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Reyna<br />
MOST OF THE TIME, Reyna could control her nightmares.<br />
She had trained her mind to start all her dreams in her favourite place – <strong>the</strong> Garden <strong>of</strong> Bacchus on<br />
<strong>the</strong> tallest hill in New Rome. She felt safe and tranquil <strong>the</strong>re. When visions invaded her sleep – as<br />
<strong>the</strong>y always did with demigods – she could contain <strong>the</strong>m by imagining <strong>the</strong>y were reflections in <strong>the</strong><br />
garden’s fountain. This allowed her to sleep peacefully and avoid waking up <strong>the</strong> next morning in a<br />
cold sweat.<br />
Tonight, however, she wasn’t so lucky.<br />
The dream began well enough. She stood in <strong>the</strong> garden on a warm afternoon, <strong>the</strong> arbour heavy with<br />
blooming honey-suckle. In <strong>the</strong> central fountain, <strong>the</strong> little statue <strong>of</strong> Bacchus spouted water into <strong>the</strong><br />
basin.<br />
The golden domes and red-tiled ro<strong>of</strong>s <strong>of</strong> New Rome spread out below her. Half a mile west rose<br />
<strong>the</strong> fortifications <strong>of</strong> Camp Jupiter. Beyond that, <strong>the</strong> Little Tiber curved gently around <strong>the</strong> valley,<br />
tracing <strong>the</strong> edge <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Berkeley Hills, hazy and golden in <strong>the</strong> summer light.<br />
Reyna held a cup <strong>of</strong> hot chocolate, her favourite drink.<br />
She exhaled contentedly. This place was worth defending – for herself, for her friends, for all<br />
demigods. Her four years at Camp Jupiter hadn’t been easy, but <strong>the</strong>y’d been <strong>the</strong> best time <strong>of</strong> Reyna’s<br />
life.<br />
Suddenly <strong>the</strong> horizon darkened. Reyna thought it might be a storm. Then she realized a tidal wave<br />
<strong>of</strong> dark loam was rolling across <strong>the</strong> hills, turning <strong>the</strong> skin <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> earth inside out, leaving nothing<br />
behind.<br />
Reyna watched in horror as <strong>the</strong> ear<strong>the</strong>n tide reached <strong>the</strong> edge <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> valley. The god Terminus<br />
sustained a magical barrier around <strong>the</strong> camp, but it slowed <strong>the</strong> destruction for only a moment. Purple<br />
light sprayed upward like shattered glass, and <strong>the</strong> tide poured through, shredding trees, destroying<br />
roads, wiping <strong>the</strong> Little Tiber <strong>of</strong>f <strong>the</strong> map.<br />
It’s a vision, Reyna thought. I can control this.<br />
She tried to change <strong>the</strong> dream. She imagined that <strong>the</strong> destruction was only a reflection in <strong>the</strong><br />
fountain, a harmless video image, but <strong>the</strong> nightmare continued in full vivid scope.<br />
The earth swallowed <strong>the</strong> Field <strong>of</strong> Mars, obliterating every trace <strong>of</strong> forts and trenches from <strong>the</strong> war<br />
games. The city’s aqueduct collapsed like a line <strong>of</strong> children’s blocks. Camp Jupiter itself fell –<br />
watchtowers crashing down, walls and barracks disintegrating. The screams <strong>of</strong> demigods were<br />
silenced, and <strong>the</strong> earth moved on.<br />
A sob built in Reyna’s throat. The gleaming shrines and monuments on Temple Hill crumbled. The