The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus Book 4)

and nibbled at the edge.
    ‘So,’ Reyna said. ‘Frank Zhang … praetor.’
    Frank shifted, wiping crumbs from his chin. ‘Well, yeah. Field promotion.’
    ‘To lead a different legion,’ Reyna noted. ‘A legion of ghosts.’
    Hazel put her arm protectively through Frank’s. After an hour in sick bay, they both looked a lot better, but Percy couldtell they weren’t sure what to think about their old boss from Camp Jupiter dropping in for lunch.
    ‘Reyna,’ Jason said, ‘you should’ve seen him.’
    ‘He was
amazing
,’ Piper agreed.
    ‘Frank is a leader,’ Hazel insisted. ‘He makes a great praetor.’
    Reyna’s eyes stayed on Frank, like she was trying to guess his weight. ‘I believe you,’ she said. ‘I approve.’
    Frank blinked. ‘You do?’
    Reyna smiled dryly. ‘A son of Mars, the hero who helped to bring back the eagle of the legion … I can work with a demigod like that. I’m just wondering how to convince the Twelfth Fulminata.’
    Frank scowled. ‘Yeah. I’ve been wondering the same thing.’
    Percy still couldn’t get over how much Frank had changed. A ‘growth spurt’ was putting it mildly. He was at least three inches taller, less pudgy and more bulky, like a linebacker. His face looked sturdier, his jawline more rugged. It was as if Frank had turned into a bull and then back to human, but he’d kept some of the bullishness.
    ‘The legion will listen to you, Reyna,’ Frank said. ‘You made it here alone, across the ancient lands.’
    Reyna chewed her sandwich as if it were cardboard. ‘In doing so, I broke the laws of the legion.’
    ‘Caesar broke the law when he crossed the Rubicon,’ Frank said. ‘Great leaders have to think outside the box sometimes.’
    She shook her head. ‘I’m not Caesar. After finding Jason’s note in Diocletian’s Palace, tracking you down was easy. I only did what I thought was necessary.’
    Percy couldn’t help smiling. ‘Reyna, you’re too modest. Flying halfway across the world by yourself to answer Annabeth’s plea, because you knew it was our best chance for peace? That’s pretty freaking heroic.’
    Reyna shrugged. ‘Says the demigod who fell into Tartarus and found his way back.’
    ‘He had help,’ Annabeth said.
    ‘Oh, obviously,’ Reyna said. ‘Without you, I doubt Percy could find his way out of a paper bag.’
    ‘True,’ Annabeth agreed.
    ‘Hey!’ Percy complained.
    The others started laughing, but Percy didn’t mind. It felt good to see them smile. Heck, just being in the mortal world felt good, breathing un-poisonous air, enjoying actual sunshine on his back.
    Suddenly he thought of Bob.
Tell the sun and stars hello for me.
    Percy’s smile melted. Bob and Damasen had sacrificed their lives so that Percy and Annabeth could sit here now, enjoying the sunlight and laughing with their friends.
    It wasn’t fair.
    Leo pulled a tiny screwdriver from his tool belt. He stabbed a chocolate-covered strawberry and passed it to Coach Hedge. Then he pulled out another screwdriver and speared a second strawberry for himself.
    ‘So, the twenty-million-peso question,’ Leo said. ‘We got this slightly used forty-foot-tall statue of Athena. What do we do with it?’
    Reyna squinted at the Athena Parthenos. ‘As fine as itlooks on this hill, I didn’t come all this way to admire it. According to Annabeth, it must be returned to Camp Half-Blood by a Roman leader. Do I understand correctly?’
    Annabeth nodded. ‘I had a dream down in … you know, Tartarus. I was on Half-Blood Hill, and Athena’s voice said,
I must stand here. The Roman must bring me.
’
    Percy studied the statue uneasily. He’d never had the best relationship with Annabeth’s mom. He kept expecting Big Mama Statue to come alive and chew him out for getting her daughter into so much trouble – or maybe just step on him without a word.
    ‘It makes sense,’ Nico said.
    Percy flinched. It almost sounded like Nico had read his mind and was agreeing that Athena should step on him.
    The son of Hades sat at the other end of the circle, eating nothing but half a pomegranate, the fruit of the Underworld. Percy wondered if that was Nico’s idea of a joke.
    ‘The statue is a powerful symbol,’ Nico said. ‘A Roman returning it to the Greeks … that could heal the historic rift, maybe even heal the gods of their split personalities.’
    Coach Hedge swallowed his strawberry along with half the screwdriver. ‘Now, hold on. I like peace as