A SEA OF HASTILY ASSEMBLED demigods parted for me as I walked through the forum. Some looked tense, some nervous. Some were bandaged from their recent battle with the giants, but no one was armed. No one attacked.

Entire families had gathered to see the newcomers. I saw couples with babies, toddlers clinging to their parents' legs, even some elderly folks in a combination of Roman robes and modern clothes. Were all of them demigods? I suspected so, though I'd never seen a place like this except maybe the Casino. At Camp Half-Blood, most demigods were teens. If they survived long enough to graduate from high school, they either stayed on as counselors or left to start lives as best they could in the mortal world. Here, it was an entire multigenerational community.

At the far end of the crowd, I spotted Tyson and Mrs. O'Leary—who had been the first scouting party from Camp Half-Blood to reach Camp Jupiter. They looked to be in good spirits. Tyson waved and grinned. He was wearing an SPQR banner like a giant bib.

Some part of my mind registered how beautiful the city was—the smells from the bakeries, the gurgling fountains, the flowers blooming in the gardens. And the architecture... gods, the architecture, I would never be able to get Annabeth to stop talking about—gilded marble columns, dazzling mosaics, monumental arches, and terraced villas. Peaceful.

In front of me, the demigods made way for a girl in full Roman armor and a purple cape. Dark hair tumbled across her shoulders. Her eyes were as black as obsidian.

Reyna.

Jason had described her well. Even without that, I would have singled her out as the leader. Medals decorated her armor. She carried herself with such confidence the other demigods backed away and averted their gaze.

I recognized something else in her face, too—in the hard set of her mouth and the deliberate way she raised her chin like she was ready to accept any challenge. Reyna was forcing a look of courage, while holding back a mixture of hopefulness and worry and fear that she couldn't show in public.

I knew that expression. I saw it every time morning in the mirror.

Reyna and I considered each other. My friends fanned out on either side. The Romans murmured Jason's name, staring at him in awe.

Then someone else appeared from the crowd, and my vision tunneled.

Percy smiled at me—that sarcastic, troublemaker smile that had annoyed her for a year but eventually had become endearing. His sea-green eyes were as gorgeous as I remembered. His dark hair was swept to one side, like he'd just come from a walk on the beach. He looked even better than he had six months ago—tanner and taller, leaner and more muscular.

I was too stunned to move. I felt that if I got any closer to him, he might fade away. I had searched for him so hard, so frequently, that it felt like a fever dream seeing him again. Last summer, I'd fallen for him hard. We'd been a happy couple for four months—and then he'd disappeared.

During our separation, something had happened to mt feelings. They'd grown painfully intense—like I'd been forced to withdraw from a life-saving medication. Now I wasn't sure which was more excruciating—living with that horrible absence, or being with him again.

The praetor Reyna straightened. With apparent reluctance, she turned toward Jason.

"Jason Grace, my former colleague..." She spoke the word colleague like it was a dangerous thing. "I welcome you home. And these, your friends—"

"Praetor Reyna!" A voice exclaimed and the crowds parted to reveal five demigods and a Pegasus. "We have a spy."

I didn't care about the other four demigods, it sounded brash, but I honestly didn't. I took note of one demigod and her pegasus in particular. Long blonde hair thrown up into a messy ponytail, strands falling out and hanging in front of her face. Both of her eyes were bloodshot, which looked cool on her blue eye but looked scary on her hazel eye. Her nose had blood dripping from it and she had several cuts and bruises. She obviously drug herself into a fight before being captured. The thing that concerned me the most was the scar running from the tip of her middle finger under her shirt. It stretched out with little branches like lightning and was a bruised purple color on the skin surrounding it, the scar itself was a very light pink color.

"Jason?" The girl asked, leaning against her steed as if dazed.

"Lizzy? What are you doing here?" Jason went to step towards her but Annabeth held him back.

"Reyna, what should we do with her?" The girl holding her wrists behind her back, asked Reyna.

Reyna studied her before sighing. "Put her somewhere with a guard. We'll deal with her execution after we figure out this prophecy."

"Reyna!" Jason exclaimed, sharing a panicked look with Lizzy. "You can't seriously believe that she murdered Lia. There is no way she would do that!"

"Jason." Reyna gave him an exasperated look. "She ran. An innocent person wouldn't run."

Jason opened his mouth to protest but Lizzy cut him off. "It's alright, Jason." She gave him a sad smile before turning to Reyna with a heavy sigh. I hadn't noticed but the pegasus was sneaking up behind Jason and rested her chin on his shoulder as if she knew what her owner was going to go through. "I know you're just doing your job, Reyna. Don't blame yourself."

And with that, they drug Lizzy back towards Camp Jupiter.

"Now to get back on track-" Reyna tried.

I didn't mean to but I rushed forward. Percy rushed toward me at the same time. The crowd tensed. Some reached for swords that weren't there.

Percy threw his arms around me. We kissed, and for a moment nothing else mattered. An asteroid could have hit the planet and wiped out all life, and yet I wouldn't have cared.

Percy smelled of ocean air. His lips were salty.

Fish Face.

Percy pulled away and studied my face. "Gods, I never thought—"

I grabbed his wrist and flipped him over my shoulder. He slammed into the stone pavement. Romans cried out. Some surged forward, but Reyna shouted, "Hold! Stand down!"

I put my knee on Percy's chest. I pushed my forearm against his throat. I couldn't care less what the Romans thought. A white-hot lump of anger expanded in my chest—a tumor of worry and bitterness that I'd been carrying around since last autumn. Since Caelan's death.

"If you ever leave me again," I said, my eyes stinging, "I swear to all the gods—"

Percy had the nerve to laugh. Suddenly the lump of heated emotions melted away, as if they had never existed before.

"Consider me warned," Percy said. "I missed you, too."

I rose and helped him to his feet. I wanted to kiss him again so badly, but I managed to restrain myself.

Jason cleared his throat, sounding completely heart broken. "So, yeah....It's good to be back."

He introduced Reyna to Piper, who looked a little miffed that she hadn't gotten to say the lines she'd been practicing, then to Leo, who grinned and flashed a peace sign. Annabeth simply smiled at someone at the crowd, which was a bit odd I had to admit.

"And this is Nova," Jason said, still sounding down. "Uh, normally she doesn't judo-flip people."

Reyna's eyes sparkled. "You sure you're not a Roman, Nova? Or an Amazon?"

I didn't know if that was a compliment, but I held out my hand. "Daughter of Hades with two brothers. Pretty sure I'm Greek," I promised. "Pleased to meet you."

Reyna clasped my hand firmly. "It seems we have a lot to discuss. Centurions!"

A few of the Roman campers hustled forward—apparently the senior officers. Two kids appeared at Percy's side, the same ones Annabeth had seen him chumming around with earlier. The burly Asian guy with the buzz cut was about fifteen. He was cute in a sort of oversized-cuddly-panda-bear way. The girl was younger, maybe thirteen, with amber eyes and chocolate skin and long curly hair. Her cavalry helmet was tucked under her arm.

I could tell from their body language that they felt close to Percy. They stood next to him protectively, like they'd already shared many adventures.. If I had to guess, I'd say the big Asian guy was the girl's boyfriend, though I suspected they hadn't been together long.

"Have you seen him yet?" Percy whispered in my ear and I jumped.

"Nico? No, not yet." I smiled at him.

"He said he Iris Messaged you..-" Percy was cut off by a voice exclaiming, "Lee?"

I froze. Only two people besides my mother knew that nickname and used it. Nico and Caelan. Nico was staring at me, his mouth shut but it couldn't be Cae..

The words died in my head as I laid eyes on him. Same dark hair, stupid teasing smile, dark brown eyes that seemed to see through me.

Caelan held my gaze before walking towards me. The group fell silent as I glared at him, arms crossed.

"What in all of the Underworld do you want Caelan?" I hissed, backing away from him. He looked a little hurt by the action but he had practically left me on read for the past 10 months, he deserved it.

"Lee, I thought.." He started and I knew exactly what he thought. He thought I would be happy, which I was, deep down. He thought it could all go back to normal, that it would all be fine and I would forget he left me on read.

"Yeah, I know what you thought Caelan. You thought wrong."

"But Nova.."

"Don't 'but Nova' me. You left me, thinking that you were dead, for ten months. Then Nico ran off and I couldn't find him. I couldn't reach Momma or Bianca no matter how hard I tried. When I went home all I got were sympathetic looks and people arguing. Then Percy left too. I couldn't find him until we suddenly got Jason. I looked for the three of you so hard, yet none of you could so much as IM or call me? Not once in six months did you think of that?" I demanded with a frown at the three boys. "So I'm sorry that you're not getting a warm welcome Caelan. You have to earn that."

After a moment of silence, Reyna broke it by giving orders to her officers. "... tell the legion to stand down. Dakota, alert the spirits in the kitchen. Tell them to prepare a welcome feast. And, Octavian—"

"You're letting these intruders into the camp?" A tall guy with stringy blond hair elbowed his way forward. "Reyna, the security risks—"

"We're not taking them to the camp, Octavian." Reyna flashed him a stern look. "We'll eat here, in the forum."

"Oh, much better," Octavian grumbled. He seemed to be the only one who didn't defer to Reyna as his superior, despite the fact that he was scrawny and pale and for some reason had three teddy bears hanging from his belt. I couldn't be talking since I still slept with a stuffed saint Bernard my momma got me. "You want us to relax in the shadow of their warship."

"These are our guests." Reyna clipped off every word. "We will welcome them, and we will talk to them. As augur, you should burn an offering to thank the gods for bringing Jason back to us safely."

"Good idea," Percy put in. "Go burn your bears, Octavian."

Reyna looked like she was trying not to smile. "You have my orders. Go."

The officers dispersed. Octavian shot Percy a look of absolute loathing. Then he gave me a suspicious once-over and stalked away.

Percy slipped his hand into mine. "Don't worry about Octavian," he said. "Most of the Romans are good people—like Frank and Hazel here, and Reyna. We'll be fine."

I felt as if someone had draped a cold washcloth across my neck. I heard that whispering laughter again, as if the presence had followed me from the ship.

I looked up at the Argo II. Its massive bronze hull glittered in the sunlight. Part of me wanted to kidnap Percy, Nico and Caelan right now, climb on board, and get out of here while we still could.

I couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong. And there was no way I would ever risk losing my loves again.

"We'll be fine," I repeated, trying to believe it.

"Excellent," Reyna said. She turned to Jason, and I thought there was a hungry sort of gleam in her eyes. "Let's talk, and we can have a proper reunion."