KAT WAS CURLED up with Piper, blissfully asleep when someone nudged them both awake.

Kat rolled, pulling her arm off of Piper's waist so she could rub her eyes. She looked blearily at Jason. "Wha—"

"You're lucky I was the one who caught you two," he whispered, though he was smiling fondly at both of them as Piper grumbled, blindly searching for Kat's arm again. "Percy and Annabeth are missing. We've gotta help everyone else look for them."

"Seriously?" Kat asked, draping an arm on Piper's chest. "Are you sure they aren't, like, having sex somewhere?"

Jason's face immediately turned red. "Kat!"

Piper sat up, poking her side. "I did not need that image at . . ." she glanced at the clock, "7:31 in the morning."

"Well, now you have it." Kat smirked, catching Piper's finger and crushing it with her hand. "But do we have to go searching for them? I'd rather just stay in bed with the two of you."

"We should go find them," emphasized Jason, reaching out and pulling the covers away. "Come on. Let's go."

Kat exchanged looks with Piper, rolling her eyes, before rolling away and off the bed. "Ow," she groaned.

"Serves you right!" Piper called from the other side, her feet plopping down on the floor.

"Do not," Kat accepted Jason's hand and stood up, stretching. His eyes went down to where her shirt went up, and she smirked, patting his cheek. "You're staringgggg," she said with a singsong voice before flouncing out of Piper's room.

Eventually, Frank ran up the stairs, panting that he'd found Percy and Annabeth and that the meeting during breakfast would go as promised. Kat didn't even know that there was going to be a meeting during breakfast, but whatever. He also said that he'd found them in the stables, sleeping together.

Kat was snickering as she hastily got changed in her room, and she was still snickering by the time she sat in the chair next to Leo, who was grinning knowingly and muttering, "Classic. Classic."

"Ohmigosh." She leaned in so she could whisper in his ear, "remember when we were sneaking around the Wilderness School to do that one prank? And we caught two people going at it in that closet?"

Leo full on cackled at that, throwing his head back in laughter. "NO! That was one of the best moments I had in there."

"That's perverted, Valdez."

"Okay, Miss 'we should be fine, you're just hearing things, fucker'."

"If I recall correctly, that was you."

"You're not recalling correctly."

Kat scoffed, taking her plate of avocado toast and taking a giant bite out of a piece of bread.

Meanwhile, about the Percabeth situation ( everyone at camp pre-war had drilled that ship name in her head after years of shipping them ), Jason and Piper were mostly relieved. Frank still looked heavily traumatized. Only Hazel seemed scandalized, maybe because she was from the 1940s. She kept fanning her face and wouldn't meet their eyes. And, naturally, Hedge went ballistic.

"Never in my life!" he bellowed, waving his bat and knocking over a plate of apples. "Against the rules! Irresponsible!"

"Coach," said Annabeth, "it was an accident. We were talking, and we fell asleep."

Kat and Leo looked at each other and snorted. Right.

"Besides," commented Percy, "you're starting to sound like Terminus."

Hedge narrowed his eyes. "Is that an insult, Jackson? 'Cause I'll—I'll terminus you, buddy!"

Percy stifled a laugh. "It won't happen again, Coach. I promise. Now, don't we have other things to discuss?"

Hedge fumed. "Fine! But I'm watching you, Jackson. And you, Annabeth Chase, I thought you had more sense—"

Jason cleared his throat. "So grab some food, everybody. Let's get started."

Percy told them about his dream — the twin giants planning a reception for them in an underground parking lot with rocket launchers; Nico di Angelo trapped in a bronze jar, slowly dying from asphyxiation with pomegranate seeds at his feet.

Hazel choked back a sob. "Nico . . . oh, gods. The seeds."

"You know what they are?" asked Annabeth.

Hazel nodded. "He showed them to me once. They're from our stepmother's garden."

"Your step . . . oh," said Percy. "You mean Persephone."

"The seeds are a last-resort food," Hazel said. Kat thought she was nervous, because all the silverware on the table was starting to move toward her. Kat didn't know, though, she wasn't the brightest tool in the shed or whatever. "Only children of Hades can eat them. Nico always kept some in case he got stuck somewhere. But if he's really imprisoned—"

"The giants are trying to lure us," said Annabeth. "They're assuming we'll try to rescue him."

"Well, they're right!" Hazel looked around the table, her confidence apparently crumbling. "Won't we?"

"Yes!" Hedge yelled with a mouthful of napkins. "It'll involve fighting, right?"

"Hazel, of course we'll help him," promised Frank. "But how long do we have before . . . uh, I mean, how long can Nico hold out?"

"One seed a day," Hazel said miserably. "That's if he puts himself in a death trance."

"A death trance?" repeated Kat, her eyebrows raising. "That doesn't sound fun."

"It keeps him from consuming all his air," explained Hazel. "Like hibernation, or a coma. One seed can sustain him one day, barely."

"And he has five seeds left," Percy said. "That's five days, including today. The giants must have planned it that way, so we'd have to arrive by July first. Assuming Nico is hidden somewhere in Rome—"

"That's not much time," Piper summed up. She put her hand on Hazel's shoulder. "We'll find him. At least we know what the lines of the prophecy mean now. 'Twins snuff out the angel's breath, who holds the key to endless death.' Your brother's last name: di Angelo. Angelo is Italian for 'angel.'"

"Oh, gods," Hazel muttered. "Nico . . ."

"We'll rescue him," Percy promised her. "We have to. The prophecy says he holds the key to endless death."

"That's right," Piper said encouragingly. "Hazel, your brother went searching for the Doors of Death in the Underworld, right? He must've found them."

"He can tell us where the doors are," Percy said, "and how to close them."

Hazel took a deep breath. "Yes. Good."

"Uh . . ." Leo shifted in his chair. "One thing. The giants are expecting us to do this, right? So we're walking into a trap?"

Hazel looked at Leo like he'd just given her the bird. "We have no choice!"

"Don't get me wrong, Hazel. It's just that your brother, Nico . . . he knew about both camps, right?"

"Well, yes," said Hazel.

"He's been going back and forth," said Leo, "and he didn't tell either side."

Jason sat forward, his expression grim. "You're wondering if we can trust the guy. So am I."

Hazel shot to her feet. "I don't believe this. He's my brother. He brought me back from the Underworld, and you don't want to help him?"

Frank put his hand on her shoulder. "Nobody's saying that." He glared at Leo. "Nobody had better be saying that."

Leo blinked. "Look, guys. All I mean is—"

"Hazel," Jason interrupted. "Leo is raising a fair point. I remember Nico from Camp Jupiter. Now I find out he also visited Camp Half-Blood. That does strike me as . . . well, a little shady. Do we really know where his loyalties lie? We just have to be careful."

Hazel's arms shook. A silver platter zoomed toward her and hit the wall to her left, splattering scrambled eggs. "You... the great Jason Grace . . . the praetor I looked up to. You were supposed to be so fair, such a good leader. And now you . . ." Hazel stomped her foot and stormed out of the mess hall.

Honestly, Kat was all for it until she stomped her foot. Kat would've totally thrown another platter at either Leo or Jason's faces, best friend and boyfriend be damned. But she probably shouldn't say that. It seemed insensitive.

"Hazel!" Leo called after Hazel. "Ah, jeez. I should—"

"You've done enough," Frank growled. He got up to follow her, but Kat gestured for him to wait.

"Hey, Bumblebee," she said firmly but gently. "Let her have a moment to calm down."

Piper gave her an approving nod — wow, Kat was improving! — before frowning at Leo and Jason. "You guys, that was pretty cold."

Jason looked shocked. "Cold? I'm just being cautious!"

"Her brother is dying," said Piper.

"I'll go talk to her," insisted Frank.

"No," said Piper. "Let her cool down first. Trust us on this. I'll go check on her in a few minutes."

"But . . ." Frank huffed like an irritated bear. Kat's Foo Foo Bear. "Fine. I'll wait."

From up above came a whirring sound like a large drill.

"That's Festus," Leo said. "I've got him on autopilot, but we must be nearing Atlanta. I'll have to get up there . . . uh, assuming we know where to land."

Everyone turned to Percy.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "You're Captain Salt Water. Any ideas from the expert?"

"I'm not sure," Percy admitted. "Somewhere central, high up so we can get a good view of the city. Maybe a park with some woods? We don't want to land a warship in the middle of downtown. I doubt even the Mist could cover up something that huge."

Leo nodded. "On it." He raced for the stairs.

Frank settled back in his chair uneasily. Kat frowned but didn't offer him a piece of toast or one of her hands. She knew him well by now, and knew that he needed a distraction or something. That wasn't whatever half-assed shit she could give him.

"When we land, I'll scout around in Atlanta," Percy said. "Frank, I could use your help."

"You mean turn into a dragon again? Honestly, Percy, I don't want to spend the whole quest being everyone's flying taxi."

"No," corrected Percy. "I want you with me because you've got the blood of Poseidon. Maybe you can help me figure out where to find salt water. Besides, you're good in a fight."

That seemed to make Frank feel a little better. "Sure. I guess."

"Great," said Percy. "We should take one more. Annabeth—"

"Oh, no!" Hedge barked. "Young lady, you are grounded."

Annabeth stared at him like he was speaking a foreign language. "Excuse me?"

"You and Jackson are not going anywhere together!" Hedge insisted. He glared at Percy, daring him to mouth off. "I'll go with Frank and Mr. Sneaky Jackson. The rest of you guard the ship and make sure Annabeth doesn't break any more rules!"

Kat stifled a laugh, wishing Leo was in here so she could exchange glances with him.

"This," Percy said, "is going to be so much fun."