He tickled Guilt’s smoky belly. Its spider legs kicked in the air.
Memories flooded Nico’s mind.Marching into Manhattan with his father to join the battle against Kronos; fighting the giants at the Acropolis side by side with Hazel; saying good-bye to Bianca and realizing what an impact her heroism had left on the world.
They were not memories of guilt, exactly. They were memories of times he’d workedthroughguilt and turned it intopride.
Nico studied the sleeping Puff. “What are you trying to tell me?” he whispered.
Guilt cooed and growled in its sleep.
He didn’t understand what was happening with the cacodemons. They were changing, communicating in more ways than just their signature emotions. But that mystery would have to wait. He got up quietly, trying not to disturb Will or the Puffs. He gathered some spare clothes and a towel and slipped outside to visit the Roman baths.
The baths were easily his favorite thing about Camp Jupiter. He hadn’t had time to visit them yet, but he figured if he was going into San Francisco today on a rescue mission, he might as well get cleaned up first.
Even after a long night, most of the legion had already risen, eaten, and gone to their morning drills, so Nico had the place pretty much to himself. First, he showered in one of the waterfall rooms, which the local naiads kept circulating at the exact right temperature. Nico wasn’t sure how, but the shower’s steam changed its scent to be the most relaxing for each particular guest. For Nico this morning it was fresh frittelle—the fried donut balls his neighborhood pasticceria used to make in Venice when he was little.
From there, he risked a plunge in the frigidarium—cold, very, very cold—nearly scalded himself in the caldarium, and then sat soaking in the tepidarium, admiring the vaulted mosaic ceiling as his muscles unknotted.
It wasn’t until then that he realized how much the sound and presence of water calmed him these days. His breath work and meditation sessions with Mr. D had always taken place on the shore of Long Island Sound. The baths were totally different, of course, but the water still brought him a sense of tranquility.
That was what Nico needed: to calm his mind, which wanted so badly to run wild like a pack of telkhines.
He closed his eyes and disappeared into his own head. Flashes of his nightmare tried to fight their way forward, but he pushed them aside. What had Mr. D said about him earlier that week?
You’re not used to being still.
In the past, Nico would’ve tried to dismiss the idea by making a joke. Now, finding stillness in the swirling water didn’t seem so overrated. Nico had been running his entire life: from his childhood in Italy; from the deaths of his mother, then Bianca, then Jason; and from Titans and gods and dead emperors. Then there was Tartarus….
Would he ever get to justrest?
He heard voices echoing in the baths. Apparently some of the cohorts were coming in to wash up after their morning drills. Soon the place would be too full for his liking, so he quietly made his way out of the water. He changed and headed out into the crisp Bay Area morning.
It looked like a normal day at Camp Jupiter. Cohorts went through their usual routines. Lares floated down the street, criticizing legionnaires for dress-code violations or regaling anyone who would listen with stories about Back in the Day. But Nico could tell something was different. Maybe it was the way campers greeted him as they passed, nodding with respect. By now, they all must have heard what had happened last night. Some complimented him on his bravery in the principia. Others asked if Will was still on fire, or strangest of all, how “our friends” the mythics were doing. The legion had come together at last and decided the mythics weren’t so bad. All it had taken was a common enemy that was even scarier. Nico still wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
He found Hazel and Frank outside the mess hall. Hazel obviously had slept, showered, and changed into fresh clothes. Frank obviously had not.
“Hey, how’d you sleep?” Hazel asked.
“Eh,” Nico said. “So-so.”
“I’m about to get a few hours myself,” said Frank.
“Everything good overnight?”
He nodded. “All the remaining mythics are safe and accounted for. They’ve temporarily moved into the Fifth Cohort’s barracks for extra security, at Lavinia’s invitation.”
“Good idea,” Nico said. “If anyone tries to infiltrate that barracks, they’ll be subjected to a lethal amount of square dancing.”
Hazel snorted. “True enough. Look, I just grabbed a breakfast burrito to go. I’d suggest you do the same. We should head out soon. We don’t know how long it will take for Laverna to recover from last night, or when she’s going to realize her ID card is missing.”
Nico’s heart skipped a beat. “I hadn’t thought of that. Let me go see if Will is up yet.”
Hazel raised a peace sign. “Meet at the Decumanian Gate in fifteen?”
“We’ll be there!”
After grabbing a bag o’ breakfast burritos, Nico dashed back to the barracks. His mind was still trying to pull him in a million directions—his guilt about past failures, his fear of the future and all its unknowns—but he quietly reminded himself to staystill, right here in this moment.
He might not be very good at it, but he was learning.
