THE GHOSTS FORMED ranks and encircled the crossroads. there were about a hundred in all— not an entire legion, but more than a cohort. some carried the tattered lightning bolt banners of the twelfth legion, fifth cohort— micheal varus's doomed expedition from the 1980's. others carried standards and insignia karina didn't recognize, as if they'd died at different times, on different quests— maybe not even from camp jupiter.

most were armed with imperial gold weapons— more imperial gold than the entire twelfth legion possessed.

"thanatos!" hazel turned to the robbed figure. "we're here to rescue you. if you control these shades, tell them— "

her voice faltered. the god's hood fell away and his robes dropped off as he spread his wings, leaving him in only a sleeveless black tunic belted at the waist. he was the most beautiful man karina had ever seen.

sorry, percy.

his skin was the color of teakwood, dark and glistening. his eyes were as honey gold as hazel's. he was lean and muscular, with a regal face and black hair flowing down his shoulders. his wings glimmered in shades of blue, black, and purple.

karina reminded herself to breathe.

beautiful was the right word for thanatos— not handsome, or hot, or anything like that. he was beautiful the way an angel is beautiful— timeless, perfect, remote.

"oh," karina said in a small voice.

the god's wrists were shackled in icy manacles, with chains that ran straight into the glacier floor. his feet were bare, shackled around the ankles and also chained.

"it's cupid," frank said.

"a really buff cupid," percy agreed, but had also noticed karina staring at thanatos, and tightened his grip on her waist, his fingers squeezing slightly into her skin, as if showing thanatos that she was his.

"you compliment me," thanatos said. his voice was as gorgeous as he was— deep and melodious. "i am frequently mistaken for the god of love. death has more in common with love than you might imagine. but i am death. i assure you."

karina didn't doubt it. she felt as if she were made of ashes, and she knew hazel felt the same. any second, she might crumble and be sucked into the vacuum. she doubted thanatos even needed to touch them to her them. he could simply tell her to use. she would keel over on the spot, her soul obeying that beautiful voice and those kind eyes.

"we're— we're here to save you," hazel managed. "where's alcyoneus?"

"save me . . . " thanatos narrowed his eyes. "do you understand what you are saying, hazel levesque? do you understand what that will mean?"

percy stepped forward. "we're wasting time."

he swung his sword at the god's chains. celestial bronze rang against the ice, but riptide stuck to the chain like glue. frost began creeping up the blade. percy pulled frantically. frank ran to help. together, they just managed to yank riptide free before the first reached their hands.

"that won't work," thanatos said simply. "as for the giants, he is close. these shades are not mine. they are his."

thanatos's eyes scanned the ghost soldiers. they shifted uncomfortably, as if an arctic wind were rattling through their ranks.

"so how do we get you out?" hazel demanded.

thanatos turned his attention back to her. "daughter of pluto, child of my master, you of all people should not wish me released," he turned to karina. "she knows it too."

"don't you think i know that?" hazel said hardly. "listen, death." she drew her calvary sword, and arion reared in defiance. "i didn't come back from the underworld and travel thousands of miles to be told that i'm stupid for setting you free. if i die, i die. and karina knows it too. i'll fight this whole army if i have to. just tell us how to break your chains."

thanatos studied her for a heartbeat. "interesting. you do understand that these shades were once demigods like you. they fought for rome. they died without completing their heroic quests. like you, they were sent to asphodel. now gaea has promised them a second life if they fight for her today. of course, if you release me and defeat them, they will have to return to the underworld where they belong. for treason against the gods, they will face eternal punishment. they are not so different from you, hazel levesque. are you sure you want to release me and damn these sounds forever?"

frank clenched his fists. "that's not fair! do you want to be freed or not?"

"fair . . . " death mused. "you'd be amazed how often i hear that word, frank zhang, and how meaningless it is. is it fair that your life will burn so short and bright, was it fair when i guided your mother to the underworld?" thanatos turned to karina. "or when i sent your father to the fields of asphodel?"

frank staggered like he'd been punched, and karina's breath got caught in her throat.

"no," death said sadly. "not fair. and yet it was her time. though, i do believe andrew ashwood got what he deserved, karina. he was a cruel man, and a disgusting father after ceres left. still, there is no fairness in death. if you free me, i will do my duty. but of course these shades will try and stop you."

"so if we let you go," percy summed up. "we get mobbed by a bunch of black vapor dudes with gold swords. fine. how do we break those chains?"

thanatos smiled. "only the fire of life can melt the chains of death."

"without the riddles, please?" percy asked.

frank drew a shaky breath. "it isn't a riddle."

karina's eyes widened in realization, and she looked at frank in horror.

"frank, no," hazel said weakly. "there's got to be another way."

"what about incense?" karina added desperately, though she knew it would never work. "i— i have like six in my bag."

laughter boomed across the glacier. a rumbling voice said. "my friends. i've waited so long!"

standing at the gates of the camp was alcyoneus. he was even larger than the giant polybotes they'd seen in california. he had metallic golden skin, armor made from platinum links, and an iron staff the size of a totem pole. his rust-red dragon legs pounded against the ice as he entered the camp. precious stones glinted in his red braided hair.

karina's stomach dropped, and she felt percy grip onto her hand like she was the one thing keeping him balanced, and she probably was.

the giant approached, grinning at her with his solid silver teeth.

"ah, hazel levesque," he said, "you cost me dearly! if not for you, i would have risen decades ago, and this would already be gaea's. but not matter!"

he spread his hands, showing off the ranks of ghostly soldiers. "welcome, percy jackson! welcome, frank zhang! and, welcome, karina ashwood! i am alcyoneus, the bane of pluto, the new master of death. and this is your new legion."

"hazel," frank said, trying to keep his voice steady. "that package you're keeping for me? i need it."

karina's teeth clenched in anger at the situation, and hazel glanced at him in dismay. sitting on arion, she looked like a queen, powerful and beautiful, her brown hair swept over her shoulders and a wreath of icy mist around her head. "frank, no. there has to be another way."

"please. i— i know what i'm doing."

thanatos smiled and lifted his manacled wrists. "you're right, frank zhang. sacrifices must be made."

karina's jaw twitched, and she stepped forward menacingly. "you don't get a say in anything right now, you asshole. you're the one who was stupid enough to get captured in the first place, and now we are having to save your sorry ass. you should be grateful that we don't just leave you here to rot."

thanatos stared at her with shining eyes, a smirk presented on his lips. "oh, karina ashwood, so much like your father, you are. so brave, headstrong. and you both have quite a mouth. when i greeted him a the doors, he didn't say a word. he only looked at me as if he wanted to strangle me to death. how ironic, right?" he paused, watching to see her reaction, but karina didn't move, she didn't even blink.

he continued. "you could possibly see him again, you know? elysium doesn't accept every good person that enters the underworld. there's a chance . . . you could be denied, just like your friend hazel was—"

"shut. up. don't compare me to him." she said hardly, her voice wavering.

"oh, don't fret karina. i am only telling what might happen. i am no fortune teller. but, i can assure you, that your father is not the same person he left the world as. you can interpret that as you wish, but the father once knew, is no longer."

karina was gripping the hilt of her gladius so tight her knuckles had turned white, and her body was rigid with anger, and pain. not physical pain, but mental. everything that death had just said to her had made her feel worse than she already did, and she wished she just hadn't said anything at all.

she heard percy trudge over to karina, placing himself in front of her slightly, glaring at death with his sea green eyes, now dark with anger. "leave her alone," he said threateningly.

before death could reply, alcyoneus stepped forward impatiently, his reptilian feet shaking the ground. "what package co you speak of, frank zhang?" he asked, bringing karina back to the topic at hand. "have you brought me a present?"

"nothing for you, golden boy," frank said. "except a whole lot of pain."

the giant roared with laughter. "spoken like a child of mars! too bad i have to kill you. and this one . . . my, my, i've been waiting to meet the famous percy jackson." he turned to percy's left, where karina stood, and he grinned menacingly. "and you, oh, gaea has been chirping about you for ages. such a pleasure to finally meet your presence. i assure you, we have much planned for you."

much planned for you . . . karina had no idea what they meant by that, but, whatever it was, it wasn't good.

the giant grinned. his silver teeth made his mouth look like a car grille.

"i've followed your progress, son of neptune," said 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— and your girlfriend— right away, but my brother polybotes wishes to keep you as a pet, and i have specific orders from gaea to leave the girl alive. he thinks it will be amusing when he destroys neptune to have the god's favorite son on a leash. after that, of course, gaea has plans for you as well."

"yeah, flattering." percy raised riptide. "but i'm actually the son of poseidon. i'm from camp half-blood."

the ghosts stirred. some drew swords and lifted shields. alcyoneus raised his hand, gesturing for them to wait.

"greek, roman, it doesn't matter," the giant said easily. "we will crush both camps underfoot. you see, the titans didn't think big enough. they planes to destroy the gods in their new home of america. we giants know better! to kill a weed, you must pull up it's roots. even now, while my forces destroy your little roman camp, my brother porphyrion is preparing for the real battle in the ancient lands! we will destroy the gods at their source."

the ghosts pounded their swords against their shields. the sound echoed across the mountains.

"the source?" frank asked. "you mean greece?"

alcyoneus chuckled. "no need to worry about that, son of mars. you won't live long enough to see our ultimate victory. i will replace pluto as lord of the underworld. i already have death in my custody. with hazel levesque in my service, i will have all the riches under the earth as well!"

hazel gripped her spatha. "i don't do service."

"oh, but you gave me life!" alcyoneus said. "true, we hoped to awaken gaea during world war II. that would've been glorious. but really, the world is in almost as bad a shape now. soon, your civilization will be wiped out. the doors of death will stand open. those who serve us will never perish. alive or dead, you four will join my army."

karina scoffed. "sure, golden boy. try your hardest."

"wait." hazel spurred her horse toward the giant. "i raised this monster from the earth. i'm the daughter of pluto. it's my place to kill him."

"ah, little hazel." alcyoneus planted his staff on the ice. his hair glittered with millions of dollars' worth of gems. "are you sure you will not join us of your own free will? you could be quite . . . precious to us. why die again?"

hazel's eyes flashed with anger. she looked down at frank and pulled the wrapped-up piece of firewood from her coat. "are you sure?"

"yeah," he said.

she pursed her lips. "you're my best friend, too, frank. i should have told you that." she tossed him the stick. "do what you have to. and percy, karina . . . can you protect him?"

they gazed at the small ranks of ghostly romans. "against a small army? sure, no problem." percy said.

"piece of cake," karina said.

"then i've got golden boy," hazel said.

she charged the giant.

frank began to unwrap the firewood at the feet of thanatos, and percy and karina stood over him protectively, swinging their swords and yelling in defiance as the ghosts closed in. she heard the giant bellow and arion whinny angrily, but she didn't care to look.

karina snuck glances back at frank, and she noticed his hands trembling as he held his piece of tinder next to the chains on death's right leg. the wood blazed to life.

the icy metal began to melt, and the flame was so bright it was more blinding than the ice.

"good," she heard thanatos say. "very good, frank zhang."

karina's moves were quick, and offensive. she slashed through the black smoke soldiers with speed and agility, her arms moving like a whirlwind in order to keep them from approaching frank. she had always sparred by herself at camp jupiter, and occasionally with jason and reyna, or some of her siblings. but now, she wasn't just sparring for practice and fun, she was fighting for her life. and she knew that in this moment, this was the outcome of all her extra training she had put herself through.

percy was fighting like a whirlwind. in fact . . . he was a whirlwind. a miniature hurricane of water and ice vapor churned around him as he waded through the enemy, knocking roman ghosts away, deflecting arrows and spears. since when did he have that power?

her and percy moved through the enemy lines, attempting to push them farther and farther from frank, and keeping the ghosts attention on them, and away from frank. they both were collectively trying to reach one goal. one of the back vapors ghosts was wearing the lion's-skin cape of a standard bearer and holding a pole with a golden eagle, icicles frozen to its wings.

the legion's standard.

karina and percy continued the plow through a line of legionaires, scattering their shields with karina's fast paced decisions and movements and percy's personal cyclone. the way the two worked and fought together, you'd think they'd been doing it their whole life. when percy would send a legionnaire into karina, she'd slice through it immediately, and karina would intercept any slashes of jabs thrown into percy, killing them instantly. it was as if their minds had connected with each other as they fought, knowing each and every move the other would do, just before they did it.

percy knocked down the standard bearer and grabbed the eagle.

"you want it back?" he shouted at the ghosts. "come and get it!"

him and karina drew them away, and she knew that their strategy was working. as much as those shades wanted to keep thanatos chained, they were roman spirits. their minds were fuzzy at best, but they remembered one thing clearly: they were supposed to protect their eagle.

still, her and percy couldn't fight off that many enemies forever. karina would lose her energy at some point, and maintaining a storm like that had to be difficult. despite the cold, both their faces were already beaded with sweat.

over the course of the two demigods fighting off the shades, they had been pushed back to the end of the via principalis, holding off the army of ghosts. they had overturned to chariot and destroyed several buildings, but every time she sliced through a ghost, it simply got up and charged again. every time percy threw off a wave of attackers with his hurricane, the ghosts re-formed immediately. percy and karina had backed up as far as they could go. behind them was the side gate of the camp, and about twenty feet beyond that, the edge of the glacier.

finally, from off in the distance, they heard a yell from frank, saying, "karina, percy, they can die now!"

they nodded in understanding, but they both were worn out. percy's hurricane was slowing down, and karina's strikes were getting slower, and sluggish. the entire ghostly army had them surrounded, gradually forcing them toward the edge of the glacier.

karina and percy snuck a glance at each other, their breaths heavy, and bodies tired, but they still managed to give small smiles to each other, as if trying to reassure the other that they'll be okay. even though they knew, they might not be.

from across the camp, hazel yelled in pain. arion screamed as the giant got a lucky shot. his staff sent horse and rider tumbling over the ice, crashing into the ramparts.

"hazel!" frank glanced toward percy and karina.

"go help her!" karina yelled. "we've got these guys!"

they didn't have them. karina knew that. the daughter of ceres and son of poseidon were about to be overwhelmed, but frank needed to help hazel.

karina and percy had to force themselves to pay attention to the ghost army that was slowly dragging them to the edge of the cliff, and not to the ongoing fight between hazel, frank, and alcyoneus. percy's hurricane had finally died out, and now was fighting with riptide, alongside karina, who was fighting with her gladius.

karina could feel her arms getting weaker, her muscles beginning to hurt as she sliced through three ghosts at a time, using her whole body to try and keep them away from percy and the eagle.

but soon enough, they both had their backs to the edge of the cliff. percy held riptide in one hand and the legion's golden eagle in the other, and karina had her gladius at the ready across her body. the entire army of shades edged forward, their weapons bristling.

"percy! karina!" she heard frank yell.

they glanced over. she saw the fallen giant and understood what was happening. they both yelled go! but, seemingly got lost in the wind, and they judt hoped they heard.

percy then slammed riptide into the ice at his feet, catching karina off guards. the entire glacier shuddered. ghosts fell to their knees. behind them, a wave surged up from the bay— a wall of gray water even taller than the glacier. water shot from the chasms and crevices in the ice. as the wave hit, the back half of the camp crumbled. the entire edge of the glacier peeled away, cascading into the void— carrying building, ghosts, and karina ashwood and percy jackson over the edge.

karina's mind went blank as she felt herself falling from the sky, and into the ice cold water, her body immediately stinging from the impact and the below freezing temperatures she had just fallen into. her body seemed to have a mind of its own, and she felt her muscles tensing up, her arms and legs refusing to move as she sunk deeper and deeper into the gray ocean.

she forced her eyes open, and saw the top of ocean slowly getting farther and farther away, as her body refused to move, as if the amount of energy she had used to fight the shades had completely run her dry, and she just couldn't fight anymore.

was this how she was going to die? she thought to herself. was her life really going to be put to an end right now? she didn't want to die like this, helpless, alone. and quite stupid, if you ask her.

she felt her mind begin to slowly shut down, and her eyesight became foggy, and she could almost see the bottom of the ocean. but, just as she began to lose consciousness, she saw something shooting right toward her, leaving a trail of bubbles in its path, and it was coming directly to her.

she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist tightly, and the person quickly shot up from the bottom of the sea, and up to the surface.

karina felt her body go limp in his embrace, and as her head broke through the surface, the cold rush of air immediately smacked against her face, forcing her eyes open and staring up into the cloudy sky as she was rushed onto the nearest glacier, lying flat on its surface.

she began to cough wildly, large heaps of water escaping her lips as she leaned over the ground, strong arms supporting her body as she heaped onto the ice, not able to hold her body up by herself.

"hey, hey, you're okay, rina," a soft, yet, frantic voice spoke to her as she tried to steady her breathing, her whole body shaking madly from the harsh cold she was stuck in.

she felt percy's hands rub against her back as he leaned over her protectively, watching as her body trembled from the cold.

after a few more moments of her staring at the ground, getting her breathing steady, she craned her head up slowly, staring at percy. "you're such a fucking dumbass."

percy, despite his heart beating erratically from the fear he had just experienced, managed to let out a shaky laugh. "i know, you've told me that before."

"this time," she croaked. "i meant it."

he looked at her worriedly, his smile now gone, and scooped her up into his arms, squeezing his body against her's as she continued to shiver, her teeth chattering.

"i'm so sorry," he whispered, and he saw that her lips were beginning to turn blue. "i'm so sorry i did that to you."

she shook her head. "i-it's n-n-not your f-fault," she stuttered, her eyes closing briefly, before opening back up open, to see percy looking down at her with a guilty expression.

"i should've gotten to you faster," he said shakily. "you would've drowned if i didn't get to you in time, and i almost didn't."

karina lifted her hand up to his cheek, and her touch was ice cold. "y-you saved me, perc'. it d-doesn't matter a-anymore. i'm alive, okay?"

he took a deep breath through his nose, and swallowed thickly, his eyes shining slightly. "you scared me so much," he whispered to her. "i thought i was too late."

"but you weren't," she responded quietly, looking up at him with a look of reassurance, though her appearance backfired on her statement. she looked rough, her body rigid, and her lips and fingertips were blue.

"i almost was," he replied, and a look of anger took over his features. "gods, i was so stupid." he scolded himself, his jaw clenching.

karina rolled her eyes. "l-look, percy. saying e-everything you should've d-done isn't going to fix a-anything. i'm here now. and that's b-because of you. remember t-that."

he sighed and pulled her closer to his chest, leaning down to kiss her forehead softly, the feeling of her eyes cold skin against his lips sending shivers through his body.

"here," he said, and proceeded to remove his jacket from his arms, draping it over her shoulders. "you're going to get hyperthermia if you don't warm up."

"what about you?" she asked nervously, though she still curled into the jacket.

he smiled at her. "i'm fine, i have two more layers under this."

she nodded, and they proceeded to sit in silence, until they saw the faint figures of hazel and frank riding on arion speeding towards them.

percy proceeded to stand to his feet, the staff with the golden eagle to his side as he steadied his feet. he then began to help karina to her feet, lifting her up by the waist, and wrapping his arm around her securely, latching her on to his side so she doesn't fall down.

her lips had begun to return to their normal color as the sun peaked out from the clouds, and she bathed in the warmth of percy's jacket. percy had been gazing down at the wreckage he'd caused: several hundred acres of newly open water dotted with icebergs and flotsam from the ruined camp.

the only remains on the glacier were the main gates, which listed sideways, and a tattered blue banner lying over a pile of snow-bricks.

when they ran up to them, percy said, "hey," like they were just meeting for lunch or something.

"you're alive!" frank marveled at the two of them.

percy frowned. "the fall? that was nothing."

"what about karina?" hazel asked, looking nervously at the shivering teenager.

percy swallowed. "um . . . i-i got her in time. she's okay, now."

karina nodded, a small smile on her lips. "i've always loved a good burst of adrenaline anyway."

frank rolled his eyes at her, then turned back to percy. "but— the fall was so far, how did you not drown?"

percy scoffed. "i fell twice that far from the st. louis arch."

"you did what?" hazel and karina asked in unison.

"never mind. the important thing was i didn't drown." he looked at karina as he said 'drowned', and she just squeezed his hand, reassuring him that it was okay.

"so the prophecy was incomplete!" hazel grinned. "it probably said something like: the son of neptune will drown a whole bunch of ghosts."

percy shrugged. he was still looking at frank like he was miffed. "i got a bone to pick with you, zhang. you can turned into an eagle? and a bear?"

"and an elephant," hazel said proudly.

"um, what?" karina muttered in confusion.

"an elephant." percy shook his head in disbelief. "that's your family gift? you can change shape?"

"oh," karina said to herself, nodding.

frank shuffled his feet. "um . . . yeah. periclymenus, my ancestor, the argonaut— he could do that. he passed down the ability."

"and he got that gift from poseidon," percy said. "that's completely unfair. i can't turn into animals."

frank stared at him. "unfair? you can breathe underwater and blow up glaciers and summon freaking hurricanes— and it's unfair that i can be an elephant?"

percy considered. "okay. i guess you got a point. but next time i say you're totally beast—"

"just shut up," frank said. "please."

percy cracked a smile.

"if you guys are done," hazel said. "we need to go. camp jupiter is under attack. they could use that gold eagle."

percy nodded. "one thing first, though. hazel, there's about a ton of imperial gold weapons and armor at the bottom of the bay now, pluse a really nice chariot. i'm betting that stuff could come in handy . . . "

it took them a long time— too long— but they all knew those weapons could make the difference between victory and defeat if they got them back to camp in time.

hazel used her abilities to levitate some items from the bottom of the sea. percy swam down and brought up more. karina used her powers to manipulate th sea grass at the bottom of the sea to wrap around, and then bring up imperial gold. even frank helped by turning into a seal, which was kind of cool, though percy claimed his breath smelled like fish.

it took all four of them to raise the chariot, but finally they'd managed to haul everything ashore to a black sand beach near the base of the glacier. they couldn't fit everything in the chariot, but they used frank's rope to strap down most of the good weapons and the best pieces of armor.

"it looks like santa's sleigh," frank said. "can arion even pull that much?"

arion huffed.

"hazel," percy said. "i'm seriously going to wash your horse's mouth with soap. he says, yes, he can pull it, but he needs food."

hazel picked up an old roman dagger, a pugio. it was bent and dull, so it wouldn't be much good in a fight, but it looked like solid imperial gold.

"here you go, arion," she said. "high-performance fuel."

the horse took the dagger in his teeth and chewed it like an apple. karina made a silent oath to never put her hand near that horses mouth.

"i'm not doubting arion's strength," he said carefully. "but will the chariot hold up? the last one— "

"this one had imperial gold wheels and axle," percy said. "it should hold."

"if not," hazel said. "this is going to be a short trip. but we're out of time. come on!"

frank, percy, and karina climbed into the chariot. hazel swung onto arion's back.

"giddyup!" she yelled.

the horse's sonic boom echoed across the bay. they sped south, avalanches tumbling down the mountains as they passed.

it took four hours.

four hours it took for the fastest horse on the planet to get from alaska to san francisco bay, heading straight over the water down the northwest coast,

the coastline began to familiar. they raced past the mendocino lighthouse. shortly afterward, mount tam and marin headlands loomed out of the fog. arion shot straight under the golden gate bridge into san francisco bay.

they tore through berkeley and into the oakland hills. when they reached the hilltop above the caldecott tunnel, arion shuddered like a broken car and came to a stop, his chest heaving.

hazel patted his side lovingly. "you did great, arion."

they jumped off the chariot, and karina could barely walk. her legs were wobbly, and her joints were stiff. frank and percy didn't look much better, either.

frank hobbled to the top of the hill and peered down at the camp. "guys . . . you need to see this."

when they joined him, karina's heart sank. the battle had begun, and it wasn't going well. the twelfth legion was arrayed on the field of mars, trying to protect the city. scorpions fired into the ranks of the earth born. hannibal the elephant plowed down monsters left and right, but the defenders were badly outnumbered.

on her pegasus scipio, reyna flew around the giant polybotes, trying to keep him occupied. the latest had formed shimmering purple lines against a mob of black, vaporous shades in ancient armor. veteran demigods from the city had joined the battle, and were pushing their shield wall against an onslaught of wild centaurs. giant eagles circled the battle field, doing aerial combat with two snake-haired ladies in green bargain mart vests.

the legion itself was taking the brunt of the attack, but their formation was breaking. each cohort was an island in a sea of enemies. the cyclops' siege tower shot glowing green cannonballs into the city, blasting craters in the forum, reducing houses to ruins. as karina watched, a cannonball hit the senate house and the dome partially collapsed.

"we're too late," hazel said.

"no," karina said. "they're still fighting. we can do this."

"where's lupa?" frank asked, desperation creeping into his voice. "she and the wolves . . . they should be here."

"she did what she could," percy said. "she slowed down the army on its way south. now it's up to us. we've got to get the gold eagle and these weapons to the legion."

"but arion is out of steam!" hazel said. "we can't haul this stuff ourselves."

"maybe we don't have to." percy scanned the hilltops.

he whistled as loud as he could— shadows rippled through the trees. a huge black shape bounded out of nowhere— a mastiff the size of an SUV, with a cyclops and a harpy on her back.

"hellhound!" frank scrambled backward.

"it's okay!" percy grinned. "these are friends."

"brother!" the cyclops—tyson— climbed off and ran toward percy. percy tried to brace himself, but it was no good. tyson slammed into him and smothered him in a hug. he laughed and let go with delight, looking percy over with that massive baby brown eye.

"you are not dead!" he said. "i like it when you are not dead!"

ella fluttered to the ground and began preening her feathers. "ella found a dog," she announced. "a large dog. and a cyclops."

was she blushing? before she could decide, she got distracted but a black mastiff pouncing on percy, knocking him to the ground and barking so lightly that even arion backed up.

"hey, mrs. o'leary," percy said. "yeah, i love you too, girl. good dog."

karina snickered at the sight, and went to scratch behind the hellhound's ear, to which the dog jumped off of percy and licked karina's face, making her back up in laughter. "you are a good girl, aren't you?" she said in a baby voice, making percy turn at her in amusement.

hazel made a squeaking sound. "you have a hellhound named mrs. o'leary?"

"long story." percy managed to get to his feet and wipe off the dog slobber. "you can ask your brother . . . "

his voice wavered when he saw hazel's expression. karina looked at her feet in dismay.

hazel had told them what thanatos had said about searching for the doors of death in rome, and she was more than desperate to save him.

"sorry," he said. "but yeah, this is my dog, mrs. o'leary. tyson— these are my friends, frank, karina, and hazel."

tyson pointed at karina. "pretty girl! percy stares at pretty girl. i think percy thinks you are pretty too!"

karina felt a blush rise onto her face, and she sent a charming smile at the cyclops. "why, thank you, tyson. your brother is quite pretty as well, if you ask me." she sent a teasing wink in percy's direction, and he just shook his head at her, and smile on his face.

he turned to ella, who was counting all the barbs in one of her feathers.

"are you okay?" he asked. "we were worried about you."

"ella is not strong," she said. "cyclopes are strong. tyson found ella. tyson took care of ella."

percy raised his eyebrows, as did karina. ella was blushing.

"tyson," percy said. "you big charmer, you."

tyson turned the same color as ella's plumage. "um . . . no." he leaned down and whispered nervously, loud enough for all the others to hear: "she is pretty."

frank tapped his head like he was afraid his brain had short-circuited. "anyway, there's this battle happening."

"right," percy agreed. "tyson, where's annabeth? is any other help coming?"

tyson pouted. his big brown eye got misty. "the big ship is not ready. leo says tomorrow, maybe two days. then they will come."

"we don't have two minutes," percy said. "okay, here's the plan."

as quickly as possible, percy pointed out which were the good guys and the bad guys on the battlefield. tyson was alarmed to learn that bad cyclops and bad centaurs were in the giant's army. "i have to hit pony-men?"

"just scare them away," percy promised.

"um, percy," frank looked at tyson with trepidation. "i just . . . don't want our friend here getting hurt. is tyson a fighter?"

percy smiled. "is he a fighter? frank, you're looking at general tyson of the cyclops army. and by the way, tyson, frank is a descendant of poseidon."

"brother!" tyson crushed frank in a hug.

percy and karina stifled a laugh. "actually he's more like a great-great- . . . oh, never mind. yeah, he's your brother."

"thanks," frank mumbled through a mouthful of flannel. "but if the legion mistakes tyson for an enemy— "

"i've got it!" hazel ran to the chariot and dug out the biggest roman helmet she could find, plus an old roman banner embroidered with SPQR.

she handed them to tyson. "put those on, big guy. then our friends will know your on our team."

"yay!" tyson said. "i'm on your team!"

the helmet was ridiculously small, and he put on the cape backward, like a SPQR baby bib.

"it'll do," percy said. "ella, just stay here. stay safe."

"safe," ella repeated. "ella likes being safe. safety in numbers. safety deposit boxes. ella will go with tyson."

"what?" percy said. "oh . . . fine. whatever. just don't get hurt. and mrs. o'leary— "

"ROOOF!"

"how do you feel about pulling a chariot?"

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tyson x ella are my comfort ship augh

and ofc percy and karina being a power duo as they should!