▬▬▬

Eighteen months ago...

ETHAN LEFT ESMERELDA ALONE IN her room and headed to the kitchens to drop off the tray and plates. After dumping them in the sink, he was just about to leave only to freeze when he heard a voice in the hallway.

Luke and Atlas. He shivered when he heard the cruel Titan's dark and deep voice, wanting to leave the vicinity immediately. Just when he was about to push open the doors and excuse himself, he heard the same evil voice say Esmerelda's name.

"—still needs a few more demigods to swear loyalty to us. Then, once that is accomplished, we can finally awaken Lord Kronos using your body." Atlas voice could be heard, sounding triumphant.

"Or Esmerelda's," Luke added, and Ethan felt his heart stop beating.

"What's this?" Atlas sneered. "Is that fear I hear in your voice, Castellan? Do you wish for the girl to be his host so you can be spared of it? I thought you would do anything to take the Olympians down. Do you fear being chosen?"

Ethann could practically hear the tremor in Luke's voice. "N-no, of course not. I'm just reminding you that Esmerelda would be the superior choice. Kronos wouldn't want me."

"Oh, I don't know," the General drawled, clearly enjoying this. "Hecate was certainly smart to create her for this sole purpose. The child was to be a peace offering, an apology for betraying us and a gift for Kronos to use. The girl's powers over magic are spectacular... but I believe you are equally as suitable for a host."

Ethan's heart was hammering as he finally connected the dots. Hecate hadn't just broke the law and mated with a mortal wizard, she had done it on purpose so she could give Esmerelda away for Kronos to take over. Esmerelda was nothing but a peace offering. A body for Kronos to possess.

And he had brought her right to him.

Quietly, he gulped, his throat running dry as his veins iced over. He slowly retracted his hand from the door, his body trembling with fear as he listened further.

"Let's... let's say that he chooses her," Luke began. "What happens next?"

"Well, he'll only be using her temporarily," Atlas said.

Ethan allowed himself to relax until the Titan continued speaking:

"Of course, her soul will be destroyed once she becomes his host and he'll have to get rid of her body when he fully comes back from Tartarus. Such a shame, though. Her powers truly are magnificent." Atlas sighed. "What a waste."

Ethan felt like throwing up.

"Oh," Luke said, sounding like he wanted to throw up too.

Ethan saw red.

He wanted to burst out and scream at him. How long had he known this was the plan? This entire time, Luke had been insistent on having him get Esmerelda to join them, but he never cared about her did he? He never wanted her to fight for their cause, he wanted her to die for it because he was too scared to.

He remembered what Luke had told him during one of their private Iris Messages after that awful Christmas Massacre:

"Don't you want her to be safe, Ethan? Camp's not going to make it out at the rate it's going. She's on the losing side. At least with us she'll be safer. Happier too. She won't have to fear those monsters she's forced to worship anymore, Ethan. You can trust me on that."

That was all bullshit.

For years, Luke had been trying to get him to lead his own best friend to her doom, and he had been stupid enough to fall for it.

He waited until Luke and Atlas' footsteps disappeared before quietly exiting the kitchens. He needed to fix his mistake and get Esmerelda out of here before it was too late.

But first, he needed to find Alabaster. Despite the obvious strain in their relationship, he knew very well that Alabaster still cared for his younger sister. Alabaster deserved to know what was going to happen. Plus, Ethan would need his help in getting her out.

He found him at the deck teaching one of his younger siblings how to use telekinesis.

"Alabaster," Ethan said, grabbing his arm and pulling him away so no one could hear. "I need your help with something."

Green eyes blinked in confusion. "Uh, can it wait? Brigitte needs help with her magic and—"

"—No, it can't wait," he growled. "Luke's planning on—"

A horn sounded that made everyone freeze up. Ethan mentally cursed and looked up to see an empousa named Kelli waiting expectantly for everyone's attention.

"Percy Jackson and his friends have finally arrived. Luke and Lord Atlas will be fighting them at the peak of the mountain. Be prepared to march over!" She announced, then turned to a pair of dracaena. "One of you bring the daughter of Athena up. Luke wants her there. The other one stays here to guard Esmerelda's room. Extra protection, they insisted."

Fuck, fuck, fuck, Ethan thought as everyone scrambled around to prepare. Alabaster had hurried over to grab his siblings, leaving him completely alone. Quickly, he slipped away and darted down the many hallways of the cruise ship, ignoring the many demigods milling around. Soon enough, he reached a secluded hallway where Esmerelda was being held.

Much to his annoyance, a dracaeana had already reached her before he could. Esmerelda had somehow escaped the magic Alabaster cast around the room and was now fighting against the monster, but was it just him or did she look drunk?

Not wanting to waste any time, he undid his earring and brought up his sword. It pierced through the dracaena's neck, killing her instantly.

"Ethan?" Esmerelda blinked at him, and he grew even more worried when he saw the slightly dazed state she was in. What the hell did she actually do to get out of that room? "Wha—"

"—No time to talk," he interrupted her. He picked up the fallen weapon and shoved it into her hands. It was an adamantine labrys, so he knew she'd love it. "You need to get the Hades out of here. Luke and the General, they're planning to—"

He stopped talking when he heard a bunch of incoming voice. For fuck's sake, could he have one moment to explain?! Quickly, he grabbed her arm and dragged her to the end of the hallways.

"They took Annabeth to the summit of the mountain. Percy and the others are there. Go to them for help. Now leave." He whispered hastily.

"But—"

"—I was wrong to bring you here," he said, feeling something painful constrict around his chest. She was doomed from the start thanks to her mother, but he had ruined her life even more. He had caused her too much pain. Helping her escape wouldn't be enough to atone for it, but it was all he could do now.

Whatever dizziness she had seemed to fade away from his admittance. She stared at him with wide, green eyes, as if she was seeing him for the first time.

"I'm sorry for everything. I never should've... I'm so sorry, Essie. I don't deserve you." He really didn't deserve her. He knew that, she knew that, the whole world probably knew that, but the worst thing was that he also knew she would forgive him for this.

Even if the roles were switched, he doubted he could hate her either.

Because they were best friends who had gone through too much together. Their strings were tied and tangled up so badly that nothing could break them apart at this point.

She stared at him worriedly. "Ethan, what are you—"

"—Thank you... for everything." He said, before pushing her out of sight just as the incoming demigods entered the hallway.

Hoping Esmerelda would make it on time, he joined the rest of the demigods outside on the docks. He looked up and stared at the dark clouds circling the summit. He could see pure onyx walls rising and knew that Mount Othrys was rebuilding itself. For once, it actually made him feel sick.

They marched up to the summit with their weapons drawn. For a minute, he thought he had failed and Esmerelda would be recaptured, but then Luke was thrown off the cliff, Atlas was forced to carry the skies again, and Artemis had taken them away on her silver chariot.

The Titan Army had lost the fight, but all Ethan could think of was: At least they got away.

Luke, miraculously, was still alive after that fall and several demigods went down to fetch him. Save for his tattered shirt, Luke remained unscathed, which shouldn't be possible. Ethan didn't know what to think of it, but he didn't have any time to figure it out since Atlas was angrily demanding for help.

"Someone get me out of here!" He ordered, his face covered with sweat. "Castellan! Take my burden!"

Luke shook his head. "Sorry, but no. I guess Lord Kronos will have to find another second in command."

"You need me!" He roared. "You have no idea how to run an army, not like I do! Free me from this, and I will guide you!"

"No thanks," Luke refused.

"You have a traitor amongst your numbers," Atlas said desperately, and everyone stiffened, especially Ethan. "Someone was listening in on our plans. I sensed it, let me free and I shall tell you their name. I only found out who it was when the little witch became free."

Almost instantly, everyone naturally turned to Ethan.

Gods dammit, he internally cursed. Was he really so obvious?

"Ethan..." Luke breathed out, staring at him as if he couldn't believe it.

"Ethan?" Alabaster blurted out incredulously. "Wha—you released Essie? I thought you wanted to keep her here! Why the fuck would you do that?"

"Because—"

"—That's enough," Luke cut in hastily, no doubt realizing which conversation Ethan had overheard. "Chris, Tamara, take Ethan to one of the prisoner's rooms and have someone guard it."

As Ethan was dragged away, he spotted the furious and betrayed look on Alabaster's face. He had a feeling he'd be getting a visit from him soon, and he was right. About two hours after he was forced into this tiny bedroom, Alabaster entered the door and nearly killed him with his glare right then and there.

"Luke's planning to use Essie as a host for Kronos," he said, just to get it over with.

Alabaster blinked, and all his rage disappeared. "A host?"

He nodded tensely.

"Like... like a party host or—"

"—No, you moron!" He groaned. "I mean that your mom literally created Essie to be a peace offering for Kronos so he could temporarily posses her body and then get rid of it once he rises from fucking Tartarus!"

Alabaster blanched. "You're serious?"

Another nod. "Kronos has a choice between Luke and Essie. Apparently, they're both suitable. Luke's scared, so he wants Essie to be the host instead. That's... that's why he's been pressuring me to bring her over." He looked down, feeling a boiling anger at himself and Luke. "This entire time I've been helping him lead Essie to her death. She'll die, Alabaster, if she gets picked. That's why I had to free her. I want to bring Olympus down... but I don't want Essie to die for it to happen."

Alabaster gulped audibly. He collapsed onto a swivel chair, like he could no longer trust himself to stand. "Alright... so all we have to do is make sure Essie doesn't get picked."

Ethan nodded in agreement, a grim look on his face. "Luke needs to die."

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

It was around week three of being a semi-prisoner when he was finally claimed by his godly parent. A bright light appeared in his room at the ungodly hour of three o'clock in the morning, which he really didn't appreciate.

He nearly fell off the bed as he scrambled to get his sword out. When he realized who the intruder was, he saw red.

"Dad?" He said harshly, though he was also confused because shouldn't he be rotting away in prison by now?

And then he blinked, and the image of his dad seemed to fade away and was replaced by someone else*. A woman this time, with curly black hair and piercing golden eyes. She wore a red leather jacket, black jeans, and boots like she was apart of some motorcycle gang. On her hip was a pure black whip that oozed magical power.

"You're a goddess," which was the last thing he wanted to deal with right now. "What the fuck do you want?"

"Language, kid, I came here to help your ungrateful ass," she barked and the darkness in his room seemed to grow.

"Help me?" He said warily. "Why would I want your help? Who even are you?"

She rolled her golden eyes. "If you'd quit your bitching, then you'd actually get some answers."

He scowled at her.

"I heard you were in a bind, so I came here to help you out." She explained, looking bored.

"But... how exactly are you gonna help me?" He asked cautiously.

She shrugged. "Depends on what you want."

"What I want..." He breathed out, slowly lowering his shoulders. There were a lot of things he wanted. He wanted Olympus to be taken down so they could stop using their children as tools and hurting innocent people, he wanted to feel accepted for once, he wanted Esmerelda to be safe, he wanted to do the right thing...

"I want balance." He decided. "I want the world's power to be balanced."

There was a weird pulsation in the air, and the darkness in the room seemed to grow. Any normal person would've been creeped out from seeing the shadows move, but he felt more... at ease, for some reason.

"That's good," the mysterious goddess said, looking at him with stern approval and something like pride... "I can help you get that. But I'm afraid it will come with a price, as all deals do."

He stared at her in confusion.

The woman stepped forward. "Do you accept this deal, Ethan Nakamura? You will restore balance to the world, but you must give something up in return. An eye for an eye, as the saying goes."

"Yes," he said firmly. "I accept this deal."

Something powerful coarsed through his body, as if he had just sworn an oath to the River Styx and sealed his fate.

The woman nodded slowly, and then she reached out and jabbed her fingers into his left eye socket.

"AAAARRRGHHH!" Ethan screamed, feeling her nails digging into the nerves and muscles of his eye before ripping right through them. Once his eye was fully removed, he fell to his knees, gasping in pain.

"Ethan Nakamura," she said with a powerful voice. "I promise you, your wish will be granted and you shall gain recognition from your deed."

"Who—who are you—?!" He rasped, looking up at her with one hand covering his bleeding eye.

She smiled wickedly. "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet. The name's Nemesis, Goddess of balance, retribution, and vengeance. Consider yourself claimed, kid."

"Y-you're my mom?!" Some family reunion.

"Yep," she snapped her fingers and a black eye patch appeared before him. "Put it on, this'll stop the pain and keep you safe from any infections."

With shaking hands, he put on the eye patch over his left eye socket.

"Well, my work here's done. You're gonna be great, kid," Nemesis grinned. "Oh, and by the way, happy early sixteenth birthday."

And then she was gone.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Several months after meeting his mother and getting claimed by her (she seriously couldn't have just given him a holographic symbol like all the normal godly parents did?), Ethan found himself having to deal with a panicking Alabaster who brought some pretty shitty news.

For some twisted, horrible reason, Esmerelda was in the Labyrinth—the one place she really shouldn't be in right now—and Ethan had to go save her with the help of Alabaster.

After poisoning half the army with a bad case of diarrhea, he was finally set to go. He actually almost felt bad for his clone who would have to be the one to deal with the repercussions because he had walked passed the bathrooms a few times and it did not smell pretty.

Oh well. Step one complete. The next step was to find Esmerelda.

Easier said then done, he thought bitterly as he ran into his fifteenth dead end for the day.

He had no idea how long he had been traveling through the Labyrinth, but it was driving him insane. So far, he had been attacked by forty monsters, ended up in really weird locations (like an abandoned Toys R Us, a men's locker room in a gym which was actually being used at the time—whoops—and a door leading him to a cult meeting that he accidentally interrupted), and the only human being he ran into was this crazy little kid who immediately tried to cut his head off upon first meeting.

As if things couldn't get any worse, he met his second god in a Roman tile room. Naturally, he was on high-alert since the last time he met a god, she decided to rip his eye out.

This one didn't seem as imposing as his mother (and wow, it was so weird actually getting to use that term). This particular god just looked weird. He had two faces, both of them jutting out from either side of his head. He was dressed like a typical New York City doorman: a long black overcoat, shiny shoes, and a black top-hat that somehow managed to stay on his double-wide head.

Behind him were two exits, blocked by wooden doors with huge iron locks. The two-faced doorman held a silver key, which he kept passing from his left hand to his right hand.

Ethan immediately knew who this was and why he was here. "You're Janus, aren't you? God of doorways, beginnings, endings, and choices. You want me to choose."

"Good work, Mr. Nakamura!" The right head beamed. "And you're correct."

"Bravo, Sherlock," the left head sneered. "It's time for you to choose! So get over here!"

"Sorry about him, he could be rude," the right said. "Just ignore him and come this way, sir. Talk to me, please."

He jutted his chin to the two blocked exits. "Where do those paths lead?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The right face smiled. "One leads to her demise, the other leads to his. You get to pick who dies."

Ethan tensed up, knowing what the god was talking about. He swallowed thickly, his previous cool exterior melting away. "Y-you want me to..."

The left head chuckled darkly. "That's exactly it, Nakamura. Now choose!"

"You can't save them both, unfortunately," the right said sympathetically. "We know how you feel, Mr. Nakamura. We know of your conflicts, of your indecision. You will have to make your choice sooner or later. Sacrifices must be made."

"You already know what I choose," he said harshly, though his voice was shaking. "So stop messing with me!"

The left side harrumphed and begrudgingly handed the key over to his right side. He held it out for Ethan, who slowly took it.

"Go on over then, Mr. Nakamura," the right head said gently, waving him over to the right door.

Stiffly, he walked over to it and unlocked the iron locks. The door creaked open and he stepped right through it, hearing it shut behind him. When he turned around, the door was gone and he was met with a rock wall.

He kept walking, and walking, hoping he had made the right choice until he finally saw it.

"Essie," he breathed out.

She whirled around to face him, and the cookie she had been munching on had dropped to the floor. She had grown a lot taller than when they last saw each other (but thankfully he still had some height on her), and a lot prettier too despite her haggard state. He couldn't help but feel like an unworthy street rat standing before her.

"Essie, I—WHOA!" He ducked his head to avoid the incoming labrys blade. "What are you doing?!"

"Why—are—you—here?!" She grunted between vicious swipes.

"I was looking for you!" He shouted as he tried to dodge every hit.

"Why?! To kidnap me again?!" She snapped.

"No!" He exclaimed, putting his arms up. "Luke's looking for you, okay? Alabaster and I concocted this crazy ass plan for me to save you—I literally gave half the army diarrhea because of this!"

"What?! Are you kidding me?" She glared. "Just whose side are you on?!"

"Yours!" His voice rose.

She stared at him.

He lowered his arms. "Just listen to me, okay? Let me explain," he said pleadingly.

"You have half a minute." She offered 'generously'.

He sucked in a breath before spilling everything out, not wanting to run out of time.

"Last winter, I overheard a conversation between Luke and Atlas. Luke—this entire time—has wanted you to join the Titan Army for the sole purpose of being Kronos' host. That was the whole reason your mother had you, she—she wanted to use you as a peace offering. That's why I helped you escape. I didn't want you to die..."

"A host...? What does that mean?" She asked.

"Kronos would essentially be possessing your body," he said bluntly. "It's only temporary, but it doesn't matter because once he gets you, you're pretty much dead. Luke's the other potential host, but he doesn't want to die, so he's been hellbent on getting you instead."

Realization flickered in her eyes, followed by horror. It was understandable. Ethan had gotten sick when he first found out about it too after all, so had Alabaster. Even Luke too, but the prospect of it happening to him instead overridden his morals.

"Oh... gods, that's..." She trailed off, looking shaken. She couldn't seem to find the words to convey how bad her situation was.

"Yeah, so that's why I need to get you the Hades out of here," he said firmly. "So come on—"

"—Wait a minute," she suddenly said, looking at him weirdly. "What happened to your eye?"

He grimaced. "Um, well, I had a very unorthodox claiming by my mother."

Her jaw dropped. "Hold on, you were claimed by your godly parent?! And she did it by ripping your eye out?! Who is it?"

"Nemesis," he answered.

"...Oh my gods," she said after some time. "That makes so much sense."

"Yeah. Now can we get going already? This maze is driving me crazy. I'm starving and some kid tried to behead me and—"

"—Essie?" A horribly familiar voice said.

Eye widening, he spun around and came face to face with the same midget menace that tried to cut his head off.

"You!" They said in unison, then whipped out their swords.

Esmerelda stared at them in confusion. "What are you guys—"

CLANG! They immediately began fighting and all she could do was stare at them in utter confusion.

"What are you doing?! Stop fighting!" Esmerelda commanded and they both froze, but didn't lower their weapons. Instead, they glared distrustfully at one another.

"Essie, stay away from him!" The boy shouted.

"Essie, be careful, this is the little shit who tried to cut my head off!" Ethan warned.

"What?" She blinked in shock. "Nico wouldn't do that... Nico is that true?"

"Hold on, you know this little gremlin?" Ethan asked incredulously.

"Yeah, this is Nico." Then she turned to the aforementioned boy. "Well, Nico? Is he telling the truth?"

"I—well—yes," he admitted. "But that's because I recognized him as the jerk who kidnapped you from school!"

"Oh, Nico," she said softly. "You didn't have to do that for me, but thank you for caring so much."

Ethan gawked at her. Was she seriously going to let him get away with it?!

"What is he doing here?" Nico asked, shooting him a scathing look that he returned.

"Luke's after her, so I'm here to save her," Ethan replied curtly.

"Yeah right," he scoffed. "You believe him?"

"Well..." She frowned. "He was the one who helped me escape last winter... but then again, he was the reason I was put in that situation in the first place... "

Ethan winced.

Nico didn't seem to relax that much by her statement.

"Luke's planning on having her be Kronos' host," Ethan explained shortly. "Which is pretty much a death sentence."

Dark eyes widened. He turned to Esmerelda. "Was that what the prophecy was talking about?"

Ethan paled. "Wait, there's already a prophecy about you?"

"Just two lines," she said in a small voice.

"What are they?"

"Er, well... But the witch and the scarred one are ripe for the picking, and only one shall be spared from their destined killing," she recited.

"Fucking wonderful," he muttered under his breath. "Okay that's it, we need to get you out of here."

"But what about Percy and the others?" She frowned.

He waved a hand. "Screw Percy and the others. They'll be fine. My main concern is you. You're in the greatest danger, especially in here."

"You know a way out, then? Because Essie and I can't teleport while we're inside the Labyrinth." Nico scowled.

Ethan was temporarily surprised at the fact that they could actually teleport, but then he remembered he had more pressing matters to deal with and schooled his expression. 

"Unfortunately, I got nothing. You guys?"

"Nothing," they echoed.

We are so fucked, he thought.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

They had been roaming around the Labyrinth for about an hour now and it was enough for Ethan to come to the conclusion that Nico di Angelo hated his guts. The feeling was mutual.

"Why do I have to give him some of my cookies? It's not my problem if he starves to death," Nico argued with a huff, sending him a nasty look.

The gods damn brat had about fifteen cookies in his disposal, which was more than what Esmerelda had so it was only natural that he was supposed to share, but noooo, he was a stubborn little shit.

"I don't want your stupid fucking cookies anyways," Ethan sneered back. His stomach chose the worst time to growl in protest however, and he fought against the heat flaring up in his cheeks.

"Oh my gods," Esmerelda grumbled under her breath as she removed her backpack. "You can have my cookies then, but now that means I'll be down to eight."

"Fine!" Nico suddenly gritted out. "Here, you can have some of my cookies. But only two."

Ethan wouldn't admit it, but he gobbled those two cookies in less than a minute. That was how hungry he was right now.

"So," Esmerelda spoke up, stepping in-between the angry boys in hopes to let them simmer down. "How exactly did you know that Luke's looking for me?"

"Alabaster overheard a conversation between him and Geryon."

"Geryon?" Both Nico and Esmerelda said in unison.

He blinked. "You've met him already?"

"He had his dog sit on me," she huffed. "He was also going to sell me and Nico to the army. Percy killed him already though."

"Good for him," he said with a cold voice. Esmerelda gave him a weird look but he ignored it and went on. "Luke was hoping Geryon could deliver you and some other demigod he could find to the army. To be Kronos' host and all that fun stuff. I'm guessing he was hoping you," he jutted his chin to Nico. "Would join because Kronos still needs one more demigod to rise up since my vow is null after I saved you."

"You're not gonna do that, right?" She asked him nervously. "Swear allegiance to him?"

He fell silent.

Nico narrowed his eyes at him. "You are!" He accused. "Essie, we can't trust him, he's probably tricking you again."

"No, I'm not," he denied, glaring, but then his gaze softened when he met Esmerelda's hurt face. "Look, it's... complicated, alright? But I swear I don't ever want to hurt you again. I really am trying to help you, I swear on the River Styx."

A rumbling sound roared from miles above them, and Ethan was still standing.

"Then what exactly do you want, Ethan? Why do all this?" She asked him.

"I-I just..." He trailed off, looking around hopelessly. He froze when he saw the misty faces of Janus hovering behind her. Both faces grinned deviously at him before disappearing.

"Ethan?" She said again.

"I don't want you to die..." He said shakily. "I don't want Luke to die either, but it's between the two of you and—and I know it's fucked up, but I care about you, okay? I could bear it if it was Luke, but if it were you instead... Well, I don't think I'd be able to handle it."

He wanted to save her, and he was willing to damn someone else to do it. It was scary, to be honest, how much he cared for her... He wondered if she was scared of him too.

"But you still want to help Kronos rise! Why would you want that?" She asked.

"Because he's the only one who can help take down the Olympians," he cried out. "I've told you before, Essie, there's no respect for people like us. No equality, no fairness, nothing! They look down on us like we're sewer rats! Don't you want something better for yourself? Kronos promised to make the world a better place!"

"Kronos will bring nothing but destruction," Nico shook his head.

"Oh and you suddenly know everything? How long have you even been doing this demigod shit?" He spat.

"Stop that," Esmerelda said sternly, and they both quieted down. She let out a heavy sigh and gave Ethan a deeply sad look. "Ethan... I hope you know what you're doing."

He was about to say 'I do', but Janus' floating faces returned again, taunting him. His stomach churned with despair. Had he chosen the wrong path?

Things between the three of them were tense again as they resumed their search for a way out. As they walked through the tunnel, Ethan was very much aware of the dark, hateful looks Nico would occasionally shoot at him whenever Esmerelda wasn't looking. Ethan sneered back, of course, because that was just the natural response towards bratty children.

Kid needs a time out, he thought with a huff. 

They found a grand silver door, but all it lead to was an empty room full of broken fountains. Since they were tired, they decided to stay there to sleep things off.

"I guess we'll have to stay here for the night," Ethan mumbled.

Nico looked at him as if he was an idiot. "Yeah, no shit."

Esmerelda was aghast, and for some odd reason, turned to glare at Ethan when he went over to join her at one of the broken fountains.

He blinked at her. "What?"

"You need to learn to watch what you say around him!" She scolded venomously.

His jaw dropped. "Wha—you're blaming me for his potty mouth? The kid's eleven, all eleven year olds talk like that!"

"He wasn't having that issue until you came around," she said accusingly. "And I've known you since you were eleven. You were the only one at that age with an attitude, Ethan."

He closed his mouth. "Okay, you have a point about that last part," he admitted begrudgingly. "But that kid's no angel, Essie! Did you forget when he tried to chop my head off?" He hissed back, his voice rising by an octave.

She looked at him as if he was being the unreasonable one. "He was doing that because he witnessed you kidnap me. Of course he'd be a little angry."

"A little—?!"

"—Just," she cut him off. "Watch your language. Please."

He rolled his eye. "So what if he cusses, all kids start to cuss at some point, right?"

But Ethan immediately wished he hadn't said that. The glare she gave him nearly made him cower on the spot and suddenly he was finding himself nodding along with her orders.

"But you're right, it's not good for them to be exposed to those sort of words at a young age. I won't cuss around him anymore."

She gave him a sweet smile. "Good," then she finished washing her face before returning back to Nico. He washed his face quickly and followed after her, very aware of the aforementioned boy staring at him. The brat's face was blank, but he could feel the smugness radiating from him. That little hellspawn most likely eavesdropped on their entire conversation.

Ethan bit the inside of his cheek. Just ignore him, just ignore him, just ignore him, he repeated the words in his head like it was a mantra.

"Hopefully we find a way out soon..." Esmerelda mumbled sleepily as she used her backpack as a pillow.

"Yeah..." Nico agreed, splashing his face with water from the fountain. "I could use some McDonalds."

Ethan just grunted and collapsed beside Esmerelda like a lifeless noodle. The younger girl didn't protest since they pretty much grew used to sleeping next to each other.

He was just about to fall into a hopefully blissful sleep until a certain brat squeezed his way in-between them.

Ethan and Nico glared at each other.

'I don't like you,' the latter mouthed.

Ethan responded by giving him the middle finger.

Nico snorted indignantly then turned to other side to face Esmerelda. Ethan fumed and turned away too.

Gods, I hate kids, he thought.

— author's note —

* Nemesis appears to people as someone they hate or want to get revenge on. So when Ethan first met her, he initially saw her as his dad because he hates him. Then, he was able to see what she really looked like.

If you don't remember, Janus was first introduced in the Battle of the Labyrinth. He appeared during Percy's quest and pretty much taunted Annabeth about making a deadly decision, similarly to what he was doing with Ethan. He also appeared in Percy's dreams where he gave Daedalus the option of letting Perdix die or saving him (Daedalus chose to let his nephew die)

Nico to Essie: a pure baby

Nico to Ethan: a smug lil shit

Nemesis: Hmm... my son's gonna turn sixteen soon... What sorta present should I give him?

Any sane parent: How about a car???

Nemesis: Nah, I'll rip his eye out instead.

#momoftheyear 😌

NEMESIS
played by STEPHANIE BEATRIZ

Essie's not stressed out YET, but wait 'till next chapter...