"Do you think Percy would do some sparring with me over the school year?" asked Paul as he cut green peppers. "It could keep us both in good shape."

Sally smiled over the chicken she was cooking. Paul had really gotten into the monster fighting spirit during all the chaos that had been going on in Manhattan. Now that he fully believed in Percy's world of gods and monsters, he accepted it with gusto - just as she thought he would. He'd been rambling excitedly all the way home from the Empire State Building, speculating on the modern looks of all the gods, Sally supplying what she knew about them every now and then. When they'd started preparing enchiladas, the subject had changed only tangentially.

"Percy's not allowed to use weapons in the apartment," said Sally. "Except during emergencies."

"Oh of course we'd have to find a space," said Paul. "I've been thinking it might be worth getting a gym membership."

Sally wasn't sure whether most gyms had policies against bringing three-foot bronze swords inside, but she merely said, "He won't be able to stay away from the pool."

"Well, swimming's good exercise, too." Paul finished with the peppers and started on mushrooms. "Even if it doesn't become a regular thing with him, it would be fun for you and me to go together."

Sally didn't mean to sound half-hearted when she said, "Yeah, it would."

"Are you okay?" asked Paul. "You've been a little disengaged ever since we left the Empire State building. Percy's all right - I thought you would be relieved."

"I was - I am," said Sally. "But when he came down from the six hundredth floor, there was . . . something different about him. But at the same time, it was kind of familiar - I don't know how to describe it. I just have this - this sense of foreboding, like I might still lose him, somehow." She turned off the stovetop. "I know it doesn't make much sense."

"Well, you know more about this stuff than I do," said Paul. "Have you ever picked up on anything like this before?"

Sally thought back. She'd been afraid of losing Percy before - to being a year-round camper, to death - but when he'd looked off before, she could guess what was wrong. Now he was acting off for a reason she couldn't pin down. And it wasn't just in how he was acting - there was something different about how he looked, how he presented himself, the . . . energy surrounding him. Even when he'd learned his identity as a demigod, the change hadn't looked like this. "No," Sally told Paul. "Nothing quite like this."

"Well," said Paul, "I guess we'll have to ask him when he gets here."

They had no idea when exactly that would be - knowing Percy, it could be a week - but they set a place for him at the table once their dinner was ready to eat. As Sally was cutting into the enchiladas, the front door opened.

It was Percy. Sally left her spatula in the dish and got up to hug him. He hugged her back tightly, even moreso than usual. It made her think she might be right, and Percy was going to say goodbye. She blinked back tears as they broke the hug.

"I love you, Mom," said Percy. He seemed to notice she was emotional, and looked like he was about to say something else, but then seemed to decide against it. Instead he said, "Those enchiladas smell really good."

Sally laughed and they sat down to dinner. Percy ate more slowly than usual, savoring each bite as though he were eating his mother's enchiladas for the first time.

"So what happened with Rachel?" asked Sally, recalling what Nico had said about her taking a pegasus to Long Island. "Did she make it to camp?"

"Turns out, Chiron invited her there," said Percy, "so she got in without a problem. She's the Oracle now." He went on to explain how the Oracle of Delphi had been living in a corpse due to a curse of Hades, but the curse had recently lifted, so Rachel could now host the Oracle.

"Had no one tried before Rachel?" asked Paul.

"One woman did," Percy told him. "It went really badly." Percy moved on to the prophecy Rachel had spoken after the Oracle's spirit had taken hold. "We have no idea when it will come to pass, though."

Sally was a little relieved. "So it might not be about you. It might not even happen in your lifetime."

Percy's gaze shifted, and Sally could tell he was sitting on some huge information. She was about to prod him when he took a breath and said, "Actually, I'm pretty sure I will live to see this prophecy come to pass."

Sally asked, "How do you know that?"

"Zeus offered me immortality," said Percy, "because of everything I did to save Olympus. I'm a god now."

Paul's jaw dropped. Sally could feel herself tearing up again. Several emotions whirled through her - astonishment, vindication, anguish, but most prominently, pride in her son. "Oh Percy," she said, "you've done it. Become the greatest of heroes. I always knew you would." She took his hand, and Percy put his other hand on top of hers.

"I can't live here anymore," he told her, "but I'll visit, I promise. As often as I can."

"So I guess you won't be going back to school in the fall?" asked Paul.

"Does Goode offer concurrent godhood enrollment?"

When they had finished laughing, Sally asked, "Are you going to live on Olympus now?"

"Maybe sometimes," said Percy. "But my job now is going to be as Poseidon's attendant. Number one on his to-do list is rebuilding his underwater kingdom, and I'm going to help with that. Or if I'm being honest, have Annabeth help me help with that." As he said the words, he looked slightly uncomfortable.

"What does she think about you becoming immortal?" asked Sally.

"She's . . . not completely happy about it," said Percy. "But I told her I'd spend time with her on Olympus while she's redesigning it, I'm not going to stop hanging out with her, but it's not like I'm only gonna go to her when I need help, I want to . . ." He sighed. "I know I let her down when I said yes to this. If it were the other way around, I'd probably feel the same way."

"You and Annabeth have worked through some pretty tough problems before," said Sally. "You two have a strong bond. You becoming immortal might change some things, but you two will always be close."

Percy nodded. "I hope so. So does she." After a moment he continued, "I didn't take this gig just because immortality sounds cool. The gods . . . they need to do better by their kids. A lot of demigods joined up with Kronos because they felt ignored by their parents. I want to be a voice for demigods among the Olympians. I want to do what I can to help."

"Changing the system from the inside," said Paul.

"Yeah. I told Chiron I'm sponsoring new cabins at camp - one for every god, so the minor gods and their kids don't get left out. No more unclaimed kids crammed into Cabin Eleven. I got the names of some of their unclaimed kids, so I can make sure they make it to camp. And I'm encouraging them to claim them before they're thirteen -"

"Wait," said Paul. "You've started on all of this in the, what, three hours since you became a god?"

"Well, I'm kind of doing it all at once," said Percy. "One aspect of me is still celebrating on Olympus. Another is at Camp Half-Blood planning with Annabeth and Chiron. And then I'm also here."

Sally had no idea what to say to that. Judging by the look on Paul's face, neither did he.

Percy laughed nervously. "It's not like I can keep all my divine essence in the same place. Then I would take my true form and that's deadly for mortals to look at."

This information left Sally and Paul further dumbfounded.

". . . anyway, maybe that's another reason why so many demigods have ADHD. Our godly side always wants to be doing a ton of things at once."

Sally found it in her to laugh at this. "Oh, Percy. You never stop surprising me, even after all these years."

Percy said, "Now that surprises me. I didn't think I'd ever gotten anything by you. You literally see everything."

Sally chuckled. "Good to know you believe that. Somebody should be able to put the fear of god in you when you need it." Then Sally realized what she'd just said.

"Who do you answer to now?" asked Paul. "Zeus, I guess?"

"And my dad," answered Percy. "And the arbitrary laws that govern immortals. And there are some weird ones, that's for sure. Like apparently I'm supposed to avoid Brooklyn now? Like I said, weird."

"What happens if you break these weird rules?" Sally asked.

"Um . . . you know what, I'm not sure. I'll have to ask."

"Make sure you do," Sally said sternly. She knew her boy could be a rulebreaker, which was only a problem when he didn't know how far was too far. Poseidon himself had once told her that rulebreakers had to know the rules extra well, so they knew what they could get away with. She didn't want Percy getting himself in some kind of cosmic trouble just because he didn't understand the consequences of crossing some obscure line.

"Okay, Mom," said Percy.

The conversation drifted away from godhood after that. They spent the rest of the night making blue cookies and playing games, knowing this would be their last night to spend as a regular family for a long time.

The most essential parts of Poseidon's palace had already been rebuilt using magic. It was only certain areas, like the game room, that Poseidon wanted to redesign. The bedrooms had already been restored to pristine conditions, and Percy was shown to one bigger than he'd ever had before, complete with walk-in closet and master bathroom.

But as amazing as his room was, Percy was itching to see the rest of the place. He swam through the ornate pearl-lit halls until he noticed a delicious smell. It seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was. He'd probably be able to recognize it on land, but underwater it was a complete mystery.

He wasn't surprised when his nose led him into the kitchen. Well, one of them, anyway. He'd seen the blueprints for the palace and had learned it had five kitchens, all of which went into overdrive whenever Poseidon hosted a feast. What did surprise Percy was who was cooking in this kitchen.

Amphitrite was taking cookies off a cookie sheet and putting them on a cooling rack. Percy wasn't sure why they needed to cool, seeing as the water should have done that as soon as they came out of the oven. He wondered if the salt water would make them taste different. The water had certainly kept him from recognizing their smell.

But Amphitrite wasn't the only person in the kitchen. Her son Triton was speaking to her. "I'll probably be back the day after tomorrow, if the camp is in good condition," he was saying. "If it's not, you should hear from me by the same date."

Amphitrite nodded. "Give Aphros and Bythos my greetings." Then she noticed Percy. "Oh, hello, Percy! You're just who I wanted to see."

"I am?" asked Percy.

"Of course," she said warmly. "Come, sit down, have a cookie."

Amphitrite looked different from the last time Percy had seen her, though she was still very beautiful. She had replaced her armor with a simple white dress, and had accessorized with a little crown of polished red crab claws. Percy had to remind himself not to stare at her little crab claw horns. They were hardly the weirdest thing he'd ever seen.

Triton had stiffened when he saw Percy, and he said, "I should leave," with the same stiffness. "Goodbye, Mother. Perseus."

He swam around the corner and was gone.

"Don't mind him," said Amphitrite. "Triton's just worried about how Camp _ survived the war."

Percy was pretty sure Triton had something against him that had nothing to do with this camp, but he didn't mention it. In any case, the camp's name was easily distracting Percy. He had understood the series of sonar pings and hisses Amphitrite had made, though he had no idea how he'd go about translating them into English. "Camp _? Is that like Camp Half-Blood, but underwater?" It sounded really cool.

Amphitrite seemed amused by the idea. "I suppose that's a fair way to describe it. It's even run by your teacher Chiron's brethren, the ichthyocentaurs Aphros and Bythos."

"Wow," Percy said. "Mind. Blown. I didn't even know there were underwater centaurs, let alone that they were Chiron's brothers. When can I go check this camp out?"

"Oooh, sorry," said Amphitrite. "I'm afraid Triton was the first and last of Poseidon's children to train there. He has a good rapport with Aphros and Bythos, but the ichthyocentaurs have made a point of avoiding Poseidon's oversight. They're very . . . adamant . . . about their autonomy."

"Oh," said Percy, trying not to seem too disappointed. "Okay."

"Listen," said Amphitrite, "the reason I wanted to talk to you - I want to apologize for being curt to you the last time we met."

"That's okay," said Percy. "I wasn't really expecting anything else."

"But I usually give Poseidon's demigod children a much warmer welcome!" she said earnestly. "Theseus and I got along famously, after all. But I'm afraid things were looking grim during the battle with Oceanus. I wasn't in a very welcoming mood, and I'm sorry for that."

"You're totally forgiven," said Percy. "And I'm sorry too. I was being kind of rude about how the war was affecting Dad."

"It was hard on all of us," said Amphitrite. "I can see how it would have been distressing to you."

Their eyes met, and Percy knew he and Amphitrite had an understanding. "Anyway," she said, "you're also 'totally forgiven.'"

He laughed, and she pushed a plate of cookies at him. "You really have to try one."

Percy took a bite, and loved it. He wasn't sure how, but it was warm and had the same crunchy-but-gooey-inside texture he liked best. Being underwater hadn't affected it at all. "Holy cow," he said. "Do you and my mom use the same recipe? These are amazing." Then he realized he'd misspoken. "Sorry, I shouldn't have brought her up."

"Oh, no, it's fine," said Amphitrite, and it sounded like she meant it. "Poseidon and I have an understanding about his affairs. Your mother's a good woman, Percy Jackson. She was good for Poseidon - it was about time he got dumped by a mortal woman."

Percy almost forgot to swallow his cookie before he spoke. "What? She broke up with him?"

Amphitrite raised an eyebrow. "She never told you why she left him?"

"Well . . . before I knew the truth, she told me he was lost at sea. And after I found out who he really was, I never thought to ask."

"Hmm," said Amphitrite. "Well, I don't know all the details, but he did talk to me about having her live underwater, in another palace he'd build for her."

"She told him she needed to live life on her own terms," said Percy. "She couldn't have him solve all her problems."

"So she did tell you!"

"She said that's what she told him once. She didn't say it was a breakup line!"

Amphitrite laughed, and Percy found himself joining in.

"Yes," Amphitrite said when they were done, "she's quite remarkable. If Poseidon had to break his oath, I'm glad it was with her. Nothing like that nasty business Zeus and Hera had with Beryl Grace."

"Beryl Grace?" asked Percy. "You mean Thalia's mom? Did Hera do something to her?" Thalia had told him her mom had died from being drunk behind the wheel. But had Hera actually caused it?

"Oh," said Amphitrite. "Yes, I suppose the two of you would be comrades. Um . . ." She took a moment to consider Percy. "Would you be able to keep a secret from all your demigod friends, especially Thalia?"

Oh, Olympus. What kind of drama had Thalia's mom gotten into? "What kind of secret?" Percy asked.

"The kind that could start a war if not kept," she told him. "Would you swear on the River Styx not to tell?"

"I . . . I could." Percy wasn't sure if he wanted to get into this. But now that Amphitrite had mentioned it, Percy was never going to be able to leave it alone. He had to find out what this secret was.

Amphitrite looked at him expectantly.

"Okay, okay," said Percy. "I swear on the River Styx not to reveal this secret you're about to tell me to any of my demigod friends."

"Especially Thalia."

"Especially Thalia."

Percy didn't say so to Amphitrite, but the wording of this oath did leave him a couple of loopholes. He could tell the secret to his friend who wasn't a demigod, or to a demigod who wasn't his friend. It reassured him, in case this secret ever needed to be told.

"Okay," said Amphitrite. "The Sky God had two separate affairs with Beryl Grace. One as Zeus, and one as Jupiter."

"Aren't they the same person?" asked Percy.

"No," said Amphitrite. "Jupiter is more . . . responsible, and more warlike, well, all of our Roman counterparts are more warlike, but -"

"Whoa, hold up," said Percy. "What do you mean, all our Roman counterparts?"

"We gods all have a Roman aspect. They worshipped us so long, the way they thought of us affected our personalities."

"So you're telling me that you - that Dad, that every god I've ever met - have this second personality I've never heard of? You're kidding, right?"

"I wouldn't joke about this."

Percy mulled it over. "So if all the gods have Roman personalities, then why don't I have one?"

"Because the Romans never worshipped you. They don't even know you."

"This is crazy," said Percy. "All the gods really have multiple personality disorder or whatever?"

Amphitrite's expression darkened. "I wouldn't speak so lightly about this, or about mental disorders, Percy. You don't understand . . ." Her form flickered, and a gold chain mail shirt appeared over her white dress. Her crown grew a crab carapace, to cover her head. Her expression became more lined and hardened.

"So you think I don't exist, do you?" she said.

"Uh . . . Amphitrite?" Percy asked, off guard.

"No, I'm Salacia, you fool! Did you really think I could stand by while you insulted my very existence?"

So this was Amphitrite's Roman form. Percy remembered how angry Mr. D had been when Percy had doubted his existence, when Percy was just learning he was a demigod. He'd even threatened to incinerate him. But Percy wasn't a mortal twelve-year-old anymore. He was a god.

"I'm not a fool," said Percy. "Even you have to admit this is weird."

Salacia laughed. "You should be used to weird things by now, Perseus Jackson."

Percy shrugged. "Fine. Whatever. You exist. Could you bring back Amphitrite now? We were kind of having a conversation before you interrupted."

"Gladly," Salacia said with a sneer. "I'll leave her the onerous burden of talking to you any day."

Her form flickered again, and Amphitrite was back.

"Well she was . . . salty," Percy said.

Amphitrite grimaced. "Please don't make any more salt puns. She hates them."

"Sorry," said Percy, not entirely sincerely. He really didn't care what Salacia thought of him, so long as he didn't have to deal with her.

"Now where were we?" asked Amphitrite. "Oh yes. Zeus fathered one child on Beryl Grace, and Jupiter fathered another."

Percy's mouth fell open. "Thalia has a sibling?"

"Yes, a brother. He was named Jason, at Juno's insistence. You see, she was quite insulted at her husband having two children with the same mortal woman. So she demanded the boy be given to her as recompense. When the child was two years old, his mother took him to the place where Roman demigods begin their journey - the Wolf House."

"The Wolf House," Percy repeated. "I've never heard of it."

"That's because you were a Greek demigod, not a Roman."

"So . . . Romans get trained differently?"

"Yes. They live with Lupa, the wolf goddess who raised Romulus and Remus, and her pack, for a time. When Lupa believes they are ready, she sends them to Camp Jupiter."

Percy stood up. "Camp Jupiter? You're telling me there's two hero training camps that I never heard of until today?"

"Yes," said Amphitrite. "And the Greek and Roman camps must never know of one another's existence. Before they were hidden from one another, they warred against each other constantly. So many civil wars in history happened because of them. That's why you must keep this a secret from your demigod friends."

"Does . . . does Thalia know she has a brother?"

"Yes, she knew him, but she has no idea what happened to him after their mother gave him up. She was told to believe he was dead."

Percy felt his stomach flip. "That's even worse than if she never knew he existed."

"Yes, but you mustn't tell her. She can never know her brother is Roman, or that he lives at Camp Jupiter. It would not end well."

Percy fell back into his chair. He tried to imagine how it would be to have your two-year-old brother disappear and to never find out what had happened to him. And then to have your friend know but never bother to tell you . . .

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Percy. Why are you making me keep Thalia's brother from her? he asked silently.

"Well, you did need to know about the Roman camp. As a god, you should at least be aware of its existence. But I didn't mean to let that slip about Thalia's mother. I shouldn't have put you in this situation. I'm sorry."

Percy wanted to leak this secret. He wanted to at least let Thalia know her brother was alive. But then he thought about how he would react to the Romans if he were still a demigod. Even his brief conversation with Salacia had felt completely wrong. Not just in that she hadn't liked him - he was used to gods not liking him - but the fact that they were even talking felt unnatural. Even the gold chain mail she had worn was strange. He'd never seen a god or one of his friends wear chain mail before, let alone in gold. And though he was intrigued by the existence of the Roman camp, he found himself thinking, It can't be better than Camp Half-Blood. With that kind of comparison in mind, he knew how likely it was that the Greeks and Romans would fight if they discovered one another. He couldn't leak any of this, to Thalia or anyone.

He picked up another cookie and said, "Well, at least this cookie situation is great. Thanks, Amphitrite."

She smiled apologetically. "You're welcome, Percy."

Yeah, Percy was sure he'd need a lot of comfort food in order to cope with this.