Annabeth wanted to hate New Rome. But as an aspiring architect, she couldn't help admiring the terraced gardens, the fountains and temples, the winding cobblestone streets and gleaming white villas. After the Titan War last summer, she'd gotten her dream job of redesigning the palaces of Mount Olympus. Now, walking through this miniature city, she kept thinking, I should have made a dome like that. I love the way those columns lead into that courtyard. Whoever designed New Rome had clearly poured a lot of time and love into the project.
"We have the best architects and builders in the world," Reyna said, as if reading her thoughts. "Rome always did, in the ancient times. Many demigods stay on to live here after their time in the legion. They go to our university. They settle down to raise families. Percy seemed interested in this fact."
Annabeth wondered what that meant. She must have scowled more fiercely than she realized, because Reyna laughed.
"You're a warrior, all right," the praetor said. "You've got fire in your eyes."
"Sorry." Annabeth tried to tone down the glare.
"Don't be. I'm the daughter of Bellona."
"Roman goddess of war?"
Reyna nodded. She turned and whistled like she was hailing a cab. A moment later, two metal dogs raced toward them — automaton greyhounds, one silver and one gold. They brushed against Reyna's legs and regarded Annabeth with glistening ruby eyes.
"My pets," Reyna explained. "Aurum and Argentum. You don't mind if they walk with us?"
Again, Annabeth got the feeling it wasn't really a request. She noted that the greyhounds had teeth like steel arrowheads. Maybe weapons weren't allowed inside the city, but Reyna's pets could still tear her to pieces if they chose.
Reyna led her to an outdoor cafe, where the waiter clearly knew her. He smiled and handed her a to-go cup, then offered one to Annabeth. They saw Daria Jackson chatting with a boy, the conversation seemed to be dying down so Reyna waved her over.
"Hey," Daria greeted. She turned to her friend, "Michael, I'll see you later. And thanks again."
The boy, Michael, snorted, "I think I should be thanking you."
Daria grimaced, turning to the two girls who had hot chocolates in their hands. "Do you mind if I join you?"
She looked at Annabeth but the blonde figured that she would follow whatever Reyna said. She shook her head anyway. "Not at all."
"Hot chocolate?" Reyna offered Daria her own cup, which she took from her. Annabeth noted with surprise that it didn't seem like she was going to give it back, Reyna noticed and smiled dryly at Annabeth's expression. "Chocolate's not my drink of choice." Daria frowned at the statement but Reyna didn't glance back.
The three of them walked on, Reyna's gold and silver dogs roaming nearby. "In our camp," Reyna said, "Athena is Minerva. Are you familiar with how her Roman form is different?"
Annabeth hadn't really considered it before. She remembered the way Terminus had called Athena that goddess, as if she were scandalous. Octavian had acted like Annabeth's very existence was an insult.
"I take it Minerva isn't. . .uh, quite as respected here?"
Daria blew steam from her cup. "We respect Minerva. She's the goddess of crafts and wisdom... but she isn't really a goddess of war. Not for Romans. She's also a maiden goddess, like Diana... the one you call Artemis. You won't find any children of Minerva here. The idea that Minerva would have children — frankly, it's a little shocking to us."
"Oh." Annabeth felt her face flush. She didn't want to get into the details of Athena's children — how they were born straight from the mind of the goddess magically. Of course she had a belly button. She couldn't explain how. She didn't really want to know.
"I understand that you Greeks don't see things the same way," Reyna took over. "But Romans take vows of maidenhood very seriously. The Vestal Virgins, for instance... if they broke their vows and fell in love with anyone, they would be buried alive. So the idea that a maiden goddess would have children — "
"Got it." Annabeth's hot chocolate suddenly tasted like dust. No wonder the Romans had been giving her strange looks. "I'm not supposed to exist. And even if your camp had children of Minerva — "
"They wouldn't be like you," Reyna said. "They might be craftsmen, artists, maybe advisers, but not warriors. Not leaders of dangerous quests."
Annabeth started to object that she wasn't the leader of the quest. Not officially. But she wondered if her friends on the Argo II would agree. The past few days, they had been looking to her for orders — even Jason, who could have pulled rank as the son of Jupiter, and Coach Hedge, who didn't take orders from anyone.
She wondered about Daria, if there would be a contest between the two girls for the title. Most Romans craved power, but by looking at Daria, who had calmly been observing the two, Annabeth could see that wasn't the case. Annabeth wasn't stupid, she knew the girl was trying to get a read on the person she would be questing with, but she didn't seem to have bad intentions.
"What about you?" Annabeth asked. "Are you a daughter of Poseidon like Percy?"
"Percy's my cousin," Daria replied. "I don't," she paused to glance at Reyna. Anyone else wouldn't have noticed, but Annabeth was her mother's daughter. "I don't know who my godly parent is." One of Reyna's dogs let out soft whimpers, causing Daria to shoot it a sharp glance as if it had broken an invisible boundary.
She nodded to herself, "Jason's told us a lot about you."
Daria's expression didn't waver. Annabeth could tell she was used to not wearing her heart on her sleeve. "And Percy, you. Like Reyna said." Clearly, neither one of them wanted to continue the conversation, it seemed so trivial when the fate of the world was at stake.
Reyna seemed to be thinking along those lines too. Annabeth noticed that Reyna would tense whenever she mentioned Annabeth's boyfriend. She didn't think the other girl was in love with him, but there was definitely something agitated between the two of them.
"There's more." Reyna snapped her fingers, and her golden dog, Aurum, trotted over. The praetor stroked his ears. "The harpy Ella. . .it was a prophecy she spoke. We both know that, don't we?"
Annabeth swallowed. Something about Aurum's ruby eyes made her uneasy. She had heard that dogs could smell fear, even detect changes in a human's breathing and heartbeat. She didn't know if that applied to magical metal dogs, but she decided it would be better to tell the truth.
"It sounded like a prophecy," she admitted. "But I've never met Ella before today, and I've never heard those lines exactly."
The Romans shared a glance. "We have," Reyna murmured. "At least some of them — "
A few yards away, the silver dog barked. A group of children spilled out of a nearby alleyway and gathered around Argentum, petting the dog and laughing, unfazed by its razor-sharp teeth.
"We should move on," Reyna said.
They wound their way up the hill. The greyhounds followed, leaving the children behind. The three reached the top, where a terrace overlooked the entire valley.
"This is my favorite spot," Reyna said. "The Garden of Bacchus."
In the middle of the terrace stood a statue of Bacchus in a sort of ballet position, wearing nothing but a loincloth, his cheeks puffed out and lips pursed, spouting water into a fountain. Despite her worries, Annabeth almost laughed. Seeing their cranky old camp director immortalized in stone, wearing a diaper and spewing water from his mouth, made her feel a little better.
Reyna stopped them at the edge of the terrace. The view was worth the climb. The whole city spread out below them like a 3-D mosaic. To the south, beyond the lake, a cluster of temples perched on a hill. To the north, an aqueduct marched toward the Berkeley Hills. Work crews were repairing a broken section, probably damaged in the recent battle.
"I wanted to hear it from you," Reyna said.
Annabeth turned. "Hear what from me?"
"The truth," Daria answered, finally training her forest green eyes on Annabeth's own. Honestly, it was hard to believe that she and Percy were related. Not that Percy was... unintelligent; but he was easy to read. Try as she might, Annabeth found it impossible to follow Daria's microexpressions. "Convince us that we're not making a mistake by trusting you. Tell us about yourself. Tell us about Camp Half-Blood."
Reyna glanced at her as well, and now Annabeth had two of the most powerful Romans in Camp Jupiter staring her down. "Your friend Piper has sorcery in her words. I spent enough time with Circe to know charmspeak when I hear it. I can't trust what she says. And Jason. . .well, he has changed. He seems distant, no longer quite Roman."
The hurt in Daria's face was as sharp as broken glass, piercing her before it vanished. She was jealous of Piper, which wasn't very dramatic. Annabeth wondered if she had looked that way, all the months she'd spent searching for Percy.
At least Daria and Annabeth had found their boyfriends. Reyna had no one. She was responsible for running an entire camp all by herself. After Jason, Daria, and Percy went on the quest, Reyna would be left alone again, shouldering a job meant for two people.
When Annabeth had arrived at Camp Jupiter, she'd been prepared to negotiate with Reyna or even fight her if needed. She hadn't been prepared to feel sorry for her.
She kept that feeling hidden. Reyna didn't strike her as someone who would appreciate pity.
Instead, she told them about her own life. She talked about her dad and stepmom and her two stepbrothers in San Francisco, and how she had felt like an outsider in her own family. She talked about how she had run away when she was only seven, finding her friends Luke and Thalia and making her way to Camp Half-Blood on Long Island. She described the camp and her years growing up there. She talked about meeting Percy and the adventures they'd had together.
Reyna was a good listener. Daria on the other hand, was clearly ADHD. Her vision went in and out of focus. But she too kept quiet as Annabeth told them her story.
When Annabeth was done talking, Reyna gazed over New Rome. Her metal greyhounds sniffed around the garden, snapping at bees in the honeysuckle. Finally Reyna pointed to the cluster of temples on the distant hill.
"The small red building," she said, "there on the northern side? That's the temple of my mother, Bellona." Reyna turned toward Annabeth. "Unlike your mother, Bellona has no Greek equivalent. She is fully, truly Roman. She's the goddess of protecting the homeland."
"When the Romans go to war," Reyna continued, "we first visit the Temple of Bellona. Inside is a symbolic patch of ground that represents enemy soil. We throw a spear into that ground, indicating that we are now at war. You see, Romans have always believed that offense is the best defense. In ancient times, whenever our ancestors felt threatened by their neighbors, they would invade to protect themselves."
"They conquered everyone around them," Annabeth said. "Carthage, the Gauls — "
"And the Greeks." Reyna let that comment hang. "My point, Annabeth, is that it isn't Rome's nature to cooperate with other powers. Every time Greek and Roman demigods have met, we've fought. Conflicts between our two sides have started some of the most horrible wars in human history — especially civil wars."
"It doesn't have to be that way," Annabeth said. "We've got to work together, or Gaea will destroy us both."
"I agree," Reyna said. "Which is why I would like Daria to represent Rome, as you represent the Greek."
"Juno has plotted against us before," Daria warned. "I don't trust her. But I believe you, Annabeth. I believe that your goal is for us to reach peace." She glanced at the praetor. "As does Reyna."
"I don't trust the goddess either," Annabeth admitted. "But I do trust my friends. This isn't a trick. We can work together."
"There is an old legend that the praetors of Camp Jupiter have passed down through the centuries." Reyna said, she glanced nervously at Daria and Annabeth got the feeling that Daria didn't know what she was talking about. "If it's true, it may explain why our two groups of demigods have never been able to work together. It may be the cause of our animosity. Until this old score is finally settled, so the legend goes, Romans and Greeks will never be at peace. And the legend centers on Athena — "
A shrill sound pierced the air. Light flashed in the corner of Annabeth's eye.
She turned in time to see an explosion blast a new crater in the forum. A burning couch tumbled through the air. Demigods scattered in panic.
"Giants?" Annabeth reached for her dagger, which of course wasn't there. "I thought their army was defeated!"
"It isn't the giants." Reyna's eyes seethed with rage. "You've betrayed our trust."
"What? No!"
As soon as she said it, the Argo II launched a second volley. Its port ballista fired a massive spear wreathed in Greek fire, which sailed straight through the broken dome of the Senate House and exploded inside, lighting up the building like a jack-o'-lantern. If anyone had been in there...
"Gods, no." A wave of nausea almost made Annabeth's knees buckle. "Reyna, it isn't possible. We'd never do this!"
"The hour of departure has arrived," Daria murmured.
Reyna kept a hand on her knife. "Who's that?"
"Socrates."
Down in the forum, chaos was spreading. Crowds were pushing and shoving. Fistfights were breaking out.
"Bloodshed," Reyna said grimly. Then she did something that nearly made Annabeth lose her footing. She stepped forward and kissed Daria's cheek. "Go. Be safe."
Daria smirked, anger still blazing through her stance. "You know me."
Annabeth had a horrible feeling this might be the last time the three of them ever acted in agreement, but together, Daria and Annabeth ran down the hill.
THIS is where it gets good. I always felt bad for Reyna though, kinda wish she was part of the seven (eight).
Thanks for reading guys! Request: If you for some reason find yourself back on Forest Green, drop some more votes! tyy 🥺
-M