This Cold Year ― Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase²

―iv. naomi and co. roast a dead pretty boy

"WHO IS AUNT ROSA?" Hazel asked. 

Leo shook his head. "Long story," he said. "She abandoned me after my mom died, gave me to foster care."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well..." Leo cleared his throat. "What about you? What Nemesis said about your brother?"

Hazel blinked like she'd gotten salt in her eyes. "Nico... he found me in the Underworld. He brought me back to the mortal world and convinced the Romans at Camp Jupiter to accept me. I owe him for my second chance at life. If Nemesis is right, and Nico's in danger... I have to help him." 

Naomi squeezed her shoulder. "We will," she promised.

"And what Nemesis said about your brother having six days to live, and Rome getting destroyed... any idea what she meant?" Leo asked.

"None," Hazel admitted. "But I'm afraid..."

Whatever she was thinking, she decided not to share it. She climbed one of the largest boulders to get a better view. Leo tried to follow and lost his balance. Hazel caught his hand. She pulled him up and they found themselves atop the rock, holding hands, face-to-face.

Once again, Naomi felt like an intruder.

Leo let go of Hazel's hand. "Um, thanks." 

Hazel helped Naomi onto the boulder, then looked back at Leo. "When we were talking to Nemesis, your hands... I saw flames."

"Yeah," he said. "It's a Hephaestus power. Usually I can keep it under control."

"Oh." Hazel put one hand protectively over her denim jacket, where Naomi assumed Frank's half-burned stick was stored. 

Naomi gazed across the island. The opposite shore was only a few hundreds away. Between here and there were dunes and clumps of bounders, but nothing that looked like a reflecting pool.  

"Leo," Hazel said gently. "You can't take what Nemesis said to heart."

Leo frowned. "What if it's true?"

"She's the goddess of revenge," Hazel reminded him. "Maybe she's on our side, maybe not; but she exists to stir up resentment."

Leo sighed. "We should keep going," he said. "I wonder what Nemesis meant about finishing before dark."

Hazel glanced at the sun, which was just touching the horizon. "And who is the cursed boy she mentioned?"

Below them, a voice said, "Cursed boy she mentioned."

At first, Naomi saw no one. Then her eyes adjusted. She realized a young woman was standing only ten feet away from the base of the boulder. Her dress was a Greek-style tunic the same color as the rocks. Her wispy hair was somewhere between brown and blonde and gray, so it blended with the dry grass. She wasn't invisible, exactly, but she was almost perfectly camouflaged until she moved. She was pretty, but Naomi had trouble focusing on her face. In fact, each time Naomi blinked, she couldn't remember what the woman looked like, and she had to concentrate to find her again. 

"Oh, hello," Naomi said. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" the girl answered. Her voice sounded weary, like she was tired of answering that question.

The trio exchanged looks. In the life of a demigod, you never knew what you'd run into. Nine times out of ten, it wasn't good.

"Are you the cursed kid Nemesis mentioned?" Leo asked. "But you're a girl."

"You're a girl," the girl repeated.

"Excuse me?" Leo said.

"Excuse me," the girl said miserably.