“Incredible,” Jason said. “These are really good brownies.”“That’s your only comment?” Piper demanded.He looked surprised. “What? I heard the story. Fish-centaurs. Merpeople. Letter of intro to the Tiber River god. Got it. But these brownies—”“I know,” Frank said, his mouth full. “Try them with Esther’s peach preserves.”“That,” Hazel said, “is incredibly disgusting.”“Pass me the jar, man,” Jason said.Hazel and Piper exchanged a look of total exasperation. Boys.Percy, for his part, wanted to hear every detail about the aquatic camp. He kept coming back to one point: “They didn’t want to meet me?”“It wasn’t that,” Hazel said. “Just…undersea politics, I guess. The merpeople are territorial. The good news is they’re taking care of that aquarium in Atlanta. And they’ll help protect the Argo II as we cross the Atlantic.”Percy nodded absently. “But they didn’t want to meet me?”Annabeth swatted his arm. “Come on, Seaweed Brain! We’ve got other things to worry about.”

“incredible," Jason said. "these r really good brownies.""That's your only comment?" piper demanded.he looked surprised. "what? I heard the story. fish- centaurs. merpeople. letter of intro to the tiber river god. got it. But these brownies-""I know," Frank said, his mouth full. "try them w esther's peach preserves.""that," hazel said, "is incredibly disgusting.""pass me the jar, man," jason said.hazel and piper exchanged a look of total exasperation. BOYS.”

“While Leo fussed over his helm controls, Hazel and Frank relayed the story of the fish-centaurs and their training camp.'Incredible,' Jason said. 'These are really good brownies.''That's your only comment?' Piper demanded.He looked surprised. 'What? I heard the story. Fish-centaurs. Merpeople. Letter of intro to the Tiber River god. Got it. But these brownies--''I know,' Frank said, his mouth full. 'Try them with Ester's peach preserves.''That,' Hazel said, 'is incredibly disgusting.''Pass me the jar, man,' Jason said.Hazel and Piper exchanged a look of total exasperation. Boys.”

“Besides, Reyna will do what she can to slow things down. She's still on our side. I know she is." "You trust her." Piper's voice sounded hollow, even to herself. "Look Pipes. I told you, you've got nothing to be jealous about." "She's beautiful. She's powerful. Se's so...Roman." Jason put down his hammer. He took her hand, which sent a tingle up her arm. Piper's dad had once taken her to the Aquarium of the Pacific and shown her an electric eel. He told her that the eel sent out pulses that shocked and paralyzed its prey. Each time Jason looked at her or touched her hand, Piper felt like that. "You're beautiful and powerful," he said. "And I don't want you to be Roman. I want you to be Piper. Besides, we're a team, you and me.”

“Aphrodite,” [Annabeth] said. “Venus?” Hazel asked in amazement. “Mom,” Piper said with no enthusiasm. “Girls!” The goddess spread her arms like she wanted a group hug. The three demigods did not oblige. Hazel backed into a palmetto tree.”

“Percy?" Annabeth gripped his arm."Oh, bad," he muttered. "Bad. Bad." He looked across the table at Frank and Hazel. "You guys remember Polybotes?""The giant who invaded Camp Jupiter," Hazel said. "The anti-Poseidon you whacked in the head with a Terminus statue. Yes, I think I remember”