Page 151 of The Court of the Dead
The worddinnermade him excited. The wordfarewellmade him incredibly sad.
Already?he thought.
But he managed to get up and make himself presentable. Then he followed Will out of the barracks. The sunset was spectacular over the Berkeley Hills. In the distance, New Rome glittered like a dragon’s treasure hoard. The Via Principalis had been transformed into a huge picnic area with white cloths, fresh flowers, and loads and loads of savory food on the tables.
As soon as Nico emerged from the barracks, the entire legion cheered, whooping and hollering in a clear breach of military discipline. Their praetors, Hazel and Frank, cheered right along with them, raising glasses of fruit punch in Nico’s honor.
Nico blinked back tears. Only days ago, he’d felt so uncomfortable, so frustrated, so unsure he would ever get on the legion’s good side. And now…he had several hundred new best friends, including the mythics, who sat shoulder to shoulder with their demigod hosts, enjoying the party along with everyone else.
Nico loved that he could still be surprised by his world.
After what felt like a million hugs, handshakes, pats on the back, and good-natured jokes, Nico and Will settled in to eat across from Hazel and Frank, with their friends from the Battle of Golden Gate Park all around them.
Nico inhaled a brisket sandwich, followed by a Cyclops-size serving of potato salad, before he paid much attention to the conversation around him.
“. . . all happened sofast,” Will was saying. “In some ways, I feel like I’ve been at Camp Jupiter forever. But in other ways, I feel like I just got here. I kind of don’t want to leave.”
Frank cupped his hand to his ear. “I’m sorry—could you repeat that? You’re not anxious to get back to the ‘clearly superior camp’?”
Will threw a biscuit at him, and everyone laughed.
“Wedoneed to get back home, though,” said Will. He turned to Nico. “I talked with Chiron not long ago. The campers miss us, and they need some help with winter training. Also, he wants a tessera.Mucheasier to do Iris-messages with them.”
“Sorry,” Hazel said. “I’m afraid that’s proprietary Roman technology.”
More biscuits flew across the table.
Savannah grinned. “I will visit you at Camp Half-Blood someday. And I’ll teach your Hephaestus cabin people how to make tesserae. If my praetors will allow it.”
“Hmm,” Frank said. “We’ll think about it.”
“I’m gonna miss you guys!” said Yazan. “Will you come back soon?”
“Dude, they haven’t evenleftyet,” said Deion. “Besides, we have our own quest to train for, remember?”
Nico frowned. “Another quest, already?”
“It’s still kind of unofficial,” said Hazel. “They’ll have to visit Temple Hill, get a good omen from the augurs, et cetera, but…Do you wanna explain, Sav?”
Savannah took Arielle’s hand. “My friend here had an idea. About how to help me.”
Arielle grinned, showing her fangs. “I thought it might help Savannah if we went out to find the empousai who took her family from her. Give them a good talking-to. Get some closure, if we can.”
Nico guessed thatgood talking-towas a euphemism forstomp them with extreme prejudice. He also felt a twinge of worry at the idea of Yazan, Deion, and Savannah heading out on a quest, even with Arielle’s help. They were so young, so untested.
Then he realized he was thinking very much like an elder, like Chiron or Mr. D. Also, his friends were no longer untested. They’d proven themselves true heroes over the past week.
“That’s amazing,” he said. “Just be careful, okay?”
“Yes, Dad,” said Yazan. “And thank you. For being so nice to us.”
“Dude, we should go to Temple Hill right now!” said Deion. “I’ve got a teddy bear we can sacrifice!”
And off they ran. Those crazy kids and their sacrificial stuffed animals.
Savannah, however, lingered for a moment.
“You changed my life,” she told Nico quietly. “I won’t forget that.”
