BLOOD OF OLYMPUS

‘Well … now it’s real.’ He made the ward-against-evil symbol, the same one he’d used to dispel
his mother’s ghost, and pushed at the sky. ‘From this point on, we’re writing our own story, with a
fresh start. And we just had our first kiss.’
‘I’m afraid to tell you this after just one kiss,’ Piper said. ‘But gods of Olympus, I love you.’
‘Love you too, Pipes.’
She didn’t want to ruin the moment, but she couldn’t stop thinking of Leo and how he would never
have a fresh start.
Jason must have sensed her feelings.
‘Hey,’ he said. ‘Leo is okay.’
‘How can you believe that? He didn’t get the cure. Nico said he died.’
‘You once woke up a dragon with just your voice,’ Jason reminded her. ‘You believed the dragon
should be alive, right?’
‘Yes, but –’
‘We have to believe in Leo. There is no way he would die so easily. He’s a tough guy.’
‘Right.’ Piper tried to steady her heart. ‘So we believe. Leo has to be alive.’
‘You remember the time in Detroit, when he flattened Ma Gasket with a car engine?’
‘Or those dwarfs in Bologna. Leo took them down with a homemade smoke grenade made from
toothpaste.’
‘Commander Tool Belt,’ Jason said.
‘Bad Boy Supreme,’ Piper said.
‘Chef Leo the Tofu Taco Expert.’
They laughed and told stories about Leo Valdez, their best friend. They stayed on the roof until
dawn broke, and Piper started to believe they could have a fresh start. It might even be possible to
tell a new story in which Leo was still out there. Somewhere …