EVERYONE THOUGHT FOUR LEAF CLOVERS held incredible amounts of good luck. Kitty had never believed it. A little mutant weed, lucky? But as she lay on a carved bench four rows up in the sword-fighting arena, sweat dripping down her pale skin onto the stone amphitheater bench, she considered scouring Half Blood Hill for one to take with them on their quest.

The sun beat down on her. Where were Zeus's storm clouds now? He'd thrown a fit yesterday when Hermes had tried to help. Drenched the entire camp for hours. Kitty had been forced to listen to Drew Tanaka in the Aphrodite cabin moaning the way the rain soaked her clothes and frizzed up her hair. 

Sounds of clashing metal rang through the air yet again. Kitty kept her eyes closed and arm across her face. She'd done her time. She'd swung a sword at Clarisse—repeatedly. Her aching muscles proved that had been a mistake.

They were leaving on a potentially world-altering quest in like three days and she still had to take melee training from Clarisse and later, archery training from Chiron or Kayla. Hopefully Chiron. She could only handle the Apollo kids in small doses. Other than Will. He was cool. The rest were… intense.

A familiar groan from her left made Kitty open her eyes. She blinked back against the light. On the bench just above her, Kitty watched Ophelia ease herself down, cringing at every movement. Another victim of the Clarisse La Rue Bootcamp.

"Everything hurts," she moaned.

Kitty wanted to laugh. Not because it was funny, but because it was true. Taking combat notes from the god of war's favorite child ranked low on her list of things she wanted to do before she died. 

And yet, with her date of death potentially rapidly approaching, she was doing that instead of something higher up in the list. She didn't want to hang with Ares's favorite child. An image of a tan skinned girl, cheeks red from hard work in the arena, almost dancing as she practiced with her bamboo sticks. Sienna Dimaano. Not Ares's golden girl. Clarisse exploded like a minefield. Sienna burned like a lava field. Though when she trained Kali, she moved like the wind. Everything became a target as she weaved. Why block to protect herself when she could just break your leg? Sienna never hesitated. 

"Why are we doing this?" Ophelia said. 

Kitty opened her eyes again. She looked over at Ophelia and noticed how sick she looked. Her usual pale complexion looked even worse.

"Hey, you good?" Kitty forced herself up, her cotton tee-shirt sticking to her back. "You look awful."

"Just really hot." Ophelia ran a hand through her sweaty hair. "Do you have any water?"

Kitty didn't have much left in her bottle but what she had, she handed over. Training in the open amphitheater under the bright sun probably hurt Ophelia more than anyone else. During the day, she seemed more like a human than a demigod. The bruise forming on her left arm proved Kitty's point.

"Cabin 11, gather up!" Travis said.

Kitty told Ophelia to go first. Better to be behind where she could catch her if she needed to. They had been grouped with Alex for the Three Man Relay, after all. Couldn't do a Three Man Relay without three people. She followed Travis out of the amphitheater and to the dining pavilion.

Kitty relished every moment they spent devouring lunch underneath tent-like cabanas someone had strung between columns at the pavilion. Once she got some food in her, Ophelia started to look better too.

Looking up from her Italian salad, Kitty smiled when she saw Alex make his way through the crowd. He hadn't been at training that morning. She didn't know where he'd gone but not even Travis seemed eager to push him. The Stoll brothers had given him a wide berth since the Prophecy of Reparation had been issued.

"Hey," he said. Sliding into the last seat, next to Ophelia on the end, he reached across and grabbed Kitty's goblet. He downed a huge gulp. "Thanks."

"Yes, Alex, of course you can have a drink," Kitty deadpanned. But she couldn't help her widening smile. He seemed more alive. "Where have you been?"

He shrugged. With a glance at Ophelia, he narrowed his eyes. "You alright?"

"Training in the sun isn't my favorite thing in the world," she said. "But I'm fine."

He didn't seem convinced. But he continued on anyway. "I was poking around Zeus's Fist. Wanted to see if the Labyrinth was active."

"Why would it be active?" Kitty said. Her skin crawled. "Daedalus died. It's gone."

Alex shook his head. "I had a dream about it. Three people, two men and one woman, all dressed like businessmen. They were talking about the Labyrinth in the present tense. I don't think it's gone."

"We should tell Chiron," Kitty said. 

Across from her, Ophelia withdrew in her seat. She sat up straighter. "Did you find anything at the entrance?"

"No." Alex looked up at Kitty after taking another drink of her Coke. "You're right. We need to tell Chiron."

A horn call sounded over the camp. Low to high, it echoed through the hills without stutter. Conversation stopped. As it faded, lingering for a few moments in the hot summer air, the campers straightened at their dining tables. Buzzing chit chat started again. Excitement at the upcoming race, competitive trash talk slung across tables.

"Ready?" Kitty said. She probably looked like an idiot, grinning as she shot up from her seat. "We're going to win this."

Ophelia didn't look nearly as enthused. But Alex slapped Kitty on the shoulder and agreed with her. Before long, they joined the droves of other campers flowing Chiron to the climbing wall.

"O, we've got this," Alex said. He took his girlfriend's hand and squeezed it. 

Kitty nodded. She stood on Alex's other side. "Don't worry about it."

A simple race, the campers had been divided into teams of three, with five teams grouped per round. The race had four sections, with each team member assigned one of the first three. The final leg of the race had to be completed by at least two of the three team members.

Chiron detailed each section: The first would be an obstacle course race through a portion of the forest. Ophelia took that, looking forward to getting out of the burning sun. The second section sounded like something out of military bootcamp: army-crawling under barbed wire, leaping over trenches filled with poison ivy, dodging satyr-thrown, Hephaestus-made paint grenades. Kitty was more than happy for Alex to take that one. And she opted for the third, a foot race across different terrains. She figured her luck would aid her there.

The final, group portion of the relay involved the climbing wall. Though Chiron had turned off the lava, plenty of loose footings and easily snapped ropes made it a treacherous descent. Two of the three team members had to reach the top and plant the flag. It didn't matter if you got there first if your teammate didn't join you, too.

"No weapons, Campers, only your wits. Medics from Cabin 7 will be on hand at all times," said Chiron. "But you are not permitted to sabotage your opponent. This is not about defeating your enemies so much as it is about surviving with allies."

Kitty felt like her fingers were buzzing. She, Connor, Kayla, Annabeth, and Nyssa all lined up near the Volleyball pits. Settling on the ground, Kitty began to stretch, ignoring the chatter between the other three girls as they all killed time. Connor did the same. She glanced over. He would be the main threat. Connor could run like the wind, and as she'd noticed many times when fighting beside him on the battlefield or in Capture the Flag, he had an inordinate amount of Luck.

"Annabeth, do you have an extra hair tie?" she said. Kitty rarely carried one, her hair short enough that tying it back in a ponytail wasn't always feasible.

Annabeth looked over from where she, too, had started stretching. "Here." She flicked a white one across the grass.

"Thanks."

The horn echoed across Camp Half-Blood as Kitty tied back her sweaty hair. Another wave of adrenaline crashed over her. Kitty couldn't sit still. She stood up off the ground, wandering in a small circle. From what she could see, her first challenge would be cobbles that satyrs with far too much time must've laid down. Then gravel and mud, and finally tree roots courtesy of the nymphs. The race ended at the climbing wall where hopefully Ophelia and Alex would meet her.

Connor, Travis, and Malcolm would be their fiercest competitors. Then again, she could never count out Percy and Annabeth even if they were stuck with Will. Kitty loved Will, but the kid really was better off as a medic extraordinaire than competing in tournaments of physical prowess.

It took all her willpower not to count down the minutes between the horn call and Alex's arrival. It wouldn't do her any good. It just added to her stress. It added to her inability to stand still on their start line.

Pounding hooves preceded the arrival of any camper. Chiron, looking quite serious, galloped up to them. It wouldn't be long, then, before someone joined them. 

Just as she'd expected, Travis and Percy came running towards them with Alex barely a few steps in front, the other two contestants nowhere to be seen. Covered in dirt and tiny cuts, all three boys looked like they'd been through Hades when then barreled towards the third leg of the relay. Both Alex and Percy looked almost frightening in their determination. 

Kitty's handoff went flawlessly. She wasted no time. With zero hesitation, she tore forwards across the worn down, wobbling cobbles. She didn't think about potential broken ankles. She just focused on her goal: win this relay race.

Nothing would stand in her way. Kitty felt no fear, deciding to trust her Luck, the favor of her mother, as she slid across stones. She could hear heavy breathing and pounding footsteps behind her. She ignored them.

Cobbles gave way to gravel and mud. Kitty picked her line, the center of the road where she hoped the ground had been packed in more. After two close calls where she narrowly avoided face planting into sharp stones, Kitty saw the final section. Tree roots.

Annabeth and Connor ran next to her on either side. When they approached the horribly lumpy path that seemed more suitable for a mountain bike than a pedestrian, they skidded to a halt. But Kitty didn't wait. 

Annabeth could analyze it all she liked. Connor could try to pick his way carefully over the roots. But Kitty only had one thing in her favor: boldness.

Fortune favored the bold, after all.

Kitty all but flew over the tree roots and mismatched stones. Barely touching the ground, she trusted her instincts to find footholds. She didn't even look down. She could hear Connor coming up behind her. He had speed on his side. But she had confidence.

She could see the climbing wall. Ophelia stood at the base with Malcolm, Katie, and Will. She could hear them all screaming, shouting for those running the race. Still clutching their black flag, she crossed the third relay point before any of her competitors. Alex, apparently running alongside, skidded in after her, shouting for them all to move.

"Go!" He said. "Come on!"

Kitty pushed between Katie and Will. She threw herself at the rope wall. It swayed in an artificial wind. Below her, she heard Ophelia shout. But she didn't wait. Alex passed her, using his brute strength to haul himself up one of the single, rough climbing ropes.

"Here!" Kitty threw him the flag. "Get to the top."

Alex hesitated, looking past her. Kitty glanced down. Ophelia struggled to haul herself up the climbing wall, Travis and Connor jumping on to the other side and causing it to sway and buckle. Kitty turned back. 

"Go!" She said.

He sped up the rope, barely dodging a rounded spike that shot out from the wooden structure. Alex used it as a foothold instead, vaulting himself further up to the top.

Kitty continued to climb. Her hands ached, the ropes deeply uncomfortable against her palms. She gritted her teeth. She ignored her burning arms that still hurt from training with Clarisse that morning.

Just a few more feet. Travis had just grabbed the top ledge. She still had time on Connor, though, and Percy and Annabeth were a few feet under him.

Ophelia cried out. Kitty turned to look down. The rope she'd tried to grab had almost snapped. Kitty's eyes widened. She glanced at Travis, hauling himself over the top. Connor had almost gotten level with her. She could maybe reach Ophelia. Maybe. But that would take a lot of luck and there was no guarantee they'd be supported by Kitty's rope.

They only needed two to finish. Kitty turned away, hauling herself up the last three feet. She heard several gasps, a rope split, and Ophelia hit the ground with a groan. Hearing the impact hurt. But Will had stayed on the ground. She'd be fine.

Chiron blew the horn. Kitty glanced at Alex, smile faltering as she saw his frown and tight grip on their black flag. 

"Kitty Ellis, Alex Griffith, and Ophelia Byrd win Round One!" Chiron said. "Congratulations."

"You could've reached her, Kit," Alex said. He chewed on his cheek. 

Kitty felt her shoulders deflate a little. But she shook her head, catching her breath while the grumbling of the Stoll brothers and Annabeth and Percy's arguing provided ample background noise atop the climbing tower.

"I knew Will was down there, and we needed two to win," she said. "I made a split second decision."

He sighed. But he tossed the black flag to her. "Fortune favors the bold until it gets someone killed. You, or her, or me." Alex looked over the side of the wall, then turned back to her looking a bit more relieved. "Good run, though. You're almost as fast as me."

Kitty snorted. She looked over the wall and saw Ophelia sitting next to Will, looking fine. With a smile, Kitty started descending. She'd made the right choice. No chores for the last three days of camp for any of them. They could head off to their deaths refreshed and ready for anything.