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Reyna, the praetor, stood to one side, her face tight with suppressed eer? Piper wasn’t sure

She’d been prepared to hate Reyna, but she couldn’t During the feast in the forus in check

Reyna had sized up Piper and Jason’s relationship right away As a daughter of Aphrodite, Piper could tell stuff like that Yet Reyna had stayed polite and in control She’d put her caiven the Greeks a fair chance…right up until the Argo II had started destroying her city

She’d alirlfriend, though that was silly Jason hadn’t ever been Reyna’s boyfriend, not really

Maybe Reyna wasn’t so bad, but it didn’t matter now They’d messed up the chance for peace Piper’s power of persuasion had, for once, done absolutely no good

Her secret fear? Maybe she hadn’t tried hard enough Piper had never wanted toJason to his old life Maybe unconsciously she hadn’t put her best effort into the charmspeak

Now Jason was hurt The ship had been aler, that crazy teddy-bear-strangling kid, Octavian, hipping the Romans into a war frenzy

The scene in her blade shifted There was a rapid series of ies she’d seen before, but she still didn’t understand theold instead of blue; a wo in an oceanside park with pal out of a river; and two giants ina rope on a pulley systee bronze vase out of a pit

Then came the worst vision: she saw herself with Jason and Percy, standing waist-deep in water at the bottoiant well Ghostly shapes h the water as it rose rapidly Piper clawed at the walls, trying to escape, but there was nowhere to go The water reached their chests Jason was pulled under Percy stumbled and disappeared

How could a child of the sea god drown? Piper didn’t know, but she watched herself in the vision, alone and thrashing in the dark, until the water rose over her head

Piper shut her eyes Don’t showhelpful

She forced herself to look at the blade again

This ti between fields of wheat and sunflowers A e marker read: TOPEKA 32 On the shoulder of the road stood a man in khaki shorts and a purple camp shirt His face was lost in the shadow of a broad hat, the brioblet and beckoned to Piper Soift--a cure, or an antidote

"Hey," Jason croaked

Piper was so startled she dropped the knife "You’re awake!"

"Don’t sound so surprised" Jason touched his bandaged head and frowned "What…what happened? I remember the explosions, and--"

"You reh, but it turned into a painful wince "Last I checked, you were ed since I was out?"

Piper was so relieved she alave hiht hi Leo’s plan to fix the ship when she heard horse hooves clo across the deck over their heads

Moments later, Leo and Hazel stue sheet of hammered bronze between them

"Gods of Olympus" Piper stared at Leo "What happened to you?"

His hair was greased back He had welding goggles on his forehead, a lipstick mark on his cheek, tattoos all over his arms, and a T-shirt that read HOT STUFF, BAD BOY, and TEAM LEO

"Long story," he said "Others back?"

"Not yet," Piper said

Leo cursed Then he noticed Jason sitting up, and his face brightened "Hey, ine roo Hazel in the doorway

Piper raised an eyebrow at her "Team Leo?"

"We met Narcissus," Hazel said, which didn’t really explain oddess"

Jason sighed "Iwent THUMP, as if a heavy creature had landed Annabeth and Percy caallon plastic bucket that smelled horrible Annabeth had a patch of black sticky stuff in her hair Percy’s shirt was covered in it

"Roofing tar?" Piper guessed

Frank stumbled up behind theods Frank had a big se down his face

"Ran into solad you’re awake Hazel, where’s Leo?"

She pointed down "Engine room"

Suddenly the entire ship listed to port The deods stumbled Percy almost spilled his bucket of tar

"Uh, as that?" he demanded

"Oh…" Hazel looked eered the nymphs who live in this lake Like…all of them"