ANNABETH CRIED at the foot of mother's throne. Magdalena sat down beside her, but she didn't cry. She stared dejectedly at the ground, not saying anything. Percy wanted help them, but he didn't know how.

"None of this is your guys' fault," Percy reassured. "Hermes . . . He's never acted like that before. I'm just . . . I'm assuming he's guilty over what happened to Luke. He wants somebody to blame. He shouldn't have taken it out on you two. Neither of you did anything to deserve that."

Neither of them spoke. Annabeth wiped away her tears as Magdalena stared at the floor.

Percy swallowed. "You guys . . . Didn't do anything, right?"

Silence.

"What were you talking about?" Annabeth finally asked him. "About May Castellan. Have you met her?"

Percy nodded. "Nico and I went to her house. She seemed sort of . . ." Percy grimaced, and described Luke's mother. He told them about the strange thing with her eyes glowing, and her muttering about Luke's fate.

Annabeth frowned. "That makes no sense. And why did you two see her anyway?"

Percy's jaw clenched, and he shuffled on his feet nervously.

Magdalena's eyes look to his. "Hermes said you bear the curse of Achilles," she said quietly. "He's right, isn't he?"

"Don't change the subject."

"Answer the question. Did you bathe in the River Styx?"

"Uh . . . Maybe a little."

  Percy quickly explained everything about Nico and Hades, and how he took out an entire fleet of zombie. He chose to leave out the vision of Lena being his mortal tie, mostly for the sake of his own embarrassment, but also because he didn't really understand it.

  Annabeth stared at him. "Are you serious? Do you not realize how dangerous that was?"

  "I'm out of options," Percy said. "This is my only chance at standing against Luke."

  "You could've died, Percy," Magdalena said in a low voice. "How could you do that?"

  "I didn't have a choice," Percy said hardly. "Do you really think I could defeat Kronos without an advantage?"

  "This was stupid," Lena argued, getting to her feet. "If you had died, it would've all been for nothing!"

  "I didn't die," Percy responded harshly. He gestured to himself. "I'm right here, Lena!"

  Magdalena's jaw clenched. "For as powerful as you are, you're equally as stupid."

"Thanks, Lena," Percy said dryly. "That's really nice of you."

"You know what— "

Maybe it was for the best that Annabeth interrupted Lena, because Percy knew that the next thing she was going to say to him would've definitely bruised his ego.

"Luke bathed in the Styx," Annabeth realized. "That's why you did it. That's why you couldn't kill him. Oh, gods . . . Luke. What were you thinking?"

"There you go again," Percy muttered. "Worrying about Luke."

Annabeth looked at him like he'd grown a third arm. "What?"

"Nothing," Percy brushed off in irritation. He wanted to know what Hermes meant about her and Lena failing to save Luke when they had the opportunity to. He knew better than to ask now, and he just simply wasn't in the mood to. He didn't want hear more about Lena's past with Luke.

  He could feel Lena's harsh eyes burning into his face, dissecting all of the differences in his face, as if the Styx had completely changed his appearance.

  Annabeth sighed. "You're probably right. My mother said something about— "

  "Plan twenty-seven or something."

  "Twenty-three." Annabeth took her laptop out of her bag and opened it, clicking through a couple of files.

  "Alright," she said. She whistled. "We've got work to do."

  "Did Daedalus create it?"

  "Yeah. Created tons of dangerous inventions. Things must really be getting bad if my mom wanted me to do this." She looked up at Percy. "What did she mean with her message to you? 'Remember the rivers'?"

  Percy shook his head dejectedly. Once again, he felt totally stupid trying to figure out what the gods wanted from him. What river was she even talking about? The Mississippi?

Before he could think about it any further, Travis and Connor raced into the hall.

"You guys need to see this," Connor said. "Now."

  NONE OF them understood what the problem was at first, considering the strange blue strobes had stopped.

  The rest of the demigods were standing around near the mountainside, staring down at Manhattan below them. The railing surrounding the edge was dotted with tourist binoculars that they could use to see the city. All of them were being used.

  Percy looked over the railing, seeing everything from the East and Hudson River to the city blocks and skyscrapers. Central Park was a dark mass in the distance. There didn't seem to be anything wrong, but something wasn't right. He felt a chill run down his spine.

  "It's . . . Quiet," Annabeth noticed.

  There it was.

  Even from six-thousand feet up, the sounds of the city could be heard. It never stopped, and it was always prominent, even when Percy lived there. New York City was the city that never slept. It was never quiet.

  But it was now.

  Percy felt as if he'd just watched his best friend die.

  "What happened?" Percy's voice was dark and dangerous. "What did they do to my city?"

  Percy shoved Micheal Yew onto the ground as he leaned in to use one of the binoculars.

  There was no traffic. People were unconscious in the middle of the street and sidewalks. There was no immediate threat, and no car wrecks. It was like the entire city had shut down, and everybody had passed out.

  "They're not . . . Dead, right?" Silena asked nervously.

  Percy felt acid pooling in his stomach. The words of the prophecy suddenly flashed across his mind: And see the world in an endless sleep. He thought back onto what Grover told him about his interaction with Morpheus. You should be glad I'm withholding my strength for when the time is right.

  "No," Percy said angrily. "Morpheus put everyone in Manhattan to sleep. The invasion has started."

MRS. O'LEARY made a field day out of the sleeping city.

When the campers returned from Olympus, they found her guzzling down hotdogs out of an overturned truck, the owner of the vehicle curled up in a ball on the ground beside it.

Melè sat obediently by Argus's side until he saw Lena, to which he trotted up to her and sniffed her, like he was checking her for any injuries. The wolf was triple the size of a regular wolf, reaching about ten feet tall when he stood on his hind legs. His chocolate brown fur was thick and glossy, and his matching brown eyes stared lovingly up at Lena as she and the other demigods walked toward Argus, who looked like he was freaking out. Rightfully so.

Percy filled him in on what they found out on Olympus, and that they were on their own from here on out. Argus rolled his eyes in disgust, which made Lena a little nauseous, watching every single eye on his body move at once.

"You should go back to camp," Percy said. "Do what you can to defend it."

Argus pointed at Percy, then gave him a thumbs up, then a thumbs down in question.

Percy gave him a thumbs up. "I'm staying."

Argus looked satisfied with his answer. He looked to Annabeth and made a sphere in the air with his finger.

Annabeth nodded. "I'm on it."

"What?" Percy asked.

Argus grabbed something from the trunk of his van. He gave Annabeth a standard bronze shield, the same ones they always used in training. Annabeth set it on the street, and the face of the shield melted into a reflection of the Statue of Liberty.

"A television," Percy said, "but in shield form. Sweet."

  "An idea of Daedalus's," Annabeth said. "Beckendorf helped me make it before— " She awkwardly ended the sentence, sparing Silena's feelings. "Moving on. The shield's destined to manipulate light from the sun or moon from any point in the world, and create a reflection from it. We can see anything. Look."

  Annabeth focused on the shield as everybody huddled around her. The reflection zipped and zagged through the streets of New York— winding down East 45th, then through Central Park, and veering onto Third.

  "Hold up," Connor said. "Go back. Yep. Right there."

  "What?" Annabeth panicked. "Monsters?"

  "No, no. You see that?" Connor grinned. "Dylan's Candy Bar." He turned to Travis. "Dude, it's open. And nobody's awake. You know what that means?"

  Magdalena sent her elbow into Connor's side, glaring at him. "Will you focus? We're in the middle of a war, Connor. You are not raiding a candy store."

  "Sorry," he mumbled, but he didn't sound very apologetic. He smirked softly at Lena, to which she just rolled her eyes. But, hardly noticeably, there was a tiny smile on her face.

  Annabeth swiped the shield to another angle of the city, showing FDR Drive, which was reflecting across the river near Lighthouse Park.

  "This is perfect," Annabeth said. "We'll be able to keep tabs on the invasion from every part of the city. Thank you, Argus. With luck, we'll see you again soon."

  Argus nodded, then turned and got into his van, all three of the shuttles swerving back toward Long Island.

  Percy whistled for Mrs. O'Leary, to which she came sprinting over.

  "Good girl," Percy said, scratching her chin. "Remember our friend Grover? The satyr we saw back in Central Park?"

  "WOOF!"

  Percy figured that meant, Yes! Of course! But it could've also meant, Find me more hotdogs!

  "You need to find him for me," Percy said. "We need all the help we can get. Got it, girl? Find the goat!"

  Mrs. O'Leary gave Percy sloppy kiss, then bounded down the street toward Central Park.

  Melè's head perked up as he watched his best friend bound away. He whimpered quietly.

  "She's coming back," Lena reassured, scratching the top of his head. Melè's tail wagged, and he barked, which hopefully meant he understood.

  "Why did only the mortals fall asleep?" Pollux wondered out loud as he stared at the people around him.

  "With stronger spells, resistance is easier," Silena said. "Morpheus wanted millions of citizens asleep, so he probably casted a weaker spell. For demigods, it's harder to enchant them."

  Percy raised an eyebrow. "How do you know all this?"

  Silena frowned. "I read, you know? I'm not always just staring at myself in the mirror."

  "Hey," Annabeth called. "Come see this."

  In the reflection from the shield, they saw La Guardia, and Long Island Sound. A dozen speedboats were headed straight toward Manhattan, each boat filled with demigods. At the front of the fleet was the signature sigil of Kronos engraved on a purple and black flag.

  "Search Manhattan's perimeter," Percy ordered. "Now."

  Annabeth brushed her hand over the shield, revealing a Staten Island Island nearing the harbor, dozens of draceane and hellhounds overflowing on the boat. Swimming alongside the boat were hundreds of telkhines— sea demons.

  Then, just near the Lincoln Tunnel, monsters walked in ranks in the streets— clubbed giants, Cyclopes, poisonous dragons, and best of all— a huge Sherman tank from World War II bustled through the traffic.

  "What about the people outside of Manhattan?" Percy asked. "Did Morpheus send the entire state to sleep?"

  Annabeth shook her head. "That'd be unlikely. But . . . Something's not right. Obviously, Manhattan's asleep, but time seemed to have slowed down around the outskirts of New York. It's slowest in Manhattan."

  The shield revealed a vision of a New Jersey highway, where all the traffic seemed to have stopped. But, the closer they got, they realized that it wasn't stopped, it was simply slowed. Everything was. Even the birds seemed to be moving at less than a mile per hour.

  "It's Kronos," Lena said. "He's slowing time."

  "It could be Hecate, too," Katie Gardner added. "All of the cars seem to be turning off the exits leading to Manhattan. It's like they've all been told to turn around."

  "I don't know." Annabeth was agitated. She hated not knowing. "Kronos found a way to cast heavy magic around Manhattan. The rest of the world may not even realize there's anything wrong. And anybody trying to enter the city will just turn around, going so slow they won't even see there's a problem."

  Magdalena nodded. "Which only solidifies that we're on our own."

  Percy looked at Lena, and then to the rest of his friends, seeing a crowd of fearful faces. And they had every right to be. They had over three hundred monsters coming from every side of the city, and they were completely isolated from help.

  Percy took a deep breath. "Okay. We're going to hold the island."

  Silena swallowed nervously. "Percy . . . Manhattan's pretty big."

  "We're going to hold it," Percy said again, stronger. "There's no other option."

  "Percy's right," Lena said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "The wind gods are working to keep Kronos from invading Olympus by air. This will leave him with only a ground assault. They need to seal every entrance into Manhattan."

  "What about the boats?" Micheal Yew interjected.

  Percy felt a spark shoot up his spine. Remember the rivers.

  "I'll handle that," Percy said.

  Micheal scowled. "How?"

  "I'll handle it," Percy snapped at Micheal. Micheal got the message, and closed his mouth. "That leaves us to block off the bridges and tunnels. The quickest way to the Empire State Building through either midtown, or downtown. That's where they're going to try to enter first. Apollo cabin, you'll hold down Williamsburg Bridge. Demeter cabin, you'll take the Brooklyn—Battery Tunnel. I don't care what you do, but do anything you can to keep them from entering. Connor, you'll take half of Hermes cabin and hold Manhattan Bride. Travis, you take the rest and go to Brooklyn Bridge. No detours for raiding!"

  "Ughhhh!" All of the Hermes campers groaned.

  "Silena, you and your cabin will defend Queens— Midtown Tunnel."

  "Stop," a daughter of Aphrodite gasped. "That's totally en route to Fifth Avenue! We can totally take down monsters with smell of Burberry! They'll hate it!"

  "No shopping breaks," Percy ordered. "But . . . If you think the perfume thing will work, then . . ."

  Six Aphrodite girls kissed Percy on the cheek. Magdalena tried to hold back a laugh at the look on Percy's face.

  "Okay! Okay!" Percy squeezed his eyes shut, making sure he got everything. "Holland Tunnel. Hephaestus cabin, you'll take that. Use everything you've got."

  Jake Mason smiled. "With pleasure. We've got business to settle. For Beckendorf!"

  All of the campers roared in agreement.

  "All that's left is the 59th Street Bridge," Percy said. "Clarisse— "

  Percy's voice cut off, remembering that she wasn't there. Her entire cabin had abandoned them.

  "Athena cabin will cover it," Annabeth said, saving Percy from that moment of uncomfortable silence. "Malcolm and I will lead our cabin and activate plan twenty-three."

  Malcolm nodded. "Done."

  All that was left was Magdalena, who looked around the group with steely eyes.

  "I'll stay with Percy," she said. "We'll help anyone who needs it."

  There was a snicker from the back of the group. "No detours, you two."

  A round of laughter washed through the group, but Percy decided not to argue.

  "We all good?" Percy asked. When everyone nodded, he sighed. "Alright. Stay in contact with each other. Use your phones."

   "None of us have one," Silena said.

  Percy fixed that problem by grabbing a BlackBerry off the ground and tossing it to the girl. "Problem solved. Everyone know's Lena's number, I'm assuming? Call us if anything goes wrong. Keep switching phones after you use them. That'll confuse any monsters trying to track you down."

  Everyone started to mutter excitedly.

  Travis raised his hand. "Hypothetically, if we happen to come across a really nice cell— "

  "You aren't keeping it," Percy said flatly.

  "Damn it."

  "Wait, Percy," Jake Mason said. "We're missing the Lincoln Tunnel."

  Percy cursed. That was the most important one, considering there was a tank filled with monsters rumbling through it as they spoke.

But then, from down the street, a voice called out: "You can leave that to us."

Percy felt like he just got splashed with cold water. A rank of over thirty teenage girls dressed in silver camouflage was making their way towards them— bows attached to their backs, with white hunting wolves trotting alongside them. A few of them even had falcons perched on their arms.

Thalia Grace led the crew, with her unmistakable black hair and matching leather jacket. There was a glittering silver circlet in her hair, which paired nicely with her Death to Barbie T-shirt and skull earrings.

"Thalia!" Magdalena cried.

Thalia grinned proudly. "The Hunters of Artemis, reporting for duty."

  THALIA WAS the only one excited to see the campers. The Hunters hated Camp Half-Blood, more specifically, the boys at Camp. Just boys in general, really. Nonetheless, none of them tried to kill any of the campers, so Percy took that as a win.

  Melè was more than happy to be reunited with his old wolf pack. He stood out in the sea of white fur, since his fur with a deep brown, but all of the animals yelped and jumped around as Melè's tail wagged, all of them sniffing each other and howling.

  Magdalena hugged Thalia tight, an unmissable grin on her face as the sight of her best friend. "Gods, I've missed you!"

  Thalia smiled as she pulled away. "You have no idea," she agreed. Her eyes darted around the group of campers. "Where's Magnus?"

  Magdalena's smile fell, along with Annabeth and Percy's. For a moment, Thalia felt her heart drop.

  "No," Thalia said hardly. "Don't tell me— "

  "He's not dead," Lena quickly reassured, to which Thalia let out a shaky breath of relief. She put a hand on her chest. "He's— he's just . . . Away."

  Thalia frowned. "Away?"

  "Yes," Lena said, looking eager to change the subject.

  Percy noticed this, and despite wanting to know himself, he stepped into the conversation to save her. "Gods, what've you been doing this past year? You've got tons of Hunters!"

  Thalia's smile returned. "So much, Jackson. And I know my adventures were ten times more dangerous than yours."

  "Bullshit," Percy said, grinning.

  "I'll challenge that," Thalia said. "When we end this war, you, me, Annabeth, Lena, and Magnus: burgers and shakes at that hotel off West 57th."

  "Le Parker Meridian," Percy remembered. "Deal. And, thank you, Thalia."

  Thalia smirked. "These monsters have no idea what's waiting for them. Hunters, let's move!"

Thalia led her Hunters down toward Lincoln Tunnel, and Percy felt hope crawl around his heart. He knew they were in good hands, and that Lincoln Tunnel would be protected.

"Lincoln Tunnel's good for now," Annabeth said. "But we need to find a way to seal off the boats from entering the rivers. Guarding the bridges and tunnels won't matter if they reach the harbor."

"You're right," Percy agreed.

Percy turned to his camp, seeing looks of fear and determination. He didn't want it to feel like this, but he had a feeling this was going to be the last time he'd ever see everyone together.

"You're the greatest heroes of this millenium," Percy said strongly. "Kronos's army has nothing against us, not even with their strength in numbers. Fight hard, and we will succeed." Percy vaulted Riptide in the and yelled. "FOR OLYMPUS!"

Cheers rang out in response, and every single voice traveled across the streets of Manhattan. It sounded brave for a moment, but with the silence surrounding them, it died out within seconds.

  IT WOULD'VE been easier if Magdalena and Percy were able to drive a car to the river, but there was so much traffic, it would be impossible to get through them. Besides, all of the engines were shut off, which was kind of odd. Maybe Morpheus had given the people a few seconds to shut their cars off before knocking all of them out, or he put the engines to sleep himself. Who knew?

  Eventually they came across a delivery guy curled around a red Vespa, and they figured that would work. They propped him up against a garbage can and grabbed the keys from his hand.

  "Sorry, man," Percy said. Hopefully they'd be able to return the scooter, but even if they didn't, it wouldn't make a difference. The city would be crushed by then.

  "I'll drive," Magdalena offered, holding out her hand to take the keys from Percy.

  Percy shrugged. "It's okay. I can."

  "I want to drive."

  Percy raised an eyebrow. "What if I wanted to drive?"

  "I have my license," Lena replied, giving him the same look he was giving her. "Seniority rules, Shark Boy."

  "I turn sixteen in three days," Percy protested. "Seniority is hardly a factor in this."

  "I'm still older," Lena pointed out. "And all the wiser."

  "You don't have to be wise to drive a scooter," Percy said flatly.

  "I'm driving, Percy."

  "I have the keys."

  "Yeah, give them to me."

  Percy scoffed. "No."

  Magdalena's eyes narrowed, daring him to challenge her. A chill went down Percy's back.

  Percy gave her the keys.

  And so, Magdalena drove with Percy's arms wrapped around her waist as they weaved through stopped cars along Broadway, the hum of the Vespa echoing through the quiet streets.

  They made multiple stops on their way, helping move pedestrians off the road, away from any possible threat that may come for them. Then, Percy had to explode a fire hydrant to hose off a burning food truck. Not even five minutes after that, they saved a baby stroller that was strolling down the sidewalk. Luckily, there was no baby in there, just a sleeping poodle. Go figure. They stashed the carriage inside the nearest drug store and continued on.

   They kept going until they got to Madison Square Park, and Lena began to pull over off East 23rd.

  "What is it?" Percy asked.

  Magdalena kicked the stopper down to keep the scooter parked, then started to jog over to the park. "Come with me."

  Lena's steady jog was the equivalent to Percy's run, so by the time he caught up to her, she was already examining a metal statue rooted in the center of the park.

  Percy'd been to this park a million times, but he'd never seemed to notice it before. The guy was perched on a chair, wearing a suit that probably dated back over two hundred years ago. He was holding a quill in one hand, and a scroll in the other, with dozens of books and papers stacked around him.

  "And . . . Why do we care about— " Percy frowned as he read the name. "William H. Steward?"

  "Seward," Lena corrected. "He was a demigod; son of Hebe, maybe? He's an old New York governor."

  "Okay," Percy said. "Are you giving me a history lesson, or something?"

  Magdalena gave him a look. "You need one," she stated. "But, no. We're here for the statue."

  Lena climbed up onto the pedestal and began to inspect the statue.

  "Don't tell me that's an automaton," Percy stated.

  Lena smirked. "Annabeth taught me about Daedalus's inventions around the city. He put them all around New York for if he needed an army."

  "To help Olympus or destroy it?"

  Lena waved her hand. "Either or. Annabeth told me about plan-twenty three a while ago. Once one automaton is activated, it's sent to wake up all the other ones until there's an entire fleet. It's risky, considering how unpredictable they can be."

  "Uh-huh," Percy agreed. They'd had a fair amount of unpredictable situations with automatons. "Are you really going to . . . Wake him up?"

  "If I remember how," Lena muttered. She grazed her hand along the bottom of Seward's foot. "There should be . . . Ah. There."

  She touched the heel of Seward's boot, and the automaton shot to his feet, readying his quill and scroll.

  "What's he going to do?" Percy mumbled. "Take attendance?"

  "Hush," Lena scolded. "Good evening, William."

  "Bill," Percy supplied.

  "Bill . . . Oh, screw you," Lena said, rolling her eyes. Percy chuckled. The automaton peered down at them blankly.

  Magdalena fiddled her fingers nervously. "Hi there, Bill— I mean, Governor Seward. Uh . . . Command sequence: Daedalus Twenty-three. Protect Manhattan. Start Activation."

  Seward descended from his pedestal, landing with so much force the pavement split. Then he descended down toward the west side.

  Magdalena let out a puff of air. "I can't believe I remembered that."

  "Where's he going?" Percy asked.

  "No idea," Lena said helpfully. "Hopefully to activate all the other automatons in the area."

  "Then what?"

  Lena shrugged. "They protect the island, I guess."

  "Are we sure they know what you meant?"

  "No."

  Percy hummed. "That's reassuring." He tried to think of all the bronze figures littered around New York. There were more than hundreds, thousands even.

  Across the skyline, a blast of green light lit up the sky. A shot of Greek fire over the East River.

  "We need to go," Percy said, and they ran back to the scooter.

THEY STOPPED on the edge of Battery Park, right where the Hudson and East River combined into the bay.

"Stay here," Percy told Lena.

"You shouldn't go by yourself. With your father's war and everything . . . "

"I mean, unless you can breathe underwater . . . "

Magdalena pursed her lips. "You're so irritating."

"Like when I'm right? Look, I've got this. I'm sort of, you know, invincible now. I'll be fine."

Magdalena still looked uneasy. "That doesn't make me feel better."

"It should," Percy said. "Considering I had Hades at sword-point this morning."

Lena's face dropped. "You what?"

"Don't worry about it," Percy immediately said. He knew Lena would beat him up if she found out what he did to piss off the god of Death even more than he already was. It's probably best if he left that conversation alone. "Just wait here. I won't be long."

Magdalena clenched her jaw. "Fine," she finally said. "But be careful. Don't forget this war's hardly started yet. We need you."

Percy grinned. "Be right back."

Magdalena watched as Percy trudged into the murky sea water, then dove straight into the surf, the water around him bending toward him like a magnet.

  It wasn't long before she was swept away from reality.

  "Maggie?"

  Magdalena's head lifted from the flat pillow underneath her. She didn't know the last time she'd slept. It'd been days, certainly. She could feel it weighing down on her like tar— impossible to ignore, and hard to work through. But, even as the sleep deprivation exhausted her, she refused to let herself succumb into the weakness that sleep brought. She never knew what was going to happen next. What Kronos would do to her when she wasn't coherent enough to prevent it.

  Luke Castellan walked slowly into her room, if she'd even call it that. It was a cement cell block in the corner of their main center, headquarters, she could say. There wasn't much privacy unless the door was closed, which it never was. She had eyes on her at all times.

  Magdalena reflexively stiffened at the sight of her old brother. Luke noticed this, and put up his hands in surrender— a sign of peace. His eyes were softer than they usually were, and he looked nervous as he slowly closed the door to her room, locking it behind them. It was late in the night, and most of the monsters faded away to rest (wherever that may be). This meant it was silent throughout the chamber, the only noise being the quiet padding of Luke's socks against the floor.

  "I'm not going to hurt you," Luke said. It was the softest she'd heard him speak in years. And it sounded . . . Sincere. That was weird. "I promise, Maggie."

  "You think I trust you?" Lena whispered, her voice raspy and cold. She didn't speak much anymore; the sounds coming from her being screams for the past ten days. Her body was wounded and weak, red with dried blood that hadn't been bothered to be cleansed. She didn't look like herself anymore.

  "You shouldn't," Luke admitted. He sounded defeated, but honest. "You have no reason to. But . . . I— I just want to talk to you. Please."

  Magdalena was hateful. "I have nothing to say to you."

  "Then don't say anything," Luke responded. Lena caught onto the tone of pleading that was hidden beneath his comforting voice. As she continued to stare at him, she noticed that he looked different than usual. He looked scared. Restless; like he'd been fighting himself for days to say this. "I'm not supposed to be here. Not now. But . . . I needed to see you."

  Magdalena didn't respond, but Luke saw the look in her eyes. It wasn't inviting, but it also wasn't repulsive. She was going to let him talk.

  Luke sighed, and started to shuffle closer to the girl. Lena immediately recoiled.

  "Stay there," Lena snapped hoarsely. "Stay away from me."

  Luke felt her words stab him in the heart. But, he took it, because he knew he deserved it.

  With a shaky sigh, Luke started to speak. "Kronos," he whispered timidly, his eyes darting around as if the Titan himself was going to burst through the door any second. "He's almost ready."

  Magdalena couldn't help but feel her curiosity pique. She didn't let her guard down, but for some reason, she knew that Luke wasn't here to trick her. He . . . He was being genuine. She noticed that he was completely unarmed as well, wearing pajamas and his hair was messy and bedridden.

  "For what?" She asked hesitantly.

  Luke swallowed. "To take over my body."

  Magdalena let that sink in.

  Luke watched every single movement she made. The twitch in her face, a brush of her fingers against the bedsheet, a small tremble in her shoulders. He waited for her to say something, anything. But, when she didn't, he felt his chest tighten.

  "Maggie," he whispered. He stared at her with eyes that she hadn't seen from him in years. "I— I want to get out of here."

  Magdalena felt her chest tighten. Her face dropped.  "What?"

  Luke took a step forward, waiting to see if she'd flinch. She didn't.

  "It would be like old times," Luke said, his glittering with hope. "You, Annabeth, and I, we . . . We could run away from this place. Run away from the gods, monsters, camp . . . We'd find somewhere safe. We could all be together. Just us three."

  Lena just stared at him, feeling warning signs start to pop up in her head. Her heart started to pound. "What are you talking about?" She asked, shaking her head.

  "This is my last chance," Luke whispered, lowering himself down onto the edge of bed. "If I don't leave now, I . . . " Luke shook his head. She saw fear plastered across his face. "Maggie, please. You—
You're the only one that can help me. And if you and I go now, Annabeth will too. I know it. Please— "

  "You're lying," Magdalena said quietly, her voice filled with sad disbelief. How could she have let herself believe he was any different?

  Luke's face fell. "I'm not," he replied, his voice rising from a whisper. "Maggie, I— I swear I'm not. This is my only chance. If we don't go now— "

  "What?" Lena said harshly. "You'll kill me?"

  Luke shook his head. "No, Mags— "

  "Because I'm going to die down here, anyway," Lena spat out. "Where were you planning on taking me? If I agreed? The Princess Andromeda? A new place for you to torture me?"

  "No, no, no!" Luke bursted out. His eyes were wild, now. Full for desperation and madness. "Maggie, you're not listening to me! This is our only chance!" He let his breathing settle down before he spoke again, and his face softened. "Don't . . . Don't you want to be with me? Like it used to be?"

  Magdalena had a look on her face that made Luke feel like he was getting pummeled in the chest.

  "I don't even know who you are anymore, Luke," Magdalena whispered, her voice cracking. There were tears in her eyes as she looked at him, staring into the eyes of a lost soul. "You went down a path I couldn't follow. I . . . I lost you."

  Luke's entire body deflated. "You don't trust me," he whispered in heavy defeat. He felt a weight start to bench upon his shoulders as he looked into the broken, tearful eyes of his sister.

  "I don't want what you're planning, Luke," Lena said thickly, tears starting to blur her vision. "But you need to settle it on your own. You . . . You lost yourself. You lost everything."

  Magdalena watched Luke carefully, noticing that there was now a glossy sheen in his eyes as he stared down at the floorboards. She watched as he slowly began to pick himself up from the bed, turning to the girl with an expression so cold, it made a shiver run down her spine.

  "This is the only chance you'll get," Luke said hardly. "This is the final time."

  Lena shook her head, feeling a tear slip down her cheek. "Get out of my room," she whispered coldly. "You . . . You nothing but a liar, Luke. That's all you do. You lie. You betray. You— " Lena's lips quivered. "You turn against the people who love you."

  Luke's fists were clenched as he stood there. "You could've changed that," he muttered. "You let your trust fail you, when it could've saved you. And now, that chance is gone." He started to back away from her. "And now, there's no help for you. This was your only opportunity."

  "LENA!"

  Magdalena stifled a cry as her vision resurfaced, her eyes locking onto the sea green color of Percy Jackson's. His hands were gripping her shoulders, and his eyes were filled with worry as he stared at her.

  "Percy," Magdalena breathed out, feeling the heavy drum of her heartbeat crashing against her ribs as she stood there, trying to ground herself back into reality. She could still feel the cold stare of Luke Castellan burning into her soul as she looked at Percy, who was starting to calm down a little.

  "Are you okay?" He asked. His hands were still on her arms, but his grip had loosened, and now they rubbed against her arms slowly.

  "I— " Lena's voice cracked a little. She could feel tears threatening to rise in her eyes, along with the guttural sensation of guilt that boiled in her stomach.  "Yes. I'm okay."

  "You had another vision," Percy stated, noticing the glossiness in her blue eyes, and the tremble of her arms beneath his hands. "Didn't you?"

  Lena swallowed down the nausea in her throat, her jaw clenching as she backed away from Percy, quickly wiping away any tears that had possibly fallen.

  "It doesn't matter," she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "I'm fine."

  Percy sighed. "Lena . . . "

  "I said I'm fine," Lena snapped. She immediately regretted it when she saw the look on his face. She ran a shaky hand across her hair, trying to control herself. "What happened down there?"

  Percy didn't look anxious to change the subject, but he also knew that he was never going to get Magdalena to talk. It wasn't worth an argument to try and get her to let him help her. "It worked," he said reluctantly. "The rivers are safe."

  Lena nodded. "Good. We— "

  She got cut off when her phone rang. Percy and Lena shared a look, before Lena picked up the phone. Percy couldn't understand anything the other person was saying, but they sounded worried, and by the look on Lena's face, he knew something was wrong.

  "We're on our way," was all Lena said before she hung up the phone and turned to Percy, her face grim.

  "That was Will. There's an army heading straight over the Williamsburg Bridge. Apollo's cabin is outnumbered by dozens. But, Percy . . . The Minotaur's leading the fleet."

THANK THE gods for Blackjack.

Percy hailed the Pegasus with his best taxi whistle, and it only took a few moments before two shadows swooped down from the sky. Blackjack, with Porkpie, another Pegasus, galloped down from the air.

Sup, Boss Man! Blackjack majestically descended in a gallop, Porkpie right on his tail. Dude, these winds gods are seriously no joke. I almost had myself knocked to Philadelphia until we said we were with you!

"Thanks for coming," Percy said. "Also, why do pegasi gallop when they're flying?"

Blackjack snorted. Dunno. Why do humans swing their little arms around when they walk? It just seems right. Where we headin'?

"Willamsburg Bridge," Percy said. "As fast as you can."

Blackjack snorted. Can't agree more, boss. Flew over it on our way, and it's not looking good. Let's roll!

It only took a few minutes for them to spot the assault. It was late into the night, and the bridge was ablaze with light. There were cars on fire, along with flaming arrows sending streaks of light through the air.

They flew in low as the Apollo cabin went running the other way, retreating. They did the best they could— diving behind cars and sending low snipes at the enemy as traps were set off, more explosions erupting as they detonated. There was fire everywhere, and everyone was working to drag mortals from their cars and line them up behind further traffic, out of danger.

The enemy was advancing fast. Dracaenae led the fleet in an entire phalanx— their shields locked as they pointed their spears overtop. Every so often, the archers would get a lucky shot in the weak spots of their armor, and a snake woman would evaporate, but it was hardly helping. Most of the arrows ended up deflecting off their shields. And even then, there were over a hundred more monsters following in their lead.

Hellhounds snapped and bounded around the ranks. They were easier to kill, but one of them managed to grab an Apollo camper, who cried in fear as he got dragged away. Percy didn't want to know what happened next.

"Over there!" Lena yelled.

Percy looked where Lena was pointing, and sure enough, right in the midst of the enemy was Old Beefhead himself.

It seemed the Minotaur had upgraded from his first look of wearing only tighty whities the first time Percy had fought him, because now he was wrapped in full Greek armor, his top half ripped and huge as the body of a bull. He was at least ten feet tall, and was wielding a double-bladed axe on his back. The second the beast saw Percy up in the sky (or, more so, smelled him, since his eyesight was not twenty-twenty) he screamed so loud the cords on the bridge shook, and he hefted a black limousine.

"Oh, good," Percy muttered. "He's happy to see me."

"Dive, Percy!" Lena screamed.

"Right!" Percy said. "Blackjack!"

Dude, what? Blackjack scoffed. There's no way . . . OH SHI—

The limousine came at them like a torpedo when the Minotaur launched it. Lena veered Porkpie to the left, nearly falling off her steed in the process, while Blackjack tucked his wings and did a straight ninety-degree dive toward the ground. The car missed Percy's head by an inch, max, then soared straight into the East River.

"Get us behind Apollo cabin's lines," Percy ordered his Pegasus. "Stay close but out of the line of fire!"

Won't argue with that, boss!

The two pegasi flew down behind a flipped school bus where a few of Apollo's campers were ducking for cover. Lena and Percy immediately ran over toward them as soon as their steed's hit the bridge, then the two pegasi circled back into the sky.

Micheal Yew was the first one to get to them. He was probably the shortest commando Percy had ever seen— with a taped up gash on his shoulder, and scrunched up face covered in ash and his quiver nearly blank. But, he had a shit-eating grin on his face like he was having a field day.

"Nice to see you guys," he exclaimed. "Where's the backup?"

"We are the backup," Percy said.

"Then we're dead," Micheal said.

"Where's your flying chariot?" Percy asked.

  "Camp," Micheal replied, shrugging. "Told Clarisse to take it. It wasn't worth fighting about anymore. It didn't help anything, though. She said we'd embarrassed her honor one time too much or something stupid like that."

  "You tried," Percy said. "That's what matters."

  Micheal scoffed. "Yeah, well, I said some things I probably shouldn't have to her after she refused to help us fight. That didn't help much. Look out!"

  A flaming bike came sailing over the bridge, launched by a catapult manned by three dracaenae. It was headed straight for them. Micheal ducked, while Percy dragged two other campers away from the crash site, screaming, "LENA!"

  The bike came hurtling down at Micheal, aimed straight for him. He prepared for the impact, but when  the impact never came, he glanced up in confusion.

  There was a shimmering vortex surrounding the entire width of the bridge, blocking off any strikes the monsters were throwing at them. The flaming bike crashed against the forcefield, right in front of Micheal's face, and exploded on impact, shattering into a hundred pieces. Magdalena stood in front of the son of Apollo with her hands outstretched, her palms glowing white as she manned the vortex.

  Micheal shakily got to his feet, staring at Lena with his jaw dropped. "How did you . . . ?"

  Lena lowered her arms, and the vortex around them shimmered away. There was a thin trail of blood tracing down from her nose, but she wiped it away.

  "Still think I'm a traitor?" She asked him.

  Micheal's face fell, and he looked guilty. "Lena, I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head. "I should've known."

  "You should've," Lena agreed as Percy came back over to them, staring at Lena in amazement.

  Micheal sighed. "You're the most loyal camper we have," he admitted. "And I was a complete idiot. Will you ever forgive me?"

  Lena stared a him for moment, and then to the army of monsters closing in on them. There was no room for holding grudges in this war. If they wanted to win, they needed to work together as a team. As a family.

  Magdalena turned to him. "It's already forgotten," she said firmly.

  Percy eyebrows lifted at the sound of that. Personally, he thought Lena was cutting Micheal too much slack. He was still pretty pissed at the guy for the things he said about her, but . . . If Lena herself was willing to forgive Micheal, then he guessed probably should too.

  Micheal released a breath of relief. "Thank you," he said earnestly. "Really. I— I know I said I'm sorry, but I am so so so so super sorry. Like, seriously— "

  "We get it, Micheal," Percy cut in. "But, we've got bigger things to worry about."

  "You're right," Micheal said, wriggling his hands anxiously. "We've got to retreat. Kayla and Austin are planting traps further back. But— "

  "No," Percy said. "Bring everyone forward and wait for my call. We're pushing the invaders back to Brooklyn."

  Micheal laughed in Percy's face. "How?"

  Percy unsheathed Riptide.

  "I'm coming with you," Lena told him.

  "Nope," Percy immediately said. "Way too dangerous, and I need you and Micheal to lead on the defensive. I'll keep the monsters busy while you round up everyone here. Keep the mortals out of the line of fire, and then try and pick off any monsters you can while I distract the others. If anybody can pull that off, it's you."

  Micheal snorted. "Thanks a lot."

  Percy kept his eyes on Magdalena.

  She didn't look happy about it, but she nodded. "All right. Get going."

  Percy's heart thumped as he looked at her. And before he lost his confidence, he said, "How about a kiss for good luck? It's sort of a tradition for us, right?"

  Percy braced himself for the punch Lena was probably about to throw at him. But, instead of socking him in the mouth, she flipped her ring in the air and released her Astrean silver sword, glaring murderously at the enemy lines. "Ask me again when you come back alive, Shark Boy."

  Percy didn't mind that answer, so he marched out from behind the overturned bus. He walked out onto the bridge in full exposure, and straight into the enemy's front lines.

  MAGDALENA HATED that Percy was right.

  The mark of Achilles did make him a war machine.

  Magdalena only got to catch glimpses of the battle between him and Minotaur as she tried to corral all of the campers together in order to get them to the middle of the bridge, but with every look she managed to get, all she saw was Percy's sword arcing through the air like it was a figment of death itself. She watched him as he sliced the Minotaur's axe in half without any hesitation.

  Then she proceeded to watch Percy kick the beast right in its nose, sending it stumbling halfway across the bridge.

  "Come on," she urged to all her friends. "Everybody move! Up to the front lines!"

  Are you crazy?" Kayla asked wildly. "We're already overrun!"

  "Percy has a plan," Lena said hardly. "If you trust him, trust me. Now let's move!"

  That seemed to get them moving, scrambling into lousy ranks as Micheal screamed at his cabin to get into formation, his small frame zipping through the demigods like a racehorse.

  As Magdalena helped Will Solace drag a sleeping mortal off to the edge of the bridge, she looked back towards the middle, trying to keep eyes on Percy.

  And that's when she saw Percy Jackson toss the Minotaur off the side of the bridge by its ankles.

  That left Percy to turn back toward the enemy. It was about one hundred and ninety-nine to one. So, he did the most logical thing he could think of, and he charged them.

  Percy didn't exactly know how the whole mark of Achilles thing worked. He wasn't sure if the weapons missed him, or hit him and just didn't damage him. Either way, he was pretty much solid in the fact that he was going to anything he could to keep these monsters from attacking his hometown.

  He sliced and diced through monsters like it was a game. Monster dust clouded the air hellhounds exploded, and snake woman evaporated at once.

  He was pretty sure he'd even laughed a couple times— a crazy, manic laugh that scared himself just as much as it the monsters.

  He knew that the Apollo cabin was at his defense, firing arrows and fighting any stray monsters that attempted to break through the lines. Then finally, the enemy backed off, retreating with what little monsters remained of them.

  Percy stormed forward, his fellow campers following his lead.

  "Hell yeah!" Micheal Yew shouted. "Take that, Kronos!"

  They marched on the monsters, sending them straight back into Brooklyn. The sky was starting to brighten off in the east, and Percy saw the faint outline of the toll stations on the other side of the bridge.

  "Percy!" Magdalena said. "We drove them off, now pull back! We're overextended!"

  A part of Percy knew he should listen to her, but he felt like he was on fire. He wanted to annihilate every last monster that remained.

  But that's when Percy saw the ranks approaching them at the edge of the bridge. Any monsters left fled straight into their reinforcements— a smaller group of half-bloods dressed for battle upon skeleton horses. At the front of the ranks, a half-blood held the flag of Kronos.

  But then another figure stepped into the lead, and the minute he removed his helm, Percy saw the familiar face of Kronos.

  Apollo's ranks faltered at the sight. The enemy were around a quarter mile away, but Percy could see Kronos's gold eyes staring them down. He could've sworn he saw him smile.

  "Alright," Percy said. "Pull back."

  The enemies marched upon them, raising their weapons. They were so fast the skeletons were a mere blur of grey.

  "Flee!" Percy ordered to the campers. "I'll keep them back!"

  It only took seconds before he was swarmed.

  Micheal, along with his cabin, moved to retreat, but Magdalena stayed right by his side, slashing her sword as they moved backwards on the bridge.

  The army raced in every direction, cursing insults and jabbing their spears and sword at them. Kronos approached with a leisurely stroll, smiling calmly.

  Both Percy and Magdalena did their best to only harm the demigods, not kill. They were teenagers, just like them, who'd been manipulated by Kronos. Their faces were all concealed, but they knew that some of them had been old friends. They mostly aimed for their horses in order to knock them off balance, but after a few rounds of that, the warriors got the message and dismounted.

  Magdalena and Percy were back to back, fighting off enemies in either direction. Overtop of them, Black and Porkpie launched from the sky, knocking the army off their feet and off the side of the bridge.

  Him and Lena were nearly at the center of the bridge when suddenly, Percy felt a shiver run down his spine. Something was wrong. And that's when Percy heard Magdalena's voice cry out.

  "Lena!" Percy looked just as she collapsed onto the ground, her hand clutching her arm. A half-blood loomed over her, holding a blood-stained knife.

  Percy instantly understood what just happened. That knife had been meant to hit him. With where the demigods was standing, and the angle of the knife, the enemy would've slashed Percy straight across his weak point.

  Magdalena intercepted the blade with her own body.

  But . . . Why? Lena didn't know where his mortal point was. Nobody did.

  Percy's eyes locked on the demigod holding the knife. He saw an eyepatch underneath his helmet, and his stomach lurched with hot anger. Ethan Nakamura. He was alive— even after Percy exploded his ship.

  Percy wanted to kill him. But, instead, he resorted to slamming Ethan's face with his sword hilt, hitting him so hard he dented the helm.

  "Stay back!" Percy's voice boomed across the bridge. He extended Riptide in an arc around Lena, making the enemy back away from Lena. "Nobody touches her!"

  Kronos regarded this. "Interesting."

  The Titan stood tall over Percy as he sat on his steed, holding his scythe. He looked around the wreckage with hard eyes, like he knew Percy had just had a brush with death.

  "Well fought, Percy, Jackson," he said. "But your fight is over. Surrender now, or Magdalena Caelestis dies."

  "No, Percy," Lena whimpered. There was blood everywhere. It stained her arm and the ground beneath her. She needed to get out of there.

  "Blackjack!" Percy boomed.

  It took less than a second for Blackjack to dive from the sky, his teeth hooking onto the back of her shirt. They flew back toward Manhattan so fast, the enemy couldn't react.

  Kronos shouted in frustration. "My next meal is going to be Pegasus soup. But until then . . . " Kronos got off his horse, revealing the true length of his scythe. "I suppose a dead half-blood will satisfy me."

Riptide and the scythe met halfway, sending a shockwave across the entire bridge. Percy stood firm, and he saw Kronos's smile falter.

  Percy yelled, and as fast as light, he swept the Titan off his feet, his scythe clattering away. He stabbed down with Riptide, but Kronos expected it, and lurched away, getting back on his feet. He held out his hand, and his scythe came right back to him.

  "I see." Kronos looked around him with annoyance. "You made the courageous decision to swim in the Styx. It took me dozens of different forms of pressure before Luke gave in." He rolled his eyes. "Would've been nice if it had been you who was to host my form. But, nonetheless, I still wield more power. I am a TITAN."

  His scythe arced downwards, cracking into the pavement. Percy got blasted halfway back to Manhattan as cars and demigods flew off the side of the bridge. Suspension cords snapped and whipped as the entire bridge shook.

  Percy regained his wits, but barely. Behind him stood the rest of Apollo's cabin, who was nearly off the bridge. The only person not with them was Micheal Yew, who was hanging from a suspension cord above him, with his final arrow pointing at the army.

  "Micheal, come on!" Percy yelled.

  "The bridge!" He yelled back. "It's close to collapsing!"

  Percy gazed across the structure, finally noticing the amount of fissures that had appeared in the flooring. Some of it was melted away from Greek fire, while the rest of it was weakened from Kronos's blast.

  "Destroy it!" Micheal demanded. "You have the power!"

  Percy did it blindly, as they were out of options. He stabbed his sword straight into the pavement, and immediately, water shot out from the indent he'd caused. The fissure shot across the bridge when Percy released Riptide, and the entire structure started to fall. It crumbled in large chunks of pavements, hundreds of pieces falling in the East River. The enemy demigods screamed in terror and retreated. A few of them didn't make it. It only took seconds before a seventy-foot chasm broke out in the Williamsburg Bridge, creating a rift between Percy and Kronos.

The shaking stopped, and an eerie silence washed over the area. Kronos's half-bloods tip-toed across the chasm, peering down at the hundred-and-fifty-feet fall into the East River.

Despite the gap between them, Percy knew they weren't safe. Kronos could still find a way to reach them, even with the chasm separating them.

Kronos glanced over the chasm, inspecting the damage. He turned toward the sunrise in the east, then back at Percy, and smiled. "Until the evening, Jackson."

He got back on his steed, turned, and then marched back into Brooklyn, along with the rest of his army.

Percy took a shaky breath, looking to thank Micheal. But when he noticed the boy was no where to be seen, his words fell onto deaf ears. All that was left from where he was, was a bow laying in the street.

"No . . . " Percy's heart started to race. "NO!"

Percy looked everywhere— flipping over cement slabs, knocking down cables and rods. Nothing.

Percy let out a roar of frustration so loud it echoed across the river. Just as he was about to whistle for Blackjack to help, he heard his mom's phone ring from his pocket.

Percy immediately answered, praying for something good. Of course there wasn't.

"Percy?" Silena's voice rang through the speaker. It was croaky and shaky, like she'd been crying. "Plaza Hotel. You need to get here right now, an—and bring a medic. It's Lena."

ANNA'S NOTES!
I hope you guys know I was originally going to have Micheal die without Lena forgiving him. Imagine how she would've felt. You're welcome.

Also... let's think back on what Hermes said last chapter to Annabeth and Lena, and then refer back to the vision she had in this chapter... interesting.

Anyway get ready to be blessed with Percalena next chapter (I'm shaking with excitement)