A/N. Hey guys, hope you enjoy this chapter! A little after Lia's POV starts, I stopped writing this story the first time, so the writing style might change a bit when you get to that part. Hope you all enjoy! -Anna

~Nico's POV~

I sat alone for a long time with just my thoughts. It had been a little over a week since I summoned Bianca. I still couldn't get over her words. Lia gave me space and did her own thing. Eurytion came in a few times with his dog (dogs?) but didn't bother me. Every now and then, Lia would come to check in on me, make me eat, or would tell me something about the ranch that she found out about.

"If you ever go out to see the giant scorpions," Lia had said, "don't get too close to their field. They'll snap at you with their giant pinchers. Almost got my hand snapped off."

I would just listen to her ramble on. Her voice had become a comfort to me and gave me a little break from thinking. At some point, she gave me a burger, but it didn't taste like beef. I had asked Lia what the patty was made of.

"Oh, it's Eurytion trying out his soybean patty idea. He wanted us to try them out. Seeing as you've eaten half the burger, I'd say you liked it." Lia bit into her burger and hummed in delight. "I gotta say, even though I'm a complete meat lover, this is good."

I agreed with her. The burgers were actually really good for a meat substitute.

I'd let Lia talk, and I wouldn't say anything. She didn't seem to mind that she was the only one holding the conversation. It looked like letting her talk without anyone's response or judgement made her open up a bit more to me.

"You know," Lia said after we finished our burgers, "I've always liked horses. Practically begged my mom to get me a horse for every birthday and Christmas even though I knew we had no room for one. But those fire-breathing horses take it to a whole new level. You won't see me fawning over them too much."

I learned a lot about her in just the few hours I was silent for.

Around dusk one day, Lia had pretty much explored the whole entire ranch, and she came back to the house to sit by me again. After she finished explaining what she had done and learned, we sat in comfortable silence. Touring the ranch had taken a toll on Lia, and she was slouching forward with her eyes drooping. I was about to suggest to her to take a nap or something, when the front door of the ranch house burst open. A distraught blonde rushed into the living room looking at Lia and me frantically.

"Oh, good. You two are still here," Annabeth said.

"Uh, yeah. Why is that good?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Percy blew up."

"Wait, what?" Lia asked, suddenly awake.

"I mean, he blew up a mountain," Annabeth quickly said, realizing how bad her wording sounded. "There were monsters in Mount St. Helens, and we tried to escape. Percy made me get out while he fought them off. He did something to make the mountain blow, and now he's nowhere to be found. I'm hoping to get back to camp somehow and send out search parties. But I don't know my way through the Labyrinth well, and I was hoping either of you could help me get back to camp somehow."

Lia and I were silent for a moment, and then Lia stood.

"I'll take you to this camp," she said. I was about to protest since Lia was tired from exploring, but she quickly said, "Nico needs some time alone without me talking nonsense to him every hour."

I frowned. Her little talks weren't nonsense. And I didn't want her to go. Though, I had a feeling if I voiced my thoughts, she wouldn't let me stop her. So I kept my mouth shut.

Annabeth nodded appreciatively. "Thank you."

Lia nodded and then looked at me. "Stay here at the ranch. I'll be back."

Lia exited the lodge with Annabeth, and I was alone again.

~Lia's POV~

I may not have known her well, but Percy saved me from being sold off to a Titan army, so I thought this was the least I could do. I stopped at the porch of the ranch house with Annabeth.

"I can try to shadow travel you to the camp. Do you have a picture of it, or do you have a clear image of it in your mind?" I questioned.

"Yeah. It's on Long Island with a strawberry field. Never could forget it," Annabeth said.

I nodded and tentatively held my hand out to her. Surprisingly, she didn't die when she took it. Maybe unknowingly, Nico was helping me to get a hold on my powers. During the time I had spent with him, I had more physical contact more than ever in the past couple of months, even more than when I was with Cameron.

Closing my eyes, I concentrated on teleporting Annabeth and me to the camp she envisioned in her mind. Ignoring my fatigue, I let the shadows envelop us. The cold whispers of the spirits made me shake, but I held strong onto Annabeth's hand. I focused on moving through the shadows with Annabeth and coming out on the other side alive.

Suddenly, the shadows cleared away, and Annabeth and I appeared on a grassy hill overlooking a field covered in strange looking buildings with a lake. I couldn't figure out anything else at that moment, because once I caught a glimpse of the camp, my eyesight went black.

When I came to, I found myself laying in a cot with a curtain hanging on my right side. The only light in the room was from sun streaming through the windows which illuminated the room well. I could see cabinets and a sink in front of me. To the left of me sat a distressed Annabeth, although I wasn't sure if it was because of me or something else.

When she saw me open my eyes, Annabeth let out a relived sigh. "Thank the gods. You're alive."

"I feel like I should be saying that to you." I tried to sit up, but instead I winced when I moved my head.

Annabeth frowned and held out a cup full of yellow liquid to me. "When we arrived you passed out. How did you get us here?"

I took the cup and took a sip. It tasted like my mom's lemonade. My head stopped hurting. "Shadow traveling. I haven't done it in a while, which is probably why I passed out. Basically I teleported us through the shadows to get us here...Where is here by the way?"

Annabeth mustered a small smile. "Camp Half-Blood. The only safe place for demigods. You're in the infirmary right now. After you blacked out, I had some campers help me carry you here."

My fingers went to twist my rings. "Thanks."

Annabeth nodded. She looked exhausted. "You've only been out for a day. I told the camp what happened on our quest and to Percy. Nothing yet."

I clicked my tongue. "Well, I'm glad I got you here safe and all that, but now I need to get back to Nico."

I went to get out of the cot, but Annabeth put her hand against my wrist. My eyes widened, and I quickly jerked my wrist away. Annabeth looked at me worriedly, but I meet her eyes. My breath picked up, and I clenched my hands into fists. Her hand got way too close to my own. Nothing happened to Annabeth, but I was still freaked out by the sudden contact.

Annabeth looked like she wanted to ask me something, but she instead told me, "You need rest. There's no way you're going to shadow travel again after you passed out."

"But Nico-"

"He'll be fine. Eurytion is keeping on eye on him. Just one day of rest."

Annabeth's voice left no room for argument. I could just shadow travel back to the ranch, but she was right. I was still fatigued. I would probably pass out, or something worse would happen if I did it again. So I sighed and nodded in agreement.

This time Annabeth's smile formed more easily. "Great. Let me show you the camp."

The camp was impressive. The place had some normal camp things like arts and crafts, volleyball courts, and a canoe lake. And then they had other stuff like a fighting arena, a pegasus stable, and a climbing wall with lava coming out of the top. When she mentioned the dining pavilion, and how it had plates and cups magically formed any food or drink of the person's liking, my mouth watered. The sun had started to set, and I was starving.

Annabeth showed me the cabins which were arranged in a U ordered by Olympian. She explained how each camper stayed in their godly parent's represented cabins. The ones who didn't know their parents went to the Hermes cabin.

"Since we don't have a cabin for Thanatos," Annabeth said, "you can stay in the Hermes cabin for the night."

I glanced inside the cabin. It was packed with people, way more than the number of bunk beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over the floor. I shuddered at the thought of so many people being in one room with me. Too much of a risk. I didn't think I would be able to even go to sleep in there.

As Annabeth showed me the archery range, we saw some campers practicing with a centaur observing them.

"Chiron!" Annabeth called.

The centaur turned when Annabeth called. He was a middle aged man with thinning brown hair, bushy eyebrows, old brown eyes, and a scruffy beard. His horse part was a white stallion. His name I recognized more easily.

"Chiron, this is Lia. She's the one who brought me here," Annabeth said.

The centaur's smile was warm, but his height and reputation still intimidated me. I just waved and said a shy, "Hello."

"Thank you, Lia. I assume Annabeth has been showing you around," Chiron said.

"Yep," I said, "but I won't be staying for long." I needed to get back to Nico as soon as I could.

Chiron's face fell, but he quickly put his smile back on. "I see. You are always welcome here."

If he really knew who my dad was, I didn't think he would be saying that.

Annabeth glanced at me for a second, and then looked back at Chiron. "Any news from the parties?"

Chiron shook his head sadly. "Nothing from them. I've also Iris-messaged everyone I know to keep a look out for him. Nothing yet. We will keep looking."

A conch horn sounded. Annabeth look relieved at the noise.

"Ah, dinnertime. Will you at least stay for that?" Chiron asked.

I smiled a little. "I will never say no to free food."

Annabeth led me to the dining pavilion again. Numerous campers ranging from probably eight to twenty lounged around at the tables. I noticed they were also separated by godly parent. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. I saw a few campers go up to the fire with their plate and scrape a portion of their food into it.

"What are they doing?" I asked Annabeth.

"Burnt offering to the gods. We do this every meal to show respect," Annabeth explained. "You can sit with the Hermes kids."

My body stiffened at her words. Just like the cabin, the Hermes table was overcrowded with people. Some of them were hanging halfway off the benches. There was no way I wasn't going to accidentally kill someone.

Annabeth must have noticed my change in posture, because she then told me, "Or if you want, you can sit with me at my table."

She pointed to another table with a bunch of athletic looking kids that all had the same grey eyes and blonde hair as her. I didn't think it was part of the rules, but if Annabeth said I could, I trusted her word. When she took me on the tour, everyone looked at her with such high respect. I guessed she was held at a high regard at the camp.

We got our plates, and I thought of just a simple hamburger and fries for my dinner. The food magically materialized onto my plate. It looked and smelled so good. I hadn't had a real meal in such a long time. I wanted to eat it right away, but I remembered what Annabeth said about the food. Reluctantly, I went up to the fire and pushed in half of my fries and part of my burger. I had seen some of the campers say out a small prayer to certain gods when they went up. I definitely did not want to dedicate my offering to Thanatos, so I instead prayed to Hypnos to give Nico a good night sleep for once. The kid really needed it.

I sat back down at Annabeth's table. She was discussing with her siblings possible places where Percy could have ended up and other ways to help find him. I could tell it wasn't just Annabeth who was desperate to find him. The entire camp seemed on edge with him missing. Percy must have been an important person to the camp.

Once I sat down, one of Annabeth's siblings looked at her in surprise, but she gave him a stern look. I guessed she didn't break the rules often.

"Thanks for bringing her back safe," one of her siblings said. "Uh...Lia, right?"

"Mmhm," I mumbled, taking a bite of my burger.

"Have you been claimed yet?" another sibling chimed in.

I blinked. "Claimed?"

"She means has your godly parent acknowledged you as their child," Annabeth said. "Usually a symbol will appear over your head when you arrive at camp showing you who your parent is."

"Oh..." I honestly didn't think Thanatos would even do that for me. He only ever talked to me once, so I highly doubted he would do such a big gesture for me. "No."

The sibling who asked me the question gave me a kind smile. "Hey, it's okay. I'm sure you will be claimed soon."

I must have sounded a lot more disheartened than I thought, because she her tone was so reassuring to me. Annabeth went to speak up, but I gave her a hard look. I didn't need her spilling to everyone who my dad was. Even though I wasn't going to stay there for long, I didn't need more people to be afraid of me. The camp seemed so nice, but I knew I couldn't stay. No one would want me with my uncontrollable powers at the only place demigods weren't in danger of dying.

The rest of dinner went smoothly. I mostly stayed quiet, and only chipped in when I needed to. Overall, it was relaxing. Which was really strange since I've never felt at such ease surrounded by so many people literally ever. Plus, the food was amazing.

We were dismissed for the campfire after dinner. The entire thing was a blur. I sat with Annabeth's cabin again, but I didn't remember much else after that. All I remembered was horrible karaoke and some really good s'mores.

My mind was too occupied with wondering how Nico was doing. I knew I was the one who offered to bring Annabeth to the camp, but I still felt bad for leaving Nico. After an emotional moment like the summoning, he shouldn't be alone. He needed support. I knew Eurytion was there to watch him, but I still couldn't help but worry.

The kid had grown on me. I didn't think I had ever had my mind so occupied with anyone ever. At that point, Cameron had almost completely left my mind. I just wanted to be with Nico again. My chest ached when I wasn't with him, my stomach churned when he was in pain, my head felt light whenever I talked to him, and my mind went blank when I got to see one of his rare smiles. All those feelings I had never felt before when interacting with anyone. They confused me so much.

Once everyone was stuffed with s'mores, the campers were dismissed for bed. Annabeth offered to let me sleep in her cabin, but I politely declined. I told her I was fine with sleeping in the Hermes cabin for the night, but she definitely knew I was lying. Annabeth didn't push though. I knew she wanted me to rest, and I must have looked done for the day.

I waved goodnight to Annabeth as she went into her cabin with her siblings. Once her door closed, slipped away from the cabins and into the woods. I was tired, but I needed to get back to the ranch for Nico. I felt bad for not following Annabeth's words on resting for a day, but I couldn't stay at the camp for much longer. Besides the fact I was still not used to being around so many people, I felt like everyone was watching me, waiting to see me mess up. My anxieties about being around so many people thundered in my head. I felt like I was being hugged by Eurytion again by being in such close proximity to people constantly at the camp.

I went far into the forest, making sure no one was following me as I walked on. No monsters attacked. I had heard about the dangers the woods held from Annabeth, but they seemed to be eerily peaceful. Like all the living things in the woods were waiting for something to happen.

With that thought in mind, I stepped into the shadow of a tree and disappeared.