Percy had a frown on his face, remaining standing in a protective stance in front of Harry. He, however, simply gave him a glance before going back to playing with the little girl, who for some reason seemed genuinely happy to see him, even though it was the first time she had ever met him.

  She kept walking all around the place, picking up her most treasured belongings and handing them to Harry, who accepted each one with a smile.

  Then there were Jean and Daniel, fanning another boy around the same age as Percy and Harry, who looked barely conscious after running what must have felt like a marathon. Percy thought he was exaggerating a little, since he himself was not even tired, and that was while carrying the girl he had picked up along the way under his arm.

  “Are you… a son of Ares or Hephaestus…?” the boy asked, regaining some of his breath while looking at Percy with faint hatred as he mentioned those two names.

  Percy frowned slightly.

  “No. I have no idea who my father is. But… could those be my parents?” he asked with mild interest.

  The boy looked at him for a moment, and the hatred in his eyes slowly faded.

  “Better if not. Otherwise you would just be part of those mafiosos,” he said, waving a hand for Jean and Daniel to stop fanning him, while giving them a nod of gratitude.

  Then his gaze shifted directly to Harry, completely ignoring Percy.

  The green eyes of both boys, shining with the same intensity, the exact same color, met each other. Harry could not help but feel that the boy’s eyes were identical copies of his own, before the other finally looked away.

  “I’m Alabaster C. Torrington. I assume they already introduced themselves,” he said, pointing at Daniel and Jean. Then he pointed at Lily.

  “She’s Lily. Just Lily,” he added, introducing the little girl, who kept handing Harry small wooden dolls and a really pretty woven pouch, embroidered with a tiny cat and filled with a couple of sweets.

  “Lily is Lily,” she said innocently, happy.

  Harry smiled back at her when he noticed his arms full of things, so he held everything with one arm while reaching into his enchanted bag with the other, pulling out a large amount of sweets and desserts his mother had prepared for him.

  Lily’s eyes widened with excitement, shining when she saw the small cream pastries. She took them without hesitation and happily started eating.

  “Wait… did you say something about mafiosos?” Percy asked, confused, remembering Alabaster’s earlier words.

  “Don’t mind him. Our dear Baster is just a little grumpy toward the other campers and their cabins,” Jean said calmly, wearing an amused smile.

  “Maybe it’s a bit of jealousy,” he added quietly.

  “I’m not jealous,” Alabaster replied proudly, his tone serious.

  “It’s just… never mind,” he added, not wanting to say more and sound openly antagonistic toward the camp.

  “Come on. That guy told me to show you where you’ll be sleeping, at least until you’re claimed by your father… or not, like everyone else,” he said, looking at Percy as he walked out of the cabin they had made themselves.

  From the way Percy felt about his attitude, it seemed more like he simply wanted to get him out of there.

  Percy glanced at Harry for a moment, and Harry only shrugged before the two of them followed.

  They walked straight toward the cabins, arranged in rows, each one marked with a specific symbol of a god. Exactly twelve cabins, each with statues standing in front of their doors.

  Alabaster guided them directly to the cabin marked with the Greek number eleven.

  “The Hermes cabin. God of travelers. Probably one of the twelve gods that creates a better atmosphere among the others, since he accepts all demigods who don’t have a home in their own cabin. Either because they have no idea who their parent is, or, like in our case, because they do know but don’t have a cabin of their own,” Alabaster explained.

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  “So there are other kids who aren’t claimed?” Percy asked quietly.

  “Many more than you think,” Alabaster replied as they entered the cabin, which was clearly packed the moment they stepped inside. Every space seemed occupied; bunk beds everywhere and, in some cases, just mattresses laid out on the floor.

  “Very few are like Hecate, who accepts every one of her children, or at least tells them. There are even cases where, after doing something that would make their parent proud, they’re finally claimed and sent to their cabin later,” he said, his expression showing both mockery and annoyance.

  “Something that would make them proud…” Percy murmured. An uncomfortable pressure formed in his chest, though he didn’t really know why. Harry looked at him for a moment, frowning as well.

  “Wait, I know this might be a bit late, but… how did you know I was, well, like you said, part of you?” Harry asked, looking at the four youths, who exchanged confused glances.

  “Didn’t your guardian tell you?” Daniel asked with a puzzled expression.

  “Guardian? You mean Grover?” Harry asked.

  “No. Not the satyr. The guardian Hecate sends to watch over us until we get here. The magical guardians,” he explained, staring at him intently.

  “Did he forget to tell you?” he added.

  Meanwhile, Mor stood in front of a worktable that seemed to glow with a golden hue, moving tools back and forth. To one side, there was something like a blazing furnace, throwing out sparks, crackling noises, and small, constant explosions.

  She lifted her head slightly, as if remembering something, then waved it off as though it did not matter and continued carefully carving runes into the object before her. A beautiful bronze sword, finely detailed, with runes engraved by her own hand, glowing incandescently.

  Back to Harry, he slowly shook his head.

  “Uh… I don’t know what guardian you’re talking about,” he said, looking at Daniel.

  “That’s strange. But well, it’s not like these guys are particularly friendly anyway,” Jean said with a faint smile.

  “The one who brought me was a really bad-tempered dwarf who just wanted to get the job done as fast as possible. He basically threw me here and I never saw him again.”

  “Besides, we all had a dream where we were told you’d be coming,” he added calmly.

  “A dream?” Harry asked.

  “Yes. We all have them here. As children of the gods, you don’t really believe they’re just normal dreams, right? For Hecate, it’s very easy to communicate that way,” he said, lowering his voice so only they could hear.

  Harry remembered that dream. The woman speaking from within the mist. He nodded slowly.

  “My guardian wasn’t that bad,” Daniel interrupted.

  “Well, okay, he was a ghost. But still, once he finished his job, I never saw him again,” he said calmly.

  “Once they complete their task, they have no reason to stay,” Alabaster explained evenly.

  “They just need to bring us here and make sure we don’t get captured along the way. After that, their job is done.”

  Harry seemed to think about something before letting out a small smile. Percy, on the other hand, looked distracted.

  “Captured, not eaten or something like that?” Harry asked.

  “Yes. Captured. Unlike other demigods, who just fight monsters…” Alabaster replied, then stopped himself.

  “You know what, no need to go into details right now,” he said, glancing briefly at Lily.

  He then led them to where they would be sleeping, which was basically two thin mattresses placed side by side. There were a few things prepared for them: a camp shirt, a pair of pants, and other basic items they would need, toothbrushes and things like that.

  “So, we’re leaving now,” Alabaster said after dropping them off.

  “Uh… but I wanted to talk a bit more with Harry,” Daniel commented, though Alabaster shot him a look that made it clear they needed to talk among themselves.

  “Tsk,” Jean clicked his tongue, already knowing what was coming, as he took Lily’s hand to lead her away with them.

  Alabaster was about to leave, but hesitated for a moment before stepping closer to Harry.

  “We still can’t fully trust you, since you’re new, not until we know your personality better,” he said frankly.

  “But I can tell you this for now. Don’t trust anyone, especially if they’re children of the Twelve.”

  At that, Harry’s gaze met Alabaster’s serious eyes. Then Alabaster turned away, leaving Harry behind with a deep frown.

  “Bye, Harry. Bye, Percy,” Lily said as she walked away with the others.

  Harry smiled back and waved goodbye.

  “Why does everyone keep telling us not to trust anyone?” Harry murmured to himself before turning around and lightly knocking Percy to pull him out of his thoughts.

  “Hm? What?” Percy asked, looking at him, confused by the hit.

  “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you don’t need to do something stupid just to—” Harry began.

  “I know. I know,” Percy interrupted quickly, knowing exactly where he was going.

  “It’s just… I can’t help wanting to know, you know?” he said, making a face.

  Harry stared at him.

  “Percy, whenever you want to know something, we end up getting into trouble. And Mom asked us not to get into trouble,” he said seriously.

  “Alright, Mr. Responsible, the one who gets into the same trouble all by himself even without me. I’ll try not to cause problems, okay?” Percy replied in a sarcastic tone, staring back at him.

  Harry let out an annoyed grunt. The worst part was that he couldn’t argue with that.

  Both of them turned their heads when they noticed someone approaching.

  When they looked back, they saw a boy slightly older than them, somewhat tall, with blond hair and a noticeable scar on his cheek. He approached them with a friendly smile.

  “I’m Luke. Welcome to camp,” he said as he looked at both of them.