MΛЯK ӨF ΛƬΉΣПΛ

THAT NIGHT LUCIA SLEPT WITHOUT NIGHTMARES, which just made her uneasier when she woke up—like a calm breeze before the storm. Leo docked the ship at a pier in Charleston Harbor, right next to the seawall.

Along the shore was a historical district with tall mansions, palm trees, and wrought-iron fences. Antique cannons pointed at the water. By the time Annabeth met them on deck, Jason, Frank, and Leo had already left for the museum. They'd promised Lucia to be back by sunset.

The girls were ready to go, but first Lucia turned to Percy, who was leaning on the starboard rail, gazing over the bay.

Lucia took his hand. "What are you going to do while we're gone?"

"Jump into the harbor," he said casually, "I want to try communicating with the local Nereids. Maybe they can give me some advice about how to free those captives in Atlanta. Besides, I think the sea might be good for me. Being in that aquarium made me feel...unclean." His hair was dark and tangled as usual, but Lucia softly touched the single streak of faded bluish-grey in his hair.

When Annabeth, Lucia, and Percy were fourteen, they'd taken turns (unwillingly) holding the weight of the sky. The strain left them both with some gray hair. Lucia helped him dye his strand a shade of royal blue last December, which by now had faded away.

She kissed him deeply. "Good luck, Ocean eyes. Just come back to me, okay?"

"Always," he promised her. "You do the same."

Lucia tried to push down her growing unease. She turned to Piper, Annabeth, and Hazel.

Annabeth cleared her throat, "Okay, ladies. Let's find the ghost of the Battery."

༄

ACCORDING TO THE SIGNS, the seaside park was called White Point Gardens. The ocean breeze swept away the muggy heat of the summer afternoon, and it was pleasantly cool under the shade of the palmetto trees.

Lining the road were old Civil War cannons and bronze statues of historical figures, which made Lucia shudder.

She thought back to the statues in New York City during the Titan War, which had come to life thanks to Daedalus's command sequence twenty-three. She wondered how many other statues around the country were secretly automatons, waiting to be triggered.

Charleston Harbor glittered in the sun. To the north and south, strips of land stretched out like arms enclosing the bay, and sitting in the mouth of the harbor, about a mile out, was an island with a stone fort.

Lucia had a memory of that fort being important in the Civil War, but she didn't spend much time thinking about it. Mostly she breathed in the sea air and thought about Percy.

Gods forbid she ever had to break up with him. She'd never be able to visit the sea again without remembering her broken heart.

They turned away from the seawall and explored the inland side of the gardens. The park was strangely not crowded. They strolled along South Battery Street, which was lined with four-story Colonial mansions.

The brick walls were blanketed with ivy. The facades had soaring white columns like Roman temples. The front gardens were bursting with rose bushes, honeysuckle, and flowering bougainvillea. It looked like Demeter had set the timer on all the plants to grow several decades ago, then forgotten to come back and check on them.

"Kind of reminds me of New Rome," Hazel said. "All the big mansions and the gardens. The columns and arches."

The other girls didn't say much.

Piper kept looking around like she expected an ambush.

She had said she'd seen this park in the blade of her knife, but she wouldn't elaborate. Lucia guessed she was afraid to. After all, the last time Piper had tried to interpret a vision from her knife, Percy and Jason had almost killed each other in Kansas.

Hazel also seemed preoccupied. Maybe she was taking in their surroundings, or maybe worrying about Nico.

Lucia knew that she was...

Annabeth also seemed distracted and lost in her thoughts. Lucia wondered if she was thinking about the legend. She had yet to tell her what she saw in her scroll. Mostly because she didn't find anything too helpful. But she could tell Annabeth was struggling with something.

The girl poked Annabeth's side. The blonde looked down at her friend with curious but stormy eyes. She gave her a look that told Lucia she didn't want to talk about it, especially right now.

Lucia nodded in silent agreement but made a mental note to have a longer conversation with her later. She just hoped they got that chance.

"There." Hazel pointed across the harbor.

A hundred yards out, a shimmering white figure floated on the water.

"The ghost," Annabeth observed.

"That's not a ghost," Hazel said. "No kind of spirit glows that brightly."

Lucia scoffed, "But I'm brighter, right?"

As if in a trance, Piper walked across the street toward the edge of the seawall, narrowly avoiding a horse-drawn carriage.

"Piper!" Annabeth called.

"We'd better follow her," Hazel said.

By the time the girls caught up to her, the ghostly apparition was only a few yards away. Piper glared at it like the sight offended her.

"It is her," she grumbled.

Lucia's eyes focused on the ghost, she was able to adjust them to the blazing light and make out its godlike details.

"Nope! Nevermind!." Lucia immediately took it back, she only hoped Aphrodite didn't take the brighter comment as a comment on her beauty. She did not want to return to the Argo looking like a frog. Or worse, being one.

The goddess floated up the seawall and stopped in front of them. The glow faded.

Annabeth gasped.

"Right? Milf..." Lucia hummed,

Piper's eyes widened in disgust, and she hissed in annoyance. "Lucia?!"

"I'm only saying the truth" Lucia defended, "But my bad Pipes..."

She glared, "You need a cold shower."

Lucia's mouth fell agape, she grumbled under her breath, "I don't like the cold.."

Aphrodite was dressed in a ball gown, just as Jason had described. Her gown had a low-cut bodice of pink silk and a three-tiered hoop skirt with white scalloped lace. She wore tall white silk gloves and held a feathered pink-and-white fan to her chest.

"Aphrodite," Annabeth mumbled breathlessly,

"Venus?" Hazel asked in amazement.

"Mom," Piper said, with no enthusiasm.

Lucia looked around at the girls beside her, she shrugged and looked back at Aphrodite. "Gorgeous."

"Girls!" The goddess spread her arms like she wanted a group hug.

No one obliged, although Lucia was slightly tempted.

Hazel backed into a palmetto tree."I'm so glad you're here,"

Aphrodite said. "War is coming. Bloodshed is inevitable. So there's only one thing to do."

"Uh...and that is?" Annabeth ventured.

"Why, have a tea party and chat, obviously."

"Ah yes. Nothing quite says war like a tea party."

"See!" Aphrodite clapped excitedly, "Lucia understands! Come with me, ladies!"

༄

APHRODITE KNEW HOW TO DO A TEA PARTY.

She led them to the central pavilion in the gardens—a white-pillared gazebo, where a table was set with silverware, china cups, and of course a steaming pot of tea, the fragrance shifting as easily as Aphrodite's appearance—sometimes cinnamon, or jasmine, or mint. There were plates of scones, cookies, muffins, fresh butter, and jam.

Aphrodite sat—or held court, rather—in a wicker peacock chair. She poured tea and served cakes without getting a speck on her clothes, her posture always perfect, her smile dazzling.

"Oh, my sweet girls," the goddess said. "I do love Charleston! The weddings I've attended in this gazebo—they bring tears to my eyes. And the elegant balls in the days of the Old South. Ah, they were lovely. Many of these mansions still have statues of me in their gardens, though they called me Venus."

"Which are you?" Lucia asked. "Venus or Aphrodite?"

The goddess' eyes sparkled. "Oh Lucia, you've grown into a stunning young woman. But maybe try some more makeup. Annabeth you should do something with your hair. And, Hazel, your clothes—"

"My clothes?" Hazel looked down at her rumpled denim, not self-consciously, but baffled, as if she couldn't imagine what was wrong with them.

"Mother!" Piper said. "You're embarrassing me."

"Well, I don't see why," the goddess said. "Just because you don't appreciate my fashion tips, Piper doesn't mean the others won't. I could do a quick makeover for Annabeth, Lucia, and Hazel, perhaps silk ball gowns like mine—"

"Mother!"

"Can mine be gold?" Lucia joked.

"Lucia!"

With the snap of Aphrodite's beautifully manicured fingers, Lucia was out of her camp half-blood shirt, shorts, and beaten-up Converse. The goddess instead, granted her a large dark yellow gown with a three-tiered hoop skirt, a tight corset, pantalettes, a wide-brimmed straw hat, and white gloves.

Her frizzed curls were now pinned back into a neat updo of ringlets, and her face was powdered with a little too much makeup for her liking. 

"H-Heavy!"  Lucia's chair stumbled backward. Her skirts hit her in the face as her legs flailed in the air.

Annabeth and Hazel helped steady her. The blonde gave her a look that said 'Seriously Lucy?'.

Her face was etched with pure regret. She felt like Little Bo Peep.

Lucia always knew her comments could get her into trouble somehow... but she never expected suffocation by corset...

"At least you appreciate my talent," Aphrodite sighed. "To answer your question, Lucia, I am both Aphrodite and Venus. Unlike many of my fellow Olympians, I changed hardly at all from one age to the other. In fact, I like to think I haven't aged a bit!"

Her fingers fluttered around her face appreciatively. "Love is love, after all, whether you're Greek or Roman. This civil war won't affect me as much as it will the others."

Hazel nibbled on a sugar cookie. "We're not in a war yet, my lady."

"Oh, dear Hazel." Aphrodite folded her fan. "Such optimism, yet you have heartrending days ahead of you. Of course, war is coming. Love and war always go together. They are the peaks of human emotion! Evil and good, beauty and ugliness." She smiled at the four girls.

Hazel set down her sugar cookie. She had a few crumbs on her chin, "What do you mean," Hazel asked, "Heartrending days?"

The goddess laughed as if Hazel were a cute puppy. "Well, Lucia could give you some ideas. I once promised to make her love life interesting. And didn't I?"

Lucia almost snapped the handle off her teacup. Every memory hit her at once. As everyone watched her, her mind replayed the moments in a torturous recap. Her mood shifted, dampened. Her heart felt heavier in her chest...

"Interesting?" Lucia laughed in disbelief, "My first boyfriend handed me over to Kronos and I had to watch as he fell to his death. I was brainwashed and as a result, I despised Percy. Then when we finally became happy, he disappeared out of nowhere for months! Oh and don't even get me started on that little dream sequence I was forced to watch after he kissed me for the first time. Oh! And the whole Am I even worthy of love thing! Also, the only girl I ever kissed was when I was eleven years old and she told me she was straight!—Okay, I lost the plot there...But still? Interesting? I would not use that word.."

"Well, I can't take credit for all your troubles," the goddess said. "But I do love twists and turns in a love story. And I know for a fact it hasn't been all bad..." She winked and Lucia swore her entire body could burst into flames at the amount of heat that rose to her face. "Oh! all of you are such excellent stories—I mean, girls. You do me proud!"

Aphrodite snapped her attention to Annabeth with a knowing mischievous, smile, "Oh clever beautiful Annabeth, My daughter would look much better next to you than that child of Bellona—"

Annabeth choked, her teacup fell from her hand and shattered against the table. She looked surprised, embarrassed, and kind of upset. Aphrodite wrinkled her nose at the mess.

"Mother!," Piper became inflamed with anger and embarrassment, "is there a reason you're here?"

"Hmm? Oh, you mean besides the tea? I often come here. I love the view,  the food, the atmosphere—you can just smell the romance and heartbreak in the air, can't you? Centuries of it."She pointed to a nearby mansion. "Do you see that rooftop balcony? We had a party there the night the American Civil War began. The shelling of Fort Sumter."

Lucia remembered. "The island in the harbor.  That's where the first fighting of the  Civil War happened. The Confederates shelled the Union troops and took the fort."

"Oh, such a party!" Aphrodite said. "A string quartet, and all the men in their elegant new officers' uniforms. The women's dresses—you should've seen them! I danced with Ares—or was he, Mars? I'm afraid I was a little giddy. And the beautiful bursts of light across the harbor!"

Aphrodite's liveliness didn't sit right with Lucia, " You do know you are talking about the beginning of the bloodiest war in U.S. history. Over six hundred thousand people died—more Americans than in World War One and World War Two combined. And all due to racism and greed."

"And the refreshments!" Aphrodite continued. "Ah, they were divine. General Beauregard himself made an appearance. He was such a scoundrel. He was on his second wife, then, but you  should have seen the way he looked at Lisbeth Cooper—"

"Mother!" Piper tossed her scone to the pigeons.

"Yes, my Apologies," the goddess said. "To make the story short, I'm here to help you, girls. I doubt you'll be seeing Hera much. Your little quest has hardly made her welcome in the throne room. And the other gods are rather indisposed, as you know, torn between their Roman and Greek sides. Some more than others." Aphrodite fixed her gaze on Annabeth. "I suppose you've told your friends about your falling out with your mother?"

Heat rose to her cheeks. Hazel and Piper looked at her curiously.

Lucia stayed silent.

"Falling out?" Hazel asked.

"An argument," Annabeth said. "It's nothing."

"Nothing!" the goddess said. "Well, I don't know about that. Athena was the most Greek of all goddesses. The patron of Athens, after all. When the Romans took over...oh, they adopted Athena after a fashion. She became Minerva, the goddess of crafts and cleverness. But the Romans had other war gods who were more to their taste, more reliably Roman—like Bellona—"

"Reyna's mom," Piper muttered.

"Yes, indeed," the goddess agreed. "I had a lovely talk with Reyna awhile back, right here in the park. And the Romans had Mars, of course. And later, there was Mithras—not even properly Greek or Roman, but the legionnaires were crazy about his cult. I always found him crass and terribly nouveau dieu,  personally.  At any rate,  the  Romans quite sidelined poor Athena. They took away most of her military importance. The Greeks never forgave the Romans for that insult. Neither did Athena."

Annabeth's face fell."The Mark of Athena," she said. "It leads to a statue, doesn't it? It leads to...to the statue."

Lucia's stomach twisted in knots. She already had that idea present in her head but she hated being right about things like this...

Aphrodite smiled. "You are clever,  like your mother.  Understand, though, your siblings, the children of  Athena, have been searching for centuries. None has succeeded in recovering the statue. In the meantime, they've been keeping alive the Greek feud with the Romans. Every civil war...so much bloodshed and heartbreak...has been orchestrated largely by Athena's children."

"That's..." Annabeth stopped herself.

"Romantic?" Aphrodite offered. "Yes, I supposed it is."

"But..." Annabeth tried to gain clarity. "The Mark of Athena, how does it work? Is it a series of clues, or a trail set by Athena—"

"The coin..." Lucia began, and Annabeth turned to her. The brunette sighed. "She said to follow the coin, remember?... I started digging into it, Beth... I didn't get a lot of information. But the coin is your guide, And it will allow you to find it ...but you have to do this quest by yourself... Only a single child of Athena is capable of completing it..."

Aphrodite looked politely bored. "I don't believe Athena created the Mark consciously. If she knew where her statue was, she'd simply tell you where to find it. No...I'd guess the Mark is more like a spiritual trail of breadcrumbs. It's a connection between the statue and the children of the goddess. That's why it must be you and you alone. The statue wants to be found, you see, but it can only be freed by the most worthy."

"And for thousands of years," Annabeth said, "no one has managed."

"Hold on," Piper said. "What statue are we even talking about?"

The goddess laughed. "Oh, I'm sure Annabeth can fill you in. At any rate, the clue you need is close by: a map of sorts, left by the children of Athena in 1861—a remembrance that will start you on your path, once you reach Rome. But as you said, Annabeth Chase, no one has ever succeeded in following the Mark of Athena to its end. There you will face your worst fear—the fear of every child of Athena. And even if you survive, how will you use your reward? For war or for peace?"

Piper put a hand over Annabeth's trembling hand. "Where is this map?"

Aphrodite spread butter on a muffin as if she had all the time in the world. "The map is at Fort Sumter, of course." She pointed her butterknife toward Lucia. "Now, As for you my dear." Aphrodite turned. "Lucia. I trust you know about your father..."

Annabeth turned to Lucia. Her face hardened.

"Don't get mad at me, it's been a day." Lucia sighed, before sharing what she saw in her scroll.

"The Fall of the Sun." The gears in Annabeth's head seemed to turn, Her face dropping.

Lucia nodded morosely, she looked back towards Aphrodite. Now as she looked at her she didn't feel as distracted by her beauty. The giddiness had now faded away. She took off her enormous straw hat and set it next to the jar of sugar cubes. "What does it mean? I mean is there some Roman legend for this prophecy too..."

"No." Aphrodite sipped on her tea, almost like she was trying to keep herself from saying more. "... This is a lot less rational than Annabeth's..." She pursed her pink lips in annoyance, "Which usually would be exciting if I had any control..."

Lucia's frown deepened, "Meaning?"

"Love is complicated, Lucia. It can make people do crazy things. There are many forms of love as you know. But you also know from experience how lines can be crossed... And I just. I don't see how even I, the personification of all love can help you through this. It has been taken from our hands...I mean even the fates can't..." Aphrodite stopped herself.

"But—" Lucia began. She felt her body fill with uncomfortable heat. Her chest tightened and her breathing became unsteady. The corset did nothing to make her feel better. She needed to loosen it before she keeled over. "How is that even possible? The fates they control everything..."

Aphrodite smoothed out her unwrinkled dress. "Do you know of Harmonia..."

Lucia looked toward Annabeth cluelessly before looking back at the goddess. "I'm still iffy on the ancient Greek side of history...but wasn't she cursed by a necklace or something?"

Aphrodite closed her eyes almost like she was pained. But they fluttered back open to reveal flawless multicolored eyes. If Lucia focused enough she only saw sea green.

"She blossomed through Ares and I." Aphrodite explained, "Created from our love."

Lucia listened intently.

"Or affair as many like to call it." Lucia noticed this was the first time she ever saw the goddess frown, "My dear daughter was to be married off as a prize... just as I was to Hephaestus. And It was my husband, out of his jealousy, who presented Harmonia with the cursed necklace, dooming her and all her descendants to endless tragedy...."

"What does that...I mean...Why are you telling me this."

Aphrodite hesitated,

"Guys!" Hazel pointed to the sky.

Circling above the palmetto trees were two large eagles. Higher up, descending rapidly, was a flying chariot pulled by pegasi. Leo's diversion with Buford at the end table hadn't worked—at least not for long.

Aphrodite shrugged off the last heavy seconds of the conversation nonchalantly. "It looks like the Romans have arrived to cut you off. I'd get back to your ship in a hurry if I were you. Would you care for some tea cakes to go?"

༄

LUCIA WONDERED IF IT WAS TOO LATE TO GET HER clothes back as she ran in the bundle of frilly fabrics and very tight heels. She had torn off the gloves and left the hat behind. But the dress itself had her wheezing for air. She normally would have loved a free silk ball gown. But not one this outdated...

Halfway across the dock, three giant eagles descended in front of them. Each deposited a Roman commando in purple and denim with glittering gold armor, sword, and shield. The eagles flew away, and the Roman in the middle, who was scrawnier than the others, raised his visor.

"Surrender to Rome!" Octavian shrieked.

Hazel drew her cavalry sword and grumbled, "Fat chance, Octavian."

Lucia cursed under her breath. By himself, the augur wouldn't have bothered her, but the two other guys looked like seasoned warriors—a lot bigger and stronger than Lucia wanted to deal with.

Piper raised her hands in a placating gesture. "Octavian, what happened at camp was a setup. We can explain."

"Can't hear you!" Octavian yelled. "Wax in  our  ears—standard procedure when battling evil sirens."

"Let me skewer him," Hazel muttered. "Please."

"I feel like I should protest," Lucia questioned. She bundled up her tiered skirt and struggled to take out the daggers from her thigh sheath. "Fuck! it's impossible to do anything!" She huffed,

"That's because demigods don't normally wear ball gowns to fight off monsters."Annabeth quipped.

"Yes Beth, we have established that I need to learn to shut up." She groaned, "I am who I am.."

"Lucy why the hell would you say yes to a ball gown dress in the middle of this!" Annabeth exasperated.

"I wasn't being serious!" She cried, When Annabeth gave her an Athena-like look she huffed, "I'm the one who's suffering, let's just try and survive this before I lose circulation." Lucia pulled at the corset.

She was finally able to draw her daggers from the thigh sheath, which was wrapped around the parachute-like pantalettes she had on. Thankfully everything was still in place. Her bow disguised as a charm bracelet dangled and chimed around her wrist. And her purple quiver was still slung over her shoulder.

At least Aphrodite made sure she stayed armed.

The ship was only fifty feet away, but Lucia saw no sign of Coach Hedge on deck. He was probably below, watching his stupid martial arts programs. Jason's group wasn't due back until sunset, and Percy was underwater, unaware of the invasion.

Lucia and Annabeth stepped forward in sync, preparing themselves to fight. Annabeth held out her knife as Lucia conducted heat into her daggers.

But Eagles circled overhead, crying out as if to alert their brethren. That meant more Romans would be arriving. And despite their power, Lucia knew they would need more support to fight off multiple trained soldiers...

"Now, throw down your weapons and turn around slowly so I can bind your hands." Octavian hissed.

Lucia couldn't see the flying chariot anymore, but she assumed it was close by. She had to figure out something before more Romans arrived. She needed help...some kind of distress signal to Coach Hedge, or even better—Percy.

"Well?" Octavian demanded. His two friends brandished their swords.

Lucia smiled sweetly, "Of course, You're family. Whatever you say..."

Annabeth wrinkled her nose at Lucia.

Very slowly, using only two fingers, Lucia clipped her charm bracelet off her wrist. 

Instead of dropping it, she flung it as far as she could into the seawater. "Oops! Would you look at that!"

Octavian made a squeaking sound. "Do not call me family you sad excuse of a demigod—What are you even wearing! You disgrace! And what was that for?! I didn't say toss anything! That could've been some kind of evidence. Or spoils of war!"

She tried for a dumb innocent grin, Octavian seemed to buy it. He huffed in exasperation.

"Drop your daggers and quiver too! On the deck! And you other three..." He pointed his blade at her friends. "Put your weapons on the dock. No funny bus—"

All around the Romans, Charleston Harbor erupted like a Las  Vegas fountain putting on a show. When the wall of seawater subsided, the three Romans were in the bay, spluttering and frantically trying to stay afloat in their armor.

Percy stood on the dock, holding Lucia's charm bracelet in the palm of his hand. "You dropped this," he said, totally poker-faced.

Lucia threw her arms around him. She kissed his face, her skirt almost sending them both back into the water. "Gods, do I fucking love you, Percy Jackson!"

"Guys," Hazel interrupted. She had a little smile on her face. "We need to hurry."

Down in the water, Octavian yelled, "Get me out of here! I'll kill you!"

"Tempting," Percy called down.

"What?" Octavian shouted. He was holding on to one of his guards, who was having trouble keeping them both afloat.

"Nothing!" Percy shouted back. "Let's go, guys."

Hazel frowned. "We can't let them drown, can we?"

"They won't," Percy promised. "I've got the water circulating around their feet. As soon as we're out of range, I'll spit them ashore."

Lucia grinned. "Nice."

Percy looked at her properly. He scratched the back of his neck. "Um, Luz why are you—"

She cut him off , "No time. Come on we gotta go!"

"...Hey!" He tried calling after her. His eyebrows crinkled together. "How are you running so fast in those heels?!"

They all climbed aboard the Argo II, Annabeth ran to the helm.

"Piper, get below. Use the sink in the galley for an Iris-message. Warn Jason to get back here!"

Piper nodded and raced off.

"Hazel, go find Coach Hedge and tell him to get his furry hindquarters on deck!"

"Right!"

"Percy—you and I need to get this ship to Fort Sumter."

Percy nodded and ran to the mast. Ropes flew on their own—releasing the dock ties, weighing the anchor. The sails unfurled and caught the wind.

Annabeth took the helm. "And Lucia, Try and keep them busy! Defend the ship! Distract them!" Annabeth said in exasperation, "Just do something Lucy-like!"

Lucia nodded, "That's my specialty." She cloned herself into multiple versions of herself. All floating along the ship or docks. The real her aimed shots with the ballista. Simultaneously, her holograms brightened and randomly twirled around in the big ball gown. The flying eagles flew in a frenzy at the distracting light.

Percy stopped in his tracks for a moment and laughed, "I'm dating a disco ball.."

A hologram showed up in front of him and flicked his forehead "You're not supposed to get distracted Kelphead!" she chided, before running off to the edge of the ship. She looked over the ship and yelled out insults against the stuffed animals on Octavian's belt.

"Oh wow, he's pissed. I really hit a nerve." Lucia clicked her tongue from the ballista she manned. "Don't mess with this boy's plushies..."

Meanwhile, Annabeth fired the engine. The oars extended with a sound like machine-gun fire, and the Argo II turned from the dock, heading for the island in the distance.

The three eagles still circled overhead, getting disoriented by Lucia's holograms now sending out flashing lights into the sky. She kept them from landing on the ship, but more eagles were flying in formation toward Fort Sumter—at least a dozen. If each of them carried a Roman demigod...that was a lot of enemies.

Coach Hedge came pounding up the stairs with Hazel at his hooves."Where are they?" he demanded. "Who do I kill?"

"No killing!" Annabeth ordered. "Just help Lucia defend the ship!"

"That would be really nice!" All her voices rang in harmony, she was using a lot of power and she could feel it starting to exhaust her.

"But they interrupted a Chuck Norris movie!"

A collective groan of frustration rung through the ship but they all came from the same person. "Coach get your furry legs over here and help me!"

Piper emerged from below. "Got a message through to Jason. Kind of fuzzy, but he's already on his way. He should be—oh! There"

Soaring over the city, heading in their direction, was a giant bald eagle, unlike the golden Roman birds.

"Frank!" Hazel cried. Leo was holding on to the eagle's feet, and even from the ship, They could all hear him screaming and cursing. "Fuck! Fuck! I'm going to die! Shit! F-Frank!"

Behind them flew Jason, riding the wind.

"Never seen Jason fly before," Percy grumbled. "He looks like a blonde Superman."

"This isn't the time!" One Lucia scolded him. "Look, they're in trouble!"

Sure enough, the Roman flying chariot had descended from a cloud and was diving straight toward them. Jason and Frank veered out of the way, pulling up to avoid getting trampled by the pegasi. The charioteers fired their bows. Arrows whistled under Leo's feet, which led to more screaming and cursing. Jason and Frank were forced to overshoot the Argo II and fly toward Fort Sumter.

"I'll get 'em!" yelled Coach Hedge. He spun the port ballista out of Lucia's hands. She was still in the gown so she lost both her balance and focus as she toppled onto her butt. Which caused all her holograms to dissipate. Before she could even protest, Hedge fired. A flaming spear rocketed toward the chariot.

It exploded over the heads of the pegasi and threw them into a panic.

Unfortunately, it also singed Frank's wings and sent him spiraling out of control. Leo slipped from his grasp. The chariot shot toward Fort Sumter, slamming into Jason.

Lucia watched in horror as Jason—obviously dazed and in pain—lunged for Leo, caught him, then struggled to gain altitude. He only managed to slow their fall. They disappeared behind the ramparts of the fort. Frank tumbled after them. Then the chariot dropped somewhere inside and hit with a bone-shattering crack. One broken wheel spun into the air.

"Coach!" Piper screamed.

"What?" Hedge demanded. "That was just a warning shot!"

"Dioses mios! Dame paciencia!" Lucia pleaded, My gods! Give me the patience!

Annabeth gunned the engines. The hull shuddered as they picked up speed. The docks of the island were only a hundred yards away now, but a dozen more eagles were soaring overhead, each carrying a Roman demigod in its claws. The Argo II's crew would be outnumbered at least three to one.

"Percy," Annabeth said, "we're going to come in hard. I need you to control the water so we don't smash into the docks. Once we're there, you're going to have to hold off the attackers. The rest of you help him guard the ship."

"But—Jason!" Piper cried.

"Frank and Leo!" Hazel added.

"I'll find them," Annabeth promised. "I've got to figure out where the map is. And I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can do that."

"The fort is crawling with Romans," Piper warned. "You'll have to fight your way through, find our friends—assuming they're okay—find this map, and get everybody back alive. All on your own?"

"Just an average day." Annabeth nodded. She looked towards Lucia before making her exit. "Don't let them take this ship!"

Lucia agreed reluctantly, fully believing in Annabeth's capabilities, but also still desperately afraid of her dream becoming a reality.

She turned to the crew on board. Her face became stern as her hands fell on her hips. She felt a little ridiculous with her get up but they'd listen to her despite it. "You heard the girl! Everyone get ready! Now! And whatever you do, don't die!"