“I caught Bast’s arm when she was a few steps from the bank.“Stay away from the water.”She frowned. “Carter, I’m a cat. I’m not going for a swim. But if you want to summon a river goddess, you really need to do it at the riverbank.”

“Thanks for everything.”“As you wish,” the captain said. If axes could frown, I’m sure he would have.“Stay sharp,” Carter told him.”

“Thank Ra!” She exclaimed.“Yeah, I’m alive.”“No, I almost jumped in after you. I hate the water!”

“I must admit I’m impressed, Sadie. You controlled your magic and controlled Isis. And you, Carter, did well turning into a lizard.”

“I’m a cat. I respect the sanctity of sleep.”

“And,” Annabeth continued, “it reminds me how long we’ve known each other. We were twelve, Percy. Can you believe that?”“No, he admitted. “So…you knew you liked me from that moment?”She smirked. “I hated you at first. You annoyed me. Then I tolerated you for a few years. Then—”“Okay, fine.”She leaned in and kissed: him a good, proper kiss without anyone watching—no Romans anywhere, no screaming satyr chaperones. She pulled away. “I missed you, Percy.”Percy wanted to tell her the same thing, but it seemed too small a comment. While he had been on the Roman side, he’d kept himself alive almost solely by thinking of Annabeth. I missed you didn’t really cover that.”

“Carter, not to be unkind," I said, "but the last few months you've been seeing messages about Zia everywhere. Two weeks ago, you thought she was sending you a distress call in your mashed potatoes.""It was a Z! Carved right in the potatoes!”