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Nico was in darkness.Again.

By this point, he was just irritated. A person could only take so much terror and misery before it started to get really annoying. This weird dream-jumping through memories and events seemed so unnecessary.

I get the message!he thought.I will listen! Isn’t that good enough?

A light appeared, soft and purple.

‘What the –?’

Nico grabbed his Stygian iron sword and let its glow illuminate his surroundings. He was wedged into an egg-shaped space barely large enough to hold him. The gleaming metallic walls were cool to the touch. In front of him, etched into the bronze, were three long hash marks.

‘No,’ he said aloud, and the sound of his own voice echoed back at him. ‘You’vegotto be kidding me.’

Nico’s dream had taken him back to the jar that the giants Ephialtes and Otis had stuffed him into so he could serve as bait for the seven demigods of the prophecy. It was, all things considered, not exactly Nico’s favourite memory.

‘Here?’ Nico called out. ‘Why are you making me relive this?’

He shut his eyes and smacked the side of his head.Wake up, Nico! Wake up!

He opened his eyes again. He was still in the jar, and there, at his feet, was one lone pomegranate seed. His stomach contracted. Panic swelled in his throat. He remembered his endless hours in this jar, racked with hunger and thirst, wondering how long he could hold out before eating that pomegranate seed – his last bit of sustenance.

‘Hey, subconscious?’ said Nico. ‘If you’re trying to get me to realize something, this is a terrible way to go about it.’

He was met with silence.

Suddenly a terrible screeching sound filled the vessel as the lid was prised open. Harsh light spilled in. Nico winced and covered his eyes. This hadn’t happened in the real world. The jar hadn’t been opened until it tipped over, just before the fight with Ephialtes and Otis.

Nico tried to uncover his eyes, but the light above was still too bright. Given the strange logic of this dream ride, he wouldn’t have been surprised if Cookie Monster appeared over the mouth of the jar, reached inside and gobbled up Nico like the chocolate-chip cookie he was.

Cookie Monster did not, in fact, show up.

Percy Jackson did.

Nico gazed up into Percy’s face, which was framed by tousled black hair. His green eyes looked stormy, his mouth twisted down in concern.

There was a time when just the thought of Percy had made Nico feel an intense pit of desire in his gut. It was an unrequited desire, of course, because Percy wasnevergoing to have the same feelings for Nico. It had torn up Nico for a long, long time. After a while, though, he became used to the idea that he wanted things he couldn’t have: Percy, Bianca, his mother, stability … it was all the same. Getting over Percy was easier than Nico expected. What was one straight boy when you spent your whole life longing for the impossible?

As bizarre as this dream was, the sight of Percy was comforting to Nico. He missed his friend and was eager to get out of this stupid jar. He remembered how frail and sickly he’d been when Piper had rescued him in real life. This time felt just as difficult. He tried to untangle his stiff legs and stand so Percy could help pull him out.

The other demigods must have defeated Otis and Ephialtes already. Nico couldn’t hear anything outside the confines of his bronze prison.

Nico reached up to take Percy’s hand.

But Percy was nowfurtheraway. Even standing with his arms outstretched, Nico couldn’t reach the mouth of the jar.

Nico looked down, and his heart leaped into his throat. Either that pomegranate seed had swollen to the size of an apple … or Nico wasshrinking!

He cast another glance at Percy …

No,no! His friend was even further away! The mouth of the jarnow seemed like a skylight at the top of a cathedral’s dome, and Percy was the size of a Titan, peeking in to see what the little mortals were up to.

Percy reached in with his gigantic hand. Nico jumped high, desperate to grab hold of one of Percy’s fingers, but he just kept shrinking smaller and smaller, the walls of the jar looming around him.

‘Stop it!’ Nico cried out.

Percy pulled his hand out of the jar. His face disappeared for a few seconds. When it returned, his eyes were red and glassy.

He wascrying.