“Honestly, I thought I was going to be a kite forever, suffocating inside a little feathery prison. And he had the nerve to make fun!”

“You are okay?" he asked. "Not eaten by monsters?""Not even a little bit." I showed him that I still had both arms and both legs, and Tyson clapped happily."Yay!" he said. "Now we can eat peanut butter sandwiches and ride fish ponies! We can fight monsters and see Annabeth and make things go BOOM!"I hoped he didn't mean all at the same time, but I told him absolutely, we'd have a lot of fun this summer.”

“After my bad experience as a kite, I simply refused to go about as a glowing Sadie-headed chicken. That’s fine for Carter, but I have standards.”

“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.”

“A hero can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as he has the nerve.”

“Grover didn't say anything for awhile. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?”

“The way to beat Luke," he said. "If I'm right, it's the only way you'll stand a chance."I took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm listening."Nico glanced inside my room. His eyebrows furrowed."Is that...is that blue birthday cake?"He sounded hungry, maybe a little wistful. I wondered if the poor kid had ever had a birthday party, or if he'd ever even been invited to one.:Come inside for cake and ice cream," I said. "It sounds like we've got a lot to talk about.”