The sunset made the water of the Little Tiber sparkle. Piper pulled in her knees and rested her shin on her hands. Camp Jupiter was really beautiful…but it didn't feel like home. More accurately, it felt too close for comfort to her home-with her dad, but her real home was the Aphrodite cabin, no matter how perfumed and pink it was. It was where she belonged, and where she wanted to be. Camp Jupiter felt lonely to her, even if this was where Jason was.

Jason. That was a whole other problem.

Back at the Wilderness School, she really thought that they had a connection. And even when that turned into dust, she still felt something when he woke up on that bus to the Grand Canyon. She still knew, somewhere deep in her heart, that he was hers. But when they came here-he remembered Reyna partially. Which is a part more than he remembered her.

Stop, she told herself. He thought that being with you was fake.

And even though they were dating now-like, seriously dating- the prophecy was a huge weight- and she knew that it wasn't just her feeling it too. Jason-Jason was the praetor, no matter what he remembered. He probably felt like he was supposed to carry the whole quest alone. If she felt bad, he must feel like the hope of a generation is on his shoulders.

She looked at her wrist- the silver bracelet was still there. During their work on the Argo II, Jason had given it to her. It reflected the sunbeams from the fading light over the clear blue water. Somehow, Piper knew she wouldn't get to stay long in Camp Jupiter, and somehow she was glad. The place seemed stiff to her, unlike the easy-going Camp Half-Blood. She just wished her Jason didn't belong here. But you can't change who people are. She sighed as the sunlight began to disappear completely into a crinkled indigo velvet sky.

A hand fell on her shoulder. "Hey, Pipes." She saw a set of tired blue eyes below a frame of pale blonde hair. "You okay?"

She reached her hand around and clasped his. Looking up, she smiled. "Never been better."

"How about we get you back onto the Argo for the night?"

"That sounds great."

Then they heard the ballista shots, and they began running. And even though they were probably about to be trapped by angry Roman citizens, Piper had never felt so free.