A 1

Piper shut her eyes. Don’t show me that again, she pleaded. Show me something helpful.
She forced herself to look at the blade again.
This time, she saw an empty highway cutting between fields of wheat and sunflowers. A mileage
marker read: TOPEKA 32. On the shoulder of the road stood a man in khaki shorts and a purple camp
shirt. His face was lost in the shadow of a broad hat, the brim wreathed in leafy vines. He held up a
silver goblet and beckoned to Piper. Somehow she knew he was offering her some sort of gift—a cure,
or an antidote.
“Hey,” Jason croaked.
Piper was so startled she dropped the knife. “You’re awake!”
“Don’t sound so surprised.” Jason touched his bandaged head and frowned. “What…what
happened? I remember the explosions, and—”
“You remember who I am?”
Jason tried to laugh, but it turned into a painful wince. “Last I checked, you were my awesome
girlfriend Piper. Unless something has changed since I was out?”
Piper was so relieved she almost sobbed. She helped him sit up and gave him some nectar to sip
while she brought him up to speed. She was just explaining Leo’s plan to fix the ship when she heard
horse hooves clomping across the deck over their heads.
Moments later, Leo and Hazel stumbled to a stop in the doorway, carrying a large sheet of
hammered bronze between them.
“Gods of Olympus.” Piper stared at Leo. “What happened to you?”
His hair was greased back. He had welding goggles on his forehead, a lipstick mark on his cheek,
tattoos all over his arms, and a T-shirt that read HOT STUFF, BAD BOY, and TEAM LEO.
“Long story,” he said. “Others back?”