𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 | 𝐩. 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧

The tale of the broken lovers

Grover was having a snack in the living room. He was dressed for battle in an armored shirt made from tree bark and twist ties, with his wooden cudgel and his reed pipes hanging from his belt.

The Demeter cabin had whipped up a whole buffet in the hotel kitchens—everything from pizza to pineapple ice cream. Unfortunately, Grover was eating the furniture. He'd already chewed the stuffing off a fancy chair and was now gnawing the armrest.

"Dude," Percy said, "we're only borrowing this place."

"Blah-ha-ha!" He had stuffing all over his face. "Sorry, Percy. It's just ...Louis the Sixteenth furniture. Delicious. Plus I always eat furniture when I get—"

"When you get nervous," Percy said. "Yeah, I know. So what's up?"

He clopped on his hooves. "I heard about Evangeline. Is she..."

"She's going to be fine, she's resting."

Grover took a deep breath. "That's good. I've mobilized most of the nature spirits in the city—well, the ones that will listen to me, anyway." He rubbed his forehead. "I had no idea acorns could hurt so much. Anyway, we're helping out as much as we can."

He told the raven-haired boy about the skirmishes they'd seen. Mostly they'd been covering uptown, where they didn't have enough demigods. Hellhounds had appeared in all sorts of places, shadow-traveling inside their lines, and the dryads and satyrs had been fighting them off. A young dragon had appeared in Harlem, and a dozen wood nymphs died before the monster was finally defeated.

As Grover talked, Thalia entered the room with two of her lieutenants. She nodded to Percy grimly, went outside to check on Evangeline, and came back in. She listened while Grover completed his report—the details getting worse and worse.

"We lost twenty satyrs against some giants at Fort Washington," he said, his voice trembling. "Almost half my kinsmen. River spirits drowned the giants in the end, but..."

Thalia shouldered her bow. "Percy, Kronos's forces are still gathering at every bridge and tunnel. And Kronos isn't the only Titan. One of my Hunters spotted a huge man in golden armor mustering an army on the Jersey shore. I'm not sure who he is, but he radiates power like only a Titan or god."

Percy remembered the golden Titan from his dream—the one on Mount Othrys who erupted into flames.

"Great," He said. "Any good news?"

Thalia shrugged. "We've sealed off the subway tunnels into Manhattan. My best trappers took care of it. Also, it seems like the enemy is waiting for tonight to attack. I think Luke" she caught herself, "I mean Kronos needs time to regenerate after each fight. He's still not comfortable with his new form. It's taking a lot of his power to slow time around the city."

Grover nodded. "Most of his forces are more powerful at night, too. But they'll be back after sundown."

Percy tried to think clearly. "Okay. Any word from the gods?"

The daughter of Zeus shook her head. "I know Lady Artemis would be here if she could. Athena, too. But Zeus has ordered them to stay at his side. The last I heard, Typhon was destroying the Ohio River valley. He should reach the Appalachian Mountains by midday."

"So at best," Percy said, "we've got another two days before he arrives."

Jake Mason cleared his throat. He'd been standing there so silently Percy had almost forgotten he was in the room.

"Percy, something else," he said. "The way Kronos showed up at Williamsburg Bridge like he knew you were going there. And he shifted his forces to our weakest points. As soon as we deployed, he changed tactics. He barely touched the Lincoln Tunnel, where the Hunters were strong. He went for our weak spots like he knew."