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There, in the back corner of camp, stood the last barracks. It looked like all the others—a sturdy wooden structure, freshly painted and well-maintained, but the smells from the neighborhood definitely made it the least desirable location to bunk.

Hazel walked up to the door and put her hand on it.

“The Fifth Cohort,” she said. “My old home.”

Nico nodded. “Didn’t Percy stay here, too?”

“Yeah. And Jason. And Frank.”

“All the best people,” Will observed.

Hazel winced. “Most legionnaires would disagree. Historically, the Fifth Cohort has been for the demigods who didn’t fit in. It has a terrible reputation.”

“So…this is where we’ll be staying, then?” Will guessed.

Hazel seemed lost in thought. It took her a moment to answer. “No. I’ll show you your accommodations later. I brought you here because the Fifth is on patrol in the hills this morning. I figured it was the best place for him to wait.”

Nico’s insides started to form a knot. “Who ishim?”

“I need you both to trust me,” Hazel said.

“Of course,” Will said.

“Whywouldn’twe?” Nico added. “Also…who ishim?”

The ground rumbled beneath Nico’s feet, and tiny cracks appeared in the dirt. Skeletal fingertips began wriggling upward like earthworms escaping a flood. Without meaning to do it, he had started to raise the dead.

Will put a calming hand on his shoulder, and Nico relaxed. The dirt stopped trembling. The cracks closed.

Hazel kept her eyes fixed on the door of the barracks. “Just…promise me you won’t freak out.”

Nico nodded, though he was totally freaking out.

“Okay.” Hazel took a deep breath. She lookedterrified. “Come on in.”

She pushed through the doorway and Nico followed. It took his eyes a moment to adjust from the brightness of the morning. Rows of tidy bunk beds lined the walls. In the shadows at the far end of the room, sitting on a footlocker, was a figure that Nico’s mind couldn’t quite process.

Humanoid…sort of, but this guy was way too big to be human. He looked like a bodybuilder who had swallowed three other bodybuilders. And from the shoulders up…Nico’s first thought was that the guy was wearing a massive, exaggerated papier-mâché head, like the cabezudos he’d once seen at a Puerto Rican festival.

Will pushed in behind him. “What is it? Who— Oh…” His voice died as the creature rose to its feet. Its head nearly scraped the ceiling. It filled the space so impossibly that Nico forgot his promise to stay calm. His hand drifted to the pommel of his Stygian iron sword.

“Nico, stop!” Hazel gripped his wrist. “I can explain!”

He watched in horror as the creature stepped forward. It wore nothing but a blue cloth wrapped around its torso—a bath towel? A kilt? Thick fur covered its upper body, which was so bulked-up the creature could probably have bench-pressed the Statue of Liberty. Nico’s gaze traveled up to its bovine snout, the golden ring piercing its nostrils, the massive brown eyes, and the curved white horns that tapered to deadly points.

Nico was vaguely aware of the Cocoa Puffs dancing in a panic around his feet, yippingNope! Yikes! Nope!At his side, Will sputtered, his mouth seemingly unable to form words.

“Hazel,” Nico said at last, “is thattheMinotaur?”

The Minotaur snorted. “The name is Asterion, thank you very much.”

His voice was deep, smooth, and surprisingly relaxing, like the narrator of an audiobook.

“I—I’m sorry,” Nico stammered, “but you cantalk?”

“Hmph.” Asterion lumbered toward him, making the floorboards creak. Every molecule in Nico’s body screamed fight-or-flight, but he managed to hold his ground and keep his sword in its sheath.

The bull-man crouched to be eye to eye with them. “It figures that a demigod would assume I could not speak. Have you not come across many of my kind?”