KARINA WOKE UP EARLY the next morning with the feeling of warm arms wrapped around her, and the slow, rhythmic sound of percy's breathing flowing into her ears. her body was tucked under his, her head pressed up against his chest as his arms trapped her body against him, and she didn't think she'd ever felt more at peace in her life. she wished that they could stay like this all day together, just cuddling and being wrapped in each other's embrace, but she knew that they had a big day ahead of them, and that her fantasy would have to wait.

reluctantly, karina slipped her body out of percy's arms, making sure that she didn't wake him quite yet, because she knew that he needed sleep. karina could tell that percy tries to hide his problems from everyone else— and how he feels in a situation. like at the aquarium, karina knew that as percy was explaining how the sea animals were treated, he was way more upset than what he let on. but, he doesn't want to place his problems on everyone else, so he just keeps it to himself. so, karina knew that percy deserved this time to be at peace, so she reframed from waking him.

she lightly pushed the hair out of percy's face, and placed a small kiss on his forehead, before slowly leaving his room, being as quiet as possible. she made her way back to her room peacefully, knowing that it was too early for anyone else to be awake except her.

she took a long shower before she got ready for the day, as if she were trying to wash away all of the nightmares and thoughts that swarmed her head. she basked in the steaming hot water for as long as she could, before she changed and got ready for the day.

she put on a spaghetti-strap brown tank top, pairing it with some dark denim mom jeans that were slightly too big for her, but they managed to fit her well enough. she put on her usual necklace that concealed her gladius, and also put on a necklace with a small piece of amethyst entwined into it, making sure she kept herself leveled during this quest. since her hair was still damp, she decided to leave it as it was, instead of putting it up, and she put on the normal rings she wore, and applied her earrings to her ears, before putting on her converse and walking up to the main deck.

she made herself a chai latte this morning, instead of green tea, and watched as the final moments of the sunrise faded into blue. she was up a little later than usual, so she didn't get to enjoy the full sunrise as she usually did. she sipped on her chai slowly, letting the hot, cinnamon-flavored drink travel down her throat soothingly, and breathed in the sweet quiet that was usually accompanied by the early morning.

this was karina's favorite part of the day— it's where she felt most at peace with herself. she knew that the day ahead was a mystery of danger and unknown, but for right now, she got to enjoy the moments of peace and tranquillity.

jason was the next one to arrive, walking out to the deck with a steaming cup of black coffee, and sidled up beside her, sipping his drink. she was sitting on the floor of the deck, her legs propped in front of her, and he mimicked her position, setting his arms on top of his knees.

"you ready for today?" he asked her, and karina sighed.

"no," she admitted quietly. "i don't want to go back to venus."

jason was silent for a moment as he stared into the horizon. "what . . . what did she tell you? when you and reyna went there."

karina bit the inside her her cheek. "i would rather not talk about it, if that's okay." 

jason immediately shook his head. "no, no! of course! i— i just didn't know if you— you know, wanted to talk about it . . . or something." his words were trampled on top of each other as he tried to recover himself, and karina sent a small, amused smile in his direction.

"it's okay, jase," she said, putting her hand on his knee. "i know you're trying to help. it's just . . . some of the things she told me, i'm not quite ready to share with anyone."

jason smiled in return, placing his hand on her's. "i get it, rina. just know you can always tell me, and i won't judge."

karina raised an eyebrow. "oh, really? what about that time i told you about my obsession with finger puppets? did you not judge me then?"

jason scoffed, his smile growing. "okay, but that was just weird. and when you tried making a small version of me into for one my birthday, i had to judge."

karina gaped at him, and smacked his arm. "that took me two days to make! you should be grateful."

jason snickered. "it didn't even look like me! i had four fingers, and a nose piercing!"

karina laughed loudly, leaning her head back onto the wall. "i was just trying to make you look cool, éntincelle."

"are you saying i'm not cool?" jason asked apprehensively, but couldn't help but smile at the sound of the old nickname karina made for him slip through her lips. it was sparky in french, and karina always called him that for years since he didn't know what it meant.

"yes," karina responded, and he glared at her.

"you're just jealous that i can fly, and you can't," he said, and to further respond, he began to lift himself off the floor slightly, his legs now hovering above the deck. he was grinning cheekily at her, and he took another sip of his coffee.

karina rolled her eyes, and yanked his arm down, putting him back onto the floor. "shut up, you imbécile."

jason chuckled, and right after, leo and frank came walking up to the deck. "you ready to go?"

jason nodded, and set his cup down, standing up. karina stood as well, and embraced jason into a hug. "be safe, okay?" she said, and jason nodded.

"always," he responded, and karina rolled her eyes, before hugging the other two boys, and they made their way into charleston, leaving karina to stand alone on the deck.

leo had docked the ship at a pier in charleston harbor, right next to the seawall. along the shore was a historical district will tall mansions, palm trees, and wrought-iron fences. antique canons pointed at the water.

by the time everyone came on deck, jason, leo, and frank had already left for the museum. coach hedge told the others that they'd be back by sunset. piper and hazel were ready to go, and annabeth did as well, but her and karina turned to percy, who was leaning on the starboard rail, gazing over the bay.

karina sidled up to him, and he turned to her with a smile. "morning, rina."

karina smiled, and leaned up to kiss him. "good morning."

percy hummed, and leaned in to kiss her again, licking his lips. "chai?" he asked.

karina nodded, and percy grinned at her, winding his arm around her waist. annabeth joined the two a few moments later, walking up to percy's side.

"what are you going to do while we're gone?" she asked.

"jump into the harbor," he said casually, like another kid might say, i'm going to get a snack. "i want to try communicating with the local nereids. maybe they can give me some advice about how to free those captives in atlanta. besides, i think the sea might be good for me. being in that aquarium made me feel . . . unclean."

his hair was dark and tangled as usual, since karina wasn't there this morning to help him tame it. but, she could smell the faint scent of lavender and vanilla, and she smiled to herself.

he had used her shampoo.

karina bit back a grin, and kissed him again. "good luck, seaweed brain."

percy sighed. "annabeth taught you that one, didn't she?"

annabeth and karina looked at each other with amused grins.

"yup," they said in sync, and percy dragged his hand down his face, groaning.

karina and annabeth laughed, and both bid their goodbyes to percy, before walking over to hazel and piper. "okay, ladies. let's find the ghost of the battery."

afterward, karina wished she'd jumped into the harbor with percy. she even would've preferred a museum full of ghosts.

not that she minded hanging out with annabeth, piper, and hazel, considering they are some of her closest friends. at first, they had a pretty good time walking alon the battery. according to the signs, the seaside park was called the white point gardens. the ocean breeze swept away the muggy heat of the summer afternoon, and it was pleasantly cool under the shade of the palmetto trees. lining the road were old civil war canons and bronze statues of historical figures, which made karina shudder. she hated thinking about the last time she was here.

charleston harbor glittered in the sun. to the north and south, strips of land stretched out like arms enclosing the bay, and sitting in the mouth of the harbor, about a mile out, was an island with a stone fort. karina had a vague memory of that fort being important in the civil war, but she didn't spend much time thinking about it.

mostly, she breathed in the sea air and thought about percy. gods forbid she ever had to break up with him. she'd never be able to visit the sea again without remembering her broken heart. she was relieved when they turned away from the seawall and explored the inland side of the gardens.

the park wasn't crowded. karina imagined that most of the locals had gone on summer vacation, or were holed up at home taking a siesta. they strolled along south battery street, which was lined with four-story colonial mansions. the brick walls were blanketed with ivy. the facades had soaring white columns like roman temples, reminding her of home. the front gardens were bursting with rose bushes, honeysuckle, and flowering bougainvillea, and it seemed as karina walked past them, they grew even bigger, and brighter. it looked like ceres had set the timer on all the plants to grow several decades ago, then forgotten to come back and check on them.

"kind of reminds me of new rome," hazel said. "all the big mansions and the gardens. the columns and arches."

karina nodded in agreement, taking hazel's hand and swinging it around playfully, causing her to laugh.

the other girls didn't say much.

annabeth seemed to be in her own train of thought, and piper kept looking around like she expected an ambush. she had said she'd seen this park in the blade of her knife, but she wouldn't elaborate. karina guessed she was afraid to. after all, the last time piper had tried to interpret a vision from her knife, percy and jason had almost killed each other in kansas.

hazel also seemed preoccupied. maybe she was taking in her surroundings, or maybe she was worrying about her brother. in less than four days, unless they found him and freed him, nico would be dead.

karina felt that deadline weighing on her, too. she'd always seen nico as the little brother she never had, even though he acted far from little. he'd always been so dark, and gloom, but for some reason, karina managed to make him brighten a bit. she didn't know how, or why, but she didn't complain. she loved nico, and she knew that he did too, even if he never said or showed it.

and now having him on the verge of death but karina even more on edge to find him, because she doesn't know what she would do if she died.

as the girls continued to walk, karina finally stopped, along with piper, who pulled annabeth's arm back.

"there." piper pointed across the harbor. a hundred yards out, a shimmering white figure floated on the water. it was the figure if a woman. aphrodite. karina swallowed down her nervousness.

"the ghost," annabeth said.

"that's not a ghost," hazel said. "no kind of spirit glows that brightly."

"she's right," karina added softly, her eyes trained on the gliding figure in the distance.

annabeth took their word for it, and, as if in a trance, piper walked across the street toward the edge of the seawall, narrowly avoiding a horse-drawn carriage.

"piper!" annabeth called.

"we need to follow her," karin informed, and the two girls agreed, since karina was the only one that's actually been here before.

by the time the three girls caught up to her, the ghostly apparition was only a few yards away.

piper glared at it like the sight offended her.

"it is her," she grumbled.

karina glanced at her sheepishly. "sorry," she whispered, and piper looked her way.

"did you know?" she asked.

karina nodded, and piper gave her a small smile of reassurance. "it's okay," she said. "it was better that you didn't say anything."

karina faced her with an apologetic look, and nodded.

the apparition floated up to the seawall and stopped in front of them. the glow faded.

even though karina had seen her before, she couldn't stop the feeling she got when she saw her. she was breathtakingly beautiful. her face was hard to describe. her features seemed to shift from those of one glamorous movie star to another. her eyes sparkled playfully— sometimes green or blue or amber. her hair changed from long, straight blond to dark chocolatey curls.

she was dressed like a southern belle, just as karina remembered. her gown had a low-cut bodice of pink silk and a three-tiered hoop skirt with white scalloped lace. she wore tall white silk gloves, and held a feathered pink-and-white fan to her chest.

everything about her seemed to make karina feel inadequate: the easy grace with which she wore her dress, the perfect yet understated makeup, the way she radiated feminine charm that no man could possibly resist.

karina realized that her jealously was irrational. venus was making her feel this way. she'd had experienced this before, the last time she was here.

"aphrodite," annabeth said.

"venus?" hazel asked in amazement.

"i'm back," karina said flatly.

"mom," piper said, with no enthusiasm.

"girls!" the goddess spread her arms like she wanted a group hug.

the four demigods did not oblige. hazel backed into a palmetto tree.

"i'm so glad you're here," venus said. "war is coming. bloodshed is inevitable. so there's really only one thing to do."

"uh . . . and that is?" annabeth ventured.

"why, have tea and chat, obviously. come with me!"

venus knew how to do tea.

of course, karina already knew this, but she led them to the central pavilion in the gardens— a white-pillared gazebo, where a table was set with silverware, china cups, and of course a steaming pot of tea, the fragrance shifting as easily as venus's appearance— sometimes cinnamon, or jasmine, or mint. there were plates of scones, cookies, and muffins, fresh butter and jam— all of which, karina figured, were incredibly fattening; unless, of course, you were the immortal goddess of love.

venus sat— or held court— in a wicker peacock chair. she poured tea and served cakes without getting a speck on her clothes, her posture always perfect, her smile dazzling.

"oh, my sweet girls," the goddess said. "i do love charleston! the weddings i've attended in this gazebo— they bring tears to my eyes. and the elegant balls in the days of the old south. ah, they were lovely. many of these mansions still have statues of me in their elegant gardens, through they called me venus."

"which are you?" karina asked. "aphrodite or venus?"

the goddess gave karina a dazzling smile. "it is so good to see you again, karina ashwood. you are no longer accompanied by that dashing young man, jason grace, and your friend, reyna avila aamirez-arellano. i see that you finally did something with your— ah, face. makeup, perhaps?"

karina narrowed her eyes at the goddess. "no," she said plainly. "i'm not wearing any makeup."

venus let out a musical laugh. "oh, well it seems that you must've grown into your features. very happy for you, dear!"

karina glowered at the goddess, but bit back the words she was going to reply with, knowing it was better to not argue with a goddess.

the goddess sipped her tea. her eyes sparked mischievously. "annabeth chase, you've grown into quite a beautiful young lady. you really should do something with your hair, though. and hazel levesque, your clothes— "

"my clothes?" hazel looked down at her rumpled denim, not self-consciously, but baffled, as if she couldn't imagine what was wrong with them.

"mother!" piper said. "you're embarrassing me."

"well, i don't see why," the goddess said. "just because you don't appreciate my fashion tips, piper, doesn't mean the others won't. i could do a quick makeover for annabeth, hazel, and karina, perhaps silk ball gowns like mine— "

"mother!"

"fine," venus sighed. "an answer your question, karina, i am both aphrodite and venus. unlike many of my fellow olympians, i changed hardly at all from one age to the other. in fact, i like to think i haven't aged a bit!" her fingers fluttered around her face appreciatively. "love is love, after all, whether your greek or roman. you sure know that, karina. this civil war won't affect me as much as it will the others."

karina felt hot at her words, but venus paid no mind to it.

hazel nibbled a sugar cookie. "we're not in a war yet, my lady."

"oh, dear hazel." venus folded her fan. "such optimism, yet you have heartrending days ahead of you. of course war is coming. love and war always go together. they are the peaks of human emotion! evil and good, beauty and ugliness."

hazel set down her sugar cookie. she had a few crumbs on her chin, and karina liked the fact that hazel either didn't know or didn't care.

"what do you mean," hazel asked. "heartrending days?"

the  goddess laughed as if hazel were a cute puppy. "well, annabeth could give you some idea, as could karina. i once promised both of them to make their love life interesting. and didn't i?"

annabeth almost snapped the handle off her teacup, and karina felt her skin burn from her nails digging into her palms. venus had told karina many things that day a year ago, some things that she had hidden from herself and others for a very long time. and venus made sure to make it known to her and reyna. which made her have a personal grudge against the love goddess.

"interesting," annabeth said. "is a mild way of putting it."

"i'd put it as quite annoying." karina said, her tone clipped.

"well, i can't take credit for all your troubles," the goddess said. "but i do love twists and turns in a love story. oh, all of you are such excellent stories— i mean, girls. you do me proud!"

"mother," piper said. "is there a reason you're here?"

"hmm? oh, you mean besides the tea? i often come here. i love the view, the food, the atmosphere— you can just smell the romance and heartbreak in the air, can't you? centuries of it."

"all i smell is sweat and gun powder." karina said flatly, eyeing the jam tarts that were on display, as if they were poisoned.

venus pointed to a nearby mansion. "do you see that rooftop balcony? we had a part there the night the american civil war began. the shelling of fort sumter."

"that's it," annabeth said. "the island in the harbor. that's where the first fighting of the civil war happened. the confederates shelled the union troops and took the fort."

"oh, such a party!" venus said. "a string quartet, and all the men in their elegant new officers' uniforms. the women's dresses— you should've seen them! i danced with ares— or was he mars? i'm afraid i was a little giddy. and the beautiful bursts of lights across the harbor, the roar of the cannons giving the men an excuse to put their arms around their frightened sweethearts!"

karina's tea was cold. she hadn't eaten anything, but she felt like she wanted to throw up. "you're talking about the beginning of the bloodiest war in U.S history. over six hundred thousand people died— more americans than in world war one and world war two combined."

"and the refreshments!" venus continued. "ah, they were divine. general beauregard himself made an appearance. he was such a scoundrel. he was on his second wife, then, but you should have seen the way he looked at lisbeth cooper— "

"mother!" piper through her scone to the pigeons.

"yes, sorry," the goddess said. "to make the story short, i'm here to help you, girls. i doubt you'll be seeing hera much. your little quest has hardly made her welcome in the throne room. and the other gods are rather indisposed, as you know, torn between their roman and greek sides. some more than others." venus fixed her face on annabeth. "i suppose you've told your friends about your falling-out with your mother?"

heat rose to annabeth's cheeks. karina, hazel, and piper looked at hee curiously. though, karina had a sort of idea of what had happened, just from the conversations her and percy have had recently.

"falling-out?" hazel asked.

"an argument," annabeth said. "it's nothing."

"nothing!" the goddess said. "well, i don't know about that. athena was the most greek of all goddesses. the patron of athens, after all. when the romans took over . . . oh, they adopted athena after a fashion. she became minerva, the goddess of crafts and cleverness. but the romans had other war gods who were more to their taste, more reliably roman— like bellona— "

"reyna's mom," piper muttered.

"yes, indeed," the goddess agreed, casting a quick glance at karina, to which the girl just looked away. "i had a lovely talk with reyna, along with karina, right here in the park. and the romans had mars, of course. and later, there was mithras— not even properly greek or roman, but the legionaries were crazy about his cult. i always found him crass and terribly nouveau dieu, personally. at any rate, the romans quite sidelined poor athena. they took away most of her military importance. the greeks never forgave the romans for that insult. neither did athena."

"um . . . sorry." karina mumbled guiltily, feeling quite awkward in this conversation.

it seemed annabeth either didn't hear her, or just didn't pay her any mind, because she looked completely out of focus.

"the mark of athena," annabeth said. "it leads to a statue, doesn't it. it leads to . . . to the statue."

venus smiled. "you are clever, like your mother. understand, though, your siblings, the children of athena, have been searching for centuries. none has succeeded in recovering the statue. in the meantime, they've been keeping alive the greek feud with the romans. every civil war . . . so much bloodshed and heartbreak . . . has been orchestrated largely by athena's children."

"that's . . . " annabeth trailed off.

"romantic?" venus offered. "yes. i suppose it is."

"but . . . " it seemed annabeth was trying to clear fog from her brain. "the mark of athena, how does it work? is it a series of clues, or a trail set by athena—"

"hmm." venus looked politely bored. "i couldn't say. i don't believe athena created the mark consciously. if she knew where her statue was, she'd simply tell you where to find it. no . . . i'd guess the mark is more like a spiritual trail of bread crumbs. it's a connection between the statue and the children of the goddess. the statue wants to be found, you see, but it can only be freed by the most worthy."

"and for thousands of years," annabeth said. "no one has managed."

"hold on," piper said. "what statue are we talking about?"

the goddess laughed. "oh, i'm sure annabeth can fill you in. at any rate, the clue you need is close by: a map of sorts, left by children of athena in 1861– a remembrance that will start you on your path, once you reach rome. but as you said, annabeth chase, no one has ever succeeded in following the mark of athena to its end. there you will face your worst fear— the fear of every child of athena. and even if you survive, how will you use your reward? for war or for peace?"

"this map," annabeth said, trying to stay calm. "where is it?"

"guys!" hazel pointed to the sky.

circling above the palmetto trees were two large eagles. higher up, descending rapidly, was a flying chariot pulled by pegasi. apparently leo's diversion with buford the end table hadn't worked— at least not for long.

venus smeared butter on her muffin as if she had all the time in the world. "oh, the map is at fort sumter, of course." she pointed her butter knife toward the island across the harbor. "it looks like the romans have arrived to cut you off. i'd get back to your ship in a hurry if i were you. would you care for some tea to go?"

they didn't take any tea.

and they didn't make it to the ship.

halfway across the dock, three giant eagles descended in front of them. each deposited a roman commando in purple and denim with glittering gold armor, sword, and shield. the eagles flew away, and the roman in the middle, who was scrawnier than the others, raised his visor.

"surrender to rome!" octavian shrieked.

hazel drew her calvary sword and grumbled, "fat chance, octavian."

karina rolled her eyes, unsheathing her gladius. "i thought i had actually escaped this bitch for once."

by himself, the skinny augur wouldn't have bothered her, but the two other guys— she knew them as elias and stephen— were seasoned warriors, a lot bigger and stronger than karina wanted to deal with, especially since piper and annabeth were armed with only daggers.

piper raised her hands in a placating gesture. "octavian, what happened at camp was a setup. we can explain."

karina sighed. "he can't— "

"can't hear you!" octavian yelled, finishing her sentence for her. "wax in our ears— standard procedure when battling evil sirens. now, throw your weapons and turn around slowly so i can bind your hands.

"let me skewer him," hazel muttered. "please."

"share him," karina muttered, twisting her gladius through her fingers.

the ship was only fifty feet away, but karina saw no sign for coach hedge on deck. he was probably below, watching his stupid martial arts programs. jason's group wasn't due back until sunset, and percy would be underwater, unaware of the invasion. if karina could get on board, she could use the ballista; but there was no way to get around these three romans.

they were running out of time. the eagles circled overhead, crying out as if to alert their brethren: hey, some tasty green demigods over here! karina couldn't see the flying chariot anymore, but she assumed it was close by. she had to figure out something before more romans arrived.

she needed help . . . some kind of distress signal to coach hedge, or even better— percy.

"well?" octavian demanded. his two friends brandished their swords.

very slowly, karina sheathed her gladius to its necklace form. instead for dropping it, she tossed it as far as she could into the water.

octavian made a squeaking sound. "what was that for? i didn't say toss it! that could've been evidence, or spoils of war! especially from the traitor you become, karina."

karina gave her best dumb smile, like: oh, silly me.

karina was surprised that octavian was fooled by her trick, considering he'd known her for over six years. but, he huffed in exasperation.

"you other three . . . " he pointed his blade at hazel, piper, and annabeth. "put your weapons on the dock. no funny bus— "

all around the romans, charleston harbor exploded like a las vegas fountain putting on a show. when the wall of seawater subsided, the three romans were in the bay, spluttering and frantically trying to stay afloat in their armor. percy stood on the dock, holding karina's necklace.

"you dropped this," he said, totally poker-faced.

karina threw her arms around him. "gods, you're amazing!"

"guys," hazel interrupted. she had a little smile on her face. "we need to hurry."

down in the water, octavian yelled, "get me out of here! i'll kill you!"

"tempting," percy called down.

"what?" octavian shouted. he was holding on to one of his guards, who was having trouble keeping them both afloat.

karina wiggled her fingers at the three boys, and all of a sudden they heard the sounds of octavian splashing in the water, shrieking in fear, saying: "something's touching me! i'm getting killed! something's biting me! AHH!"

karina stifled her laughs as her friends looked to her in confusion.

"i just wrapped some seaweed around his ankle," karina explained, a wide grin showing her on face, and percy laughed into his palm, giving her a high-five.

hazel still had a small smile on her face, but her eyes held slight concern. "we can't let them drown, can we?"

karina gave a single nod. "we can."

"they won't," percy promised, giving karina a look. "i've got water circulating around their feet. as soon as we're out of range, i'll spit them ashore."

piper grinned. "nice."

they climbed aboard the argo II, and annabeth and karina ran to the helm. "piper, get below. use the sink in the galley for an iris-message. warn jason to get back here!"

piper nodded and raced off.

"hazel, go find coach hedge and tell him to get his furry ass on deck!"

"right!"

"and percy, karina— we need to get this ship to fort sumter."

percy and karina nodded, and ran to the mast. annabeth took the helm.

karina had never seen percy control a boat larger than a sailboat before with only his willpower. but this time, he didn't disappoint. ropes flew on their own— releasing the dock ties, weighing the anchor. the sails unfurled and caught the wind. meanwhile annabeth fired the engine. the oars extended with a sound like machine-gun fire, and the argo II turned from the dock, heading for the island in the distance. karina contributed by making the ship sail faster, having the plants below the water propel them forward, making the trip as fast as possible.

"nice thinking, rina!" percy complemented from behind her, and she shot him a thumbs up in return, focusing on the movement of the plants below them.

the three eagles still circled overhead, but they made no attempt to land on the ship, probably because festus the figurehead blew fire whenever they got close. more eagles were flying in formation toward fort sumter— at least a dozen. if each of them carried a roman demigod . . . that was a lot of enemies. it didn't feel right to say that about her own camp, but, this was war at this point.

coach hedge came pounding up the stairs with hazel at his hooves.

"where are they?" he demanded. "who do i kill?"

"no killing!" annabeth ordered. "just defend the ship!"

"but they interrupted a chuck norris movie!"

piper emerged from below. "got a message through to jason. kind of fuzzy, but he's already on his way. he should be— oh! there!"

soaring over the city, heading in their direction, was a giant bald eagle, unlike the golden roman birds.

"frank!" hazel said.

leo was holding on to the eagle's feet, and even front the ship, karina could hear him screaming and cursing.

behind them flew jason, riding the wind.

"never seen jason fly before," percy grumbled. "ke looks like a blond superman."

karina pinched his arm, and piper scolded him, saying, "this is not the time! look, they're in trouble!"

sure enough, the roman flying chariot had descended from a cloud and was diving straight toward them. jason and frank veered out of the way, pulling up to avoid getting trampled by the pegasi. the charioteers fired their bows. arrows whistled under leo's feet, which led to more screaming and cursing. jason and frank were forced to overshoot the argo II and fly toward fort sumter.

"i'll get 'em!" yelled coach hedge.

he spun the port ballista. before annabeth could yell something like, "don't be stupid!" hedge fired. a flaming spear rocketed toward the chariot.

"no!" karina screamed, watching as it exploded over the heads of the pegasi and three them into a panic. unfortunately it also singed frank's wings and sent him spiraling out of control. leo slipped from his grasp. the chariot shot toward fort sumter, slamming into jason.

karina watched in horror in as jason— obviously dazed and in pain— lunged for leo, caught him, then struggled to gain altitude. he only managed to slow their fall. they disappeared behind the ramparts of the fort. frank tumbled after them. then the chariot dropped somewhere inside and hit with a bone- shattering CRACK! one broken wheel spun into the air.

"coach!" piper screamed.

"what?" hedge demanded. "that was just a warning shot!"

"you're warning shot almost killed jason, leo, and frank!" karina exclaimed, her fists clenched.

annabeth gunned the engines. the hill shuddered as they picked up speed. the docks of the island were only a hundred yards away now, but a dozen more eagles were soaring overhead, each carrying a roman demigod in its claws.

the argo II's crew would be outnumbered at least three to one.

"percy," annabeth said, "we're going to come in hard. i need you to control the water so we don't smash into the docks. and karina, i need you to make the plants to latch onto the ship to slow us down as we approach. once we're there, you're going to have to hold off the attackers. the rest of you help them guard the ship."

"but— jason!" piper said.

"frank and leo!" hazel added.

"i'll find them," annabeth promised. "i've got to figure out where the map is. and i'm pretty sure i'm the only one who can do that."

"the fort is crawling with romans," percy warned. "you'll have to fight your way through, find our friends— assuming they're okay— find this map, and get everybody back alive. all on your own?"

"yeah," karina agreed. "let me come with you to at least help protect you. i know how romans fight. i am one."

annabeth shook her head. "i need you with percy to defend the ship. you two working together will only help me. and, besides, this is just an average day for me."

she embraced percy. "whatever you do, don't let them take this ship!"

annabeth raced off, and percy and karina turned to each other, their eyes locking in determination.

as the ship came speeding into the harbor, percy extended his arms out in front of him, creating a wall of water to slow down and stabilize the ship as they neared the dock.

karina closed her eyes, and moved her arms around her in swirling motions, as if she was moving with the plants. all along the bottoms and sides of the ship, think tendrils of seaweed and grass latched itself to the boat, keeping themselves rooted to the seafloor, and stopping the argo II from crashing onto the shore.

once the ship had finally stopped, karina opened her eyes, and set her arms down, her muscles aching slightly. she turned to percy, who was taking a deep breath, trying to gain enough energy to continue, knowing that the fight only just started.

a few moments later, karina saw the three figures of jason, leo, and frank sprinting toward the ship, looking mostly unharmed— which surprised her. how they survived that fall with no injuries, she would never know.

"jason!" karina breathed in relief as he stumbled onto the ship, immediately wrapping her arms around him.

he was completely out of breath, but nonetheless hugged her back, whispering, "i'm okay, rina. you can stop squeezing me."

karina rolled her eyes, and let go. but suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a large eagle diving straight for the ship, and with a immediate decision, karina ripped her necklace off her neck, releasing her gladius, and instantly slammed the tip into the deck of the ship.

she could feel the waves of energy transporting themselves through the ship, and all the way to the seafloor, and immediately, a thick pillar of rock shot from the water, knocking the eagle right out of the sky just as it was about to grab piper with its sharp talons.

the six demigods turned to karina in shock and bewilderment, piper still crouched on the floor from trying to avoid the eagle just seconds ago. they were in shock at how fast she had reacted.

leo blinked. "remind me to never sneak up on you. ever."

karina shook her head. "that's not going to keep all of them away. we need to create a bigger diversion."

the other demigods snapped themselves out of their state of shock, and began to nervously think of ideas on what to do.

piper suddenly snapped her fingers. "i've got it." he turned to percy and jason. "but you two are going to have to behave."

percy and jason glanced at each other wearily.

karina rolled her eyes. "tell us your plan, pipes."

piper explained how if the two boys combined their powers together, they could create a storm large enough to blast any eagles and legionaries out of the sky.

surprisingly, both boys agreed with no argument. maybe it was because karina had both of the boys beside her with a tight grip on both of their hands, waiting for the moment they refuse to twist both of their hands into painful angles.

but, they're not going to mention that.

percy and jason stood together, their swords crossed. the two boys began working as one, summoning the sky and the sea to do their bidding. water and wind churned together. waves heaved against the ramparts and lighting flashed. giants eagles were knocked out of the sky. wreakage of the flying chariot burned in the water, and coach hedge began to swing a mounted crossbow, taking potshots at the roman birds as they flew overhead.

karina began lifting rocks from the water, throwing them at injurable, but not fatal, parts of the eagles and romans bodies. the slabs were as big as her, and she hurled them as if they were frisbees at oncoming attackers, throw them away from the ship.

suddenly, from down on the dock, octavian yelled: "stop her!"

karina saw the sprinting figure of annabeth chase weaving through the romans lines. a spear flew past her face, just barely missing, and the argo II was already pulling away from the dock.

karina was about to race over to the side to help her up, but saw that piper was already doing that. she was at the gangplank, her hand outstretched.

annabeth leaped and grabbed piper's hand. the gangplank fell into the sea, and the two girls tumbled onto the dock.

"go!" annabeth screamed. "go, go, go!"

the engines tumbled beneath her. the oars churned. jason changed the course of the wind, and percy called up a massive wave, which lifted the ship higher than the fort's walls and pushed it out to sea. by the time the argo II reached top speed, fort sumter was only a blot in the distance, and they were racing across the waves toward the ancient lands.

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i wonder what venus exposed to karina when they talked lol 😘😘

also sort of thinking abt making a one-shot book for this story after i finish this ,,,,,

it would include percina ofc ,,, but also like scenes from her childhood w reyna and jason and like cute bff moments w everyone else !!!