He jabbed a finger at Percy. “His friends are attacking in a warship. He has led them here. We must attack!”
“No,” Percy said firmly. “You all raised me as praetor for a reason. I will fight to defend this camp with my life. But these aren’t enemies. I say we stand ready, but do not attack. Let them land. Let them speak. If it is a trick, then I will fight with you, as I did last night. But it is not a trick.”
All eyes turned toward Reyna.
She studied the approaching warship. Her expression hardened. If she vetoed Percy’s orders…well, he didn’t know what would happen. Chaos and confusion, at the very least.
Most likely, the Romans would follow her lead. She’d been their leader much longer than Percy.
“Hold your fire,” Reyna said. “But have the legion stand ready. Percy Jackson is your duly chosen praetor. We will trus this word—unless we are given clear reason not to. Senators, let us adjourn to the forum and meet our…new friends.”
The senators stampeded out of the auditorium—whether from excitement or panic, Percy wasn’t sure. Tyson ran after them, yelling, “Yay! Yay!” with Ella fluttering around his head.
Octavian gave Percy a disgusted look, then threw down his teddy bear and followed the crowd.
Reyna stood at Percy’s shoulder.
“I support you, Percy,” she said. “I trust your judgment. But for all our sakes, I hope we can keep the peace between our campers and your Greek friends.”
“We will,” he promised. “You’ll see.”
She glanced up at the warship. Her expression turned a little wistful. “You say Jason is aboard…I hope that’s true.
I’ve missed him.”
She marched outside, leaving Percy alone with Hazel and Frank.
“They’re coming down right in the forum,” Frank said nervously. “Terminus is going to have a heart attack.”
“Percy,” Hazel said, “you swore on your life. Romans take that seriously. If anything goes wrong, even by accident, Octavian is going to kill you. You know that, right?”
Percy smiled. He knew the stakes were high. He knew this day could go horribly wrong. But he also knew that Annabeth was on that ship. If things went right, this would be the best day of his life.
He threw one arm around Hazel and one arm around Frank.
“Come on,” he said. “Let me introduce you to my other family.”
Glossary
absurdus out of place, discordant
Achilles the mightiest of the Greek demigods who fought in the Trojan War
Aesculapius the Roman god of medicine and healing
Alcyoneus the eldest of the giants born to Gaea, destined to fight Pluto
Amazons a nation of all-female warriors
Anaklusmos Riptide. The name of Percy Jackson’s sword.
argentum silver
Argonauts a band of Greek heroes who accompanied Jason on his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, the Argo, which was named after its builder, Argus.
augury a sign of something coming, an omen; the practice of divining the future
aurae invisible wind spirits
aurum gold
basilisk snake, literally “little crown”
Bellerophon a Greek demigod, son of Poseidon, whodefeated monsters while riding on Pegasus
Bellona the Roman goddess of war
Byzantium the eastern empire that lasted another 1,000 years after Rome fell, under Greek influence
Celestial bronze a rare metal deadly to monsters
Centaur a race of creatures that is half human, half horse
centurion an officer of the Roman army
Cerberus the three-headed dog that guards the gates ofthe Underworld
Ceres the Roman goddess of agriculture
Charon the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of thenewly deceased across the rivers Styx and Acheron, which divide the world of the living from the world of the dead
cognomen third name
cohort a Roman military unit
Cyclops a member of a primordial race of giants (Cyclopes, pl.), each with a single eye in the middle of his or herforehead
denarius (denarii, pl.) the most common coin in the Roman currency system
drachma the silver coin of ancient Greece
Elysium the final resting place of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous in the Underworld
Erebos a place of darkness between Earth and Hades
faun a Roman forest god, part goat and part man. Greek form: satyr
Fields of Asphodel the section of the Underworld where the souls of people who lived lives of equal good and evil rest
Fields of Punishment the section of the Underworld where evil souls are eternally tortured
Fortuna the Roman goddess of fortune and good luck
Fulminata armed with lightning. A Roman legion under Julius Caesar whose emblem was a lightning bolt (fulmen).
Gaea the earth goddess; mother of Titans, giants, Cyclopes, and other monsters. Known to the Romans as Terra
Gegenes earthborn monsters
gladius a short sword
gorgons three monstrous sisters (Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa) who have hair of living, venomous snakes; Medusa’s eyes can turn the beholder to stone
graecus Greek; enemy; outsider
greaves shin armor
gris-gris a voodoo amulet that protects from evil or brings luck