"This is really interesting," Annabeth said. Her eyes focused on the journal in front of her. The front of it was worn and covered in stains and dirt. All of the pages on the left were in Latin, and the English translation was on the right page. Even though it was one of the most interesting things that Annabeth had seen in a long time, she couldn't help but be distracted.

Annabeth glanced to her left. Percy was laying on an empty bed and shooting a rubber band up at the ceiling. The rubber band would hit the ceiling and fall back into Percy's fingers. Then, the cycle would continue. He had stopped complaining about being bored though, which was progress.

Annabeth looked to her right. Reyna was still asleep in the bed, but she had been tossing and turning a lot. The praetor had been muttering in Latin, but it was nothing that Annabeth understood. Reyna didn't seem to be getting any better, and it only caused Annabeth's stomach to twist more and more.

"How do you not find this cool?" Annabeth questioned. She looked at Percy. After a few moments, Percy seemed to realized that Annabeth was talking to him. Percy turned his head and waved. Annabeth crossed her arms. "This journal is from the time of Mithridates! One of his servants wrote it."

"Does it tell us how to find who poisoned the tree?" Percy asked. Annabeth looked down. "Sorry. That was a little harsh. I just don't know how a servant's journal is going to help us."

"It's helping get my mind off of all of this," Annabeth answered. She sighed and flipped to the next page of the journal. "We're sidelined in this stupid infirmary. The Romans won't let us help. If they did, we could have this case busted wide open."

"Frank's got this," Percy promised. Annabeth sighed. She knew that Frank was more than capable of being a leader, but this situation probably wasn't covered in praetor basic training. Annabeth hated that she couldn't help. She wanted to be in control of her own fate. "Alright. Tell me what's in the journal. I can tell it's killing you."

"Well, Mithridates learned that there was a plot to assassinate him. This was before he really solidified his Mithridate and power in his kingdom, so the plot was a real threat to him. An assassin disguised themselves as a servant. Instead of trying to find out who the assassin was, Mithridates decided to fake his own death," Annabeth said. Percy frowned and stopped playing with the rubber band.

"Mithridates drank a test version of his formula for Mithridate. The servant described it as a terrifying experience," Annabeth continued. "Mithridates started knocking over everything on his table and started to cough out blood. He fell unconscious, and one of his doctors declared him dead. They then held a fake funeral for him."

"That's pretty weird," Percy commented. Annabeth rolled her eyes and continued to read through the journal. "Dude starts coughing out blood, and he passes out. Everyone freaks out and thinks he bit the dust. There's got to be an easier way to fake your death."

Coughing interrupted their conversation. Annabeth turned her head and saw that Reyna's eyes were open. The daughter of Bellona looked around, and upon seeing Annabeth, she quickly sat up. Reyna didn't make it to a full sitting position before she collapsed back onto the bed.

Reyna placed one hand to her face and pressed her other arm against her stomach. A small groan escaped her. Annabeth moved to Reyna's side and gently grabbed onto her arm. She could feel that the praetor was burning up, and there was beads of sweat on her forehead.

"Hey, you're awake. How are you feeling?" Percy asked. He moved to Reyna's other side and looked down at her. Through her fingers, Reyna studied the two of them. Her black eyes were practically glazed over, as if she wasn't actually seeing them.

"Where are we?" Reyna groaned. Her eyes looked at Annabeth before moving over to the side. Reyna's eyes narrowed slightly, before she went into a coughing fit. Reyna turned on her side and cursed in pain.

"We're at the infirmary," Percy answered. He grabbed a bottle of water and held it out for Reyna. The praetor shook her head and rolled out of bed. Annabeth quickly grabbed Reyna's shoulders. "Hey. You need to rest."

"You were badly poisoned," Annabeth said. Reyna slowly looked up at her. Thankfully, she allowed herself to be sat back down on the bed. Annabeth knelt by her. "You've been unconscious for a few hours. How do you feel?"

"Like my insides got microwaved, frozen, and then microwaved again," Reyna muttered. She slowly laid back onto the bed and cursed in pain. Her eyes stared at the ceiling. "So, I feel great. Really."

"Gods, I'm sorry. Reyna, this is my fault," Percy said. After a moment, Reyna looked at him. "If I had known there was poison in my cup, I wouldn't have offered it. I'm just really glad that you didn't die. Frank is questioning all of the centurions now."

"Did he learn anything?" Reyna questioned. Percy shrugged. Reyna sighed and closed her eyes. The room was silent for a few moments, until Reyna forced herself into a sitting position. "Was Frank poisoned too? If he's already on his feet, I should be as well."

"Hey, you had a lot more poison than he did. No one's going to blame you if you take a couple hours to relax," Percy said. Reyna shook her head and slowly stood. "Dude, you were coughing out blood and everything. You need to relax."

"Beside, Darriah said she wanted to know when you were awake," Annabeth said. She sighed and looked at Reyna. After a moment, the praetor sighed and laid back on the bed. "Are you sure you're okay? We were worried sick about the two of you."

"I'm fine," Reyna muttered. She placed her other hand to her face and groaned softly. Annabeth gave her a look. "Are you giving me a look? I feel like you're giving me a look. There's no reason to worry about me.

"You drank a lot of poison," Percy commented. He glanced at Annabeth. The daughter of Athena smiled. If Reyna was being this stubborn, she was going to make a full recovery. "Helen was watching over us, per Frank's orders. She stepped away to get more food. I didn't get to eat dinner."

Reyna nodded slightly and stared up at the ceiling. Her eyes made it seem like she was lost in thought. She wasn't trying to get out of bed anymore, which meant Annabeth had one less thing to stress out about. Annabeth leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. The door to the infirmary slammed open.

Percy was on his feet with his sword out. Annabeth hoped in front of the bed and grabbed her own sword. They both stopped as they saw Darriah step into the infirmary. She glanced at the door and closed it. Darriah spoke, "Praetor, you're awake."

"Unfortunately," Reyna answered. Darriah walked towards Reyna and placed a hand to the praetor's forehead. Darriah seemed to be shaking in anger, and there was something dangerous in her eyes. "What happened?"

"My daughter," Darriah replied. A noise escaped her that sounded like a growl. "She has brought shame upon my family and our legacy. I only hope that she is dealt with appropriately."

Annabeth looked down. She had known that it was Livia that poisoned the tree, but it didn't feel good to hear the pain in Darriah's voice. Reyna spoke, "I'm sorry, Darriah. I know that past few months have not been kind to you."

"No, they have not," Darriah said. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Darriah opened her eyes and moved her hand to Reyna's cheek. "You're burning up, praetor. I'm ordering you to bed rest for the next two days. You're very lucky that you were able to awaken. Alfred is still in his coma."

"I guess I have you to thank," Reyna said. Darriah nodded slightly, and she studied Reyna. "You got there quickly, and I also wasn't stabbed in the lung by a dagger. Am I allowed to rest at my house?"

"Only if someone helps you walk there," Darriah said. Reyna rolled her eyes, and Darriah gave her a pointed look. "We can just keep you locked up in this infirmary. You won't be able to do work that way, and it will be easier to keep an eye on you."

"Fine," Reyna muttered. She held her hands up. "I yield. I'll allow someone to help me to my house. Then, I'll probably pass out for the next twelve hours."

"You better. We'll assist Frank with whatever he needs," Darriah said. Annabeth watched the two and then glanced at Percy. He gave her a small nod and seemed to read her mind. Annabeth looked at Reyna.

"I'll help you back to your house," Annabeth said. Reyna glanced at her and slowly sat up. Annabeth's eyes moved to Darriah. "Percy can also help Frank out. After you get the cure, Nico can take it back to Camp Half-Blood."

"Where is Nico anyway?" Reyna asked. She slowly stood, and Annabeth quickly helped her. Reyna leaned heavily on her and cursed softly. "I'm fine. This is good."

"We forced Nico to lay down and rest, since he was using shadow travel. He was here for a few minutes, but then, he went off wherever. I'm sure we'll find him though. You know how he is."

Reyna nodded slightly, and the two of them walked out of the infirmary. As they walked, Annabeth allowed her thoughts to drift. They had found the person who had poisoned the tree. Now, all they needed to do was finish the cure and give it to the tree.

"What is going to happen to Livia?" Annabeth questioned. Reyna slowly looked at her. "I don't know if you guys have a protocol for this, especially during the Pax Romana."

"Well, it's going to come down to a vote by the Senate. Livia is a good Roman, but with the things that Octavian has done, it might work against her. Although, Darriah is well liked by the Senate. There's no telling what could happen."

"What about attacking Alfred though?" Annabeth questioned. She looked at Reyna. The praetor had pulled away and was able to walk on her own, which was a good sign. "As far as I know, the Pax Romana means no violence at all. What happens if there is a fight or war during the observation period?"

"It's complicated. High ranking officers, as in the praetors, can get away with some violence, as long as it is in not in a battle and for the good of Camp Jupiter," Reyna replied. "If the legion went to war, the gods would curse us. We would have terrible luck in battle. Any battles would be a Pyrrhic victory, if we even won. There's also bad luck with ceremonies, reading of any omens, and a million other things that would happen. The Pax Romana was last broken about a hundred years ago, and both praetors died in a tragic statue related incident. The augur was in charge, until new praetors were appointed. Camp Jupiter was almost destroyed."

"If the praetors are incapacitated, the augur takes control of Camp Jupiter?" Annabeth questioned. Reyna nodded slightly. She stopped outside of a house and looked at Annabeth. "If you and Frank were incapacitated, who would take over Camp Jupiter?"

"Well, we do have an unofficial augur: Kelly. She would take control, but she would be advised by the Senate," Reyna explained. Annabeth looked down at the ground. Percy had explained to her how Halward and his group of friends had their hands in the Senate. If there was no praetors around, they would control Camp Jupiter. Was the poison really meant for Reyna? Did they somehow know Reyna would try some of Percy's drink?

It seemed far fetched, but it also sounded possible. Frank would be out of the picture, at least for a few hours. Reyna would have either taken a drink from Percy's cup or been left alone to watch Camp Jupiter. If Percy had been the one poisoned and had fallen unconscious, it would be easy to threaten to hurt him or Annabeth, if Reyna didn't cooperate.

Annabeth glanced at Reyna. She needed to share her theory, but at the same time, she felt eyes on her. Someone was watching them. Reyna leaned on her door and spoke, "You okay? You look lost in thought."

"I just had a revelation," Annabeth replied. Reyna watched her and slowly pushed herself off of the wall. Annabeth smiled slightly. "Don't worry about it. You need to get your rest. I'll run it by Frank."

"Okay," Reyna said. She looked like she didn't believe Annabeth, but after a moment, she sighed. Reyna opened her door. "I'm going to pass out in my bed now. Wake me up if something or someone is burning."

"You'll be the first to know," Annabeth promised. Reyna studied her for a moment and finally nodded. She stepped into her house and closed the door. Annabeth let out a deep breath. She needed to find Frank soon. He had to know about her theory. If Annabeth was right, Camp Jupiter was still in grave trouble.