As Frank paced back and forth, he couldn't stop the nervous pit in his stomach. Truthfully, everything was going good. The professor was making the cure, and he would be done in the next ten minutes, hopefully. Reyna had woken up and according to Percy, she was currently unconscious at her house. Frank made a mental note to visit her.
The only person who looked more nervous than Frank was Percy. The son of Poseidon was staring at the door, as if hoping it would open at any moment. Annabeth had yet to return from escorting Reyna back to her place, and as far as Frank knew, that had been twenty minutes ago.
"I'm sure Hazel just stopped her," Frank said. Percy sighed and nodded his agreement. He still didn't look convinced though. "Annabeth's fine. She probably just got distracted by one of the buildings. You know better than I do about how she is with history."
"You're right. Something just feels off," Percy said. He turned his head and looked at the corner of the room. Livia was sitting in a chair and staring at the ground. She wasn't even reacting to anything around her and was ignoring the questions presented to her by Diana. The goddess didn't seem to find any humor in it.
Livia's eyes flickered to the cut on her arm. She hadn't flinched as Frank cut into her arm and collected her blood. Instead, she had almost seemed to grin. Livia looked up at Frank and shook her head. Her gaze then went back to the ground.
Frank frowned. He knew that Livia had poisoned the tree. Reyna's dogs had confirmed that, so why was he still unsure? Why was he still doubting himself? Frank needed to be confident in his decisions. Frank looked back at Livia. She hadn't offered an explanation or even tried to defend herself.
"If you give Alfred that cure, it's going to kill him," Livia finally said. She looked up at Frank. He turned on her and crossed his arms. "I didn't poison the tree, praetor. You don't have to believe me. You'll know the truth when Alfred is dead because of you."
"You're really bad at this," Percy commented. He turned towards Livia. "First, you thought that praetors were trying to frame you and tarnish your family's legacy. Now, you're telling Frank that giving your blood to Alfred is going to kill him. You're just throwing out the first thing that you think of and hope it sticks."
"I am being framed," Livia muttered, but her voice was quiet. It was like all her strength and conviction had left her. Out of the corner of his eye, Frank saw that Diana was watching them. The goddess' focus was solely on Livia. "The praetors are framing me, even if Frank will never admit it. Or, he just doesn't know about it."
"Why would they poison themselves?" Percy demanded. Frank shot him a look, and Percy returned it. "That's the craziest thing I ever heard. Frank and Reyna are the most loyal Romans I know. Those two would never do anything to endanger their camp or attack one of their own."
"What do you know about being a Roman?" Livia asked. Her eyes moved to Percy. "You are a graecus. You know nothing about being a son of Rome. If the praetors were trying to remove a threat, they would do what they had to."
"Your family is not a threat," Frank said. He shook his head. "Octavian made his fair share of mistakes. Well, he made a lot of mistakes. The point is that we don't see you as a threat, Livia. Why do you think that?"
"Octavian told me all about it. He saw it in the omens," Livia muttered. She sighed. "We never told my mother. She wouldn't have believed us. The only person she ever believes is Halward. He has my mother wrapped around his finger."
"Blaming the praetors is not going to save you, and it does not tell me why you poisoned the tree," Diana interrupted. "Are you finishing your brother's work? Did you think that Camp Half-Blood was a threat? Or, are you following your mother's orders?"
"I didn't poison anything," Livia snapped. She looked at Diana. "The praetors did it. You have to believe me, my lady. I would never do anything to hurt this camp. I am not like my brother."
Diana studied Livia for a long moment. She finally looked at Frank and spoke, "We need the cure soon. Thalia's life force, and the barrier around Camp Half-Blood, is weakening. We do not have much time."
"The professor should be done soon," Frank promised. He looked down at the ground. "Actually, I'll go find him and bring the cure personally. Percy, can you get Nico to meet me at the infirmary?"
"Of course," Percy replied. His eyes moved from Livia to Diana. After a moment, Percy started to lead Frank out of the room. "Should we leave Livia alone with an angry goddess though? I can't imagine good things will come from that."
"Livia made her choices. She has to suffer the consequences," Frank replied. He stepped out of the room and took a deep breath. "I'm sure that I will find Annabeth along the way. When I do, I'll let her know that you're looking for her."
"After this whole situation is handled, we're going to the bakery. I need to try those blue cookies," Percy said. Frank smiled and nodded. He walked away from his friend and headed towards the city of New Rome. Most of the Romans would be asleep, but the professor was kind enough to stay awake and finalize the cure.
Frank started to make his way towards the college. He still felt uneasy. Something felt wrong. Frank knew that he was missing a piece to the puzzle, but he didn't know what it was. He didn't even know if it was that important. This praetor thing was a lot more stressful than Frank thought it would be.
"Praetor!" a voice called. Frank stopped walking. He turned around and saw that the professor was jogging towards him. The professor stopped in front of him and smiled brightly. "Did you already deliver the cure?"
"I was coming to get it from you," Frank began. He started at the professor. The stare was returned. "When I first gave you the blood, you said it wouldn't take long. That's why I came back to get it."
"I put it in Reyna's office, like she requested," the professor replied. Frank frowned and looked at the professor confused. "I assumed that she told you as much."
"When did she ask you to leave the cure in her office?" Frank questioned. His gut twisted. Why would Reyna want the cure to be in her office? It didn't make any sense to Frank.
"Before dinner," the professor replied. "If I may, she seemed nervous that something would happen to the cure. If I have to make a guess, I think that Reyna was worried I would be attacked on the way to deliver this, and I wouldn't be able to defend myself too well."
"Thank you," Frank said. He turned and took off in a jog. Their offices weren't too far from the Senate House, but it was still a few more minutes that Frank spent trying to track down the Mithridate. He wanted this nightmare to be over with.
As Frank made it into the offices, he took a few moments to catch his breathing. As he placed his hand to the doorknob of Reyna's office, he heard movement. Frank clenched his fist and stepped inside. Upon seeing no one, Frank quickly looked around.
The source of the noise was Reyna's two dogs. Aurum and Argentum were both fighting over a piece of metal. They stopped their game of tug of war to look at Frank, and upon not seeing their owner, the went back to their game. Frank smiled. The two dogs had left his side after the Senate House, and he had assumed they would have went to Reyna.
Frank shook his head and looked around the office. Unlike his office, everything was perfect. There was a few piles of neatly stacked folders on the desk, along with a few books. A box sat in the middle of the desk. Frank walked towards it and slowly opened the top. Two vials were resting in the box.
Frank let out a deep breath. The nightmare was going to end. He closed the box and turned back around. Frank looked around the rest of the office. He saw that Aurum had won the war for the toy and was curled up with it. Argentum was playing with a box of his own.
"Why don't you two go back your owner?" Frank questioned. He studied the two dogs for a moment and finally smiled. Frank left Reyna's office, but he kept the door open enough for the dogs to get out. The last thing he needed was for Reyna to yell at him for trapping her dogs in a room. Although, they were magic, right? They would be able to get out of the room on their own.
Why were the dogs in the office anyway? Frank glanced back at the dogs and finally shook his head. He really needed to deliver the cure. After that, he would check on his fellow praetor and make sure her dogs came back to her.
Frank began his walk back towards the infirmary. There was still that pit in his stomach. What did the dreams have to do with anything? Was it unrelated? Was Livia working with an outside force?
It didn't matter though. The cure was in his hands. Frank sighed and continued his walk. He looked down. His mind needed to stay open to the possibility that there was a plot against them. Frank quickly looked around. No one was in the shadows watching him. He let out a deep breath and turned back around. His heart almost jumped out of his chest, as he saw that Darriah was standing in front of him.
"Everyone really needs to stop doing that," Frank muttered. Darriah studied the box in his hands. She finally motioned for Frank to walk. He studied Darriah for a moment. "What did you need?"
"My daughter didn't do any of this," Darriah replied. Frank started to walk, and Darriah stayed close by him. "My children are many things, but they would never go this far."
"You already disowned your daughter," Frank said. He kept walking and kept a tight grip on the box. If Darriah made a move, he would take her out. Frank's mind moved to Darriah's other, deceased, child. He remembered exactly how Octavian had acted. Darriah's children could and had gone very far.
"Yes. I did," Darriah replied. She sighed. "It's how you play the game, praetor. If there is even a small chance that anyone thinks my daughter did this, I cannot be associated with her. Reputation in New Rome rules all."
Frank stopped walking. Darriah cared more about her reputation than her own child? Was this why everyone at Camp Jupiter was so messed up? Everyone cared for power and not their own family. Gods, was Frank going to end up like that?
"Do you even care about your children?" Frank asked. Darriah stared at him and, and her eyes narrowed into a glare. "Octavian died because no one kept him in check. Livia is going down that same path. I don't know if she poisoned the tree for revenge or to make a bid for power. The point is that you should check in on your daughter instead of worrying about your reputation!"
"Did you finish your report on Alfred's attack?" Darriah asked. Frank frowned. Darriah's eyes were narrowed in a glare. Frank finally shook his head. The report was in his office, and he had gotten maybe a sentence down. There was a lot more pressing issues. "Have you even started it?"
"No," Frank replied. He raised his hands. "I don't know why this is important. A stupid report can wait, until we know that Alfred is safe. I haven't even started the stupid thing!"
"Does anyone else know how Alfred was attacked?" Darriah questioned. Frank blinked a few times in confusion. He shook his head. "So, the only ones who know about how he was attacked is me and the two other children of Apollo. You never told anyone that he was stabbed in the lung?"
"I haven't told anyone," Frank replied. He sighed and shook his head. "This is a waste of time, Darriah. It isn't helping Livia either. The only thing I can do is get this cure back and keep Diana from punishing your daughter too harshly. The best thing I can offer is turning her over to the Greeks. Their punishment won't be as harsh as the Romans."
"If you can give me a few hours, I can tell you who really poisoned the tree," Darriah said. Frank shook his head. "Look, you can deliver the cure. If it doesn't work, my daughter is innocent, and the tree will only get worse. Alfred will probably die."
"It will work," Frank said. The two met eyes. After a moment, Frank took off towards the infirmary. Darriah followed right behind him. The rest of the walk was in silence, but Frank could just feel that Darriah was steaming in anger.
As Frank stepped into the infirmary, he was relieved to find that Percy and Nico were there. Nico was leaning against the wall and studying Alfred. Percy was pacing back and forth once again. Frank walked towards Alfred and opened the box. He stared down at the vial and then glanced at Darriah.
"He just has to drink it," Darriah said. She held her hand out for the vial. Frank studied the woman in front of her. He had already cleared Darriah and her friends of any wrong doing, but what if he was wrong? Frank took a deep breath and handed the vial to Darriah.
Darriah knelt by Alfred and gently lifted his head. She opened the vial and poured the liquid down Alfred's throat. Frank stood there for a few moments and waited for something to happen. Alfred didn't cough or seem to react. The cure had to work. Frank couldn't afford to be wrong.
After a few moments of waiting, nothing happened. Frank sighed and looked down. Alfred suddenly coughed. Frank's head snapped up, and he hurried towards Alfred. Darriah turned Alfred on his side.
Alfred started to cough up blood and something green a moment later. Darriah rubbed his back, but she looked down. She spoke, "It's working. The poison will have to be expelled, just like it was for you and your fellow praetor. Alfred should wake in a hour or two, and the damage done to his organs should be healed by the cure."
"Good. Let's get this to the tree," Percy said. Frank nodded and closed the box. He handed it to Nico. "Send us an Iris message as soon as the tree seems to be getting better. When Thalia wakes up, I want to know."
"I got it," Nico promised. He gently cradled the box. "I want a message for when Reyna wakes up. I haven't been able to check on her."
"She's fine. You have to go," Percy said. He practically dragged Nico out of the room. Frank sighed and looked at Darriah. Her gaze was focused on Alfred. There was tears in her eyes.
"I prayed that my daughter didn't do this. I can't lose anyone else," Darriah whispered. She slowly stood and took a deep breath. "First, my husband leaves me, and the father of my son passes away. Then, my son dies. I can't lose my daughter. Praetor, please. I'm begging you to give mercy to my daughter."
"I'll do what I can," Frank said softly. He looked down at Alfred. The color had returned to Alfred's face, and he already looked a lot better. "When he wakes up, we can ask him about what happened. I'll get a few children of Apollo to watch over him. You need to be with your daughter."
"You're right," Darriah whispered. She took another deep breath. "I will talk to her and try to find out why she did this. Livia didn't tell you why she did this, when she confessed to you?"
"No," Frank replied. "Livia was denying that she had done anything. She said that she didn't poison the tree, and Reyna's dogs growled. They can tell if someone is lying, and they typically try to tear that person apart. I barely stopped them from attacking Livia."
"I see," Darriah said. She closed her eyes and nodded. "Thank you, praetor."
Darriah stood and walked out of the room. Frank watched her leave, and a deep breath escaped him. He would have to find Annabeth and drag her away from whatever she was studying. Then, Frank had to take Percy to the bakery for those cookies, if Darriah would even have it open. After all that, Frank would visit Reyna and check on Camp Half-Blood. The most important thing was that they had found the cure, and everyone was safe.