"Oh my gods, Jake," I approached him slowly, reaching a hand out toward his cheek and flinching back when my hand went right through him. He was a ghost. All the hopes that he was somehow alive vanished in that instant. A tear rolled down my cheek. "I miss you."

"I know, Mira. I miss you too. But I'm happy here. I'm with my sister."

Jake had lost his older sister to cancer when he was 9 and she was 16. They had been really close before her death. Somehow, him being with her comforted me a little.

"Why did you take Percy instead of me?" I asked softly, hurt radiating through my words.

"Unspoken love may end in heartbreak, depending on which path you choose to take. One will not return, no matter the choice," he recited.

"And another will be forced to use their voice," I finished at a whisper. Jake nodded sadly.

"I knew if we both went, at least one of us wouldn't come back. I wanted to take you, but Percy convinced me it would be better if he went. You have so much ahead of you, Mira. I wanted you to be able to live your life," he confessed. "If I hadn't chosen to go the short way on the way back we never would have met that drakon."

"Even if you'd taken the long way, someone else would've died," I said, the prophecy lines suddenly making sense. Jake sighed, nodding in agreement.

"When we completed the quest I thought the prophecy was wrong. I let my guard down. Lamia was defeated, and I thought I was home free. Turns out the return trip was the killer," he smiled softly.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, almost inaudibly.

"There is nothing for you to be sorry for, okay? Now promise me you'll be okay. You're a strong girl, Mira. You don't need me. You go back to camp, get stronger, and kick some monster butt," Jake urged. I cracked a small, but sad, smile.

"You're wrong. I need you," I said, voice cracking.

"I'll always be here. You'll always have a best friend on the other side. And you'll still have Terran," I went to go hug him, stepping back when I realized I couldn't. Instead, I nodded silently, holding back tears.

"I'll be okay eventually," I agreed.

"That's my girl," Jake smiled before disappearing into thin air. It took everything I had not to crumble back to the ground, but I managed to stay standing. Nico took my arm around his shoulders, supporting me as he shadow traveled us away.

Before I even opened my eyes I knew where we were. I could smell the familiar scent of clean laundry and lavender.

Home.

My eyes opened and I looked around at the familiar hallway walls of my home before camp. I looked to Nico, a confused expression on my face.

"This way we're not lying. You are visiting your mom. We just took a slight... Detour. Besides, I thought you might like her support right now," Nico grinned mischievously. That boy was way nicer than he gave himself credit for. I hugged him tightly in silent thanks and this time it was my turn to support him. He nearly collapsed into me.

"Whoa there," I said, holding up the small boy. "You should sit down." I led him to the living room and he laid on the couch, falling asleep almost immediately. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and looked up to see my mom. My face broke into a smile, the biggest one I'd had since my friends and Percy had gone on their quest.

"Mom!" I exclaimed, startling her as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Mira?" She questioned, almost unbelievingly. When she realized it really was me she smiled widely, holding out her arms as I ran to her, hugging her tightly.

"I missed you," I said softly.

"I missed you too, baby," she responded, moving to hold me out at arms length and examining me. "You've grown! And you're tanner! And look at that muscle!" She exclaimed. I chuckled, blushing.

"Yeah, I've been training," I said. Pain flashed through my chest as I remembered my first time fighting Jake in the sword fighting arena. My mom must've seen it in my face and her eyes softened.

"Let's sit," she said.

"Uh, let's talk in the kitchen. My friend is kinda passed out on the couch," I laughed softly. She looked over my shoulder and smiled at the sleeping boy curled up on the piece of furniture, nodding in agreement. We went to the kitchen and my mom quickly prepared tea. I sat down as she set down a steaming cup in front of me before she took her own seat, sipping hot tea.

"What happened?" She asked gently. I took a moment to gather my emotions before telling her the whole story. About dad. About Percy, Terran, and Jake. About the quest. About Lamia and the drakon. She listened quietly the whole time, nodding at the right times and sometimes waiting for me to compose myself. When I finished she hugged me for a long time, rubbing my back and telling me how strong I was. We pulled away and I sighed softly. I had no tears left to cry. I just felt hollow. "You'll be okay," my mom said encouragingly.

"I know."

A/N: wow I'm gonna make myself cry damn that's emotional. I hope you enjoyed!