“June smiled. "So what will it be? Safety, or a future of pain and possibility?”

“June cackled with delight, muttering, "Whoops!" as a car almost killed them.”

“Ella, just stay here. Stay safe.""Safe," Ella repeated. "Ella likes being safe. Safety in numbers. Safety deposit boxes. Ella will go with Tyson.""What?" Percy said. "Oh... fine, whatever. Just don't get hurt. And Mrs. O'Leary—""ROOOF.""How do you feel about pulling a chariot?”

“Safety from what? Who's after me?"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions.”

“Dejardins was so stunned, he momentarily forgot how to speak English. "Ce n'est pas possible. On ne pourrait pas-”

“She studied me with concern. She touched the new streak of gray in my hair that matched hers exactly—our painful souvenir from holding Atlas's burden. There was a lot I'd wanted to say to Annabeth, but Athena had taken the confidence out of me. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut.I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter."So," Annabeth said. "What did you want to tell me earlier?"The music was playing. People were dancing in the streets. I said, "I, uh, was thinking we got interrupted at Westover Hall. And… I think I owe you a dance."She smiled slowly. "All right, Seaweed Brain."So I took her hand, and I don't know what everybody else heard, but to me it sounded like a slow dance: a little sad, but maybe a little hopeful, too.”

“I wanted to keep things as normal as possible for the trainees, so I led my usual morning class. I called it Magic Problem-Solving 101. The trainees called it Whatever Works.”