The Forgotten Olympian |BOOK 1| PJO X HP | Alexandra Marine

Chapter 46 - Alex - Afterparty

Yes, sorry. I had to pull away the mic from Reyna before she could go into a long lecture about her life.

At the Pomerian Line, the statue of Terminus wore a paper party hat.

"Welcome, Pontifex Maximus! And of course, Praetor!" he said. "You need any giants' faces smashed while you're in town, just let me know."

I grinned at Percy. "Thanks, Terminus," Percy said. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Yes, good. Your praetor's cape is an inch too low on the left. There—that's better. Where is my assistant? Julia!"

The little girl ran out from behind the pedestal. She was wearing a green dress tonight, and her hair was still in pigtails. When she smiled, I saw that her front teeth were starting to come in. She held up a box full of party hats.

Percy tried to decline, but Julia gave him the big adoring eyes.

"Ah, sure," he said. "I'll take the blue crown."

Julia turned to me.

"Uh... I'll go for, well, the one with the McDonald's logo on it." 

Julia snickered as she handed me the hat.

She offered Hazel a gold pirate hat. "I'm gonna be Percy Jackson when I grow up," she told Hazel solemnly. Clearly, Terminus had some effect on her.

Hazel smiled and ruffled her hair. "That's a good thing to be, Julia."

"Although," Frank said, picking out a hat shaped like a polar bear's head, "Frank Zhang would be good too."

"Frank!" Hazel said.

We put on the hats and continued to the forum, which was lit up with multicolored lanterns. The fountains glowed purple. The coffee shops were doing a brisk business, and street musicians filled the air with the sounds of guitar, lyre, panpipes, and armpit noises. I have no idea where the last one came from, so don't ask.

The goddess Iris must've been in a party mood too. As Percy, Hazel, Frank and I strolled past the damaged Senate House, a dazzling rainbow appeared in the night sky. Unfortunately, the goddess sent another blessing, too—a gentle rain of gluten-free R. O. F. L. cupcake simulations, which Percy and I figured would either make cleaning up harder or rebuilding easier. The cupcakes would make great bricks.

For a while, we wandered the streets with Hazel and Frank, who kept brushing shoulders.

Finally, Percy said, "I'm a little tired, guys. You go ahead. Alex and I will just head back to the Barracks." He turned to me, and I nodded.

Hazel and Frank protested, but I could tell they wanted some time alone.

As we headed back to camp, I saw Mrs. O'Leary playing with Hannibal in the Field of Mars. Finally, she'd found a playmate she could roughhouse with. They frolicked around, slamming into each other, breaking fortifications, and generally having an excellent time.

At the fort gates, Percy stopped and gazed across the valley. He was more interested in watching the eastern horizon. Then he turned to me.

"I know it when you lie," he said. "Don't lie. How did you burn down the city?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"I've been talking," Percy said, looking back to the east. "Heard that you can fly into the air and summon vines and fires and lightning. Like Hylla said, that's nothing a child of Poseidon can do."

I frowned. Sure, Dad had told me not to tell the common public. But Percy was not the common public. He was my brother. I could imagine Poseidon giving me a nod to what I was about to do.

"Close your eyes, and I'll tell you," I said. 

Percy raised his eyebrows for a moment, utterly confused. 

"I won't kill you, silly," I said. 

"O-okay," Percy said, still confused. He closed his eyes. 

I raised my hand and placed it on his forehead. 

"Feel the wind?" I spoke, but to his mind. Percy nodded. "Feel the breeze of the sea?"

He nodded again. He wasn't actually nodding. But he was saying 'yes,' but in his brain. And only I could hear him.

"Do you know what you are, Percy?" I asked. 

"A child of Poseidon?" Percy replied. 

"Just a child of Poseidon? Or are you something more than that?"

Percy didn't reply.

"You are a warrior, Percy. A hero of the modern age. And I am Alexandra, goddess of warriors."

His pulse grew rapid. I could feel his heartbeat, literally.

"I am a true daughter of Poseidon. I am the heiress of the oceans and seas. I was born because of Hades, so I am his daughter too. I am the princess of the Underworld."

I gave him some time to digest that information first.

"I am the Supreme Commander of the army of the gods. I am the goddess of true power, sacrifice and time. I was born from the fire, and the Earth gave me my power to wield lightning and control everything that grows over it."

"Why are you here, if you're so powerful? Shouldn't you be in Olympus?" Percy asked.

"I made a sacrifice to save our father," I said calmly. "I will live a life on this Earth until my life as a mortal ceases to exist. I chose to be here, Percy. And I am here to help all that live on this Earth. I am here to help you."

Percy swallowed.

"I am still your sister, younger than you by three minutes. Only a little more powerful," I said, speaking aloud now. Percy opened his eyes.  I smiled at him. "I'm sorry, I only got to know a few days ago myself."

Percy stared at me for two whole minutes straight. Then he said, "So, you can like summon cheeseburgers out of thin air?"

I snorted. "Dude, I am not Dionysus," I said.

Percy laughed too. He put his arm over me, and I put mine around his. We looked to the East as the tiniest bit of light crept out from behind the hills.

Tomorrow, maybe the next day, our friends from Camp Half-Blood would arrive. As much as I cared about Camp Jupiter, I wanted to go back to Camp Half-Blood. It was our true home.

As for Percy- he couldn't wait to see Annabeth again. He yearned for his old life—New York and Camp Half-Blood.

But something told me it might be a while before he returned home. Gaea and the giants weren't done causing trouble—not by a long shot.

Reyna had given Percy the second praetor's house on the Via Principalis, but as soon as Percy looked inside, he knew he couldn't stay there. It was nice, but it was also full of Jason Grace's stuff. Percy already felt uneasy taking Jason's title of praetor. He didn't want to take the guy's house, too. Things would be awkward enough when Jason came back—and Percy was sure that he would be on that dragon-headed warship.

As for me, the Romans didn't even have a Pontifex Maximus' house, so I figured I'll stay at the barracks itself until they built one. 

We headed back to the Fifth Cohort barracks and climbed into our bunks. I don't know about Percy, but I passed out instantly. 

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