Today was the day. The day that Kira, and the rest of the demigods flew into Rome in a war ship and hoped that they didn't strike them down.
She woke up in a cold sweat, another nightmare of the giant Porphyrion whispering to an unseen figure about how the demigods would fail.
It was a great reminder to fall asleep to every night.
Sometimes, she would sneak into the Hephaestus cabin and sleep with Leo, where the nightmares couldn't get to her, but someone usually caught them, and rumors would fly for a few days.
Today she had to sleep in the Ares' cabin, because everyone had been watching her the last few days, like she would spontaneously combust. Honestly, she was thinking about it. It was a good option.
She stretched in her bed, yawning silently. She didn't want to wake her siblings, since it was so early. It was way too early to start a fight.
She turned, facing the pictures on her wall. Her collection had expanded, and now she had half a dozen. The first two were the originals, but now she had had a two pictures with Piper, Jason, and Leo, one with Connor, one with Annabeth.
She smiled sadly at them. She took them off the wall gently, placing them in her bag.
The bag was emptier then last time. She still had the essentials, ambrosia and nectar, but no change of clothes or water or food. Argo II already had loads of that stuff.
She had made her cabin on Argo II, filling her drawers with some clothes, even though most of it was still empty. She had a few spare weapons in her room, and she had the sword her father had given her, her original sword, and her Ares' knife.
She felt prepared.
But at the same time, she felt like she was seconds from falling apart. She didn't want to mess this mission up. With her new controlled strength and skill, she was physically prepared, but was she mentally?
Too late to find out. She snuck out of the cabin with her bag, meeting Leo in the pale morning sun and dew covered grass.
She developed him in a hug, both of them extremely tense.
Annabeth had told them that it was best to leave the everyone was sleeping, and Kira was too scared to disobey her.
Leo and Kira made their way to the warship hand-in-hand, ready to take on any challenges that came their way.
Once they were up in the air, Kira tried to distract herself from herders by watching the towns and forest pass below them, but she found that it didn't help much but make her feel seasick.
She was wearing a one of Leo's band tees, with some lightwashed jeans.
On the stern quarterdeck, Leo rushed around like a madman, checking his gauges and wrestling levers. Most helmsmen would've been satisfied with a pilot's wheel or a tiller. Leo had also installed a keyboard, monitor, aviation controls from a Learjet, a dubstep soundboard, and motion-control sensors from a Nintendo Wii.
Piper paced back and forth between the mainmast and the ballistae, practicing her lines.
Jason stood at the bow on the raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot him. His knuckles were white on the hilt of his golden sword.
Annabeth overwatched them all.
In the valley below, horns sounded. The Romans had spotted them.
Ringed by the Oakland Hills, the valley was at least twice the size of Camp Half-Blood. A small river snaked around one side and curled toward the center like a capital letter G, emptying into a sparkling blue lake.
She saw evidence of the Romans' recent battle with an army of monsters. The dome was cracked open on a building she guessed was the Senate House. The forum's broad plaza was pitted with craters. Some fountains and statues were in ruins.
Dozens of kids in togas were streaming out of the Senate House to get a better view of the Argo II. More Romans emerged from the shops and cafés, gawking and pointing as the ship descended.
About half a mile to the west, where the horns were blowing, a Roman fort stood on a hill.
It had a defensive trench lined with spikes, high walls, and watchtowers armed with scorpion ballistae. Inside, perfect rows of white barracks lined the main road—the Via Principalis.
Kira had had some classes with Annabeth.
A column of demigods emerged from the gates, their armor and spears glinting as they hurried toward the city. In the midst of their ranks was an actual war elephant.
The explosion almost knocked Kira overboard. She whirled and found Annabeth eye to eye with an angry statue.
"Unacceptable!" he shrieked.
Apparently he had exploded into existence, right there on the deck. Sulfurous yellow smoke rolled off his shoulders. Cinders popped around his curly hair. From the waist down, he was nothing but a square marble pedestal. From the waist up, he was a muscular human figure in a carved toga.
"I will not have weapons inside the Pomerian Line!" he announced in a fussy teacher voice. "I certainly will not have Greeks!"
"Terminus," he said. "It's me. Jason Grace."
"Oh, I remember you, Jason!" Terminus grumbled. "I thought you had better sense than to consort with the enemies of Rome!"
"But they're not enemies—"
"That's right," Piper jumped in. "We just want to talk. If we could—"
"Ha!" snapped the statue. "Don't try that charmspeak on me, young lady. And put down that dagger before I slap it out of your hands!"
Piper glanced at her bronze dagger, which she'd apparently forgotten she was holding. "Um...okay. But how would you slap it? You don't have any arms."
"Impertinence!" There was a sharp pop and a flash of yellow. Piper yelped and dropped the dagger, which was now smoking and sparking.
"Lucky for you I've just been through a battle," Terminus announced. "If I were at full strength, I would've blasted this flying monstrosity out of the sky already!"
"Hold up." Leo stepped forward, wagging his Wii controller. "Did you just call my ship a monstrosity? I know you didn't do that."
"Let's all calm down," Kira said sweetly, looking to Leo then the statue.
Annabeth raised her hands to show she had no weapons. "I take it you're Terminus, the god of boundaries. Jason told me you protect the city of New Rome, right? I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of—"
"Oh, I know who you are!" The statue glared at her with its blank white eyes. "A child of Athena, Minerva's Greek form. Scandalous! You Greeks have no sense of decency. We Romans know the proper place for that goddess."
Annabeth clenched her jaw. "What exactly do you mean, that goddess? And what's so scandalous about—"
Kira stood, staring at the talking statue in shock.
"Right!" Jason interrupted. "Anyway, Terminus, we're here on a mission of peace. We'd love permission to land so we can—"
"Impossible!" the god squeaked. "Lay down your weapons and surrender! Leave my city immediately!"
"Which is it?" Leo asked. "Surrender, or leave?"
"Both!" Terminus said. "Surrender, then leave. I am slapping your face for asking such a stupid question, you ridiculous boy! Do you feel that?"
"Wow." Leo studied Terminus with professional interest. "You're wound up pretty tight. You got any gears in there that need loosening? I could take a look."
He exchanged the Wii controller for a screwdriver from his magic tool belt and tapped the statue's pedestal.
"Stop that!" Terminus insisted. Another small explosion made Leo drop his screwdriver. "Weapons are not allowed on Roman soil inside the Pomerian Line."
"The what?" Piper asked.
"City limits," Jason translated.
"And this entire ship is a weapon!" Terminus said. "You cannot land!"
Down in the valley, the legion reinforcements were halfway to the city. The crowd in the forum was over a hundred strong now.
"Leo, stop the ship," she ordered.
"What?"
"You heard me. Keep us right where we are."
Leo pulled out his controller and yanked it upward. All ninety oars froze in place. The ship stopped sinking.
"Terminus," Annabeth said, "there's no rule against hovering over New Rome, is there?"
The statue frowned. "Well, no..."
"We can keep the ship aloft," Annabeth said. "We'll use a rope ladder to reach the forum. That way, the ship won't be on Roman soil. Not technically."
The statue seemed to ponder this.
"I like technicalities," he admitted. "Still..."
"All our weapons will stay aboard the ship," Annabeth promised. "I assume the Romans—even those reinforcements marching toward us—will also have to honor your rules inside the Pomerian Line if you tell them to?"
"Of course!" Terminus said. "Do I look like I tolerate rule breakers?"
"Uh, Annabeth..." Leo said. "You sure this is a good idea?"
"It'll be fine," she said. "No one will be armed. We can talk in peace. Terminus will make sure each side obeys the rules." She looked at the marble statue. "Do we have an agreement?"
Terminus sniffed. "I suppose. For now. You may climb down your ladder to New Rome, daughter of Athena. Please try not to destroy my town."
Kira sighed, taking off her ring and necklace and the Ares' knife that was wrapped around her thigh. The statue looked at her weird.
But the five demigods climbed down the rope, entering the city of Rome.
A sea of hastily assembled demigods parted for Annabeth as she walked through the forum, in front of the four. Some looked tense, some nervous. Some were bandaged from their recent battle with the giants, but no one was armed. No one attacked.
Some winked at Kira, but it only made her move closer to Leo.
Entire families had gathered to see the newcomers. Kira saw couples with babies, toddlers clinging to their parents' legs, even some elderly folks in a combination of Roman robes and modern clothes.
In front of her, the demigods made way for a girl in full Roman armor and a purple cape. Dark hair tumbled across her shoulders. Her eyes were as black as obsidian.
Reyna.
Jason had told her about her, but even with out it, Kira would have knew she was their leader. She carried herself with such confidence the other demigods backed away and averted their gaze.
Maybe Kira could do that someday.
The praetor Reyna straightened. With apparent reluctance, she turned toward Jason.
"Jason Grace, my former colleague..." She spoke the word colleague like it was a dangerous thing. "I welcome you home. And these, your friends—"
Annabeth ran forward before anyone could stop her, and Kira could see why.
Percy, just the way Annabeth had told her, was running towards her.
Percy threw his arms around her. They kissed, and Kira held down a loud "Awww!".
Percy pulled away and studied her face. "Gods, I never thought—"
Annabeth grabbed his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder. He slammed into the stone pavement. Romans cried out. Some surged forward, but Reyna shouted, "Hold! Stand down!"
Annabeth put her knee on Percy's chest. She pushed her forearm against his throat.
"If you ever leave me again," she said, her eyes stinging, "I swear to all the gods—"
Percy laughed, and Kira looked to Leo, pouting. They were so cute!
"Consider me warned," Percy said. "I missed you, too."
Annabeth rose and helped him to his feet.
Jason cleared his throat. "So, yeah...It's good to be back."
He introduced Reyna to Piper, who looked a little miffed that she hadn't gotten to say the lines she'd been practicing, then to Leo, who grinned and flashed a peace sign, then finally to Kira, who give her a polite wave and a warm smile.
"And this is Annabeth," Jason said. "Uh, normally she doesn't judo-flip people."
Reyna's eyes sparkled. "You sure you're not a Roman, Annabeth? Or an Amazon?"
Annabeth held out her hand. "I only attack my boyfriend like that," she promised. "Pleased to meet you."
Reyna clasped her hand firmly. "It seems we have a lot to discuss. Centurions!"
A few of the Roman campers hustled forward—apparently the senior officers. Two kids appeared at Percy's side, the same ones Annabeth had seen him chumming around with earlier. The burly Asian guy with the buzz cut was about fifteen. He was cute in a sort of oversized-cuddly-panda-bear way. The girl was younger, maybe thirteen, with amber eyes and chocolate skin and long curly hair. Her cavalry helmet was tucked under her arm.
Reyna gave orders to her officers. "Tell the legion to stand down. Dakota, alert the spirits in the kitchen. Tell them to prepare a welcome feast. And, Octavian—"
"You're letting these intruders into the camp?" A tall guy with stringy blond hair elbowed his way forward. "Reyna, the security risks—"
"We're not taking them to the camp, Octavian." Reyna flashed him a stern look. "We'll eat here, in the forum."
"Oh, much better," Octavian grumbled.
He was scrawny and pale and for some reason had three teddy bears hanging from his belt.
"You want us to relax in the shadow of their warship."
"These are our guests." Reyna clipped off every word. "We will welcome them, and we will talk to them. As augur, you should burn an offering to thank the gods for bringing Jason back to us safely."
"Good idea," Percy put in. "Go burn your bears, Octavian."
Reyna looked like she was trying not to smile. "You have my orders. Go."
The officers dispersed. Octavian shot Percy a look of absolute loathing.
Percy slipped his hand into Annabeth's. "Don't worry about Octavian," he said. "Most of the Romans are good people—like Frank and Hazel here, and Reyna. We'll be fine."
"We'll be fine," she repeated, trying to believe it.
"Excellent," Reyna said. She turned to Jason. "Let's talk, and we can have a proper reunion."
They made their way to the forum, where Sets of couches and low tables were carted into it. Romans lounged in groups of ten or twenty, talking and laughing while wind spirits—aurae—swirled overhead, bringing an endless assortment of pizzas, sandwiches, chips, cold drinks, and fresh-baked cookies. Drifting through the crowd were purple ghosts—Lares—in togas and legionnaire armor. Around the edges of the feast, satyrs trotted from table to table, panhandling for food and spare change.
Reyna and a few of her officers (including the blond kid Octavian, freshly back from burning a teddy bear for the gods) sat with Kira and her crew. Percy joined them with his two new friends, Frank and Hazel.
Food settled onto the table in mini tornados, and Leo glanced at Kira with a smile before they both dug in.
Reyna called a toast to friendship.
After introductions all around, the Romans and Annabeth's crew began exchanging stories. Jason explained how he'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood without his memory, and how he'd gone on a quest with Piper, Kira, and Leo to rescue the goddess Hera from imprisonment at the Wolf House in northern California.
"Impossible!" Octavian broke in. "That's our most sacred place. If the giants had imprisoned a goddess there—"
"They would've destroyed her," Piper said. "And blamed it on the Greeks, and started a war between the camps. Now, be quiet and let Jason finish."
Octavian opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
"So," Jason continued, "that's how we found out about the earth goddess Gaea. She's still half asleep, but she's the one freeing the monsters from Tartarus and raising the giants. Porphyrion, the big leader dude we fought at the Wolf House: he said he was retreating to the ancient lands—Greece itself. He plans on awakening Gaea and destroying the gods by...what did he call it? Pulling up their roots."
Percy nodded thoughtfully. "Gaea's been busy over here, too. We had our own encounter with Queen Dirt Face."
Kira ate some Mac and cheese, listening to the stories with interest.
Percy recounted his side of the story. He talked about waking up at the Wolf House with no memories except for one name—Annabeth. Percy told them how he'd traveled to Alaska with Frank and Hazel—how they'd defeated the giant Alcyoneus, freed the death god Thanatos, and returned with the lost golden eagle standard of the Roman camp to repel an attack by the giants' army.
When Percy had finished, Jason whistled appreciatively. "No wonder they made you praetor."
Octavian snorted. "Which means we now have three praetors! The rules clearly state we can only have two!"
"On the bright side," Percy said, "both Jason and I outrank you, Octavian. So we can both tell you to shut up."
Octavian turned as purple as a Roman T-shirt. Jason gave Percy a fist bump.
Kira decided she liked Percy, a smile appearing on her face.
"We'll have to figure out the extra praetor problem later," she said. "Right now we have more serious issues to deal with."
"I'll step aside for Jason," Percy said easily. "It's no biggie."
"No biggie?" Octavian choked. "The praetorship of Rome is no biggie?"
Percy ignored him and turned to Jason. "You're Thalia Grace's brother, huh? Wow. You guys look nothing alike."
"Yeah, I noticed," Jason said. "Anyway, thanks for helping my camp while I was gone. You did an awesome job."
"Back at you," Percy said.
"We should talk about the Great Prophecy. It sounds like the Romans are aware of it too?" Annabeth interrupted.
Reyna nodded. "We call it the Prophecy of Seven. Octavian, you have it committed to memory?"
"Recite it, please. In English, not Latin."
Octavian sighed. "Eight half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall—"
"An oath to keep with a final breath," Annabeth continued. "And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."
Everyone stared at her—except for Leo, who had constructed a pinwheel out of aluminum foil taco wrappers and was sticking it into passing wind spirits, and Kira who was praising him, tell him that it looked awesome.
Kira had memorized the prophecy, too. With nothing to do except watch Leo make a warship and train, she had tried to figure out what it could mean.
The big kid, Frank, sat forward, staring at Annabeth in fascination, as if she'd grown a third eye. "Is it true you're a child of Min—I mean, Athena?"
"Yes," she said, suddenly feeling defensive. "Why is that such a surprise?"
Octavian scoffed. "If you're truly a child of the wisdom goddess—"
"Enough," Reyna snapped. "Annabeth is what she says. She's here in peace. Besides..." She gave Annabeth a look of grudging respect. "Percy has spoken highly of you."
Kira understood pretty soon that Reyna had liked Percy. Percy had rejected her for a girl he couldn't even remember. She was beginning to like Annabeth and Percy's relationship more and more throughout dinner.
"Uh, thanks," she told Reyna. "At any rate, some of the prophecy is becoming clear. Foes bearing arms to the Doors of Death...that means Romans and Greeks. We have to combine forces to find those doors."
Hazel, the girl with the cavalry helmet and the long curly hair, picked up something next to her plate. It looked like a large ruby; but before Kira could be sure, Hazel slipped it into the pocket of her denim shirt.
"My brother, Nico, went looking for the doors," she said.
"Wait," Annabeth said. "Nico di Angelo? He's your brother?"
Hazel nodded as if this were obvious. "Okay. You were saying?"
"He disappeared." Hazel moistened her lips. "I'm afraid...I'm not sure, but I think something's happened to him."
"We'll look for him," Percy promised. "We have to find the Doors of Death anyway. Thanatos told us we'd find both answers in Rome—like, the original Rome. That's on the way to Greece, right?"
"Thanatos told you this?" Annabeth asked. "The death god?"
Percy took a bite of his burger. "Now that Death is free, monsters will disintegrate and return to Tartarus again like they used to. But as long as the Doors of Death are open, they'll just keep coming back."
Piper twisted the feather in her hair. "Like water leaking through a dam," she suggested.
"Yeah." Percy smiled. "We've got a dam hole."
"What?" Piper asked.
"Nothing," he said. "Inside joke. The point is we'll have to find the doors and close them before we can head to Greece. It's the only way we'll stand a chance of defeating the giants and making sure they stay defeated."
Kira took a bite of mashed potatoes.
Reyna plucked an apple from a passing fruit tray. She turned it in her fingers, studying the dark red surface. "You propose an expedition to Greece in your warship. You do realize that the ancient lands—and the Mare Nostrum—are dangerous?"
"Mary who?" Leo asked.
"Mare Nostrum," Kira whispered to her boyfriend. "Our Sea. It's what the Ancient Romans called the Mediterranean."
Reyna nodded. "The territory that was once the Roman Empire is not only the birthplace of the gods. It's also the ancestral home of the monsters, Titans and giants...and worse things. As dangerous as travel is for demigods here in America, there it would be ten times worse."
"You said Alaska would be bad," Percy reminded her. "We survived that."
"Percy, traveling in the Mediterranean is a different level of danger altogether. It's been off limits to Roman demigods for centuries. No hero in his right mind would go there."
"Then we're good!" Leo grinned over the top of his pinwheel. "Because we're all crazy, right? Besides, the Argo II is a top-of-the-line warship. She'll get us through."
"We'll have to hurry," Jason added. "I don't know exactly what the giants are planning, but Gaea is growing more conscious all the time. She's invading dreams, appearing in weird places, summoning more and more powerful monsters. We have to stop the giants before they can wake her up fully."
"Eight half-bloods must answer the call," Annabeth said. "It needs to be a mix from both our camps. Jason, Kira, Piper, Leo, and me. That's five."
"And me," Percy said. "Along with Hazel and Frank. That's eight."
"What?" Octavian shot to his feet. "We're just supposed to accept that? Without a vote in the senate? Without a proper debate? Without—"
"Percy!" A cyclops came bounding towards the table, and Kira couldn't help flinching, and pushing her chair back to stand.
"Wow, wow, wow!" Annabeth said, looking at her. "He's good, Ki,"
Kira sat immediately, embarrassed. There was a hellhound and harpy with it.
The cyclops stopped by their couch and wrung his meaty hands. His big brown eye was full of concern. "Ella is scared," he said.
"N-n-no more boats," the harpy muttered to herself, picking furiously at her feathers. "Titanic, Lusitania, Pax...boats are not for harpies."
Leo squinted. He looked at Kira. "Did that chicken girl just compare my ship to the Titanic?"
"Shut up, Le!" Kira hissed. "Be nice."
"She's not a chicken." Hazel averted her eyes, as if Leo made her nervous. "Ella's a harpy. She's just a little...high-strung."
"Ella is pretty," The cyclops said. "And scared. We need to take her away, but she will not go on the ship."
"No ships," Ella repeated. She looked straight at Annabeth. "Bad luck. There she is. Wisdom's daughter walks alone—"
"Ella!" Frank stood suddenly. "Maybe it's not the best time—"
"The Mark of Athena burns through Rome," Ella continued, cupping her hands over her ears and raising her voice. "Twins snuff out the angel's breath, Who holds the key to endless death. Giants' bane stands gold and pale, Won through pain from a woven jail."
Percy was the first to recover. He stood and took the cyclop's arm.
"You sure he's not like Ma Gasket?" Kira whispered across the table to Annabeth.
Annabeth gave her a weird look, but nodded sympathetically. "Tyson is good cyclops."
"I know!" Percy said with feigned enthusiasm. "How about you take Ella to get some fresh air? You and Mrs. O'Leary—"
"Hold on." Octavian gripped one of his teddy bears, strangling it with shaking hands. His eyes fixed on Ella. "What was that she said? It sounded like—"
"Ella reads a lot," Frank blurted out. "We found her at a library."
"Yes!" Hazel said. "Probably just something she read in a book."
"Books," Ella muttered helpfully. "Ella likes books."
Now that she'd said her piece, the harpy seemed more relaxed. She sat cross-legged on Mrs. O'Leary's back, preening her wings.
Percy's expression was screaming help.
"That was a prophecy," Octavian insisted. "It sounded like a prophecy."
"Really, Octavian? Maybe harpies are different here, on the Roman side. Ours have just enough intelligence to clean cabins and cook lunches. Do yours usually foretell the future? Do you consult them for your auguries?" Annabeth laughed.
The Roman officers laughed nervously. Some sized up Ella, then looked at Octavian and snorted. The idea of a chicken lady issuing prophecies was apparently just as ridiculous to Romans as it was to Greeks.
"I, uh..." Octavian dropped his teddy bear. "No, but—"
"She's just spouting lines from some book," Annabeth said, "like Hazel suggested. Besides, we already have a real prophecy to worry about."
She turned to Tyson. "Percy's right. Why don't you take Ella and Mrs. O'Leary and shadow-travel somewhere for a while. Is Ella okay with that?"
"'Large dogs are good,'" Ella said. "Old Yeller, 1957, screenplay by Fred Gipson and William Tunberg."
Annabeth wasn't sure how to take that answer, but Percy smiled like the problem was solved.
"Great!" Percy said. "We'll Iris-message you guys when we're done and catch up with you later."
The Romans looked at Reyna, waiting for her ruling. Annabeth held her breath.
"Fine," the praetor said at last. "Go."
"Yay!" Tyson went around the couches and gave everyone a big hug—even Octavian, who didn't look happy about it. When he got to Kira, she couldn't help the flinch. She hadn't had a good experience with cyclops, but Annabeth was right, he seemed friendly.
Then he climbed on Mrs. O'Leary's back with Ella, and the hellhound bounded out of the forum. They dove straight into a shadow on the Senate House wall and disappeared.
"Well." Reyna set down her uneaten apple. "Octavian is right about one thing. We must gain the senate's approval before we let any of our legionnaires go on a quest—especially one as dangerous as you're suggesting."
"This whole thing smells of treachery," Octavian grumbled. "That trireme is not a ship of peace!"
"Come aboard, man," Leo offered. "I'll give you a tour. You can steer the boat, and if you're really good I'll give you a little paper captain's hat to wear."
Octavian's nostrils flared. "How dare you—"
"It's a good idea," Reyna said. "Octavian, go with him. See the ship. We'll convene a senate meeting in one hour."
"But..." Octavian stopped. Apparently he could tell from Reyna's expression that further arguing would not be good for his health. "Fine."
Leo turned to Kira, but she froze when she didn't recognize his smile. Just for a moment someone else seemed to be standing in Leo's place, smiling coldly with a cruel light in his eyes. Then she blinked, and Leo was just regular old Leo again, with his usual grin.
"Back soon," he promised. "This is gonna be epic."
Leo kissed her forehead goodbye, and Kira didn't miss the evil look the Hazel girl shot her.
"Uh, Reyna," Jason said, "if you don't mind, I'd like to show Piper around before the senate meeting. She's never seen New Rome."
Percy took Annabeth's hand. "Yeah, me, too. I'd like to show Annabeth—"
"No," Reyna snapped.
Percy knit his eyebrows. "Sorry?"
"I'd like a few words with Annabeth," Reyna said. "Alone. If you don't mind, my fellow praetor."
As the two left, Kira couldn't help but feel alone. All her friends had just left her, leaving her with some Roman officers, Percy, Hazel, and Frank.
"So guys," She laughed nervously. "How's the weather?"
Percy looked at her weird before laughing. He seemed upset that he couldn't leave with Annabeth, but he seemed okay other then that.
"I like you, Kira," He said, continuing to eat. Kira smiled. One down, two to go.
She froze when she turned to Hazel and Frank, and saw Hazel glaring at her. Instead of apologizing, because she didn't know what she was apologizing for, she turned back to Percy.
"So, you're son of Poseidon?" She asked.
He nodded. "How about you?" He asked.
"Ares."
Percy looked shocked. "I've never met one of his kids so..calm, other then Frank, but he's Roman. I mean, like back at Camp Half Blood, you're nothing like Clarisse,"
Kira smiled. "I get that a lot. I actually wanted my dad to be Poseidon,"
Percy raised his eyebrows, his mouth stuffed with food. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah, or really anyone other then Ares, you know?" Percy didn't seem to like Ares either, but he nodded quickly.
"Anyone else you wanted to have?" He asked, looking down at the cheeseburger in front of him.
"Well, it might sound stupid, but I would love to have Hestia with all her talk about peace,," She said sweetly. Percy smiled, like he was remembering his moments with the goddess.
"Well, Kira," He said. "You are definitely one of a kind Ares' child."
There was a pause.
"Wait!" She announced, pointing to Percy. "I knew I recognized your name!" Percy looked confused.
"You ran away a couple years ago, yeah? Disappeared with your mom? You were on the news for weeks, blowing a bunch of stuff up!"
Percy erupted with laughter. "That was when I had just found out I was a demigod, and my first quest!" He recalled.
Their conversation was cut off with the shrill sound, and an explosion near them.