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PERCY JACKSON APPEARED TO HAVE zero memory. Aelia couldn't reach her powers further but he had been a bundle of emotions since he first awoke, most likely in the wolf house, a week ago. Most of it was confusion... anger... longing. Aelia knew that feeling all too well. He probably longed for someone in his old life, someone he loved like Aelia loved Jason, but he didn't mention anything. He described his travels with Reyna, which checked out with Argentum and Aurum.
Reyna spun her dagger. "Most of what you're describing is normal for demigods. At a certain age, one way or another, we find our way to the Wolf House. We're tested and trained. If Lupa thinks we're worthy, she sends us south to join the legion. But I've never heard of someone losing his memory. How did you find Camp Jupiter?"
Percy told them about the last three days—the gorgons who wouldn't die, the old lady who turned out to be a goddess, and finally meeting Hazel and Frank at the tunnel in the hill.
Hazel took the story from there. She described Percy as brave and heroic, which made him feel really uncomfortable. Aelia sort of agreed with Percy; all he had done was carry a hippie old lady who turned out to be one of their most sacred gods.
Reyna studied him. "You're old for a recruit. You're what, sixteen?"
"I think so," Percy said.
"If you spent that many years on your own, without training or help, you should be dead. A son of Neptune? You'd have a powerful aura that would attract all kinds of monsters."
"Yeah," Percy said. "I've been told that I smell."
Aelia almost smiled at him and his eyes flickered toward her. The kid was funny, she'd give him that.
"You must've been somewhere before the Wolf House," she said.
Percy shrugged.
Reyna looked toward Aelia for confirmation. Aelia glanced at Percy for a second before speaking, "He had no emotions for months on end. I can't reach farther than a year, but the surge of emotions he felt when he woke up confirm his story."
Reyna sighed, as if this wasn't the answer she wanted to hear. "Well, our misericordia confirms your story and the dogs haven't eaten you, so I supposed you're telling the truth."
"Great," Percy said. "Next time, can I take a polygraph?"
Reyna stood. She paced in front of the banners. Her metal dogs watched her go back and forth.
"Even if I accept that you're not an enemy," she said, "you're not a typical recruit. The Queen of Olympus simply doesn't appear at camp, announcing a new demigod. The last time a major god visited us in person like that..." She shook her head. "T've only heard legends about such things. And a son of Neptune...that's not a good omen. Especially now."
