[nemo nisi per amicitiam cognoscitur]

"Reese."

"Hmm?"

"Reeeeeeese."

"Huh?"

"Whatcha doing?"

Reese looked up from his desk to see Imogen watching him carefully, an impish glint in her jade eyes. The light filtering into the Library of Athena reflected off her blonde hair, catching the strands and turning them into gold. Her lips were shaded a deep pink, and were quirked into a feline smile.

"Working on that thing," Reese blinked, motioning to the files sprawled across his desk.

Imogen nodded along to the cadences of his voice, perching herself on his desk. "You've been working on that all morning." She chided.

"It needs to get done," Reese said helplessly. He'd had basically nothing to go on regarding the cure that Flynn had mentioned, and each day that passed without a lead was another day closer to the point of no return.

Imogen pursed her lips. "I know what could help you think," She mused, reaching out to fiddle with the collar of his shirt.

Suddenly, Reese was alert to every motion Imogen made. The tips of her nails on the nape of his neck felt like sparks. "Oh." He managed.

Imogen's smirk deepened, and she gripped his collar, hoisting him out of his chair.

"Imogen," Reese hissed, looking around wildly. "This is a public facility."

The daughter of Cupid only gave Reese a silly look, pulling him behind one of the bookshelves. They were out of sight, in the back of the library now. "We're the only two in the world right now, Reese."

And then her lips met his and everything indeed faded around Reese. He shut his eyes, enraptured by the kiss. He managed to move Imogen so she was up against the bookshelf, and his hands began to roam. There was something about Imogen that was so elegant in every way: from the way she dressed, to the way she acted, and definitely in the way she kissed. Reese felt a fire begin to form within his heart, and that fire translated to more passionate kisses.

Imogen gasped slightly as Reese's lips traveled from hers. "So do you have any ideas on the wedding?"

Reese, lost in his daze, hummed against Imogen's skin. "None."

Imogen's grip on him tensed as he nipped at her neck. "How about the honeymoon?"

Reese pressed a soft kiss to the nape of Imogen's neck. "That's more my speed."

Imogen chuckled, and Reese smiled, kissing her lips once more. "We're more alike than people think, Reese Hale."

Reese smirked, but before he could say or do much of anything else, the familiar sound of a portal opening caught his attention. He pulled away from Imogen to his discontent, and emerged from the aisle, seeing a glowing violet portal in the center of the Library. He was halfway ready to attack, when he saw Kaden and Amelie step out of the portal, looking nervous.

"That was fast," Reese remarked, watching towards them. "But didn't Tessa go with you guys?"

Kaden scratched the back of his neck, looking at Amelie carefully before returning Reese's gaze. "She...caught another ride."

Imogen, who'd recovered from her and Reese's rendezvous, stepped out casually. "What other ride?"

"Tessa has a minor ability of teleportation if she's in a body of water," Amelie said with a sigh. "She didn't want to come back with us just yet."

"Why not?" Reese asked. "Did something happen?"

Kaden sighed, walking over to the investigation board. "We have our answers," He managed. "We know how Jared Knight fits in on this."

"How so?" Imogen arched a brow.

"Jared Knight is Luke's father," Kaden said cautiously. "And Sera Brennan is his mother."

Reese's eyes widened. "That's not possible."

"It is," Amelie said flatly, slumping into her spinny chair. "Sera left the Hunters for Jared, having lost her immortality for her love for him, and they had a son named Luke."

Kaden nodded, confirming Amelie's words. "According to Sera, a battle with Menotious left a dormant curse in Sera, which would translate to a curse of madness and power in Luke. Artemis took Luke away, wiped Jared's memories, and that was that."

Reese tried to wrap his head around all this. "So this big bad head of the Masks is Tessa's half-brother?" He felt his gut twist. "How'd Tessa take it?"

"How do you think?" Imogen muttered. "She's probably devastated."

"She was," Kaden seemed faraway for a moment, but he shook it off. "Regardless, we do know that Luke has a limit on his power."

"What is it?" Reese asked, still baffled.

Kaden scribbled something on the board. "Artemis placed a countercurse on Luke, which in the event of him going too mad, invoking his power, would basically drain him. His eyes turn silver in the process of that."

"So, what, on the battlefield we just wait it out until Aether's eyes turn silver?" Imogen countered. "He's got a whole army, we can't wait around for that."

"Which is why we won't," Amelie pointed out. "Before we left, I managed to figure out how to take down the barrier around Aether's mansion. And now that we have an identity for Aether, I can put a tracking spell on him that will alert us to where he's headed."

"Will he know?" Reese asked. "Dale's still on the inside, what if he takes it out on her?"

"Oh, that won't be a problem," A whimsical voice chimed, and Reese whirled around to face Adhara Wren walking towards him. "Dale can take care of herself when it comes to Aether."

"Adhara, what are you doing here?" Kaden stepped forward.

"She has got to stop materializing out of nowhere," Reese hissed, pressing a hand to his rapidly beating heart.

"I have more information for you all," Adhara's tone was grave. "And whatever you do with it, you need to act quickly. Because when I get back, things are going to start moving faster."

Adhara held up a cell phone, handing it to Kaden. "This is Dale's phone. The other night, we attended a dinner with Luke's right-hand man, Kane. Knowing that Dale was recording, I talked to Kane about our next step, which was the siege on Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood."

Kaden, acting like he was holding a bomb, hurried over to his desk. He hooked up Dale's phone, ran a quick diagnostic, and soon, he'd displayed a transcript of the conversation. Reese stepped forward to the closest monitor, reading as fast as he could.

"Aether's endgame is in some place called the Garden," Reese reported, reading off the screen. "It's close to Camp Jupiter. But how close?"

Kaden's eyes glimmered knowingly. "What is it with this place? Mallory told us that it's where she was taken, that all of our answers would be answered there. The Mugger said something about you, Reese—"

Reese's head could have snapped off for how fast he looked at his best friend. "What about me?"

Kaden shook his head. "He said that whatever you're struggling with, the answers are in the Garden."

Reese felt like he'd been hit between the eyes. He locked eyes with Imogen, who nodded and slipped away from the group.

"Anyways," Adhara said sharply. "The Garden is indeed Aether's endgame. He plans to use it as a distraction for Camp Jupiter, luring them out of the camp and into a bloodbath. From there, he'll take on Camp Half-Blood, and then Olympus."

"Is this his plan," Kaden began. "Or yours?"

Adhara was stone-faced, resolute. "As I said, do with this information what you will."

"Do you know where the Garden is?" Reese asked, a bit more intensely than he'd anticipated.

Adhara shook her head. "I just know it's in California, close enough to Camp Jupiter to warrant trouble."

Amelie frowned, turning to face Kaden. "Kaden, what else did that mugger have to say? Did he mention anything else about the Garden?"

Kaden bit his lip, no doubt lost in thought. "He mentioned something about day meeting night, where the earth met the skies. Maybe it's on a mountain?"

Amelie's kaleidoscopic eyes sharpened at that. "No..." She breathed. "It can't be that easy."

Amelie swiveled in her chair, rifling through her stuff until she came out with a crumpled paper. "The Garden you all are talking about is the Garden of the Hesperides."

Reese frowned. "The nymphs of the sunset? What do they have to do with anything?"

Adhara pursed her lips. "A lot, actually. Aether's power comes from light, and the divide between day and night is symbolic in the Garden. It would grant him a lot of power."

"Which he'll use against the camps," Kaden exhaled, lacing his hands behind his neck before dropping his arms at his side. "What do we do with this, then?"

Amelie chewed on her lip, magic beginning to spark at her sides in her tension. Like she was tossing a Frisbee, she cast a spell before them, and a 3D landscape materialized before them. Mountains rose on the plane, and in the distance, Reese could see a little version of Camp Jupiter.

"The Garden of the Hesperides was at the edge of the world in the Greek myths," Amelie reported. "When the gods moved, so did the Garden. Right now, it's located on Mount Tamalpais."

Amelie spun the model, and it zoomed in on one of the mountains. "If this is where Aether plans to be, we'll need a really fine-tuned plan to counter his forces."

"Because you can only enter the Garden at sunset," Kaden nodded. "We'll have a few minutes to get a full army through."

"But isn't that what Aether wants?" Reese countered, his mind buzzing. "If we leave our camps undefended, then we lose automatically."

Adhara nodded. "Reese is right. But Dale and I have been working on an escape plan, a sort of way to undermine the Masks. If it works, we can try to weaken their forces."

"Still, we'd need a definite way to counter them," Imogen said, walking back from where she'd gone off to. "Who's to say they won't just do their little brainwashing spell and render us all useless?"

"Well, they've never met us," Kaden said, an air of cockiness to him. "But we do need a strategy."

Reese stared at the location of the Garden on Amelie's model, the place where all his questions and worries would be resolved. He looked back up at Adhara, staring at the model with equal concern. "Adhara, what would happen if you suggested this to Luke?"

Adhara met his gaze, her violet eyes flickering. "Kane mostly approved of the plan but..."

"But what?" Imogen inquired. "Is there something else?"

Adhara nodded, fiddling with one of the gemstones on her elegant dress. "A key part of this plan—my plan—is the implementation of Project Maelstrom."

Kaden sucked in a breath, and the room fell silent. Project Maelstrom was a phantom plan of Vinny's, the reason that dozens of innocent lives had been taken during the War. It had unleashed an earthquake in the impenetrable New Rome, and had plagued Kaden since.

"What is it?" Kaden's voice was gruff.

Adhara shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know what it does or how it works, only that what you saw in New Rome was a very early rendition of it, and that in its completion, it will render all demigod forces useless. Cities will fall, the camps will burn...it'll be the end of life as we know it."

Reese folded his arms across his chest, tense. "So how do we stop it?"

Adhara meet Reese's gaze and Reese saw the sheer honesty in her gaze. "Reese, if Project Maelstrom is every unleashed in its entirety, you can't stop it."

"What matters now is protecting the camps from Aether's forces," Kaden insisted, eyeing the crowd. However, Reese could see the darkness in his green eyes. "Is there anyway we can provoke this plan without Project Maelstrom?"

Adhara bit her lip. "Possibly," She mused. "It would take some convincing on my part, but I know that it is nowhere near being finished. If I can stress that detail, that could prevent its implementation."

"Then do it," Kaden commanded and turned to Amelie. "You said you can track Luke and tear down the barrier?"

Amelie looked up at Kaden and nodded. "It would take an immense amount of my power to tear it down, though. I can manage it by myself, but I'm not sure for how long. I'll need a cover."

"We'll get other Hecate kids to help you," Imogen offered. "I'll ask Kaya if she'll aid you as well."

"That's great, but we're missing a piece of the puzzle," Reese mused. "How exactly do we storm the Garden of the Hesperides and when?"

"I'll get you a date as soon as possible," Adhara said, dragging a hand through her dark hair. Reese was almost taken aback; Adhara had a way of seeming ethereal, and this only showed her nerves. "But as for how...you'll need a distraction."

"What kind of distraction?" Amelie asked. "They'll see us coming a mile away."

Reese turned, facing the investigation board. They knew why Aether was so obsessed with Tessa's family, but not what he needed her for.

"True," He said, eyes locked on Tessa's name on the board. "But they won't suspect Tessa."

Kaden whirled around to face Reese. "What, you want to offer her up as bait?"

Reese pinned Kaden with a look. "No, but it's clear now why Aether is so obsessed with her and us. Having her there will maybe buy us time."

"If she'll even fight," Imogen muttered under her breath.

"She'll fight," Kaden countered, but even he didn't look too sure. "I'll talk to her."

"Do you know where she is?" Adhara mused. "I suspect this new revelation of yours might not have boded well with her."

"I'll go talk to Madi," Amelie waved her hand and the model before her disappeared. "Maybe she's heard from her." And with that, the daughter of Hecate left the room.

Imogen exhaled, lacing her fingers together. "So what now?"

Kaden dragged a hand through his tousled chestnut hair. "We wait for Adhara to give us a day, and until then, we prepare. When we get the information, we strike."

Reese nodded. "I'll let the Athena and Ares cabins now. We'll alert the rest of camp when we get a day. But until then, we could use a strategy."

"What do we do about Project Maelstrom though?" Imogen countered. "If that's implemented, we won't even have a shot."

Kaden headed over to his desk, typing on his computer. "Liam gave us a little big of information on it after the War. If I can contact him, maybe he can tell us more."

Everyone seemed ready to go about their own parts to this mission, that Reese noticed Adhara was still hanging around. She was looking around the room, a haunted look in her eyes.

"Adhara?" Reese asked, snagging the daughter of Nemesis' attention. "You alright?"

Adhara blinked, and snapped out of whatever reverie she was in. "Yes, I'm fine. I should get back to the mansion now." She waved a hand and a portal appeared. "Oh, and if you don't hear back from me within three days...well. Assume the worst."

And with that, their emissary to the dark side was gone.

~~

If there was one thing that Reese loved about Camp Half-Blood, it was the balmy evenings of perpetual summer. The sky would set in an inky indigo, dotted with stars where the wispy clouds didn't cover. Crickets chirped and birds called, and despite it being nearly April, it felt like the middle of summer.

Reese shot the basketball, watching carelessly as it circled the rim and made it into the hoop. He jogged after the ball, dribbling half-heartedly as he walked across the court.

"Told you he'd be here," A voice he registered as Flynn's sounded across the court.

Reese turned and saw his brother marching down the hill to the basketball courts, flanked by Kaden, Mark, and Ben. A smile tugged at his lips, but he caught the basketball and stopped in his tracks.

"Funny, I didn't invite you guys," Reese said.

Mark quirked a brow, an impish look on his face. "That's funny, because we invited ourselves."

"And speaking of invitations," Kaden grinned, grabbing Reese and slinging his arm around his shoulders. "When's the wedding?"

Ben, Mark, and Flynn whooped and Reese felt like he was a teenager again, getting egged on by his friends for talking to a pretty girl. Only now, that pretty girl was engaged to be his wife.

"If you wanna know about the details, go talk to Imogen," Reese laughed. "All I know is that she wants it after our victory."

Ben's eyebrows shot up. "That's...spontaneous."

"You're telling me," Reese huffed a breath, but smiled. "As for everything else, she's in charge of it all."

"Hopefully not everything," Mark elbowed Reese.

Reese knit his eyebrows together. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, my gods, he's hopeless," Mark groaned, a hand over his face. "Dude! Your bachelor party!"

"Oh," Reese echoed, and dribbled the basketball. "I don't think we have the time or mindset for a guys' outing right about now."

"Then," Kaden snatched the ball away from Kaden. "Consider this the party."

Flynn dug out his phone, typing away. "I'll order some pizzas, what do you guys want?"

The guys shouted their orders, and Flynn hushed them all as he placed an order. Then, when all was said and done, they split into teams and began to play.

And it might have been one of the best nights of Reese's life. It felt so odd, spending a fun evening with his friends with no drama, no war, no nothing to worry about. It was like the world was theirs, in some time and place where they weren't demigods about to fight a war. They were just...alive.

Eventually, the boys tired of their game and retired to the pizzas that Flynn had taken from a very confused looking delivery boy at the foot of Half-Blood Hill. They slumped on the small hills surrounding the court, slices of pizza in their hands and laughs on their lips.

"So," Ben dusted his hands off after he finished his pizza slice. "Two of our number are going to be married. I don't know about you, but that makes me feel like an old man."

Mark barked a laugh, subtly reaching for another slice of pepperoni pizza. "Ben, you're already wiser and taller than the rest of us so older seems like a good fit too."

The boys laughed, and Reese took a sip from his water bottle, a smile on his face. "I still need to get Imogen a ring."

Flynn made his signature confused face. "How'd you propose to her then?"

"With words," Reese said blankly. "She didn't seem to mind."

Kaden smiled lightly. "I'm happy for you, Reese. You guys deserve this."

Reese met his best friend's gaze, and saw the look haunting his face. "Gray," He chided. "What's got you down?"

Kaden made a face. "I'm not down. I'm up. I'm so up that I'm practically down."

Reese, Flynn, Mark, and Ben met each other's gazes before returning to Kaden. "Spill."

Kaden sighed, putting his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright, you got me. I'm just worried about Tessa. No one's seen her all day."

"What even happened after she talked to her mom?" Mark asked. "I heard she didn't take it well."

"How would you react if you found out you had a half-brother that had become a super villain with plans to destroy the world?" Ben countered, whacking Mark with his paper plate.

Mark flinched, shooting a look at the son of Athena. "Not well, I presume."

"She was devastated," Kaden revealed. "She just stormed out, and I followed her but...I've never seen her that...broken. Like everything she knew was just up and gone in her life."

"Did you calm her down?" Flynn asked, curiosity in his sapphire eyes.

Kaden picked a piece of pepperoni off of his pizza. "I tried. It's just so complicated between us now. We both messed up, but we can't force ourselves to be back in a relationship when there's so much going on."

Reese studied his best friend's face, and in his eyes, he saw the truth. He saw how much he missed Tessa, but even beneath their romantic connection, Kaden had been Tessa's first friend at camp. Her connection with him was stronger than it was with almost anyone, even Mark, Dale, and Reese. He was genuinely worried, and having Tessa traipsing off somewhere in her misery wasn't helping that.

"She'll come around," Reese offered.

Kaden shook his head. "She said something to me the other day, and I'm afraid she won't. Before the expedition to Buffalo State Hospital, I needed to check on Tessa's wounds, and she managed to come across a file on her mental state. She had a panic attack, and accused me of diagnosing her as insane."

Flynn made a face. "But you're not a psychologist. You wouldn't do that."

"I didn't," Kaden confessed. "I was just brainstorming because I was concerned, and I went to go talk to Mr. D, and he saw the file in my hand, and then he started talking to me. He offered up insanity as a possibility and..." He waved his hand.

"He's literally the god of insanity," Mark groaned. "Of course he'd suggest that."

"He wrote it down on the paper, and before I could do anything about it, he'd sent me away. I went back to the infirmary and then dropped the file off somewhere, seeing as it wasn't important, but apparently the Fates wanted Tessa to be perpetually mad at me," Kaden sighed. "And thus, our tension began."

Ben patted Kaden on the shoulder. "Tessa's got a lot on her shoulders right now. I'm sure that when all this clears up, you guys might have a chance to rekindle what you had."

Kaden shrugged, dragging a hand through his hair. "Hopefully. I just want her to be okay. I know I've got a way to go until I'm ready for a relationship again, but..."

"You're the son of the goddess of love," Mark countered. "Talk to your mom and tell her to lay off."

The boys laughed, and even Kaden smiled. Before long, they were all messing around again, and as sappy as it was, Reese enjoyed those moments between his friends. It showed that while they were still warriors, with powers of gods, they were still human. It reminded Reese that no matter what problem they faced, there would always be a way out with those you cared about at your side.

Night eventually settled over the training camp, and just as the boys were entering another game, Reese heard the sound of running. Shouts came from across camp, and the dimly lit torches flared with the activity of camp.

The boys dropped their basketballs and drew their weapons. Reese fumbled for his wallet, and as soon as his bow morphed into his hand, he relaxed. Mark grabbed his knife, Kaden and Ben drew their swords, and Flynn stuffed the rest of his pizza in his mouth before grabbing his own weapon.

It was Sophia Ransom that came running past the basketball field, and Reese called her name to get her attention. The daughter of Athena sped to a stop, her red hair up and in her pajamas.

"What's going on?" Reese asked, severity in his voice.

"Kaya's here," Sophia exhaled. "There's been an attack on Camp Jupiter."