Hazel's POV
On the way back, Hazel tripped over a gold bar. She should have known not to run so fast, but she was afraid of being late for muster. The Fifth Cohort had the nicest centurions in camp.
Still, even they would have to punish her if she was tardy. Roman punishments were harsh: scrubbing the streets with a toothbrush, cleaning the bull pens at the coliseum, getting sewn inside a sack full of angry weasels and dumped into the Little Tiber—the options were not great.
The gold bar popped out of the ground just in time for her foot to hit it. Nico tried to catch her, but she took a spill and scraped her hands. "You okay?" Nico knelt next to her and reached for the bar of gold.
"Don't!" Hazel warned. Nico froze. "Right. Sorry. It's just...jeez. That thing is huge." (Y/N) started laughing, and Nico shot him a glare, then he pulled a flask of nectar from his aviator jacket and poured a little on Hazel's hands. Immediately the cuts started to heal. "Can you stand?"
He helped her up. They both stared at the gold. It was the size of a bread loaf, stamped with a serial number and the words u.s. treasury. Nico shook his head. "How in Tartarus—?" "I don't know," Hazel said miserably.
"What's the deal with you being a walking treasury anyway? I mean I know Hades...Pluto, is meant to be super rich, but this is getting a bit obnoxious. Even for that guy." Hazel tried to explain her curse.
"I can't do anything really powerful like Nico here, he's the strongest demigod I've ever met, he can pull up dead people from the underworld. I just make stuff like this appear" Nico stuck out his chest a little, but (Y/N) seemed unimpressed and offended.
"You, stronger than me?" (Y/N) said. Before bursting into laughter like she had told him a very funny joke. "Hazel, if you knew anything about me, I'd be insulted by that. Luckily you have ignorance to forgive you."
He turned to Nico, "What other lies have you told her?" Nico glowered at him, "Oh shut up, you were dead, that automatically made me stronger than you." "No, you have to raise spirits and other Hades kids to make bodies, I can make new ones."
"That was only once, and you nearly died, even after stealing all that power. And so can anyone genius. That's what kids are" "Semantics, besides, you're wrong anyway. not everyone." "Yes, anyone."
"Nuh uh, not the hunters of Artemis." "That's by choice. Not function." Hazel was utterly lost as the two continued to argue, it came to a head when (Y/N) declared. "Hazel, I taught him everything he knows. Everything. You should have seen him before he met me, pathetic. Couldn't even hold a sword."
"But back on track. So you're cursed, big deal...That sounds more up Pluto's alley, the greedy old toad." Both Hazel and Nico frowned at him for that comment. He didn't even pay attention to them. "But it's not all bad, I mean, luck is subjective to how you see it there's no way to always be unlucky."
Hazel then explained to him all the horrible things that ever happened to people before because of her gift and the treasure that popped up around her, but even after all that, he shrugged. "I don't believe in luck based curses."
"You have literally died to a curse before. Remember Kelli?" Nico interjected, "That was a prophecy, not a curse. But even if it was, here I am, that puts me in the right, luck curses aren't real." "Yes they are!" Hazel said forcefully, (Y/N) just shrugged again. "So what, shiny stuff follows you?"
"It could've been buried there by robbers or dropped off a wagon a hundred years ago. Maybe it migrated from the nearest bank vault. Whatever's in the ground, anywhere close to me—it just pops up. And the more valuable it is—"
"The more dangerous it is." Nico frowned. "Should we cover it up? If the fauns find it..." Hazel imagined a mushroom cloud billowing up from the road, char-broiled fauns tossed in every direction. It was too horrible to consider. "Can I have it?" (Y/N) asked. "NO!" Hazel shouted, that thought made her feel way worse.
"It should sink back underground after I leave, eventually, but just to be sure..." She'd been practicing this trick, but never with something so heavy and dense. She pointed at the gold bar and tried to concentrate.
The gold levitated. She channeled her anger, which wasn't hard—she hated that gold, she hated her curse, she hated thinking about her past and all the ways she'd failed. Her fingers tingled. The gold bar glowed with heat.
Nico gulped. "Um, Hazel, are you sure...?" She made a fist. The gold bent like putty. Hazel forced it to twist into a giant, lumpy ring. Then she flicked her hand toward the ground. Her million-dollar doughnut slammed into the earth. It sank so deep, nothing was left but a scar of fresh dirt.
Nico's eyes widened. "That was. ..terrifying." "That was AWESOME!" (Y/N) said, again, Nico frowned at him, like he was saying 'don't encourage her', but (Y/N) walked up to Hazel like she was a goddess or something. Taking her hands in his, "Can you teach me how to do that?" He asked like a child.
"I can barely do it myself..." She muttered, Hazel didn't think it was so impressive compared to the powers of a guy who could reanimate skeletons and bring people back from the dead, but it felt good to surprise him for a change.
Inside the camp, horns blew again. The cohorts would be starting roll call, and Hazel had no desire to be sewn into a sack of weasels. "Hurry!" she told Nico, and they ran for the gates. (Y/N) paused and began walking away.
Nico turned, "You aren't coming?" He asked, but Hazel already knew the answer, before (Y/N) even said, "It's fight night, gotta get myself ready." Nico seemed upset about that, and asked, "What about Percy?"
"What about Percy?" (Y/N) repeated, raising an eyebrow, Nico then said, "Well...what are you going to do instead?" (Y/N) pointed off into the distance and said, "I'm going to go take a nap. Reyna knows were to find me."
Just like that, slipping through a shadow, he was gone. Nico sighed, "I swear, he's such a show off...would it kill him to walk?" As the two of them resumed running, he asked Hazel what (Y/N) was doing as they jogged down the hill.
"Probably speaking to his ghosts again." She explained, between hefty breaths. "Before some evening musters, he walks up past Terminus's boundary to a temple in the pomoerium," Nico seemed surprised by this.
"But why's he going to a temple anyway, what's so special about it?" Hazel shrugged, "It's where we used to commune with the dead, long since run down. He goes there to pray we think, before every war game especially." "(Y/N) (L/N)? Praying, not on your life or mine" Nico said as they arrived.
The first time Hazel had seen the legion assemble, she'd been so intimidated, she'd almost slunk back to the barracks to hide. Even after being at camp for nine months, she still found it an impressive sight.
The first four cohorts, each forty kids strong, stood in rows in front of their barracks on either side of the Via Praetoria. The Fifth Cohort assembled at the very end, in front of the principia, since their barracks were tucked in the back corner of camp next to the stables and the latrines.
Hazel had to run right down the middle of the legion to reach her place. The campers were dressed for war. Their polished chain mail and greaves gleamed over purple T-shirts and jeans. Sword-and-skull designs decorated their helmets.
Even their leather combat boots looked ferocious with their iron cleats, great for marching through mud or stomping on faces. In front of the legionnaires, like a line of giant dominoes, stood their red and gold shields, each the size of a refrigerator door.
Every legionnaire carried a harpoonlike spear called a pilum, a gladius, a dagger, and about a hundred pounds of other equipment. If you were out of shape when you came to the legion, you didn't stay that way for long.
Just walking around in your armor was a full-body workout. Hazel and Nico jogged down the street as everyone was coming to attention, so their entrance was really obvious. Their footsteps echoed on the stones.
Hazel tried to avoid eye contact, but she caught Octavian at the head of the First Cohort smirking at her, looking smug in his plumed centurion's helmet with a dozen medals pinned on his chest.
Hazel was still seething from his blackmail threats earlier. Stupid augur and his gift of prophecy—of all the people at camp to discover her secrets, why did it have to be him? She was sure he would have told on her weeks ago, except that he knew her secrets were worth more to him as leverage.
She wished she'd kept that bar of gold so she could hit him in the face with it. She ran past Reyna, who was cantering back and forth on her pegasus Scipio—nicknamed Skippy because he was the color of peanut butter.
The metal dogs Aurum and Argentum trotted at her side. Her purple officer's cape billowed behind her. "Hazel Levesque," she called, "so glad you could join us."
Hazel knew better than to respond. She was missing most of her equipment, but she hurried to her place in line next to Frank and stood at attention. Their lead centurion, a big seventeen-year-old guy named Dakota, was just calling her name—the last one on the roll. "Present!" she squeaked. Thank the gods. Technically, she wasn't late.
(Y/N)'s POV
He hated having to go through this every time, he hated having to see them every time, but his connection wasn't as strong here as he would have liked it to have been. He was Greek, and this was a part of his powers he never had to pull from before a few weeks ago.
Every time, he imagined the same moment, the same time it had taken him from his home, that was the only way he seemed to make the connection he needed to. He didn't know why that was his strongest memory, maybe because it was neither solely Greek nor roman.
He remembered his last capture the flag, and how much he missed it, he remembered that they only did it to stop some of the campers from complaining about all the work they had to do on the big project.
It was a way to let off steam, a return to normality, running around the camp, swinging swords at each other and screaming insults and laughter into the night, he missed it, even if that particular night, the only feeling he felt was utter defeat.
"That was so unfair!" He roared as the memory came into focus, "Sucks to suck ghost boy." Annabeth said, her hair stuck to her face by sweat, and her eyes glistening with a smug air of victory.
"You cheated!" He complained as he picked up the sword beside him, that had missed him by less than an inch, and she raised the flag, victorious. His legs were tired from chasing her, his arms sore from trying to catch her as she ran.
Jason ran up to them, holding her flag, but too late to return it to their base, "NO!" He shouted once he saw what was in her possession. "How did she get past you?" He asked, pulling (Y/N) up from the cold waters of the creek.
"The same way she got past you!" (Y/N) snapped. Glowering at Annabeth, he also added, "I still think that thing should be banned." She looked offended and held her cap to her chest, "If you can use your shiny swords, I can use my cap, don't try it (Y/N), I saw what you did to Piper on the way past."
She stopped celebrating for a moment, to laugh at him, "Are you crying?" She elbowed him in the ribs playfully, "Are those tears?" "No!" (Y/N) demanded, "It's the stupid stream water you kicked into my eyes you savage!"
"Suuuure." She teased. Smirking at him. "That's what you get for trying to tackle me after I had already won." He pouted, "You hadn't planted it yet, game wasn't over...And I'm not crying. My eyes just sting!"
He acted like he was upset, but it was hard to be upset after having so much fun. He was honestly very impressed at her ambush for Jason as he went to get their flag, paired with her sneaky advancement towards their flag, it was a simple strategy, performed perfectly.
She had shut them down on every other front, Clarisse had clobbered Leo and Clovis, Piper had tricked Lou Ellen into beating herself, which was impressive since it wasn't even with charm speak, Zoe was shut down from the very beginning by the Apollo cabin's volley. It was a slaughter, none of (Y/N)'s plans had even made it halfway to fruition.
He was even more impressed and frustrated she had managed to not only fight him for their flag, but beat him, and run all the way back, while avoiding him, even when he could see her invisible form and the magically floating flag.
Though he did think that pinning him to a rock with his own sword and kicking water into his eyes was a little much at the end, he admired her intensity. He liked seeing her smug face. Even if their side bets meant he lost his pudding cups for the month.
He went all in, it was a bad bet. But apart from that, the night was almost perfect. Maybe that was why he remembered being pulled away from it so vividly. Maybe that was why what happened next was so painful.
Annabeth was teasing him relentlessly, which was bad enough, but right when they were going to declare Annabeth the official winner, and the two were about to return to their cabins for the night, exhausted, something happened.
(Y/N) didn't even notice it until Jason gasped, and (Y/N) turned to follow his eyes, his stomach knotted and his heart fell at the same time, he thought back to Somnus. He tried to warn them, and so had Hera.
"Soon. The witch's servant shall call to you, like it or not, you must answer. As you promised." He had finally realized who that meant once the portal had opened. Jason wasn't the only person to recognize the woman on the other end.
His mind was racing, how had it passed the barrier, why was it so fast, and why was it here. The whole camp seemed to be stunned by the portal that had just appeared behind (Y/N), "This is it." Annabeth said quickly.
She quickly collected his weapons and passed them to him, an intense look in her eyes, the same determined stare that she had during capture the flag. But (Y/N) was the only person who could have seen the pain behind them.
The two shared a glance, a silent conversation between them, both of them reluctant to leave the other, both of them filled with uncertainty about their continued separation, however brief it may be.
It may seem silly, but the first thought (Y/N) thought was how she may be unable to sleep without him there, and the same was true for him. But with all her willpower and strength as she said the next words like a command. "It's for Percy." She said out loud. "You have to go. You have to make peace before we get there."
"No, I can't leave you again, I promised I wouldn't!" He exclaimed. She kissed him, "And you won't, you'll come back to me, with Percy. (Y/N) please. We need this." She said firmly. It was only after this happened that (Y/N) had caught on.
She had expected this, she had prepared for it long before it happened. Somnus must have told her, to spare both of them the pain, (Y/N) remembered his words. "I suggest, this time, you do not make it alone. Maybe then, it will be easier on you both. Only if you can bear the pain a little longer, can our future be secured."
At the time, he was too reluctant to leave her to understand what was at stake, but fate had forced his hand. He turned to run from the portal, but not quickly enough, a hand reached through the void, grabbing him by the shirt and started dragging him through the portal.
He tried to reach for the closest person to him, Leo in this case, they briefly clasped hands, but in the panic, and fear of attack, Leo's hands were scolding hot with fire, and (Y/N)'s were still deadly to the touch, in the instant that the two intertwined, Leo's fire was snuffed out, and (Y/N)'s hand was burned as he clawed at the boy's wrist, trying to stop the force from pulling him in.
They both planted their feet and wrenched to stop it from happening, as campers and Satyrs all rushed forward to help, despite all their efforts, (Y/N) and Leo were so exhausted that their strength failed them, and realizing he couldn't stop it, (Y/N)'s eyes locked with Annabeth.
"I'll find-" Silence. The air itself seemed to pause, as the portal closed in an instant. (Y/N)'s message cut off before it was completed. Everyone was frozen in shock. It was only when he experienced that pain again, that he finally found rest.
Hazel's POV
Nico joined Percy Jackson, who was standing off to one side with a couple of guards. Percy's hair was wet from the baths. He'd put on fresh clothes, but he still looked uncomfortable. Hazel couldn't blame him. He was about to be introduced to two hundred heavily armed kids.
The Lares were the last ones to fall in. Their purple forms flickered as they jockeyed for places. They had an annoying habit of standing halfway inside living people, so that the ranks looked like a blurry photograph, but finally the centurions got them sorted out.
Octavian shouted, "Colors!" The standard-bearers stepped forward. They wore lion-skincapes and held poles decorated with each cohorts emblems. The last to present his standard was Jacob, the legion's eagle bearer. He held a long pole with absolutely nothing on top.
The job was supposed to be a big honor, but Jacob obviously hated it. Even though Reyna insisted on following tradition, every time the eagleless pole was raised, Hazel could feel embarrassment rippling through the legion.
Reyna brought her pegasus to a halt. "Romans!" she announced. "You've probably heard about the incursion today. Two gorgons were swept into the river by this newcomer, Percy Jackson. Juno herself guided him here, and proclaimed him a son of Neptune."
The kids in the back rows craned their necks to see Percy. He raised his hand and said, "Hi." "He seeks to join the legion," Reyna continued. "What do the auguries say?" "I have read the entrails!" Octavian announced, as if he'd killed a lion with his bare hands rather than ripping up a stuffed panda pillow.
"The auguries are favorable. He is qualified to serve!" The campers gave a shout: "Ave!" Hail! Frank was a little late with his "ave,"so it came out as a high-pitched echo. The other legionnaires snickered.
Reyna motioned the senior officers forward—one from each cohort. Octavian, as the most senior centurion, turned to Percy. "Recruit," he asked, "do you have credentials? Letters of reference?" Hazel remembered this from her own arrival.
A lot of kids brought letters from older demigods in the outside world, adults who were veterans of the camp. Some recruits had rich and famous sponsors. Some were third- or fourth-generation campers.
A good letter could get you a position in the better cohorts, sometimes even special jobs like legion messenger, which made you exempt from the grunt work like digging ditches or conjugating Latin verbs.
Percy shifted. "Letters? Um, no." Octavian wrinkled his nose. Unfair! Hazel wanted to shout. Percy had carried a goddess into camp. What better recommendation could you want? But Octavian's family had been sending kids to camp for over a century. He loved reminding recruits that they were less important than he was.
"No letters," Octavian said regretfully. "Will any legionnaires stand for him?" "I will!" Frank stepped forward. "He saved my life!" Immediately there were shouts of protest from the other cohorts. Reyna raised her hand for quiet and glared at Frank.
"Frank Zhang," she said, "for the second time today, I remind you that you are on probatio. Your godly parent has not even claimed you yet. You're not eligible to stand for another camper until you've earned your first stripe."
Frank looked like he might die of embarrassment. Suddenly, something burst from the ground in front of him, for half a moment, Hazel feared it was a treasure, but it was a hand, a skeletal hand, Octavian let out a little yelp that echoed throughout the camp.
He then quickly cleared his throat, and took something from the hand, a black letter, sealed with wax that was red like blood. Frank seemed happy to have the attention pulled away from him as Reyna snatched the letter from the augurs hands.
She read it, a small smile on her face as she did, then passed it to Octavian. Who sneered, the two of them whispered about something, eventually coming to an agreement, "Another probatio, who as of earlier today, cannot vouch for Percy Jackson." Reyna said.
The skeleton hand then made a rude gesture towards the two of them, and there were a few snickers from around the lines of legionnaires, quickly silenced by Reyna's deadly gaze. "Anyone else, other than the two Probatio?" She asked.
Frank looked devastated. Hazel couldn't leave him hanging. She stepped out of line and said, "What Frank means is that Percy saved both our lives. I am a full member of the legion. I will stand for Percy Jackson."
Frank glanced at her gratefully, but the other campers started to mutter. Hazel was barely eligible. She'd only gotten her stripe a few weeks ago, and the "act of valor" that earned it for her had been mostly an accident.
Besides, she was a daughter of Pluto, and a member of the disgraced Fifth Cohort. She wasn't doing Percy much of a favor by giving him her support. Reyna wrinkled her nose, but she turned to Octavian. The augur smiled and shrugged, like the idea amused him.
Why not? Hazel thought. Putting Percy in the Fifth would make him less of a threat, and Octavian liked to keep all his enemies in one place. "Very well," Reyna announced. "Hazel Levesque, you may stand for the recruit. Does your cohort accept him?"
The other cohorts started coughing, trying not to laugh. Hazel knew what they were thinking: Another loser for the Fifth. Frank pounded his shield against the ground. The other members of the Fifth followed his lead, though they didn't seem very excited.
Their senior centurions, Dakota and Gwen, exchanged pained looks, like: Here we go again. "My cohort has spoken," Dakota said. "We accept the recruit." Reyna looked at Percy with pity.
"Congratulations, Percy Jackson. You stand on probatio. You will be given a tablet with your name and cohort. In one year's time, or as soon as you complete an act of valor, you will become a full member of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. Serve Rome, obey the rules of the legion, and defend the camp with honor. Senatus Populusque Romanus!'
The rest of the legion echoed the cheer. Reyna wheeled her pegasus away from Percy, like she was glad to be done with him. Skippy spread his beautiful wings. Hazel couldn't help feeling a pang of envy.
She'd give anything for a horse like that, but it would never happen. Horses were for officers only, or barbarian cavalry, not for Roman legionnaires. "Centurions," Reyna said, "you and your troops have one hour for dinner. Then we will meet on the Field of Mars. The First and Second Cohorts will defend. The Third, Fourth, and Fifth will attack. Good fortune!"
A bigger cheer went up—for the war games and for dinner. The cohorts broke ranks and ran for the mess hall. Hazel waved at Percy, who made his way through the crowd with Nico at his side. To Hazel's surprise, Nico was beaming at her.
"Good job, Sis," he said. "That took guts, standing for him." He had never called her Sis before. She wondered if that was what he had called Bianca. One of the guards had given Percy his probatio nameplate. Percy strung it on his leather necklace with the strange beads.
"Thanks, Hazel," he said. "Um, what exactly does it mean—your standing for me?" "I guarantee your good behavior," Hazel explained. "I teach you the rules, answer your questions, make sure you don't disgrace the legion."
The two watched as Reyna took off with her pegasus, Skippy climbed into the air as Hazel's jealousy grew, the two flew off somewhere, Percy asked, "And...if I do something wrong?" "Then I get killed along with you," Hazel said. "Hungry? Let's eat."
(Y/N)'s POV
"-Tell me about your day." He asked, she laughed at him, "You won't remember what I say anyway." That brought the mood down for a second, until (Y/N) explained his reason, "I know, I just miss hearing your voice."
She smiled broadly at him and leaned into his chest, "I could read Homer to you again-" "No thanks, I'd rather enjoy my time. So how was your day?" "It was nothing special really, doing some final checks, and I went to my dad's house to collect some stuff." (Y/N) smiled, falling into a sense of tired comfort.
"Have you told him yet?" She shook her head, "No, but he can tell something has changed-" "Probably think's you've moved on to someone much better." She looked up at him and a smile crossed her face, "Yeah, like that guy we met at Percy's old school...remember Joe Bob...he was hot. Totally my type."
(Y/N) frowned at her, "Excuse me, that man was in a committed relationship you homewrecker, I think I saw Marrow Eater giving you the eye though. If you'd settle for someone shorter" Annabeth snorted, "Why didn't you tell me, I wouldn't have settled for you if I had known" She said sarcastically.
"I know, I had to get rid of any competition, Percy's next...when I find him." (Y/N) added, "Still no luck then?" It felt like (Y/N) had taken a leaf out of Polyphemus's book and tried to swallow a rock when he said, "No, not yet, something's happening soon though, I can feel it."
She breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, (Y/N) thought that maybe she could see right through him, maybe she knew he was keeping secrets from her, but at the point where she normally would have said that dreaded phrase and scolded him, she just kissed him instead.
He knew for a fact that she was aware he was lying when she pulled back and smirked at him, pressing their foreheads together and said, "Okay, no matter what happens, promise me you'll stay safe." He nodded. "Miss you (Y/N)." She added before fading away suddenly as his eyes opened.
"(Y/N)!" Someone shouted, (Y/N) glared at Reyna in the dark. "You ruined my dream," He said, trying to resist the urge to add another spirit to this place. "Sorry..." Reyna said. He stood up, and looked around at the dark room, he had only just noticed the change. "How long has it been?"
"Only a few minutes," "Huh, felt like longer. Why are you bugging me Reyna, I said I'd join the stupid war games, just leave me be until then, I was doing something important. Something personal."
Reyna frowned. "I apologize, but I need you for an announcement later tonight. Why are you here and not at muster with the others?" She asked, (Y/N) sighed, "It makes me feel uncomfortable."
"I know Percy feels it too, he's just too nice to say it. I'm sure you know why." her expression twisted into sadness for a second, as he tried to voice how he felt. A moment's pause came and went.
(Y/N) said aloud what he had been feeling for weeks, "It feels like something's wrong, like you're doing the right thing, just with the wrong people, it makes me upset, so I'd rather avoid it. I'm more than happy to stay here until the game starts."
"Perhaps if you were to join him, your friend Percy would not feel so alone?" She asked. (Y/N) considered it, then agreed. "After this is finished, they let me borrow some power, I have to give it back." He explained, "For the war games? Is this where you find strength?"
"In a way." He smiled, thinking of the person he visited in his dreams. (Y/N) had lit the majority of the candles in the building now, it looked like a really old barn that had been retrofitted, a semicircle of candles opposite the doors, (Y/N) had been sitting in the middle of it.
"Did you get my letter?" He asked, she nodded, "Yes, but I could not take it into account, and I do not appreciate the foul language. So Hazel stood for him in your stead." "Good, she's grown on me recently that girl."
As they spoke, he went around and lit the candles throughout the room, a greenish purple fire burning away the wax. Reyna looked around the place with her nose wrinkled in disgust, he bet she thought little of this place other than it being a fire hazard.
"Why do you come here, I understand that the dead were not buried within the confines of Rome, but if you must make tribute, or pray, or whatever you need to do. Why must it be here of all places?"
"Nowhere else feels right." (Y/N) tried to explain, "Romans barely come here any more, it's quiet, and the spirits still keep it strong." "It's a dump." "It's a place of worship, watch your tongue." (Y/N) snapped. "Not everything has to be gold plated to be worthy of your time."
"There were no fixed or enforced beliefs about life after death in ancient Rome, excuse the pun, but it was all pretty...bare bones. They stole a lot of it from Greek culture, some people focused on it, some didn't. I like that." Reyna looked ready to murder someone.
"It made quiet places like this just as strong as big temples." "So why don't you try in the temple to Pluto?" She asked. "Personal reasons, also it makes me feel strange too, it's too showy...Reyna why are you really here?" Another pause.
"You know where Jason is don't you, the same way you know where this Percy Jackson is from, you were together, back then." (Y/N) blew out his creepy candle just to relight it when the wick was in a better position.
"I've been pretty upfront about that, but yes." "But you won't tell me where he is so I can go retrieve him, or do it yourself and save me the trouble?" "If I told you, I'd have to kill you, and I'm not entirely against the idea, but your sister scares me."
"I can't tell you everything Reyna, I wish I could. But I'm sure you know better than to tempt fate, and Percy and me even being here is already doing that." "But he is safe?" "Last time I saw him yes."
He lit the final candle and turned, "So, what's this announcement you need me for?" He asked, the two of them walked out together and by the time they were past the door, the fires on each candle had been reclaimed by the spirits, the decrepit old building creaking closed of it's own accord.
Hazel's POV
At least the camp food was good. Invisible wind spirits—aurae—waited on the campers and seemed to know exactly what everyone wanted. They blew plates and cups around so quickly, the mess hall looked like a delicious hurricane.
If you got up too fast, you were likely to get beaned by beans or potted by a pot roast. Hazel got shrimp gumbo—her favorite comfort food. It made her think about being a little girl in New Orleans, before her curse set in and her mom got so bitter.
Percy got a cheeseburger and a strange-looking soda that was bright blue. Hazel didn't understand that, but Percy tried it and grinned. "This makes me happy," he said. "I don't know why...but it does."
Just for a moment, one of the aurae became visible—an elfin girl in a white silk dress. She giggled as she topped off Percy's glass, then disappeared in a gust. The mess hall seemed especially noisy tonight.
Laughter echoed off the walls. War banners rustled from cedar ceiling beams as aurae blew back and forth, keeping everyone's plates full. The campers dined Roman style, sitting on couches around low tables.
Kids were constantly getting up and trading places, spreading rumors about who liked whom and all the other gossip. As usual, the Fifth Cohort took the place of least honor. Percy was clearly uneasy, when Hazel confronted him about it, he shrugged.
"I get this feeling that there's something off about everything around me, but I don't know what until I find it." She watched as Percy's eyes traced over to Nico, who had avoided eye contact for far too long, even for him.
Their tables were at the back of the dining hall next to the kitchen. Hazel's table was always the least crowded. Tonight it was she and Frank, as usual, with Percy and Nico and their centurion Dakota, who sat there, Hazel figured, because he felt obligated to welcome the new recruit.
Dakota reclined glumly on his couch, mixing sugar into his drink and chugging it. He was a beefy guy with curly black hair and eyes that didn't quite line up straight, so Hazel felt like the world was leaning whenever she looked at him.
It wasn't a good sign that he was drinking so much so early in the night. "So." He burped, waving his goblet. "Welcome to the Percy, party." He frowned. "Party, Percy. Whatever." "Um, thanks," Percy said, but his attention was focused on Nico.
"I was wondering if we could talk, you know...about where I might have seen you before." "Sure," Nico said a little too quickly. "The thing is, I spend most of my time in the Underworld. So unless I met you there somehow—"
Dakota belched. "Ambassador from Pluto, they call him. Reyna's never sure what to do with this guy when he visits. Same with (Y/N) and Hazel here, they used to have my job y'know..." Dakota said,
"I still do Dakota...It's a shared thing remember-" "Sure, sure, tell that to the pretty boy...taking my job...jerk...anyway. You should have seen her face when he showed up with Hazel, asking Reyna to take her in. Um, no offense."
"None taken." Nico seemed relieved to change the topic. "Dakota was really helpful, standing for Hazel." Dakota blushed. "Yeah, well...She seemed like a good kid. Turned out I was right. Last month, when she saved me from, uh, you know."
"Oh, man!" Frank looked up from his fish and chips. "Percy, you should have seen her! That's how Hazel got her stripe. The unicorns decided to stampede, that's where I got the idea earlier. I thought of Hazel...well...I mean I thought of what Hazel would do...I mean-"
"-It was nothing," Hazel said. "Nothing?" Frank protested. "Dakota would've gotten trampled! You stood right in front of them, shooed them away, saved his hide. I've never seen anything like it."
Hazel bit her lip. She didn't like to talk about it, and she felt uncomfortable, the way Frank made her sound like a hero. In truth, she'd been mostly afraid that the unicorns would hurt themselves in their panic.
Their horns were precious metal—silver and gold—so she'd managed to turn them aside simply by concentrating, steering the animals by their horns and guiding them back to the stables. It had gotten her a full place in the legion, but it had also started rumors about her strange powers—rumors that reminded her of the bad old days.
Percy studied her. Those sea-green eyes made her unsettled. "Did you and Nico grow up together?" he asked. "No," Nico answered for her. "I found out that Hazel was my sister only recently. She's from New Orleans."
That was true, of course, but not the whole truth. Nico let people think he'd stumbled upon her in modern New Orleans and brought her to camp. It was easier than telling the real story. "Are you related to (Y/N)? You have similar eyes."
Nico shook his head, "No, no, their eyes are similar, but just in color just a coincidence, his eyes are pretty...special." Hazel had tried to pass herself off as a modern kid. It wasn't easy. Thankfully, demigods didn't use a lot of technology at camp.
Their powers tended to make electronic gadgets go haywire. But the first time she went on furlough to Berkeley, she had nearly had a stroke. Televisions, computers, iPods, the Internet...it made her glad to get back to the world of ghosts, unicorns, and gods.
That seemed much less of a fantasy than the twenty-first century. Nico was still talking about the children of Pluto. "There aren't many of us," he said, "so we have to stick together. When I found Hazel—"
"You have other sisters?" Percy asked, almost as if he knew the answer. Hazel wondered again when he and Nico had met, and what her brother was hiding. "One," Nico admitted. "But she died. I saw her spirit a few times in the Underworld, except that the last time I went down there..."
To bring her back, Hazel thought, though Nico didn't say that. "She was gone." Nico's voice turned hoarse. "She used to be in Elysium—like, the Underworld paradise—but she chose to be reborn into a new life. Now Ill never see her again. I was just lucky to find Hazel...in New Orleans, I mean."
Dakota grunted. "Unless you believe the rumors. Not saying that I do." "Rumors?" Percy asked. From across the room, Don the faun yelled, "Hazel!" Hazel had never been so glad to see the faun. He wasn't allowed in camp, but of course he always managed to get in.
He was working his way toward their table, grinning at everybody, sneaking food off plates, and pointing at campers: "Hey! Call me!" A flying pizza smacked him in the head, and he disappeared behind a couch. Then he popped up, still grinning, and made his way over.
"My favorite girl!" He smelled like a wet goat wrapped in old cheese. He leaned over their couches and checked out their food. "Say, new kid, you going to eat that?" Percy frowned. "Aren't fauns vegetarian?"
"Not the cheeseburger, man! The plate!" He sniffed Percy's hair. "Hey...what's that smell?" "Don!" Hazel said. "Don't be rude." "No, man, I just—"
Their house god Vitellius shimmered into existence, standing half embedded in Frank's couch. "Fauns in the dining hall! What are we coming to? Centurion Dakota, do your duty!" "I am," Dakota grumbled into his goblet. "I'm having dinner!"
Don was still sniffing around Percy. "Man, you' ve got an empathy link with a faun!" Percy leaned away from him. "A what?" "An empathy link! It's real faint, like somebody's suppressed it, but—"
"I know what!" Nico stood suddenly. "Hazel, how about we give you and Frank time to get Percy oriented? Dakota and I can visit the praetor's table. Don and Vitellius, you come too. We can discuss strategies for the war games."
"Strategies for losing?" Dakota muttered. "Death Boy is right!" Vitellius said. "This legion fights worse than we did in Judea, and that was the first time we lost our eagle. Why, if I were in charge—"
"But you're not, are you Vitellius?" (Y/N) announced himself. Everyone turned to him and whispers crossed the room like a tidal wave. He had switched out his faded orange t-shirt for another more fitting one, that said 'carpe diem.'
Or, 'seize the day' Hazel's mind told her, only the 'm' in 'diem' was crossed out, and the DIE was highlighted. She thought that was a little on the nose. "No my lord." Vitellius said. Reyna was behind him, she nodded.
"Nice shirt, prefer the other one though." Percy said, breaking the tension with a smile, (Y/N) looked around to be met with a few more complaints, "I agree." Nico nodded, (Y/N) frowned, "Do I judge you guys for your clothes? No, so shut up."
"I mean you're one to talk, with your freshly washed hair, and your tight fitting T-shirt that goes with your eyes and...and...dam...got distracted, anyway, your clothes suck." He blushed, quickly moving on. (Y/N) looked at Nico.
"And you, looking like a extra from Bram Stokers 'Dracula.'" He gestured to Nico's face, Hazel barely contained her laughter, she didn't really get the reference, but Nico's pouting face made her laugh alone.
She laughed more when her brother said, "Bite me" with the exact same inflection and pause that (Y/N) had earlier in the day, she didn't realize the two were so similar, but remembered (Y/N)'s jab about teaching him everything he knew. "I made this shirt myself!" (Y/N) defended.
"Besides...Horace said he liked it." He said quietly, Percy raised an eyebrow, "Who's Horace?" (Y/N) rubbed the sleep from his eyes and groaned, "He's the guy who said the...never mind, let's just get on with it. All my cool stories are wasted on you gills."
"So, we doing this or what?" He asked, turning to Reyna, who cleared her throat and the entire roman camp went dead silent in an instant. "It has been decided that (Y/N) will join..." The silence got tense, everyone waited for the winners of today's war games to be decided.
Despite being in the fifth, after his first showing in the war games, where he didn't understand the rules and practically wiped out half the camp, Reyna had decided his victory was his own, Hazel thought she just didn't want to give the losers cohort any time to shine.
Since then, he had always joined 'random' sides, but in all the time he was here, (Y/N) had never once been on the side of his own cohort, so in a way, he always lost too. Hazel had a sneaking suspicion today would be the same.
Until Reyna said "Nobody. In honor of the upcoming feast of fortune, and as a punishment for losing his rank, (Y/N) (L/N) will not be claimed by any cohort, and will instead act alone. If he can prove himself to his praetor in the face of overwhelming odds, he can restore his rank."
Even (Y/N) looked shocked, there was always the incident he had in the first games, but that was down to misunderstanding, and Reyna had never, in the months Hazel had been here, endorsed something like this.
The whole camp erupted in protest. Reyna seemed to be put off by this response, which was odd to see from her, but (Y/N) stepped up beside her, "Think of it this way. Now anyone, no matter who you are, can attack me."
"Anyone want to surrender now? I'm feeling generous." (Y/N) laughed. That was when the mood changed, Hazel looked around the room and saw 200 people glaring back at him with a keen fire in their eyes, all saying one thing, 'he's going to regret that'
(Y/N) seemed unfazed, but he was the only one. "Yeah, see, we really need that meeting" Nico said to the spirit and faun. "Could I just eat the silverware first?" Don asked. "Let's go!" Nico stood and grabbed Don and Vitellius by the ears.
Nobody but Nico and (Y/N) could actually touch the Lares. Vitellius spluttered with outrage as he was dragged off to the praetor's table. "Ow!" Don protested. "Man, watch the 'fro!" "Come on, Dakota!" Nico called over his shoulder.
The centurion got up reluctantly. He wiped his mouth—uselessly, since it was permanently stained red. "Back soon." He shook all over, like a dog trying to get dry. Then he staggered away, his goblet sloshing.
"What was that about?" Percy asked. "And what's wrong with Dakota?" Frank sighed. "He's okay. He's a son of Bacchus, the wine god. He's got a drinking problem." Percy's eyes widened. "You let him drink wine?"
"Gods, no!" Hazel said. "That would be a disaster. He's addicted to red Kool-Aid. Drinks it with three times the normal sugar, and he's already ADHD—you know, attention deficit/hyperactive. One of these days, his head is going to explode."
Percy looked over at the praetor's table. Most of the senior officers were in deep conversation with Reyna. Nico and his two captives, Don and Vitellius, stood on the periphery. Dakota was running back and forth along a line of stacked shields, banging his goblet on them like they were a xylophone.
"ADHD," Percy said. "You don't say." Hazel tried not to laugh. "Well... most demigods are. Or dyslexic. Just being a demigod means that our brains are wired differently. Like you—you said you had trouble reading."
"Are you guys that way too?" Percy asked. "I don't know," Hazel admitted. "Maybe. Back in my day, they just called kids like us 'lazy." Percy frowned. "Back in your day?"
Hazel cursed herself. Luckily for her, Frank spoke up: "I wish I was ADHD or dyslexic. All I got is lactose intolerance." Percy grinned. "Seriously?" Frank might've been the silliest demigod ever, but Hazel thought he was cute when he pouted.
His shoulders slumped. "And I love ice cream, too...." Percy laughed. Hazel couldn't help joining in. It was good to sit at dinner and actually feel like she was among friends. "Okay, so tell me," Percy said, "why is it bad to be in the Fifth Cohort? You guys are great."
The compliment made Hazel's toes tingle. "It's...complicated. Aside from being Pluto's kid, I want to ride horses." "That's why you use a cavalry sword?" She nodded. "It's stupid, I guess. Wishful thinking."
"There's only one pegasus at camp—Reyna's. The unicorns are just kept for medicine, because the shavings off their horns cure poison and stuff. Anyway, Roman fighting is always done on foot. Cavalry...they kind of look down on that. So they look down on me."
"Their loss," Percy said. "What about you, Frank?" "Archery," he muttered. "They don't like that either, unless you're a child of Apollo. Then you've got an excuse. I hope my dad is Apollo, but I don't know. II can't do poetry very well. And I'm not sure I want to be related to Octavian."
"Can't blame you," Percy said. "But you're excellent with the bow—the way you pegged those gorgons? Forget what other people think." Frank's face turned as red as Dakota's Kool-Aid. "Wish I could. They all think I should be a sword fighter because I'm big and bulky."
He looked down at his body, like he couldn't quite believe it was his. "They say I'm too stocky for an archer. Maybe if my dad would ever claim me..." They ate in silence for a few minutes. A dad who wouldn't claim you...Hazel knew that feeling.
She sensed Percy could relate, too. "You asked about the Fifth," she said at last. "Why it's the worst cohort. That actually started way before us." She pointed to the back wall, where the legion's standards were on display. "See the empty pole in the middle?"
"The eagle," Percy said. Hazel was stunned. "How'd you know?" Percy shrugged. "Vitellius was talking about how the legion lost its eagle a long time ago—the first time, he said. He acted like it was a huge disgrace."
"I'm guessing that's what's missing. And from the way you and Reyna were talking earlier, I'm guessing your eagle got lost a second time, more recently, and it had something to do with the Fifth Cohort."
Hazel made a mental note not to underestimate Percy again. When he'd first arrived, she'd thought he was a little goofy from the questions he'd asked—about the Feast of Tuna and all—but clearly he was smarter than he let on.
"You're right," she said. "That's exactly what happened." "So what is this eagle, anyway? Why is it a big deal?" Frank looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping.
"It's the symbol of the whole camp—a big eagle made of gold. It's supposed to protect us in battle and make our enemies afraid. Each legion's eagle gave it all sorts of power, and ours came from Jupiter himself."
"Supposedly Julius Caesar nicknamed our legion 'Fulminata'—armed with lightning—because of what the eagle could do." "I don't like lightning," Percy said. "Yeah, well," Hazel said, "it didn't make us invincible. The Twelfth lost its eagle the first time way back in ancient days, during the Jewish Rebellion."
"I think I saw a movie like that," Percy said. "Lies, you fell asleep half way through." (Y/N) said, as he walked past to get a refill, and clearly eavesdrop. Percy just stared at him like he was confused.
Hazel shrugged, she wasn't worried about (Y/N) overhearing. "Could be. There have been lots of books and movies about legions losing their eagles. Unfortunately it happened quite a few times."
"The eagle was so important...well, archaeologists have never recovered a single eagle from ancient Rome. Each legion guarded theirs to the last man, because it was charged with power from the gods. They'd rather hide it or melt it down than surrender it to an enemy. The Twelfth was lucky the first time. We got our eagle back. But the second time..."
"You guys were there?" Percy asked. They both shook their heads. "I'm almost as new as you." Frank tapped his probatio plate. "Just got here last month. But everyone's heard the story. It's bad luck to even talk about this. There was this huge expedition to Alaska back in the eighties..."
"That prophecy you noticed in the temple," Hazel continued, "the one about the seven demigods and the Doors of Death? Our senior praetor at the time was Michael Varus, from the Fifth Cohort."
"Back then the Fifth was the best in camp. He thought it would bring glory to the legion if he could figure out the prophecy and make it come true—save the world from storm and fire and all that."
"He talked to the augur, and the augur said the answer was in Alaska. But he warned Michael it wasn't time yet. The prophecy wasn't for him." "But he went anyway," Percy guessed. "What happened?"
Frank lowered his voice. "Long, gruesome story. Almost the entire Fifth Cohort was wiped out. Most of legion's Imperial gold weapons were lost, along with the eagle. The survivors went crazy or refused to talk about what had attacked them."
I know, Hazel thought solemnly. But she kept silent. "Since the eagle was lost," Frank continued, "the camp has been getting weaker. Quests are more dangerous. Monsters attack the borders more often. Morale is lower. The last month or so, things have been getting much worse, much faster."
"And the Fifth Cohort took the blame," Percy guessed. "So now everyone thinks we're cursed." Hazel realized her gumbo was cold. She sipped a spoonful, but the comfort food didn't taste very comforting.
"We've been the outcasts of the legion since...well, since the Alaska disaster. Our reputation got better when Jason became praetor—" "The kid who's missing?" Percy asked. "Yeah," Frank said.
"I never met him. Before my time. But I hear he was a good leader. He practically grew up in the Fifth Cohort. He didn't care what people thought about us. He started to rebuild our reputation. Then he disappeared."
"Which put us back at square one," Hazel said bitterly. "Made us look cursed all over again. I'm sorry, Percy. Now you know what you've gotten yourself into." Percy sipped his blue soda and gazed thoughtfully across the dining hall.
"I don't even know where I come from...but I've got a feeling this isn't the first time I've been an underdog." He focused on Hazel and managed a smile. "Besides, joining the legion is better than being chased through the wilderness by monsters. I've got myself some new friends. Maybe together we can turn things around for the Fifth Cohort, huh?"
A horn blew at the end of the hall. The officers at the praetor's table got to their feet—even Dakota, his mouth vampire-red from Kool-Aid. "The games begin!" Reyna announced.
The campers cheered and rushed to collect their equipment from the stacks along the walls. "So we're the attacking team?" Percy asked over the noise. "Is that good?" Hazel shrugged. "Good news: we get the elephant. Bad news—"
"Let me guess," said Percy. "The Fifth Cohort always loses." Frank slapped Percy on the shoulder. "I love this guy. Come on, new friend. Let's go chalk up my thirteenth defeat in a row!"
(Y/N)'s POV
Storming up to the main table once the riot was quelled, (Y/N) spun Reyna by the arm, "First, you ruin my plan for a nice gesture, then you ruin my nap, now this? What is your deal?" She seemed confused.
"Nice gesture?" She said blankly, (Y/N) was too angry to hide his disappointment. "I was gonna do this thing, see after he asked me to join, I helped Percy through his first capture the flag...I mean, no I didn't...Uhhh-" He cleared his throat.
"-But now I was gonna do the same thing, and offer for him to join you guys, and then get him through his first war games. It was going to be all poetic and sweet, now you ruined it!" She shook her head in disbelief.
"(Y/N). Believe it or not, It was not my intention for your grand gesture to be ruined, in fact it will shock you to know, that your 'nice gesture' and in fact the majority of what goes on in your mind, is of very little consequence to me-"
"Do you think I'm stupid Reyna," He barked, "I know your game here, if I win, Percy looks weak, and you look merciful for letting me participate as a third party, if I lose, I look weak, and focus is shifted to Percy, the graecus, leaving only Octavian to worry about."
She sighed. "Not everything I do is to consolidate power (Y/N)" She said quietly. "It is not all I care about.. I wanted you to test this new probatio, you vouching for him in a five minute talk and a poorly written letter is not much proof he is the one to help us."
"There is a change coming, I can feel it. A quest will reveal itself, I need you to help me prove that Percy Jackson is the right person to lead it. Even if you defeat him in the war games, if he fights well, others will respect him. Battling monsters like the gorgon is one thing, but we need a spectacle."
(Y/N) thought about it for a second, he understood Reyna's point, but didn't know if it was the right thing to do for his own mission. Plus, he knew Reyna was scheming something, she always was.
"You don't think I can do it, do you? You want me to get injured, so that Percy goes on the quest and you can keep an eye on me." Reyna sighed into her hand, "I am not a comic book villain (Y/N)." She said, but he knew better.
"But you messed up big time here Reyna, you see, you ruined my dream, so now I have to make it my mission for today to ruin your plans." She seemed intrigued, "And how are you going to do that probatio?"
"I'm surprised you didn't see it Reyna, I expected better from you." "What?" She asked, "The third option. The one that doesn't have you come out on top." He gave her a moment to consider it, but she shrugged.
"It's quite simple really. I'm going to demolish your entire camp so badly that this night will be infamous. I am going to wipe out every cohort I get my hands on, and morale will be so low, they won't blame me."
"After all, I'm just doing what my praetor asked of me. And I'll have my rank back, so the blame will shift, to the person who set up this whole thing. Personally, I think it'll be a very interesting topic of conversation during the feast of fortune." She just smiled and said, "We shall see."