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"I take it Minerva isn’t…uh, quite as respected here?"
Reyna blew steaoddess of crafts and wisdooddess of war Not for Rooddess, like Diana…the one you call Artemis You won’t find any children of Minerva here The idea that Minerva would have children--frankly, it’s a little shocking to us"
"Oh" Annabeth felt her face flush She didn’t want to get into the details of Athena’s children--how they were born straight fro fro about that always made Annabeth feel self-conscious, like she was some sort of freak People usually asked her whether or not she had a belly button, since she had been born ically Of course she had a belly button She couldn’t explain how She didn’t really want to know
"I understand that you Greeks don’t see things the same way," Reyna continued "But Roins, for instance…if they broke their vows and fell in love with anyone, they would be buried alive So the idea that a oddess would have children--"
"Got it" Annabeth’s hot chocolate suddenly tasted like dust No wonder the Roe looks "I’m not supposed to exist And even if your camp had children of Minerva--"
"They wouldn’t be like you," Reyna said "They ht be craftsmen, artists, erous quests"
Annabeth started to object that she wasn’t the leader of the quest Not officially But she wondered if her friends on the Argo II would agree The past few days, they had been looking to her for orders--even Jason, who could have pulled rank as the son of Jupiter, and Coach Hedge, who didn’t take orders froers, and her golden dog, Aurum, trotted over The praetor stroked his ears "The harpy Ella…it was a prophecy she spoke We both know that, don’t we?"
Annabeth sed So about Aurus could s and heartbeat She didn’t know if that applied to s, but she decided it would be better to tell the truth
"It sounded like a prophecy," she admitted "But I’ve never met Ella before today, and I’ve never heard those lines exactly"
"I have," Reyna murmured "At least so barked A group of children spilled out of a nearby alleyway and gathered around Argentu, unfazed by its razor-sharp teeth
"We should move on," Reyna said
They wound their way up the hill The greyhounds followed, leaving the children behind Annabeth kept glancing at Reyna’s face A vagueat her--the way Reyna brushed her hair behind her ear, the silver ring she ith the torch and sword design
"We’ve er, I think"
Reyna gave her a dry sood Percy didn’t remember me Of course you spoke mostly with my older sister Hylla, who is now queen of the A, before you arrived At any rate, e last met, I was a mere handmaiden in the house of Circe"
"Circe…" Annabeth remembered her trip to the island of the sorceress She’d been thirteen Percy and she had washed ashore from the Sea of Monsters Hylla had welcoiven her a beautiful new dress and a complete makeover Then Circe had made her sales pitch: if Annabeth stayed on the island, she could haveand incredible power Annabeth had been tempted, maybe just a little, until she realized the place was a trap, and Percy had been turned into a rodent (That last part see) As for Reyna…she’d been one of the servants who had combed Annabeth’s hair
"You…" Annabeth said in amazement "And Hylla is queen of the A story," Reyna said "But I remember you well You were brave I’d never seen anyone refuse Circe’s hospitality, much less outwit her It’s no wonder Percy cares for you"
Her voice istful Annabeth thought it ht be safer not to respond
They reached the top of the hill, where a terrace overlooked the entire valley
"This is my favorite spot," Reyna said "The Garden of Bacchus"
Grapevine trellises h honeysuckle and jas mix of perfumes In the middle of the terrace stood a statue of Bacchus in a sort of ballet position, wearing nothing but a loincloth, his cheeks puffed out and lips pursed, spouting water into a fountain
Despite her worries, Annabeth alod in his Greek form, Dionysus--or Mr D, as they called hi their cranky old ca a diaper and speater from his mouth, made her feel a little better
Reyna stopped at the edge of the terrace The vieorth the climb The whole city spread out below them like a 3-D mosaic To the south, beyond the lake, a cluster of temples perched on a hill To the north, an aqueducta broken section, probably daed in the recent battle