{JASON}

He fell asleep on the job, which was bad since he was a thousand feet in the air.

He should've known better. It was the morning after their encounter with Sciron the bandit, and Jason was on duty, fighting some wild venti who were threatening the ship. When he slashed through the last one, he forgot to hold his breath.

A stupid mistake. When a wind spirit disintegrates, it creates a vacuum. Unless you're holding your breath, the air gets sucked right out of your lungs and the pressure in your inner ears drops so fast, you black out.

That's what happened to him.

Even worse, he instantly plunged into a dream. He needed to wake up, or he would die, but he wasn't able to hold on to that thought. In the dream, he found himself on the roof of a tall building, the nighttime skyline of Manhattan spread around him. A cold wind whipped through his clothes.

A few blocks away, clouds gathered above the Empire State Building—the entrance to Mount Olympus itself. Lightning flashed. The air was metallic with the smell of oncoming rain. The top of the skyscraper was lit up as usual, but the lights seemed to be malfunctioning. They flickered from purple to orange as if the colors were fighting for dominance.

On the roof of the building stood his old comrades from Camp Jupiter: an array of demigods in combat armor, their Imperial gold weapons, and shields glinting in the dark. He saw Dakota and Nathan, Leila, and Marcus.

Octavian stood to one side, thin and pale. His eyes red-rimmed from sleeplessness or anger, a string of sacrificial stuffed animals around his waist. His augur's white robe was draped over a purple T-shirt and cargo pants.

In the center of the line stood Reyna, her metal dogs Aurum and Argentum at her side. Upon seeing her, Jason felt an incredible pang of guilt. He'd let her believe they had a future together. He had never been in love with her, and he hadn't led her on, exactly...but he also hadn't shut her down.

He'd disappeared, leaving her to run the camp on her own—even if it wasn't his idea, but still...Then he returned to Camp Jupiter with a whole bunch of Greek friends in a warship. They'd fired on the Forum and ran away, leaving Reyna with a war on her hands.

In his dream, she looked tired. Others might not notice, but he'd worked with her long enough to recognize the weariness in her eyes, the tightness in her shoulders under the straps of her armor. Her dark hair was wet like she'd taken a hasty shower.

The Romans stared at the roof-access door as if they were waiting for someone.

When the door opened, two people emerged. One was a satyr. He'd learned the difference between a faun and a satyr at Camp Half-Blood, and Coach Hedge was always correcting him if he made that mistake. Jason didn't think he'd seen this particular satyr before, but he was sure the guy was from the Greek side.

He wore a green Nature Conservancy T-shirt with pictures of endangered whales and tigers and stuff. Nothing covered his shaggy legs and hooves. He had a bushy goatee, curly brown hair tucked into a Rasta-style cap, and a set of reed pipes around his neck.

His hands fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, but considering the way he studied the Romans, noting their positions and their weapons, Jason figured the satyr had been in combat before.

At his side was a redheaded girl he recognized from Camp Half-Blood—their oracle, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She had long frizzy hair, a plain white blouse, and jeans covered with hand-drawn ink designs. She held a blue plastic hairbrush that she tapped nervously against her thigh like a good luck talisman.

The son of Jupiter remembered her at the campfire, reciting lines of prophecy that sent Jason, Lorelai, Piper, Evangeline, and Leo on their quest together. She was a regular mortal teenager—not a demigod—but for reasons he never understood, the spirit of Delphi had chosen her as its host.

She stepped forward, her eyes fixed on Reyna. "You got my message."

Octavian snorted. "That's the only reason you made it this far alive, Graecus. I hope you've come to discuss surrender terms."

"Octavian..." Reyna warned.

"At least search them!" Octavian protested.

"No need," Reyna said, studying Rachel Dare. "Do you bring weapons?"

Rachel shrugged. "I hit Kronos in the eye with this hairbrush. Otherwise, no."

The Romans didn't seem to know what to make of that. The mortal didn't sound like she was kidding.

"And your friend?" Reyna nodded to the satyr. "I thought you were coming alone."

"This is Grover Underwood," Rachel stated. "He's a leader of the Council."

"What council?" Octavian demanded.

"Cloven Elders, man." Grover's voice was high and reedy as if he were terrified, but Jason suspected the satyr had more steel than he let on. "Seriously, don't you Romans have nature and trees and stuff? I've got some news you need to hear. Plus, I'm a card-carrying protector. I'm here to, you know, protect Rachel."

Reyna looked like she was trying not to smile. "But no weapons?"

"Just the pipes." Grover's expression became wistful. "Percy always said my cover of 'Born to be Wild' should count as a dangerous weapon. Evangeline said anything I play is bad enough, but I don't think it's that bad."

Octavian sneered. "Another friend of Percy Jackson. That's all I need to hear."

Reyna held up her hand for silence. Her gold and silver dogs sniffed the air, but they remained calm and attentive at her side.

"So far, our guests speak the truth," Reyna said. "Be warned, Rachel and Grover, if you start to lie, this conversation will not go well for you. Say what you came to say."

From her jeans pocket, Rachel dug out a piece of paper like a napkin. "A message. From Evangeline."

Jason wasn't sure he'd heard her right. Evangeline was in Tartarus. She couldn't send anyone a note on a napkin.

Maybe I've hit the water and died, his subconscious said. This isn't a real vision. It's some sort of after-death hallucination.

But the dream seemed very real. He could feel the wind sweeping across the roof. He could smell the storm. Lightning flickered over the Empire State Building, making the Romans' armor flash.

Reyna took the note. As she read it, her eyebrows crept higher. Her mouth parted in shock. Finally, she looked up at Rachel. "Is this a joke?"

"I wish," Rachel said. "They're really in Tartarus."

"But how—"

"I don't know," Rachel said. "The note appeared in the in our sacrificial fire at our dining pavilion."

"And that's Evangeline's handwriting," Grover muttered sadly. "She asks for you by name. Gods, she always hated Tartarus."

Octavian stirred. "Tartarus? What do you mean?"

Reyna handed him the letter.

Octavian muttered as he read: "Rome, Arachne, Athena—Athena Parthenos?" He looked in outrage as if waiting for someone to contradict what he was reading. "A Greek trick! Greeks are infamous for their tricks!"

Reyna took back the note. "Why ask this of me?"

Rachel smiled. "Because Evangeline believes you can do this, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano."

Jason felt like Lorelai had thrown a rock at his head again. Nobody ever used Reyna's full name. She hated telling anyone what it was.

The only time he had ever said it aloud, just trying to pronounce it correctly, she'd given him a murderous look. That was the name of a little girl in San Juan, she told him. I left it behind when I left Puerto Rico.

Reyna scowled. "How did you—"

"Uh," Grover interrupted. "You mean your initials are RA-RA?"

Reyna's hand drifted toward her dagger.

"But that's not important!" The satyr said quickly. "Look, we wouldn't have risked coming here if we didn't trust Evangeline's instincts. A Roman leader returning the most important Greek statue to Camp Half-Blood—she knows that could prevent a war."

"This isn't a trick," Rachel added. "We're not lying. Ask your dogs."

The metallic greyhounds didn't react. Reyna stroked Aurum's head thoughtfully. "The Athena Parthenos...so the legend is true."

"Reyna!" The augur cried. "You can't be seriously considering this! Even if the statue still exists, you see what they're doing. We're on the verge of attacking them—destroying the stupid Greeks once and for all—and they concoct this stupid errand to divert your attention. They want to send you to your death!"

The other Romans muttered, glaring at their visitors. Jason remembered how persuasive Octavian could be, and he was winning the officers to his side.

Rachel faced the augur. "Octavian, son of Apollo, you should take this more seriously. Even Romans respected your father's Oracle of Delphi."

"Ha!" Octavian said. "You're the Oracle of Delphi? Right. And I'm Emperor Nero!"

"At least Nero could play music," muttered Grover.

The blond balled his fists.

Suddenly, the wind shifted. It swirled around the Romans with a hissing sound, like a nest of snakes. Rachel Dare glowed in a green aura as if hit by a soft emerald spotlight. Then the wind faded and the aura was gone.

The sneer melted from the augur's face. The Romans rustled uneasily.

"It's your decision," Rachel said, as if nothing had happened. "I have no specific prophecy to offer you, but I can see glimpses of the future. I see the Athena Parthenos on Half-Blood Hill. I see her bringing it." She pointed at Reyna. "Also, Ella has been murmuring lines from your Sibylline Books—"

"What?" Reyna interrupted. "The Sibylline Books were destroyed centuries ago."

"I knew it!" Octavian pounded his fist into his palm. "That harpy they brought back from the quest—Ella. I knew she was spouting prophecies! And Landon thought he could manipulate me? Pah! Now I understand. She—she somehow memorized a copy of the Sybilline Books."

The daughter of Bellona shook her head in disbelief. "How is that possible?"

"We don't know," Rachel admitted. "But, yes, that seems to be the case. Ella has a perfect memory. She loves books. Somewhere, somehow, she read your Roman book of prophecies. Now she's the only source for them."

"Your friends lied," Octavian said. "They told us the harpy was just muttering gibberish. They stole her!"

Grover huffed indignantly. "Ella isn't your property! She's a free creature. Besides, she wants to be at Camp Half-Blood. She's dating one of my friends, Tyson."

"The Cyclops," Reyna remembered. "A harpy dating a Cyclops..."

"That's not relevant!" Octavian said. "The harpy has valuable Roman prophecies. If the Greeks won't return her, we should take their Oracle hostage! Guards!"

Two centurions advanced, their pila leveled. Grover brought his pipes to his lips, played a quick jig, and their spears turned into Christmas trees.

The guards dropped them in surprise.

"Enough!" Reyna shouted. She didn't often raise her voice. When she did, everyone listened.

"We've strayed from the point," she said. "Rachel Dare, you're telling me Evangeline is in Tartarus, yet she's found a way to send this message. She wants me to bring this statue from the ancient lands to your camp."

Rachel nodded. "Only a Roman can return it and restore peace."

"And why would the Romans want peace," Reyna asked, "after your ship attacked our city?"

"You know why," Rachel said. "To avoid this war. To reconcile the gods' Greek and Roman sides. We have to work together to defeat Gaea."

Octavian stepped forward to speak, but Reyna shot him a withering look.

"According to Percy Jackson," Reyna said, "the battle with Gaea will be fought in ancient lands. In Greece."

"That's where the giants are," Rachel agreed. "Whatever magic, whatever ritual the giants are planning to wake the Earth Mother, I sense it will happen in Greece. But...well, our problems aren't limited to the ancient lands. That's why I brought Grover to talk to you."

The satyr tugged his goatee. "Yeah...see, over the last few months, I've been talking to satyrs and nature spirits across the continent. They're all saying the same thing. Gaea is stirring—I mean, she's right on the edge of consciousness. She's whispering in the minds of naidas, trying to turn them. She's causing earthquakes, uprooting the dryads' trees. Last week alone, he appeared in human form in a dozen different places, scaring the horns off some of my friends. In Colorado, a giant stone fist rose out of a mountain and swatted some Party Ponies like flies."

Reyna frowned. "Party Ponies?"

"Long story," Rachel said. "The point is: Gaea will rise everywhere. She's already stirring. No place will be safe from the battle. And we know that her first targets are going to be the demigod camps. She wants us destroyed."

"Speculation," Octavian said. "A distraction. The Greeks fear our attack. They're trying to confuse us. It's the Trojan Horse all over again!"

Reyna twisted the silver ring, she always wore, with the sword and torch symbols of her mother, Bellona. "Marcus," she said. "bring Scipio from the stables."

"Reyna, no!" Octavian protested.

She faced the Greeks. "I will do this for Evangeline, for the hope of peace between our camps, but do not think I have forgotten the insults to Camp Jupiter. Your ship fired on our city. You declared war—not us. Now, leave."

Grover stomped his hoof. "Percy would never—"

"Grover," Rachel said. "We should go."

Her tone said: Before it's too late.

After they had retreated back down the stairs, Octavian wheeled on Reyna. "Are you mad?"

"I am praetor of the legion," Reyna said. "I judge this to be in the best interest of Rome."

"To get yourself killed? To break our oldest laws and travel to the ancient lands? How will you even find their ship, assuming you survive the journey?"

"I will find them," Reyna said. "If they are sailing for Greece, I know a place Jason will stop. To face the ghosts in the House of Hades, he will need an army. There is only one place where he can find that sort of help."

In Jason's dream, the building seemed to tilt under his feet. He remembered a conversation he'd had with Reyna years ago, a promise they had made to each other. He knew what she was talking about.

"This is insanity," Octavian muttered. "We're already under attack. We must take the offensive! Those hair dwarfs have been stealing our supplies, sabotaging our scouting parties—you know the Greeks sent them."

"Perhaps," Reyna said. "But you will not launch an attack without my orders. Counting scouting the enemy camp. Secure your positions. Gather all the allies you can, and if you can catch those dwarfs, you have my blessing to send them back to Tartarus. But do not attack Camp Half-Blood until I return."

The legacy of Apollo narrowed his eyes. "While you're gone, the augur is the senior officer. I will be in charge."

"I know." Reyna didn't sound happy about it. "But you have my orders. You all heard them." She scanned the faces of the centurions, daring them to question her.

She stormed off, her purple cloak billowing and her dogs at her heels.

Once she was gone, Octavian turned to the centurions. "Gather all the senior officers. I want a meeting as soon as Reyna has left on her fool's quest. There will be a few changes in the legion's plans."

One of the centurions opened his mouth to respond, but for some reason, he spoke in Lorelai's voice. "Bro, wake up!"

Jason's eyes snapped open, and he saw the ocean's surface hurtling toward him.

He had barely survived but he'd managed to make it back onto the ship.

The others explained that they hadn't seen him falling from the sky until the last second. There was no time for Frank to turn into an eagle and catch him; no time to form a rescue plan and go through with it.

Somehow Lorelai's voice had woken him up and with a millisecond to spare, he'd summoned the winds and avoided becoming a floating patch of demigod grease on the surface of the Adriatic.

Back on board, he had pulled the son of Hephaestus aside and suggested a course reroute, Leo trusted him enough not to ask why.

"Weird vacation spot." He had grinned. "But, hey, you're the boss!"

And now that he sat with his friends, Jason felt so awake, he doubted he'd be able to sleep for a week. His hands were so jittery. He couldn't stop tapping his feet. Lorelai gave him Garfield to calm his nerves and it helped, but not as much as it usually did.

While they ate lunch, Jason reported his midair vision. His friends were quiet long enough for Coach Hedge to finish a peanut butter and banana sandwich, along with the ceramic plate.

The ship creaked as it sailed through the Adriatic, its remaining oars still out of alignment from the giant turtle attack earlier. Every once in a while, Festus the figurehead creaked and squeaked through the speakers reporting the autopilot status in that weird machine language that only Leo could understand.

"A note from Evangeline," Piper shook her head in amazement. "I don't see how that's possible, but if it is—"

"Casper's alive," Leo said. "Thank the gods, and pass the hot sauce."

Frank frowned. "What does that mean?"

Leo wiped the crumbs off his face. "It means pass the hot sauce, Zhang. I'm still hungry."

Frank slid over a jar of salsa. "I can't believe Reyna would try to find us. It's taboo, coming to the ancient lands. She'll be stripped of her praetorship."

"If she lives," Hazel said. "It was hard enough for us to make it this far with ten demigods and a warship."

"And me," Coach Hedge belched. "Don't forget, cupcake, you got the satyr advantage."

"I think you mean satyr disadvantage," Landon grumbled.

"That's thirty push-ups, Martin," Coach Hedge threatened.

"I thought my punishments were supposed to be tough for me, not you." The son of Hermes said.

"Make that sixty!"

Jason had to smile. Coach Hedge could be pretty ridiculous, but he was glad the satyr had come along. He thought about the satyr he'd seen in his dream—Grover Underwood. He couldn't imagine a satyr more different from Coach Hedge, but they both seemed brave in their own way.

It made Jason wonder about the fauns back at Camp Jupiter—whether they could be like that if the Roman demigods expected more from them. Another thing to add to his list...

His list. He hadn't realized that he had one until that moment, but ever since leaving Camp Half-Blood, he'd been thinking of ways to make Camp Jupiter more...Greek.

He had grown up at Camp Jupiter. He'd done well there. But he had always been a little unconventional. He chafed under the rules.

He had joined the Fifth Cohort because everyone told him not to. They warned him it was the worst unit. So he'd thought, Fine, I'll make it the best. He had also thought it would allow him to keep Landon away from trouble but of course, that didn't work.

Once he became praetor, he'd campaigned to rename the legion the First Legion rather than the Twelfth Legion, to symbolize a new start for Rome. The idea had almost caused a mutiny. New Rome was all about tradition and legacies; the rules didn't change easily. Jason had learned to live with that and even rose to the top.

But now that he had seen both camps, he couldn't shake the feeling that Camp Half-Blood might have taught him more about himself. If he survived this war with Gaea and returned to Camp Jupiter as a praetor, could he change things for the better?

That was his duty.

So why did the idea fill him with dread? He felt guilty about leaving Reyna to rule without him, but still...part of him wanted to go back to Camp Half-Blood with Lorelai, Piper, and Leo. He guessed that made him a pretty terrible leader.

He jumped as a kick landed on his shin underneath the table. Landon tilted his head toward Annabeth, who was watching Jason with an unreadable expression.

"Earth to Jason Grace," she said, her grey eyes narrowing.

He realized his friends were looking at him expectantly. "Yeah, sorry." He touched the groove that Sciron the bandit had cut in his hair. "Crossing the Atlantic is a hard journey, no doubt. But I'd never bet against Reyna. If anyone can make it, she will."

"We'll need to Iris-message her to tell her where we are," Annabeth stated.

"That's not working very well," Coach Hedge put in. "Horrible reception. Every night, I swear, I could kick that rainbow goddess..."

Lorelai cleared her throat loudly.

Hedge faltered. His face turned bright red.

"Coach?" Leo grinned. "Who have you been calling every night, you old goat?"

"No one!" Hedge snapped. "Nothing! I just meant—"

"He means we've already tried," Hazel said. "Some magic is interfering...maybe Gaea. Contacting the Romans is even harder. I think they're shielding themselves."

Frank drummed his fingers on the table. "I don't suppose Reyna has a cell phone...? Nah. Never mind. She'd probably have bad reception on a pegasus flying over the Atlantic."

"She'll find us," Jason said. "She mentioned something in the dream—she's expecting me to go to a certain place on our way to the House of Hades. I—I'd forgotten about it, actually, but she's right. It's a place I need to visit."

"And where is it?" Annabeth questioned.

"A...uh, a town called Split."

Lorelai cracked a smile. "There's a town called Split?"

"Yeah," Jason said. "In fact, we should be getting close. Leo?"

Leo punched the intercom button. "How's it going up there, buddy?"

Festus the figurehead creaked and steamed.

"He says ten minutes to the harbor," Leo reported. "Though I still don't get why you want to go to Croatia, especially a town called Split. I mean, you name your city Split, you gotta figure it's a warning to, you know, split. Kind of like naming your city Get Out!"

"Wait," Hazel said. "Why are we going to Croatia?"

Jason noticed that the others were reluctant to meet her eyes. Since her trick with the Mist against Sciron the bandit earlier when she had manipulated the Mist, even Jason felt a little nervous around her. He knew that wasn't fair to Hazel.

It was hard enough being a child of Pluto, but she'd pulled off some serious magic on that cliff. And afterward, according to Hazel, Pluto himself had appeared to her. That was something Romans typically called a bad omen.

Leo pushed his chips and hot sauce aside. "Well, technically we've been in Croatian territory for the past day or so. All that coastline we've been sailing past is it, but I guess back in Roman times it was called...what'd you say, Jason? Bodacious?"

"Dalmatia," Nico said, making the son of Jupiter jump.

Holy shit... Jason wished he could put a bell around Nico di Angelo's neck to remind him the guy was there. Nico had this disturbing habit of standing silently in the corner, blending into the shadows. Kinda like Evangeline did...

The son of Hades stepped forward, his dark eyes fixed on Jason. Since they'd rescued him from the bronze jar in Rome, Nico had slept very little and eaten even less, as if he were still subsisting on those emergency pomegranate seeds from the Underworld. He rarely saw the kid around, Nico would mostly be in Evangeline's cabin or on the deck away from everyone.

"Croatia used to be Dalmatia," Nico said. "A major Roman province. You want to visit Dicoletian's Palace, don't you?"

Coach Hedge managed another heroic belch. "Whose palace? And is Dalmatia where those Dalmatian dogs come from? That 101 Dalmations move—I still have nightmares."

"Oh, is that so?" Landon asked, suddenly interested. "How bad are those nightmares?"

Coach Hedge looked like he was about to launch into a major speech about the evils of cartoon Dalmatians, but Jason decided he didn't want to know.

"Nico is right," He said. "I need to go to Diocletian's Palace. It's where Reyna will go first because she knows I would go there."

"But why would Reyna think that?" Piper raised a brow. "Because you've always had a mad fascination with Croatian culture?"

Jason stared at his uneaten sandwich. It was hard to talk about his life before Juno wiped his memory. His years at Camp Jupiter seemed made up, like a movie he'd acted in decades before.

"Reyna and I used to talk about Diocletian," he said. "We both kind of idolized the guy as a leader. We talked about how we'd like to visit Diocletian's Palace. Of course, we knew that was impossible. No one could travel to the ancient lands. But still, we made this pact that if we ever did, that's where we'd go."

"Diocletian..." Leo considered the name, then shook his head. "I got nothing. Why was he so important?"

Frank looked offended. "He was the last great pagan emperor!"

Leo rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised you know that, Zhang?"

"Why wouldn't I? He was the last one who worshipped the Olympian gods before Constantine came along and adopted Christianity."

Hazel nodded. "I remember something about that. The nuns at St. Agnes taught us that Diocletian was a huge villain, right along with Nero and Caligula." She looked at Jason. "Why would you idolize him?"

"He wasn't a total villain," Jason said. "Yeah, he persecuted Christians, but otherwise he was a good ruler. He worked his way up from nothing by joining the legion. His parents were former slaves...or at least his mom was. Demigods know he was a son of Jupiter—the last demigod to rule Rome. He was also the first emperor ever to retire, like, peacefully, and give up his power. He was from Dalmatia, so he moved back there and built a retirement palace. The town of Split grew up around..."

He faltered when he looked at Leo, who was mimicking taking notes with an air pencil.

"Go on, Professor Grace!" He said, wide-eyed. "I wanna get an A on the test."

"Shut up, Leo."

Lorelai titled her head. "So why is this dude's palace so important?"

Nico leaned over and picked up a grape from Annabeth's bowl. "It's said to be haunted by the ghost of Diocletian."

"Who was a son of Jupiter, like me," Jason said. "His tomb was destroyed centuries ago, but Reyna and I used to wonder if we could find Diocletian's ghost and ask where he was buried...well, according to the legends, his scepter was buried with him."

Nico gave him a thin, creepy smile. "Ah...that legend."

"What legend?" Hazel asked.

Nico turned to his sister. "Supposedly, Diocletian's scepter could summon the ghosts of the Roman legions, any of them who worshipped the old gods."

Leo whistled. "Okay, now I'm interested. Be nice to have a booty-kicking army of pagan zombies on our side when we enter the House of Hades."

"Not sure I would've put it that way," Jason muttered. "But yeah."

"We don't have much time," Frank warned. "It's already July ninth. We have to get to Epirus, close the Doors of Death—"

"Which are guarded," Hazel murmured, "by a smoky giant and a sorceress who wants..." she hesitated. "Well, I'm not sure. But according to Pluto, she plans to 'rebuild her domain.' Whatever that means, it's bad enough that my dad felt like warning me personally."

The son of Mars grunted. "And if we survive all that, we still have to find out where the giants are waking Gaea and get there before the First of August. Besides, the longer Percy and Evangeline are in Tartarus—"

"I know," Jason said. "We won't take long in Split. But looking for the scepter is worth a try. While we're at the palace, I can leave a message for Reyna, letting her know the route we're taking the Epirus."

Nico nodded. "The scepter of Diocletian could make a huge difference. You'll need my help."

The blond tried not to show his discomfort, but his skin prickled at the thought of going anywhere with Nico di Angelo. Percy had shared some disturbing stories about the son of Hades.

His loyalties weren't always clear. He spent more time with the dead than the living. Once, he'd lured Percy into a trap in the palace of Hades. Maybe Nico had made up for that by helping the Greeks against the Titans, but still...

He remembered his argument with Evangeline over the younger boy. She had been ready to kill Jason just for voicing his suspicion over her brother, and she'd gone through a lot of trouble to save Nico...Jason owed it to her to keep her brother safe till she came back.

Lorelai was watching Jason before she spoke up, "Can I come?"

Nico shook his head. "You can't. It should only be Jason and me. Diocletian's ghost might appear as a son of Jupiter, but any other demigods would mostly likely...ah, spook him. And I'm the only one besides Ev—" he cut himself short. "I'm the only can talk to his spirit. Even Hazel can't do that."

"But, uh...I really want to see a ghost," The daughter of Iris pleaded. "Please. I'm great at communication, I can help."

Nico stared at her blankly. "If I say no will you keep asking?"

She nodded.

The son of Hades sighed exasperated and closed his eyes for a moment. "Fine, but don't be too...loud."

"Okay, sure." she said. Her green eyes met Jason's and he silently thanked her.

The ship's bell sounded. Festus creaked and whirred over the loudspeaker.

"We've arrived," Leo announced. "Time to Split."

Frank groaned. "Can we leave Valdez in Croatia?"

"I agree," Landon raised his hand. "Let's do that."

"Landon," Annabeth shot him a look.

Jason stood. "Annabeth, you're in charge of the ship. Leo, you've got repairs to do. The rest of you, help out wherever you can. Nico, Lorelai, and I..." He faced the son of Hades. "We have a ghost to find."

------✧------

A/N: Nothing's a bigger jumpscare than the Rachel and Octavian shippers.

This chp is split into two parts since the original draft was coming out to be 10926 words so I decided to split it up.

I js want to thank Lindsay for all the amazing edits she makes!! Like look at this edit of Evangeline she made >>>