[amicus certus in re incerta]

Sparks from the campfire floated up into the sky on the summer wind and the sounds of the entire camp's laughter and singing. As usual, the Apollo campers led them in the typical hits of the campfires; this time, it was 'I Am My Own Great-Great-Grandpa', a crowd favorite. Campers, busy singing and laughing and roasting marshmallows on the rising, vibrant fire, couldn't have been happier.

Dale wiped a tear from her eye, catching her breath from laughing so hard. No matter how many times Mark was chosen to sing his verse, it cracked Dale up each time.

Mark, beaming and bowing as the crowd erupted into applause before continuing into the chorus, flopped back down beside Dale. "How'd I do?"

"Terribly, as usual," Dale quipped, still giggling.

"Ah, well, thank you." Mark nodded to her in thanks.

Dale cast her gaze out over the rest of the amphitheater. It was nights like these that made Dale love being a half-blood and helped her forget about the hard path to get here. Seeing everyone so happy beside their friends and siblings—

Well...not everyone.

Dale averted her gaze to the wedge of the amphitheater seats that would otherwise have belonged to the children of Poseidon. However, up until a week ago, no one ever sat there. The children of Hecate, Zeus, and Demeter filled the gap...save one seat at the very front row.

Tessa Brennan, the sole daughter of Poseidon and resident of Cabin Three, sat in her rightful place but looked as if she'd taken someone else's. The hood of her sweatshirt was pulled over her dark hair, her hand stuffed into her pockets. Every now and again, she'd shift to get more comfortable, or glance on either side of her at the nearest campers who were torn between enjoying the campfire and watching this girl to see what she'd do next.

"Mark," Dale found her voice after laughing so hard. "You're not particularly fond of this seat, are you?"

Mark furrowed his eyebrows at Dale. Even though Mark should have ben sitting with his siblings of Cabin Fourteen on the other side of the amphitheater, everyone knew that he and Dale were practically glued at the hip, so he often sat with her and her siblings at Cabin Four's wedge.

"Why?" Mark narrowed his eyes at her. "I've got prime s'more-snatching seats here, Carnation."

Dale rolled her eyes, getting to her feet. Mark, out of obligation if not a hint of reluctance, followed suit. As they shuffled their way across the rows of seats, past singing demigods, Dale wondered what it was about Tessa that everyone was so afraid of. They all had freaky powers; why would hers be any different?

At last, they reached Tessa's row, and the other half-bloods sitting in the nearby vicinity scooted as far away as possible. Tessa looked up at the sudden movement, and found herself looking up at Dale and Mark.

"Uh..." Tessa said. "Can I help you with something?"

"Hi!" Dale said brightly. "I'm Dale Alcander, and this—" She turned to snag Mark's attention from where he was trying to steal someone's s'more—"is Mark Akagi."

Tessa blinked at Dale. "Hi."

Dale elbowed Mark, who dropped the s'more with a yelp. "Hi."

"Mind if we join you?" Dale asked.

Tessa's turquoise irises widened fractionally. "Oh, um...I thought we were supposed to sit with our cabins."

"No one really pays attention to that rule." Dale waved her hand in dismissal of the idea.

Tessa's eyes flicked over across the amphitheater, and Dale followed it to where the children of Aphrodite normally sat. Dale quirked an eyebrow but didn't ask.

"So, can we sit with you?" Dale asked with a smile. "Mark's really good at teaching people the lyrics to the sing-a-longs."

"Oh, um—" Tessa stammered.

"It's true! I could have been an Apollo kid, but I didn't get a callback." Mark winked at Tessa.

Tessa looked overwhelmed, and something deflated within Dale. Maybe Tessa just wanted to sit alone.

"Okay."

Dale snapped her attention back to Tessa. She was smiling, ever so slightly.

"Okay?" Dale echoed.

"Okay, you can sit with me," Tessa's smile grew, a little sheepish but not disappointed.

Dale beamed. "Great!"

Together, Dale and Mark sat down beside Tessa. Mark got to work at teaching Tessa the lyrics to the newest sing-a-long, and by the end of the campfire, she'd even gotten it all right when it was sung. She'd even laughed.

It wasn't until Cabin Three was called for dismissal that Tessa make a move to leave. She got up in the center of a crowded amphitheater, turned to Dale and Mark, smiled, and said, "Thank you."

"Dale?"

Dale blinked, the memory fading from before her eyes like mist. She turned and found Mark standing in the doorway of the conference room. Beyond him, Kaden and Reese were setting up chairs around the table, talking in hushed tones about the meeting to come.

"Sorry," Dale muttered, clearing her throat. "Just a little out of it, I guess."

"Understandably so." Mark drummed his fingers against the doorframe before pushing himself away. "Come on. Keeping your mind busy will work wonders."

Against the ghosts and the permanent reminder that one of my best friends is directly in harm's way? Dale thought cynically. She huffed a breath but followed Mark into the conference room.

Reese looked up from his case file as if gauging Dale's demeanor. "Hey."

"Hey," Dale said softly. She nodded to the case file. "I assume we already know everything inside of that."

The corners of Reese's lips quirked up, and he smiled. "Actually," he said, shutting the case file with one hand. "This is some new information."

The words could have been bombs for how jarring it was to them. Dale's eyebrows flew up, feeling as if she'd been grabbed by her spinal cord. Mark straightened up, suddenly at attention. Kaden, who'd been standing on the opposite side of the room, turned to face Reese in bewilderment. "What? What kind of new information?"

Reese waved a hand and Dale looked at him in confusion. "You'll find out alongside the others."

Mark folded his arms across his chest at Reese. "Did this 'new information' come from your summons to camp?"

Reese avoided Mark's gaze. "In a way." He cleared his throat, and Dale took that as a sign that whatever Reese was keeping from them, he was doing so with an iron grip. They wouldn't be finding out until he deemed it the right time.

Before they could interrogate Reese further, Bianca Windsor poked her head into the room. "Oh, um, sorry to interrupt but everyone's here."

Kaden took a slow breath, standing up straight. "Send them in."

Bianca nodded and scurried off, and moments later, the Council had convened.

~~

The conference room radiated with enough energy to power the entire desolate city of New York, Dale was sure of it. As she regarded each half-blood seated around the long table for the potential last of these war councils, she wondered if this was what it would be like to witness one of the Olympian Councils in session. So many powerful beings in one room, and yet the stakes had changed.

Dale stood with Mark, Kaden, and Reese at the head of the table. Seated before them were Alex Deven, Kaya Blackwood, Imogen Hale, Calum and Nova Brooks, Jesse Argent, Kassie Gray, Amelie Hale, Lukas Abbott, Ben King, Flynn Hale, Adhara Wren, and Eli Allistairs. Each watched with precarious intent and the attention was almost unnerving.

"Thank you all for coming," Kaden was saying when Dale tuned back in. "I understand these aren't easy times for either of our camps."

"You don't need to sugarcoat it, Kaden," Nova said, one arm propped up on the table. "Tessa's been compromised."

"Easy, Nova," Flynn reprimanded. "You think that's an easy thing for him to discuss?"

Kaden sucked in a breath—although Dale couldn't tell if it was out if sorrow or mere impatience. "Guys, really, it's fine. We need to focus."

"Gladly," Alex boomed. "So, get to the point, Gray."

"I see Camp Jupiter is missing its prime source of sunshine and rainbows." Adhara tilted her head at the son of Mars.

Alex began to narrow his eyes at the daughter of Nemesis sitting across the table from him, but at his side, Kaya elbowed him swiftly in the side.

"Ow!" Alex whined. "What was that for?"

"You know exactly what that's for," Kaya hissed. "Now play nice."

"Right," Mark drawled. "Anyways, there are a few things you all should know. For one, Tessa Brennan has not been compromised."

The room fell so utterly quiet that Dale could hear the conversations of demigods down the hall.

"What?" Imogen gawked, her jade eyes wide.

Mark began to explain, until he, Dale, Kaden, and Reese had all taken the brunt of explaining Tessa's plan. By the time Reese was finished, their friends and allies were watching them in equal parts disbelief, amazement, and confusion.

"That," Lukas said, piercing the silence, "is absolutely insane."

"Exactly!" Eli exclaimed, his voice suddenly shrill. "Why?"

"We explained why," Dale said flatly. "She knew it was the only way to accelerate this war to its ending point. Menoetius wanted her for Operation: Tempest, so now he has her."

"What if Operation: Tempest was just a ploy?" Calum asked. With his furrowed eyebrows and pensive vision, the son of Hephaestus appeared to be fiddling with the loose ends of Tessa's plans right before his eyes.

Beside him, Kassie shook her head. Dale hadn't seen the Lieutenant of Artemis in some time, but it appeared that as immortal Kassie was, she wasn't immune to the sorrows of war. She looked like she hadn't slept in days.

"It couldn't be," she decided. "Menoetius wouldn't go through all the trouble of raising Typhon if it wasn't a crucial part of his plan."

"Nor would he have sustained the role of Luke Knight's advisor," Dale observed.

"There's no use debating whether or not Menoetius' given intentions are genuine," Kaden interrupted, averting all focus to him. "Tessa wants us to give the news to our respective forces by midnight tonight, and then move once we do."

"Will we be able to?" Amelie asked, her kaleidoscopic eyes shimmering with her discomfort. "Typhon is expected to arrive in less than twenty-four hours. Once he does, there'll be no stopping him."

"That," Reese chimed, "is where our next piece of information comes from."

Dale whirled around to face the son of Apollo, suddenly anxious. And judging by the reactions of Mark, Kaden, Amelie, Eli, and Flynn, she wasn't the only one.

"Reese," Flynn began to get to his feet, but was halted by his brother.

"Camp Half-Blood has been keeping something from you all since the Masked Battle," Reese began. "Chase Ferguson, originally believed to be killed in Aether's possession, is alive."

The room erupted into chaos, but Reese was quick to quell the discourse.

"He was unconscious since then, until he woke up just before Menoetius launched his first attack on the Roman base in Midtown. Our studies show that before Chase made his way back to camp, he was bonded to Typhon's life source." Reese surveyed the room.

"That's absurd!" Kaya exclaimed. "Typhon's energy...it's too old for even that kind of magic."

"That's what we thought too," Reese affirmed. "But Chase's outbursts and flares in symptoms increase whenever Project Maelstrom is exercised."

Alex, stony-faced as ever, fixed Flynn with a look. "Is this true?"

Flynn inhaled slowly, shooting his brother a cautious look before saying, "Yes, it's true. As Typhon approaches New York and gets stronger, Chase Ferguson gets weaker."

"Should Menoetius succeed with Tessa and Operation: Tempest, Chase Ferguson will be killed," Eli said, finality in his voice. "There is no way to separate their life forces without killing him."

"Unless Tessa succeeds with her mission," Reese interrupted, and even Dale, Mark, and Kaden were silent at that.

"What?" Kaden's voice was rimmed with deadly calm. "You actually want her to host Typhon?"

"Not entirely," Reese said hurriedly. "But if Tessa were to gain control and destroy Typhon, it would save Chase."

"That'd be suicide." Amelie made a face. "Even if Tessa were to gain control—"

"—How could she gain control of a monster like Typhon?" Alex answered.

"You underestimate her."

All eyes turned to Adhara. The daughter of Nemesis sat delicately in her chair, surveying the room as if taking in every detail about the people before her.

"Should Tessa succeed, Chase will be freed. Should she fail..." Adhara slowed to a stop, a wry smile on her lips. "Well, I'm sure we all can guess what happens then."

"No offense or anything," Nova said, her voice suddenly small. She glanced around, as if gauging everyone's reaction. "But what's one life? We are fighting a war, after all."

Everyone went silent, and Dale's eyes widened. Of course, she understood what Nova was trying to say: shouldn't they be focusing on ending the war instead of severing Chase from Typhon's control? But they'd each been touched in this war one way or another, and Dale was afraid that Nova's intent was not met.

"What's one life?" Lukas asked, his pale green eyes wide with a tempered fury. "I'll tell you what one life is—"

"Lukas, enough."

Dale felt like she'd been hit from between the eyes as she and everyone else in the room looked to Ben King, seated at Lukas' side. The son of Athena had hardly said one word since the battle at Midtown, where Madi McKinley had been killed. Dale had nearly forgotten what his voice sounded like.

Ben raised his eyes to those of the bewildered group before him. "Nova, with all due respect, one life is as valuable as a million lives. One life started this war. One life will end it. The second we begin to see one life as unworthy of being saved, we'll have risked our own."

Nova opened her mouth, suddenly gaping like a fish. She promptly pressed her lips together, realizing her mistake, and sank back into her chair.

Ben regarded the rest of the group, looking them each in the eye. "You all are afraid of offending me, and that's very considerate of you. But while Madi died too soon, she did not die to not be spoken of. To not be remembered. To not be fought for." His voice caught, but he continued. "Madi's life, Kiara's life, Sierra's life, Mallory's life, Orpheus' life. They died so we could live and end this war once and for all. To make a world safer for demigods and mortals alike. Petty feuds between camps and secrets held from friends will not realize their wish. Action and initiative will."

Kaden held Ben's gaze, nodding. "Well said, Ben. Thank you."

Ben merely tipped his chin in understanding, then slumped back into his seat. Judging by how shell-shocked into silence the rest of the group was, Dale would say his point went well across.

"Ben's right," Dale found herself saying. "Menoetius has advanced this war by our own antagonizing of each other. He's profited on the lives our secrets have costed us. We can't keep anything from each other anymore, and that is why we are telling you all this. So those who have died won't have in vain. So those who are still missing, still fighting like Tessa can come home."

She felt the adrenaline rising through her veins, and before she could stop it, she continued speaking.

"I'm responsible for my father's death, and it has finally been used against me."

"Dale, what?" Mark asked in bewilderment.

Dale flinched, jerking her attention back to the crowd of people watching her intently. "I'm being blackmailed by the goddess of ghosts, who has been affected by this war as well. Our secrets have cost us all strength, time, and energy. If we don't come to terms with them, we won't do our fallen and our missing and ourselves justice."

For a moment, Dale was met with sudden silence.

Then, slowly, Eli got to his feet. "For Kiara."

Lukas followed, and Dale could tell that despite his attempts, his sea-green eyes were rimmed with red. "For Sierra."

One by one, Dale's friends stood in solidarity, speaking the names of their fallen loved ones like prayers for strength until everyone was on their feet. Suddenly, they weren't Greeks, they weren't Romans. They weren't Hunters and prophets and spies. They were just people who had been hurt, and people who would use that pain and turn it into power.

The movement swept out of the conference room, through the rest of the base as the news of Tessa's truth spread. Initially, they were met with confusion and shock, but clear as day, it morphed into motivation. Judging by Alex and Kaya's reports, the same had happened at the Roman base as well.

And suddenly, it was minutes past midnight, and the demigods of New York City were ready to take back what was theirs. Reese and Kaden had dished out assignments based on Tessa's instructions, and one by one, groups took off to their destinations.

Dale was strapping her knife to her side among a dwindling sea of demigods when Mark materialized before her. Despite his armor signaling that he was ready for a fight, the son of Iris only smiled at Dale.

"I'm proud of you," he said.

Dale shrugged, looking up at him with a small sigh. "I did what I had to do. I've kept that secret for...years. It needed to be told."

Mark smiled softly in understanding. "Come on, Carnation. We've got a world to save."

And they took off into the night, unsure of where they were going, but positive that it would lead them to their missing best friend, and ultimately, a better world.