O C E A N U S

C H A P T E R   T W O

( dine like a roman )

⟶⬩⬥⬩⟵

          MALIA WAS IN food heaven. If there was one thing she loved about the Romans after just meeting them, it was the way they dined. 

Sets of couches and low tables were carted into the forum until it resembled a furniture showroom. Romans lounged in groups of ten or twenty, talking and laughing while wind spirits—aurae—swirled overhead, bringing an endless assortment of pizzas, sandwiches, chips, cold drinks, and fresh-baked cookies. Drifting through the crowd were purple ghosts—Lares—in togas and legionnaire armor. Around the edges of the feast, satyrs (no, fauns, Malia thought) trotted from table to table, panhandling for food and spare change. In the nearby fields, the war elephant frolicked with Mrs. O'Leary, and children played tag around the statues of Terminus.

When Malia had caught sight of the war elephant—Hannibal—she'd squealed loudly and turned to Jason with a bright smile, exclaiming, "You have an elephant?" to which Jason laughed and explained how Hannibal was their war elephant.

Now she sat between Jason and Piper at one of the tables with the other members from Camp Half-Blood, her brother, the two friends Percy had somehow managed to gain, and Reyna and a few of her officers (including the blond kid Octavian, freshly back from burning a teddy bear for the gods). 

She was studying everything with interest. If she was honest with herself, the whole scene seemed so familiar yet so completely different that it made her feel as though she was suspended in the air. A feeling she didn't exactly love, but one that wasn't too bad. 

She could see that Annabeth was struggling with something across the table. When the blonde met Malia's worried gaze, she smiled, but Malia could see straight through it. She was worried about something, but she knew that they needed the Romans to help out on their quest otherwise it wouldn't end well. 

As a tornado of food platters settled onto the table, Jason squeezed Malia's hand and leaned closer to her. "After all this is done, I want to show you around New Rome."

Malia looked up at him with shining eyes. "Really?" He nodded. She grinned and nudged his arm. "I'd love that. With how much you talked about it, it must be something."

"Trust me, it is," he said. "The place is incredible."

Malia believed that. Just by how the forum looked, she knew everything about the camp would be insane. Don't get her wrong, she loved Camp Half-Blood—it was her home, and she would never leave it—but something about the Roman camp had a different air. A safer air. One that camp didn't have, even with the barrier around it. 

Malia then caught sight of something on her brother's arm and gasped. She reached across the table and grabbed his arm, staring wide-eyed at the tattoo on his arm that looked like Jason's. Except, this one had one tally mark and the symbol of a trident instead of an eagle. 

"You got a tattoo?" Malia looked from the tattoo to Percy, shaking her head. "Mom's gonna kill you when we get home."

Percy groaned and took his arm back. "Don't remind me."

"Looks like I'll finally be an only child." Percy rolled his eyes and reached over the table to hit her arm, Malia ducking away from him and into Jason's side, laughing. "I'm kidding!"

Percy crossed his arms and looked between Malia and Jason, as if just realizing how close they were. Malia internally groaned when she saw how his eyes darkened a bit. She had been preparing herself for how Percy would react when he found out that she had a boyfriend, but now that the time had actually come (well, possibly come. Her brother could be dense at times, so she wasn't sure), she didn't know what to expect.

Before Percy could say anything, though, Reyna stood and called a toast to friendship, which allowed for Malia to let out a breath of relief. 

After introductions all around, the Romans and Malia's crew began exchanging stories. Jason explained how he'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood without his memory, and how he'd gone on a quest with Malia, Piper, and Leo to rescue the goddess Hera (or Juno, take your pick—she was equally annoying in Greek or Roman) from imprisonment at the Wolf House in northern California.

"Impossible!" Octavian broke in. "That's our most sacred place. If the giants had imprisoned a goddess there—"

"They would've destroyed her," Piper said. "And blamed it on the Greeks, and started a war between the camps."

Malia nodded. "Now, shut your scrawny ass up before a breeze blows you away and let Jason finish."

Octavian opened his mouth, but no sound came out. His face burned bright red and he let out a huff before sitting down and crossing his arms. Malia and Piper high fived, ignoring the look that Annabeth was giving them. She also failed to notice the look that Reyna was sending her and Jason, the girl just realizing that they were a couple. 

"So," Jason continued, "that's how we found out about the earth goddess Gaea. She's still half asleep, but she'd the one freeing the monsters from Tartarus and raising the giants. Porphyrion, the big leader dude we fought at the Wolf House, he said he was retreating to the ancient lands—Greece itself. He plans on awakening Gaea and destroying the gods by . . . what did he call it?"

"Pulling up their roots," Malia piped in, shivering at the words. They were very daunting. 

Percy nodded thoughtfully. "Gaea's been busy over here, too. We had our own encounter with Queen Dirt Face."

Percy recounted his side of the story. He talked about waking up at the Wolf House with no memories except for one name—Annabeth.

When Malia heard that, she cursed Hera over and over again in her head. Of course the goddess would erase Percy's memories of her during this whole thing. She didn't blame Percy for not remembering her. At least he remembered her now . . . and he was beginning to act very overprotective of her. She wasn't oblivious to the glares he shot Jason when he wasn't speaking. Percy may be an idiot at times, but Malia knew he was piecing things together. And once Percy fully understood that Malia was dating Jason, they were both dead.

Oh well.

Percy continued, telling them about how he'd traveled to Alaska with Frank and Hazel—how they'd defeated the giant Alcyoneus, freed the death god Thanatos, and returned with the lost golden eagle standard of the Roman camp to repel an attack by the giants' army.

When Percy had finished, Jason whistled appreciatively. "No wonder they made you praetor."

Octavian snorted. "Which means we now have three praetors! The rules clearly state we can only have two!"

"On the bright side," Percy said, "both Jason and I outrank you, Octavian. So we can both tell you to shut up."

Malia had to hold back a laugh when she saw how purple Octavian's face was. It matched his shirt as he boiled in rage but remained quiet. Jason gave Percy a fist bump.

Even Reyna managed a smile, though her eyes were stormy.

"We'll have to figure out the extra praetor problem later," she said. "Right now we have more serious issues to deal with."

"I'll step aside for Jason," Percy said easily, waving his hand. "It's no biggie."

"No biggie?" Malia was sure that Octavian was about to blow. His face was getting redder by the second and his eyes were bulging in their sockets as he looked at Percy. "The praetorship of Rome is no biggie?"

Percy ignored him and turned to Jason. "You're Thalia Grace's brother, huh? Wow. You guys look nothing alike."

Jason chuckled. "Yeah, I noticed," he said. "Anyway, thanks for helping my camp while I was gone. You did an awesome job."

"Back at you," Percy said.

Malia hated to interrupt the brotherly bonding (especially since it could put Jason in Percy's good graces and give her and him some luck with the over-protective brother stuff that was bound to come their way), but they had more important things to talk about. "As much as I'd love to sit here and watch you two inflate each other's egos, we should talk about the Great Prophecy. It sounds like the Romans are aware of it too?"

Reyna nodded. "We call it the Prophecy of Eight. Octavian, you have it committed to memory?"

"Of course," he said. "But. Reyna—"

"Recite it, please. In English, not Latin."

Octavian sighed. "Eight half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall—"

"An oath to keep with a final breath," Annabeth continued. "And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

Everyone stared at her—except for Leo, who had constructed a pinwheel out of aluminum foil taco wrappers and was sticking it into passing wind spirits.

Malia gave her friend a small smile when she noticed how nervous she was. Annabeth, though being smart, sometimes didn't know how to hold back her thoughts. It was one of the flaws that Malia found incredibly funny sometimes and she loves how awkward Annabeth would get when she randomly spit out facts. 

The big kid, Frank, sat forward, staring at her in fascination, as if she'd grown a third eye. "Is it true you're a child of Min—I mean, Athena?"

"Yes," Annabeth said, her tone defensive. "Why is that such a surprise?"

Octavian scoffed and Malia turned her gaze to him, her eyes hardening like ice. "If you're truly a child of the wisdom goddess—"

It took everything in Malia not to jump across the table and strangle his twig-like neck. The way he spoke to Annabeth and looked at her with such judgmental eyes peeved Malia to no end. Was it so hard for this stupid idiot to respect a confident and smart woman? Was he a sexist along with being a stuffed-animal killer? Malia suspected yes, and she also wondered if the people from Build-A-Bear had nightmares about him.

Stop it! You're getting off track!

"Enough," Reyna snapped. "Annabeth is what she says. She's here in peace. Besides . . ." She gave Annabeth a look of grudging respect. "Percy has spoken highly of you."

Malia immediately caught onto what was going on. The undertones in Reyna's voice and the way Percy looked down, suddenly interested in his cheeseburger, told Malia all that she needed to know.

While Percy was with the Roman campers, Reyna had gained a crush on him and admitted her feelings for him. It was obvious in the way Reyna's voice held a bitter edge to it, envy woven in every word she spoke. Percy had turned Reyna down for Annabeth, and Reyna wasn't taking the rejection very well, it seemed. 

Malia shot her brother a look, her eyes teasing as his and Annabeth's cheeks burned brilliant red. Oh, she was going to have a blast teasing them about this moment. Of course, she was glad her brother had enough common sense to turn down the temptation of a successful warrior like Reyna, but that didn't mean she didn't find the situation amusing. Especially when she noticed how badly Annabeth wanted to kiss her brother for not being a barnacle brained idiot.

Annabeth cleared her throat awkwardly. "Uh, thanks," she told Reyna. "At any rate, some of the prophecy is becoming clear. Foes bearing arms to the Doors of Death . . . that means Romans and Greeks. We have to combine forces to find those doors."

Hazel, the girl with the cavalry helmet and the long curly hair, picked up something next to her plate. It looked like a large ruby; but before Malia could be sure, Hazel slipped it into the pocket of her denim shirt.

"My brother, Nico, went looking for the doors," she said.

"Wait." Malia was confused. Nico never mentioned having a sister other than Bianca. But, then again, he also hadn't mentioned Camp Jupiter and he'd know about it, so Malia honestly couldn't hold that against him. "Nico di Angelo? He's your brother? Are you a child of Had—I mean, Pluto?"

Hazel nodded as if this were obvious. Malia wanted to ask more questions, and she could tell that Annabeth wanted to as well, but there were other things to worry about that bloodlines and siblings. So, Malia let the matter go for now, deciding to ask Hazel questions later. 

"Okay," Annabeth said. "You were saying."

"He disappeared." Hazel moistened her lips. "I'm afraid . . . I'm not sure, but I think something's happen to him."

"We'll look for him," Percy promised, and both Annabeth and Malia nodded in agreement. The three were close with Nico despite him hating them for a while when they first met. The kid needed someone there for him. "We have to find the Doors of Death anyway. Thanatos told us we'd find both answers in Rome—like, the original Rome. That's on the way to Greece, right?"

Malia blinked in surprise. "Thanatos told you this?" She couldn't help but ask, her mind spiraling faster than Leo's pinwheel. "As in, Thanatos the death god? That Thanatos?"

Malia had met many gods. She'd even been to the Underworld and fought off Hades' army when she got left there so the others could save her mother and the world. (Percy hadn't been a fan of the idea, but Malia hadn't given him much of a choice since she'd shoved him and caused him to drop his pearl). But Percy's story about freeing the incarnation of death itself really creeped her out more than Hades' soul-filled underpants.

"What other Thanatos do you know?" Malia flipped her brother off as he smiled cheekily at her and took a bite of his burger. "Now that Death is free, monsters will disintegrate and return to Tartarus again like they used to. But as long as the Doors of Death are open, they'll just keep coming back."

Piper twisted the feather in her hair. "Like water leaking through a dam," she suggested.

"Yeah." Percy smiled. "We've got a dam hole."

Annabeth cracked a grin beside him while everyone else looked at them like they were insane. Malia rolled her eyes and shook her head at them. 

"What?" Piper asked.

"Nothing," he said. "Inside joke. The point is we'll have to find the doors and close them before we can head to Greece. It's the only way we'll stand a chance of defeating the giants and making sure they stay defeated."

Reyna plucked an apple from a passing fruit tray. She turned it in her fingers, studying the dark red surface. "You propose an expedition to Greece in your warship. You do realize that the ancient lands—and the Mare Nostrum—are dangerous?"

"Mary who?" Leo asked.

"Mare Nostrum, genius. Not Mary," Malia explained, shooting Leo a teasing smile. "Our sea. It's what the Ancient Romans called the Mediterranean."

Reyna nodded, though she seemed a bit surprised by Malia's knowledge. "The territory that was once the Roman Empire is not only the birthplace of the gods. It's also the ancestral home of the monsters, Titans and giants . . . and worse things. As dangerous as travel is for demigods here in America, there it would be ten times worse."

"You said Alaska would be bad," Percy reminded her. "We survived that."

Reyna shook her head. Her fingernails cut little crescents into the apple as she turned it. "Percy, traveling in the Mediterranean is a different level of danger altogether. It's been off limits to Roman demigods for centuries. No hero in his right mind would go there."

"Then we're good!" Leo grinned over the tip of his pinwheel. "Because we're all crazy, right? Besides, the Argo II is a top-of-the-line warship. She'll get us through."

"We'll have to hurry," Jason added. "I don't know exactly what the giants are planning, but Gaea is growing more conscious all the time. She's invading dreams, appearing in weird places, summoning more and more powerful monsters. We have to stop the giants before they can wake her up fully."

Malia shuddered at the thought of Gaea being fully awake. The Earth Goddess was a pain in the ass when she was asleep. She couldn't begin to imagine how much worse she would be if she were fully awake. 

"Eight half-bloods must answer the call," Annabeth said. "It needs to be a mix from both our camps. Jason, Piper, Leo, Malia, and me. That's five."

"And me," Percy said. "Along with Hazel and Frank. That's eight."

"What?" Octavian shot to his feet. "We're just supposed to accept that? Without a vote in the senate? Without a proper debate? Without—"

"Percy!" Tyson the Cyclops bounded toward them with Mrs. O'Leary at his heels. On the hellhound's back sat the skinniest harpy Malia had ever seen—a sickly-looking girl with stringy red hair, a sackcloth dress, and red-feathered wings.

Malia didn't know where the harpy had come from, but her heart warmed to see her brother Tyson in his tattered flannel and denim with the backward SPQR banner across his chest. She'd had a rough time accepting him as her half brother when she'd first found out, but when she'd realized how much of a sweetheart Tyson was and how loyal he was, she'd grown to love him almost as much as Percy. (If not more, sometimes).

Tyson stopped by their couch and wrung his meaty hands. His big brown eye was full of concern. "Ella is scared," he said.

"No—n—no more boats," the harpy muttered to herself, picking furiously at her feathers. "Titanic, Lusitania, Pax . . . boats are not for harpies."

Leo squinted, offended. He looked at Hazel, who was seated next to him (though she didn't look to pleased about it). "Did that chicken girl just compare my ship to the Titanic?"

"She's not a chicken." Hazel averted her eyes, as if Leo made her nervous. "Ella's a harpy. She's just a little . . . high-strung."

"Ella is pretty," Tyson said. Malia perked a brow at him in surprise and turned to Percy, who was wearing a similar look. Their brother had a crush. "And scared. We need to take her away, but she will not go on the ship."

"No ships," Ella repeated. She looked straight at Annabeth. "Bad luck. There she is. Wisdom's daughter walks alone—"

"Ella!" Frank stood suddenly, startling Piper into sending her plate of carrots flying. The vegetables hit Octavian in the face, causing Malia to cackle into Jason's shoulder. While Malia was dying with Leo and Piper, the others focused on what was going on with Ella. "Maybe it's not the best time—"

"The Mark of Athena burns through Rome," Ella continued, cupping her hands over her ears and raising her voice. "Twins snuff out the angel's breath, Who holds the key to endless death. Giants' bane stands gold and pale, Won through pain from a woven jail."

The effect was like someone dropping a flash grenade on the table. Everyone stared at the harpy. Even Malia, Leo, and Piper had calmed down enough to realize the gravity of the situation. No one spoke. Malia's mind was running in circles. She remembered Athena briefly asking her about something called the Mark of Athena, but she didn't remember why or when. Her eyes flickered to the blonde in question, but Annabeth avoided her eyes. Something was up.

Around them, the sounds of the feast continued, bu muted and distant, as if their little cluster of couches had slipped into a quieter dimension. 

Percy was the first to recover. He stood and took Tyson's arm.

"I know!" he said with feigned enthusiasm. "How about you take Ella to get some fresh air? You and Mrs. O'Leary—"

"Hold on." Malia groaned as Octavian spoke up, gripping one of his teddy bears to the point where he was strangling it with shaking hands. His eyes fixed on Ella, and she could see the hunger brewing in them. Immediately, Malia was defensive of the harpy. "What was that she said? It sounded like—"

"Ella reads a lot," Frank blurted out. "We found her at the library."

"Yes!" Hazel said. "Probably just something she read in a book."

"Books," Ella muttered helpfully. "Ella likes books."

Now that she'd said her piece, the harpy seemed more relaxed. She sat cross-legged on Mrs. O'Leary's back, preening her wings.

Malia's mind was spinning with thoughts. She gave her brother a curious and questioning glance. Obviously, he and Frank and Hazel were hiding something about Ella. Just as obviously, Ella had recited a prophecy—one that most likely concerned Annabeth Chase, the only child of Athena within a hundred miles of the camp. 

Percy's expression said, Help.

Malia nodded with a grin as she formulated the best way to embarrass Octavian the scarecrow. 

"That was a prophecy," Octavian insisted. "It sounded like a prophecy."

No one answered.

Malia wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but she understood that Percy—as per usual, might she add—was on the verge of being in some serious trouble that she and Annabeth would probably have to get him out of. 

Malia forced out a laugh. "Really, Octagon? Maybe harpies are different here, on the Roman side. I mean, after all, you pride yourselves on being more warlike and organized. But our harpies have just enough intelligence to clean cabins and cook lunches. Do yours usually foretell the future?" She gasped in mock surprise. "Do you consult them for your auguries along with your teddy bears and stuffed unicorns?"

Her words had the intended effect. The Roman officers laughed nervously. Some sized up Ella, then looked at Octavian and snorted. The idea of a chicken lady issuing prophecies was apparently just as ridiculous to Romans as it was to Greeks.

"I, uh . . ." Octavian dropped his teddy bear, which Malia was sure was sighing in relief. "No, but—"

"She's just spouting lines from some book," Annabeth said, helping Malia out, "like Hazel suggested. Besides, we already have a real prophecy to worry about."

She turned to Tyson. "Percy's right. Why don't you take Ella and Mrs. O'Leary and shadow-travel somewhere for a while. Is Ella okay with that?"

"'Large dogs are good,'" Ella said. "Old Yeller, 1957, screen-play by Fred Gipson and William Tunberg."

Malia wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but Percy smiled like the problem was all solved.

"Great!" Percy said. "We'll Iris-message you guys when we're done and catch up with you later."

The Romans looked at Reyna, waiting for her ruling. Malia held her breath, her hand gripping tightly to Jason's. 

Reyna had an excellent poker face. She studied Ella, but Malia couldn't guess what she was thinking.

"Fine," the praetor said at last. "Go."

"Yay!" Tyson went around the couches and gave everyone a big hug—even Octavian, who didn't look happy about it. He gave Malia a bone-crushing hug as he passed her, which the daughter of Poseidon returned with a bright smile. Then he climbed on Mrs. O'Leary's back with Ella, and the hellhound bounded out of the forum. They dove straight into a shadow on the Senate House wall and disappeared.

"Well." Reyna set down her uneaten apple. "Octavian is right about one thing. We must gain the senate's approval before we let any of our legionnaires go on a quest—especially one as dangerous as you're suggesting."

"This whole thing smells of treachery," Octavian grumbled. "That trireme is not a ship of peace!"

"Um, duh! It's called a war ship for a reason," Malia said, hitting her head in a gesture to show him how stupid he was.

Leo chuckled. "Come aboard, man," he offered. "I'll give you a tour. You can steer the boat, and if you're really good I'll give you a little paper captain's hat to wear."

Octavian's nostrils flared. "How dare you—"

"It's a good idea," Reyna said. "Octavian, go with him. See the ship. We'll convene a senate meeting in one hour."

"But . . ." Octavian stopped. Apparently he could tell from Reyna's expression that further arguing would not be good for his health. "Fine."

Leo got up. He turned to the group, smiled, and gave them a salute. "Back soon," he promised. "This is gonna be epic."

Leo and Octavian then left, heading for the rope ladder that would get them onto the ship. The wind spirits then began to clear the plates. 

"Uh, Reyna," Jason said, sounding a bit nervous as though he was afraid of how she would react to his question. "If you don't mind, I'd like to show Malia around before the senate meeting. She's never seen New Rome."

"I hear it's insanely beautiful," Malia added on, excited.

Reyna's expression hardened and Malia instantly knew something was wrong.

She watched the praetor closely and felt jealousy rise again at the thought of Reyna having feelings for Jason. They'd been close, yes, but Jason said that he'd never felt anything for the daughter of Bellona, and that he only had feelings for Malia. His 'little mermaid' which Malia was sure he said just to piss her off.

"Of course," Reyna said coldly.

Percy took Annabeth's hand and smiled. "Yeah, me, too. I'd like to show Annabeth—"

"No," Reyna snapped.

Percy knit his eyebrows. "Sorry?"

"I'd like a few words with Annabeth," Reyna said. "Alone. If you don't mind, my fellow praetor."

Her tone made it clear she wasn't really asking permission.

Annabeth looked reluctant to answer, but she nodded nonetheless. It was best to entertain the Romans while they were on their soil. Otherwise, Octavian would get the war that he was wanting. And none of the Greeks were anxious to start a war between mythologies. They'd just finished a war, they didn't need another one on top of the one that was already brewing. 

"Come, daughter of Athena." Reyna rose from her couch. "Walk with me."

Annabeth stood and walked off into the city with Reyna, leaving the others alone at the table. Hazel and Frank were now sitting next to each other while Piper, Percy, Jason, and Malia stayed in their original seats. Silence wrapped around the group for a moment, before Percy cleared his throat and turned to his sister and her boyfriend.

"So . . ." he started, eyeing them suspiciously. "Is there something going on here that I should know about?"

"Oh, gods."

⟶⬩⬥⬩⟵

A U T H O R S   N O T E

⟶⬩⬥⬩⟵

This chapter took me forever because school is just getting more stressful the closer the end of the year gets. I caused myself a stress-induced sickness today. Got two tests tomorrow and a chem test on Thursday. Girl is thriving and dying.

Anyway, we'll see more protective Percy, don't worry. But I didn't want to bombard you with it yet. He'll be here soon enough. Also, jealous Malia? She'll try not to be, but in any relationship, jealousy will show up. It's inevitable sometimes. She'll try to control it, but eventually she'll need to talk to Jason about it. It will be fine. 

Next chapter is hell. Malia and Jason will have some cute moments next chapter and we'll nee them fighting together again. I'm excited for this book to start up and for this to be a different approach to the Mark of Athena book. As  you can see, I've already added in my own scenes and I can't wait to continue to do so.

Please comment and vote!

Love you all!

~ a.h.