NAOMI WOKE UP FIRST. The room was still relatively dim, the weak morning sunlight not having made it to the bedroom window just yet.
She and Percy had moved in their sleep, so she woke with Percy plastered to her back like a koala bear, his arm thrown over her waist. He was still fast asleep, judging by his slow, deep breaths.
Like she was dismantling a bomb, Naomi carefully extracted herself from Percy's grip, wincing more than once when he shifted in his sleep, sure she'd woken him up. Luckily, though, he stayed asleep, taking one of the pillows hostage when Naomi finally managed to get out of bed.
She slipped quietly into the bedroom she was supposed to have shared with Hazel (who was still, thankfully, fast asleep) and grabbed a clean set of clothes before going into the bathroom. When she emerged a few minutes later, bladder empty, face clean, and teeth brushed, Hazel was just sitting up.
"Morning," Hazel said through a yawn.
Naomi smiled. "Good morning," she said. "I'm gonna go make breakfast. See you down there?"
Hazel nodded sleepily. "See you."
Naomi smiled again and headed downstairs. After considering what was in the fridge and pantry, she settled on pancakes (mostly because the box of pancake mix came with a recipe and instructions). She didn't really know what she was doing, though she wasn't sure if she could attribute that to her slowly fading amnesia or if she'd ever learned how to make pancakes at all.
Hazel came down as Naomi poked the first pancake with a fork, trying to decide if it was too soft or just right.
Hazel raised a brow at Naomi's clear concentration. "Need help?"
Naomi's face flushed. "I don't think I've ever made pancakes before," she admitted. "...I also can't remember if I've ever eaten them, either."
Hazel chuckled softly, still looking a little sleepy. "Nico said his sister was a terrible cook," she told Naomi. "Maybe he was talking about you."
Naomi scowled lightheartedly. "What a jerk," she said. Then, after a moment of thought, she said, "I had a dream about him last night. I think it was a memory."
Hazel sat down on a stool at the island, resting her cheek on her hand. "That must confirm it, then, right? You were close, like brother-and-sister."
"I guess it does," Naomi said, nixing the first pancake and trying again. Looking back at Hazel, she added, "I guess it means we're sisters, too."
Hazel smiled. "At least I finally have a sibling who isn't allergic to emotions and affection," she joked. "It's a nice change."
Naomi grinned back at her. "We'll get Nico there eventually."
By the time Naomi (and Hazel, who jumped in to help when Naomi started to burn the second pancake) got breakfast cooked, Percy was just coming downstairs, dressed but clearly still half-asleep. Frank was still nowhere in sight. Naomi hoped he'd gotten a decent night's sleep.
"Morning," Hazel greeted Percy.
"Morning," Percy mumbled. "Are the ogres still out there?"
"Last we checked," Naomi answered. "Breakfast?"
"Please."
The trio ate in companionable silence. When they were done, Hazel volunteered to take a plate up to Frank, so Naomi and Percy cleaned up.
"I had a dream last night," Naomi said as they finished up. "About us and Annabeth."
"So did I," Percy said. "What was yours about?"
"You were baking, and we were trying to guess what it was," Naomi said with a small laugh. "It reminded me how competitive she could get."
Percy smiled. "I think I remember that," he said. "It was right before Thanksgiving break—Annabeth was flying home to see her family, and you were heading to the Underworld to see yours."
Naomi frowned, thinking hard. "I think I brought macarons for Nico to try," she recalled. "He said they weren't as good as the ones he had growing up."
Percy looked affronted. "I remember them being delicious."
Naomi grinned. "They probably were; Nico just likes to be pretentious sometimes," she said. "What dream did you have?"
"We were at a campfire," he said. "I can't remember where, but it felt like home. There were a bunch of people with us, and we were singing about... grandmas putting on armor, or something." He chuckled. "The three of us were sitting together, close to the fire. It was golden, like twenty-feet-tall."
Naomi smiled, faintly remembering that, too. "It changed colors," she said, remembering a fire that was black, too—the same fire, she was pretty sure.
"A magical campfire," Percy said, amused.
Naomi's smile faded the faintest bit. "Do you think we'll ever see it again?" The unspoken question hung in the air: Do you think we'll ever go home again?
Percy pulled her into a hug, resting his chin on top of her head. "We will," he said, as if he could speak it into existence.
Naomi buried her face against his chest and tried to believe him.
It wasn't long before Hazel came down the stairs, looking a bit spooked. "I just talked to Frank's grandma," she told them. "She said we need to go up to the attic."
❈
They were kind of screwed.
From the roof, Naomi, Hazel, and Percy had a perfect view of the chaos that was waiting for them. At the edge of the front lawn, the Laistrygonians were raring to go. Their skin gleamed red, and their shaggy hair, tattoos, and claws weren't any prettier in the morning light.
Some carried clubs or spears; others carried surfboards, for some reason. All of them were in a festive mood—giving each other high fives, tying plastic bibs around their necks, breaking out knives and forks. One ogre had fired up a portable barbeque grill and was dancing in an apron that said KISS THE COOK.
They would have been completely screwed, except Frank's grandmother was apparently an avid weapons collector. The attic was full of just about every kind of weapon throughout history. There were shields, spears, quivers full of arrows. There was some kind of crossbow mounted and loaded, ready for action. At the front window stood something that looked like a machine gun with a cluster of... potatoes?
Ella made a nest in the corner of the attic, but Naomi and her companions went out onto the roof, keeping wary watch over the ogres as they milled about and called for Frank to show himself.
It didn't take long for the boy of the hour to join them on the roof.
"Morning," Percy said grimly. "Beautiful day, huh?" He'd found a garden hose on the roof (why there was a garden hose on the roof, Naomi couldn't say). He and Naomi traded taking care of the cannonballs, either blasting them with water or shadow-traveling them deep into the woods. Naomi probably wasn't making any friends with the local dryads, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
Hazel patrolled the widow's walk between the two attic gables, gripping her sword. She looked at Frank, frowning a bit with concern. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Why are you smiling?"
"Oh, uh, nothing," Frank managed. "Thanks for breakfast. And the clothes. And... not hating me."
Hazel looked baffled. "Why would I hate you?"
Frank's face turned a little red. "It's just... last night," he stammered. "When I summoned the skeleton. I thought... I thought that you thought... I was repulsive... or something."
Hazel raised her eyebrows, shaking her head in dismay. "Frank, maybe I was surprised. Maybe I was scared of that thing. But repulsed? The way you commanded it, so confident and everything—like, Oh, by the way, guys, I have this all-powerful spartus we can use. I couldn't believe it. I wasn't repulsed, Frank. I was impressed."
Frank blinked. "You were... impressed... by me?"
Percy laughed. "Dude, it was pretty amazing."
"Honest?" Frank asked.
"A hundred percent," Naomi confirmed.
"But right now, we have other problems to worry about," Hazel said. "Okay?" She gestured at the army of ogres, who were getting increasingly bold, shuffling closer and closer to the house.
Percy readied the garden hose. "I've got one more trick up my sleeve. Your lawn has a sprinkler system. I can blow it up and cause some confusion down there, but it'll destroy your water pressure. No pressure, no hose, and those cannonballs are going to plow right into the house."
Frank thought for a moment. "Okay, I've got an escape plan," he finally said. He told them about the plane waiting at the airfield, and his grandmother's note for the pilot. "He's a legion veteran. He'll help us."
"But Arion's not back," Hazel said. "And what about your grandmother? We can't just leave her."
Frank swallowed hard. "Maybe—maybe Arion will find us. As for my grandmother... she was pretty clear. She said she'd be okay."
"There's another problem," Percy said. "I'm not good with air travel. It's dangerous for a son of Neptune."
"You'll have to risk it... and so will I," Frank said. "By the way, we're related."
Percy almost stumbled off the roof. "What?"
"Um... congratulations?" Naomi offered.
Frank gave them the five-second version: "Periclymenus. Ancestor on my mom's side. Argonaut. Grandson of Poseidon."
Hazel's mouth fell open. "You're a—a descendant of Neptune? Frank, that's—"
"Crazy? Yeah. And there's this ability my family has, supposedly. But I don't know how to use it. If I can't figure it out—"
Another massive cheer went up from the Laistrygonians. They were staring up at Frank, pointing and waving and laughing.
"Zhang!" they yelled. "Zhang!"
Hazel stepped closer to Frank. "They keep doing that. Why are they yelling your name?"
"Never mind," Frank said. "Listen, we've got to protect Ella, take her with us."
"Of course," Hazel said. "The poor thing needs our help."
"No," Frank said. "I mean yes, but it's not just that. She recited a prophecy downstairs. I think... I think it was about this quest." He hesitated, then recited the lines: "To the north, beyond the gods, lies the legion's crown. Falling from ice, the son of Neptune shall drown..."
Naomi tensed. She hated the sound of that.
Percy's jaw tightened. "I don't know how a son of Neptune can drown. I can breathe underwater. But the crown of the legion—"
"That's got to be the eagle," Naomi realized.
Percy nodded. "And Ella recited something like this once before, in Portland—a line from the old Great Prophecy."
"The what?" Frank asked.
"Tell you later." Percy turned his garden hose and shot another cannonball out of the sky.
It exploded in an orange fireball. The ogres clapped with appreciation and yelled, "Pretty! Pretty!"
"The thing is," Frank said, "Ella remembers everything she reads. She said something about the page being burned, like she'd read a damaged text of prophecies."
Hazel's eyes widened. "Burned books of prophecy? You don't think—but that's impossible!"
"The books Octavian wanted, back at camp?" Percy guessed.
Hazel whistled under her breath. "The lost Sibylline books that outlined the entire destiny of Rome. If Ella actually read a copy somehow, and memorized it—"
"Then she's the most valuable harpy in the world," Frank said. "No wonder Phineas wanted to capture her."
"Frank Zhang!" an ogre shouted from below. He was bigger than the rest, wearing a lion's cape like a Roman standard bearer and a plastic bib with a lobster on it. "Come down, son of Mars! We've been waiting for you. Come be our honored guest!"
Hazel gripped Frank's arm. "Why do I get the feeling that 'honored guest' means the same thing as 'dinner'?"
Frank looked at Percy and Naomi. "Can either of you drive?"
Percy nodded. "I can. Why?"
"Grandmother's car is in the garage. It's an old Cadillac. The thing is like a tank. If you can get it started—"
"We still have to get through the ogres," Naomi pointed out.
"The sprinkler system," Percy said. "Use it as a distraction?"
"Exactly," Frank said. "I'll buy you as much time as I can. Get Ella, and get in the car. I'll try to meet you in the garage, but don't wait for me."
Naomi frowned. "Frank—"
"Give us your answer, Frank Zhang!" the ogre yelled up. "Come down, and we will spare the others—your friends, your poor old granny. We only want you!"
"They're lying," Percy muttered.
"Yeah, I got that," Frank agreed. "Go!"
Naomi, Percy, and Hazel ran for the ladder.
It took a bit of coaxing (and some mild begging), but Naomi and Hazel managed to get Ella to follow them. The four of them ran down to the garage.
Hazel got Ella into the backseat of the Cadillac as Naomi jumped into the passenger seat next to Percy, who turned the car on. The engine roared to life, the headlights turning on. Naomi searched the car for the garage opener, finding it in the center console and hitting the button. It was halfway open when Frank joined them.
"Get in!" Naomi yelled.
Frank dove into the back next to Hazel and Ella, who was curled up with her head tucked under her wings, muttering, "Yikes. Yikes. Yikes."
Percy gunned the engine. They shot out of the garage before it was fully open, leaving a Cadillac-shaped hole of splintered wood.
The ogres ran to intercept, but Percy shouted at the top of his lungs, and the irrigation system exploded. A hundred geysers shot into the air along with clods of dirt, pieces of pipe, and very heavy sprinkler heads.
The Cadillac was going about forty when they hit the first ogre, who disintegrated on impact. By the time the other monsters overcame their confusion, the Cadillac was half a mile down the road. Flaming cannonballs burst behind them.
Frank's family's mansion was in flames behind them, the walls collapsing inward and smoke billowing into the sky.
They drove through the woods and headed north.
"About three miles!" Frank said. "You can't miss it!"
Behind them, more explosions ripped through the forest. Smoke boiled into the sky.
"How fast can Laistrygonians run?" Hazel asked.
"Let's not find out," Percy said.
The gates of an airfield appeared before them—only a few yards away. A private jet idled on the runway, its stairs down.
The Cadillac hit a pothole and went airborne. Everyone made various noises of shock and terror. Naomi gripped her seatbelt in a vice grip. When the wheels touched the ground, Percy floored the brakes, and they swerved to a stop just inside the gates.
Frank climbed out and drew his bow. "Get to the plane! They're coming!"
The Laistrygonians were closing in with alarming speed. The first line of ogres burst out of the woods and barreled toward the airfield—five hundred yards away, four hundred yards away...
Naomi and Hazel managed to get Ella out of the Cadillac, but as soon as she saw the airplane, she began to shriek.
"N-n-no!" she yelped. "Fly with wings! N-n-no airplanes."
"It's okay," Hazel promised. "We'll protect you!"
Ella made a horrible, painful wail like she was being burned.
"What do we do?" Naomi asked. "We can't force her."
"No," Frank agreed.
The ogres were three hundred yards out.
"She's too valuable to leave behind," Hazel said. Then she winced at her own words. "Gods, I'm sorry, Ella. I sound as bad as Phineas. You're a living thing, not a treasure."
"No planes. N-n-no planes." Ella was hyperventilating.
The ogres were almost in throwing distance.
Percy's eyes lit up. "I've got an idea. Ella, can you hide in the woods? Will you be safe from the ogres?"
"Hide," she agreed. "Safe. Hiding is good for harpies. Ella is quick. And small. And fast."
"Okay," Percy said. "Just stay around this area. I can send a friend to meet you and take you to Camp Jupiter."
Frank unslung his bow and nocked an arrow. "A friend?"
Percy waved his hand in a tell you later gesture. "Ella, would you like that? Would you like my friend to take you to Camp Jupiter and show you our home?"
"Camp," Ella muttered. Then in Latin: "'Wisdom's daughter walks alone, the Mark of Athena burns through Rome.'"
Naomi frowned. Wisdom's daughter walks alone...
"Uh, right," Percy said, looking as uneasy as Naomi felt. "That sounds important, but we can talk about that later. You'll be safe at camp. All the books and food you want."
"No planes," she insisted.
"No planes," Percy agreed.
"Ella will hide now." Just like that, she was gone—a red streak disappearing into the woods.
"I'll miss her," Hazel said sadly.
"We'll see her again," Percy promised, but he still looked troubled by the piece of prophecy Ella had given them.
An explosion sent the airfield's gate spinning into the air.
Frank tossed something to Percy. "Show that to the pilot! Show him your letter from Reyna too! We've got to take off now."
Percy nodded. He, Naomi, and Hazel ran for the plane.
Frank stayed behind for a moment to shoot at the advancing ogres. The plane's engines revved.
"Frank!" Hazel shrieked at the plane's entrance. "Come on!"
Frank dove into the plane just as the stairs started to rise.
The pilot seemed to understand the situation just fine. There was no safety announcement, no pre-flight drink, no waiting for clearance. He pushed the throttle, and the plane shot down the runway. Another blast ripped through the runway behind them, but then they were in the air.
The plane banked left.
Over the intercom, the pilot's voice said, "Senatus Populusque Romanus, my friends. Welcome aboard. Next stop: Anchorage, Alaska."
❈
if y'all are ever having a bad day just imagine persephone & hades both trying to teach naomi how to drive with vastly opposing methods while nico clutches the little ceiling handle and prays to his father in the front seat to save him from naomi's terrible driving <3