Late summer at Camp Half-Blood had settled into one of those slow, golden afternoons where everything felt half-asleep. The younger campers had already gone home for the school year, leaving the camp quieter than usual. The strawberry fields stretched lazily under the sun, and the sound of waves from Long Island Sound drifted faintly through the trees.

Will Solace sat cross-legged on the steps of the Apollo cabin, squinting down at his phone.

Nico leaned against the railing beside him, dressed in his usual black, arms folded as if the warm breeze personally offended him.

“You’re staring at it like it’s going to explode,” Nico muttered.

Will sighed and turned the screen so Nico could see. “It’s the directions.”

Nico glanced down. “You’ve been looking at those for ten minutes.”

“I just want to make sure we don’t get lost.”

“We’re demigods,” Nico said flatly. “Getting lost is basically tradition.”

Will huffed a laugh despite himself.

The plan had started as a simple idea the night before. They’d been talking about what everyone was doing now that summer was ending—who was leaving, who was staying, who was heading off to mortal schools again.

That was when Percy and Annabeth came up.

They weren’t at camp anymore.

They were at New Rome University, on the West Coast, in California.

Annabeth had always dreamed of studying architecture somewhere amazing, and Percy—well, Percy had followed her like he always did.

Technically, they were freshmen now. About eighteen years old.

Which felt weird to Nico.

Percy Jackson in college sounded like a joke someone from the Hermes cabin would make.

But apparently it was real.

And somehow, somewhere between late-night conversation and Will’s sudden bursts of enthusiasm, the idea had formed.

They were going to visit.

Percy and Annabeth had no idea. Traveling to New Rome the normal way would take hours—planes, trains, and a whole lot of explaining to mortals.

But Nico wasn’t normal.

He glanced around to make sure no campers were nearby.

“Ready?” he asked.

Will nodded, stepping closer. “You good to shadow-travel that far?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Yes, doctor.”

“Just checking.”

Nico reached out, grabbing Will’s wrist.

The shadows around them deepened, pooling at their feet like ink spilling across the ground.

“Don’t let go,” Nico warned.

“I won’t.”

The world folded inward.

Darkness rushed up around them like a cold wave—silent, endless, weightless. For a moment there was nothing but shadow and the feeling of falling sideways through space.

Then—

Light burst back.

Warm sunlight. Different air. Different sounds.

Nico staggered slightly as they appeared at the edge of a wide stone road.

Will steadied him instantly, one hand on his shoulder.

“You okay?”

Nico nodded, catching his breath.

When he looked up, he almost forgot the exhaustion.

Because New Rome looked… incredible.

Wide marble streets curved between elegant buildings. Ivy climbed sunlit walls. Students moved across campus lawns carrying books and talking casually like they weren’t living in a hidden Roman demigod city.

“This place is ridiculous,” Will said under his breath.

Nico nodded faintly.

“Annabeth would love it,” he murmured.

“Annabeth does love it,” Will corrected. Students passed them without much attention—just two younger demigods wandering through the university.

Will checked his phone again.

“Dorms should be this way,” he said.

Nico stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets as they walked.

“Percy’s going to lose his mind,” he muttered.

Will laughed.

“That’s the point.”

A few minutes later they stopped outside a stone dorm building overlooking a small courtyard fountain.

Will checked the number again.

“Okay,” he said. “This is it.”

Nico raised an eyebrow.

“You’re enjoying this too much.”

Will grinned.

“Maybe.”

He stepped up to the door and knocked.

Footsteps sounded inside.

Then the door opened.

Standing there in a college sweatshirt and holding a half-eaten blue cookie was Percy Jackson.

Percy blinked. Once. Twice.

“…Nico?”

Then his eyes shifted to Will.

“…Will?”