A 1

“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 seemed to be the only one who didn’t defer to Reyna as
his superior, despite the fact that 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. Then he gave Annabeth a
suspicious once-over and stalked away.
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.”
Annabeth felt as if someone had draped a cold washcloth across her neck. She heard that
whispering laughter again, as if the presence had followed her from the ship.
She looked up at the Argo II. Its massive bronze hull glittered in the sunlight. Part of her wanted
to kidnap Percy right now, climb on board, and get out of here while they still could.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong. And there was no
way she would ever risk losing Percy again.
“We’ll be fine,” she repeated, trying to believe it.
“Excellent,” Reyna said. She turned to Jason, and Annabeth thought there was a hungry sort of
gleam in her eyes. “Let’s talk, and we can have a proper reunion.”