“Do yourself a favor,' I said. "Forget it. Forget you ever saw me.""Forget that you tried to kill me too?""Yeah. That, too.""But who are you?""Percy-" I started to say. Then the skeletons turned around. "Gotta go!""What kind of name is Percy Gotta-go?"I bolted for the exit.”

“But who are you?"Percy—" I started to say. Then the skeletons turned around. "Gotta go!"What kind of name is Percy Gotta-go?”

“Annabeth,” he said hesitantly, “in New Rome, demigods can live their whole lives in peace.” Her expression turned guarded. “Reyna explained it to me. But, Percy, you belong at Camp Half-Blood. That other life—”“I know,” Percy said. “But while I was there, I saw so many demigods living without fear: kids going to college, couples getting married and raising families. There’s nothing like that at Camp Half-Blood. I kept thinking about you and me…and maybe someday when this war with the giants is over…”It was hard to tell in the golden light, but he thought Annabeth was blushing. “Oh,” she said…“I’m sorry,” he said. “I just…I had to think of that to keep going. To give me hope. Forget I mentioned—”“No!” she said. “Gods, Percy, that’s so sweet.”

“If you ever leave me again,’ she said, her eyes stinging, ‘I swear to all the gods-‘Percy had the nerve to laugh. Suddenly the lump of heated emotions melted inside Annabeth.‘Consider me warned,’ Percy said. ‘I missed you, too.”

“You speak horse?" Hazel asked."Speaking to horses is a Poseidon thing," Percy said. "Uh, I mean a Neptune thing.""Then you and Arion should get along fine," Hazel said. "He's a son of Neptune too."Percy turned pale. "Excuse me?”

“Reyna sent me to get Percy," Frank said. "Did Octavian accept you?""Yeah," Percy said. "He slaughtered my panda.”

“In the center stood a marble alter, where a kid in a toga was doing some sort of ritual in front of a massive golden statue of the big dude himself:Jupiter the sky god, dressed in a silk XXXL purple toga, holding a lightning bolt. "It doesn't look like that," Percy muttered."What?" Hazel asked."The master bolt," Percy said."What are you talking about?""I-" Percy frowned. For a second, he'd thought he remembered something. Now it was gone. "Nothing, I guess.”