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"a last resort"

NEW ROME WAS HARD TO HATE. With terraced gardens, the fountains and temples, the winding cobblestone streets and gleaming white villas, the whole place screamed peace and beauty. After the Titan War last summer, Annabeth had gotten her dream job of redesigning the palaces of Mount Olympus. Her blonde friend was no doubt admiring the details in the architecture.

"We have the best architects and builders in the world," Reyna said, as if reading their thoughts. "Rome always did, in the ancient times. Many demigods stay on to live here after their time in the legion. They go to our university. They settle down to raise families. Percy seemed interested in this fact."

Ariadne must have scowled fiercely, because Reyna laughed. "You're a warrior, all right. Both of you are," the praetor said. "You both have got fire in your eyes."

"Sorry." Annabeth tried to tone down her own glare. Ariadne, on the other hand, couldn't do that. She always had a ferocious look on her face, that was what gave her the aura of power surrounding her at all times.

"Don't be. I'm a daughter of Bellona."

"Roman goddess of war?"

Reyna nodded. She turned and whistled like she was hailing a cab. A moment later, two metal dogs raced toward them—automaton greyhounds, one silver and one gold. They brushed against Reyna's legs and regarded the two girls with glistening ruby eyes.

"My pets," Reyna explained. "Aurum and Argentum. You don't mind if they walk with us?"

Ariadne shrugged. "I have a tiger for a pet. Doesn't bother me."

Reyna eyes her curiously.

Ariadne was the tallest of all three. She had grown for the last time, standing at a tall 5'11. Annabeth rested at 5'8, and it looked like Reyna was the same. The other two had to glance up at her. Somehow, that reminded Annabeth of the Amazon's, which were rather tall, and so was her best friend.

Reyna led them to an outdoor cafe, where the waiter clearly knew her. He smiled and handed her a to-go cup, then offered one to Annabeth. His jaw went slack at the sight of Ariadne, who was oblivious to his look, thanking him for the the hot chocolate. One power of her dad's was to know what the exact drink was, and it was definitely the chocolate drink of winter.

"Would you like some?" Reyna asked Annabeth. "They make wonderful hot chocolate. Not really a Roman drink—"

"But chocolate is universal," Ariadne said, sipping the drink.

"Exactly."

It was a warm June afternoon, but Annabeth accepted the cup with thanks. The three of them walked on, Reyna's gold and silver dogs roaming nearby.

"In our camp," Reyna said, "Athena is Minerva. Are you familiar with how her Roman form is different?"

Annabeth thought for a moment. "I take it Minerva isn't...uh, quite as respected here?"

Reyna blew steam from her cup. "We respect Minerva. She's the goddess of crafts and wisdom...but she isn't really a goddess of war. Not for Romans. She's also a maiden goddess, like Diana...the one you call Artemis. You don't find any children of Minerva here. The idea that Minerva would have children—frankly, it's a little shocking to us."

"Oh." Annabeth's face flushed. She never was one to get into the details of Athena's children—how they were born straight from the mind of the goddess, just as Athena herself had sprung from the head of Zeus.

"I understand that you Greeks don't see things the same way," Reyna continued. "But Romans take vows of maidenhood very seriously. The Vestal Virgins, for instance...if they broke their vows and fell in love with anyone, they would be buried alive. So the idea that a maiden goddess would have children—"

"Got it." Ariadne nodded her head. She blew steam off of her drink, holding it tighter. No wonder the Romans had been giving Annabeth strange looks. "She's not supposed to exist. And even if your camp had children of Minerva—"

"They wouldn't be like you," Reyna said. "They might be craftsmen, artists, maybe advisers, but not warriors. Not leaders of dangerous quests."

Annabeth started to object that she wasn't the leader of the quest. Not officially. But a look from Ariadne shut her up. The past few days, they had been looking to Ariadne and Annabeth for orders—even Jason, could have pulled rank as the son of Jupiter, and Coach Hedge, who didn't take orders from anyone.

"There's more." Reyna snapped her fingers, and her golden dog, Aurum, trotted over. The praetor stroked his ears. "The harpy Ella...it was a prophecy she spoke. We all know that, don't we?"

Annabeth swallowed. "It sounded like a prophecy," she admitted. "But I've never met Ella before today, and I've never heard those lines exactly."

"I have," Reyna murmured. "At least some of them—"

A few yards away, the silver dog barked. A group of children spilled out of a nearby alleyway and gathered around Argentum, letting the dog and laughing, unfazed by its razor-sharp teeth.

"We should move on," Reyna said.

They wound their way up the hill. The greyhounds followed, leaving the children behind.

"We've met before," Annabeth ventured. "You were younger, I think."

Reyna gave her a dry smile. "Very good. Percy didn't remember me. Of course you two spoke mostly with my older sister, Hylla, who is now queen of the Amazons. She left just this morning, before you arrived. At any rate, when we last met, I was a mere handmaiden in the house of Circe."

"Circe..." Ariadne remembered their trip to the island of the sorceress. She'd been thirteen. Percy, Annabeth, and she had washed ashore from the Sea of Monsters. Hylla had welcomed them. Reyna had helped Annabeth get cleaned up and given her a beautiful new dress and a complete makeover. Then Circe had made her sales ouch: if Ariadne and Annabeth stayed on the island, they could have magical training and incredible power. Tempting, until they realized the place was a trap, and Percy had been turned into a rodent. As for Reyna...she'd been one of the servants who had combed Annabeth's hair.

"You..." Annabeth said in amazement. "And Hylla is queen of the Amazons? How did you two—?"

"Long story," Reyna said. "But I remember you well. Both were brave. I've never seen anyone refuse Circe's hospitality, much less outwit her. It's no wonder Percy cares for you."

Her voice was wistful. The last sentence was directed more so toward Ariadne, who thought it might be safer not to respond.

They reached the top of the hill, where a terrace overlooked the entire valley.

"This is my favorite spot," Reyna said. "The Garden of Bacchus."

Grapevine trellises made a canopy overhead. Bees buzzed through honeysuckle and jasmine, which filled the afternoon air with a dizzying mix of perfumes. In the middle of the terrace stood a statue of Bacchus in a sort of ballet position, wearing nothing but a loincloth, his cheeks puffed out and lips pursed, spouting water into a fountain.

Despite her worries, Ariadne laughed. She knew it was wrong, but seeing the fountain humored her to no end.

Reyna smiled slightly. "This is dedicated to your father's Roman side."

"It's beautiful," Ariadne told her once she finished her laughing fit. Vines poked themselves for her attention. She raised a hand and touched them lightly, causing the canopy above to shiver. "My dad—Dionysus—or Mr. D, as others call him at Camp Half-Blood, is our cranky camp director. Imagining him wearing a diaper and spewing water from his mouth makes me laugh."

"I'm glad we both enjoy it."

Reyna stopped at the edge of the terrace. The view was worth the climb. The whole city spread out below them like a 3-D mosaic. To the south, beyond the lake, a cluster of temples perched on a hill. To the north, an aqueduct marched toward the Berkeley Hills. Work crews repairing a broken section, probably damaged in the recent battle.

"I wanted to hear it from you," Reyna said.

Annabeth turned to her. "Head what?"

"The truth," Reyna said. "Convince me that I'm not making a mistake by trusting you. Tell me about yourself. Tell me about Camp Half-Blood. Your friend Piper has sorcery in her words. I spent enough time with Circe to know charmspeak when I hear it. I can't trust what she says. And Jason...well, he has changed. He seems distant, no longer quite Roman."

The hurt in her voice was as sharp as broken glass. Ariadne wondered if she had sounded that way, all the months she'd spent searching for Percy. At least she'd found her boyfriend. Reyna had no one. She was responsible for running an entire camp all by herself. There was a sense from Reyna that she wanted Jason to love her. But he had disappeared, only to come back with a new girlfriend. Meanwhile, Percy had risen to praetor, but he had rebuffed Reyna too. Now Ariadne had come to take him away. Reyna would be left alone again, shouldering a job meant for two people.

Annabeth told Reyna about her life. She talked about her dad and stepmom and her two stepbrothers in San Fransisco, and how she felt like an outsider in her own family. She talked about how she had run away when she was only seven, finding her friends Luke and Thalia and making her way to Camp Half-Blood on Long Island. Ariadne told Reyna about being abandoned when she was five. She explained each and every one of the beads on her necklace, tales that Annabeth shared with her.

Reyna was a good listener.

When they were done talking, Reyna gazed over New Rome. Her metal greyhounds sniffed around the garden, snapping at bees in the honeysuckle. Finally Reyna pointed to the cluster of temples on the distant hill.

"The small red building," she said, "there on the northern side? That's the temple to my mother, Bellona." Reyna turned toward them. "Unlike your mother and father, Bellona has no Greek equivalent. She is fully, truly Roman. She's the goddess of protecting the homeland."

Ariadne said nothing. She wasn't great at Latin, picking up Greek more easily. Her knowledge on the Roman goddess was very limited. Down below, the hull of the Argo II gleamed as it floated over the forum, like some massive bronze party balloon.

"When the Romans go to war," Reyna continued, "we first visit the Temple of Bellona. Inside is a symbolic patch of ground that represents enemy soil. We throw a spear into that ground, indicating that we are now at war. You see, Romans have always believed that offense is the best defense. In ancient times, whenever our ancestors felt threatened by their neighbors, they would invade to protect themselves."

"They conquered everyone around them," Annabeth said. "Carthage, the Gauls—"

"And the Greeks." Reyna let that comment hang. "My point, Ariadne, Annabeth, is that it isn't Rome's nature to cooperate with other powers. Every time Greek and Roman demigods have met, we've fought. Conflicts between our two sides have started some of the most horrible wars in human history—especially civil wars."

"It doesn't have to be that way," Annabeth said. "We've got to work together, or Gaea will destroy us both."

"I agree," Reyna said. "But is cooperation possible? What if Juno's plan is flawed? Even goddesses can make mistakes."

Unfortunately, Ariadne shared Reyna's doubts. Hera made mistakes. Even if it were for a noble cause, taking Percy away would be an offense that she could never forgive, along with all the trouble the overbearing goddess had given her.

"We don't trust the goddess," Ariadne admitted. She placed her cup down, empty with trails of liquid inside. "But I do trust me friends. Reyna, we're not trying to trick you—w can work together."

Reyna finished her cup of chocolate. She set the cup on the terrace railing and gazed over the valley as if imagining battle lines.

"I believe you mean it," she said. "But if you go to the ancient lands, especially Rome itself, there is something you should know about your mother."

Annabeth's shoulders tensed. "My—my mother?"

"When I lived on Circe's island," Reyna said, "we had many visitors. Once, perhaps a year before you two and Percy arrived, a young man washed ashore. He was half mad from thirst and heat. He'd been drifting at sea for days. His words didn't make much sense, but he said he was a son of Athena."

Reyna paused as if waiting for a reaction. The light filtering through the grapevines made shadows writhe across the ground like a swarm of bugs.

"What happened to this demigod?" Annabeth asked.

Reyna waved her hand as if the question was trivial. "Circe turned him into a guinea pig, of course. He made quite a crazy little rodent. But before that, he kept raving about his failed quest. He claimed that he'd gone to Rome, following the Mark of Athena." Annabeth grabbed the railing to keep her balance.

"Yes," Reyna said, seeing her discomfort. "He kept muttering about wisdom's child, the Mark of Athena, and the giants' bane standing pale and gold, blood spilled in the gods' name. The same lines Ella was just reciting. But you say that you've never heard them before today?"

"Not—not in the way Ella said them." Annabeth's voice was weak. She wasn't lying. Her mother had charged her with following the Mark of Athena. It had been haunting her since that very day. "Did this demigod—did he explain his quest?"

Reyna shook her head. "At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about. Much later, when I became praetor of Camp Jupiter, I began to suspect."

Ariadne raised an eyebrow. "Suspect...what?"

"There is an old legend that the praetors of Camp Jupiter have passed down through the centuries. If it's true, it may explain why our two groups of demigods have never been able to work together. It may be the cause of our animosity. Until this old score is finally settled, so the legend goes, Romans and Greeks will never be at peace. And the legend centers on Athena—" A shrill sound pierced the air. Light flashed in the corner of Ariadne's eye.

She turned in time to see an explosion blast a new crater in the forum. A burning couch tumbled through the air. Demigods scattered in panic.

"Giants?" Annabeth reached for her dagger, which of course wasn't there. "I thought their army was defeated!"

"It isn't the giants." Reyna's eyes seethed with rage. "You've betrayed our trust."

"What? No!"

As soon as she said it, the Argo II launched a second volley. Its fort ballista fired a massive spear wreathed in Greek fire, which sailed straight through the broken dome of the Senate House and exploded inside, lighting up the building. If anyone had been in there...

"Gods, no." Ariadne's heart dropped in anguish. "Reyna, it isn't possible! We'd never do this!"

The metal dogs ran to their mistress's side. They snarled at the two but paced uncertainly, as if reluctant to attack.

"You're telling the truth," Reyna judged. "Perhaps you were not aware of this treachery, but someone must pay." Down in the forum, chaos was spreading. Crowds were pushing and shoving. Fistfights were breaking out.

"We need to go!"

Together they ran down the hill.

If weapons had been allowed in the city, Ariadne's friends would have already been dead. The Roman demigods in the forum had coalesced into an angry mob. Some threw plates, food, and rocks at the Argo II, which was pointless, as most of the stuff fell back into the crowd.

Several dozen Romans had surrounded Piper and Jason, who were trying to calm them without much luck. Piper's charmspeak was useless against so many screaming, angry demigods. Jason's forehead was bleeding. His purple cloak had been ripped to shreds. He kept pleading, "I'm on your side!" but his orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt didn't help matters—nor did the warship overhead, firing flaming spears into New Rome. One landed nearby and blasted a toga shop to rubble.

"Pluto's pauldrons," Reyna cursed. "Look."

Armed legionnaires were hurrying toward the forum. Two artillery crews had set up catapults just outside the Pomerian Line and were preparing to fire at the Argo II.

"That'll just make things worse," Annabeth said.

"I hate my job," Reyna growled. She rushed off toward the legionnaires, her dogs at her side.

Ariadne scanned the forum desperately in sight of Percy. She ducked as a plate aimed at her head and flew over, crashing into a couch.

Two angry Romans tried to grab Annabeth and her. They ducked past them, plunging into the crowd. As if the angry Romans, burning couches, and exploding buildings weren't confusing enough, hundreds of purple ghosts drifted through the forum, passing straight through the demigods' bodies and wailing incoherently. The fauns had also taken advantage of the chaos. They swarmed the dining tables, grabbing food, plates, and Cubs. One trotted by with his arms full of tacos and an entire pineapple between his teeth.

A statue of Terminus exploded into being, right in front of Ariadne. He yelled at her in Latin, no doubt calling her a liar and a rule breaker; but she pushed the statue over and kept running.

Finally she spotted Percy. He and his friends, Hazel and Frank, were standing in the middle of a fountain as Percy repelled the angry Romans with blasts of water. Percy's yoga was in tatters, but he looked unhurt.

Annabeth called to him as another explosion rocked the forum. This time the flash of light was directly overhead. One of the Roman catapults had fired, and the Argo II groaned and tilted sideways, flames bubbling over its bronze plates hull.

Ariadne noticed a figure clinging desperately to the rope ladder, trying to climb down. It was Octavian, his robes steaming and his face black with soot.

Over by the fountain, Percy blasted the Roman mob with more water. Ariadne and Annabeth ran toward him, ducking a few Roman fists and a flying plate of sandwiches.

"Aidan!" Percy called. "What—?"

"I don't know!" she yelled.

"I'll tell you what!" cried a voice from above. Octavian had reached the bottom of the ladder. "The Greeks have fired on us! Your boy Leo has trained his weapons on Rome!"

"You're lying," Annabeth said. "Leo would never—"

"I was just there!" Octavian shrieked. "I saw it with my own eyes!"

The Argo II returned fire. Legionnaires in the field scattered as one of their catapults was blasted to splinters.

"You see?" Octavian screamed. "Romans, kill the invaders!"

Ariadne growled in frustration. There was no time for anyone to figure out the truth. The crew from Camp Half-Blood was outnumbered a hundred to one, and even if Octavian had managed to stage some sort of trick, they'd never be able to convince the Romans before they were overrun and killed.

"We have to leave," Annabeth told her two friends. "Now."

Percy nodded grimly. "Hazel, Frank, you've got to make a choice. Are you coming?"

Hazel looked terrified, but she donned her cavalry helmet. "Of course we are. But you'll never make it to the ship unless we buy you some time."

"How?"

Hazel whistled. Instantly a blur of beige shot across the forum. A majestic horse materialized next to the fountain. He reared, whinnying and scattering the mob. Hazel climbed on his back like she'd been born to ride. Strapped to the horse's saddle was a Roman cavalry sword. Hazel unsheathed her golden blade. "Send me an Iris-message when you're safely away, and we'll rendezvous," she said. "Arion, ride!" The horse zipped through the crowd with incredible speed, pushing Romans and causing mass panic.

From halfway across the forum, she heard Jason shouting. "Romans!" he cried. "Please!"

He and Piper were being pelted with plates and stones. Jason tried to shield Piper, but a brick caught him above the eye. He crumpled, and the crowd surged forward.

"Get back!" Piper screamed. Her charmspeak rolled over the mob, making them hesitate, but Ariadne knew the effect wouldn't last. They couldn't possibly reach them in time to help.

"Frank," Percy said, "it's up to you. Can you help them?"

Ariadne didn't understand how he could do it all himself, but he swallowed nervously.

"Oh, gods," he murmured. "Okay, sure. Just get up the ropes. Now."

Ariadne, Percy, and Annabeth lunged for the ladder. Octavian was still clinging to the bottom, but Percy yanked him off and threw him into the mob.

They began to climb as legionnaires flooded into the forum. Arrows whistled past Annabeth's head. An explosion almost knocked them off the ladder. Halfway up, Ariadne heard a roar below and glanced down.

Romans screamed and scattered as a full sized dragon charged through the forum—a beast even scarier than the bronze dragon figurehead on the Argo II. It had rough gray skin like a Komodo lizard's and leathery bat wings. Arrows and rocks bounced harmlessly off its hide as it lumbered toward Piper and Jason, grabbed them with its front claws, and vaulted into the air.

"Is that...?" Annabeth trialed off with wide eyes.

Ariadne couldn't speak.

"Frank," Percy confirmed, a few feet above her. "He has a few special talents."

"Understatement of the day," Ariadne muttered. "Keep climbing!"

Without the dragon and Hazel's horse to distract the archers, they never would have made it up the ladder; but finally they climbed past a row of broken aerial oars and onto the deck. The rigging was on fire. The foresail was ripped down the middle, and the ship listed badly to starboard. There was no sign of Coach Hedge, but Leo stood amidships, calmly reloading the ballista.

"Leo!" Annabeth screamed in horror. "What are you doing?"

"Destroy them..." He faced her. His eyes were glazed. His movements were like a robot's. "Destroy them all."

He turned back to the ballista, but Percy tackled him. Leo's head hit the deck hard, and his eyes rolled up so that only the whites showed. The gray dragon soared into view. It circled the ship once and landed at the bow, depositing Jason and Piper, who both collapsed.

"Go!" Percy yelled. "Get us out of here!"

With a shock, Annabeth realized he was talking to her.

Ariadne held her hands out. She flicked her wrist, sending waves upon waves over the Romans. Arrows turned back, while vines created barricades from the Pomerian Line, preventing them from moving through. Romans scattered urgently.

Annabeth ran for the helm. Hazel spurred Arion, and they raced out of the city with a mob chasing after them. More catapults were being wheeled into range, but not quick enough, as Ariadne destroyed them with a single glacé their way. All along the Pomerian Line, the statues of Terminus were glowing purple, as if building up energy for some kind of attack.

Annabeth looked over the controls. She grabbed the aviation throttle and yanked it straight back. The ship groaned. The bow tilted up at a horrifying angle. The mooring lines snapped, and the Argo II shot into the clouds.

Ariadne's vines retreated back into the earth. She wiped her nose, ignoring the trickle of blood flowing below her nostril, hiding any evidence it had ever been there.

authors note:

Your bitch starts her job in a week

Let's goooooo

I also hate school and after spring break everyone is going in person five days a week please kill me. Hit me with your car

My mom's making me drive on a road tomorrow so watch me have a breakdown in the driver's seat ✌🏼

Cant want for y'all to see more Percaidan because I have a list of things and they're like 😍🦋💓🔪🥵

All in that order, of course

Q: what Taylor Swift song is your favorite????
A: all of them. No single one is greater in my opinion she is a god among mortals

Obviously not including me because, in a goddess so like yeah

(Que my occasional god complex that comes with being a February Aquarius)

Anyways hope y'all enjoy

Comment your favorite parts and what you're most excited for

Love you guys!!!