GROVER WAS HAVING A SNACK IN THE LIVING ROOM. He was dressed for battle in an armored shirt made from tree bark and twist ties, with his wooden cudgel and his reed pipes hanging from his belt.

The Demeter cabin had whipped up a whole buffet in the hotel kitchens—everything from pizza to pineapple ice cream. Unfortunately, Grover was eating the furniture. He'd already chewed the stuffing off a fancy chair and was now gnawing the armrest.

"Dude," Percy called out, "we're only borrowing this place."

"Blah-ha-ha!" He had stuffing all over his face. "Sorry, Percy. It's just . . . Louis the Sixteenth furniture. Delicious. Plus I always eat furniture when I get—"

"When you get nervous," Percy crossed his arms, "Yeah, I know. So what's up?"

He clopped on his hooves. "I heard about Annabeth. Is she...?"

"She's going to be fine. She's resting." Selena interrupted,

Grover took a deep breath. "That's good. I've mobilized most of the nature spirits in the city—well, the ones that will listen to me, anyway." He rubbed his forehead. "I had no idea acorns could hurt so much. Anyway, we're helping out as much as we can."

He told the two about the skirmishes they'd seen. Mostly they'd been covering uptown, where they didn't have enough demigods. Hellhounds had appeared in all sorts of places, shadow-travelling inside their lines, and the dryads and satyrs had been fighting them off. A young dragon had appeared in Harlem, and a dozen wood nymphs died before the monster was finally defeated.

As Grover talked, Thalia entered the room with two of her lieutenants. She nodded to them grimly, went outside to check on Annabeth, and came back in. She listened while Grover completed his report—the details getting worse and worse.

"We lost twenty satyrs against some giants at Fort Washington," he said, his voice trembling. "Almost half my kinsmen. River spirits drowned the giants in the end, but . . ."

Thalia shouldered her bow. "Percy, Kronos's forces are still gathering at every bridge and tunnel. And Kronos isn't the only Titan. One of my Hunters spotted a huge man in golden armor mustering an army on the Jersey shore. I'm not sure who he is, but he radiates power like only a Titan or god."

"Great," Percy sighed, "Any good news?"

Thalia shrugged. "We've sealed off the subway tunnels into Manhattan. My best trappers took care of it. Also, it seems like the enemy is waiting for tonight to attack. I think Luke"—she caught herself—"I mean Kronos needs time to regenerate after each fight. He's still not comfortable with his new form. It's taking a lot of his power to slow time around the city."

Grover nodded. "Most of his forces are more powerful at night, too. But they'll be back after sundown."

Percy tried to think clearly. "Okay. Any word from the gods?"

Thalia shook her head. "I know Lady Artemis would be here if she could. Athena, too. But Zeus has ordered them to stay at his side. The last I heard, Typhon was destroying the Ohio River valley. He should reach the Appalachian Mountains by midday."

"So at best," Selena stated, "we've got another two days before he arrives."

Kasey entered the room and everyone stared at her, "Michael?" Selena asked.

Kasey looked down sadly and shook her head.

Jake Mason cleared his throat. He'd been standing there so silently she'd almost forgotten he was in the room.

"Um, something else," he said. "The way Kronos showed up at the Williamsburg Bridge, like he knew you were going there. And he shifted his forces to our weakest points. As soon as we deployed, he changed tactics. He barely touched the Lincoln Tunnel, where the Hunters were strong. He went for our weakest spots, like he knew."

"Like he had inside information," Percy stated, "The spy."

Everyone looked at Selena and she scoffed, "Oh, seriously? You still think I'm the spy?"

"No, we don't." Percy grabbed her hand and glared at everyone looking at her,

"What spy?" Thalia demanded.

Percy told her about the silver charm Kronos had shown him, the communication device.

"That's bad," she said. "Very bad."

"It could be anyone," Jake said. "We were all standing there when Percy gave the orders."

"But what can we do?" Grover asked. "Frisk every demigod until we find a scythe charm?"

They all looked at Percy, waiting for a decision. 

"We keep fighting," He said. "We can't obsess about this spy. If we're suspicious of each other, we'll just tear ourselves apart. You guys were awesome last night. I couldn't ask for a braver army. Let's set up a rotation for the watches. Rest up while you can. We've got a long night ahead of us."

The demigods mumbled agreement. They went their separate ways to sleep or eat or repair their weapons.

"Percy, you too," Thalia said. "We'll keep an eye on things. Go lie down. We need you in good shape for tonight."

Percy didn't argue too hard. Selena led him to the nearest bedroom and they both crashed on the canopied bed. 

"We'll be okay, won't we?" Percy mumbled into her back,

Selena gulped nervously, "Of course, Percy." She turned and gave him a peck on the lips, "Now, sleep. You're going to need it."

Once the soft snores escaped Percy's lips,  Selena stopped fighting the heaviness of her eyelids.

"daughter of the unknown beware,

the world shall be in despair"

Selena stood on the terrace, watching fires burn down the city of New York. But it was silent. Completely silent.

"one will fall and one will rise. 

the little thief will watch your demise"

Next, she was on top of a building. She knew where she was. This is where she dies. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted two figures on the ground. It was Kasey and her.

"rise again, in the golden state,

to start a war you cannot escape"

The scenery changed again and this time, Selena was on a mountain. No... a volcano? In front of her was herself and behind the other Selena were two teenage boys. One blonde and one brunette, but she couldn't see their faces.

"Go on." The brunette said, walking up to her, "This is what you've been waiting for."

Selena nodded at him before turning around. There was a statue made of stone. It reminded Selena of the one's from Aunty Em's Emporium.

Suddenly there was a flash of red and a scream of despair. It was her screaming, 

"You lied!" Selena yelled, "You lied to me."

All Selena could see was blood.

"S, we need to go!" Another voice shouted, "He's dead!"

Selena sat up with a gasp and beside her was Percy who was tossing and turning, "Percy?" She shook him and he opened his eyes, "Hey, you okay?"

Percy sat up and rubbed his eyes. Selena smiled at him softly. He looked cute with his messed up hair and wrinkled clothes, the sleepy look on his face really added to it, too.

"Yeah, bad dream, that's all."

"Yeah, tell me about it." She smiled, laying her head on his shoulder,

Tears filled her eyes, these could be their last moments together.

He opened his mouth to speak but there was a knock on the door and Thalia poked her head in, "Come on, love birds. It's late afternoon. We've got visitors."

"Visitors?" Percy asked, trying to smooth down his hair,

Thalia nodded grimly. "A Titan wants to see you, under a flag of truce. He has a message from Kronos."