Chapter 20

"It's Antonius!" the son of Apollo shouted. "Please, stop!"

Percy lifted the red hot coal off the boy's groin with metal tongs. "Antonius? Tell me more."

"He... he's a former praetor," the Roman rambled. "He's now working for Justinian. He's leading the attack. Our spies have been dying since last week. He knows the Greeks are establishing a foothold. He wants to investigate, see how the Greeks are building up their defenses."

"Continue."

"That's all I know! I swear!"

Percy clucked his tongue. "I wouldn't call that information very useful. It's pretty vague."

"Please, I'm begging you! I'm telling you everything I know! The Thirteenth and Fourteenth aren't going to attack right away. They're scared because of what happened to the Eleventh. They want to take things more slowly. They're gathering in Tarsus. If you can catch Antonius in Bursa, you can take him down. He's the brains of the operation!"

Percy looked up at Theodora's men. They shrugged. It wasn't news that Antonius was spearheading the movement. It was news that Bursa was on his path. It was the perfect launch pad into Constantinople. A plan began to form in his mind.

"Are you convinced?" the son of Apollo asked.

Percy gave the boy a cold smile. "You weren't that useful. But at least it's better than nothing."

Then he kicked the son of Apollo onto his back, slashed open his chest and tossed the hot coal inside.

Percy turned and walked away as the Roman screamed in agony for a little while. Then the screaming stopped. And all went silent.

The next three days passed slowly.

Usually, three days went by quicker than he could snap his fingers. But the painstaking pace at which he was waiting for his plan to unfold was frustrating. There was Irene, who'd been giving him conflicted looks ever since she'd stabbed him in the shoulder. Thanas had become increasingly secluded, as if he had something to hide. Xanthe and Leon were also more withdrawn than usual, especially since the day they addressed the crowd of campers.

Unbeknownst to Antonius, the Greeks would be launching their counterattack soon.

As Alexandros had revealed to the campers that night, they would begin fanning out of Constantinople, taking back the land they'd forfeited by retreating into the capital. Teams would head out as far as Adrianople in the west, Nicomedia in the east, and Nicaea in the south. It wasn't a bad plan. It would keep the Greeks focused on a target, and it called for a steady advance. They wouldn't be rushing out onto the battlefield like idiots and getting themselves killed.

"Can we get along until the meeting is over?" Percy asked Irene as they prepared the meal in Bursa, awaiting Antonius' arrival. "We can't afford to reveal any red flags."

Irene nodded. "I know. This is important."

"Thank you."

She looked like she wanted to say something but decided against it. She gave him a hesitant smile and went over to help Xanthe with the fire.

Percy went over to the boys, who were sitting on the chairs, each with a drink in hand. They were sweating from all the heavy lifting. From moving boxes to furniture, they'd had quite the workout. They nodded to him quietly, acknowledging his presence without having to say a word.

"Ready for this?" he asked them.

"Given that I don't know what this is, I'm not ready," Leon said. "I still don't understand what we're trying to do exactly."

"We're trying to extract information while baiting the Romans into a trap," Thanas explained, sighing as if he'd been explaining for the last few hours. "Xanthe said you were smart enough to reason that I'd asked Percy to go to Rome after we destroyed the Eleventh Legion. Where's the intelligence when it comes to understanding a simple plan like this?"

Percy re-explained the plan briefly. "Irene and I are going to be using aliases to get Antonius talking. Much of the chat will be useless shit. Just dumb things rich people like to talk about. But there will be parts that I want you all to listen in on so that you can help Alexandros and Viviana prepare defenses. Eventually, the plan is to advance to Nicaea, which isn't far from here. We'll need to know how the Romans are going to proceed. We'll get a preliminary idea today, and as information comes in, we can tweak our plans."

Thanas faced him and gave him a weird look. "Just to clarify, this... acting that you and Irene are going to do... Is it going to get violent?"

Percy masked his suspicion and concern and shook his head. "No violence. Not with this man. He's not one to get violent. Even when Greeks are being slaughtered, he hates watching. He prefers to do the back end work. The stuff that people don't really see is his specialty when it comes to large-scale operations like this."

"I see."

"Well, better get to your positions since the man will be arriving soon," Percy told them.

They nodded and went off to their respective positions.

When Percy looked up at Xanthe and Irene, he saw Irene quickly avert her eyes. He looked at Thanas, who looked troubled. He suspected Irene had shown him something, but he didn't know what. Judging by Leon's relaxed demeanor and Xanthe's focused gaze, neither of them was aware of whatever Thanas knew.

It wasn't as if Thanas had become any more hesitant about fighting the Romans. The son of Hades still wanted to help, to avenge Ionna. But there was something off about how he was acting in front of Percy. And Percy couldn't figure out what it was.

Percy pushed the thought aside as one of the Ares kids standing guard jogged up to him.

"The Roman is here."

He nodded, and the guard turned back toward his post. Percy looked over at Irene.

Is it time? Irene mouthed.

He gave her a curt nod.

Irene gave Xanthe a word of encouragement before striding over toward him, a determined look in her eyes.

"I might be acting as your wife in front of Antonius," she told him, "but don't get touchy. Not like that time in Sparta during the Peloponnesian War in that whore house."

"I'd prefer not to get touchy," he replied. He put an arm around her shoulders. "This is as close as I'll get."

"This is touchy."

"Not like Sparta."

"Fair enough."

Percy snapped his fingers and focused on the Mist. From that point on, until the end of the meeting, they would be known as Parthenius and Julia. He was an old legionnaire in the Twelfth Legion. She was his wife, recently married out of love rather than social status. What did they have in common? They both "hated the Greeks."

He changed their appearance, making them look a little older. He'd met Antonius before when he was a younger man. It wouldn't make any sense to appear like he was immortal.

"Let's do this," Irene muttered quietly. "To destroy Apollo."

He was a little surprised at the anger in her voice. She'd never been vocally antagonistic when it came to the gods. Even when she'd agreed to fight on his side, it never got personal. He'd always assumed it was all business. Irene was showing her true colours more naturally. Maybe she meant it when she said she was getting tired of this life, of always trying to remain neutral.

Percy grabbed her hand and met her eyes. "To destroy Apollo."

They met Antonius in the dining area, waiting by their table. The Roman was wearing his traditional dress: flashy gold armour with a bright purple cape. He was unarmed other than the armour. He'd aged a little since Percy last saw him. There were more grey hairs than he remembered.

Percy smiled and gestured toward the table. "Please, Antonius. Sit down. It must have been a long journey from Tarsus."

The Roman returned the smile. "Of course, of course. Gladly, Parthenius. First thing, as always, is identification. I know it's a pain when we know each other so well, but, alas, security is tight these days, especially with the Eleventh going under so suddenly."

Percy nodded and rolled up his sleeve, showing the legion's marks. Twelve marks for twelve years of service to the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. They'd been served centuries ago during Caesar's days, not that Antonius would need to know that.

"And you brought a guest with you...?"

"Yes, this is my wife, Julia," he introduced, providing the man with Irene's alias. "She's not a member of the legion, but she's more Roman than not. Her ancestors escaped Troy with Aeneas back in the day, though over the years they've had their fair share of, ah, disagreements."

"One thing we can all agree on is our distaste for the Greeks," Irene chimed in.

Antonius laughed, showing his own marks. "I definitely agree with that. They make the most mundane tasks tedious. You should see how many traps they set up along the way. Not that they were effective, mind you, but it made the journey rather cumbersome. Regardless, I'm happy that you agreed to meet with me. There is much to discuss."

"We're here to listen," Percy smiled.

The three of them took their seats. Percy hoped his disguise was still working. The one he made for Irene was still good, adding stress lines and wrinkles to her face and keeping her eye color blue. Her hair was freshly bleached, hiding the fact that she'd spent the vast majority of her life under the sun. Percy had known Antonius for years, and it had become increasingly difficult to trick the Roman into believing he was aging.

"How did you two meet?" Antonius asked as he peered at the menu.

The question caught Percy off guard. He glanced at Irene, who simply laughed and put a hand on his arm.

"Thessaly, of all places," she said. "I'd just arrived after visiting Ilion with my family. Unfortunately, there were only two boats that departed from Ilion the day we left: one to Thessalonika and one to Athens. My family has had a difficult relationship with Athens, and we took the boat to Thessalonika, preparing to trek over land to Epirus."

"Not much good comes from Athens," Antonius agreed with a smirk. "At least Thessalonika is up north where the Thracians once lived. They were on our side in the Trojan War."

"Exactly. Anyway, my family had just arrived in Larissa, where Parthenius just happened to be on a mission for the Twelfth. Needless to say, I saved his life."

Percy stared at her. How did she come up with a story like that?

"Oh, you know I saved your life," she teased, her eyes urging him to play along.

He snapped to attention, playing along with her. He shrugged and grabbed her hand. "Well, it was quite the first meeting, yes. We weren't exactly on steady footing at first. Theodora and Justinian were in control in Constantinople. I had more errands to run in Achaea. Julia had to go back to Brundisium with her family. We didn't see each other for a couple years, though we got in touch via letter. I always wanted to keep our relationship a secret from others considering the nature of my work."

"But you're too in love with me?" Irene joked, giving him a loving look.

He couldn't get over how good of an actor she was. The way she looked at him reminded him of the old days when the two of them were actively hunting down members of the Senate, before Rome became an empire, and long before the legions had ever walked the earth. They'd done this before. Sometimes they acted as siblings, sometimes as co-workers. Irene always played her role exceptionally well.

He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Perhaps I am. But it only fuels the fire within me to destroy the Greeks so that we are never threatened again."

Antonius laughed heartily. "Oh, you remind me so much of my wife and I during our youth. I have always been weak to innocent, youthful love. It's what makes me so mad when I hear of Greek raids and ambushes. The lives that they take for the silliest of reasons are abhorrent. They burned an entire city down for one woman. It's absolute madness. But they underestimated us during the days of the Republic, and they have paid dearly because of it."

"We shouldn't underestimate them in turn," Irene told him, pulling away from Percy. "They were strong enough to destroy the Eleventh Legion. Our plan of attack needs to be more cautious. We cannot let ourselves become a stationary target. It was a mistake staying at the encampment, close to a lake. But at least we know now that they have a child of Neptune."

"I agree," Antonius nodded. He rested his chin on his hand and pondered. "I don't suppose it would be easy to bait the Greeks out. They have fallen back to a central position in Constantinople, guarded by Theodora and Justinian."

"That's where we have good news," Percy said. He looked around, pretending to be worried about outside ears. "Theodora has come down with a fatal sickness. She will not last the year."

Antonius straightened in surprise. "What?"

"It will be difficult to convince Justinian to go back on his promise to his wife, but if we can... the Greeks will be expelled from the protection of the emperor. If we play our cards correctly, and be patient, the Greeks may be cast out, providing us with easier targets."

"That... that sounds..." The Roman looked like he was at a loss for words. Percy couldn't tell if he was too excited or too shocked to say anything. "But how will we convince Justinian to—"

"Julia has a way with words," Percy explained, giving Irene a smirk.

She returned it.

"That... could work," Antonius said, a plan forming in his head. "I can see how this would work. Politics or not, the praetors must see reason."

Percy met Irene's eyes. It was a risky gamble, but it was a gamble worth taking. Staying in Constantinople was no way to survive. The Romans would arrive eventually. It was only a matter of time. Why not, to gain the upper hand, bait the Romans into attacking? Then the Greeks would be able to launch surprise raids and whittle down the remaining legions.

The biggest red flag was whether the Greeks could handle it. Everyone, by now, knew that Empress Theodora was in her last days. She wouldn't survive past the end of the year. But Percy wasn't sure if Chiron would train them to survive in the wild. They'd had tense conversations about moving back out into the wilderness, finding and settling in another valley. Chiron was looking into it, but it wasn't easy to move, especially with an enemy that had spies, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Constantinople, with all the Roman spies eradicated, was the only safe zone.

He and Irene let Antonius think about it as they had dinner. At the Roman's request, the two acted like a married couple, sharing food and being physically intimate. He could see the Trio, disguised as waiting staff, watching in curiosity.

It was strange. He and Irene hadn't done this roleplay since the Macedonian Wars, which were over half a millennia ago.

During these missions, he'd often think about his days with Cassandra and his days with Zoe. He wouldn't be human if he couldn't feel physical or emotional attraction to anyone in a romantic or sexual way. He'd seen men and women attracted to all kinds of people, of the opposite sex or of the same sex or of both. And while he was interested in women, things never really felt the same ever since his exile. He was afraid of attachment because he knew the Fates would snip the string of anyone who grew close to him. He could probably fill a library with the list of names of those who'd died because of him.

Irene also had that same hesitation. Kisses were fine, but much more contact than that and her eyes flickered with uncertainty, as if she was afraid of being hurt.

Maybe it was because of all the terrible scenes he'd watched, especially during sieges. Once a city fell, men raped women like they were toys to be played with. From young to old, no one was spared. Watching all those horrors desensitized him to sexual intimacy. He couldn't even think about the subject without remembering what happened to Mei... what happened to Cassandra... what must have happened to Zoë.

He suspected Irene had seen the same horrors.

"How long do you suspect we'll have to wait?" Antonius asked.

Percy hesitated. "I'm... unsure of the timeline. That might be something we figure out as we go along. But beware of sending too many spies into Constantinople. The Greeks aren't relaxed simply because they're protected by the emperor. They're, no doubt, preparing their own plan. If you can wait for the Twelfth Legion to recover, I can get in contact and see if they can surround the Greeks in the north, coming down from the Balkans."

Antonius hummed in thought. "I see. Well, keep me informed. I'll await news about our progress."

They stood, and Percy thanked Antonius for making the journey. Soon, the Roman and his guards were off, riding back south toward Tarsus.

The Trio emerged from their positions, taking off their disguises, and each let out a sigh of relief.

"So, how did you feel?" Percy asked them. "Not too bad, right?"

"Why wouldn't Antonius put a spy on you, though?" Leon asked. "On 'Julia', to make sure she's not actually an enemy. It seemed like you were introducing her for the first time."

"I've got people to handle that," Percy answered.

Leon nodded, glancing over at Thanas, as if asking for a second opinion. Thanas shrugged, as if satisfied with the situation. The son of Hades looked like he was thinking of potential plans of action to improve the Greek defense, like where to set up traps and ambushes.

Xanthe looked at the ground nervously, hands clasped behind her back. "Do you... do that often?"

Percy glanced at Irene. He wasn't sure what Xanthe meant, but Irene seemed to get it.

The daughter of Aphrodite let out a soft laugh. "It's been a while since it last happened, but it's not a very common occurrence. Sometimes we play siblings. Sometimes we play friends. It depends on the situation. The context of this encounter called for something more intimate, given that Percy's met him before."

Oh, Percy thought. She was talking about that.

"I... I see."

Xanthe looked almost too embarrassed to ask the questions that were obviously on her mind. Suddenly, Percy felt hot. He glanced at Irene, who looked as awkward as he felt. It wasn't something he really wanted to elaborate on.

Thanas was suddenly giving him a suspicious look. Percy wondered if Thanas had had dreams about him and Cassandra, or him and Zoë. He hated Morpheus for showing his past to them. Some things were meant to be forgotten or hidden forever.

He reached over and put a hand on his half-sister's shoulder. "Leave tactics like this to us. You should find someone you genuinely love, who genuinely loves you back, win this war, and then live out a happy life. That's the goal, right?"

Xanthe's gaze flickered toward Leon in hope, then to Thanas in regret and despair.

"I can help out," Thanas said. His posture was tall and proud, and his voice held steady, but his eyes wavered for just a moment. He had yet to recover from losing Ionna. "Whatever it takes to win the war."

"Leave it to us," Irene repeated, shaking her head knowingly. "You just need to think of strategies. Lead the Greeks. You're the most experienced leader there. Alexandros and Viviana may command authority and respect, but you understand the Romans more than you think. You'll find it within yourself. You'll be the one leading the charge on the battlefield."

Percy nodded. "You three understand what it means to work in enemy territory now, right? It's dangerous and built on trust. It's easy to us, but it won't be to you. Now that you have a taste of how the Romans are going to move around, you can do preliminary scouting. But always stay hidden. You aren't ready to have head-on encounters without killing Roman scouts. And we are nowhere close to being ready for a final fight."

"Glad to see you have some reason for once," Irene joked.

"Don't be so happy about it," he grumbled.

Irene let out a small laugh before returning to her typical, serious demeanor. "In any case, you all know very well that the Thirteenth and Fourteenth together are much stronger than the weakened Eleventh. You ambushed the Eleventh in their own encampment, right along the lakeside. You had the advantage of surprise and fatigue. Now, that's gone. It's impossible to kill everyone, so a few of the stragglers will have escaped. They know what they're up against, and they're going to warn their leaders."

"Your job isn't to kill everyone," Percy added. "That's my job. You guys just need to weaken them to the point where I can hunt them down without any chance of facing an army and being outclassed. Got it?"

The Trio mumbled in assent.

"Good. Let's pack up and head back to Constantinople."

The three of them went to work, cleaning up all the materials and packing up the things they needed to bring back.

Percy turned to Irene and snapped his fingers. The Mist obscuring her face disappeared, and she was back to her young, youthful self.

"You're back," she told him.

"Good. It was hard to keep it up."

"You're powerful enough. It shouldn't be that hard."

"Getting the details right is hard."

"What details did you add?"

He examined her face. "Wrinkles, fold lines, birthmarks. Facial reconstruction for aging. I just took what I imagined you would look like as an older adult. Still stunningly beautiful, but noticeably older."

"So, essentially, it's your imagination."

"Essentially."

"Could you imagine me in whatever manner you wished?"

"Changing a whole person is hard. You have to shroud them completely in Mist. And it works best when other people want to believe what they're seeing. Like, most men would love to see you scantily clad. Or nude."

She scowled immediately. "That's not something I would wish for. And I would like to think that you don't often attempt to imagine that."

"I don't," he chuckled. "But you seemed to be full of jokes today. Thought I'd shoot back."

"I don't cross the line," she huffed, looking away from him and crossing her arms.

He smiled. He wouldn't bet against her in a fight if a man tried to hit on her. She was stronger than she looked, both physically and mentally. He admired her genuineness. He wished he could be as open as her.

Emotions were a hindrance in battle. He needed to be calm and collected to focus on the fight and focus on winning. But, in a situation like this, where he was just chatting casually, he felt compelled to open up. It had been too long, and recently he'd begun to think it had become suffocating.

"Thank you, Irene."

She glanced at him.

"For sticking by me. You're right. I had you all this time. I'm glad you understand me, even if we disagree on certain things."

Irene sour mood dissipated. Her lips curled up in a smile, a genuine smile. "You're welcome." She sighed and looked up at the clear night sky. "I guess... Athena saved me for this. To be a conduit between you and Zoë. She can't help you from her position as a Hunter, so I do it instead."

"No," he replied, staring up at the sky with her. "You're not a conduit for anyone. Once Apollo either dies or comes to me, begging me to stop and promising by the River Styx never to harm me or the ones I love again, I'll withdraw my stake in the war. I'll live peacefully, training heroes like I intended to. You can join me. I could use a partner."

"I'd be glad to accept," she said, "though I don't think Apollo disappearing or begging will happen... ever. Still, I understand where you're coming from. My revenge was nowhere near as grand as yours. But I still went through with it. If you're evil and terrible, then so am I. I might be tired of all the fighting, tired of seeing everyone die around us, but... for you, I want Apollo to realize his mistake."

Percy remembered what Zoë told him about Irene's past. He never liked Deiphobus. Shaking himself to the present, knowing she wouldn't appreciate being reminded of her suffering, he put a hand on her shoulder, "See, you're not a conduit. Zoë would never think that way."

"I suppose you're right. But she still cares for you, even if she can't or won't show it."

"Then give her my thanks the next time you meet up with her."

"Will do."

"But... this is for you."

He stepped forward and gave her a brief, warm hug. She was his student once. She'd learned from him. He was a terrible teacher, a terrible role model. Yet she had still grown into a magnificent woman. One that he was jealous of. He was proud of her, in a way.

When he pulled away, he noticed she was staring at him like he was crazy.

"I'm proud of you," he said.

Irene blinked a couple times before breaking out into a wide smile. "Am I supposed to be your daughter or something?"

"Well, technically, I have kind of slept with your mom before."

Her smile disappeared. "I didn't need to be reminded of that."

"But, hey, it was rape so I don't really count it. And she already apologized for it, since it got me exiled. I forgave her."

Irene was quiet, likely still disgusted thinking about the possibility of him and her mother sleeping together.

"We should probably help pack up, shouldn't we," he said, noticing the other three were doing everything by themselves.

"Right... yeah..."

He glanced at her, eyebrows raised. "You sound excited."

Her eyes cleared and she gave him a sarcastic smile. "Yeah, I'm so excited."

"Is Leon rubbing off on you?"

"You've rubbed off on me, you numbskull."

He just laughed.

But it was fun. Having Irene actually next to him instead of communicating via Iris message was a different kind of tale. There was no doubt that she was working on something behind his back. But so was he. Neither of them minded despite knowing the other's intentions.

He just hoped the peace would last.