"Attack!" Octavian yelled, as he and two other warriors soared on their giant eagles towards the dock.

I watched them land in front of Hazel and Annabeth, and that other Greek, Piper. The girl who – Stop thinking about that, I told myself. I needed to focus on our task. And that was to battle the Greeks.

Well, they weren't all Greeks. Hazel and Frank and Jason were all Romans. Respectable, proper Romans too. Hazel was caring and brave, Frank was a good-hearted centurion, and Jason – well, he was a very good praetor and a very good friend.

At least, he used to be. Now, I honestly didn't know about him. He had changed so much, been made into a Greek… I wasn't even sure I could trust him anymore. But they were all faithful legionnaires and friends. Were. Not are, I reminded myself.

I turned around and checked on the other fighters. They were doing well – already by the ship, their weapons ready.

All around me was battle – just like the old times, Romans and Greeks fighting each other. Just like every time for as long as anyone could remember. But this time, I had been the one to declare war. It's necessary, I thought.

Not just because we were old enemies – that wouldn't be fair. They were given a chance. We were ready to work together. Except – they betrayed us. They attacked on us from their warship, and we had no choice but to go to war. I was still confused why they'd fired – it wasn't… well, believable. As much as I didn't trust them, it was strange how they'd attacked.

That other leader – Annabeth – she was telling the truth. She hadn't been planning on betraying us. That was for sure. Otherwise she would've been torn to pieces by my 'lie detectors' (who were loyally by my side right now).

And I knew the Romans in their little group – Frank, Hazel, and Jason – would never do something like that. I knew them well enough to know that. But, it must've been their fault somehow. They had caused this war. It certainly wasn't us, so it had to be them.

I checked back on how Octavian was doing. He wasn't there anymore. My eyes turned to the sea, where the rim of the ramparts were. I just had a sudden urge to look there… oh. I saw her. Annabeth, the daughter of Minerva, I mean, Athena. She pulled a small bronze disk out of a cannon, quickly scanned it, and tossed it into her bag. Then she turned around hurriedly, like she was ready to bolt.

Seeing her face made me angry again – even though she didn't really betray us. But she – and the rest of their crew - had caused other problems. Now our two groups were at war, because of them. They'd sailed away like traitors, and there was no other option but to oppose them.

She had started this, and she could end this. If I could take her back to Camp Jupiter – she could be put on trial, executed, and peace could be restored. The legionnaires would be satisfied with the surrender of one of their leaders. We could end this battle. Otherwise, since we wouldn't and couldn't follow them over the Mare Nostrum, we'd have to attack their precious camp, making things a lot more complicated.

"Rushing off?" I asked.

Annabeth looked startled. She looked around us, then faced me. She looked nervous. "Reyna," she said, "what happened at Camp Jupiter was Gaea's fault. Eidolons, possessing spirits –"

"Save your explanations," I cut her off. "You'll need them for the trial." It was believable. Gaea could've caused this. But they were to blame, at least a little. It didn't matter. I needed to take her prisoner, and then war could be prevented.

Aurum and Argentum slinked forward. They bared their teeth and growled. They weren't just lie detectors. They knew an enemy when they saw one.

"If you let Gaea drive our camps apart, the giants have already won," Annabeth told me. I already knew that. I didn't need her to tell me what would happen. Did she think she was the only one who'd figured that out? She probably thought she was so smart, being a daughter of the wisdom goddess. It made me angrier. "They'll destroy the Romans," she continued, "the Greeks, the gods, the whole mortal world."

"Don't you think I know that?" I snapped. "What choice have you left me? Octavian smells blood. He's whipped the legion into a frenzy, and I can't stop it. Surrender to me. I'll bring you back to New Rome for trial. It won't be fair. You'll be painfully executed. But it may be enough to stop further violence. Octavian won't be satisfied, of course, but I think I can convince the others to stand down."

"It wasn't me!" she protested.

"It doesn't matter!" I said sharply. Really! Couldn't she see the simplest things? Wasn't she supposed to be wise? "Someone must pay for what happened. Let it be you. It's the better option."

She seemed shaken by this. "Better than what?" she asked.

Did she know anything? "Use that wisdom of yours," I told her. "If you escape today, we won't follow. I told you – not even a madman would cross the sea to the ancient lands. If Octavian can't have vengeance on your ship, he'll turn his attention to Camp Half–Blood. The legion will march on your territory. We will raze it and salt the earth."

Annabeth considered this, looking panicked now, terrified even. Her camp wouldn't stand a chance against our forces, the forces of New Rome. Rome was known for its powerful legions. I thought for a second she might come with me, help bring back peace. Just for a second.

"I'm going," she said, suddenly sounding sure of herself. "I'm following the Mark of Athena to Rome."

I shook my head. She really was crazy. Anyone – everyone – knew the ancient lands were not somewhere you'd want to travel. You'd have to be completely out of your mind – which I guess they were – to even think about going there. The stories about that sea… "You have no idea what awaits you," I told her.

"Yes, I do," Annabeth insisted. "This grudge between our camps… I can fix it."

She really thought she could repair thousands of years of damage between the Greeks and Romans by herself? "Our grudge is thousands of years old," I informed her, "How can one person fix it?"

I could tell she was trying hard to think of an answer to that question. "The quest has to succeed," she said. "You can try to stop me, in which case we'll have to fight to the death. Or you can let me go, and I'll try to save both our camps. If you must march on to Camp Half-Blood, at least try to delay. Slow Octavian down."

So she really was doing it. I could tell from the stubbornness in her voice. She wouldn't be swayed. "One daughter of a war goddess to another," I told her tightly. "I respect your boldness. But if you leave now, you doom your camp to destruction."

This time, Annabeth kept certainty in her voice. "Don't underestimate Camp Half-Blood," she warned me.

"You've never seen the legion at war," I shot back. We stared down each other for a moment. Then I heard Octavian yell from the docks.

"Kill them!" he shrieked. "Kill them all!" He was with his guards, screaming at the other legionnaires, encouraging them as they swam towards the Greek ship. The swimmers were trying to shield themselves from… a storm.

Percy Jackson and Jason Grace were standing together with their swords crossed. They were… working together, combining their powers over the sky and the sea, creating one massive, destructive, powerful storm. The seawater mixed with strong gusts of wind, knocking down Romans. Lightning crackled down from the sky, and huge waves crashed. All around us, it struck people – and eagles – down, wrecking chariots and weapons. It was war.

"You see?" I said angrily. "The spear is thrown. Our people are at war."

"Not if I succeed," Annabeth countered.

I knew she was hanging on to the hope that she could solve this problem, but hope didn't always help. I'd learned that the hard way.

I had hoped that when Jason came back, that everything would go back to normal, and that he would rule by my side, us together making New Rome stronger and stronger, defeating Gaea and her armies. Instead, he came back turned into a Greek, with that girl Piper beside him.

I had hoped when he came that the two camps, as unlikely as it seemed, would be able to work together despite our history, and combine forces, and that the legion would accept them. Instead, that Greek had to go and fire on us, making all hope of the two camps ever working as one vanish.

I had hoped that Annabeth would cooperate and end this dispute. Instead, she got an insane idea in her head to go to the forbidden lands and go on a doomed quest, all by herself, in hope of resolving the conflict.

But mostly, I had hoped that New Rome would triumph through all problems, that I could do whatever it took to lead the Twelfth Legion to victory. I knew that as praetor, I was responsible for whatever situation we were in. If there was a problem, people would blame me. I was supposed to solve every crisis, end every quarrel, or else people would hate me. I had to do it by myself.

Now, demigods were at war with each other. If we couldn't even stop fighting among ourselves, there was no way we could defeat Gaea. Gaea knew that only together we could face her down, and she knew that was impossible. How could Romans and Greeks get along? But more than that – how could anyone still have hope? I certainly couldn't, after so many hopes being crushed.

But then I looked at Annabeth. Her expression was hopeful, the most hopeful face I'd seen in a long time. If she didn't hang on to hope that she could succeed, then what would she be doing this for? How could she go on? Maybe it was true that I might not have any more faith left. Maybe I couldn't hope anymore. But that didn't mean Annabeth couldn't. Maybe, if she could keep hoping and trying her best, she could actually succeed on her quest. I had to let her go.

I flicked my hand, telling Aurum and Argentum to back off. I looked Annabeth in the eye. "Annabeth Chase," I said. "when we meet again, we will be enemies on the field of battle."

With that, I turned and walked away, my dogs following behind me. I didn't stop to see what she would do. I didn't turn back. I didn't have to. I felt something – a little feeling that Annabeth might prevail after all. That the two groups of demigods might be able to be brought together. I suddenly realized what it was – it was hope.