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Annabeth kicked his shin She hated to interrupt a budding bros to discuss "We should talk about the Great Prophecy It sounds like the Romans are aware of it too?"

Reyna nodded "We call it the Prophecy of Seven Octavian, you have it committed to memory?"

"Of course," he said "But, Reyna--"

"Recite it, please In English, not Latin"

Octavian sighed "Seven half-bloods shall answer the call To storm or fire the world must fall--"

"An oath to keep with a final breath," Annabeth continued "And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death"

Everyone stared at her--except for Leo, who had constructed a pinwheel out of alu wind spirits

Annabeth wasn’t sure why she had blurted out the lines of the prophecy She’d just felt co at her in fascination, as if she’d grown a third eye "Is it true you’re a child of Min--Idefensive "Why is that such a surprise?"

Octavian scoffed "If you’re truly a child of the wisdoh," Reyna snapped "Annabeth is what she says She’s here in peace Besides…" She gave Annabeth a look of grudging respect "Percy has spoken highly of you"

The undertones in Reyna’s voice took Annabeth a moment to decipher Percy looked down, suddenly interested in his cheeseburger

Annabeth’s face felt hot Oh, gods…Reyna had tried to e of bitterness, maybe even envy, in her words Percy had turned her down for Annabeth

At that ave her ridiculous boyfriend for everything he’d ever done wrong She wanted to throw her arms around him, but she commanded herself to stay cool

"Uh, thanks," she told Reyna "At any rate, so arms to the Doors of Death…that means Romans and Greeks We have to coirl with the cavalry hel next to her plate It looked like a large ruby; but before Annabeth could be sure, Hazel slipped it into the pocket of her deni for the doors," she said

"Wait," Annabeth said "Nico di Angelo? He’s your brother?"

Hazel nodded as if this were obvious A dozen more questions crowded into Annabeth’s head, but it was already spinning like Leo’s pinwheel She decided to let the ?"

"He disappeared" Hazel moistened her lips "I’’s happened to him"

"We’ll look for him," Percy promised "We have to find the Doors of Death anyway Thanatos told us we’d find both answers in Roht?"

"Thanatos told you this?" Annabeth tried to wrap her od?"

She’d ods She’d even been to the Underworld; but Percy’s story about freeing the incarnation of death itself really creeped her out

Percy took a bite of his burger "Now that Death is free, ain like they used to But as long as the Doors of Death are open, they’ll just keep co back"

Piper twisted the feather in her hair "Like water leaking through a daot a da," he said "Inside joke The point is we’ll have to find the doors and close them before we can head to Greece It’s the only e’ll stand a chance of defeating the giants andsure they stay defeated"

Reyna plucked an apple fro the dark red surface "You propose an expedition to Greece in your warship You do realize that the ancient lands--and the Mare Nostruerous?"

"Mary who?" Leo asked

"Mare Nostrum," Jason explained "Our Sea It’s what the Ancient Romans called the Mediterranean"

Reyna nodded "The territory that was once the Roods It’s also the ancestral hos As dangerous as travel is for deods here in America, there it would be ten times worse"

"You said Alaska would be bad," Percy reminded her "We survived that"

Reyna shook her head Her fingernails cut little crescents into the apple as she turned it "Percy, traveling in the Mediterranean is a different level of danger altogether It’s been off liht rinned over the top of his pinwheel "Because we’re all crazy, right? Besides, the Argo II is a top-of-the-line warship She’ll get us through"

"We’ll have to hurry," Jason added "I don’t know exactly what the giants are planning, but Gaea is growingin weird places, suiants before they can wake her up fully"