are you mine[?]

.vingt-deux.

"Nico talked about you all the time," Hazel said.

They sat by the fountain, water droplets falling into their hair with different effects. For Hazel, it just dropped through her curls and onto her pants. For Patroclus, it fell into his hair and stayed there, soaking into the long blond strands.

"When he finally broke about you," Patroclus said with a weak smile, "we found out Jason had disappeared. So no, I don't know that much about you. He wanted us to meet, I think."

"Maybe we can figure out what happened?" Hazel suggested.

Patroclus nodded and ran his fingers over his laurel.

Deep in thought, he almost didn't notice when the missiles started raining. Then again, it was kind of impossible to miss, given the explosions and crumbling of buildings.

"What the Hades?" Percy asked.

"Is that coming from the ship?" Hazel cried.

"Yeah, I think so," Patroclus said.

The crowd surged. Patroclus tried to play the middleman, then a legionnaire snapped and ran at them.

"Duck!" Percy yelled.

Patroclus did without question. Water sailed over him and threw the legionnaire back.

Another explosion rocked the forum. This time the flash of light was directly overhead. One of the Roman catapults had fired, and the Argo II groaned and tilted sideways, flames bubbling over its bronze-plated hull.

Patroclus noticed a figure dinging desperately to the rope ladder, trying to dimb down. It was Octavian, his robes steaming and his face black with soot.

Percy blasted the Roman mob with more water. Annabeth ran toward them, ducking a Roman fist and a flying plate of sandwiches.

"Annabeth!" Percy called. "What —?"

"I don't know!" she yelled.

"Ill tell you what!" cried a voice from above. Octavian had reached the bottom of the ladder. "The Greeks have fired on us! Your boy Leo has trained his weapons on Rome!"

Patroclus's chest filled with liquid hydrogen. He felt like he might shatter into a million frozen pieces.

"You're lying," Annabeth said. "Leo would never —"

"I was just there!" Octavian shrieked. "I saw it with my own eyes!"

The Argo II returned fire. Legionnaires in the field scattered as one of their catapults was blasted to splinters.

"You see?" Octavian screamed. "Romans, kill the invaders!"

Annabeth growled in frustration. There was no time for anyone to figure out the truth. The crew from Camp Half-
Blood was outnumbered a hundred to one, and even if Octavian had managed to stage some sort of trick (which he thought likely), they'd never be able to convince the Romans before they were overrun and killed.

"We have to leave," Annabeth told them. "Now."

Percy nodded grimly. "Hazel, Frank, you've got to make a choice. Are you coming?"

Hazel looked terrified, but she donned her cavalry helmet. "Of course we are. But you'll never make it to the ship unless we buy you some time."

"How?" Annabeth asked.

Hazel whistled. Instantly a blur of beige shot across the forum. A majestic horse materialized next to the fountain. He reared, whinnying and scattering the mob. Hazel climbed on his back like she'd been born to ride. Strapped to the horse's saddle was a Roman cavalry sword.

Hazel unsheathed her golden blade. "Send me an Iris-message when you're safely away, and we'll rendezvous," she said. "Arion, ride!"

The horse zipped through the crowd with incredible speed, pushing back Romans and causing mass panic.

Patroclus felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe they could make it out of here alive. Then, from halfway across the forum, he heard Jason shouting.

"Romans!" he cried. "Please!"

He and Piper were being pelted with plates and stones. Jason tried to shield Piper, but a brick caught him above the eye. He crumpled, and the crowd surged forward.

"Get back! Piper screamed. Her charmspeak rolled over the mob, making them hesitate, but Patroclus knew the effect wouldn't last. They couldn't possibly reach them in time to help.

"Frank," Percy said, "it's up to you. Can you help them?"

He swallowed nervously. "Oh, gods," he murmured. "Okay, sure. Just get up the ropes. Now."

Patroclus, Percy, and Annabeth lunged for the ladder. Octavian was still clinging to the bottom, but Percy yanked him off and threw him into the mob.

They began to climb as armed legionnaires flooded into the forum. Arrows whistled past Patroclus's head. An explosion almost knocked him off the ladder. Halfway up, he heard a roar below and glanced down.

Romans screamed and scattered as a full-sized dragon charged through the forum — a beast even scarier than the bronze dragon figurehead on the Argo II. It had rough gray skin like a Komodo lizard's and leathery bat wings. Arrows and rocks bounced harmlessly off its hide as it lumbered toward Piper and Jason, grabbed them with its front claws, and vaulted into the air.

"Is that...?" Annabeth couldn't even put the thought into words.

"Frank," Percy confirmed, a few feet above her. "He has a few special talents."

"Understatement," Patroclus muttered. "Keep climbing!"

Without the dragon and Hazel's horse to distract the archers, they never would have made it up the ladder; but finally they climbed past a row of broken aerial oars and onto the deck. The rigging was on fire. The foresail was ripped down the middle, and the ship listed badly to starboard.

There was no sign of Coach Hedge, but Leo stood amidships, calmly reloading the ballista. Patroclus's gut twisted with horror.

"Leo!" Annabeth screamed. "What are you doing?"

"Destroy them..." He faced Annabeth and Patroclus. His eyes were glazed. His movements were like a robots. "Destroy them all."

He turned back to the ballista, but Percy tackled him. Leo's head hit the deck hard, and his eyes rolled up so that only the whites showed.

The gray dragon soared into view. It circled the ship once and landed at the bow, depositing Jason and Piper, who both collapsed. Patroclus dropped to his knees beside Jason and lifted him on a forelands carry.

"Go!" Percy yelled. "Get us out of here!"

Anna run ran for the helm. She made the mistake of glancing over the rail and saw armed legionnaires closing ranks in the forum, preparing flaming arrows. Hazel spurred Arion, and they raced out of the city with a mob chasing after them. More catapults were being wheeled into range. All along the Pomerian Line, the statues of Terminus were glowing purple, as if building up energy for some kind of attack.

Annabeth looked over the controls. She grabbed the aviation throttle and yanked it straight back. The ship groaned. The bow tilted up at a horrifying angle. The mooring lines snapped, and the Argo II shot into the clouds.

}{}{}{

Oop — the king of New Troy was just attacked by his (sort of) predecessors.