PREDICTABLY, KAT FELL asleep after meeting Hercules. She was fucking tired, man.

So tired, in fact, that she'd completely missed meeting the dolphin men and the golden man 'cause apparently they'd knocked her out while she was sleeping. Which, like, what the fuck? Now she had a throbbing headache.

Frank woke her up after everything exciting happened. She pouted, wincing at the pain in her head, but she helped the crew return their stupid stolen supplies to the right places by speeding stuff over. Then they tidied up while Hedge had a field day on the enemy ship, breaking everything he could find with his baseball bat.

That was a shame. Kat wanted to be a pirate when she grew up. She wanted to meet those pirates. And they probably had a shit ton of treasure . . .

Percy loaded the enemy's weapons back on the pirate ship. Their storeroom was full of treasure, but he insisted that they touch none of it. Jason had to physically restrain Kat from leaping over and stealing something.

"I can sense about six million dollars' worth of gold aboard," Hazel said. "Plus diamonds, rubies—"

"Six m-million?" Frank stammered. "Canadian dollars or American?"

"Leave it," Percy said. "It's part of the tribute."

"Tribute?" Hazel asked.

"Oh." Piper nodded. "Kansas."

Jason yanked Kat back after she charged forward. "Crazy. But I like it. Rina, can you please stop fighting me?"

"There's so much goldddddd!" Kat whined. "Give it to me."

She wasn't let out of Jason's grasp, so she had to sulk and watch as Percy and Leo went on the ship, then she watched as the crew ( minus her and Jason ) cut the grappling lines. Piper brought out her new horn of plenty and, on Percy's direction, willed it to spew Diet Coke, which came out with the strength of a fire hose, dousing the enemy deck. The ship sank like the fucking Titanic, filling with Diet Coke and seawater.

"Dionysus," Percy called, holding up Chrysaor's golden mask. "Or Bacchus — whatever. You made this victory possible, even if you weren't here. Your enemies trembled at your name . . . or your Diet Coke, or something. So, yeah, thank you."

Kat snickered at him as he kept talking, "we give this ship to you as tribute. We hope you like it."

"Six million in gold," muttered Kat. "He'd better like it, since I didn't steal any of it."

"Shh," scolded Hazel. "Precious metal isn't all that great. Believe me."

"You do you, Hazelnut," said Kat. "Personally, I'm all up for eating the rich, but you do you."

Percy threw the golden mask aboard the vessel, which was now sinking even faster, brown fizzy liquid spewing out the trireme's oar slots and bubbling from the cargo hold, turning the sea frothy brown.

Percy summoned a wave, and the enemy ship was swamped. Leo steered the Argo II away as the pirate vessel disappeared underwater.

"Isn't that polluting?" Piper asked.

"I wouldn't worry," Jason told her. "If Bacchus likes it, the ship should vanish."

After their bout with the pirates, they decided to fly the rest of the way to Rome. Jason insisted he was well enough to take sentry duty, along with Hedge, who was still so charged with adrenaline that every time the ship hit turbulence, he swung his bat and yelled, "Die!"

Kat glared at Jason, before reaching up to lightly brush her fingers over his bruises. "I'll forgive you . . . for now," she told him.

He winced for a moment before giving her a small but victorious smile. "Good."

"You should put some nectar on those," she frowned, taking her fingers away from his face.

"I should be saying that to you," he countered, one of his hands going up to touch the side of her head, which made her wince in pain she'd completely forgotten about. Thanks, Jason. "What did they do to you, Rina?" he asked softly.

"I was asleep, don't ask me."

"Uh huh," he grabbed the remaining nectar that apparently had been used to heal Leo — that bitch — and gently brushed away her hair. Dutifully, she put all of her hair on one side as he dropped nectar into her hair. She hissed, but the pounding in her head lessened.

"Спасибо," she whispered, feeling like if she talked too loudly she'd ruin the moment. "Moya milaya."

Jason hummed in acknowledgement, one of his fingers twining around a lock of her hair. "You should stop distracting me from guard duty."

"Aw, but you love distractions." Kat smirked. "Especially if I'm the distraction."

He smiled at that, so she figured he agreed with her. "Rina, you need to shower."

She gasped. "Are you saying I stink?"

"No, but there's blood in your hair."

"Holy shit, why did you not lead with that?" Kat pulled away from him, huffing as she walked away. "Put on the goddamn nectar, milaya!"

She huffed again when she saw that the bathroom door was closed, but she went to her room because she needed to grab clothes and shit.

Piper was sitting on her bed, rubbing her eyes. "Rina?"

"Oh," said Kat. "Hi."

Piper frowned. "What's up with you?"

"I got knocked out," responded Kat.

"Again?" asked Piper in disbelief.

"No, before," Kat said, picking out some clothes that were in her dresser — she didn't know if basically just a bra and shorts was a good option, but it'd be comfy. "I got hit in the head as if I'm Jason, malyshka. Jason! Do I look like Jason? That's literally why I'm attracted to him. Then again, I'd date myself."

Piper rolled her eyes so hard she probably saw hell back there or something. "The point, Kat?"

"There's blood in my hair, malyshka," Kat whined. "I have to wash it out."

"Oh," said Piper. "So you're not gonna go back to sleep?"

"Probably not, I'm not tired," Kat walked up to Piper, running her nails along her scalp. "Hot or cold shower?"

"Cold," Piper answered. "I want you to suffer."

"Wow," Kat backed away, shaking her head. "You want me to suffer?"

"What did I just say?"

She pouted, picking up her discarded clothes and going to the door. "I'm going to take the hottest shower I've ever taken before."

The corners of Piper's mouth quirked upward. "Is that 'cause you're taking it?"

"You cannot flirt with me after wanting me to suffer," Kat harrumphed, leaving the room before Piper could say anything else.

She took her shower, paying attention to the part of her hair with blood in it but also that shit hurt, and once she was finished she went back to her room to see Piper fiddling with her guitar.

"Can you teach me how to play?" she asked.

"How many times have I taught you to play before?" Kat smirked, tossing her clothes in a basket for Buford to clean.

"Maybe I just like it when you teach me things," said Piper, an almost identical smirk on her really kissable lips. "Especially things you're good at."

Kat rolled her eyes, walking over to sit on the bed. "Or maybe you just like sitting on my lap," she said. "I don't mind. Did you turn the amp on?"

". . . whoops."

They sat there and played guitar for basically hours until Jason opened the door, smiling at them both.

"Hey," he said. "I hate to interrupt you both, but we're here."

"When in Rome," Kat sighed wistfully. "I love Rome, it's so pretty. Have you been before?"

"No," Piper and Jason said in unison.

"Ugh, we should walk around," said Kat, poking at Piper's back. "Get off of me."

Kat could practically feel Piper rolling her eyes as she got off of her. "Fine, jeez!"

"Come on, come on, come on!" Kat squealed, getting to her feet and sprinting to the upper deck before either one of her partners could follow.

The sky was brilliant blue, as if the stormy weather had never happened. The sun rose over the distant hills, so everything below them shone and sparkled like the entire city of Rome had just come out of the car wash.

The city seemed to have no regard for the limits of geography. It spread through hills and valleys, jumped over the Tiber with dozens of bridges, and just kept sprawling to the horizon. Streets and alleys zigzagged with no rhyme or reason through quilts of neighborhoods. Glass office buildings stood next to excavation sites. A cathedral stood next to a line of Roman columns, which stood next to a modern soccer stadium. In some neighborhoods, old stucco villas with red-tiled roofs crowded the cobblestone streets, so that if Kat concentrated just on those areas, she could imagine she was back in ancient times. Everywhere she looked, there were wide piazzas and traffic-clogged streets. Parks cut across the city with a crazy collection of palm trees, pines, junipers, and olive trees, as if Rome couldn't decide what part of the world it belonged to — or maybe it just believed all the world still belonged to Rome.

Kat propped her head in her hands as she stared out at the city. She's an avid traveler, of course she's been to Rome before. When she'd come here as a child, her tutor had told her stories about her Roman ancestors, which had been so boring she'd wanted to run away during those stories.

But now, unlike any other time she'd come here, it was like she'd come full circle. Every road leads to Rome or whatever; including this quest. What would her ancestors think of her now?

"We're setting down in that park," Leo announced, pointing to a wide green space dotted with palm trees. "Let's hope the Mist makes us look like a large pigeon or something."

Gods, Kat wished she could control the Mist. Unfortunately, it's not a skill she's capable of learning, which is a shame. Maybe that's because she doesn't have enough patience. Maybe that's because she has too many skills and the world won't let her have that one.

The noise of traffic was all around them, but the park itself was peaceful and deserted. To their left, a green lawn sloped toward a line of woods. An old villa nestled in the shade of some weird-looking pine trees with thin curvy trunks that shot up thirty or forty feet, then sprouted into puffy canopies.

To their right, snaking along the top of a hill, was a long brick wall with notches at the top for archers — maybe a medieval defensive line, maybe Ancient Roman. Kat should know. She doesn't.

To the north, about a mile away through the folds of the city, the top of the Colosseum rose above the rooftops, looking just like it did last time she was here.

Jason pointed to the base of the archers' wall, where steps led down into some kind of tunnel.

"I think I know where we are," he said. "That's the Tomb of the Scipios."

Percy frowned. "Scipio . . . Reyna's pegasus?"

"No," Annabeth put in. "They were a noble Roman family, and . . . wow, this place is amazing."

Jason nodded. "I've studied maps of Rome before. I've always wanted to come here, but . . ."

Nobody bothered finishing that sentence. Looking at her friends' faces, Kat could tell they were just as much in awe as she was her first time coming here. They'd made it. They'd landed in Rome — the Rome. They were such amateurs. Not Kat though.

"Plans?" Hazel asked. "Nico has until sunset — at best. And this entire city is supposedly getting destroyed today."

Percy nodded. "You're right. Annabeth . . . did you zero in on that spot from your bronze map?"

"Yes," she said carefully, her eyes dark. "It's on the Tiber River. I think I can find it, but I should—"

"Take me along," Percy finished. "Yeah, you're right."

Annabeth glared daggers at him. "That's not—"

"Safe," he supplied. "One demigod walking through Rome alone. I'll go with you as far as the Tiber. We can use that letter of introduction, hopefully meet the river god Tiberinus. Maybe he can give you some help or advice. Then you can go on alone from there."

They had a silent staring contest, which made Kat snicker. Then again, everything makes her snicker.

"Fine," Annabeth muttered. "Hazel, now that we're in Rome, do you think you can pinpoint Nico's location?"

Hazel blinked, as if coming out of a trance from watching the Percy / Annabeth Show. "Um . . . hopefully, if I get close enough. I'll have to walk around the city. Frank, would you come with me?"

Frank beamed. "Absolutely."

"And, uh . . . Leo," Hazel added. "It might be a good idea if you came along too. The fish-centaurs said we'd need your help with something mechanical."

"Yeah," said Leo, "no problem."

Frank's smile turned into something more like Chrysaor's mask.

Kat was no genius when it came to relationships, but she could feel the tension among those three. Ever since they'd gotten knocked into the Atlantic, they hadn't acted quite the same. It wasn't just the two guys competing for Hazel. It was like the three of them were locked together, acting out some kind of murder mystery, but they hadn't yet discovered which of them was the victim. Kat didn't want any of them to be victims. They were, like, basically her babies.

Piper drew her knife and set it on the rail. "Jason, Rina, and I can watch the ship for now. I'll see what Katoptris can show me. But, Hazel, if you guys get a fix on Nico's location, don't go in there by yourselves. Come back and get us. It'll take all of us to fight the giants."

"Piperrrrrr!" Kat whined. "I wanted to go see Rome! It's such a pretty city this time of year."

"Charming, Kat," said Piper. "And, respectfully, too bad. You'll show us the city another time."

Kat frowned, rolling her eyes. "Ugh, fine."

"We'll see if you have time to explore," said Percy. "How about we plan to meet back here at . . . what?"

"Three this afternoon?" Jason suggested. "That's probably the latest we could rendezvous and still hope to fight the giants and save Nico. If something happens to change the plan, try to send an Iris-message."

The others nodded in agreement, and instinctively Kat glanced over at Annabeth. She'd be on a different schedule. She might be back at three, or much later, or never. But she would be on her own, searching for the Athena Parthenos.

Hedge grunted. "That'll give me time to eat the coconuts — I mean dig the coconuts out of our hull. Percy, Annabeth . . . I don't like you two going off on your own. Just remember: behave. If I hear about any funny business, I will ground you until the Styx freezes over."

"We'll be back soon," he promised, looking around at all of them. "Good luck, everyone."

Leo lowered the gangplank, and Percy and Annabeth were first off the ship.

i used to update daily and now look at me. sorry school's being a bitch i'm probably not gonna get this done till next summer whoops

<3 maybel