“Semele seems nice,” Naomi mused. “Don’t you think so, Will?”
He smiled. “Mom, you know I like pretty mucheveryone.”
She kissed his cheek. “Just like me.”
Nico smiled, and not only because of the great company. For the first time in days, the hope he was clinging to feltveryreal.
Hazel was thinking about secret weapons.
She wished she had one.
Arielle had collected several reports from newly arrived mythics, all of whom claimed that Pirithous had bragged in court about his power over the gods. Supposedly, he had something that made him unbeatable. He relished the chance to make Pluto appear and put the lord of the Underworld on trial. Unfortunately, details were scarce about what this secret weapon might be. Hazel guessed that was what made it “secret.”
Still, thinking about it was not helping her headache.
The situation in the park was becoming dire. What had once been scattered groups of mythics was now one giant crowd, as if a concert were about to start at the band shell. The air was humid and stale. Everyone was brushing up against one another. Tempers were short.
Hazel watched from her bench as a centaur shoved an empousa out of the way at the central fountain. She fell into the damp basin, while a harpy swooped down and raked the centaur’s back with her sharp claws.
“That’s my friend!” the harpy screeched.
“Then tell her to get out of my way!” the centaur shouted. “I’m just trying to find water.”
The empousa stood, her fangs bared. “We’realltrying to find water, pony boy! Push me again and see what happens.”
“Everyone, calm down!” bellowed Asterion, wading into the conflict. “Please, I know it is frightening and confusing in here, but we are close to a solution. We cannot turn on one another now.”
The crowd grumbled in response, but no one directly countered the bull-man.
He crossed over to Hazel and knelt in front of her. “How are you feeling, Praetor?”
“Tired,” she said, rubbing one of her temples. “My head aches. I shouldn’t complain, though. You’re doing all the work.”
Asterion made a rumbling sound deep in his chest. “I think you underestimate how hot and thin the air has become. I am impressed a mortal such as yourself is still conscious. One advantage we mythics have over humans—our bodies can withstand much more extreme conditions. Remember, we lived in Tartarus.” He offered his hand. “Can you walk? There is still some water left in the west fountain.”
Hazel placed her feet on solid ground. She stood, wobbling as the pain throbbed deeper in her head. She steadied herself on Asterion’s outstretched arm.
“Hmm.” Asterion sounded concerned. “Hazel, would you consent to me carrying you?”
She was too weak to do anything but nod.
He picked her up smoothly and cradled her in his arms. Hazel tried not to feel self-conscious about being carried like a baby. On the other hand, part of her felt safer than she had in days. As Asterion walked through the crowd of mythics, she noticed that everyonealwaysmoved out of his way without a word. A dryad with red leaves for hair nodded in deference. A satyr reached out and patted his arm.
“They respect you,” Hazel said softly. “I can see it.”
“I am doing my best,” he said. “Quinoa, Arielle, and I have been trying to greet all our new neighbors as they arrive.”
“Where are they right now? I haven’t seen Arielle for hours.”
Asterion stepped over the baby drakon, who had collapsed across the sidewalk after a hard day smelting ore. “Quinoa is counting, I imagine. Arielle is brokering a peace deal between the Laistrygonian giants and the Cyclopes. She is very good at diplomacy, talking others down from their heightened state of fear. You should see it.”
Hazel smiled. “And to think she was rejected by her kindred because she couldn’t charmspeak.”
“Indeed,” said the bull-man. “I believe that was her original dream: to learn how to persuade others without needing to charm them. She will make an excellent ambassador someday, assuming…”
Asterion’s voice trailed off, but Hazel knew what he was thinking.Assuming we get out of here alive.
She hoped Naomi Solace had made it safely to Camp Jupiter. Hazel hated having to depend on factors that were outside her control, but the idea that reinforcements might be on their way was the only thing keeping her from despair. That, and the presence of her mythic friends…
