invisible string | f. zhang

xvi. jason grace

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

Octavian turns purple as Jason and Percy fist bump.

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

"I'll step aside for Jason," Percy says easily, "It's no biggie."

"No biggie!" Octavian chokes, "The praetorship of Rome is no biggie!"

"You're Thalia Grace's brother, huh? Wow. You guys look nothing alike."

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

"Back at you," Percy replies.

"We should talk about the Great Prophecy. It sounds like the Romans are aware of it too?" Annabeth interrupts the budding bromance.

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

"Of course," He says, "But, Reyna—"

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

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

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

"Is it true you're a child of Min—I mean, Athena?" Frank asks her, leaning forward on the table.

"Yes," Annabeth replies, "Why is that such a surprise?"

Octavian scoffs, "If you're truly a child of the wisdom goddess—"

"Enough," Reyna snaps, "Annabeth is what she says. She's here in peace. Besides . . . Percy has spoken highly of you."

Maribelle picks up the vibe immediately. Reyna had made a move on Percy . . .

"Uh, thanks," Annabeth says, "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."

"My brother, Nico, went looking for the doors," Hazel speaks up.

"Wait," Annabeth says, "Nico di Angelo? He's your brother?"

Hazel nods.

"Okay. You were saying?"

"He disappeared. I'm afraid . . . I'm not sure, but I think something's happened to him."

"We'll look for him," Maribelle promises her, reaching over Frank to squeeze her hand, "We have to find the Doors of Death anyway. Remember? Thanatos told us we'd find both answers in Rome—like, the original Rome. That's on the way to Greece, right?"

"Thanatos told you this?" Annabeth asks, "The death god?"

"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," Percy explains, taking a big bite from his burger.

Maribelle glances at her own, barely eaten burger, stomach grumbling in response.

"Like water leaking through a dam," Piper suggests.

"Yeah," Percy smiles, "We've got a dam hole."

"What?" Piper asks.

"Nothing," He says, "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."