[laborare pugnare parati sumus / to work or to fight, we are ready]

Tessa wrapped her hands around her steaming cup of hot chocolate, allowing the slight sting of the heat to spur her focus on the boy sitting across from her. She stared at him blankly with wide turquoise irises, meeting his pleading gaze with a tired one of her own.

"I'm not doing it," She spoke at last.

Charlie groaned, leaning back in his chair across from her. "Come on, Tessa!"

"Nope," Tessa took a sip from her drink, savoring the sweetness. "Not a chance."

The son of Vulcan gave her a look, and Tessa only blinked. "Why not?" He asked with a pout.

"Because," Tessa replied. "I'm not going to attempt to use my powers on hot chocolate. It's not going to happen."

Charlie opened his mouth to rebuff her, but Tessa cut him off.

"And if you keep bugging me about it, I'll make sure to try it with its destination being your face." She smiled sarcastically, setting down her drink. "That okay?"

Charlie made a face. "You're no fun sometimes," He took a sip of his own drink, glancing around the outdoor café they were seated at in New Rome.

Tessa allowed a ghost of a smile to trace her lips. It had been nearly a week since her break-up with Kaden, and the pain still haunted her like a tormented spirit come from beyond the grave. She found that she couldn't allow herself to be alone for too long, or else the phantom pains of heartbreak would return and she'd be spending her days in Camp Jupiter locked in her room with tear stains permanently etched onto her face. And so, her friends had started to pass her off to keep her busy.

At first, it had been Sophia, who at Tessa's demand, proceeded to inform her on a crush she had on a girl named Alexia, from the third cohort. The daughter of Athena had been apprehensive to share information on her love life in the wake of Tessa's troubled one, but Tessa had egged her on. After all, she loved to hear about people's happiness; it made her feel as if her feelings and gloom and doom would ebb.

Then, it was Reese, who helped her go through the various reports and files on Operation: Delta and the attack at camp. Level-headed as always, the son of Apollo managed to distract Tessa from her personal issues to the more major ones, and they had become a duo of sleuths, on the hunt for the answers and having a few leads to get them there.

And now, it was Charlie. Ever since the son of Vulcan had surprised her with feel-better gifts and Eugene the Green Dragon, he'd proven to be a loyal companion to Tessa in her time of need. He'd taken her on walks, where he'd chatter on and on about his big dreams and plans for the future, and she'd listen. Now, they were sitting in New Rome after one of these infamous walks, and for the first time in a few days, Tessa felt genuinely happy.

"You're doing that thing again," Charlie noted, breaking Tessa out of her reverie. He sipped his drink casually, although his teal eyes shimmered with an impish glint.

Tessa arched an eyebrow. "What're you talking about?"

Charlie sighed, meeting her gaze. "The looking off into the distance thing that you do. What's on your mind?"

Tessa ran a hand through her hair, heaving a sigh. "You know that's a bad question to ask me right now, Charlie."

The son of Vulcan put his hands up in mock surrender. "Just trying to help," He smiled sheepishly. He leant forward, and Tessa realized just how small the table between them was in that moment. His teal eyes shimmered in the afternoon light, and if Tessa focused hard enough, she could catch the scent of his cologne.

"You know it's not good to keep things locked up," He said, searching her eyes. "You're not an automaton. You've gotta share your feelings and thoughts or else you'll explode."

The words tugged at a memory that Tessa felt as if she'd forgotten. But when the image of Kaden speaking to her in that San Francisco hotel bathroom, just moments before they took off to fight Deimos once and for all, surfaced to the forefront of her mind, she tore her gaze from Charlie's, shutting her eyes.

"I know," She said softly, forcing herself to tear the memory of the sincerity in Kaden's emerald eyes apart. "Believe me, I know. But it's...it's not something I'm ready to discuss yet." Her gaze flicked back to Charlie, who was only watching her with a melancholy look in his eyes.

"Well, when you are...let me know." He smiled softly, and something pulled at Tessa's heartstrings that she thought she'd locked away.

Tessa averted her gaze as the waiter approached their table and Charlie got sucked into a short conversation. She scanned the streets of New Rome surrounding them, and froze when she spotted a familiar face walking towards her, a brooding look in his emerald eyes.

"Kaden?" She spoke, a mix of disbelief and sadness lacing her words.

The son of Venus approached, his familiar swagger more a stalk as he headed towards her and Charlie. If Kaden acknowledged Charlie to any degree, he didn't show it. He just walked towards her with an air of pure business—but if Tessa knew Kaden, there was a hint of something else there too.

"Tessa," He greeted, his clear voice sending a pang through her heart. "Good to see you."

"Likewise," She said slowly. Her gaze flicked to Charlie, who looked back at Kaden with a certain hardness in his eyes that she'd seen plenty of times between Kaden and Matthew back at camp. This wouldn't end well if she knew where it was headed.

"What are you doing here?" Tessa continued, returning her gaze to Kaden.

"Well, firstly, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." He smiled wryly, and Tessa's heart twisted. "Secondly, War Games start soon and you're a part of it."

Tessa frowned. "But I thought that was just for the Rom—for you." She returned his smile, hoping her frustration shone through it.

"Given the fact that I'm apart of both the task force and the first cohort, we're playing alongside the latter." Kaden explained, a hand on the hilt of his golden sword. Tessa noted how tightly he was gripping it, and suspicions began to formulate within her head.

She cleared her throat, returned his gaze with an electric look in her eyes. "Why did you of all people come to tell me this?"

"Everyone else was otherwise occupied," Kaden retorted at lightning speed, and Tessa knew what he was doing in that exact moment—he was lying.

She arched an eyebrow and glanced back at Charlie. With a sigh, she stood. "Sorry, Charlie, looks like we'll have to put a pin in today's date."

The son of Vulcan tore his eyes from glaring at Kaden to smile quickly at Tessa. "Not a problem," He said. "See you later."

Tessa smiled in parting, shot Kaden a look, and shoved past him on her way out of the café's patio. However, he was apparently her escort, so there was no shaking him.

"Otherwise occupied?" Tessa repeated, keeping her vision locked on the street before her as she walked. "In what sense?"

"In the sense that I didn't check to see what they were doing," Kaden responded, and the amity in his voice made her heart flicker. She turned to look at him, and the look in his eyes made her promptly look away.

"Tess," Kaden spoke, grabbing her hand. An arc of electricity shot up her arm and she forced the feeling down. "Look at me."

"Looking," Tessa snapped.

The son of Venus took a deep breath and looked down. "You've moved on that quickly, then?" There was a certain edge to his voice, and Tessa recognized it immediately with a mischievous smile—he was jealous.

"You're jealous," She smirked.

"Am not," Kaden responded.

"Oh, please." Tessa scoffed, pulling her hand from his grip. "Kaden, need I remind you that we're broken up? And besides, Charlie's just a friend. He, unlike you, hasn't hurt me."

The look in Kaden's eyes hardened. "So that's how it is?" He asked softly.

"How what is?" Tessa retorted.

Kaden ran a hand through his hair. "Never mind," He stiffened.

"No kidding," Tessa responded, although her heart was pounding in her chest. She found herself staring into Kaden's glimmering eyes, searching them for any sign that what she longed for in her heart was about to come true.

"Tessa...I don't want this to be how we treat one another." Kaden spoke softly. "Yes, we broke up, but that doesn't mean we have to treat one another like mortal enemies. I was your friend before I was your boyfriend, and if the Fates are kind, maybe I'll become the latter again. But until then, we can't just shut one another out."

Tessa took a ragged breath. "You're right," She said at last. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Kaden smiled weakly, and in that moment, Tessa wanted nothing more than to leap into his arms and confess everything: how much she loved him, how sorry she was, how her heart had ached every day since their fallout. But she stood her ground and together, they forged on, down the path into what awaited them in the future.

~~

According to Kaden, War Games was based on a fairly simple concept: it's every cohort for themselves. The object of the game is to be the first cohort to seize the tower within the Field of Mars, and whoever actually seizes it essentially gets bragging rights that come in the form of a medal of honor.

The only catch? Water bombs, trenches, a war elephant, and four cohorts driven by bloodlust.

"So...strategy?" Reese mused as they walked onto the battlefield.

Everywhere they looked, they saw cohorts meeting under the conference of their centurions, arcs of gold, and a team of authoritative figures overlooking the game. Kaya and Alex sat atop two pegasi, engaged in a light conversation. A girl with long blonde hair stood nearby, her arms folded over her golden armor; Luci, the augur.

Tessa surveyed the field as they walked through it. "Don't lose," She flicked her gaze back to the son of Apollo, who gave her a tired look.

"I really hate when you say that," He sighed, drawing his bow from off his back.

The group stopped when they approached Vinny and Imogen, Reese's blonde lady friend. The centurions of the first cohort were engaged in a brisk conversation, muttering things in Latin as they stared at a map they were holding between them. Upon seeing the Greeks before them, they lowered the map.

"Hey!" Vinny greeted, a bright smile on his face. "You guys ready to play?"

Dale folded her arms across her chest, a flicker in her eyes. "As ready as we'll ever be."

"Fair enough," The disheveled-haired boy shrugged. "So, Imogen and I were able to develop a strategy to work you guys in. The Third and Fourth are on defense, so they'll be at the top of the tower. The First, Second, and Fifth, however, are on offense."

Imogen tore her gaze away from Reese to pick up where her partner left off. "We're going to be splitting you both into two teams. Tessa, Kaden, Dale, you three are with Vinny. You four will go up to the tower. Meanwhile, Sophia and Reese, you both are with me. We'll be here leading the central combat."

Sophia held a hand up to her eyes to shield her gaze from the sun. She stared at the tower in the distance, and Tessa could practically see the gears turning in her head. "How are we supposed to scale the tower?"

Vinny grinned mischievously, nudging Kaden. "That's the fun part."

A hunting horn sounded in the distance, causing Vinny to hastily fold up the map and stuff it away. He unsheathed his sword—not dissimilar to Kaden's—and nodded towards the battlefield.

"Let's get going," He said over the growing roar of battle cries sounding in the distance.

~~

To say Tessa was lying low would be not only inaccurate, but offensive.

As the battle began, a few legionnaires from opposing cohorts ran from her. It was three on one, but with a sarcastic smile, a few jabs from Tempest, and a few carefully executed kicks and punches, she was out of the mess.

"Tessa, come on!" Dale shouted, which in Tessa's opinion was surprising to hear. For the roughly the past week, the daughter of Demeter had hardly spoken to her given the news she refused to believe, so Tessa had to admit, hearing her voice was refreshing.

Tessa dashed in Dale's wake, and together, they followed Kaden and Vinny. The Roman boys seemed to have done this many times before, and despite being away from camp in so long, Kaden still remembered what to do. The four of them slowed to a stop a decent distance from the tower, which was flanked by legionnaires of both sides on all four walls.

"Okay, here's the plan," Vinny took a breath, an electric look of adrenaline in his eyes. "We need to seize one wall in order to apprehend the tower. There's one sentry at the top of each wall, and four legionnaires at the bottom of each. We take out the sentry, then the phalanx, then there should be a rope ladder we can climb."

"What if there isn't?" Dale countered. She blew a flyaway strand of hair out of her eyes, staring up at Vinny calculatingly.

"There will be," He said, although he didn't sound so assuring. "We need a way to take out the sentries. Any idea is a good idea."

"None of us have bows," Kaden figured, his own golden sword drawn. "So that's out."

Tessa knit her eyebrows, staring back up at the tower. Lining the tops of the tower walls were the supposed water cannons, which seemed to be abandoned by the sentries firing their arrows. Tessa smirked; it was almost like they didn't know she was here.

"I can take them out," She glanced back at the group, her signature smirk on her face.

Vinny frowned. "How do you plan to do that?"

Kaden followed Tessa's gaze and that familiar smile of impression lit up his face. "She's gonna use the water cannons."

Vinny looked from Kaden to Tessa so quickly that Tessa was surprised he didn't get whiplash. "What—you do that, and the legionnaires at the bottom will definitely know who did it."

"Which is why I just developed a foolproof plan," Tessa countered, her eyes sparkling.

She enlightened them on the strategy, which judging by the lack of rebuttals, everyone seemed to be fine with. Kaden and Vinny would get into place before the nearest wall, and when Tessa ignited the water cannons to get rid of the sentries, the boys would handle the legionnaires manning the ground. Then, Dale would use her powers to create a vine rope up to the top of the wall which she and Tessa would take. As soon as they were over, Tessa would handle the remaining sentries and guarding officers stationed at the top, and Dale would release the rope ladder for the boys to climb.

The team dispersed, and Tessa and Dale crouched beneath a bush. With her sea-green eyes, Tessa peered over the top of the shrub, watching and waiting for the boys to be in position. When she saw them slowly begin to approach the legionnaires at the bottom, she threw her hand forward.

With a tug in her gut, the water cannons at the top of their chosen wall exploded. The sentry at the top looked around in panic, and with wide eyes, stepped away. Tessa flexed her hand and manipulated the water around the sentry, tossing him over the wall.

"Let's go!" Tessa commanded, standing up. She and Dale emerged from behind the bush and sprinted for the base of the wall, where Kaden and Vinny were holding off the legionnaires.

Dale shut her eyes and spread her hands, and Tessa watched casually as the very ground at their feet began to rise at the daughter of Demeter's will. Grass and earth combined twisted and twirled into a rope-like strand, and latched itself at the top of the wall. Once Dale opened her eyes, Tessa leapt on and began to climb.

The sounds of battle began to intensify at their feet as more and more legionnaires began to surround the area. People were wondering who was about to attempt to win the game, and Tessa wanted to see the looks on their faces when they saw the daughter of Poseidon, the graecus, the augur's vision of Tempestas, win their little game.

Before she knew it, Tessa reached the top of the wall. She swung herself over, unsheathing Tempest. The sound caused the remaining three sentries to whirl around in surprise, and what did they find? A smirking daughter of Poseidon.

"Hey there, boys," Tessa greeted. "Don't mind me." She swung Tempest at the nearest boy, who had only a bow to defend himself, and watched as he crumpled to the ground with a hit to his pressure point.

The sentry on the opposite wall tried firing one of his arrows at Tessa, who dodged them all. She surged forward, swiping Tempest at him. The Roman, with a few new scrapes and cuts, fell to the ground, an amazed look in his eyes.

Tessa blew the hair out of her eyes, and watched the last sentry with a mischievous look. "You want to be next?"

The sentry—most likely a new recruit—shook his head wildly. He dropped his weapons and stepped aside, watching Tessa as if she were some sort of goddess incarnate.

Tessa grinned and turned to Dale. "Take care of him?"

Without looking, the daughter of Demeter flicked her hand. The sentry collapsed to the ground, his hands bound and mouth gagged with bright green vines.

"Thank you, Daley Dear," Tessa took a breath, the buzz of battle surging through her veins as she swung Tempest in practice. She stalked towards the door in the center of the room and kicked it down, causing the people within it to scream in surprise.

"I hate to interrupt," Tessa chimed as she stepped in. "But I've got a game to win."

Surprisingly, no one put up a fight. Either they were too astonished or too scared of seeing the girl before them, none of the Romans made a sudden move as Tessa emerged into the room. She stalked forward, swiped up the banner in the center of the room, and dashed back out.

Vinny and Kaden had scaled the ladder, and were fighting off members of the Third and Fourth who had somehow joined them. However, as soon as they spotted Tessa with the banner, all sounds of battle stopped.

Tessa met Kaden's gaze, and for what felt like the first time in forever, returned his grin. She raised the banner, and despite being an outsider, found herself shouting: "Victory to the First!"

Kaden, Vinny, and Dale raised their swords and cheered, and together, they descended the tower. As soon as they reached the bottom, members of the First Cohort were there waiting for them, cheering and carrying them back to the valley.

Tessa, with the satisfaction of victory blooming around her like a newfound aura, found Kaya stalking towards her. Her purple officer's cloak billowed at her feet as she walked, and there was a glimmer in her eyes that Tessa couldn't place.

"Hey, Kaya!" She grinned as the members of the First Cohort set her down and dispersed around them in a semicircle.

Kaya only blinked, a dire visage on her tan face. "Congratulations on your victory, but I'm afraid you three," She pointed to Tessa, Kaden, and Dale, "Have to come with me."

Kaden furrowed his eyebrows together. "Is it because we're Greek? Were we not supposed to play?"

Kaya faltered. "No, not that." She met their gazes tentatively, and Tessa's heart began to pound in anticipation. "It's Reese. He's been wounded."

~~

Madi wasn't feeling the whole 'under the cover of darkness' thing, but according to Ben, that was the best way to meet for a secret mission. So, there she was, standing in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night, reclined against a tree trunk.

"Remind me why we're doing this?" She whispered to Ben, who was standing nearby.

The son of Athena glanced at her lazily, and Madi's smile only grew. She knew how frustrated she could make him at times; she found his weary looks directed to her endearing.

"Because Tessa asked us too," Ben responded, his voice firm and clear in the silence of night. "End of story."

Madi pursed her lips. "That's debatable, but since Tessa asked," She sighed, punctuating her sentence. "Where is everyone, anyway?"

Ben made a face, folding his arms across his chest. "Well, we weren't exactly specific with a time or location to meet."

"We said at night in the woods."

"My point, exactly."

Madi gave him a look, and fought a laugh when he returned it. She glanced around the treeline of the woods, and waited for one of the members of Tessa's chosen task-force to emerge.

Thankfully, she didn't have to wait very long. As if on cue, Amelie, Flynn, Calum, Nova, Sierra came into view.

"Well, it's about time," Madi pushed herself off of her tree. "Glad you all could make it."

"No problem," Flynn said cheerily.

Madi frowned, doing a head-check of the people before her and the list Tessa gave her. "Where are Adhara and Orpheus?"

Calum cleared his throat. "Orpheus was unable to leave his cabin tonight, he sends his regards."

"And Adhara?"

"Heck, if I know."

Amelie stepped forward, away from Flynn's side, despite having her hand in his. "As much as I want to help Tessa...what's this all about again?"

Ben sighed. "I guess a refresher would be a nice introduction." He figured. "As we all know, Tessa, Kaden, Dale, Reese, and Sophia are at the Roman camp in California to fortify their camp. Now, Madi and I spoke to Tessa recently, and based on their newest developments, Tessa asked that we find what could possibly be a very difficult object."

"Wonderful," Sierra said airily. The daughter of Apollo seemed to be the opposite of her half-brothers, Flynn and Reese. Whereas they were blonde, she had sleek black hair pulled up into a high ponytail. Her gray eyes pierced through the night, shimmering like the silver and gold bow strapped across her back. "What task would that be?"

Madi glanced at Ben for encouragement. She addressed the group, and found a sort of pleasure in how they all were looking to her for guidance. She stood up straighter, her apprehension disappearing.

"She's asked us to find an entrance into the Labyrinth from within camp," She spoke. "Tessa fears that there might be one leading into Camp Jupiter, and that if these villains she's heard of can find one entrance, there's bound to be another."

"But didn't the original Labyrinth disappear?" Nova asked. She had her arms folded across her chest, her mane of dark curly hair floating freely around her face.

"Yes and no," Ben answered. "Just like every other myth, the location of the Labyrinth shifted into the Western Hemisphere. It expands and grows, and whatever Tessa and them are facing over there, it can find its way over here."

"So this needs to become our top priority," Madi continued. "We can't let our friends—and our camp—down."

Flynn opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, a rustling sound filled the air. Everyone froze, scanning the horizon with hands halfway to their weapons.

"What was that?" Amelie whispered, her hands outstretched in a battle stance.

Madi shook her head, gripping the sword at her side. Her heart pounded in her chest as she and her friends hid, and with a silent prayer, the daughter of Poseidon only prayed that they were not about to have this all be for naught as the rustling turned to footsteps that sounded closer and closer.