Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

i.

Piper is reasonably sure that everyone hates her. Which, to be fair, is not so different from every other place she’s been in her life.

At the very least, they seem strangely resentful, even disappointed.

The older teen girl who’d escorted them here alongside Butch has glared at them the entire way. She has the build of a linebacker and the height of a basketball player. She is easily the most intimidating person that Piper has ever met. Luckily, instead of pummeling them upon arrival, she merely storms off after Leo is claimed.

“Ignore Clarisse,” a boy with goat legs who couldn’t have been much older than her says. “She’s just hurting. After what happened a few days ago? We all are.”

A girl named Annabeth had disappeared, Piper thinks, that is what Butch had told her had happened. Their leader had disappeared and left the camp floundering, or so it seemed. Piper just didn’t know what in all the gods she was supposed to be able to do about that.

ii.

“Who was Annabeth?” Leo asks Jake.

“She was…” Jake pauses and his eyes almost go glassy as he thinks about the girl this entire camp seems to be obsessed over.

“She was— is a hero,” Jake settles on at last. “She’s brave, fearless really, and as ingenious as any Athena kid. You know Daedalus himself left his legacy to her? A laptop full of all his plans from over millennia. She’s a legend. I mean— we wouldn’t have even won the last war without her. Her and…”

Jake’s voice trails off and Leo waits for him to continue. Instead, he shakes his head.

“I’m sure you’ll find her.” Leo says, trying for reassurance. He can’t— won’t think of them as we , at least not just yet.

Jake nods, but he doesn’t seem very reassured. As Leo looks at him in his full body cast, he can’t find it in himself to say anything more.

iii.

“You were close to her, to Annabeth, weren’t you?”

Grover nods solemnly, “She was one of my best friends. I’ve known her since she was seven, I brought her to Camp myself. I don’t know where I’d be right now if I hadn’t met her — or Percy for that matter.”

Jason frowns. He doesn’t think he’s heard that name before. “Percy?”

Grover lets out a strange, panicked bleat. 

“Oh uh. He was Annabeth and I's other best friend. We… we lost him in the war.”

iv.

“Who do you think my mom is?”

“I’m not sure, Piper. If I’m being honest, Leo is incredibly lucky he was claimed so soon after arriving at Camp,” Rachel tells her.

“What do you mean?”

“The gods aren’t exactly what you’d call… attentive. There’s no telling how long it could take for your mom to claim you, or if she ever will. After the war, we thought it would be better but it isn’t. Nothing’s changed, not really. The only thing that’s different is the friends that are gone. And never coming back.

v.

“It’s happening, isn’t it Rachel?”

“I think so, Grover.”

“So much for not happening within our lifetimes.”

vi.

“So, you’re an Aphrodite kid, huh Punk?”

Piper jolts. Despite her size, Clarisse had managed to sneak up on her entirely unnoticed.

“Uh, yeah, I guess. You’re Clarisse, right? Thanks for getting us here.”

Clarisse grunts. “What’s the problem? Not too pumped to be a daughter of love?”

Piper pauses to consider her answer. She was confused as to why Clarisse, who’d been so cold to her up until now, was even talking to her. 

“I don’t know, it’s just kind of… not what I had in mind. Besides, the head counselor is pretty horrible.”

Clarisse snorts and says “Drew? Yeah, she’s a sadistic wretch. I liked the last counselor much better.”

Piper pauses, interest piqued. Did she mean the counselor that Drew said had been helping the enemy?

“The last counselor? You mean Silena? Drew said that she was a spy.”

Piper regrets everything the moment the words come out of her mouth. Clarisse freezes up, her hands ball into fists, and her eyes have fire in them. This, Piper thinks, is a true daughter of war.

“Tanaka said what ?!” Clarisse bellows. “Oh, that bitch is gonna pay!”

vii.

Jason can’t help but feel unnerved, stripped bare, under the Oracle’s discerning gaze. He’s sure that she must know that he doesn’t belong here.

“—and besides,” Rachel is saying, “ever since the gods went silent, I don’t really have much of a choice other than to trust my gut.”

“Wait, what? What do you mean ‘went silent’?”

“Oh, well, don’t get me wrong, the gods are distant, to say the least. They don’t talk to us much, but it’s still normal to have at least some contact with them. Sometimes it’s dreams but other times it’s more direct. But a month ago or so, Olympus closed itself off from the world. Messages from the gods just stopped coming. I can’t count the number of times I’ve prayed to Apollo, my patron god. He’s one of the more, ah, talkative gods. And even he’s gone silent.”

“You’ve gotten nothing at all?”

“Nope. Annabeth, um, thought that there might’ve been one god who she could get in contact with. She was sure that he was sending her visions to help her figure out what was going on. Nothing panned out though. I’m still not sure if she was actually getting visions, or if she had just convinced herself she was.”

viii.

“This spear of mine? Her name is Aphrodite’s Wrath. Tanaka’s an idiot if she thinks Aphrodite kids aren’t fighters. Silena was a hero, Piper, just like you’re going to be. But first, you need a weapon.”

Strangely enough, Piper thinks she’s starting to like Clarisse. As she looks around the shed, something glinting in the corner catches her eye.

“Is that a knife?”

Clarisse raises an eyebrow and guffaws. “Good eye, Piper. Let me tell you about that knife. I think Silena would approve.”

ix.

Jason goggles at Leo. 

“You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, ‘festus’ means ‘happy’? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?”

The dragon twitches and everyone takes a few steps back.

“That’s a yes, bro! Now c’mon, you guys! We should really get going, I already got a bunch of supplies. We’re ready. Plus all of these people are kinda making Festus nervous.”

“But—” Piper starts. She’s not anywhere near ready to go. She can’t do this.

Jason grabs her hand, but before he can say anything, Clarisse does.

“You got this, Punk. Don’t worry about anyone else, just worry about you. You can do this. Now go, and make your cabin proud!

x.

Jason dreams of the ocean.

Chapter Text

xi.

Rachel is not a demigod. She has not prayed to distant gods and far-off beings for half her life. She is a stranger to this world.

Still.

Apollo may not be answering her pleading, but there is one god who she hopes won’t be as distant as the rest, won’t be as complacent as the rest.

So she prays. Because what else can she do?

Protect her, please protect her. It’s always been her, not me. You know that as well as I do. No matter where you are now, no matter what you are now, I know you’d never forgive yourself if she got hurt. So please, protect her, wherever she is.

As she lays down to sleep that night, she hopes she’ll be able to seek him out in her dreams, as she has hoped every night since the war.

And just like every other night since the war, she finds herself trapped in darkness on an endless beach, the ocean and all of its untold power in front of her. There are no stars.

xii.

The moment Jason mentions his name, the Boreads turn on him and Jason’s voice falters as they question him.

“No,” says Zethes decidedly as he squints at Jason’s face, “he is not our Jason. Our Jason was more stylish. Not as much as me — but stylish. Besides, our Jason died millennia ago.”

They couldn’t possibly mean the Jason of myth, the one that he himself is named for? But then again, these are gods, after all. And Jason has learned to throw away his expectations when talking to gods. At least, he thinks he has. He’s not sure where that thought came from.

“Wait,” he says, “ Your Jason… you mean the original Jason? The Golden Fleece guy?”

“Of course,” Zethes says easily. “We were his crewmates aboard his ship, the Argo , in the old times, when we were mortal demigods. Then we accepted immortality to serve our father, so I could look good for all time, and my silly brother could enjoy pizza and hockey.”

“Hockey!” Cal agrees.

“But Jason — our Jason — he died a mortal death. He did not ascend to godhood as we did.” Zethes sniffs. “Or that one hero at the end of the war. He was the first hero in hundreds of years to take on godhood, you know.”

Zethes eyes them then, as if he expects them to be impressed. After a moment, seemingly disappointed by their quiet reactions, he continues on merrily.

Jason hurries to listen, but he’s more than distracted now. A god ? There’d been a hero turned god mere months ago? This is… huge information. Information that Jason can’t begin to understand why he’d not even heard a whisper of gossip about it while still at Camp. Leo is murmuring astounded Spanish under his breath and Piper is staring dead ahead, eyebrows furrowed and lost in thought. At least he isn’t the only one confused. Jason brushes some hair back and tries to focus back in on what Zethes is saying.

“I do wonder sometimes what happened to him,” Zethes says in a faux-whisper, as if sharing a conspiracy. Suddenly, he smiles. “Oh, well! Nevermind all that, back to you, Jason who can’t be our Jason.”

“I’m not,” Jason agrees. “But wait, what hero was—”

“So, destroy?” Cal interrupts, and wow, some gods seriously have a one-track mind. Jason wishes he could bang his head on a table. What he wants to do is ask about this mystery hero who he has somehow heard nothing about despite Camp Half-Blood being ripe with gossiping teenagers. Unfortunately, he has more pressing matters at the moment. Like the hockey-obsessed Boread who wants to smite him.

Jason doesn’t even notice when the knowledge he’s just gained, of a demigod granted the gift of godhood, fades to the back of his mind.

xiii.

The woman opens her door slowly at first, and then faster when she sees who it is. The man on the couch gazes forlornly at her.

“Grover!” The woman exclaims. “It’s been so long since we’ve talked, is there any news?”

Her voice betrays her desperation.

“No, there isn’t, on either front. I’m so sorry, Sally.”

The woman wipes a tear from an eye. She sighs. The man rises from the couch and walks over to her, puts a hand on her shoulder in a silent gesture of support.

She looks the satyr in the eye and says, with surprising steel in her voice, “We’re going to find her, Grover, we’re going to find both of them.”

xiv.

Piper can’t help but think this is the worst road trip of her life.

Granted, she hasn’t actually been on that many. And even the ones she has taken with her dad had been fine. No annoying sibling for Piper to fight with, no absent mother for her dad to fight with, she supposes is the problem.

And that’s exactly what Leo is. He’s her brother. (In the back of her mind, Piper thinks, technically, he’s her step-brother, strictly weird godly relationships-wise). Jason though, she keeps hoping against it all that he could maybe be something more to her. She’s not sure if that’ll ever happen, though.

But back to this horrible road trip. Piper has crossed the country, met multiple people who had died thousands of years ago, and been literally turned into gold. Even if she had actually grown up having the stereotypical American road trips from time to time, she doubts any of these hypothetical trips could have even begun to compare to this trip.

What’s next? Piper wonders. Vampires?

Turns out, it’s werewolves. Why, oh why, had Piper even asked?

Before they can die horribly, however, the Hunters of Artemis descend upon them, saving them easily.

Jason’s sister, a girl named Thalia, turns out to be pretty awesome and a total badass.

Piper just wishes they could spend more time in their wonderful, heated tents with their delicious hot chocolate.

Alas, they have to go rescue a goddess.

xv.

“She’ll be fine,” Rachel placates.

“She better be,” Clarisse mutters. In her hand, a near-empty can of root beer is crushed, a casualty of her worry.

Clarisse’ll be damned if she loses another Aphrodite kid too brave for her own good.

xvi.

In the end, they somehow manage to do it. They break the cage, rescue a goddess, do what they set out to do.

All the while, Annabeth Chase sleeps.

xvii.

Piper hopes she’ll forever remember the look on Drew’s face the moment she realized that Piper had beaten her. By the afternoon, though, she’s distracted with thoughts of calling her dad. After his break down in California, Piper had been shaken, heartbroken, really. But the memory potion had worked. According to the paper that Chiron had shown her at lunch, her dad had claimed not to have any memory of the past week at all. She hates doing this to him, but she finally understands what Aphrodite had known all those years ago. Her dad simply cannot handle knowing he lives in a world of gods and monsters. 

As Piper looks around the office while phone dials, she finds her eyes drawn to the plastered photos of demigods covering most of the wall space. Instinctively, she focuses in on one of the newer photos. It’s an image of maybe half a dozen teens. She recognizes Clarisse along with a few other demigods she’s seen at Camp but can’t put names to. On one side of Clarisse, there’s a scowling, emo-looking kid in an aviator’s jacket, and on the other side, Piper recognizes Grover, who, more or less, looks exactly the same. Beside Grover, in the center of the image, there is a tall teen maybe a year or so older than Piper. Her mouth is drawn into a hard line, her eyes empty with loss. She’s intimidating and imposing. Though she’d never seen a picture of her before, Piper can tell that this is Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena, Hero of Olympus.

In the moment before her dad picks up the phone, Piper wonders who it was that she had lost to make her look like that.

xviii.

The council is nothing and everything like Leo expected.

The revelation, on the other hand, takes him a few moments, but even he understands the severity of it, the significance.

“An exchange goes two ways,” Jason is saying. “When I got here, my memory was wiped. I didn’t know who I was or where I belonged. Fortunately, you guys took me in and I found a new home. I know you’re not my enemy. The Roman camp — they’re not so friendly. You prove your worth, or you don’t survive. They may not be so nice to her, and if they learn where she comes from, she’s going to be in serious trouble.”

“Her?” Leo says. “Who are you talking about?”

“Annabeth,” Clarisse says, voice harsh and steely. “She disappeared around the same time Grace appeared. If Jason came to Camp Half-Blood—”

“Exactly,” Jason agrees. “Annabeth Chase is at the other camp, and she probably doesn’t even remember who she is.”

xix.

The months pass uneasily. There is a certain tension that they’ve all come to recognize. But as Leo takes charge of building the Argo II , they find ways to pass the time, not the least of which is listening to stories from before the war, regalements of the great and insane feats that the demigod that somehow they are rescuing and not the other way around has accomplished.

Soon enough, Jason, Leo, and Piper find themselves sitting outside the bunker under the stars in April, tired after a long day of working on the Argo II .

“Okay, that’s it for this section then. We’re almost there, guys. A month more, maybe less, and we’ll be off to save the world. You think you’re ready, Beauty Queen?”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready,” Piper says, glancing over at Jason to find him frowning. “Jason, are you okay?”

“Yes, yeah. I’m fine. It’s just— I know I’m Roman, and all, but I’m really going to miss Camp Half-Blood.”

“You and me both,” Piper says, almost surprised by the honesty in her voice. She thinks she has more friends now than she’s ever had in her life. Cumulatively, even. Rachel, for sure, but especially (and strangely enough) Clarisse, who’d become something of a friend and mentor to Piper. Clarisse had freely spent hours of her surely precious time training with the Piper in the arena, preparing her for the quest ahead. Piper isn’t sure she’ll ever be able to repay her.

Leo gives a rare, somber smile. “Me too,” he says, and it still seems so strange, that he can so easily count all these people, not just Piper and Jason, among his friends. “Those Hephaestus kids? They’re all right.”

Jasons wraps an arm around each of their shoulders.

“We can do this, guys, I believe in us. One more month.” Jason promises them. “One more month,” he repeats, “and then we go find Annabeth Chase, stop Gaea from rising, and make our Camp proud.”

And what an odd world, Leo thinks, that he actually believes Jason.

xx.

Far, far away, in an old house, now nothing more than ruins composed of red and gray stones and rough-hewn timber beams, Annabeth Chase awakens.

Chapter Text

xxi.

“Conquer or die,” the wolf growls.

It seems like that is all Lupa ever tells her.

xxii.

At night, the girl dreams that she is standing on a pier. There’s a boy just before her, in the water of a lake. He’s fallen out of his canoe. The current of the lake tries to pull him father out into the open water but she just laughs and kneels down, grabbing one of his hands.

“Hold on, Percy,” she calls out to him, determined but unafraid, “you’re not getting away from me that easily.”

xxiii.

Today, the wolf is not a wolf, instead, she is a tall woman, taller than any human the girl has ever seen. Her skin is a dark tan and her coppery red hair is braided back. Her eyes remain the same, as silver as mist. This is not the first time Lupa has taken the form of a human woman, but this is the first time she has fought her with such ferocity. Lupa has taught the girl many things, she has trained and honed her skills. Today Lupa is putting what the girl has learned to the test.

“Conquer or die, godling, conquer or die.” Lupa instructs.

At one point, the girl manages to knock the wolf (because even in human form, everything Lupa does makes the girl’s instincts scream predator ) down for a moment. Lupa bares her sharp teeth in approval.

“You are improving, Annabeth Chase,” Lupa tells her.

And… is that the girl’s name? It strikes her for a moment what an injustice it is that she is only learning her name for the first time as a reward . But Lupa is training her in the ways of her own. These ways are harsh and unyielding, they are unsympathetic. And so the girl, Annabeth , will take this note down and file it away somewhere in the depths of her mind to be drawn forth when it is most useful to do so. She will keep her mouth shut and continue to train to be the most fearsome warrior she is capable of being.

xxiv.

Percy. Percy. Percy.

His name echoes inside her mind.

Percy. Percy. Percy.

Her dreams are haunted more often than not by a boy with sea-green eyes. He stands knee-deep in the surf of a raging ocean, always calling out to her. She can never hear him, no matter how much she strains to. All she hears is the sound of waves beating down on a beach.

Percy. Percy. Percy

Who is he to her?

xxv.

Annabeth doesn’t know what it is about Lupa’s training that feels so strange, so wrong . Foreign. 

There’s too much jabbing and thrusting. Her footwork is off. Her weapon is unnatural. It makes Annabeth feel uneasy.

So she compartmentalizes. She places all that feels good and natural inside a box at the back of her mind, locks it up tight. She absorbs what Lupa teaches her like she’s a sponge.

She doesn’t know much more besides her name (and his name) but this? Biding her time? Holding her cards close to her chest? This feels natural. Instinctual. So this is what she does.

She eats. She sleeps. She trains. 

What else is there?

(There’s him)

xxvi.
“This is where I leave you,” the wolf intones to her one warm day. “Her minions draw nearer every day, and so I must depart. You will continue in this direction for some time before you come upon a tunnel. From there, you will have to find your own way. And you must, if you ever wish to see that boy again.”

Annabeth inhales sharply. “Will he be there?”

Lupa’s head tilts, she seems to be trying to judge Annabeth’s intention. 

“He will not,” Lupa says, voice flat and unsympathetic. “However, if you continue down this path, you will find him eventually.”

Annabeth isn’t satisfied with that answer, but she has known this wolf-being for long enough to understand that she could poke and prod and fish for information to her heart’s content and still wouldn’t be able to get any information that Lupa doesn’t want her to know. Annabeth chooses her battles, and this is not one she can win. So she doesn’t protest, doesn’t argue, just inclines her head slightly in acknowledgment.

“Okay,” Annabeth says, almost startled by the surety in her voice. “I’ll do it. I’m ready.” I’ll find him.

Lupa looks her up and down, appraising her. She gives a short nod.

“Yes,” Lupa says finally. “You are ready, indeed. You have grown more fearsome than most of the demigods I have trained. Now go, child. And remember, conquer or die.”

Lupa does not wait for Annabeth to leave before sprinting off. Before Annabeth can say anything, whether of protest or of farewell, the wolf is gone, not a trace of her left.

xxvii.

“You’ve managed to elude us thus far, Annabeth Chase, but you have nowhere else to run!” Euryale says and cackles while Stheno hisses.

Annabeth narrows her eyes. She thoroughly dislikes the both of them. The sisters had been chasing her for the better part of the day and Annabeth has killed each of them no less than half a dozen times each already. They just keep reforming. She has long since begun to tire. But Annabeth is so close, she can see the tunnel now. It lies barely a few hundred meters away. There are two tunnel entrances through the hillside, one for each lane of traffic. But between the entrances, she can clearly see a large metal door. Beside the door, two kids in armor stand guard.

That has to be it.

Annabeth returns her focus to the two gorgons closing in on her. They have her trapped in the corner of a walled-in parking lot. Or at least, they think they do.

Annabeth smirks and charges Euryale. Euryale merely grins in anticipation while Stheno looks on delightedly from the sideline. At the last second, however, Annabeth switches directions and sprints toward Stheno, who is completely unprepared for her attack. Annabeth jabs and slashes at Stheno’s hip with her knife before rolling out of the way of the retaliation. Once Annabeth is no longer cornered, she makes a break for a burly biker sitting at the entrance of the parking lot and talking on his phone. When she gets close enough, she elbows him in the optimal places to have him keel over immediately. When she pushes him off the bike, he makes no effort to stop her besides some groaning noises. 

Annabeth hops on and speeds away, leaving the gorgons in her dust.

xxviii.

In no time, Annabeth finds herself at the bottom of a hill. All she needs to do is cross a few lanes of traffic and she’ll be there. Wherever there is, at least.

Glancing back the way she came from, Annabeth finds that the gorgons aren’t very far behind. The cars, meanwhile, are zooming by. Anyone who crosses is extremely liable to be run over. Except, she doesn’t see any other way to get to the door, at least not a way that would get her there before Euryale and Stheno caught up with her.

Shit.

She’s going to have to cross, isn’t she?

“Yes, you are,” a strangely familiar voice says.

Annabeth makes an embarrassing half-aborted yelp. She turns to her left. There, a step or so behind her, is an older, hippie-looking woman. Her dress is made of old tie-dyed cloth and ripped-up quilts, among other things. Her frizzy mop of gray-brown hair is held back with a headband. Her face is dotted by warts and moles.

“If you want to get to camp, that’s the only way.” The woman looks at Annabeth in her dirty orange shirt and definitely not intentionally-ripped jeans. She sniffs derisively. 

“Honestly, I’m surprised you even made it here this soon. I thought for sure it would take you another week.”

Annabeth is not sure how she’s supposed to respond to that.

“Uh, thank you?”

“It was not a compliment, godling.”

Yeah, so. This is happening.

“Right… Um, sorry, just— who are you?”

“Oh, you can just call me June!” The old lady seems strangely pleased with herself, like she’s finding humor in some sort of inside joke. 

“Nice to meet you, I guess? Look, uh, June, is it? I really have to get moving but you should probably leave as well. There’s a couple of gorgons coming this way, June,” Annabeth warns her, “so you should really get on your way. It’s not safe.”

“Oh, how uncharacteristically kind of you!” The old woman coos at her. Annabeth is really starting to hate this lady. “But alas, no, that is part of your choice, you see.”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh yes, dear,” June continues as if she has all the time in the world and there aren’t two gorgons on their tail. “You can move on with your life. You’re a clever one, I’m sure you’ll be fine, and you could live out the rest of your days in safety and security. The gorgons will be perfectly content to attack me and forget about you. You could begin anew, live to a ripe old age, and escape a great deal of pain and misery that is in your future.”

As appealing as it sounds, this is going to be one of those choices that aren’t really choices, isn’t it?

“Or?”

“Or you could help a little old lady out, and carry me to camp with you.”

“You want me to… carry you?”

“Oh yes!” The old woman exclaims, delighted for some unimaginable reason. “I can’t get there all by myself, after all! You must carry me to camp — across the highway, through the tunnel, and across the river.”

“Uh-huh,” Annabeth says skeptically. She doesn’t know who June is, but Annabeth is pretty sure she’s stronger than she looks. “And why, exactly, would I be carrying you there?

“Because it is the kind thing to do!” She admonishes Annabeth, as if appalled Annabeth thought there should have been any other reason when there were two gorgons chasing after her. June scoffs. “ Also , if you don’t carry me there, the gods will fade, the world will end, and all your friends and family from your past will perish!” And then June smiles and shrugs, as if she couldn’t care either way what choice Annabeth made.

Annabeth sighs and tries to focus for a moment. A thought occurs to her. “If— if I go to the camp, if I carry you there… Will I get my memory back?”

June humms. “Oh eventually, sure. Though the road there will be full of sacrifice, heartbreak, and pain.”

That doesn’t sound very good. But Annabeth thinks about the boy in her dreams, Percy , the only connection she has to her past. A boy who she thinks she might have been— in love with. 

Annabeth thinks of that image of him — standing in the surf and calling out for her. He had seemed so… desperate. He had looked at her as if she was his lifeline. Who was she to him, that he would look at her like that?

There’s no question about it.

She has to find him.

“Okay,” Annabeth says, “I’ll carry you.”

Annabeth beckons to June to come closer. Then she bends over. She grabs one arm in one hand and a leg in the other hand before tossing June over her shoulders in a fireman’s carry. June yelps in surprise. Whatever she had expected, it wasn’t this.

“Hey!” June exclaims in protest. “You’re not going to— I don’t know… bring me there in a bridal carry?” She sounds aghast.

Annabeth snorts. “Nope.”

“But—”

“Nope. Now c’mon, let’s go.”

xxix.

“Uh,” Frank says. “Are you seeing this, too?”

There’s a girl with messy blonde hair around his age, maybe a little older, running across the highway with an old woman slung over her shoulders. As he watches, she nimbly dodges cars speeding by, as if this is something she does every day. Maybe 50 yards away, he spots two flying creatures with bat-like wings swooping down from over-head.

Hazel is wide-eyed. “I think so. Frank, those look like gorgons! Shoot them!”

Yeah, that would probably be a good idea. Frank nocks back an arrow and shoots as Hazel readies her spear.

Just before the girl reaches them, Frank nails one in the forehead.

“Nice!” The girl says appreciatively.

Frank just frowns. “That should’ve killed her!”

“Yes,” the girl agrees, “you would think that, wouldn’t you?”

“Frank,” Hazel says, “get them inside! Go!”

“Will the door hold?” The girl asks. With her disheveled hair and distressed clothing, she looks almost feral.

The old woman over her shoulders cackles. “Nope! It definitely will not. Now, onward, Annabeth Chase! Through the tunnel, over the river!”

xxx.

As they sprint through the tunnel, Annabeth feels the ground shake and hears the rumble of falling stone.

“Is she going to be alright?” Annabeth asks.

“Hazel will be fine, I think, she’s good underground. C’mon,” Frank says. “We’re almost there!”

“Almost where?”

Annabeth is pretty sure she knows. Nonetheless, confirmation would be good.

“All roads lead there, godling. You should know that.”

“Rome?”

“Indeed.”

They sprint as fast as their legs can carry them and eventually emerge into a valley awash with sunshine. Just before them lies a river that exudes power.

“The Little Tiber,” June says. “This is your last chance to back out, godling. Once you cross, you will have set forth on a path that has been engineered for generations. Will you take the plunge?”

Annabeth considers for a moment. Sure, she could back out now. Drop the old lady on her ungrateful ass. Go off and start a new life. 

But.

Somewhere in her past, there is a boy who looks at her like she is his world. Is it selfish of her if all she wants to do is find him?

Lupa had said that if she wanted to see him again, she would have to continue on this path. And June had at least said that she would get her memories back eventually if she did this. On the other hand, does she have any guarantee of getting her memory back if she leaves now? Of ever finding this ghost of a boy who haunts her dreams?

There’s only one real choice then.

Percy , Annabeth thinks, and she forges into the river without hesitation.

The water on her skin feels like ice. If it were any faster moving, she thinks it would leave rashes on her skin.

In no time, she finds herself emerging on the opposite river bank. Frank and Hazel follow behind her. Annabeth drops June unceremoniously onto the ground. June brushes herself off with a huff while Annabeth and Hazel pant. 

But Frank isn’t to shore yet. He’s past halfway, mere meters from shore, when the gorgons swoop from the sky and grab an arm each. Franks scream in pain as their claws dig into his skin.

There are sentries rushing towards them, some with bows and some with swords. But the archers wouldn’t be able to get a clear shot and the swordsmen are far enough away that they would be too late.

In a fraction of a second, Annabeth makes her decision. She sprints back towards the river and jumps once she’s a few feet out, soaring towards the gorgons. She doesn’t need to go far, she’s timed it so she’ll be just close enough to… there!

Annabeth has pulled her knife out and draws it through Stheno as she falls. Her knife tears through Stheno’s torso from her collarbone to her naval like it’s tissue paper. As Stheno turns to dust, Annabeth turns away and clambers onto Frank like he’s a tree. She maneuvers herself onto his shoulders before using them to launch onto Euryale and slash her throat. 

Annabeth lands easily in the thigh-deep water, grabs Frank’s hand, and tugs him to shore. Once there, she turns back to the river to gaze appreciatively at her work. The water is clear enough that she can see glittering clouds of gorgon essence struggling to reform, but the river is relentless. The current pulls the clouds apart with ease and sweeps them downstream. Hopefully, it will keep them from reforming, at least for a little while.

It is only then that Annabeth notices how utterly silent it is. All the sentries and kids who had come running are staring at her. 

“Well, that was a lovely trip, if a bit unorthodox,” June says, unfazed. “Thank you, Annabeth Chase, for bringing me to Camp Jupiter.”

Distantly, Annabeth hears a strangled voice gasp out, “Annabeth… Chase?”

Annabeth files that away for later as June laughs. “Oh, yes. You’ll have such fun together!”

And then June somehow begins to glow and change form. Suddenly, June is gone and in her place is a shining, seven-foot-tall goddess in a blue dress and a cloak. In her hand is a staff topped with a lotus flower.

All around Annabeth, campers begin to kneel. Annabeth is left the only one still standing.

“Juno,” Hazel says.

Annabeth narrows her eyes. “Juno, huh? If it’s at all possible, could I have my memory and my life back? I passed your test, didn’t I?”

The goddess purses her lips. “In time, Annabeth Chase, if you succeed here at camp. I admit, you have done surprisingly well today, which is a good start. You were certainly not my first choice, but given the unforeseen circumstances…  I suppose you were the best I could do. Nevertheless, perhaps there is hope for you yet.”

Juno turns away from Annabeth and to the other kids. “Romans, I present to you the daughter of Minerva. For months, she has been slumbering, but now she is awake. Her fate is in your hands. The Feast of Fortune comes quickly, and Death must be unleashed if you are to stand any hope in the battle to come. Do not fail me!”

Juno shimmers and disappears. Annabeth turns to Frank and Hazel, but they are just as confused as he is. In Frank's hands, she spots two clay flasks and watches as he pockets them. They’d probably be talking about that later. For now, Annabeth has other concerns.

A girl in a purple cloak steps forward. Annabeth thinks this is the person who had choked out her name earlier. She examines Annabeth warily. 

“So,” she says coldly, “a daughter of Minerva, who comes to us with the blessing of Juno.”

Annabeth debates asking if the girl knows her, but decides that no, that was probably a conversation that would go over better in private.

“Hazel,” the girl says, “bring her inside. I want to question her at the principia. Then we’ll send her to Octavian. We must consult the auguries before we decide what to do with her.”

Annabeth bites her lip. “What do you mean ‘decide what to do with’ me?”

The girl tenses up. “Before we accept anyone into camp, we must interrogate them and read the auguries. Juno said your fate is in our hands. We have to know whether the goddess has brought us a new recruit… Or if she’s brought us an enemy to kill.”

Chapter Text

xxxi.

“ Gracus ,” a shimmering purple form hisses at her and disappears

He is not the first.

He will not be the last.

xxxii.

Reyna leads her to the principia. Hazel and Frank have since left. They are alone. 

It occurs to Annabeth how easy it would be for Reyna to attack, to slit her throat and hide the body.

She shakes the thought from her head. 

Annabeth considers the girl in front of her, with her glossy black hair and piercing obsidian eyes. With Reyna’s immaculate posture and chin held high, she looks practically regal. But there is a glint of something in her eyes, a spark, something that makes Annabeth think she’d be ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. Ready to kill a man in the time between one breath and the next. 

And yet, despite all that, the most off putting part is that, well, Annabeth is sure that she’s seen her before.

“I know you, don’t I? My memory is gone but you— you seem familiar.”

Reyna purses her lips, her expression unreadable.

“First things first,” Reyna says, “tell me your story. You say your memory is gone? All of it? How did you get here? And don’t lie. My dogs do not like liars. This is your only warning.”

Annabeth glances at the metallic greyhounds at Reyna’s side. She decides not to test it.

Instead, she does as Reyna asks, and describes what she remembers from the very beginning. She talks about waking up at the demolished mansion in the woods. She recalls the time she spent with Lupa and her pack, learning their language, learning to survive and fight.

Reyna’s expression, or lack of one, never falters.

“And you’re a child of Minerva?”

Annabeth’s expression hardens. Of everything she has told Reyna, why is her parentage the thing that is in doubt?

“Yes? Is that— is that a bad thing? Aren’t there other Minerva kids here?”

Reyna hums and stares at Annabeth like she’s a dead mouse in her grasp to be dissected slowly, piece by piece. 

“Minerva is an eternal maiden, along the lines of Diana and Vesta. Romans take vows of maidenhood very seriously, Annabeth. The Vestal Virgins, for instance… if they broke their

vows and fell in love with anyone, they would be buried alive. The idea of a maiden goddess having children? It’s foreign to us. Unthinkable, practically sacri—”

“Got it.” She feels like there’s a hand around her neck, squeezing tighter by the moment. 

“I suppose there was the— no, nevermind”

“It’s nothing,” Reyna says. It doesn’t sound like nothing. But Reyna’s tone makes it clear that they are done with the subject.

“Anyway,” Reyna says, “you say you remember nothing from before you woke up at the Wolf House?”

“Nothing solid. Blurry fragments, maybe, but not much more than that.” Annabeth doesn’t want to lie, but— she doesn't want to mention Percy either. 

Her entire self is being laid bare, but if she can have just one thing, just one little thing to keep to herself, she wants it to be this distant memory of a boy who holds her tight, as if to lose her would be to lose everything. If this is all she can have for herself, then so be it.

xxxiii.

“We’re all children of the gods, not always major gods though,” Hazel explains. “Or even minor gods. Plenty of campers are legacies — second or third generation. Maybe their parents were demigods. Or their grandparents.”

Annabeth frowns. “Children of demigods?”

Hazel raises an eyebrow. “Hm? Is that surprising?”

Annabeth opens her mouth to speak and then pauses, unsure of what she was about to say. There’s something about living so long, about finding someone who will love you as you love them, about finding someone who will stay and not leave her, not disappear from even her memories, that just seems so— so unattainable and implausible. 

The good all die young.

xxxiv.

After they pass the Temple of Minerva — a gray, deserted building — Annabeth spots a small building with a rusty trident nailed above the door. Poseidon, she thinks. Or— no, it would be Neptune.

She peeks inside. A bowl sits upon an altar containing but three dried-up and moldy apples.

There is something that strikes her as just so… wrong about this. Wrong in a way that even Minerva's bare temple didn't feel like.

Neptune is not her parent, no, but there is something about the domain of the sea that feels so strangely like home. 

To disregard him so feels almost like betraying the family she can’t remember.

Annabeth reaches into her backpack and pulls out her last few granola bars. It’s not much, it’s barely anything, but it’s something. She places it on the altar.

She wants to say something, a prayer maybe, but she doesn’t know what. So she says nothing and sprints back toward Hazel as red lightning lit up the hill, running from home, instead of toward it. 

“Octavian’s almost done,” Hazel says. “Let’s go.”

xxxv.

Like so many things in this camp, Octavian is just almost not-quite familiar. The details are wrong, but he nonetheless reminds her of someone she cannot remember.

He gives her an unsettling smile and chooses a stuffed owl from his repertoire. He mutilates it with a knife, slashes it and pours the stuffing out over the altar. He mutters a few unintelligible words and turns to her with a smirk.

“Good news! The Minerva-spawn may join the legion. We’ll assign her a cohort at

evening muster.”

xxxvi.

“I know you, don’t I? I do, I’m sure of it.”

Hazel’s brother tilts his head and narrows his eyebrows.

“Do you? It’s certainly possible,” Nico says. His words — his expressions — betray nothing.

“Annabeth’s lost her memory,” Hazel explains what has happened since Annabeth arrived at the gates. “I thought…you know, you travel all over. Maybe you’ve met demigods like Annabeth before, maybe other children of Minerva, or… ”

Nico’s expression turns dark and Annabeth doesn’t miss the silent communication between him and his sister. They’re hiding something — he’s hiding something. It’s okay though. Annabeth will figure it out. She’s barely known herself a few weeks but she knows this about herself. She is not the type to let sleeping dogs lie. She will find out what Nico is hiding from her.

Later, when she is long gone, Hazel and Nico sit alone.

“You know her, don’t you?” Hazel asks. It’s not really a question so much as a request for confirmation. Hazel had seen the panicked look in his eyes when he had first sighted Annabeth. They have not grown up together, they haven’t even known each other for long, but Hazel has found that already she knows Nico better than most people in her life. This one… and the last. 

Nico stares off into the distance.

“Annabeth Chase,” Nico says. He sighs and says to her, “Hazel, I have to be careful what I say. Important things are at work here. Some secrets need to stay secret. You of all people — you should understand that.”

“She’s not — she’s not like me?”

Nico shakes his head. “No. I’m sorry I can’t tell you more, really, but I can’t interfere. Annaebth has to find her own way at camp.”

Hazel is silent for a moment, then, quietly: “Is she dangerous?”

Nico replies honestly. “She’s one of the most dangerous people I’ve ever met. She might not have powers like you or me — but she’s beyond competent at battle. And her mind… She’s a force to be reckoned with, that’s for sure. But only to her enemies. She’s not a threat to Camp Jupiter, I promise. You can trust her.”

He sounds sure, uncompromising and confident in what he’s telling her. But Hazel can’t help but notice that he seems a little sad as he says that she can trust Annabeth. 

xxxvii.

“Will any legionnaires stand for Annabeth Chase, daughter of Minerva?”

Annabeth can hear the mockery in Octavian’s voice. Her mouth hardens into a line and she balls her hands into fists. She is in control, not Octavian. Annabeth is in control.

Frank steps forward, and she feels her heart warm. They barely know each other, and already he is ready to stand for her.

“I will!” Frank says. “She saved my life!”

But immediately there are shouts of protest. Reyna raises her hand for silence and glares at Frank.

“Frank Zhang,” Reyna says, “you are on probatio. Your godly parent has not even claimed you yet. You’re not eligible to stand for another camper until you’ve earned your first stripe.”

Frank reddens. Before something else can go wrong, Hazel steps forward.

“What Frank means is that Annabeth saved both of our lives. I am a full member of the legion. I will stand for Annabeth Chase.

After turning briefly to Octavian, who shrugs and smiles in amusement, Reyna nods decisively.

“Very well,” Reyna announces. Her voice carries easily. Annabeth thinks she was made to be in charge. “Hazel Levesque, you may stand for the recruit. Does your cohort accept him?”

There are coughs, thinly veiled laughs from the other cohorts. Annabeth bites her lip.

Yet, without fail, Frank pounds his shield against the ground. Other members of the Fifth follow his lead, but it seems half-hearted. 

“My cohort has spoken,” a centurion says. He looks pained. “We accept the recruit.”

Despite having been accepted into a cohort, Annabeth feels as if she’s been condemned to a particularly grisly death.

xxxviii.

Just before the war games, Annabeth finds herself alone with Frank. They’re talking about the gods when, abruptly, Frank changes the subject.

“Listen,” Frank says, “about those vials I found at the river—”

“Gorgon’s blood,” Annabeth says. ”One vial heals. One is deadly poison.”

Frank’s eyes go wide. “You know about that? Annabeth, I— I wasn’t going to keep them, I just—”

“It’s okay, Frank. Don’t worry about it.” Annabeth smiles at him. She doesn’t think he took them out of wholly innocent reasons — but Frank is a good person nonetheless. That’s more than she can say for some people at this camp. But she does not expect people to be perfect all the time, nor does she want them to be. “I’d rather have you take them for safekeeping over most people in this camp.”

“Oh,” Frank says. He sighs. “Thanks, I guess. I’m still sorry I took them. I was just thinking though, if we could figure out which vial was which, we might be able to heal your memory.”

Annabeth gives him a small smile. She squeezes his shoulder. She’s just a teenager like him, a girl barely a year older than Frank. But she’s confident. Even without her memories, she is secure in who she is. Frank has marveled at that since she first arrived, but now, as he stands before her, he feels a puzzling desire to make her proud.

xxxix.

Gwen stands before them, trying to encourage hope in a hopeless cohort. At the end, she says to them, “Frank, Hazel, Annabeth… well, just do whatever. Show Annabeth the ropes. Try to keep her alive.” She turns back to everyone. “If anybody gets over the wall first, I’ll make sure you get the Mural Crown. Victory for the Fifth!”

Annabeth's cohort cheers half-heartedly. She doesn’t make a sound herself. They break ranks and Annabeth stays with Frank and Hazel.

“Do whatever?” Annabeth asks skeptically.

“Uh huh,” Hazel says, but she’s distracted. “Big vote of confidence,” she mumbles.

“What is it?” Frank asks, concerned.

“I was just thinking,” Hazel says. “Ni— I mean, we saw, we all saw you take on those gorgons. You’re incredible, Annabeth. But I get the feeling that you’re even better at strategy. So what do you say? Do you have a plan?”

Annabeth bites her lip, looks from Hazel to Frank, and smiles deviously — dangerously. 

“Hazel,” Annaebeth says, and Hazel gets the inexplicable urge to fix her posture and stand at attention.

“Yeah?”

“Back at the tunnel with the gorgons, you collapsed, didn't you?” 

It’s not something that Hazel likes to talk about. Until now it was something that only Frank and Nico knew about. But Annabeth— Hazel wants to trust Annabeth, and the first step to trusting someone is taking that leap. So she takes a breath and leap in the space of a moment.

“Yeah,” Hazel says, “I did. I can, um, well I’m pretty good at finding and using tunnels. I can even collapse them if I have to.”

“Perfect,” Annabeth says. “I overheard some boys talking about one of them falling into an old tunnel last time. I’m assuming the field is full of tunnels from over the years, isn’t it? Yeah, thought so. Okay, Hazel, do you think you can get us up close?”

Hazel nods, she can do this, she will do this.

“Alright, if we can get up near the wall, I can distract them if you guys can get up the wall and knock out the water cannons. Something tells me that I’m used to dodging projectiles. Frank, what sort of arrows do you have? Do you think you can get us up?”

Frank’s breath hitches, he hesitates, but he can do this, he will be, for once, confident in himself like Annabeth is. Frank nods, he can do this.

“Okay,” Annabeth says, “We do that and regroup after the cannons are taken out. After that, it’ll be up to you to lead us, Frank. I’ve never infiltrated a fortress like this, I’ve barely been at Camp Jupiter any time at all. I can strategize, but I can’t lead us. You can.”

Frank's jaw drops. “Annabeth, I’m not a leader!” He protests.

“Maybe not yet,” Annabeth admits. “But you could be. You have the makings of one, trust me, and if the possibility is there? Then that’s all that matters. It’s up to you to decide here and now that you will make it happen. I’ve watched you with Hazel and the rest of the legionnaires, Frank, and I believe in you. Hazel, do you believe in Frank?”

Hazel’s eyes shine, but there is no question. “I do,” Hazel says, “I believe you.”

“Well then, Frank,” Annabeth says. “I guess the only question left is do you believe in yourself? Will you decide to lead us, to infiltrate the fortress, to make this happen and get that Mural Crown I heard Gwen talking about?”

Franks stares. Few have ever thought him capable of doing anything, much less leading an infiltration of a fortress. But if Annabeth and Hazel can believe in him, then he can believe in himself, as well. 

“Okay,” Frank says. “ Okay , for you, Annabeth. Let’s do this.”

Long story short — well. They do it. They infiltrate the fortress and get the banners, all led by Frank.

They win.

And then the god shows up. A column of fire blasts into the air and leaves a ten foot tall soldier in its wake. 

“I order a quest!” Mars announces to the Romans. “You will go north and find Thanatos in the land beyond the gods. You will free him and thwart the plans of the giants. Beware Gaea! Beware her son, the eldest giant!”

When Octavian asks for a prophecy, he writes on a scroll, rather underwhelmingly, Go to Alaska. Find Thanatos and free him. Come back by sundown on June twenty-fourth or die.

Annabeth is not sure what she expected from the god, but it was not this, and it is not what comes next.

“C’mere, kid,” Mars says, and, bizarrely enough, he is talking to Frank.

Mars speaks, loudly and confidently, of Franks acts that night. Frank does not understand it.

But suddenly he is now the owner of a strange spear with a tip like bone. Not only that, but he is the leader of a quest. Frank cannot make words with his mouth.

Lightning cracks across the sky and Mars laughs. “That’s my cue,” he says. “Until next time, Romans. Do not disappoint me!”

Mars leaves just as he came — an eruption of flame. Frank is left trembling in his boots as Reyna turns toward him.

She raises her arm in a Roman salute. “ Ave , Frank Zhang, son of Mars.”

The legion follows her lead, as do Annabeth and Hazel.

Frank wants none of it.

xl.

They set out on their quest after lunch.

Frank, newly centurion, remembers the echo of the senators shouting “ Senatus Populusque Romanus.” 

He cannot get it out of his head that an entire legion is waiting for him to fail.

Chapter Text

xli.

Just before they leave, Annabeth has one last conversation with Reyna.

Reyna shows Annabeth her ring with the sign of her mother, Bellona.

“You don’t remember where you saw this ring before? You really don’t remember me or my sister, Hylla?” Reyna asks.

Annabeth shakes her head. “I’m sorry.”

Reyna hums. “It was four years ago. I suppose you wouldn’t recall me even if you had your memory. I was just a little girl—one attendant among so many at the spa. But you spoke with my sister, just before you and that other one, Percy, destroyed our home.”

Annabeth tries to remember but she just draws a blank.

“I’m sorry,” she says again. “I don’t remember. Since your dogs aren’t attacking me, I hope you’ll believe me. I’m telling the truth.”

Reyna taps the silver ring.

“I believe you’re sincere,” she says. “But not everyone at camp does. Octavian thinks you’re a spy. He thinks you were sent here by Gaea to find our weaknesses and distract us. He believes the old legends about the Greeks.”

“Old legends?”

“Some believe Greek demigods still exist,” she says, “heroes who follow the older forms of the gods. There are legends of battles between Roman and Greek heroes in relatively modern times—the American Civil War, for instance. I have no proof of this, and if our Lares know anything, they refuse to say. But Octavian believes the Greeks are still around, plotting our downfall, working with the forces of Gaea. He thinks you are one of them.”

“Is that what you believe?”

“I believe you came from somewhere,” she says. “You’re important, and dangerous. Two gods have taken a special interest in you since you arrived, so I can’t believe you’d work against Olympus… or Rome.” She shrugs. “Of course, I could be wrong. Perhaps the gods sent you here to test my judgment. But I think… I think you were sent here to make up for the loss of Jason.” 

“The way you talk about him…” Annabeth says. “Were you two a couple?”

Reyna’s expression darkens.

“We might have been,” Reyna says, “given time. Praetors work closely together. It’s common for them to become romantically involved. But Jason was only praetor for a few months before he disappeared. Ever since then, Octavian has been pestering me, agitating for new elections. I’ve resisted. I need a partner in power—but I’d prefer someone like Jason. A warrior, not a schemer.” 

“Ah,” says Annabeth.

“I believe the gods sent you to help me,” Reyna said. “I don’t understand where you come from, any more than I understood it four years ago. But I think your arrival is some sort of repayment. You destroyed my home once. Now you’ve been sent to save my home. I don’t hold a grudge against you for the past, Annabeth. My sister hates you still, it’s true, but Fate brought me here to Camp Jupiter. I’ve done well. All I ask is that you work with me for the future. I intend to save this camp.”

“Look, I’ll help,” Annabeth promises. “But I’m new here. You’ve got a lot of good people who know this camp better than I do. If we succeed on this quest, Hazel and Frank will be heroes. You could ask one of them—”

“Please,” Reyna says. “No one will follow a child of Pluto. There’s something about that girl… rumors about where she came from.… No, she won’t do. As for Frank Zhang, he has a good heart, but he’s hopelessly naïve and inexperienced. Besides, if the others found out about his family history at this camp—” 

“Family history?”

“The point is, Annabeth, you are the real power on this quest. You are a seasoned veteran. I’ve seen what you can do, the power of your mind. A daughter of Minerva wouldn’t be my first choice, but if you return successfully from this mission, the legion might be saved. The praetorship will be yours for the taking. Together, you and I could expand the power of Rome. We could raise an army and find the Doors of Death, crush Gaea’s forces once and for all. You would find me a very helpful… friend.”

Reyna said that word like it could have several meanings, and she could pick which one. Annabeth understood. In another life, she could even see it. Reyna is beautiful. Brave and strong-willed. Obviously intelligent. Annabeth can see how easy it would be to fall for her. But she’s pretty sure she’s already in love with someone else.

“Reyna… I’m honored. Truly. But it’s like you said, I must have come from somewhere. And when that somewhere comes calling, I'm worried about what would happen if I’m the one with power or praetorship.”

 Annabeth isn’t sure how Reyna will react to that, but she merely raises her eyebrows.

“A woman who turns down power?” she says. “That’s not very Roman of you. Just think about it. In four days, I have to make a choice. If we are to fight off an invasion, we must have two strong praetors. I’d prefer you, but if you fail on your quest, or don’t come back, or refuse my offer… Well, I’ll work with Octavian. I mean to save this camp, Annabeth Chase. Things are worse than you realize.” 

“How bad?”

Reyna’s nails dig into the table. She tells Annabeth of an army marching south. One led by a giant. “The enemy will be here soon—by the Feast of Fortuna at the very latest.”

Reyna slides the silver ring across the table. “I can’t give you much help, but your journey will take you close to Seattle. I’m asking you for a favor, which may also help you. Find my sister Hylla.”

“Your sister… the one who hates me?”

“Oh, yes,” Reyna agrees. “She would love to kill you. But show her that ring as a token from me, and she may help you instead.”

Annabeth isn’t sure how they’ll be able to find Hylla, but Reyna is confident. 

“Don’t worry,” Reyna says. “Just go to Seattle. They’ll find you.”

Annabeth slips the ring into a pocket.

“Fight well, Annabeth Chase,” Reyna says. “And thank you.”

Annabeth is about to leave but she can’t. Not without first asking something that’s been bothering her.

“How did we destroy your home— that spa where you lived?”

The metal greyhounds growl. Reyna snaps her fingers to silence them.

“You destroyed the power of our mistress,” she says. “You freed some prisoners who took revenge on all of us who lived on the island. My sister and I… well, we survived. It was difficult. But in the long run, I think we are better off away from that place.”

“Still, I’m sorry,” Annabeth says. “If I hurt you, I’m sorry.”

Reyna gazes at her for a long time, as if trying to decipher a puzzle. “An apology? Not very Roman at all, Annabeth Chase. You’d make an interesting praetor. I hope you’ll think about my offer.”

xlii.

The Roman navy turns out to be very disappointing. They had chosen the sea because with Gaea as their enemy, traveling by land probably wasn’t a good idea, and getting plane tickets wasn’t very feasible, especially with Octavian’s opposition. So, the sea it was.

Except the Roman navy consists of little more than a tiny old steel rowboat with no oars. The name Pax is just barely visible. On board are two benches, some steel wool, an old cooler, and a mound of frayed rope with one end tied to the mooring. At the bottom of the boat, a plastic bag and two empty Coke cans float in several inches of scummy water.

“Behold,” Frank says. “The mighty Roman navy.”

“There’s got to be a mistake,” Hazel says. “This is a piece of junk.”

Annabeth frowns. There’s no way they’ll be able to take this boat. She wishes Percy were here. She— she doesn’t know why, but somehow she thinks he’d know what to do. Annabeth though? She’s supposed to be the daughter of the wisdom goddess, but for once she is without a plan. They can’t take this boat, obviously. But what should they do then? Should they steal a better boat?

Someone taps on her shoulder and Annabeth swings around and instinctually holds whoever it is at knifepoint. Hazel and Frank whip around as well.

A man stands before them. He looks maybe late 20s, with black hair and a relaxed disposition. He glances at Annabeth’s knife and smiles in amusement.

“You’re Annabeth Chase, right?” He asks, perfectly calm.

“Uh, yes? Who’s asking?”

“Oh, I’m no one, really. You can call me Trent, if you really want a name. But I was contracted to get this boat to you.” The man gestures to another boat on the dock. It's a small blue yacht. It would be an insane upgrade from the underwhelming Pax . Or at least it would be if it’s safe. Was it possible that a minion of Gaea had contracted him as part of a trap?

“You were contracted? By who?”

“Ah, someone who has a…  vested interest in your success. Oh! And he said to tell you…” The man glances at Frank and Hazel before beckoning Annabeth forward.

He whispers something in her ear that Frank and Hazel can’t catch. Whatever it was, though, it seems to make Annabeth trust him, because she nods and thanks him. He leaves a moment later.

“Well,” Hazel says. “I guess we have a yacht now?”

xliii.

Rainbow Organic Foods & Lifestyles. Strange name. Even stranger place.

Iris is… well, whatever Annabeth had expected the rainbow goddess to be like, this isn’t it. Nonetheless, a memory tugs at her.

“Iris-message,” Annabeth recalls. “Could we send one?”

Fleecy shows them, but when Annabeth tries to contact Percy, Fleecy raises an eyebrow and apologizes. She seems sincere. But according to her, he is… beyond communication. Whatever that means. Annabeth tries to protest. He’s just another demigod, she remembers that much, if not who his parent was. Why can’t they contact him? The only explanation Annabeth can think of is that Percy is dead.

But he can’t be.

Annabeth would know if Percy is dead. She’d know.

Wouldn’t she?

xliv.

Phineas is… horrible. Just— horrible. But they can’t kill him, as much as Hazel may want to, they need to know what he knows. 

Together they find the harpy Ella. Who is high-strung and also apparently has an eidetic memory.

“A half-blood of the eldest gods, shall reach sixteen against all odds,” Ella recites at one point and Annabeth’s heart stops. Something about those lines strikes fear into her. But that is for later. Right now, they need to concentrate on the situation at hand.

When Ella mentions that Phineas is a gambler, a plan begins to form in Annabeth’s mind. Gorgon’s blood. That’s the answer. Frank and Hazel are more than hesitant, but Annabeth is sure.

As Phineas feels the vials, Annabeth prays not to any god but to Gaea.

She has dreamed of Gaea over that past few days, of her saying that Annabeth is a valuable pawn. If that’s true, then Annabeth must be kept alive. So then, Gaea, make your choice. Who’s more valuable to you — me, or this old man? Because one of us is about to die.

A few moments pass. Phineas grins decisively as his fingers close around the vial in his left hand. 

“You are a fool, Annabeth Chase, I choose this one. Now we drink.”

Annabeth takes the vial on the right.

Phineas raises his vial and smirks. Together, Phineas and Annabeth uncork their vials and drink.

Immediately, Annabeth doubles over, her throat burning. Her mouth tastes like gasoline.

“Oh, gods,” Hazel says behind her

.

“Nope!” Ella says. “Nope, nope, nope.”

Annabeth’s vision blurs. She sees Phineas grinning in triumph, sitting up straighter, blinking his eyes in anticipation.

“Yes!” he cries. “Any moment now, my sight will return!”

She had chosen wrong. She’d been stupid to take such a risk. She feels like broken glass is working its way through her stomach, into her intestines.

Annabeth gasps for breath… and suddenly her vision clears.

At the same moment, Phineas hunches over like he’s been punched.

“You—you can’t!” the old man wails. “Gaea, you—you—”

He staggers to his feet and stumbles away from the table, clutching his stomach. “I’m too valuable!”

He screams as he falls, steaming and slowly disintegrating until there’s nothing left but an old, stained bathrobe and a pair of bunny slippers.

A woman’s voice speaks in Annabeth’s mind. A gamble, Annabeth Chase. It was a sleepy whisper, with just a hint of grudging admiration. You forced me to choose, and you are more important to my plans than the old seer. But do not press your luck. When your death comes, I promise it will be much more painful than gorgon’s blood.

Hazel looks at Annabeth in awe. “That was either the bravest thing I’ve ever seen, or the stupidest.”

Frank shakes his head in disbelief. “Annabeth, how did you know? You were so confident he’d choose the poison.”

“Gaea,” Annabeth says. “She wants me to make it to Alaska. She thinks…I’m not sure. She thinks she can use me as part of her plan. She influenced Phineas to choose the wrong vial.”

Frank stared in horror at the remains of the old man. “Gaea would kill her own servant rather than you? That’s what you were betting on?”

“Yep,” Annabeth says simply.

Frank just goggles at her.

Annabeth crouches over the bathrobe and pulls the old man’s note out of the pocket. It reads: HUBBARD GLACIER.

“Well, we have the location now, at least. We’d better get back to the boat, though, we’re running out of time.”

xlv.

They find the Amazons in Seattle. It is not long before they are brought before their queen.

Once there, Kinzie shoves them toward the throne. “My queen, these demigods—”

But the queen surges to her feet. “You!”

She glares straight at Annabeth with murderous rage.

Annabeth tilts her head in concentration. “You were there too, with the clipboard.”

The queen nods and steps down from her dais, drawing a dagger from her belt.

“You were incredibly foolish to come here,” she says. “You destroyed my home. You made my sister and me exiles and prisoners.”

It comes back to Annabeth then. As Hylla speaks, she remembers Circe’s island. She had been there with Percy.

“You released our captives—Blackbeard and his pirates.” Hylla turns to Hazel. “Have you ever been kidnapped by pirates? It isn’t fun. They burned our spa to the ground. My sister and I were their prisoners for months. Fortunately, we were daughters of Bellona. We learned to fight quickly. If we hadn’t…” She shudders. “Well, the pirates learned to respect us. Eventually, we made our way to California where we—” She hesitates as if the memory is painful. “Where my sister and I parted ways.”

Hylla steps toward Annabeth until they are nose-to-nose. She runs her dagger under her chin. “Of course, I survived and prospered. I have risen to be queen of the Amazons. So perhaps I should thank you.”

“I’m sorry,” Annabeth says. “But please, Reyna sent us. Look, I have her ring!”

Hylla frowns and lowers the knife as Annabeth pulls out the ring that Reyna had given her. The color drains from Hylla’s face.

“Explain this.” She glares at Annabeth. “Quickly.”

Annabeth tries. She describes Camp Jupiter, talks about Reyna being the praetor, and the army of monsters that was marching south. She tells them about their quest to free Thanatos in Alaska.

“So we need your help,” Annabeth finishes. “ Reyna needs your help. Please.”

At last, Annabeth and Frank are sent to the holding cells while Hazel stays behind to talk with Hylla and Kinzie.

Arion is a welcome surprise. Hylla and Kinzie are impressed by how she seems to have gained his favor. It had been foretold that the most courageous female warrior would someday master Arion and ride him to victory. Could that really be Hazel? She can’t believe it, but she doesn’t exactly have a choice.

Together with Hylla and Kinzie, Hazel hatches a plan. Escaping is almost too easy. Reunited, the three are able to find a chariot and attach it to Arion. After that, it’s a breeze. Soon they’re outside calling for Ella. As soon as she’s there, Hazel warns everyone to hold on before telling Arion to run.

And just like that, they are on their way to Canada, seawater turning to steam in Arion’s wake as the skyline of Seattle recedes behind them.

xlvi.

Frank’s grandmother’s house is a welcome rest stop, even with the Laistrygonians surrounding the place. But the conversation he has with her is… revealing, to say the least.

“And our real gift?” Nai Nai asks him. “Have you at least figured out what it is?

“ You can be anything, ” Franks says. “That’s what she always told me.”

So he’s a descendent of Neptune. And a shapeshifter. Huh. But none of that changes the fact that the Laistrygonians are attacking and they need to get to the airfield at the end of the park that Nai Nai had mentioned.

“You must go, silly boy,” Nai Nai tells him. “Our time is up.”

Frank has never liked to admit when his grandmother is right. He certainly doesn’t like it now.

He pauses at the door before he leaves.

“Thank you, Nai Nai , I will make you proud.”

And maybe it’s Frank’s imagination, but he thinks that she mutters something that sounds a lot like You have .

Still, he has to go.

He gets to Ella first, asks if she’ll come to Alaska with them.

In response, she tells him in Latin: “To the north, beyond the gods, lies the legion’s crown. Falling from ice, the daughter of Minerva shall drown—” Ella stops and scratches her disheveled red hair. “Hmm. Burned. The rest is burned.”

Well, that didn’t sound good. After asking Ella about what he’s pretty sure was a prophecy and telling her to stay where was, Frank heads up to the roof to find Annabeth and Hazel. He tells them about the prophecy Ella had recited — and also about apparently being a descendent of Neptune. Somehow, they manage to fend off the ogres and escape in Nai Nai ’s old Cadillac. 

Frank watches heart-wrenchingly then as his family home goes up in flames. Maybe it’s a trick of the light, but he thinks he sees a large black speck — a buzzard maybe? — circling up from the fire. He thinks it came from out of the second-story window. He hopes he’s right.

When they get to the plane at last, Ella begins to panic. Frank isn’t sure what they’ll be able to do until he sees Annabeth with a look on her face. He hasn’t known her long, but he knows that look. She has a plan.

“I’ve got an idea,” Annabeth says. “Ella, can you hide in the woods? Will you be safe from the ogres?”

“Hide,” Ella agrees. “Safe. Hiding is good for harpies. Ella is quick. And small. And fast.”

“Okay,” Annabeth says. “Just stay around this area. I can send a friend to meet you and take you to Camp Jupiter.”

Frank unslings his bow and nocks an arrow. “A friend?”

Annabeth waves her hand in a tell you later gesture. “Ella, would you like that? Would you like my friend to take you to Camp Jupiter and show you our home?”

“Camp,” Ella mutters. Then in Latin: “‘Wisdom’s daughter walks alone, the Mark of Athena burns through Rome.’”

Annabeth inhales sharply. “Wisdom’s daughter? Ella, was— was that a prophecy?”

Hazel places a hand on Annabeth’s shoulder. “Annabeth,” she says with a placating voice. “We have to go, the Laistrygonians are almost here.” Then she turns to Ella and says: “You’ll be safe at camp, I promise. All the books and food you want.”

“No planes,” she insists.

“No planes,” Hazel agrees. Annabeth hasn’t moved.

“Ella will hide now.” And then Ella is gone, nothing more than a red streak disappearing into the woods.

“I’ll miss her,” Hazel says sadly.

Annabeth shakes herself from her stupor. “We’ll see her again,” she promises, but she’s frowning uneasily, obviously still quite jarred.

An explosion sends the airfield’s gate spinning into the air and Frank tosses his grandmother’s letter to Annabeth. “Show that to the pilot! Show him your letter from Reyna too! We’ve got to take off now.”

Annabeth nods. She and Hazel make a break for the plane as Frank covers them. A few moments later, he sprints to the plane as well. As soon as he’s on, the plane takes off.

Over the intercom, the pilot’s voice says, “ Senatus Populusque Romanus , my friends. Welcome aboard. Next stop: Anchorage, Alaska.”

xlvii.

On the plane, they finally have time to talk.

“Juno has some sort of plan for us, about the Prophecy of Six,” Frank is saying.

“Yeah,” Annabeth agrees. “I think so, too. I didn’t like her as Hera, and I have to say, she really isn’t any better as Juno.”

Hazel bites her lip as she studies Annabeth.

“You’re a daughter of Athena, aren’t you?” Hazel says. “You are a Greek demigod.”

Annabeth reaches up to her neck to grab and fiddle with something, but finds only air. She sets her hand down on the armrest instead and grips it tightly.

“After the gorgon’s blood, in Portland, I started to remember. I’ve been… getting bits and pieces ever since. It’s been coming back to me slowly. There’s another camp— Camp Half-Blood.”

Hazel and Frank stare at her without comprehension.

“Another camp,” Hazel repeats. “A Greek camp? Gods, if Octavian found out—”

“He’d declare war,” Frank says. “He’s always been sure the Greeks were out there, plotting against us.”

“I think that’s why Juno sent me,” Annabeth says. “I think it was some kind of exchange. Your friend Jason — I think he was sent to my camp. I mean, Mars said Juno wants to unite the Greeks and Romans to fight Gaea, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” Frank says. “But, jeez — Greeks and Romans have a long history of bad blood.”

Hazel takes a breath. “That’s probably why the gods have kept us apart this long. Everytime we meet, blood is shed.”

“Yeah,” Annabeth agrees. “We’ve got to be careful how we explain this when we get back.”

“If we get back,” Frank says.

Annabeth nods grimly. “I mean, I trust you guys, both of you, and I— well, I hope you guys trust me. I feel as close to you two as to any of my old friends at Camp Half-Blood. But with the other demigods, at both camps — there’s going to be a lot of suspicion.”

“Of course we trust you,” Hazel says. “We’re a family now. Aren’t we, Frank?”

“Duh,” Frank says. Only days ago, he would have felt much different. But now? Now it feels almost strange how easily he can call these two his family.

Hazel smiles at him. “Anyway, what do we do now?”

All Annabeth wants to do is sleep, but they’re running out of time. They’re almost halfway through June twenty-third, and tomorrow is the Feast of Fortuna.

“I’ve got to contact a friend—to keep my promise to Ella.”

“How?” Frank asks. “One of those Iris-messages?”

“Still not working,” Annabeth says sadly. “I tried it last night at your grandmother’s house but no luck. I’ve got a few ideas why but it doesn’t matter. I’m hoping I can contact my friend in my dreams. I’m not sure I can sleep, but I need to try. We can’t leave Ella by herself with those ogres around.”

“Yeah,” Frank says. “We’ve still got hours to fly. Go ahead.”

Annabeth nods, grateful to have friends watching out for her. She gets the feeling that making friends isn’t exactly something she’s great at.

Annabeth stretches out and closes her eyes. Before she knows it, she’s asleep, dreaming she is falling from a mountain of ice toward a cold sea.

Except — except she isn’t afraid. She falls with her arms spread and a smile on her face. She plunges into the gray water and it feels like coming home. She thinks of the prophecy that Ella had recited, of the daughter of Minerva drowning, and she doesn’t care. She falls into the depths of sea, into the embrace of an old friend, and she feels safe .

And then the dream shifts. 

At the edge of a forest, Annabeth finds Tyson and Mrs. O’Leary. She barely remembers them, but she remembers enough to be touched that they’re looking for her. She tells them to find Ella, to protect her and then go to Camp Jupiter. Just in time, too. Because then the dream shifts again and Annabeth finds herself standing before an army. It’s not looking good for Camp Jupiter. They really need to hurry. 

Just as Annabeth thinks she’s about to wake up, she’s pulled back under. Once again, she finds herself trapped underwater. It’s different this time, though. The water seems different. Then she realizes that she is younger, only 13, and suddenly all the emotions come flooding in.

Annabeth is choking and then she is not. Then she is crying inside a giant air bubble underneath the waves. A boy with black hair hugs her tight. Percy. Annabeth hugs back. She needs something solid, unyielding. She doesn’t know why but she can’t stop sobbing.

And then the dream fades.

Annabeth jolts awake as the plane begins to descend.

“Sleep okay?” Hazel asks.

“Sure.”

“Great,” Frank says. Annabeth can tell neither he nor Hazel believe her. “Anyway, we’re almost there.”

Outside the window, a shining inlet snakes between snowy white mountains. In the distance, Annabeth can just make out a city carved out of the wilderness, surrounded by lush green forests on one side and icy black beaches on the other.

“Welcome to Alaska,” Hazel says. “We’re beyond the help of the gods.”

xlviii.

It isn’t until they get to the train station that a number appears in Annabeth’s head. 

She gets some change from a gift shop and makes a beeline to a payphone.

Frederick Chase, she thinks. And— and a stepmother. And two stepbrothers. She’s just barely able to remember them, remember that they haven’t always gotten along, but she’d been taken from them. They probably miss her, right?

Decision made, Annabeth picks up the receiver and punches in the number. No one picks up, but just the sound of her dad’s voice on the recording makes her want to tear up. 

“Dad,” she says. “Um, hi, I’m alive. Hera she— she took me, put me to sleep for a while and took my memory and… I’m sorry. But I’m okay. I'm on a quest right now but I promise I’ll see you again. I promise. I— I miss you. Bye, dad.”

She puts down the receiver as the train whistle sounds. “All aboard,” shouts the conductor. 

Annabeth sprints back to the train and heads up to the top of the double-decker car. She slides into her seat.

“You okay?” Hazel asks.

“Yeah,” Annabeth mumbles. “Just had to make a call.”

xlix.

Together, they head to Seward, then take a boat to Hubbard Glacier.

They’re in the endgame now.

Before them stands the giant Alcyoneus. He grins with silver teeth, and Hazel can sense the diamonds in place of a heart, the oil that runs through his veins instead of blood. This is it. 

Annabeth, Hazel, and Frank stand together. Whatever comes next, they shall face it together.

“My, my, my…” Alcyoneus says. “I’ve been waiting to meet the famous Annabeth Chase.”

Annabeth shivers.

“I’ve followed your progress, daughter of Minerva,” says Alcyoneus. “Your fight with Kronos? Well done. Gaea hates you above all others… except perhaps for that upstart Jason Grace. I’m sorry I can’t kill you right away, but Gaea has plans for you.”

“Oh? Do tell.” Annabeth raises her knife. “But just so you know, I’m actually the daughter of Athena . I’m from Camp Half-Blood.”

The ghosts stir. Annabeth catches a few drawing swords or lifting shields. Alcyoneus raises a hand, gesturing for them to wait. He drones on, but it doesn’t matter. They will fight and they will win. Annabeth gets the sense that she has faced worse odds than this.

Hazel spurs Arion towards Alcyoneus. “I raised this monster from the earth. I’m the daughter of Pluto. It’s my place to kill him.”

Hazel looks at Frank and hands him a wrapped up piece of firewood.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Frank says.

Hazel purses her lips. “You’re my best friend, Frank. I can’t lose you.”

“You won’t,” Frank promises.

She sniffs and tosses Frank the stick. “Do what you have to. And Annabeth… can you protect him?”

Annabeth looks out into the ranks of ghostly Romans. She smirks. 

“No problem.”

“Then I’ve got Golden Boy,” Hazel says.

She charges the giant and the battle has begun.

Frank sprint over to Thanatos and immediately sets to work. He thinks of flames and instantly the wood blazes. Frank holds it delicately, intimately aware that he is literally watching his life flash before his eyes. One chain snaps and he moves onto the next, and the next, and the next. The stick is getting shorter and shorter.

He spots Hazel atop Arion a few hundred meters from him. She’s bobbing and weaving with elegance. She and Alcyoneus fight in the wreckage of the main gate. As one, Hazel and Arion charge around Alcyoneus while he swipes at them with his staff, missing them by mere feet and cleaving massive chasms in the ice where Hazel and Arion had been only moments before. If not for Arion’s speed, they would have been dead long ago.

Closer to him, Annabeth plows through a line of legionnaires like a demon. Frank marvels. Unlike Frank and Hazel, she has no powers, but her sheer prowess and confidence in battle more than make up for it. She’s practically a force of nature. 

Snap

The last chain falls and Thanatos rises. 

Frank hastens to grab his firewood and snuff the flame in the snow. It’s barely a stub at this point, but it’s there. He’s survived .

Meanwhile, Thanatos, Death himself, raises his arms.

“Free,” Thanatos says with satisfaction. “I will watch over you now, godlings, those who die in this battle will stay dead.”

Frank slips his firewood into his coat as his mouth falls into a line. The dead staying dead isn’t as helpful as, say, actually fighting with them, but it’s something.

“Annabeth!” Frank yells. “They can die now!”

Annabeth nods in understanding, but she looks worn out. Frank thinks that her skin may even be tinged green. Her strikes are getting slower and the entire ghostly army has her surrounded. She’s being gradually forced toward the edge of the glacier.

Frank wants to help, but he hasn’t even taken a single step toward Annabeth when he hears Hazel yell in pain. The giant had gotten a lucky shot.

“Hazel!” Frank glances back at Annabeth. He can’t be in two places at once.

But Annabeth doesn’t even hesitate. 

“Go help her!” Annabeth yells, holding the golden eagle she has recovered aloft. “I’ve got them.”

She’s lying through her teeth, but Frank runs to help Hazel anyway. She sits dazed, half-buried in a collapsed pile of snow-bricks. Arion stands over her, trying to protect her, rearing and swatting at the giant with his front hooves.

Alcyoneus raises his icy staff, about to attack.

Frank is too far to help, but he imagines himself rushing forward, his feet leaving the ground.

Be anything.

He thinks about the bald eagles he’d seen on the train ride and his body becomes smaller and lighter, his arms stretch into wings, and his sight becomes a thousand times sharper. He soars upward, then dives at the giant with his talons extended, his razor-sharp claws raking across the giant’s eyes.

Alcyoneus staggers backward in pain as Frank lands in front of Hazel and returns to his normal form.

Hazel stares at him in amazement “Frank… How did you…?”

But the fight isn’t over yet, and Alcyoneus cannot be killed in his new homeland of Alaska.

Transforming into a giant, full-grown grizzly, Frank charges the giant and bashes him with concussive force over and over again.

“Urgg,” Alcyoneus murmurs.

Frank changes to his regular form and grabs some rope he’d bought in Seward. He makes a noose and ties it around Alcyoneus’ foot.

“Hazel, here!” He tosses her the other end of the rope. “I’ve got an idea, how far can Arion pull this guy? We need to drag him inland, as far and as fast as we can.”

“What about Annabeth?!” Hazel protests.

Frank inhales sharply. How had he forgotten about Annabeth? 

Through the ruins, Frank and Hazel spot Annabeth with her back to the edge of the cliff. She holds her knife in one hand and the legion’s golden eagle in the other. The entire army of shades edge forward, their weapons bristling.

“Annabeth!” Frank yells.

Annabeth glances over and, after seeing the fallen giant, seems to understand immediately. She nods with finality. She doesn’t need to say anything. Frank understands that she is telling them to go. Then she slams her knife into the ice at her feet and pulls with all her might. Beneath them, the entire glacier shudders. Ghostly Romans fall to their knees. Behind Annabeth, the rocky waves in the bay seem to surge harder and faster. Myriad cracks appear in the ice. Crevices upon crevices form. And then a wave of gray water surges up from the bay, taller than the other waves before it. It’s not natural. It carries with it godly intention. The wave hits, and the entire edge of the glacier peels away, cascading into the void — carrying buildings, ghosts, and Annabeth Chase with a strange smile on her face over the edge. 

In the aftermath, Thanatos is just as unhelpful as he was earlier. But he tells them that Annabeth is not dead yet, that he won’t be collecting Hazel today, and that they must close the Doors of Death. But right now, they know what they must do.

They lug Alcyoneus across Alaska. Frank can’t help but think of the lines of the prophecy.

The daughter of Minerva shall drown.

But finally, they reach Canada. They slay Alcyoneus. It’s still not over.

A voice echoes across the valley.

You haven’t won.

Across the nearest mountain, shadows are shifting, forming the face of a sleeping woman. 

You will never reach home in time. Even now, Thanatos is attending the death of Camp Jupiter, the final destruction of your Roman friends.

The mountain rumbles as if the whole earth is laughing. The shadows disappear.

Frank and Hazel look at each other but neither say a word. Together, they climb onto Arion and speed back to Glacier Bay.

l.

Soon enough, Frank and Hazel arrive back at the glacier, sure that Annabeth will be long gone to Elysium.

Instead, at the edge of the glacier, they find Annabeth lying unconscious. Next to her is a strange, unfamiliar kid. He’s young — maybe about as old as Frank or Annabeth — but he exudes power. He wears scuffed, dirty jeans and an old shirt that had probably once been orange but now looks closer to brown. His raven hair is messy and falls onto his face in uneven clumps. Around his neck is a cord with several beads with designs that Frank can’t make out. 

He sits next to her, brushing through her hair with his fingers and whispering unintelligible words. The legion’s golden eagle lies discarded several meters away.

Frank and Hazel sprint over, sure he’s another monster. But as they get closer, the kid merely shushes them.

“Let her get her sleep,” he says and smiles sadly. “She’ll need it.”

“Who are you?” Frank asks.

“Call me Percy. I’m an… old friend of Annabeth’s.”

Hazel narrows her eyes. “An old friend?”

“Uh-huh,” Percy says, seemingly amused by their distrust. It’s then that he reaches into his front pocket and pulls out a cord with beads on it. It’s nearly identical to his own. This one has several more beads on it, though, as well as a gold ring. He ties it around Annabeth’s neck.

The question in Frank and Hazel’s eyes goes unasked, but Percy answers anyway.

“This was… left behind when Hera took her. I just wanted to return it.”

“Hera?” Hazel says. “Then you’re from the other camp, right? You’re a Greek demigod?”

Percy gives a half-smile. “I used to be.” 

Hazel frowns. “You used to be from the other camp? Or you used to be a—”

“I’ve been watching over your quest, you know?” Percy interrupts. “Intervening and helping where I could, though it wasn’t very often. But I’m glad she had friends like you two to help her. I owe you thanks for that — for being there for her when I couldn’t.”

“Wait,” Hazel says, “you’re the contractor, then? The one that got us the boat?”

Percy smiles and nods.

Franks brows knit. “During the battle, there was a giant wave that helped bring down the edge of the glacier into the bay. That was you? And wait, even before that! I thought Annabeth looked green… Was that a blessing? But that would mean…” 

Percy smirks but doesn’t say anything to that.

“Look,” He says instead, pointing to a black sand beach near the base of the glacier. Upon the beach lay dozens and dozens of Imperial gold weapons and armor all strapped into a golden chariot. “Camp Jupiter is under attack, I was hoping you’d be able to tow this all back. I think it could really make the difference between victory and defeat — if you’re able to get it back in time.”

“Could Arion pull that much?” Frank asks Hazel.

Arion huffs and Percy snorts. “Your horse sure knows a lot of curse words. He says he can pull it, but he’ll need food.”

Hazel’s jaw drops. “You can understand him?”

“Comes with the territory.” What territory that is, Percy doesn’t say.

“Well,” Hazel says, glancing down at all the Imperial gold weapons below. “Shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Great!” Percy says. “That chariot has Imperial gold wheels and axles, it should hold up. But you’ll need to leave now, you’re out of time, and I can’t hold this form much longer.”

Just then, Annabeth opens her eyes with panic and turns to the side to cough up some water onto the ice. When she sees Percy sitting there she inhales sharply and sits up straight.

“Percy!” Annabeth gasps and tackles him into a hug which he gladly reciprocates.

“Hey, Wise Girl,” Percy says. Frank thinks he might see tears in his eyes. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too. Even when I couldn’t remember anything, I remembered you. I remembered that I missed you,” Annabeth mumbles into his shoulder. “And I got your message, you know. The man at the docks, he said his contractor had specified that the yacht had to be blue, for good luck. Thanks for that.”

“Anything for you,” Percy says. “I’m just— I’m sorry I can’t stay longer, but I have to leave. Every moment it gets harder and harder to hold on. Still, I know you’ll be able to save Camp Jupiter.”

Annabeth pulls away. “You… can’t stay? But we’ve only just found each other again! Percy, please! Don’t go! You can’t!” She has tears in her eyes.

Percy uses his index finger to wipe a tear from her eye. 

“Don’t cry, Annabeth. I’ll see you again, I promise.”

Annabeth sniffs, holding on to his forearms with an iron grip.

“I swear to all the gods, Seaweed Brain, don't you dare—”

“Good luck, Annabeth,” Percy says. Then he backs up to the very edge of the glacier and fades into salty mist.

Annabeth is quiet after that.

It’s not until Frank and Annabeth have climbed into the chariot and Hazel has swung onto Arion’s back that Frank dares to ask.

“Annabeth,” Frank says. He knows Hazel is listening too. “Who was that?”

“A friend,” Annabeth says. “A god.”

And then, before anyone can say or do anything else, Hazel yells, “Giddyup!” 

They take off, speeding south toward Camp Jupiter. Arion’s sonic boom echoes across the bay.