The Rogue Emperor (A Riordanverse Story)

Chapter 7: Frank Gets Schooled, Roman Style

As soon as Livia and Nico dissolved into the ground, disappearing to the land of the dead, Frank felt uneasy being in the presence of the Augustus Caesar. Every Roman had the story of the first emperor drilled into their mind the moment they began their training; you read his story, you visited his temple, you wanted to be as Roman as him. He was the embodiment of the ideal Roman, no he was the embodiment of Rome; everyone knew who Augustus Caesar was.

Now the first emperor stood in front of them, starring back at them with the same awkward, blank expression they were giving him. The three of them all seemed to be waiting for him to take charge like Livia had with Nico, but it seemed like he was waiting for them to speak. Frank didn't know what to even say to this legend without sounding stupid.

"So, are Livia and Nico going to come back here?" asks Will, breaking the uncomfortable silence. He was clearly annoyed that he wasn't invited on Nico's side quest. Honestly, it had shocked Frank a bit when the empress yelled at him, banning him from going with them.

"Maybe, unless they figure out where Tiberius is," responds the emperor flatly.

Reyna knits her brow. "How will we know if they figure that out?"

"Liv will send me a sign," he says. "We're really in sync after all this time together, also the whole god thing."

"Maybe we should try to figure out where it is while they're gone?" says Reyna. "We know the quest will end on the isle of fruit; any ideas?"

Will shrugs. "There's a ton of islands in America, it would take forever to check them all."

"What are some bigger islands? He'd want something to have a nice house and a place to keep all these captives."

"The Aleutian Islands are pretty big," suggests Will.

Frank shakes his head. "Alaska is outside the land of the gods."

Reyna sighs. "It wouldn't be Long Island, would it?"

"We would have heard something at camp if that was the case," says Will. "What about Galveston or South Padre in Texas? Mom used to take me there on vacation and I remember the homes being massive."

"That a good start," remarks Reyna, pausing to think. "Or what's that place in Massachusetts...something vineyard."

Will nods, trying to remember the name. "Martha's Vineyard? I've heard it's a pretty rich area."

"That's promising," says Frank eagerly. "And vineyard, isle of fruit, we may be onto something."

"It's worth looking into," responds Reyna. "If we could get a message to Nico, we could leave now and have us meet him there."

"No."

The three of them turn to look at Augustus, who had crossed into the library and was browsing the shelves. Dressed in shorts and a quarter zip with the logo of Caesar's Palace, he looked so un-Roman. Frank wasn't really sure what he wanted from the imperial couple, but they looked just like regular people, assimilating to the current times.

"What do you mean no?" asks Will, his frustration growing.

"He's not on Martha's Vineyard."

Reyna takes a deep breath, trying to remain calm. "And you know this for certain?"

"We told you he'd be on Capri. But since you're so certain he's here in the States, you need to find something that's identical here," the princeps says. "I can tell you Martha's Vineyard is nothing like Capri."