BLOOD OF OLYMPUS

divided; keep the gods divided. If that’s the case, we can’t let Nike play us against each other. We
should send a landing party of four – two Greeks, two Romans. The balance might help keep her
balanced.’
Listening to Zhang, Leo had one of those double-take moments. He couldn’t believe how much the
guy had changed in the last few weeks.
Frank wasn’t just taller and buffer. He was more confident now, more willing to take charge.
Maybe that was because his magic firewood lifeline was safely stashed away in a flameproof pouch,
or maybe it was because he’d commanded a zombie legion and been promoted to praetor. Whatever
the case, Leo had trouble seeing him as the same klutzy dude who’d once iguanaed his way out of
Chinese handcuffs.
‘I think Frank is right,’ Annabeth said. ‘A party of four. We’ll have to be careful who goes. We
don’t want to do anything that might make the goddess, um, more unstable.’
‘I’ll go,’ Piper said. ‘I can try charmspeaking.’
Worry lines deepened around Annabeth’s eyes. ‘Not this time, Piper. Nike is all about competition.
Aphrodite … well, she is too, in her own way. I think Nike might see you as a threat.’
Once, Leo might have made a joke about that. Piper a threat? The girl was like a sister to him, but,
if he needed help beating up a gang of thugs or subduing a victory goddess, Piper was not the first
person he’d turn to.
Recently, though … well, Piper may not have changed as obviously as Frank, but she had changed.
She had stabbed Khione the snow goddess in the chest. She had defeated the Boreads. She’d slashed
up a flock of wild harpies singlehandedly. As for her charmspeak, she’d become so powerful it made
Leo nervous. If she told him to eat his vegetables, he might actually do it.
Annabeth’s words didn’t seem to upset her. Piper just nodded and scanned the group. ‘Who should
go, then?’
‘Jason and Percy shouldn’t go together,’ Annabeth said. ‘Jupiter and Poseidon – bad combination.
Nike could start you two fighting easily.’
Percy gave her a sideways smile. ‘Yeah, we can’t have another incident like in Kansas. I might kill
my bro Jason.’
‘Or I might kill my bro Percy,’ Jason said amiably.
‘Which proves my point,’ Annabeth said. ‘We also shouldn’t send Frank and me together. Mars and
Athena – that would be just as bad.’
‘Okay,’ Leo broke in. ‘So Percy and me for the Greeks. Frank and Hazel for the Romans. Is that the
ultimate non-competitive dream team or what?’
Annabeth and Frank exchanged war-godly looks.
‘It could work,’ Frank decided. ‘I mean, no combination is going to be perfect, but Poseidon,
Hephaestus, Pluto, Mars … I don’t see any huge antagonism there.’
Hazel traced her finger along the map of Greece. ‘I still wish we could’ve gone through the Gulf of
Corinth. I was hoping we could visit Delphi, maybe get some advice. Plus it’s such a long way
around the Peloponnese.’
‘Yeah.’ Leo’s heart sank when he looked at how much coastline they still had to navigate. ‘It’s July