“Pretty well?” Hazel laughed. “Will, you’re a child of Apollo, and you survived a trip to Tartarus!”
Nico patted his shoulder. “Yep, that’s my Ray of Light.”
Will blushed. “Please stop giving me nicknames.”
“Nope.”
Hazel leaned forward. Her shimmery, disembodied face reminded Nico of the face in the Queen’s mirror fromSnow White, except without the evil. “Well, if you two can stop being heart-crushingly adorable for a second, I do genuinely need your help.”
“Of course,” Nico said. “What’s going on?”
Hazel looked away, pressing her lips together. Her long pause was worrisome. “So…there’s an issue here at Camp Jupiter. I think you two are the most qualified.”
Nico frowned. “To do what?”
“To, uh…handle it.”
Nico’s heart thumped against his ribs. Something must be really wrong. Why was Hazel being so cagey?
“What’s going on?” he asked again. “Details, please.”
She sighed. “I don’t know how much I should say over an Iris-message. You need to see it for yourself.”
“Seewhat?”
Will cleared his throat. Nico glanced in his direction, and Will’s expression said it all:Give her the benefit of the doubt.
“All right…” Nico relented. “Just tell me—are you in danger?”
Hazel grimaced. “No, not…particularly?”
“That isn’t very reassuring.”
“Look, it’s about”—she leaned forward even more, like she wanted to share a secret, but this only made her voice loud enough to be heard at the nearby tables—“our new guests at Camp Jupiter.”
Many demigods in the dining pavilion turned to stare in their direction. It wasn’t every day a giant Iris-message sphere appeared in the middle of dinner. Itreallywasn’t often that a message came from Camp Jupiter. Until last year, most Camp Half-Blood demigods weren’t even aware that an alternate, Roman demigod camp existed out on the West Coast. Their first introduction had been when the Romans marched on Long Island and tried to wipe out the Greeks. Kind of a big misunderstanding. Relations were better now, but still distant and uneasy.
“New guests?” Will asked.
“You mean demi—?”
“Not entirely,” Hazel cut in. “Do you trust me?”
Her voice was strained. The tightness around her eyes told Nico how much her mysterious problem was weighing on her spirit.
He softened. “Of course, Hazel. Sorry. I think the overprotective side of me jumped out.”
“I appreciate that. And I can definitely use your backup. Can I just ask the two of you to come here? For a day or two, max? It’ll make more sense when you see.”
Nico grimaced. “I don’t know, Hazel. Of course wewantto, but Will and I are kinda the only counselors left to help with the new demigodshere. Mr. D said he needs our help.”
Hazel’s gaze seemed to drift away from him. “Oh, I’m sure he won’t mind!” she said.
Then she winked.
Nico turned around but didn’t catch whomever she was winking at. He then looked to Will, who shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to visit Camp Jupiter,” he said. “Besides, it can’t be worse than Tartarus.”
“Right,” said Hazel, her eyes shifting. “Definitely not Tartarus.”
