[absolutum dominium]

If there was one thing that Kaden had learned in his relationship with Tessa Brennan, it was that when she had a revelation, there were very few things faster to act than her. One second, she'd been in his arms, all the time in the world theirs to be spent for after what felt like millennia of isolation. The next, Tessa was a blur, with her black dress swishing in her wake and her chocolate hair loose in the wind, as she sprinted back into her apartment to spread the news.

            And despite it all, Kaden grinned and followed her. This was his Tessa, after all, the one that he knew and loved.

            "—Phobos is the mysterious man. He gave me the flash-drive, killed Sierra, and is working with Menoetious." Tessa had just finished saying by the time Kaden caught up to her side. She gave him a side glance, in search of support, and he gave it to her, pressing a hand to the small of her back. They were in this together from here on out.

            "Woah, woah, what just happened?" Ben asked from where he stood near the mantle. He'd been in the midst of refilling Madi's champagne glass, and both he and his fiancée appeared to be equally confused.

            "Yeah, Tessa, where is this coming from?" Imogen asked, defined eyebrows drawn together from where she sat beside Reese.

            Tessa shook her head. "They've been baiting us along the whole time. That's why Menoetious gave me that line. 'Fear is at the root of all things.' He knew it would drive us nuts upon realizing it!"

            "But didn't Phobos, y'know, help us? Are you sure you don't mean Deimos?" Mark queried, mozzarella stick halfway to his mouth. He didn't seem to notice as the marinara sauce on the end of it dripped onto his tie, or rather, didn't seem to care.

            "I'm sure," Tessa was as riled up as Kaden had ever seen her, and he knew why. For the first time in a long time, she had a tangible lead and an explanation to the questions whose phantom answers had been haunting them for weeks. "We need to act, now."

            That was when Madi got to her feet, poised as she straightened out any wrinkles in her pale green dress. She held Tessa's gaze from across the room, hazel eyes resolute, and for a second, Kaden wondered if she was about to rebuff Tessa for being the one to dampen the evening. But then again, Madi was a daughter of Poseidon as well. She had as sporadic a temper as Tessa did, as all children of the sea god did. She was an iceberg, and beneath her composure was an arctic sea of strength.

            "I'll sic Lukas on it," Madi said, plucking her phone from off the table. "He's found gods before. I'm sure Phobos will be no exception."

            "He'll probably be in hiding," Dale countered, to which Madi frowned. "Especially if Menoetious has him on some sort of leash."

            "Or he'll be all too eager to give us more headaches," Reese said gloomily. His normally bright eyes were dim, and Kaden felt a pang of sorrow and rage emanate from his best friend like sonar bouncing off an undersea mountain. This was Sierra's killer, after all. Reese would want something done.

            Madi swept off into the next room, already chatting into her phone. Everyone else seemed to realize that this marked the party's end, and the war's beginning. Despite the party clothes and plates of half-eaten food, these were soldiers prepping for battle.

            "Amelie," Tessa spoke, glancing at the daughter of Hecate. "I want the barrier to be reinforced the second we get back to camp. I also want magical renderings of Manhattan to be brought to Sophia and Nova. You three will oversee defending the city against Menoetious and his troops."

            Amelie nodded, her shimmering irises glinting. "Done and done."

            Tessa continued to divvy up responsibilities among the group settled before her. Madi, Ben, and Mark would work with the Hypnos and Iris kids to gather as much intel on Vinny's location, as well as Menoetious'. Dale would lead her cabin, as well as the other elementals of camp into both offensive and defensive fronts. Reese and Imogen would oversee a perimeter for the archers, and Flynn would gather the spirits and other medics to be prepped for field duty during the battles. Tessa and Kaden would rally the remainder of the half-bloods for the heat of the battle until Reese, Mark, and Dale could join them.

            A sort of energy filled the air, one that Kaden only could feel in instances like these, when it felt like the fate of the world hung in their hands. For once, Kaden could see hope begin to blossom like a sunrise in the hearts of his comrades, and it was hope that won wars after all. Things finally seemed to be definite.

~~

Things were not definite.

            Two days later, and Kaden could quite certainly say that things were headed to hell in a handbasket. While strategies and battle plans were being formulated as rapidly as new weaponry and armor from the Forges, that didn't stop things from deteriorating at Camp Half-Blood. The morale at camp was already up in the air, and Kaden knew that without morale, hope meant nothing to the soldiers fighting the war.

            Rumors about Project Maelstrom had begun to spring up around camp like mushrooms after a downpour. Most of them were nothing hazardous, but sometimes Kaden would hear that it was all some form of a conspiracy theory, or that there was no use fighting weather, or some other ridiculous statement that he couldn't stop people from thinking.

            The one thing he needed to quell, however, was the aftermath from the rumors. Project Maelstrom was already a sensitive topic among the Romans, and for the dozen or two legionnaires that were among Camp Half-Blood at any given time since the camps' union a few years ago, it was old wounds. Project Maelstrom had attacked Camp Jupiter too many times and claimed too many lives for people to be dismissing it as false. Some people still did, and that's where things got ugly.

            Kaden had been drafting a flank pattern for the war when Bianca Windsor darted up to him in a blur of red and orange. "Kaden, we need your help," Was all she said before leading him to where a handful of campers were gathered.

            Upon sight of the former praetor, some of the bystanders felt it was a good time to leave. However, Kaden fixed them all with a look, freezing them in place. He could hear the shouts now, and despite his heart filling with anxiety at the situation, he forced himself to remain calm.

            "You Greeks are useless! All you do is stay cooped up in your little camp and let your brethren get killed on doomed missions or attacks from the enemy!" A Roman was screeching, his eyes blazing.

            The Greek he was accusing merely scoffed. "Oh, please. For all your praised history, you Romans can't even live up to your own legacy. No wonder you all keep getting hit by earthquakes; you can't even defend yourselves because you think everyone should just kowtow in respect!"

            "You stole the Sword of Peleus! Why should we trust anyone but ourselves?"

            "Well, you stole the Necklace of Harmonia!"

            "Traitor!"

            "Thief!"

            The Roman made a move for the gladius sheathed at his side; the Greek unsheathed the dagger strapped to her forearm.

            "Woah!" Kaden bellowed, and the two demigods jumped, their weapons clattering to the grass. The bystanders allowed him to pass through, and he looked down at the feuding half-bloods before him. "What's going on here?"

            "This one can't get her head out of her—" The Roman began, but Kaden cut him off with a swift and scathing glare. He shut his mouth.

            "We are two days away from war," Kaden began, eyeing them both. "The last thing we need is petty arguments between allies to distract us from saving lives and winning the war. Now, what are you both supposed to be doing?"

            The Roman and the Greek muttered their schedules.

            "Then get headed there." They scattered, but the crowd of bystanders around him had only gotten larger since Kaden interfered. "And this goes for everyone: if I or any of your counselors or teachers catches wind of any inter-camp disagreements, they can report them to us directly. You've all seen us when we're mad. Is that something you want to invoke?"

            Kaden almost laughed at the revelations dawning in the campers' eyes. "Get out of here." They didn't hesitate to do so.

            Only Bianca remained, and she shuffled up to Kaden. "It's true, you know."

            Kaden met her meek gaze quizzically. "What is?"

            "The Necklace of Harmonia," Bianca recited. "We kept it in the attic since it was recovered a few decades ago, but it's gone now."

            Ice began to creep up Kaden's spine at that. If the Romans accused them of stealing the Sword of Peleus, would they have dared to steal something of theirs? Kaden shook the idea from his head; succumbing to those kinds of thoughts made him no better than the campers he'd just disciplined.

            "How long has it been missing?" Kaden asked.

            Bianca shook her head, auburn curls waving around her fiercely. "No one knows for sure, but it was definitely there before the barrier was down."

            Kaden resisted the urge to curse in front of his half-sister. He drew out a long exhale, pinning Bianca with an imperative look. "Bianca, I'm placing you in charge of finding out as much as you can about its disappearance. What can the Necklace do?"

            Bianca made a face as she wracked her brain. "The wearer can remain beautiful while wearing it, but it brings destruction to them, I think. Nothing dangerous, if you're not the wearer." She was trying to calm him down, Kaden knew as much. He just hoped it had worked.

            "Okay," Kaden nodded. "Thank you."

            "Of course," Bianca said, and headed off to begin her new mission. Kaden watched her go, then trudged back towards the Big House.

            Part of him wished that the war had started by now. He was beginning to get restless, what with all these disputes he'd tasked himself with diffusing. While they were making progress on mobilization, what was an army if it was divided amongst itself?

            "I thought we left brooding Kaden in the teenage years," A familiar voice chimed, and Kaden didn't need to turn around to know it was Tessa. She fell into step with him the same way they always did. "What's up?"

            Kaden heaved a sigh, meeting her inquisitive eyes. "I just broke up another fight. The campers are getting restless, and so am I."

            A shadow flitted across Tessa's crystalline irises. "Roman versus Greek?" Kaden nodded, and Tessa frowned. "If Alex and Kaya wanted to lose a war, they've certainly done their part by dividing us all up."

            "They're trying to stop it," Kaden attempted to placate, but even he couldn't be sure of that by now. "Although I just found something out that I don't think will help."

            He filled Tessa in on the missing Necklace of Harmonia, and despite her being stoic when the situation called for it, he was too good at reading Tessa and all her tells to know when something bothered her. And this did.

            "Do you think they took it? To stir the pot even more?" Tessa bit her lip.

            Kaden shook his head. "They wouldn't."

            "Are you sure?"

            They'd reached the Big House now, standing at the top of the steps. Kaden turned to face Tessa, she turned to face him, and he knew that she knew that he wasn't sure whatsoever.

            "That's what I thought," Tessa exhaled, raking a hand through her thick dark hair. "We'll bring it up at the council meeting, see what we can do."

            "I assigned Bianca to finding out as much as she could about it," Kaden offered, grabbing the door for Tessa. "It isn't a danger to anyone but the wearer, so I don't think we should worry so much about it as its effects."

            Tessa nodded, her pursed lips the only indication that she was still poring over every possible way that this could come back to haunt them. Kaden didn't blame her for doing it; he was prone to thinking like that as well.

            Together, Kaden and Tessa headed to the rec room, where the War Council was waiting for them. Seated around the ping-pong table were each of Camp Half-Blood's counselors, as well as a few ambassadors from the nymphs and satyrs that were currently tasked with rebuilding Camp's dwindling numbers.

            The only people missing were the Roman delegates. It normally wouldn't have bothered Kaden—there were only two of them—but after what he'd just witnessed, their absence seemed to send a message: we do not trust you.

             Tessa took her seat, sandwiched between a satyr and Dale; Kaden took his between Nova from Cabin Nine and Rory Aster from Cabin Eleven. While there was no official head of the table—normally, Chiron or Mr. D would oversee War Councils, but seeing as Olympus had gone dark, they had bigger problems to deal with—everyone looked to Tessa.

            The daughter of Poseidon merely leant forward and surveyed the room. "We're two days from war, people. If you're waiting for an invitation to speak, I'm afraid you won't find one."

            The next half hour was filled with questions from the other counselors, assignments for cabins, and other talk that would otherwise accompany a council meeting. By the end of it, all twenty cabins and four groups of nymphs and satyrs had their military assignments for the war.

            Camp would be defended by the satyrs and nymphs, as well as a handful of Hecate and Apollo kids to maintain the barrier and run portals, in case anyone needed immediate medical attention. From there, ten cabins would be split between defending Olympus and pushing back Menoetious' troops, while the other ten would be on the offensive front.

            Just as Nova concluded her speech about new weaponry and armor, the sound of footsteps snagged everyone's attention. Kaden, as well as everyone else, looked to the rec room's door; no one was allowed to interrupt a War Council meeting unless the situation was dire. Catastrophe seemed to hang in the air as everyone reached for a weapon, but when Kassie Gray walked through the door, flanked on either side by another Hunter of Artemis, she only looked mildly amused at the weapons pointed at her.

            "Well," Kaden's sister chimed. "This is a warm welcome."

            Kaden got to his feet, in equal parts disbelief and joy. "Kassie, what're you doing here?" He surged forward for a hug. Kassie was shorter than her, and despite being the younger sibling, he'd officially surpassed her in age.

            "What, not happy to see me?" Kassie gave him an impish smile, but it didn't meet her eyes. "I'm afraid I'm not here bearing good news."

            "What's wrong?" Tessa asked from where she'd stood.

            Kassie flicked her attention to Tessa, then back to Kaden, as if silently apologizing for what was to come. "Typhon's power sources have been reactivated, gathering more strength each day. Storm activity has been off the charts in Washington state, the Badlands, and now the Northeast. Typhon is rising, and you all need to be ready."

            "But we disabled him," Dale countered, golden eyes disbelieving. "We weakened him at the Masked Battle."

            "Weakened isn't the same thing as destroyed," Kassie offered, her voice soft but strong. "I'm afraid he's almost up to complete strength."

            "What happens if he does?" Rory asked. He was the newest counselor, after his predecessor had never returned from her mission a few weeks prior. He was only sixteen.

            Kaden remembered Typhon's rising from the Masked Battle, how hopeless it had felt. If it hadn't been for Tessa, Dale, and the other elemental demigods, they probably wouldn't have survived. He looked to Tessa now, who was watching him all the same.

            "Never mind that," Tessa said calmly to Rory, offering him the same smile she gave whenever new recruits needed confidence. She was an easy leader to follow for that exact reason, despite shouldering the burden. "We'll do what we can."

            "Also," One of the Hunters that had followed Kassie in stepped forward: Grace, the Hunter who had known Sera Brennan, and helped during Tessa's coma. Her slight, ethereal frame and aura haunted Kaden to this day. "We aren't the only ones that have arrived in full force."

            Kaden furrowed his brow, looking at Grace in confusion. He knew that Grace had a certain gift, similar to Adhara's, to which she could sense the brim between life and death, good and evil. "Who has?"

            Grace met Kaden's gaze, and it was like staring into the eyes of a ghost. "The Romans. And they did not look happy."

~~

            To say that Kaden ran out of the rec room was an understatement. He tore down the halls of the Big House, flew down its steps, his friends and the Hunters in his wake. It wasn't until he was outside when he saw them: Romans, making their way through his camp the way they had in all their conquests prior.

            And it filled him with rage.

            "What the hell?" Tessa said, skidding to a stop at Kaden's side. "What's going on?"

            Kaden shook his head, watching in frozen horror as centurions headed towards the arena, the cabins, the forges. Two would go into each area, and the legionnaires that had been working amongst the Greeks followed them out.

            "They're reclaiming their legionnaires," Kaden said, fury in his words. "They're splitting us up."

            Tessa searched the faces of the Romans filing around them, spotting one that she recognized. "Charlie!"

            Oh, great, Kaden rolled his eyes as he followed Tessa over to where Charlie Bowman was standing. He wasn't in armor, but his purple camp shirt set him apart as much as any Imperial Gold breastplate and greaves would.

            "Charlie, what is going on here?" Tessa asked.

            The son of Vulcan glanced down at Tessa, a twinge of sympathy in his eyes but otherwise, his face was set in stone. "We're retrieving our people."

            "Your people?" Tessa echoed, not without an air of mocking. "I thought we were allies. Allies work together."

            "They don't have to fraternize with one another, though," Charlie snapped. He shut his eyes, exhaling, as if realizing what he'd done. "Excuse me."

            He marched down the trails, deeper into Camp Half-Blood.

            "This is it, then," Tessa fumed. "We have a civil war on our hands, whether we want it or not."

            Kaden's heart pounded in his chest as he searched the sea of gold and purple, his gaze landing on two familiar faces. At that, the fury pounding through him seemed to harden into makeshift armor, defending him for what he was about to do.

            "Not if we can help it." Kaden said gravely and stalked towards Kaya Blackwood and Alex Deven.

            The praetors did not seem at all surprised when Kaden and Tessa appeared before them. They did not seem surprised at their disbelieving expressions. As Kaya issued orders, Alex merely glanced up from his tablet and said, "Oh, hi."

            "What the hell do you two think you're doing?" Kaden barked.

            Alex flicked his black holes of eyes up to meet Kaden's gaze. "Feisty today, aren't we?"

            "Alex," Kaya warned, tuning into the conversation. She addressed both Kaden and Tessa with a look tempered from steel. "This is just a precautionary measure."

            "Against what? Us?" Tessa demanded from Kaden's side.

            Kaya opened her mouth to say something, but Alex interrupted by simply saying "Yes."

            Kaden took a deep breath, avoiding Alex and looking to Kaya, the more level-headed of the two praetors. "You cannot infiltrate our camp and take back campers who have selected to be here of their own will."

            "The exchange program is held in hiatus until further notice," Kaya recited, her tone clipped. Her dark eyes seemed to glint like the edge of a knife, warning Kaden not to continue. "So we have every right to gather our legionnaires in preparation for battle."

            "Against us?" Tessa said sharply.

            Kaya slid her attention to Tessa, and a ripple of tension like lightning passed between the two of them. "Against Menoetious."

            "Kaya," Tessa took a step towards the praetor. "You may be a praetor. You may have a fancy cloak, fancy armor, and fancy powers. But this is my camp. And we don't take kindly to invaders."

            Alex scoffed. "Please, Tessa. You seem to be forgetting that Rome conquered Greece without much of a fight."

            "And you seem to forget that Rome burned due to its own ignorance," Kaden rebuffed, his words like fire.

            Alex fixed his gaze on Kaden. "We just have our own missions to run. This isn't an act of war, Kaden."

            "You literally just said that you're separating your campers from ours to protect them."

            "Are you forgetting the real enemy?"

            "Are you?"

            A crowd had begun to gather around the feuding leaders, and Kaden paid them no attention. This was their fight.

            "Remember who your family is, Kaden." Kaya warned. "You're a child of Venus."

            Kaden sucked in a short breath, setting his jaw. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, Roman or Greek, as they remembered that the last time this happened, it had been to claim him. Then, he'd hardly had a voice in the face of such an empire.

            But now? He'd been the one leading it, and he knew better than to succumb to authority.

            "I may be a child of Venus, you're right," Kaden said, his voice low. "But my home is Camp Half-Blood. I found more of a family in the Greeks than I ever did in the Romans. I might have learned who I was at Camp Jupiter, but I discovered who I am and who I will always be here." He motioned to the valley surrounding him.

            "So, please," Kaden took another step towards Kaya and Alex. "Take your Romans. Take your weapons. Retreat to your Midtown base like the pompous conquerors you try so hard to be. And get the hell out of my camp."

            Silence hung between them like a storm about to strike. Kaden dared one of them to make a move, dared any of the Romans to make a move, but nothing came.

            "Don't do this, Kaden," Kaya said softly. "We're still on your side."

            "You should have thought about that before you marched in here like you owned the place," Kaden rebuffed. "Now go."

            Kaya narrowed her eyes at Kaden, but not without a glimmer of respect in her irises. The sight of it was enough relief for Kaden to know that there was still hope for repairs, but for now, there needed to be a division.

            "Romans," Kaya's voice echoed through the sea of campers surrounding her. "Cuneam formate."

            The Romans held formation and marched their way out of Camp Half-Blood. Kaden and Tessa and the rest of the Greeks watched their friends, siblings, allies go, the afternoon sun glinting off their golden armor.

            "Do you think they'll still stand with us?" Tessa asked, eyes still locked on the horizon.

            "Who cares if they do or don't?" Kaden countered. He glanced at Tessa until she met his eyes. He grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together as more and more Greeks gathered behind them, watching the horizon for what had just happened, and what was to come.

"We have all we need right here."