chapter five!
005. vengeful appetite

savreen

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    SAVREEN TRIED very hard to not make it seem as if she was keeping an eye on Leo. It wasn't as if she didn't trust him▬that was far from the reason. But she had remembered how he had looked when he regained consciousness after the attack on New Rome. She had never seen him so defeated▬realising that he had no answer; no excuse. He had set fire on the forum. Whether it had been of his own, complete conscious or under the control of something else, Savreen knew him well enough to tell that despite that, there had been some part of him that had wanted to. And he understood that, and he was terrified of it. She knew he was determined to find what they needed to fix the Argo II and continue on their way▬to prove that he could still be trusted; that he wouldn't ruin this quest. Not just to the others, but to himself▬prove that he wouldn't make that estranged, haunting decision again; that he could control it.

    It wasn't just what had happened at New Rome that was bringing out this new side of Leo. In the months it took to built the vessel they travelled, her best friend had grown more and more distant. Instead of joining them at the campfires, he was working well into the night to perfect the ballistae. Instead of playing capture the flag, Leo was taking his dinner to Bunker 9 and wouldn't resurface until the morning. Savreen had tried to follow; had tried to sneak in and stay with him, but he quickly learnt how to get away without her noticing until it was too late and she couldn't enter without him opening the Bunker 9 door. She tried not to feel hurt by it, but deep down, she did. Maybe it was unsaid▬or maybe, she had imagined it▬, but she thought that they had made a promise to fight this together.

    Leo was determined to be useful▬to be a part of a machine that was always moving, always working, always keeping them going. Savreen wondered that he was scared that if he stopped moving, they wouldn't need him anymore.

    She wasn't exactly sure how to tell him that she needed him▬she needed Leo Valdez, her best friend, more than she needed a working machine.

    For now Savreen was scared, herself. She was scared that by wearing the necklace to help this fight against Gaea, she had already faced her tragedy▬that she was going to lose Leo. It was silly, she knew it was. But that irrational fear that stemmed from the understanding that Leo's father was the creator of this necklace; the creator of her nightmares, of her friend not wanting to be around her anymore▬that this necklace not just amplified her powers, but amplified the rooted hatred between their parents passed down onto them ... that it would push and pull them apart until Savreen lost Leo forever. He had never wanted her to wear the necklace in the first place, and ever since she donned it▬thinking she was doing the right thing▬, he started to grow distant all over again.

    Something was happening between them. Something was changing. She couldn't explain it. But it terrified her, all the same.

    She was squeezed between him and Hazel, clinging on for her life to make sure she did not fall off Arion's back. He was the fastest horse Savreen has ever ridden▬and to be sure, she has never actually ridden that many horses except the pegasi back at Camp. None could amount to the sheer strength Arion had in his legs. His flank pulsed with each galloping step he took across the lake, turning the surface of the water into salty mist. Ahead lay an island▬a line of sand so white it looked more like snow or salt; the shore spread out further until it rose into an expanse of grassy dunes and weathered boulders.

    Savreen could barely see the world around them in the blur that Arion ran through. She held onto Hazel's shoulders, hearing her cheer with delight while they had to make sure they were holding in their stomachs.

    Percy told Savreen about Hazel.

    She was surprised when he pulled her and Leo aside before they left. They had heard so much about Percy Jackson that seeing him, in person, almost didn't feel quite real. She had heard of great achievements and she had heard of little sweet things. Claire had talked about him so much to Savreen as a way to keep herself going that she almost felt as if she knew him. She did not, though▬she supposed that was the strangest thing about it.

    Savreen understood that he believed he was doing them a favour, but she had a feeling he didn't know he sounded as if he was prepared to throw them into the water and feed them to a great white shark if they let anything happened to Hazel.

    Claire once said to Savreen that she reminded her of Percy. That in many ways, they were similar. After speaking to him and hearing about Hazel's story, Savreen didn't see it▬she didn't know what the daughter of Apollo had meant. She couldn't see any similarity in herself to that of a hero▬for that was what everyone at Camp Half-Blood called him. That was how they treated him.

    He told them that Hazel was the daughter of Pluto. That she had died back in the 1940s and had been brought back to life only a few months ago. This startled her▬it made Savreen blink and look at Hazel completely differently than she had before.

    When they dismounted at the beach, Arion threw his head and whinnied▬his hooves scuffed the sand. Hazel pursed her lips and quickly explained: "He needs to eat. He likes gold, but▬"

    "Gold?" frowned Leo.

    "He'll settle for grass. Go on, Arion. Thanks for the ride. I'll call you."

    And just like that, the horse was gone▬nothing but a trail of billowing left where he had just been. Savreen coughed and wafted it away.

    "Fast horse," muttered Leo, "and expensive to feed."

    "Not really," murmured Hazel off-handedly. "Gold is easy for me."

    Leo and Savreen shared an incredulous look at this. "How is gold easy? Please tell me you're not related to King Midas▬I don't like that guy."

    Hazel pursed her lips. She looked as if she regretted bringing it up and now wanted anything more than to change the subject. "Never mind," she muttered.

    Savreen watched her for a moment longer, curious. But she let it be. Deep down, she wondered how any of them could ever be a team if they kept secrets from each other. If Greeks and Romans could form an alliance▬work together, they needed to trust each other. But she could tell Hazel was hesitant around Leo▬no, it was more than that. She looked at Leo as if she was staring at a ghost she once knew, and it made Savreen uneasy.

    If he noticed, he didn't say anything about it. Instead, Leo knelt down and cupped a handful of white sand. "Well ... one problem solved, anyway. This is lime."

    Hazel made a face, "Wait▬the whole beach? Seriously?"

    "Yeah. See?" he held it up for her to look. "The granules are perfectly round. It's not really sand. It's calcium carbonate. Sav..."

    "Yep▬" she jolted out of her thoughts and opened one of the pockets of his tool belt. It was a magical masterpiece▬a rabbit hole of endless resources from breath-mints to hammers. As long as Leo thought of it, there it would be waiting. Savreen pulled out an airtight bag and opened it up, holding it out so he could pour the lime inside.

    She secured it again and passed it over to which he grinned, "Gracias."

    But then just like that, he froze. The smile wiped off his face and he stared at the lime inside the bag. Savreen frowned, alarmed. "Leo?" she spoke up carefully. Hazel grew tense▬and Sav knew what she was thinking, that the same person Leo had been that had fired on New Rome had returned. Her fingers inched towards her sword. "Leo," Savreen said again, more urgent this time. "You all right?"

    He blinked. He tried to hide his shaky breath, smiling again at her. "Yeah," he made a face, scoffing off what had just happened. "Yeah, fine."

    He chucked the bag and caught it, flashing that crazy grin before kneeling down. He opened it back up and started to fill it up with more lime. Savreen and Hazel shared an awkward exchange before they knelt down to help.

    "We should've brought a pail and shovels," Hazel tried to break the growing silence.

    And her comment made Leo chuckle. He nodded, amused, "Yeah. We could've made a sand castle."

    "A lime castle."

    The lime started to fall through Savreen's fingers as she saw them lock their stare▬a stare longer than what she was sure was normal. She frowned to herself, confused at this sudden urge to interrupt and throw her lime in between them.

    At last, Hazel looked away. Her gaze briefly glanced at Sav▬almost sheepish. "You uh ... you are so much like▬"

    "Sammy?" offered Leo.

    She fell backwards, "Y▬you know?"

    "I have no idea who Sammy is. But Frank asked me if I was sure that wasn't my name."

    "And ... it isn't?"

    "No! Jeez."

    "You don't have a twin brother or ..." Hazel stopped. "Is your family from New Orleans?"

    "Nah. Houston," Leo scooped more lime into the ziplock bag, eyeing Hazel strangely. "Why? Is Sammy a guy you used to know?"

    Hazel flushed, "I ... It's nothing. You just look like him."

    She was too embarrassed to say more. Savreen felt like she was intruding on something she shouldn't▬like she had been inserted into a scene in a movie without any reason to be within it. It made her on edge, and she hated being on edge. It made her necklace spike▬pulsing a glow with her frustration she was trying to suppress. "Let's just get the rest of the lime we need, yeah?"

    Savreen did not mean it. She did not mean it at all. But at her words, the conversation ended and Leo and Hazel returned to scooping up the lime with her, silent. But she couldn't control the glances they kept sending each other, intrigued by the other.

    She didn't even know why it bothered her so much. Perhaps she felt a little protective▬not of Leo, but of their little special friendship; their connection. Their special perfect connection of being the same height, having the same sized hands ... Their special thing of calming each other down, their special way of talking to each other in secret and their past▬the way they found each other after years ... Savreen didn't want to say that Leo couldn't be anybody else's friend other than her's. That wasn't what it was. Never before had she felt so tense▬threatened, even, about the two of them ... Savreen didn't even think she could feel threatened.

    But the way Leo smiled awkwardly at Hazel as she poured the last of the lime into the bag just made her grow so rigid and uneasy, and she couldn't stop it.

    Once he sealed it back up, he stuffed it into his tool belt and the bag vanished▬there, ready whenever he needed it. He stood and scanned the island. He held out a hand to Savreen and pulled her up with him, a natural act they always did without thinking after so many times sitting cross-legged and chatting▬whether in the fields at Ana Mari's, the roofs at the Wilderness School, or the grass by the Camp lake.

    "Festus said there was Celestial bronze close by," murmured Leo as he frowned out towards the beach-white dunes, "but I'm not sure where▬?"

    "That way," Hazel pointed up the beach. "About five hundred yards."

    "How did you▬?"

    Precious metals," she pursed her lips. "It's ... it's a Pluto thing."

    Leo's brows bounced, impressed. Savreen noted how Hazel had said gold being an easy thing for her▬now, she understood what she meant. "Handy talent. Lead the way▬" he held out his hand in the direction she pointed, "Miss Metal Detector."

     Hazel made a face as she started forwards, "Please don't call me that..."

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    THE SUN HAD begun to set as they walked. Around them, the sky had turned a bizarre mix of brilliant, deep purples and warm yellows. It was beautiful, and Savreen allowed herself a moment to take it in. She glanced at Leo who walked beside her in silence, scowling and brooding. She pursed her lips and gently nudged him. He met her gaze and her brows lifted softly, asking him a question in silence▬words in a language they didn't need to speak, or even tap in Morse Code to understand.

    Leo forced a smile on his face, "I'm fine," he muttered under his breath, keeping the conversation just between them. Hazel glanced back, hearing him speak▬she arched a brow, then pursed her lips and quickly turning her stare in front of her, understanding. Savreen found herself momentarily grateful.

    "You sure?" whispered Sav to her best friend, careful not to push too much.

    "Yeah, mi vida," he gave her a funny face▬she knew what he was doing, but she let him do it anyway. "I'm more chirp than a chirp-chirping bird!"

    She nodded, not believing him. But Savreen didn't say anything else. They walked in silence for a little longer before Leo finally pursed his lips and looked down at his feet. "Um ... but, like, thanks, I guess..." he shrugged, playing it off very casual, but she could hear the weight in his voice. "For what you said to Frank ... to the others."

    Savreen tilted her head, pursing her lips, too. Then, she smiled▬genuine▬and took his hand. She squeezed it. Always, she tapped against his palm. "It's the truth," she said to him simply. I trust you more than anyone, she added just for him to know. She could see, as he translated, that it meant more to him that he would ever say. "Besides," Savreen went on, not letting go of his hand as they followed Hazel who had decided to give them a little distance. "I've got your back. Just like you've got mine."

    "Well," Leo joked, cracking that grin she loved, "you always gotta have someone prepared to cut off your little toe to get you out of something."

    She chuckled, shaking her head with a breath of warmth at the memory. Leo let go of her hand to throw is arm over her shoulder and pull her into a side hug. She leant into it with a happy beam, admittedly missing him▬even though he had been right beside her.

    The sun continued to set until their faces were basked in a dark burgundy. Savreen and Leo rejoined Hazel, and they walked until their shoes were filled with sand until Hazel finally turned inland.

    Leo eyed the direction to where they new the Argo II was waiting. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked Hazel as they started to ascended up the slope.

    "We're close," she promised. "Come on."

    Savreen's legs burned as they climbed the dunes. But she gritted her teeth and pushed through it. The three demigods struggled to the top and there, just over the dunes, they saw a woman.

    She sat on a boulder in the middle of a grassy field. A black-and-chrome motorcycle was parked nearby, but each of the wheels had a big pie slice removed from he spokes and rim. No way was the bike drivable. As they got closer, Savreen started to see something that almost made her stagger. This woman looked familiar▬familiar in a terrifying way. She parted her long black hair over her shoulders, long fingers brushing strands away from doe brown eyes. Her skin a deep copper that even as the sun set, held a healthy bronze glow.

    Savreen stopped, her breath hitched with horror. Her brows furrowed in confusion, frozen in her spot as she realised▬this woman looked like her. Exactly like her ... as if Sav was staring into a mirror. It was her.

    Leo stopped with her, holding the same hesitance▬the same breath of shock. He clenched his palms that had suddenly become very clammy. But instead of this petrified fear, the heat that radiated off him was nothing if not a livid, furious anger. He was so angry, he couldn't speak.

    Savreen glanced at him and Hazel, trying to read their reactions▬trying to know whether they saw what she did. But every reaction was different; all except for one thing. Savreen felt their anger pulse through her skin, turning her even more anxious.

    If this woman looked exactly like her▬if this was a mirror of her ... were they mad at Savreen? Why wouldn't they be? ... That was her next question.

    But when Hazel forged ahead, Savreen and Leo had little choice but to follow.

    She stayed behind them, eyeing the stranger that was far from a stranger warily. Attached at the woman's belt▬Savreen's belt▬was a curled whip. Her red-leather jacket had a subtle design to it▬twisted branches of an apple tree populated with skeletal birds. A pile of broken fortune cookies lied ankle-deep around her. She kept puling new ones from her sack, cracking them open and reading the fortunes. Most she tossed aside. A few made her grumble. She would swipe her finger over the slip of paper like she was smudging it, then magically reseal the cookie and toss it into a nearby basket.

    "What are you doing?" Leo demanded.

    She glanced up and Leo staggered backwards. His eyes widened, his words got lost. The anger he held at the top of the dune returned and his fists trembled with fury. He swallowed harshly and managed to croak, "A▬Aunt Rosa?"

    Savreen frowned. She was very confused. This woman was not his Aunt Rosa▬she looked nothing like her. She looked exactly like the girl standing right behind him, hiding her face from her own▬she couldn't look herself in a bathroom mirror, there was no way Savreen could handle seeing herself in person.

    The stranger tilted her head, curious, "Is that who you see?" she asked, and she sounded like Savreen, too. "Interesting. And you, Hazel, dear?"

    "How did you▬?" the daughter of Pluto stepped back in alarm. "You▬you look like Mrs. Leer. My third-grade teacher. I hated you."

    Savreen watched herself cackle. None of this was making any sense. "Excellent. You resented her, eh? She judged you unfairly?"

    "You▬she taped my hands to the desk for misbehaving," Hazel said. She was shaking▬she looked pale and sick. "She called my mother a witch. She blamed me for everything I didn't do and▬No. She has to be dead. Who are you?"

    "Oh, Savreen knows," those doe eyes met those identical behind Leo's shoulder. "Tell me, who does the daughter of Harmonia see?" she smiled▬she very much knew, and it amused her very much. "Who makes you so vengeful, girl?"

    She held her breath, scared that she had lost her voice entirely. Herself, Savreen realised painfully. She saw herself. For everything that has happened to her▬despite all those she had every right to blame: Hera, Hephaestus ... the only person she hated for what has happened▬what has happened to people she cared about, just because they were around her ... just because they knew her ... the only person she hated was herself.

    Savreen blinked back tears. She hated this. She shook her head and shuffled further backwards. She knew the others were watching her. "This is some trick," she decided. And then, just like that, Savreen realised who this woman was▬why she made them feel like this, see things like this. "You ..." her gaze drifted to the motorcycle▬the shape of those wheels ... the symbol above a certain cabin back at camp. "Nemesis," she answered. "You're Nemesis, the goddess of revenge."

    "You see?" the goddess smiled at Hazel. "She recognises me."

    Nemesis snapped open another cookie▬her nose wrinkled as she read  what was inside. "You will have great fortune when you least expect it'▬Gah! That's exactly the sort of nonsense I hate! Someone opens a cookie and suddenly they have a prophecy that they'll be rich! I blame that trap Tyche. Always dispensing good luck to people who don't deserve it."

    Leo slowly arched a brow. He looked at the mound of broken cookies. "Uh ... you know those aren't real prophecies, right? They're just stuffed in the cookies at some factory▬"

    "Don't try to excuse it!" snapped Nemesis. Savreen had to look away, not able to stand the sight of herself with that look on her face▬something so furious. "It's just like Tyche to get people's hopes up. No, no. I must counter her." The goddess swept a finger over the slip of paper and the letters changed to read: "'You will die painfully when you most expect it'. There! Much better!"

    Savreen was shocked. Before she could say anything, Hazel exclaimed, "That's horrible! You'd let someone read that in their fortune cookie, and it would come true?"

    Nemesis sneered. Savreen tensed▬it didn't seem right. This wasn't right ... she felt rather sick to the stomach. She found herself grasping Leo's hand before she even thought, holding on tight and desperate▬as if to remind herself: this is not you rather than dwell on the question as to why Nemesis had shown herself as a mirror to Savreen; a horrible reflection. "My dear Hazel, haven't you ever wished horrible things on Mrs. Leer for the way she treated you?"

    "That doesn't mean I'd want them to come true!"

    "Bah!" She resealed the cookie and tossed it in her basket. "Tyche would be Fortuna for you, I suppose, being Roman. Like the others, she's in a horrible way right now. Me? I'm not affected. I am called Nemesis in both Greek and Roman. I do not change, because revenge is universal."

    "What are you talking about?" frowned Leo. "What are you doing here?"

    Nemesis opened another cookie. "Lucky numbers. Ridiculous! That's not even a proper fortune!" she crushed it in her fingers and scattered the pieces around her feet. "To answer your question, Leo Valdez, the gods are in terrible shape. It always happens when a civil war is brewing between you Romans and Greeks. The Olympians are torn between their two natures, called on by both sides▬Splitting headaches. Disorientation..."

    "But we're not at war."

    Hazel visibly winced. She pursed her lips and fiddled with her fingers, eyeing Leo carefully as she told him: "Uh ... Except for the fact that you recently blew up large sections of New Rome."

    Leo spun to her. Savreen's hand fell away from his▬he didn't even notice, clenching his palms tight as they shook with sudden anger. "Not on purpose!" he replied, as if trying very hard not to be hurt. She supposed the sight of his Aunt Rosa as Nemesis didn't help his response.

    "I know!" said Hazel quickly, startled. "I just▬but the Romans don't realise that. And they'll be pursuing us in retaliation."

    Nemesis cackled▬finding this delightful. "Leo, listen to the girl. War is coming▬Gaea has seen to it, with your help." He swallowed hard. "And can you guess whom the gods blame for their predicament?"

    The son of Hephaestus held his breath for a moment. He clenched his jaw and muttered, fearful, "Me."

    The goddess snorted. "Well, don't you have a high opinion of yourself. You're just a pawn on the chessboard, Leo Valdez. I was referring to the player who set this ridiculous quest in motion, bringing the Greeks and Romans together. The gods blame Hera▬or Juno, if you prefer. The queen of the heavens has fled Olympus to escape the wrath of her family. Don't expect any more help from your patron!"

    Savreen felt little sympathy▬and that scared her. But she wondered why she should hold any appreciation for the queen of the heavens. She had changed Savreen's life▬gave her the potential to continuously destroy it until everyone she had cared about was taken ruthlessly away from her. She gave her the curse that made her alone, even surrounded by friends. But some part of Nemesis's tale did make her nervous. No matter what horrible things Hera had done, she was a powerful goddess▬and she was a powerful goddess that had been on their side. In a fight against giants, not one single demigod could win this war▬they needed the help of the gods.

    Savreen took a shaky breath. She had the courage to step forward and stare herself in the eye, "So, why are you here?" she demanded.

    "Why, to offer my help!"

   The three demigods shared a dubious exchange. Hazel looked as if she had just been offered a free, venomous snake.

    "Your help," echoed Leo, doubtful.

    "Of course!" said Nemesis. "I enjoy tearing down the proud and powerful, and there are none who deserve tearing down like Gaea and her giants. Still, I must warn you that I will not suffer undeserved success. Good luck is a sham. The wheel of fortune is a Ponzi scheme. True success requires sacrifice."

    "Sacrifice?" choked Savreen. That fresh bout of anger rose up her chest and made her eyes dark with a deadly flame▬and she saw Nemesis's eyes reflect her, eager to see the change; she egged it on, channelled it▬stoked it. "You want to talk to me about sacrifice? About any of us? Haven't I▬haven't we all sacrificed enough?"

    Nemesis smiled. She leaned forward▬a demon in Savreen's reflection. "And do you not burst with the want for revenge? Wouldn't you like to sacrifice yourself instead of others, for once, daughter of Harmonia? Is that not why you chose to wear your necklace?"

    She was caught off guard. By habit, her hand lifted up to where the necklace sat on her collarbone▬and it burned against her skin. She noticed Hazel was watching her curiously.

    Leo stepped in front, unusually angry as he snapped: "Right now, all I want is some Celestial bronze."

    "Oh, that's easy," waved Nemesis with little care. "It's just over the rise. You'll find it with the sweethearts."

    Hazel was wary, "Wait▬what sweethearts?"

    Nemesis ate the next cookie▬she swallowed it, fortune and all. "You'll see. Perhaps they will teach you a lesson, Hazel Levesque. Most heroes cannot escape their nature, even when given a second chance at life." She smiled. "And your brother ... Nico, you don't have much time. Let's see ... it's June twenty-fifth? Yes, after today, six more days. Then he dies, along with the entire city of Rome."

    Her eyes widened. For a moment, she seemed as if she didn't know how to speak. Her next words were strangled, "I▬how ... what▬?"

    "And as for you, child of fire." Nemesis turned to Leo. "Your worst hardships are yet to come. You will always be the outsider, Leo Valdez ... the tenth wheel. You will never find a place among your brethren. Soon you will face a problem you can't solve, though I could help you ... for a price."

    Leo's hand burst into flames. Savreen had to rush backwards, so shocked she could not find the words to defend him. She saw the look on his face▬almost murderous as he stared Nemesis down, as if was considering igniting the flames onto the goddess herself and standing back to watch her burn. She smiled, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. She pouted, mocking as she added: "The choice is yours, mijo."

    He took heavy breaths. Ignoring their looks▬both intrigued and concerned▬he stuffed his hand into his pocket and the flame extinguished with a curling trail of smoke. "I like to solve my own problems," he said through gritted teeth.

    "Very well," Nemesis shrugged and brushed cookie dust off her jacket.

    "But ... uh ... what sort of price are we talking about?"

    She smirked, eyeing him out of the corner of her eye. "One of my children recently traded an eye for the ability to make a real difference in the world."

    "You ... you want an eye?"

    "In your case, perhaps another sacrifice would do. But something just as painful. Here▬" she handed him an unbroken fortune cookie. "If you need an answer, break this. It will solve your problem."

    Savreen felt as though she caught him glimpse at her for a brief second. She frowned. Leo's hand trembled as he held the fortune cookie. "What problem?"

    "You'll know when the time comes."

    "No, thanks," said Leo. Though he slipped the cookie into his tool belt. He didn't meet any of their gazes. Savreen thought on what the goddess said: the tenth wheel. She wanted to argue and tell her off▬but she was silenced because she had said that Leo would never belong with them ... he would be the outsider amongst his brethren▬did that mean amongst her, too? Did he truly feel that?

    Nemesis continued to pick up cookies from her bag and crack them open. Some she resealed, others she crushed▬some very few she smiled and kept, setting it inside her basket. "Very few gods will be able to help you on the quest. Most are already incapacitated, and their confusion will only grow worse. One thing might bring unity to Olympus again▬an old wrong finally avenged. Ah, that would be sweet indeed, the scales finally balanced! But it will not happen unless you accept my help."

    "I suppose you won't tell us what you're talking about," muttered Hazel. "Or why my brother, Nico, has only six days to live. Or why Rome is going to be destroyed."

    Nemesis chuckled. She rose and slung her sack of cookies over her shoulder, "Oh, it's all tied to gather, Hazel Levesque. Pandora's Box is opening▬and it's filled with so many little goodies. You'll quickly learn that you might just have to unleash the worst parts of yourselves to win this▬fear, Savreen Arora, comes hand in hand with peace, even if you refuse to accept that fact. But you'll have to. You and Fear will need to work together. Speak to Cain Richards, I'm sure he will answer all of your questions. As for my offer, Leo Valdez, give it some thought. You're a good child. A hard worker. We could do business. But I have detained you too long. You should visit the reflecting pool before the light fades. My poor cursed boy gets quite ... agitated when the darkness comes."

    Savreen had so many questions▬and she didn't like the sound of any of them, or the lack of answers Nemesis was prepared to give. She slung her leg over her motorcycle and with a loud rev of the engine, the goddess disappeared down the sandy slope▬and soon, she was nothing but a bitter aftertaste left on the tips of their tongues.

    Hazel bent down. All the broken cookies and fortunes had disappeared except for one crumpled slip of paper. She picked it up and read: "'You will see yourself reflected, and you will have reason to despair.'"

    Savreen stared at her fingers that held the slip of paper. Her own hand inched back up to her necklace, feeling it weigh her down heavier than it has ever done before.

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    a/n: even tho having cain on the cover we're yet to have a cain chapter I'm sorry lol - but don't worry, his first chapter is coming up soon.

    Leo's story hurts so much. he is literally told he is the seventh wheel in the books and that just completely manipulates his way of thinking. it completely manipulates the way the series ends as well. Leo's plot is one of the most important in heroes of olympus.

     but like the angst - oh, the angst between him and sav omg I -

    also here to say I missed percy again - I missed writing percy.

    (limited editing)