INSTEAD OF going head-first into the junkyard, the group made the unanimous decision to rest for the night and tackle the mechanical wasteland in the morning. None of them were very keen on a late-night dumpster dive in the middle of the desert, after all.

  Zoë and Bianca gave each person their own sleeping bag and single-person mattress to use from their backpacks. Their packs must've been enchanted, because with how small they were, it wasn't possible to hold as much as they did— like seven human-sized mattresses, for example.

  Magnus and Percy got some of the old wood from the boarded-up shack and brought it over to start a fire. Thalia zapped the wood with her finger to start it. For being stuck in the middle of the desert, they made themselves pretty comfortable.

  "The stars are bright tonight," Zoë mentioned.

  It was true. Without any light pollution around them, all of the millions of stars were on full display.

  Percy spared a glance at Magnus and Magdalena, noticing how they both seemed to be growing more energized than the rest of them. He already knew why— The stars were reviving their bodies. They gave the siblings strength and nourishment, almost like an IV-drip would for any other normal human being. Their skin glowed faintly as they sat under the stars, making them look almost unworldly compared to the rest of them.

  "Wow," Bianca breathed out. "I've never seen stars this beautiful."

  "This is barely scratching the surface of what they used to look like," Zoë said. "Back in time, entire constellations and galaxies would be on display. Like Orion and Andromeda, for example."

  She looked at the two siblings of Astraeus.

  Magnus shrugged. "Orion was always brighter than Andromeda."

  Magdalena scoffed. "Yeah, right," she said. "Andromeda is an entire galaxy, Magnus. Orion is all but a singular constellation."

  "Okay, and?" Magnus replied defensively. "How many times does Andromeda show up in the sky compared to Orion?"

  Zoë smirked. "Thy sister is correct, boy," she said. "Orion is all but a small cluster of prearranged stars. Andromeda is an incredible galaxy, filled with several hundred million stars. She outdoes you."

  Magdalena sent her brother a smug look. Magnus rolled his eyes and shoved her. "Whatever," he brooded. "Orion's cool." He glanced up at the sky and pointed. "See? It's right there."

  Everybody looked up, following where his finger was pointing toward. He was right— Orion's unmistakable figure was brightly lit in the night sky. From a distance, it was hard to tell, but when they looked close enough, they could see where Magnus's star had been plucked from the constellation. It's at the very top of Orion's raised arm, where only one of the two stars remained.

  "Wow," Percy whispered. It was still hard to believe that his two friends that were sitting next to him, living and breathing, were once just a singular star in the night sky above him. It almost felt like a myth to him, like something you only heard in old stories that have been twisted and distorted into false truths. But, this particular story, the one of his two best friends being stars in their past lives, was one that he knew was true.

  "I'm confused," Bianca admitted, staring at the group with a frown.

  Everybody turned to her blankly, not understanding where the confusion was coming from. Then all at once, they seemed to all come to realization that Bianca was the only person in the group who wasn't up to date on Magnus and Magdalena's . . . peculiar life story.

  "Ohhhhh," they all said in unison.

  Bianca looked at all of them, clearly bothered. "Am I missing something that's totally obvious, or . . . ?"

"Nah," Magnus waved off. "You're good. You wouldn't have known unless someone told you. We're just talking about how my sister and I used to be stars."

Bianca stared at him. "Stars . . ." She trailed off. "Like, movie stars?"

Magdalena tried her best to suppress her smile by rubbing her hand over her mouth. Magnus didn't hide it as well, the boy having to pull his jacket over his mouth to control himself.

"What's so funny?" Bianca demanded.

Thalia, who also couldn't help herself from chuckling, patted Bianca on the shoulder. "Not movie stars," she corrected. "Actual stars. Like, the burning balls of gas that are in the sky."

Bianca wasn't convinced. "You're kidding."

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "Did you not just see the missing star in Orion's constellation?"

Bianca looked back up into the sky, her eyes searching for the small arrangement of stars. And when she did, she gasped softly after a few seconds of silence, and then turned to Magnus and Magdalena with looks of bewilderment.

  "That— " Bianca blinked. "That's you?"

Magnus grinned. "Guilty," he replied. "My sister's from Andromeda, which is a galaxy, not a constellation. Kind of irrelevant, if you ask me. Orion's more— OWW!"

  Magnus fell backwards into his sleeping bag from Magdalena punching him in his chest, knocking him backwards in a reverse somersault sort of move. Percy and Thalia both had to put their fist's over their mouth's to stop themselves from laughing. Even Zoë looked like she was holding back a smile.

Bianca was struggling to find her voice, not even phased at the fact that Lena just knocked her brother three feet backwards. "But . . . " she blinked rapidly, like she was trying see the two siblings of Astraeus better. "Wha— how?"

Percy smiled at the girl, regaining his composure as Magnus sat up from his tumble, looking like he was ready to drop-kick his sister back to Cloudcroft. "Trust me, I had the same reaction as you," he said reassuringly. "But, it's the truth. Lena and Magnus were sent down to earth from their father's doing. He made them mortals— half-bloods— to train and represent him in the godly world."

Bianca let out a long breath. "Wow," she whispered. "Nico is going to freak out when he hears about this."

At the mention of her brother, Bianca's eyes saddened a little bit. Magdalena figured she was missing him, maybe even beyond just this quest. She'd made a big sacrifice joining the Hunters. She was leaving her brother behind, not knowing when she'll see him again. That had to be a tough pill to swallow, leaving the only true family she has behind to join a new one.

"What if it was the coffee?" Grover blurted out of nowhere. He'd been oddly silent throughout the entire conversation.

"Pan," he explained when he saw everyone looking at him in confusion. "I was drinking coffee when the wind came. When I felt his presence. Maybe I need to drink more coffee . . . "

Magdalena had a good feeling it wasn't from the coffee, but she didn't have the heart to break that to Grover.

"Grover, are you certain that it was Pan?" Percy asked. "I mean, I know that's what you want the answer to be."

"He answered our call for help," Grover said with certainty. "I can't tell you why or how, but it was him. When we're done with this quest, I'm going back to New Mexico and I'll only drink coffee. This is the first real lead we've had in over two thousand years. I . . . I have to figure it out."

"What I'm trying to figure out," Thalia cut in, turning towards Bianca. "Is how you managed to kill one of those skeletons. We need to learn how that happened so we can kill the rest of them."

Bianca pursed her lips. "I don't know. I just . . . Stuck my knife in it and it exploded."

  "Could've been your knife," Percy offered.

  "We share the same type of blade," Zoë said. "Celestial bronze, yes, but mine did not kill the warriors as her's did."

"Maybe the skeletons have a weak spot," Percy said. "And Bianca somehow hit it in the right place."

It was clear Bianca didn't like all the attention that was on her.

"We will figure it out," Zoë told Bianca, noticing her discomfort. "But for now, we need to plot our next move. We shall head further west after we pass the junkyard. If we're able to find a road, we can hitchhike to the closest town or city. Las Vegas, I believe."

"No!" Bianca yelped. "Not there!"

She looked completely out of her mind, like she'd just been slapped in the face. Her face had turned pale.

Zoë furrowed her eyebrows. "Why?"

Bianca shuddered. "Nico and I . . . We lived there for a while, I think. I can't remember much, but . . . "

Magdalena made eye contact with Percy, and she knew they were thinking the same thing. She knew about Percy's quest two summers ago with Annabeth and Grover— and how they'd almost gotten trapped in the Lotus Hotel and Casino for eternity. Percy also remembered Bianca telling him how she'd stayed in a hotel for a bit while traveling.

"Bianca," Percy said cautiously. "Was the hotel you stayed in called the Lotus Hotel and Casino?"

Bianca blinked. "How'd you know that?"

"Oh, great," Percy said dryly.

"What's the Lotus Hotel?" Thalia asked.

"Two summers ago," Percy said. "Grover, Annabeth, and I almost got stuck in there. It was bewitched to make you want to stay forever. We were only in there for an hour, but when we escaped, five days had gone by. Time travels faster when you're in there."

"No," Bianca muttered. "No. That— that can't be possible."

"You told me someone went and got you and Nico, right?" Percy asked.

"Yeah."

"Who was he? What'd he look like?"

"I can't remember. Percy, I really don't want to talk about this."

Zoë perked up, looking more alert. "You told us Washington D.C. was different when you returned last year. The last time you had been there, there was no subway, correct?"

"I mean, yes, but— "

"Bianca," Magdalena cut in, "who's the current president of the United States?"

"Come on," Bianca rolled her eyes. She said the right name of the present.

"And who was the president before?" Magdalena asked.

Bianca pondered this for a moment. "Roosevelt."

Zoë swallowed. "Theodore or Franklin?"

"Franklin," Bianca replied. "F.D.R."

Magdalena let out a shallow breath. "Bianca," she said. "F.D.R was president over seventy years ago."

Bianca looked confused. "What? No," she argued. "That can't be true. I'm not that old . . . Right?"

Bianca looked so out of sorts, Thalia's eyes turned sad. She knew what it felt like to be ripped out of time and not realize what you've missed. "It's okay, Bianca. All that matters is that you and Nico made it out of there. You're safe, now."

"But how?" Percy asked. "We hardly escaped and we were only there for an hour. How is it even possible to get out of there after being trapped for so long?"

"I already told you." Bianca's voice trembled like she was about to cry. "A man grabbed us and said it was time to leave. And— "

"Who was it? Why'd he take you?"

Magdalena grabbed Percy's arm and sent him a warning look. "Percy, stop."

But, he was unable to ask anything else anyways, because they were suddenly blasted with a fiery light down the sandy road. For a moment, Magdalena thought it may be Apollo, but then she noticed the engine was too quiet to be his sun chariot, and it was past sunset. They all collected their sleeping bags and moved out of the light's path as a stark white limousine rolled to a stop in front of them.

The back door opened right beside Percy, and before the boy could even move back a step, the tip of a sword blade was pressed against his throat.

Everybody drew their weapons at once. As the person who had their blade against's Percy jugular sidled out of the car, Percy inched backwards. He didn't have any other choice, since the guy kept pushing the point further under Percy's chin.

He had a cruel smile on his scarred face. "Not so fast now, are you, punk?"

The man was bulky and had a military buzz cut. He wore a black leather jacket, with matching jeans and a white wife-beater. He had dark tinted glasses that concealed his eyes— but Percy knew what they were hiding— empty sockets filled with fire.

"Ares," Percy glowered, his Adam's apple bobbing against Ares's sword tip.

The god of war studied the group. "Relax, godlings."

With a snap of his fingers, everyone's swords and bow's clattered to the ground.

"I come in peace." He said that as he proceeded to dig his sword blade further into Percy's chin. "As most of you know, I would love nothing more than to take your head, Percy Jackson, and keep it as a trophy. But, someone has requested to see you. And, I don't behead my enemies in the presence of a lady."

"Who's the lady?" Thalia asked.

Ares eyed Thalia. "The rumors are true, then. You are back."

Ares dropped the sword and shoved Percy back into his friends. He stumbled into Magdalena, to which she almost got flattened into the sand with how much force Ares shoved the boy with. Magnus had to settle the both of them into standing positions before they toppled over.

"Sorry," Percy mumbled to Lena, clearing his throat.

"Thalia, daughter of Zeus," Ares chuckled. "You hang around bad company, it seems."

"What are you doing here?" Thalia demanded. "Who's in the limo?"

Ares scoffed, smirking. "Psh, she couldn't care less about the rest of you. Especially them." He gestured to Zoë and Bianca. Then his eyes landed on Magdalena and his smirked widened. "Well, except little Caelestis, over here. She's taken a liking to you."

Magdalena looked a little confused, but Percy also saw a light blush coating her face. An excited glint dazzled in her eyes. Pride, maybe? "Really?" She asked, her voice wistful. "Me?"

"My lady's a very particular woman," Ares replied. Then he turned to the rest of the group. "How about the rest of you go get some dinner while you wait? Percy will only be a couple minutes."

"He will not be left alone with thee, Lord Ares," Zoë said.

"The taco place isn't open, anyway," Grover managed to say.

Ares snapped again, and the lights in the small Mexican restaurant came to life. The CLOSED sign flipped to OPEN and all the boards collapsed from the door. "Say that again, satyr?"

"It's okay," Percy said to them. "I've got this."

He did his best to sound more confident than he felt, but Ares clearly wasn't fooled.

"You heard the guy," Ares said through an amused grin. "He's tough and mighty. He's got everything handled."

The group reluctantly began to trail over to the restaurant, but Magdalena lingered a little longer, eyeing Ares with a suspicious look. Then she looked to Percy and put a hand on his forearm.

"Don't be stupid," she said, keeping her voice low. "Now isn't the time to make a greater enemy."

Percy tried to ignore how her hand burned into his arm, and nodded. "Have a little faith," he said, the hint of a smirk on his lips.

Magdalena didn't seem amused. "You make that really hard to do," she responded quietly, her eyes staring into his. Then she turned and trailed off with the rest of the group toward the taco shop.

Ares looked at Percy in absolute loathing, then opened the door to the limousine.

"Climb in, punk," he said. "And watch your manners. She's not as lenient to rudeness as I am."

PERCY THOUGHT his eyes were going to fall out of his head when he saw her.

His name was long forgotten. He didn't know where he was. Why was he here? How does he speak in complete sentences? He forgot how to do that, too.

The lady was dressed in a red silk dress, her hair curled into perfect ringlets water-falling across her shoulders. She has the most stunning face he'd ever seen: glittering eyes, flawless makeup, a smile that made shivers run down his spine in a jitter.

He had no answer if anyone asked him what she looked like. He really couldn't think of it. He'd tell them to think of the most beautiful actress they've seen. The goddess in front of him was ten times anything that actress could give. She was a timeless art piece that would be studied for eternity. A portrait of pure beauty. That was the goddess.

When she flashed her dazzling smile at Percy, he almost thought she looked a bit like Magdalena. Her hair melted into Lena's soft brown color, her eyes a startling blue, with freckles dusting her nose and cheeks. Then, she changed again, and she looked like one of the movie stars Percy had a crush on in elementary school. Then . . . Well, the point's proven.

"Percy!" The goddess breathed out with a smile. "You made it. I am Aphrodite."

Percy slid into the leather seat in front of her and said something along the lines of, "Um uh gah."

She grinned. "You're sweet. Hold this, will you?"

She gave Percy a a pink polished mirror the size of a frisbee and beckoned for him to hold it up for her. She looked at herself in it, checking her makeup and straightening her eyelashes, even though nothing was wrong with it.

"Have you wondered why I wanted to see you?" She asked.

Percy couldn't respond. He literally couldn't form words that didn't sound like he was speaking in caveman. Seriously, she was only a lady. A beautiful, drop-dead gorgeous lady. With eyes like pools of honey . . . Whoa.

Percy pinched himself. Hard.

"I . . . I'm not sure," Percy managed to stutter out.

"Oh, poor thing," Aphrodite said. "Still denying it, aren't you?"

There was a faint chuckle outside of the limo— Ares, no doubt. Percy figured the god could hear every single thing they were talking about. The thought of the god being outside angered him, which helped him gain some self control.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Percy said.

"Well, let me ask you this," the goddess said. "Why did you come on this quest?"

"Artemis is in danger!"

Aphrodite didn't even try to suppress her eye roll. "Artemis? Please. Talk about a lost cause. I mean, come on, if they were planning on capturing a goddess, shouldn't she be drop-dead gorgeous? I really do feel bad for the poor dears who had to lock her up. Lame-o!"

"She was hunting down a monster," Percy argued. "A dangerous monster. We need to find it!"

Aphrodite pulled at her cheekbones and brushed at her lipstick in the mirror. "Always some beast needing capturing. Oh, Percy, you needn't worry about that. The others on this quest are dealing with that. I'm more invested in you."

Percy's heart was racing. He didn't know what the right answer was to Aphrodite's question. "Annabeth's in trouble."

Aphrodite sighed, like that wasn't the answer she was looking for. "Yes, that dear girl is in dire need of saving. But, not to worry, I have her plans already written out."

Percy eyebrows furrowed. "Her plans?"

Aphrodite waved him off. "None of your concern," she said. "Now, dear, tell me the truth this time. Why did you come on this quest?"

  Percy was biting his tongue, but Aphrodite's stare seemed to take his words straight out of his mouth. "I needed to protect Magdalena."

  Aphrodite squealed. She clapped her hands in glee. "Yes! Exactly!"

  Percy was a little confused by his own words. They seemed to sucked straight from the bottom of his heart, where he didn't even know the truth lied. He never realized one of his reasons for being on this quest was for Magdalena until Aphrodite lured it out of his mouth.

  "She needs someone to look out of her," Percy said. "She's too selfless."

  "You care about her! Gah, that is so cute!"

  "Well, I mean . . . I don't want her to die," Percy tried to backtrack, rubbing his hands nervously against his thighs. "That's just common decency."

  Aphrodite tsk-tsk'd at him. "Percy, you don't have to explain yourself to me. I'm on your side! I'm the reason you got on this quest, after all."

  Percy stared at her. "What?"

  "That T-shirt the Stoll brothers gifted to Phoebe?" She said. "Did you really believe the poison lining the inside of that shirt was an accident? Sending Blackjack to find you and Magnus Arcturus? Allowing you both access to sneak out of camp?"

  "That was you?"

  "Duh! Because, honestly, these Hunters are such a bore! On a mission for their goddess, defeating some beast, blah blah blah. Let that goddess stay gone, if you ask me. Now, a quest for true love, on the other hand— "

  "Hold up, I didn't say— "

  "Oh, dear boy. You didn't have to say anything. You do know how close Magdalena has been to joining the Hunters, don't you?"

  Percy blushed. "I— I mean, yeah— "

  "She was this close to tossing her life away!" Aphrodite pinched her fingers together, leaving barely any space between them. "But you, dearest, you can save her from that! It is so romantic!"

  "Um . . . "

  "Get rid of that mirror," Aphrodite ordered. "I don't need it."

  Percy hadn't realized he had been holding it up still, but when he put his arm down, he noticed how sore he was.

  "Now, listen close, Percy," Aphrodite demanded. "Those Hunters? They are your enemies. Ignore them and their stupid goddess and monster they're hunting. Annabeth will be fine as long as my plan goes as it should. You just keep your focus on protecting Magdalena and keeping her safe."

  "You know where Annabeth is?"

  Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Don't try and divert me, Perseus! For the record, no, I do not know where she is. I leave those details to the rest of you. But, it has been much too long since we've had a tragic love story."

  "Okay, first of all, I didn't mention love. And second, why are we being tragic?"

  "Love conquers all," Aphrodite claimed. "Think of Helen and Paris. They didn't let anything stop them from being in love, did they?"

  "Uh," Percy said. "Weren't they the ones who started the Trojan War and had thousands of people die?"

  "That's besides the point. Follow your heart."

  "But . . . I don't know where my heart is. Or, where it's going."

  Aphrodite smiled at him with sympathy. She truly was beautiful. Not just because she was stunning physically, but because she believed so much in love, it was practically impossible to not feel inspired when she spoke about it.

  "The unknowing is all part of it," Aphrodite said. "Beautifully painful, isn't it? Being unsure on who you're in love with, and who loves you? Gah, you kids! It's so adorable I might cry."

  "No," Percy shook his head. "No, don't do that."

  "And, do not fret," she continued. "This will not be easy and boring for you, dear. Ah, do I have some exciting surprises prepared! Anguish. Indecision. Gosh, I can't wait!"

  "That's really okay," Percy told her. "You don't have to."

  "You're so cute. I wish all my daughters could shatter the heart of someone as kind as you." Aphrodite was tearing up. "You'd best be going. Please exceed caution in my husband's territory, Percy. Do not steal anything. He is very protective over his trinkets."

  "You mean Hephaestus?" Percy said.

  The door opened before Aphrodite could answer, and Ares pulled the boy out of the limousine and back into the cold desert air.

  His conversation with the love goddess had ended.

"SO," BIANCA said, after Percy had filled the group in about Aphrodite. "What'd she want with you?"

"Uh, not sure," Percy lied. "She just told me to be careful in Hephaestus's junkyard, and to not steal anything."

  Percy was avoiding any eye contact with Magdalena, even when he could feel her stare burning holes in the side of his head. His mind was spinning in circles trying to process what Aphrodite had said to him about Magdalena. Had he really come on this quest just to make sure she was safe? That couldn't be the only reason. But . . . Could it have been one of them? He hadn't even thought about it until now.

Zoë gave him a scrutinizing look. "Aphrodite would not come all the way out here just to tell thee that. Be cautious, Percy. Aphrodite is known for leading heroes astray."

"Surprisingly, I'm with Zoë on this," Thalia said. "Aphrodite can't be trusted."

Grover was looking at Percy weirdly. With the empathy link and all, Grover was good at reading Percy's emotions. And Percy had a good feeling Grover knew exactly what the love goddess had said to him.

  "Anyways," Percy said, eager to change the subject. "How are we getting out of here?"

  "That way," Magdalena said. "That's west."

  "How do you know?"

  With only the light of the full moon giving them vision, Percy was surprised at how well he could see her roll her eyes at him. It was like she expected him to know all the major constellations and their nautical placements in outer space. Did she forget that he wasn't a star once? Just her? "Ursa Major is north," she said, "which means that is west."

  She pointed west, then north, at the constellation. It was hard to make its shape with all the other stars around it.

  "Oh, yeah," Percy said. "That bear thing."

  Zoë looked offended. "Give respect when respect is due. It was a mighty bear— a worthy opponent."

  "You say that like it was real."

  "Guys," Grover interrupted. "Look!"

  They'd made it to the outskirts of the junkyard. There were stacks on stacks of metal trinkets and other broken tools. It went from old infrastructure, like bronze war heads and broken chariots, to more modern machinery— like refrigerators and washing machines.

  "Wow," Bianca muttered. "Some of this . . . looks like actual gold."

  "It is," Thalia said. "Don't touch anything, like Percy said. This is a wasteland of the gods."

  "Waste?" Grover grabbed a crown studded with different types of rare jewels. It was split in half, like it'd been smashed by a hammer. "You're calling this waste?"

  He bit a chunk out of it. "It's delicious!"

  "Dude!" Magnus whacked the crown out of his hands. "What did Thalia just say?"

  "Look!" Bianca said. She ran down the hill, stumbling over different trinkets. She plucked a silver bow out of a large pile of bronze plates. "A Hunter's bow!"

  She gasped when the bow shrank into a hair click in the shape of a crescent moon. "It's like Percy's sword! And Lena and Magnus's rings!"

  Zoë glared at the object. "Toss it, Bianca."

  "But— "

  "Anything put in this place is here for a reason. Either it is malfunctioning or cursed. Leave it."

  Bianca put down the hair clip with a frown.

  "Something's up with this place," Magdalena said quietly, fiddling nervously with her ring.

  "What?" Percy said. "You think we're going to get jumped by killer washing machines?"

  Magdalena gave Percy a hard look. "This isn't a joke, Percy. Zoë was right— things get put here for a reason. We just need to get through here fast and not look back."

  Percy looked at Lena, noticing that she'd pulled her hair back into a braid after she'd left Percy with Ares. He liked when she pulled her hair back— it illuminated her facial features more. He was able to see her freckles more clearly, noticing how they were arranged in particular patterns, almost like they were constellations. But, he only noticed that when he stared for long enough, which wasn't easy to do when Magdalena's eyes were constantly flitting around her surroundings— always on alert.

  She noticed him staring and turned, her blue eyes bright and scrutinizing in the moonlight. She still had a faint glow around her, as did Magnus, as they continued to travel underneath the glow of the full moon. "What?"

  Percy, now with an embarrassed blush on his face, cleared his throat. "Nothing," he said, his voice scratchy. "Sorry."

  Lena studied the boy for a moment longer, before turning back to the junkyard ahead of them, going to walk beside her brother to stop him from picking up any trinkets that intrigued him.

  Magdalena was probably the only person who didn't touch a single thing in that wasteland. It was hard to avoid picking up some of the things everyone found, in their defense. Percy found a guitar that resembled Apollo's lyre, while Grover found a metal tree with golden birds perched on the branches.

Eventually, they saw the end of the junkyard less than a mile away from them, with overhead highway lights illuminating through the desert. But, between them and the road . . .

"What is that?" Bianca questioned.

In front of them was the biggest mountain of junk out of all the others. It was as long as a football field and taller than the field-goal posts. At the end of one side was a line of ten metal columns, all stuck together.

Bianca squinted her eyes. "Those look like— "

"Toes," Grover said.

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "Really, really big toes."

Magdalena, Thalia, and Zoë all exchanged nervous looks.

"We'll go around," Thalia said. "Far around."

"But it's faster if we climb over," Percy protested. "The road is right on the other side."

Ping.

Thalia gripped her spear and Zoë lifted her bow, but then they realized it was just Grover, who'd tossed a chunk of metal at one of the toes, hitting it with a loud echo.

"What was that for?" Zoë said hardly.

Grover looked embarrassed. "I, uh, don't like fake feet?"

Magnus just rolled his eyes. "Alright," he said, pulling on Grover's arm. "Let's go. Around the scary toes."

  Nobody argued after that. And, it only took around twenty minutes to make it around the toes, and with sighs of relief, they found themselves at the side of a well-lit stretch of highway.

  "We're here," Zoë said. "Thank the gods."

  She spoke too soon. And in that moment, Magdalena heard the sound of something like a hundred garage trucks crushing down on metal.

  Behind them, the metal hill was rising like boiling water. The ten toes fell to the side, then Lena realized that they actually were toes. The giant that emerged from the metal mountain was a bronze titan dressed in Greek battle armor. He was as taller as a skyscraper, and his bronze body glittered in the moonlight. He creaked and groaned when he moved due to the rusty metal on his joints.

  "Talos!" Zoë gasped.

  "Uh— who's Talos?" Percy stammered.

  "A creation of Hephaestus," Magdalena said. "But, this is too small to be the original. This is probably a prototype. A defective model."

  Clearly, Talos took offense to the word defective.

  The giant unsheathed a weapon from his belt. The sound was equivalent to nails on a chalkboard, except there's about fifty boomboxes attached to the board and the speakers have its base boosted to maximum strength. The blade was as long as Talos's leg, and was rusted and broken. It wouldn't make any difference— getting hit by that would be like getting hit with a spaceship.

  "Somebody stole something," Zoë snapped. "Who was it?"

  She stared directly at Percy.

  Percy put his hands up to show that they were empty. "I'm a lot of things, but a thief isn't one of them."

  Bianca was silent, but Magdalena saw a guilty look on her face. Before she could question it, though, Talos began to advance on them, closing the distance between them with just one step. The entire ground shuddered.

  "Run!" Grover yelped.

  Good plan, except that was a horrible plan. That giant could crawl toward them and still crush them to pieces before they could make it past the highway.

  Everybody scattered, like they did with the Nemean Lion. Thalia held up Aegis as she sprinted down the highway. Talos swung his weapon and shredded ten power lines, the wires exploding in an array of sparks down Thalia's path.

  Percy, Magdalena, and Bianca hid behind a broken chariot together.

  "It was you," Lena said to Bianca. "You took that bow."

  "No!" She tried to deny, but her voice shook.

  "Throw it away!" Percy said.

  "I didn't take the bow! It's too late, anyways."

  "What'd you take?" Percy asked.

  She didn't have time to respond, because there was a loud crunching voice, and a shadow blotted out the sky.

  "Go!" Lena pushed Percy and Bianca in front of her, shoving them down the hill as the giant's metal foot created a crater in the ground right where the chariot had been.

  "Hey, Metal-Head!" Magnus shouted as the giant raised his sword over his sister and friends.

  Magnus raised up one hand, a smoke-like vapor tricking out of his palm. He had his hand pointed at the bottom of Talos's right leg. Percy didn't know what Magnus was planning on doing, but then he saw the sand beneath the giant's foot begin to shift and swirl. Percy watched in amazement as the ground suddenly dropped beneath the metal monster's foot— and the sand opened up into a black crater the size of a tennis court beneath Talos's leg.

  "What is he doing?" Bianca asked in shock.

  Talos's entire right side faltered as his foot sank into the crater— where nothing but black matter and space particles swirled around in a deep vortex. The giant creaking and groaned as he attempted to dislodge himself from the black void that was trying to suck him down.

  Magnus, with a thin trail of blood coming out of his nose, turned to Lena, Percy, and Bianca. "Now would be a good time to run!" He yelled.

  Magnus knew this wouldn't defer the beast for long, but it gave his friends a few seconds at best to escape.

  "Come on!" Percy yelled. But Bianca stayed still. She grabbed a tiny metal action figure from her pocket— a statue of a god. "It was the only figurine Nico didn't have. I . . . I wanted him to have it."

  "You're seriously thinking of that stupid game at a time like this?" Percy said.

  Bianca was about to cry.

  "Leave it," Percy said. "The giant might leave us alone if you do."

  Bianca tossed the figurine, but it didn't do anything.

  Magnus's black hole had disappeared after he lost too much energy, and he stumbled backward to find shelter as Talos began to advance in Grover. Its sword barely missed Grover, but a pile of debris fell over the satyr and he disappeared from view.

  "No!" Thalia cried. She hefted her spear, and she summoned a bolt of lightning, hitting Talos in his deformed knee, causing it to buckle. The beast fell, but barely gave anyone time to recover before it was rising again.

  The giant's foot hovered above the ground, ready to clamp down, and that's when Percy saw the bottom of his foot. There was a tiny hole in his heel with red words stamped on it, which said: FOR MAINTENANCE ONLY.

  "Okay," Percy said. "Crazy-idea time."

  Magdalena stared at him. "If you're about to say what I think you're going to say . . . "

  Percy confirmed her suspicions fast. He told Bianca about the maintenance hatch underneath Talos's foot. "There's got to be a way to control this thing from the inside. Maybe a switch or something. I need to get in there."

  "Absolutely not," Lena argued, looking at him like he was crazy. Which, he was, but that wasn't the point. "You'll get crushed trying to get under there!"

  "Keep it distracted," Percy said, ignoring Lena's argument. "I just need to get the timing right."

  Bianca clenched her jaw. "I'm going."

  "Yeah, no," Percy protested. "You're still new to all this! You'll die!"

  "I'm the reason Talos is attacking us," she said miserably. "I need to make things right. Here." She grabbed the god statue and gave it to Percy. "Bring that back to Nico. If I don't make it, tell him . . . Tell him I'm sorry."

  Magdalena gripped Bianca's arm so tight Percy could've sworn she was going to rip it out of its socket. "Don't be a hero," she said hardly. "Let me go. You just got brought into this life— I'm not going to let it end now."

  Bianca stared at the girl, and shook her head. "This is my responsibility," she said quietly. "I won't let any of you die because of my mistakes."

  Bianca, with a sudden burst of strength, ripped her arm from Lena's grip and charged at the monster's foot before Lena or Percy could stop her.

  "No!" Lena cried, her immediate reaction being to run after the girl, but Percy held her back, locking his arms around her shoulders. He already knew what Magdalena was going to do if he'd let her follow Bianca. She would've pushed Bianca away and kept her down so that Lena could be the one to take the weight of going into Talos and shutting him off. She would risk death so that Bianca Di Angelo wouldn't have to. And Percy wasn't going to let that happen.

  "She's going to die!" Magdalena protested, struggling in Percy's arms. "I need to help her!"

  "If you go after her, you'll die too," Percy snapped, his arms tightening around her. "I'm not letting that happen."

  Talos had his attention on Thalia. She'd discovered that the giant was very big, but not fast. She learned that if she could keep herself near the beast, and avoid getting smashed, she could linger around it and stay alive.

  Bianca made it right beside Talos's foot, attempting to  keep her balance as the giant twisted and turned as its weight shifted.

  Zoë screamed, "Bianca? What are you doing?"

  "Make it lift its foot!" Bianca demanded.

  Zoë sent an arrow flying straight into one of its nostrils— which only caused Talos to perk up and shake its head.

  Percy, acting blindly, shoved Magdalena behind him and ran straight toward the giant, making a terribly unwise attempt to get it to raise its foot. "Yo, Junk Boy!" He yelled. "Down here."

  Percy jammed Riptide into Talos's pinky toe. His sword sliced a gash into the metal.

  Unfortunately for Percy, his plan worked. The metal giant stared down at Percy and lifted his foot, preparing to slam Percy straight into the ground. Percy didn't even have time to run. He just stood there, praying that Bianca had managed to get inside.

  And then, by the grace of the gods, his best friend, Magdalena Caelestis, managed to save his ass once again.

  Percy felt a tingling sensation surrounding his body just seconds before he was about to be smashed into a Percy-place-mat, and when Talos's foot slammed down toward him, his metal foot deflected off whatever shimmering vortex had been protecting Percy— because instead of hitting the boy, it struck the side of the vortex and sent Percy flying backwards where Magdalena was standing, slamming into an Olympus-Air refrigerator.

But, his impact was softened from whatever had been surrounding him, because as soon as he slammed into the fridge, the energy field around him disappeared, and he was left with no pain, and instead, an enraged-Magdalena staring down at him. He didn't know which was worse.

"One of these days, I'm going to let you die," Lena said hardly, glaring down at the boy with her sword gripped tight in her left hand.

Percy winced as he picked himself out of the pile of scrap metal. "No, you won't," he said with a small smirk.

Magdalena glared at him with even more ferocity. She looked like she was about to say something to Percy that he knew would probably bruise his ego, but then she turned and saw Talos standing right over them, and her eyes turned to saucers.

"Shit."

The beast was seconds away from finishing off the two demigods, but Grover somehow managed to crawl out of the avalanche he'd gotten sucked under. He began to play a frantic tune only pipes, sending a power line pole down on Talos's shin. The metal giant whipped around toward Grover. The satyr should've ran while he had the chance, but he was too worn out, and he only made it two steps before he fell, going motionless.

  "Grover!" Lena, Thalia, and Percy all rushed to him, but they knew they wouldn't make it in time.

  The monster hefted his sword in the air, ready to slice Grover in half. Then he stopped.

  Talos's head cocked to one side, like he'd suddenly gotten confused. He started moving sporadically, his arms and legs twisting and flapping like he had to use the bathroom. Then he punched himself in the face.

  "Yes, Bianca!" Percy yelled.

  Zoë had a horror-struck look in her face. "She is in there?"

  Talos stumbled, the group still in danger from his wild movements. Magnus and Thalia got Grover and they all began to head toward the highway. Zoë, who was halfway there, yelled, "How is Bianca going to escape?"

  Talos smashed himself in the head again, his weapon clattering to the ground. He trembled, hauling himself toward the power lines.

  Magdalena looked horrified. "Bianca!"

  The giant ran itself straight into the power lines, shots of electricity grappling along its metal body. There was no telling what was happening on the inside. Talos ran itself back towards the junkyard, his arm snapping off its body into the scrap-metal.

  His entire body began to fall apart— his arm, then some shrapnel. Then he started to run.

  "Wait!" Zoë cried. The group tried to race after it, but it was no use. They couldn't keep up with the giant with how much scrap metal kept falling off of it.

  Talos completely shattered into pieces in the junkyard. The group searched for hours, trying to find Bianca Di Angelo. They climbed through every single hollow piece of metal that had fallen, searching all throughout the night until sunrise. They found no sign of her.

  Zoë fell to her knees and cried. That sent a shock through the entire group.

  Thalia cried in outrage and stuck her sword straight through the giant's face.

  "We'll keep looking," Percy said desperately. "The sun's out now. We'll be able to see better. We will find her."

  Magnus was standing beside his sister, who was staring silently at the wreckage in front of her. Her face was coated in dry tears, her cheeks splotchy and eyes glassy. Her brother had his arm around her, comforting her without words.

  "We can't," Magnus said hoarsely. "We won't find her. It happened just as it was said to."

  "What are you talking about?" Percy asked.

  Magnus turned to him, and Percy realized the boy had tears in his eyes, too. "One shall be lost in the land without rain."

  Percy's face fell in realization. The prophecy. How did he not see it before? Why did he stop himself from going into Talos instead of her?

  There all of them were, standing alone in the desert. And Bianca Di Angelo was gone.

IT TOOK a lot of self-will to finally leave the junkyard, but everybody knew that they had to continue on with the quest. They didn't want to give up on Bianca Di Angelo, but eventually, after hours upon hours of searching, they all knew that she was gone.

Once they made it out of the wasteland— every single person within the group carrying a heavy heart— they managed to find an old pick-up truck that was so worn down it looked hardly drivable. But, to their surprise, the engine spurred on, and the gas tank was full, so they took that as a sign to borrow it.

Thalia got behind the wheel. She was more stoic than the rest of them, seemingly better at hiding her emotions. It was a trait Magdalena had gotten used to with the daughter of Zeus, but had also seemed to pick up on herself. As Lena continued to get older, she kept getting more and more sheltered with how she expressed her feelings. When she was younger, she was an open book. Her facial cues gave away exactly what she was thinking or feeling. But now, she was slowly getting harder to read. She didn't know why she was doing this, but Lena knew that it was only going to continue as she got older.

Zoë sat in the front with Thalia, while Grover sat in the back with Magnus, leaving Percy and Magdalena in the pickup bed, sitting against the back window of the truck. The weather was beautiful, a cool breeze counteracting the dry air, but it only seemed like a cruel joke after the loss of Bianca.

Percy and Magdalena sat in silence beside each other, their arms pressed against one another's from the minimal space in the truck bed. Magdalena sat with her knees bent and arms folded on her stomach, while Percy rested one bent leg on the side of the truck, his other extended. He had his arms crossed over his chest as well. It was almost like a scene from a movie— six rogue teenagers fleeing the scene after one of their best friends was killed in a disastrous accident. It almost didn't feel real.

Percy turned to look at the girl beside him. In the sheer light of the sun, her body seemed to glow from the crisp tan she'd managed to acquire in the middle of wintertime. Her blue eyes were like pools of spring water, with the loose flyaways from her braid flicking her in the face in the wind.

"I should've stopped her," Percy said. "I should've been the one to go into Talos."

Magdalena's jaw tightened. She glanced at Percy, her stare sad and unnerving all at once.

"How can you say that?" Magdalena asked, her tone broken. "We already lost Annabeth. And now Bianca. Do you really think I— any of us could handle losing you, too?"

Percy swallowed, feeling his chest tighten at her words. "Don't say that," he said. "I know you would've done the same. You were going to do the same."

Magdalena didn't respond, staring down at her hands, where her fingers on her left hand were twisting the ring on her right.

"You know why I would've done it," she responded quietly, not looking up.

"That doesn't change anything," Percy argued, though his voice was hardly accusatory. It was more defeated, than anything else.

  Magdalena didn't respond, but Percy knew he'd struck a nerve, because she turned away from him, keeping her eyes on the other side of the highway.

  Percy just sighed, readjusting to get more comfortable. It was times like this where Percy wished it was easier to get through to Magdalena. She was stubborn, no doubt, but over that she was terribly hard to get to open up. Percy had hoped she'd be more comfortable with him now that they'd gotten closer, but he'd hefted his hopes up too high. She'd started to shrink back as time went on, making it harder to get any sort of rise or explanation out of her. Even though it upset Percy, he knew he couldn't press it. He knew he needed to take a step back, even if he didn't want to.

  They rode in silence until the truck ran out of gas at the crest of a river canyon. It didn't matter, they couldn't drive any more anyways. The road led them to a dead-end.

  Thalia jumped out of the car, slamming the door. Right after she did that, a tire blew. "Perfect. Just perfect."

  Magdalena took in their surroundings. The terrain hadn't changed much on their drive, desert still surrounding them in every direction. The river canyon was the most intriguing thing around them— the river cutting out a big scar in the desert. The cliff dwelling dropped down in front of them.

  "I found a path," Grover said as he walked up to the group. "We can follow it to the river."

  Lena saw what he was referring to— the trail was nothing but a tiny ledge teetering down the cliff. The mere sight of it made her nauseous.

  "Grover, that's a goat path," Percy said.

  "Okay, and?" He replied.

  "None of us are goats."

  "You guys can make it," Grover said. "I think."

  Percy dwelled on it. He'd climbed cliffs before, but it certainly wasn't fun. He looked over at Magdalena and Thalia, who'd both gone pale. Lena had scaled a cliff last summer on the Cyclops's Island— but that had been a life or death situation. She knew she had no choice, and pushed through it. Looking at her now, as she glared at the cliff drop below them, he knew Thalia and Lena would never make it.

  "No," Percy said. "We should probably just go further upstream.

  "But— "

  "That's a good idea," Magnus butted-in. "We all need to get our daily cardio in, anyways."

  Magnus and Percy clearly were thinking the same thing regarding Lena and Thalia. Percy looked over at the two of them, Thalia looking at him and Magnus gratefully. Lena's eyes said a quick Thank you when they caught on Percy's.

  They trailed alongside the river for a half-mile before reaching an easier slope that led them down to the main riverbed. Along the shore was a canoe rental business that wasn't open, since it was the off-season. Percy, despite the rental being closed, placed a stack of golden drachmas on the help-desk and wrote a note that said, IOU three canoes.

  "We must continue upstream," Zoë said. She sounded so terrible, it worried Magdalena. She sounded like she'd caught some sort of virus. "These rapids are too choppy."

  "I can handle that," Percy said as they set the canoes into the river.

  Magdalena pulled Percy to the side as they were grabbing the oars. "Thanks," she said. "For back there."

  "Don't mention it."

  "Are you sure about the rapids?"

  "Pretty positive. You know I'm good with water."

  Magdalena nodded. "You should take Zoë with you," she said. "I think you talking to her will help with, you know."

Percy knew. But he wasn't sure why him talking to Zoë would help in any possible way.

  "I think she'd rather drown in the river than talk to me."

  Magdalena gave him a look that made it hard for Percy to argue against her. "Please? Thalia was telling me some of things she was saying in the car, and . . . I'm worried about her."

  Sitting alone with Zoë was probably one of the last things Percy wanted to do, but it was hard to refuse something from Magdalena. Especially when she was sending him one of those signature looks she had that usually sent a shiver down his spine. He nodded reluctantly.

  Magdalena smiled at him, her shoulders relaxing. "Thanks. I owe you one."

  "Two."

  "You owe me five," Magdalena accused, though her tone was lighthearted. "Let's keep it at one."

  "One and a half," Percy replied with a boyish smirk.

  Magdalena rolled her eyes, but she couldn't prevent the small laugh that escaped her as she smiled. Every time she smiled, Percy was reminded that she looked a lot less intimidating when she wasn't angry at him. Lena turned and went over to help Magnus get their canoe into the river.

As it turned out, Percy didn't even have to do anything to calm down the currents when they started down the river. He glanced off the side of his canoe and saw three naiads looking up at him.

Hey, Percy greeted.

They made a gurgling noise that Percy believed was giggling, but he couldn't tell. He struggled to understand naiads.

We need to get upstream, he told them. Would you guys be able to—

He didn't have to finish his sentence, because the naiads immediately split up each went to one of the canoes and started steering them upstream. They started so quick Grover flopped backwards in his canoe with his hooves sticking up in the air.

Magnus nearly rolled off the side of him and Magdalena's canoe, but his sister hauled him back in before he could get swept into the current.

"I hate naiads," Zoë muttered.

A stream of water splashed in an arch from behind the boat and pelted Zoë in her forehead.

"She-devils!" Zoë cursed, reaching towards her bow.

"Whoa," Percy said. "They're just playing."

"Those damned water spirits. They have not forgiven me."

"Forgiven you for what?"

Zoë retracted her bow. "It was a lifetime ago. It is unimportant."

They continued upstream, the cliffs casting shadows as they loomed over either side of the group.

  "Don't blame yourself for what happened to Bianca," Percy said. "It's my fault. I let her do it."

  Percy hoped this would give Zoë a reason to start yelling at him. At least that could get her out of her depressive slump.

But, she didn't yell at him. Her shoulders sagged defeatedly. "No, Percy. I pressured her into coming on this quest. I was in over my head. She was strong— a powerful demigod. She had a good soul, too. I . . . I was anticipating for her to be the next lieutenant."

"But that's you?"

Zoë tightened her grip on her bow. Percy had never seen her look this exhausted. "Nothing lasts forever, Percy. I have led the Hunt for over two thousand years, and even now, my wisdom has stayed the same. Because of that, Artemis herself is now in danger."

"Zoë, you can't take the blame for that."

"If I had tried harder to follow alongside her— "

"It wouldn't have changed anything. Do you truly believe you could've defeated a monster strong enough to kidnap a goddess? You would've ended up just like her, or worse."

Zoë stayed silent.

Percy, without thinking, took Riptide from his pocket. Zoë glanced at the concealed weapon, and her expression was filled with pain.

"You made this," Percy said.

"How does thy know?"

"I saw it in a dream."

Zoë observed the boy. Percy was almost positive Zoë was going to say he was stupid for thinking that, but instead she heaved a sigh. "It was a gift. A mistake."

"Which hero was it?" Percy asked.

"Do not make me say his name. I vowed to never utter it again."

"You're acting like I know the guy."

"I believe you do, hero. All you boys strive to be brave as he was, don't you?"

Zoë's voice was so bitter, Percy knew better than to press the topic further. He stared at his pen, and for the first time, he questioned whether the weapon was cursed.

"Your mother was a water goddess?" He asked.

"Indeed. Pleione— I was one of her five daughters. My sisters and I, we are the Hesperides."

"Those girls who lived in a garden at the very end of the West?" Percy asked. "With the golden apple tree and the dragon protecting it."

"Yes," Zoë sighed. "Ladon."

"I thought there were just four sisters?"

"Now there is, yes. I was banished. Forgotten . . . Like I had ceased to exist."

"Why?"

Zoë pointed to Riptide. "I went against my family and aided a hero. You won't hear of that in any legend, either. He never mentioned my name. After his attack on Ladon failed, I gave him advice on how to steal the apples, and how to elude my father. But, in the end, he took the credit."

"But— "

The naiads made a gurgling noise in Percy's mind. The canoes began to slow down.

Percy saw what was in front of them, and immediately knew why.

The naiads could only take them this far. The river was blocked. A dam the size of a football stadium was directly in their path.

ANNA'S NOTES!
Has anybody caught onto the little personality changes we've been seeing in Magdalena in this book compared to the last.... Hmmmmm

Unfortunately this will be causing a spiral into Percalina angst for the rest of the books 🙂🫶 love you guys !