As Frank looked around the mess hall, he couldn't help but feel a pit of nervousness in his stomach. He had checked over dinner preparations about five different times, and he had seen Reyna there once or twice. It was beyond important that they had a flawless dinner. If they could get the little details right, they would look in control. That's what Reyna always told him, so it had to be true.

The daughter of Bellona was at the far end of the mess hall and talking to Halward. The two seemed to be in an intense conversation, and while everyone wasn't looking their way, they were all clearly listening in. Frank was too far away to make out the words or hear anything. Halward was making rather dramatic hand motions and didn't seem too pleased. Frank looked away and moved his eyes around the rest of the mess hall.

Percy seemed to be introducing Annabeth to the Fifth Cohort, but Frank knew they would be making their way over to the head table. They were honored guests for the night. Frank sighed and heard a plate being placed in front oh him. He slowly looked down at his food. Cups and plates of food were placed in front of the empty spaces near him.

The senior centurions were on the other side of the table, and half of them were focused on their food. The other half were throwing around historical who would win scenarios with what sounded like pop singers. Dakota was on his fourth or fifth cup of kool-aid, and Frank prayed that their servers were going to cut him off soon. His eyes moved to Hazel, who was sitting at the Fifth Cohort's table.

Hazel seemed to feel his gaze. She looked at him and smiled. Frank returned the smile. Despite the fact that they had found out nothing about Alfred's attacker, they were starting to get the cure together. All they needed was the blood of the person who had created the poison. That task would be a little harder, but Frank knew they could make it happen.

Frank looked down at his drink and took a sip. He almost spat the drink out, as it started to burn. Frank forced himself to swallow the liquid. Something told him that he was given Reyna's drink by accident. She was always into trying exotic drinks and food. She had mentioned it reminded her of home. Frank focused back on the drink. It wasn't normal for the plates or cups to get mixed up, but there was a first for everything.

Reyna sat down next to him and let out a deep breath. She spoke, "Halward always finds the right nerve to get on. He's bothering me about your punishment for the Second Cohort. Who cares if we gave them plastic spoons to clean up after Hannibal? It was your idea anyways."

Frank opened his mouth to protest. He had only jokingly suggested it, but Reyna didn't seem to realize it was a joke. Frank realized that arguing would be pointless and instead took another sip from his cup. It still tasted disgusting. His gaze moved to the blue soda that was in one of the cups. It was definitely where Percy would be sitting, but what exactly was that drink?

Annabeth appeared at the table and sat next to Reyna. She spoke, "The camp really is beautiful. Thank you for letting Hazel show us around. Did you learn anything else about Alfred?"

"No. Darriah didn't hear anything outside of her cafe," Frank replied. He glanced at Reyna. They had already shared everything they learned, while inspecting the dinner. His eyes moved to the centurions that were sitting around the table. "We have some theories we can share with the Senate, after dinner."

Annabeth nodded and looked down at her food. Percy appeared by her side and sat next to her. He looked at Frank and smiled. Percy spoke, "Don't tell Chiron I said this, but you guys have great food and even better drinks."

"It's blue," Reyna said. She glanced at the cup and raised an eyebrow. Percy only gave her a wide grin. "Does it even taste good?"

"Try it," Percy offered. Reyna seemed to debate it, and when Percy grinned wider and held the cup out, the daughter of Bellona rolled her eyes. Reyna grabbed onto the cup and took a sip. She frowned at the taste and handed the cup back to Percy. "Like it?"

"It's weird," Reyna answered. She coughed and cleared her throat. It definitely didn't look like she enjoyed the taste of it. "It burns a little bit going down."

Percy frowned and looked at his cup. He sat it down. Frank glanced at Reyna, and she looked at him. He gave his fellow praetor a concerned look, but she waved it off. Frank nodded.

"Should I give the speech?" Frank asked. Reyna nodded and held her hand out, as if to give Frank the floor. She really needed to stop doing that. Frank stood and started to clear his throat, to get everyone's attention. Before he could fully stand, all of the legionnaires looked at him. It was like they were expecting the speech.

Frank was grateful that Reyna had stood up with him. She was watching him out of the corner of her eye and seemed to be silently willing him to get on with the speech. Frank spoke, "As some of you may have heard, Alfred was attacked this morning. We are still trying to find his attackers, and if anyone has any information, we ask that you come forward as soon as possible."

"While our thoughts are with Alfred, we must also turn our attention towards tonight. At midnight, the Pax Romana will begin. We will observe the peace that reigned throughout our great empire, and we will observe the peace that will come for many years," Frank continued. He glanced at Reyna. His fellow praetor didn't seem disappointed by his speech, which helped bolster his confidence.

"This year will be different," Frank said. He motioned to Annabeth and Percy. "This is the first year that we celebrate with the Greeks. We will be allies for many centuries to come, and as with all allies, we will help Camp Half-Blood in their time of need. Their tree that controls their barrier has been poisoned, and after the observation of the Pax Romana ends, we will put our full efforts towards helping our allies."

"To our allies and a time of prosperity," Reyna said. She grabbed her glass from the table and raised it. Frank did as well, but he felt his gut started to twist. He cleared his throat and coughed. Something in chest started to burn, and the feeling spread throughout his chest.

"Frank, you okay?" Percy asked. He looked up at Frank. The son of Mars tried to respond, but he lost strength in his hands. His cup fell to the ground, and his knees went weak. Reyna caught onto him and looked down at him. Her eyes moved to the cup and widened.

Frank felt himself being sat against the table. His eyes slowly moved to his fallen cup. His drink had spilled onto the table, and he could see the green that stained the bottom of his cup. A child of Apollo knelt by Frank, but his vision was turning blurry.

"Percy, pour out your cup," Reyna ordered. She coughed a moment later and let out a small curse. Frank tried to move his eyes but couldn't. His eyelids started to close, but he fought to keep them open. He saw Reyna collapse to her knees and cough miserably. Reyna spat out blood and something that looked green, just like the poison with the tree.

Frank tried to speak, but he coughed again. His breathing was starting to become short, and his eyelids closed against his will. Frank felt someone grab him and heard talking, but everything started to fade away. Another burning wave washed over Frank, but as soon as it came, it was gone.

After a moment, Frank was able to breath normally. He opened his eyes and stared up at the temple that he was in. Frank quickly sat up and stared up at the statue in front of him. It was the same one from his first dream. Since Frank was closer to the statue, he could see the blood that covered the bottom of the hooded statue's face.

"Pax Romana," a woman said. Frank quickly stood and turned around. He saw a hooded figure walking towards him. Droplets of blood were falling from her face and hitting the floor. "Roman peace. When have the Romans ever known peace, son of war?"

"Is this your doing?" Frank demanded. He looked around the temple. Frank wasn't dead, at least not yet. He hoped Reyna was okay as well, but something told her she received a bigger dose of poison, considering she had been coughing out blood. "Who are you?"

"I am a goddess and the beginning of everyone's end. I walked with mortals, until I could bear to no more," the woman replied. She approached Frank and grabbed his face. Frank stared into the woman's eyes, but he saw his own eyes staring back. "A demigod like you came to my temple. She fell to her knees and prayed for justice. She prayed for the justice for her family and justice for all of her wrongs. The poor girl also prayed for her innocence, but how can one with so much blood be innocent?"

The goddess pushed Frank away. He fell to the ground and stared up at sky. There was no roof, as it seemed like the entire temple was crumbling. Frank focused on the cluster of stars that shone brightly in the sky, but he could not make out what constellation it was suppose to represent.

"Many pilgrims pray for justice, but they are turned away by our lady. Our lady, the almighty light, guides us and leads us, but she is blinded by her own fears," the goddess whispered. Frank slowly stood and backed away from the goddess. The only thing he was understanding from the conversation was that someone had prayed to the goddess for justice, and the goddess seemed happy to oblige.

"What do they want justice for?" Frank questioned. The goddess only shook her head and looked down. She made a motion over her heart and seemed to be grieving for a moment. "Is it justice to poison and attack someone? Is it justice to poison the tree at Camp Half-Blood?"

"Justice is exact," the goddess answered. "You mortals have a saying for it: you reap what you sow. A very grave crime was committed, and innocence was destroyed. Justice is exact, Frank Zhang, and innocence will be restored. Do you know how to restore innocence?"

"No. You haven't answered any of my questions either," Frank said. The goddess laughed and grabbed onto his arms. Frank had no time to react as he was pulled closer to the goddess. As he was pulled closer to the goddess' face, it looked like she had been crying.

"To restore your innocence, you must soak yourself in blood," the goddess whispered. She smiled and shoved Frank backwards. Frank fell to the ground and felt that he had landed on something wet. He looked around at all of the corpses that lined the room they were in. They were no longer in the temple, but he had no clue what this place was. "Blood must always be repaid in blood, praetor, and to cleanse yourself, you must soak yourself in the blood of those who have wronged. Have a good nap, son of Mars. I do hope you make it."