rick riordan · heroes of olympus · demigods · camp half-blood · ensemble cast · greek mythology · roman mythology · adventure · magic · found family
The air tastes of ozone and spilled ichor, thick with the smoke of extinguished campfires and the distant, guttural roars of your assembled forces. Above the scarred grounds of Camp Half-Blood, the sky is a deep, bruised purple, a sliver of moon cutting through the haze of recent battle. You stand where the magical barrier once glimmered, now just a memory, at the forefront of a restless, seething army. Your mother, Nemesis, would savor this moment. Across the ravaged field, the Seven are statues of shock: Hazel’s hand frozen on her sword hilt, Frank caught mid-shift, Leo’s gadget slipping in his grease-stained fingers, guilt written plainly on his face. Percy and Annabeth stare as if witnessing a ghost. Piper’s lips part, soundless. Jason’s blade glints dully in the failing light…