AS SOON AS they left the dock, Brooklyn was grinning and dipping her hand in the water, feeling the familiar biting cold of the ocean under her. They sped by a pack of sea lions lounging on the docks, and she swore she saw an old homeless guy sitting among them. From across the water, the old man pointed a bony finger at Percy and mouthed something like Don't even think about it.

"Did you see that?" Hazel asked.

Percy's face was red in the sunset. "Yeah. I've been here before. I . . . I don't know. I think I was looking for my best friend."

"Brooks?"

"No, I don't live in San Francisco." Brooklyn frowned, her head pounding. She brought her hand out of the water, dried it on her dress, and rubbed her temple. "At least, I don't think I do . . ."

"Annabeth," Frank said. "You mean, on your way to Camp Jupiter?"

Percy frowned. "No. Before that." He scanned the city like he was still looking for Annabeth until they passed under the Golden Gate Bridge and turned north.

But Brooklyn wasn't thinking about the past, she was thinking about the future. Her future. Because what if she survived this impossible quest? What if she made herself a future by being praetor of Camp Jupiter?

That could be her future. That could be her. Leading Camp Jupiter with Reyna by her side, being one of the most important people in the camp, having so much power under her fingertips.

It sounds stupid. Her? Brooklyn Hayward? With power? Yet her entire being was made for wielding power. Her fingertips held the power of the skies, of the storms, of electricity.

If Camp Jupiter needed a storm, then they'd get Brooklyn Hayward.

The boat shuddered, jolting her back to the present. They entered the Pacific currents and skirted the rocky coastline of Marin County.

"You okay?" Frank asked, presumably Hazel, considering Brooklyn wasn't facing them. "You look queasy."

"Seasickness," Hazel confessed. "I didn't think it would be this bad."

Brooklyn heard Frank digging in his pack. "I've got some nectar. And some crackers. Um, my grandmother says ginger helps . . . I don't have any of that, but—"

"It's okay." Hazel said. "That's sweet of you, though."

Brooklyn heard at a snapping sound, and looked back briefly to see a saltine snapping in his big fingers. Cracker exploded everywhere.

Hazel laughed. "Gods, Frank . . . sorry. I shouldn't laugh."

"Uh, no problem," he said sheepishly. "Guess you don't want that one."

Percy wasn't paying much attention. He kept his eyes fixed on the shoreline. As they passed Stinson Beach, he pointed inland, where a single mountain rose above the green hills.

"That looks familiar," he said.

"Mount Tam," Frank said. "Kids at camp are always talking about it. Big battle happened on the summit, at the old Titan base."

Percy frowned. "Were either of you there?"

"No," Hazel said. "That was back in August, before I — um, before I got to camp. Jason told me about it. The legion destroyed the enemy's palace and about a million monsters. Jason had to battle Krios — hand-to-hand combat with a Titan, if you can imagine."

"I can imagine," Percy muttered.

Brooklyn left him be, leaving an open spot on her bench in case he wanted to sit. She watched the sun set in the ocean, propping her feet up on the bench and putting her head on top of her knees. Instead of thinking about lost memories that refused to come back because she was tired of that, she thought about her brother. Him rising into power. Him leading the camp. Him killing the Titan.

And she was supposed to be his replacement? Maybe this world hated her. Even if she's lived this long as the daughter of Jupiter, even if she survives and thrives, the world will still despise her because she's beaten every obstacle that it's thrown at her, except for her own head.

Don't think too hard, she scolded herself. Don't explode your head.

But it was too late now. She wonders how her head hasn't completely stopped working since it throbbed with pain seemingly twenty-four seven. The only time it stopped hurting was when she slept.

So, naturally, she tried falling asleep. Eventually, because the world stopped hating her for a second, she actually managed to fall asleep.

Remember when Brooklyn said that she didn't dream? Well, that was a lie.

She found herself sitting on a throne, in a dress actually fit for a princess, the heavy weight of a crown on her head. She was staring down at a guy standing in the middle of two thrones next to her, talking to someone. His eyes were glazed over, as if he was bored of the conversation.

She looked sideways to see a woman next to her, with black hair and cold brown eyes. Juno, but she actually looked presentable. But she seemed more . . . human, not radiating a godly aura.

And next to Juno was a familiar looking dude with black hair, a scruffy beard, and the same eyes as Brooklyn. Her father. Jupiter.

And next to him, well . . . she couldn't see from that far away. But if this was one happy family, she hoped that it was Thalia.

"Dismissed," Jupiter's voice called in the room, echoing off of the marble walls. He glanced at Brooklyn, and whoever was on his left that she couldn't see. "Both of you as well."

Her instincts were telling her to nod, so she nodded, slipping out of her throne. She put her crown on it, finally seeing how gaudy it was, gold and diamonds and gemstones galore. She went to her father's throne and bowed to him and to Juno, and then left the room.

The person beside her had followed her every movement, including walking out of the room with her. She looked over and her breath stopped at what she saw.

"Well, you're not Thalia," Brooklyn said.

"I'm not," the guy next to her agreed. He had lighter blond hair than her, and his eyes were lighter than hers. Maybe he was just lighter than her in literally every way. Appearance, mental thoughts. "I'm her brother, though. Jason."

"Oh, you're Jason," she realized. "I'm Brooks."

He frowned. "Like, Hayward Brooks?"

"That is my name, yeah," she nodded, letting her feet take her wherever they wanted to go. "So, you're also dreaming?"

"Yeah." He sounded sort of dubious, but she blissfully ignored it. "So, you're at Camp Jupiter?"

"Nope," she popped the "p" like she usually did because it was fun. "I'm on a quest to unchain death."

". . . what?"

"Look, I don't know what's happening, and I don't think I will ever know," Brooklyn said, "but I'm just looking for a good time, bro."

"A good time unchaining death?" Jason asked.

She shrugged. "I prefer having fun while living, thank you very much. And if I have to go up to Alaska to unchain Thanatos to live, then I'll do that. Hopefully without dying."

"Can you explain this whole, you know, unchaining Thanatos thing?"

She started talking about the quest she was on when the world around her was suddenly blurring. Someone was shaking her.

"You're waking up," he pointed out.

"No shit," she said. "But this was nice. Maybe we should come back here."

"Don't die out there, Brooks," he said, his voice rapidly fading. "And come back here when you sleep next."

She woke up, grumbling to herself as she went to sit up, colliding with someone else's head.

"Ow!" Percy recoiled, letting her sit up.

"That's what you get for waking me up," she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Stop flirting, you two!" Frank's voice was so panicked she couldn't find the heart to tease him. "Hazel still won't wake up!"

Brooklyn frowned as she glanced around. It was fully night now, so she couldn't see much, but she saw land.

"Let's get to land," she said. "Maybe that'll wake her up."

* * *

The night sky blazed with stars. They hiked up on a cliff overlooking a beach. About a hundred feet away, the ocean glinted in the moonlight. The surf washed gently against the stern of their beached boat. To Brooklyn's right, hugging the edge of the cliff, was a building like a small church with a search light in the steeple. A lighthouse, she guessed, though she couldn't see from so far away. Behind them, fields of tall grass rustled in the wind.

Finally, on land, Hazel woke up after many minutes of Frank panicking.

"Where are we?" she asked, slowly sitting up.

He exhaled. "Thank the gods you're awake! We're in Mendocino, about a hundred and fifty miles north of the Golden Gate."

"A hundred and fifty miles?" Hazel groaned. "I've been out that long?"

Brooklyn shrugged. "Don't worry, I was out nearly as long as you've been out. Except they could wake me up. They couldn't wake you up."

Percy knelt, putting his hand on Hazel's forehead as if checking for a fever. "We decided to bring you ashore. We thought maybe the seasickness—"

"It wasn't seasickness." Hazel admitted. "I — I haven't been honest with you. What happened was a blackout. I have them once in a while."

"A blackout?" Frank took Hazel's hand. "Is it medical? Why haven't I noticed before?"

"I try to hide it," she admitted. "I've been lucky so far, but it's getting worse. It's not medical . . . not really. Nico says it's a side effect from my past, from where he found me."

"Where exactly did Nico find you?" Percy asked.

"I'll explain," Hazel promised. She clawed through her pack. "Is . . . is there anything to drink?"

"Yeah." Percy muttered a curse in Greek. "That was dumb. I left my supplies down at the boat."

Hazel shouldered her pack and sword. "Never mind. I can walk . . ."

"Don't even think about it," Frank said. "Not until you've had some food and water. I'll get the supplies."

"No, I'll go," Brooklyn glanced at Frank's hand on Hazel's, shrugging before scanning the horizon. She needed some time to think — and to calm her nerves. "You three stay here. I'll be right back."

"Not alone," Percy stood up straight, walking over to where she was standing. "It's not safe. I'll go with you."

Brooklyn stared at him for a moment before sighing. "Fine," she said, fidgeting with her ring.

"Frank, keep your eyes open," Percy advised. "Something about this place . . . I don't know."

"I'll keep her safe," Frank promised.

"Race ya to the bottom!" Brooklyn started running off, hearing Percy's footsteps follow after her after a moment.