Daughter of the Sea || HoO

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

A sea hastily assembled demigods parted for Tori and Annabeth as they walked through the forum. Some looked tense, some nervous. Some were bandaged from their recent battle with the giants, but no one was armed. No one attacked.

Entire families had gathered to see the newcomers. Tori saw couples with babies, toddlers clinging to their parents' legs, even some elderly folks in a combination of Roman robes and modern clothes. Were all of them demigods? Tori suspected so, though she'd never seen a place like this. At Camp Half-Blood, most demigods were teens. If they survived long enough to graduate from high school, they either stayed on as counselors or left to start lives as best they could in the mortal world. Here, it was an entire multigenerational community.

At the far end of the crowd, Tori spotted Tyson and Mrs. O'Leary—who had been the first scouting party from Camp Half-Blood to reach Camp Jupiter. They looked to be in good spirits. Tyson waved and grinned. He was wearing an SPQR banner like a giant bib.

Some part of Tori's mind registered how beautiful the city was—the smells from the bakeries, the gurgling fountains, the flowers blooming in the gardens. Tori figured Annabeth was internally losing her mind at the architecture—gilded marble columns, dazzling mosaics, monumental arches, and terraced villas.

In front of her, the demigods made way for a girl in full Roman armor and a purple cape. Dark hair tumbled across her shoulders. Her eyes were as black as obsidian.

Reyna.

Jason had described her well. Even without that, Tori would have singled her out as the leader. Medals decorated her armor. She carried herself with such confidence the other demigods backed away and averted their gaze. She looked like a total badass in Tori's opinion.

Tori recognized something else in her face, too—in the hard set of her mouth and the deliberate way she raised her chin like she was ready to accept any challenge. Reyna was forcing a look of courage, while holding back a mixture of hopefulness and worry and fear that she couldn't show in public. Tori knew that expression. She saw it every time she looked in a mirror.

The three girls considered each other. Tori's friends fanned out on either side of her and Annabeth. The Romans murmured Jason's name, staring at him in awe.

Then someone else appeared from the crowd, and Annabeth's vision tunneled.

Percy smiled at her—that sarcastic, troublemaker smile that had annoyed her for years but eventually had become endearing. His sea-green eyes were as gorgeous as she remembered. His dark hair was swept to one side, like he'd just come from a walk on the beach. He looked even better than he had six months ago—tanner and taller, leaner and more muscular.

Tori was too stunned to move. She felt that if she got any closer to him, all the molecules in her body might combust. She hadn't seen her brother in six month's and there he was standing a few feet away from her.

The praetor Reyna straightened. With apparent reluctance, she turned toward Jason.

"Jason Grace, my former colleague..." She spoke the word colleague like it was a dangerous thing. "I welcome you home. And these, your friends—"

All of a sudden, Annabeth surged forward. Percy rushed toward her at the same time. The crowd tensed. Some reached for swords that weren't there.

Percy threw his arms around her, and they kissed. Tori couldn't help but roll her eyes. Although she thought the reunion was extremely sweet, it reminded her to much of a cheesy romantic movie she would normally make fun of.

Percy pulled away and studied Annabeth's face. "Gods, I never thought—"

Annabeth grabbed his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder. He slammed into the stone pavement. Romans cried out. Some surged forward, but Reyna shouted, "Hold! Stand down!"