LEO'S POV

A metallic CLANG-CLANG-CLANG jolted me out of my dream. My eyes shot open. It didn't take long for me to realize I'd just heard the landing gear being lowered.

There was a knock on my door, and Jason poked his head in. The bruises on his face had faded. His blue eyes glittered with excitement.

"Hey, man," he said. "We're descending over Rome. You really should see this."

I tossed a fresh pair of cargo shorts and a black tee on before racing up the stairs.

The sky was brilliant blue, as if the stormy weather had never happened. The sun rose over the distant hills, so everything below us shone and sparkled like the entire city of Rome had just come out of the car wash.

I've seen big cities before, but the sheer vastness of Rome grabbed me by the throat and made it hard to breathe.

The city seemed to have no regard for the limits of geography. It spread through hills and valleys, jumped over the Tiber with dozens of bridges, and just kept sprawling to the horizon. Streets and alleys zigzagged with no rhyme or reason through quilts of neighborhoods.

Glass office buildings stood next to excavation sites. A cathedral stood next to a line of Roman columns, which stood next to a modern soccer stadium. In some neighborhoods, old stucco villas with red-tiled roofs crowded the cobblestone streets, so that if I concentrated just on those areas, I could imagine I was back in ancient times.

Everywhere I looked, there were wide piazzas and traffic-clogged streets. Parks cut across the city with a crazy collection of palm trees, pines, junipers, and olive trees, as if Rome couldn't decide what part of the world it belonged to—or maybe it just believed all the world still belonged to Rome.

"We're setting down in that park," Peri's voice released me from my architectural stupor. She was pointing to a wide green space dotted with palm trees. "Let's hope the Mist makes us look like a large pigeon or something."

When I caught her eye, her cheeks flushed and she looked away, suddenly busying herself with the control console. I expected her to be embarrassed after what happened with Hedge, but I didn't expect her to be so darn cute about it.

Peri set the Argo II down in a grassy field and retracted the oars. The noise of traffic was all around us, but the park itself was peaceful and deserted. To our left, a green lawn sloped toward a line of woods. An old villa nestled in the shade of some weird-looking pine trees with thin curvy trunks that shot up thirty or forty feet, then sprouted into puffy canopies.

To our right, snaking along the top of a hill, was a long brick wall with notches at the top for archers—maybe a medieval defensive line, maybe Ancient Roman. I wasn't sure.

To the north, about a mile away through the foldos of the city, the top of the Colosseum rose above the rooftops, looking just like it did in travel photos. That's when my legs started shaking. I was actually here. I was in the heart of the old Roman Empire, enemy territory for a Greek demigod. And shit was about to get real.

Jason pointed to the base of the archers' wall, where steps led down into some kind of tunnel.

"I think I know where we are," he said. "That's the Tomb of the Scipios."

Percy frowned. "Scipio…Reyna's pegasus?"

"No," Annabeth put in. "They were a noble Roman family, and…wow, this place is amazing."

Jason nodded. "I've studied maps of Rome before. I've always wanted to come here, but…"

Nobody bothered finishing that sentence. Looking at my friends' faces, I could tell they were just as much in awe as I was. We'd made it. We'd landed in Rome—the Rome.

"Plans?" Hazel asked. "Nico has until sunset—at best. And this entire city is supposedly getting destroyed today."

I shook myself out of my daze. This would be our toughest challenge yet. In no way are we out of the weeds yet. Gotta focus on the mission not how good Peri's ass looks in those jeans—dammit!

"You're right." Percy said. "Annabeth…did you zero in on that spot from your bronze map?"

Her gray eyes turned extra thunderstorm dark. "Yes," she said carefully. "It's on the Tiber River. I think I can find it, but I should—"

"Take me along," Percy finished. "Yeah, you're right."

Annabeth glared daggers at him. "That's not—"

"Safe," he supplied. "One demigod walking through Rome alone. I'll go with you as far as the Tiber. We can use that letter of introduction, hopefully meet the river god Tiberinus. Maybe he can give you some help or advice. Then you can go on alone from there."

They had a silent staring contest, but Percy didn't back down.

Fine," Annabeth muttered finally. "Hazel, now that we're in Rome, do you think you can pinpoint Nico's location?"

Hazel blinked, as if coming out of a trance from watching the Percy/Annabeth Show. "Um…hopefully, if I get close enough. I'll have to walk around the city. Frank, would you come with me?"

Frank beamed. "Absolutely."

"And, uh…Leo and Peri," Hazel added. "It might be a good idea if you came along too. The fish-centaurs said we'd need both of your help."

"Sure thing, Hazel," Peri said confidently.

"Yeah, no problem, you can count on us." I chimed in.

"Us?" Frank smirked, but Hazel elbowed him.

Piper drew her knife and set it on the rail. "Jason and I can watch the ship for now. I'll see what Katoptris can show me. But, Hazel, if you guys get a fix on Nico's location, don't go in there by yourselves. Come back and get us. It'll take all of us to fight the giants."

She didn't say the obvious: even all of us together wouldn't be enough, unless we had a god on our side. I decided not to bring that up.

"Good idea," Percy said. "How about we plan to meet back here at…what?"

"Three this afternoon?" Peri suggested.

Jason nodded. "That's probably the latest we could rendezvous and still hope to fight the giants and save Nico. If something happens to change the plan, try to send an Iris-message."

The others nodded in agreement, but I noticed several of them glancing at Annabeth. Another thing no one wanted to say: Annabeth would be on a different schedule. She might be back at three, or much later, or never. But she would be on her own, searching for the Athena Parthenos.

Coach Hedge grunted. "That'll give me time to eat the coconuts—I mean dig the coconuts out of our hull. Percy, Annabeth…I don't like you two going off on your own. Just remember: behave. If I hear about any funny business, I will ground you until the Styx freezes over."

The idea of getting grounded when we were about to risk our lives was so ridiculous, a few of us couldn't help smiling.

"We'll be back soon," Percy promised. He looked around at his friends, as though trying not to feel like this was the last time we'd ever be together. "Good luck, everyone."

I lowered the gangplank, and Percy and Annabeth were first off the ship.