BLOOD OF OLYMPUS

She had worked up an image of Orion as a towering ugly demon, even worse than Polybotes, the
giant who had attacked Camp Jupiter.
Instead, Orion could have passed for human – a tall, muscular, handsome human. His skin was the
colour of wheat toast. His dark hair was undercut, swept into spikes on top. With his black leather
breeches and jerkin, his hunting knife and his bow and quiver, he might have been Robin Hood’s evil,
better-looking brother.
Only his eyes ruined the image. At first glance, he appeared to be wearing military night-vision
goggles. Then Reyna realized they weren’t goggles. They were the work of Hephaestus – bronze
mechanical eyes embedded in the giant’s sockets. Focusing rings spun and clicked as he regarded
Reyna. Targeting lasers flashed red to green. Reyna got the uncomfortable impression he was seeing
much more than her form – her heat signature, her heart rate, her level of fear.
At his side he held a black composite bow almost as fancy as his eyes. Multiple strings ran through
a series of pulleys that looked like miniature steam-train wheels. The grip was polished bronze,
studded with dials and buttons.
He had no arrow nocked. He made no threatening moves. He smiled so dazzlingly it was hard to
remember he was an enemy – someone who’d killed at least half a dozen Hunters and Amazons to get
here.
Hylla drew her knives. ‘Reyna, go. I will deal with this monster.’
Orion chuckled. ‘Hylla Twice-Kill, you have courage. So did your lieutenants. They are dead.’
Hylla took a step forward.
Reyna grabbed her arm. ‘Orion!’ she said. ‘You have enough Amazon blood on your hands.
Perhaps it’s time you try a Roman.’
The giant’s eyes clicked and dilated. Red laser dots floated across Reyna’s breastplate. ‘Ah, the
young praetor. I admit, I’ve been curious. Before I slay you, perhaps you’ll enlighten me. Why would
a child of Rome go to such lengths to help the Greeks? You have forfeited your rank, abandoned your
legion, made yourself an outlaw – and for what? Jason Grace scorned you. Percy Jackson refused
you. Haven’t you been … what’s the word … dumped enough?’
Reyna’s ears buzzed. She recalled Aphrodite’s warning, two years ago in Charleston: You will not
find love where you wish or where you hope. No demigod shall heal your heart.
She forced herself to meet the giant’s gaze. ‘I don’t define myself by the boys who may or may not
like me.’
‘Brave words.’ The giant’s smile was infuriating. ‘But you are no different from the Amazons, or
the Hunters, or Artemis herself. You speak of strength and independence. As soon as you face a man
of true prowess, your confidence crumbles. You feel threatened by my dominance and how it attracts
you. So you run, or you surrender, or you die.’
Hylla shrugged off Reyna’s hand. ‘I will kill you, giant. I will chop you into pieces so small –’
‘Hylla,’ Reyna interrupted. Whatever else happened here, she could not watch her sister die.
Reyna had to keep the giant focused on her. ‘Orion, you claim to be strong. Yet you couldn’t keep the
vows of the Hunt. You died rejected. And now you’re running errands for your mother. So tell me
again, how exactly are you threatening?’