Dylan crouched among the lush strawberry bushes, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he hid from the group of Hephaestus children he'd pranked by swapping the oil of they invention with blackberry jam. As he lay there, gazing up at the vast sky, thoughts of his brother, Luke Castellan, flickered in his mind—a tangle of conflicting emotions about intentions gone awry. A pang of longing for his brother swept over him, but the distraction faded as rustling sounds hinted at an approaching something or someone, drawing his attention back to the present moment.