Chapter One

Percy had been home for nearly a week before Reyna got the chance to really spend some time with him. Not that they didn't spend time together, because they were joined at the hip pretty much constantly, but this was the first time that there wasn't any sort of looming spectre of responsibility casting a shadow over them. So, they took a beach day. No one thought twice about the two teens curled up with each other under an umbrella, though the six admittedly massively muscular men playing threes in volleyball nearby probably drew more attention. Reyna didn't mind, and instead spent the time studying Percy's new tattoos. Part of her wasn't surprised—it was a very Percy move to suddenly return with resurrected Germani bodyguards and new ink—but even she had to admit that she hadn't expected it to happen.

The tattoos were interesting. His forearm would forever belong to the Legion, and there was no way he would cover up or obstruct from his markings there, but his bicep and shoulder had been given some treatment. Most prevalent was the wolf. In honour of Lupa, it covered the top half of his shoulder, and was a depiction of the Wolf Goddess howling. Just below that was a phrase, res non verba—Deeds, not words. That was also a pretty good way to sum up Percy's philosophical views. The last tattoo was the smallest, located on his breast, right above his heart. It was a small crown, and the symbolism didn't escape Reyna. That was the one her hand had been resting on for nearly fifteen minutes, his skin warm under her touch, his chest rising and falling evenly as he dozed in the sun.

"I met with Leo Valdez." The words came from nowhere, interrupting the hour of peace they had been enjoying. "He's, uh, not dead."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He's dating a formerly immortal titaness, too. Not bad work, I guess."

"You guess?" She raised herself onto her elbows, arching an eyebrow at him. "You didn't find a formerly immortal titanness to be beautiful?"

"She was beautiful, there's no denying that." He rolled his eyes. "But she wasn't you. So yes, I found her beautiful, but no, I wasn't interested. Or jealous of him, for that matter."

"Good answer." She praised, beaming a smile at him. "Why bring it up now?"

"I don't know." He admitted. "The thought just crossed my mind. I figured I should tell you."

"You sure waited a while."

"I told him I wouldn't say anything until he had gone back to his friends." Percy rolled his neck, his sunglass falling off during the motion. She snatched them before he could and perched them back on his nose. He laughed, grabbing her hand before she could pull it back and planting a kiss on her knuckles. "Maybe he has, maybe he hasn't—it doesn't matter. I wanted to tell you, so I did."

"Did you also mean to interrupt the first time we've managed to avoid talking about work for more than half an hour?"

"Yeah, things were getting too chummy." He grinned. "In all seriousness, we need to head back to New Rome anyway."

"We do?"

"Yeah, I need to reach out to Jason, and the privacy of my house is the best place to do that." He told her. "It's nothing major, but it's been a while since I've heard from him, so I just want to check in." His eyes crinkled and brightened as he stared at her. "I'd ask if you wanted to stay, but you're so damn beautiful I'm worried you'd draw the attention of anyone within a mile radius, so I think for the safety of others, it's best I take you back with me."

"For their safety?" She blinked at him. "Are you saying I'm a threat?"

"Only to single men." He pulled himself to his feet, holding a hand out to her. "They'd want to talk to you, and you'd deck them before you let them try anything. Really, it's a civil service. I'm stopping idiots from getting hit for being stupid."

She snorted, but wrapped her arms around his neck and rose up to kiss him. They didn't get to do stuff like this in New Rome for a whole bunch of reasons, but they weren't in New Rome, so Reyna could kiss her boyfriend as much as she wanted to. Someone wolf-whistled as they walked past, and another woman called out 'get some, girl!' Reyna, for the first time, didn't care. She was happy to be seen with Percy, to have them be seen being in love with each other. After a few moments—or maybe an eternity—they separated, pressing their foreheads together, noses bumping up against each other.

"You know, every time we do that, I feel more alive than before." Percy murmured.

"Good to know." She replied. "I feel the same."

Then, because of course things couldn't stay nice forever, someone cleared their throat loudly from behind her. She saw Percy lean around her head, and his features hardened.

"There are children here, you know." A woman said haughtily. "You should be able to control your hormones better than that, young man. You almost scarred my son!"

"Believe me, lady, if my hormones were out of control, your son seeing me kiss my girlfriend would be far from the worst thing he could have seen." Percy retorted. "And since this is a public beach, you don't really get to tell me what I can or can't do—there are laws, and I haven't broken any of them."

"How dare you!" The woman exclaimed. "Where is your respect for your elders?"

"I respect my elders, ma'am." Percy drawled. "I don't have to respect you."

Reyna rolled her eyes and twisted in Percy's arms so she could see who was causing them problems. It was a middle-aged woman, her arms held protectively over her son who had to be like, twelve or thirteen, so why she was so scandalised by kissing was beyond her. Percy's arms dropped from her shoulders to around her waist, and he pulled her a little tighter against him, gentleman that he was. It was then that who she presumed was the husband and father of this duo arrived, maybe a little older than the woman.

"Everything okay over here?" He asked with a charming, but very fake, smile. "Things are looking a bit tense."

"Nothing major, sir." Percy said. "As long as people mind their own business, everything will be fine."

"Now son—" The man began.

"I'm not your son." Percy cut him off sharply. "I'm here, enjoying a nice day at the beach with my girlfriend, not breaking any rules, not doing anything horrible. And we'll be leaving now, thank you."

"Listen here you little—" The man's face began turning purple, and that was when Reyna caught sight of several new presences joining the situation.

"Is everything okay, sir?" Marco stepped up to their left, while Tank picked up the right. The other Tervingi flanked behind them.

"We're fine, Marco." Percy assured him. "We were just finishing up here, weren't we?"

The man had paled at the sight of the Germani, and Reyna really couldn't blame him. Marco alone looked like he could crush a skull with one hand—all eleven of them probably looked like they could punch a mountain into submission. He finally managed to stammer an answer out when Percy cleared his throat pointedly. "Y-y-yes, no problem at all. So sorry for disturbing you, young man. Have a nice day."

Percy just hummed disinterestedly and took Reyna's hand as they began the trek back to the car. The Germani went to a van of their own, but they remained as close to Percy as they could. Still, she liked having a little separation from them, and being able to be alone with him in the car was nice. There was one question she had for him though.

"Did you do that because the Germani were there to back you up?" She finally asked once they were sitting in traffic. "The confrontation, I mean."

"No." He replied quickly, shaking his head. "I meant what I said—we didn't do anything wrong, we hadn't broken any laws, and we were on a public beach, so they really had no ground to complain. Besides, their kid had to be like ten or twelve, so he should get used to seeing people kiss in public. Them acting like we had done anything wrong was out of place. I showed them exactly the respect they deserved, and they didn't like it."

"It was kind of weird that she felt the need to say something in the first place." Reyna admitted. "It's not like we were the only ones making out on the beach."

"I mean, yeah, but not to sound egotistical, have you seen us, babe?" Percy's lips twitched upwards into a smirk. "We're both kind of hot."

"You're a menace to society."

"Yeah, but you still love me, don't you?"

She sighed dramatically. "I guess I do."

He reached over and flicked her arm. "I love you too, by the way."

"Oh, that, I was never in doubt of."

XXX

"You're looking tanner." Leila commented idly after Reyna finished her evening debrief with the centurions.

"That's a lie and also really obvious fishing." She rolled her eyes. "Go on then."

"Beach date with Percy, amazing or what?" The Daughter of Ceres grinned, leaning forward onto the table. "Because I can imagine what spending a day around a shirtless Percy would do to most girls. For some odd reason, I think it would affect you to a lesser extent, but who knows, maybe you're not as invulnerable to his charms as we all thought."

"Oh, it was great." Reyna beamed. "When I wasn't fighting off all the other girls trying to get his attention."

"Really?"

"No, of course not." She laughed. "I made sure to kiss him very enthusiastically whenever someone looked like they might try to approach him. He's also a really good kisser, so it wasn't any trouble. What about you and Michael? Any dates I need to tell Percy about?"

"A few coffees here and there." Leila shrugged. "Lunch twice a week, but that's more business than pleasure. Things have been non-stop since we got back from New York that we really haven't had time for ourselves. We're just…waiting for the right opportunity, I guess."

"If you want, I can lessen the load the legion's running under right now." Reyna offered. "Make it easier for you two to get some free time."

"You'd have the legion do less so two of your officers can have a date?"

"Two of my friends." Reyna corrected. "I'm the Legatus Legionis—I can swing it so that you have some free time, no problem."

"I think the Senate might have some thoughts about that." Leila pointed out.

"Well, to quote my brilliant boyfriend, the senate can bite me." She scoffed. "I'll have it set so that next week is some well-deserved R&R for the legion. Have your date then."

"Who would have thought you would be the one to facilitate my date with Mike." Leila laughed suddenly. "I'd have guessed Percy."

"Aside from threatening the two of you to treat each other well, he's taken a hands-off approach to the whole situation." Reyna told her. "In fact, he'll probably be annoyed with me for giving you the time to go on a date at all, only because he thinks people will think it was his idea."

"Is that another reason for doing it, or a reason against doing it?"

"Oh, definitely for." She smirked.

They laughed together for a moment, and then Leila's face became serious again. "How's he doing, by the way? I know that no matter how hard I think we work, he's always working harder. It feels like I've barely seen him since the war ended."

"He's awake eighteen hours a day, either dealing with the Senate, the gods, the Greeks, or some other crisis that needs his immediate attention." Reyna sighed. "Of those eighteen hours, I can normally see him for at least three, usually four hours, and of those four hours, three of those are breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and half the time he's working as he eats too. Getting a day out was good for the both of us, but mostly for him. I'm trying to convince him to take days like that once a month and have one day a week where he doesn't work until noon."

"How's that going?"

"Well, despite winning the battles, I'm still losing the war." She confessed. "Percy's so…Percy."

"Yeah, I get that." Leila nodded sympathetically. "Want me to beat him up for you?"

"I'll get back to you on that." Reyna gave her a small smile. "Definitely not ruling it out just yet."

"Shit, things must be desperate then if you're not rejecting it out of hand." Leila shook her head. "Percy's always been a one-track mind when it comes to his work, but the thing I think you're forgetting is that he loves you more than anything in the world."

"I'm aware of that, actually, thanks."

"It's not a shot at you or him, Reyna, it's a simple fact." She rolled her eyes. "But I think you're forgetting just how powerful that makes you. Percy's the Imperator because he has to be, but he's yours because he wants to be. When it comes to priorities, you will always come out first, even if he says otherwise. If you really, really want him to slow down, then make him choose between keeping up with what he's doing and being with you. You'll be amazed how quickly he makes up his mind."

"Are you telling me to threaten breaking up with him to make him rest more?"

"What? No, of course not—" Leila blinked. "Oh. Oh, yeah, I can see how it came across that way. No, I meant literally being with you. Make plans in advance. Go do couple-y things together. You already know that Percy will do what you say even if it goes against his plans and schedules. Just…use it a bit more."

Reyna stared at Leila for several moments, trying to figure out why she was hit with a wave of nostalgia and fondness.

"You're…" Reyna drifted off as she realised who she was reminded of. "You sound just like Percy. Oh my gods, you're turning into Percy."

"What?"

"You are!" She snorted inelegantly. "He said you were his 'protégé' but I always thought he was just trying to annoy me, but he was right! You think just like him."

"Okay, I'm not sure whether you're annoyed or attracted by that, and I don't plan on sticking around to find out." Leila rose to her feet a little too quickly. "I think Percy might not be the only one who needs some rest either, Legate."

"Hey!" She tried to protest, but laughter was starting to bubble out of her at the thought of the similarities between them. "You can't be mean to me." Then she snorted again. "Mini-Percy."

"Aaand I'm gone."

Reyna's laughter followed her out of the room, but Reyna herself had dropped her head against the table. Her day was going so well.

XXXVXXX

"Look, I'm not one to judge people for doing things with their significant others, but why in the name of all that is holy would you be getting to second base in the office where you work and are known to receive iris messages from?" Percy asked exasperatedly. "At best, you might find me holding Reyna's hand when I'm in here, and now I've seen more of you and your girlfriend than I ever wanted to."

"I wasn't expecting a call!" Jason protested, though his face was so red that Percy had trouble taking him seriously.

"Again, you are in your office." He repeated. "Work office. Business office. Office where important diplomatic meetings—and not the kind you were just up to—are supposed to happen with our Greek friends. I mean, for Jupiter's sake, Jason, you have a bedroom just down the hall."

"Can we please move onto whatever you were calling me for?" His cousin pleaded with him. "Please?"

"If you let me continue for another thirty seconds, I won't tell Leila and Mike about this." Percy immediately offered. He didn't bother mentioning Reyna. They both knew she'd know before the day was over.

"You have thirty seconds. Go."

"It is so wildly unprofessional that you, a son of Jupiter, chief of all gods, would defile the sanctity of an imperial embassy like you were some mortal politician. I mean, seriously?" He sighed. "Okay, I'm done. But dude, you have a bedroom."

"I will keep that in mind." Jason replied, face buried in his hands. "What do you want?"

"Right now? Brain bleach. What I came here for was to talk to you about the Pantheum." Percy said. "Remember that massive project we have to fund because you made a promise to represent every god, goddess, and non-gendered deity that exists on the mortal plane of existence?"

"Yes, I remember that project. What about it?"

"Well, despite knowing that there are about a metric shit-ton of gods—just kidding, it's four hundred and eleven—it turns out that after actually going through that list, we're missing about, oh, a quarter of their domains."

"What?" Jason shot upright. "How is that possible?"

"It's four hundred and eleven gods, Jason, we don't have all the records easily available. Some of them haven't been heard from since the days of the republic. Hell, at least three of them aren't mentioned in anything from before the founding of Rome!" He exclaimed. "This is why we don't go about making broad, sweeping promises to gods!"

"I was under a lot of pressure, okay? Not really thinking with my big politics brain! Not all of us function like you do, Percy!"

"Gods knows that's true." He sighed. "I'd have died a long time ago if that were the case."

"Are you insulting yourself or complimenting the rest of the world?" Jason asked sarcastically. Percy flipped him the bird in response. "Very mature, Imperator."

"I set the guidelines for what maturity is. Maybe I'll make it policy to greet you this way." He snapped. "We've got a whole list of problems to resolve, Jason, and I don't have time to do this one myself. I can't have anyone in the legion do it because it would be wildly outside their purview. I can't ask anyone in the Senate to do it, because then they'll realise that we're colossal idiots who don't know what we're doing, so here I am, interrupting your intimate rendezvous with your girlfriend to ask, well no, actually, to tell you, that you need to figure out who all these gods are, what their domains are, and anything else that might be relevant for a shrine. Feel free to delegate to the Greeks, gods know the Minerva kids might actually enjoy that work. Was that good? Mature enough for you?"

"You know," Jason said slowly. "I think I might have upset you."

"Oh, you got that feeling, did you?" Percy rolled his eyes. It was like he was the only professional in the conversation. "Yes, you've upset me. This isn't a small thing. Gods above, this isn't even a big thing. This is an undertaking so massive that in a thousand years, there'll probably be an entire chapter dedicated in the History of New Rome to how we handled this project. How do you want us to be remembered, Jason? As the demigods who screwed up so amazingly that gods who were previously content to stay in the shadows joined forces to curse our bloodlines, or as the demigods who made sure that every god got a shrine, a way to be remembered by a people who had forgotten them for centuries if not millennia? Because I know where I want to land. Do you?"

"Of course I do, Percy." Jason sighed. "I'm sorry. I know this all fell on you, and I'm all the way over here basically having a paid holiday, but—"

It was like a switch flipped.

"Stop talking." He cut him off quickly. "Anything that followed that rage-inducing sentence would have only made things worse. I sent you to the Greeks because I knew that you'd be the best person to show them that despite our differences, Romans are demigods like them, and we can work together. What I've seen and heard tells me that you're treating this like a vacation when it is very much not. You're right—this has all fallen on me. I barely sleep. I eat and work at the same time. I don't have weekends off, and my girlfriend doesn't see me for anything outside of work right now. So, you'll understand when I say this—if you can't take your job seriously and treat it like the job it's supposed to be, I'll recall your ass in a heartbeat and send Daniel Voss, Abigail Chauveau, or any other member of the Populares Party to take your place, and I promise you that they won't answer Iris Messages while playing tongue hockey with their significant other."

Jason was silent for a few moments as he digested Percy's words. His face lost the redness it had held, though his ears remained tinged.

"Answer me this one question." Percy said quietly. "Are you Roman?"

"What?" Jason recoiled in surprise. "Of course I am!'

"Then act like it, for gods' sake!" He exclaimed. "Show them that you're their friend, show them that you care about them, but don't assimilate so that way they can feel better about themselves! You don't owe them anything, just like they don't owe us anything! I love you, Jason. You're my best friend and my closest family. But I love Rome more. And if I feel like you can't do your job properly, I'll remove you without hesitation. If I ever get a repeat of what happened when this call was answered, you'll be back in New Rome before you can get your pants on. Am I understood?"

"Yes." Jason said. Percy cleared his throat pointedly. "Yes, Imperator."

Percy swiped his hand through the message, and it vanished in a poof of water. He leaned back in his seat, letting out a loud groan as he ran his hands down his face. A moment later, there was a knock at his door, and Kyle poked his head in.

"The consuls are here, sir." He reported. "They're waiting in the sitting room."

"Send them through and offer to get them a drink if they want." Percy ordered. "Non-alcoholic, of course."

"Yes sir." Kyle vanished, and a moment later, Vanessa Gray and Andrew Scott walked into his room, offering him a fist-to-heart salute before taking the seats across from him.

"How are you guys doing?" He asked. Like with Reyna, Percy had a daily briefing with the consuls, where they updated him on political situations that they felt deserved his attention, and where he informed them of developments in the immortal world. "Kyle offer to get you drinks?"

"He did, we both declined." Andrew said. "He's a very efficient aide, wouldn't you say, Imperator?"

"I think he's learned a lot in his time with me." Percy nodded. "I'll be sad to lose him, he'll return to the First Cohort when he turns seventeen."

"Oh?" Vanessa arched an eyebrow at him. He offered a small smile in return.

"He's a legionary, that's true enough, but I'm trying to move us away from child soldiers. I was twelve when I joined the Legion. Most people are close enough to that age. I think it's too young. Haven't you noticed that none of the new arrivals have been sorted in cohorts?"

"That's…actually a really good point." Vanessa conceded with a nod. "I hadn't even noticed. They're drilled every day, but they don't take place in other duties. I've never seen them in armour or taking part in the daily march."

"That's a lot of manpower to be left out of the legion though, sir." Andrew came in with the counter point. "Some would argue that it's a risk to our safety."

"And I'd tell them that putting our security in the hands of a twelve year old is a risk to our safety." He retorted easily. "They'll join the legion at seventeen, and they'll be in it for five years. Then, they'll transition into the Urban Cohorts, where they'll serve as a reserve while they go to college, and if they so choose, they can reenlist in the legion either after attending college, or immediately after finishing their first five years."

"None of this has been put before the Senate." Vanessa said immediately.

"It will be, once it's written." Percy smiled again. "I'm going to work with the both of you. We'll present it together."

"So it's one of those bills that's going to pass anyway?" Andrew frowned. "There'll be some who don't like that."

"I mean, yeah, it'll probably pass, but it won't be because I force it to." Percy said. "Are you really telling me you'd prefer to keep throwing children into the legion rather than letting them join when they're older?"

"No, of course not, it's just…" He took a deep breath. "I think it's a very commendable idea, sir. I'm more than happy to write and present it alongside you and Vanessa, but there are going to be those in both parties who argue that demigods and legacies joining the legion upon their arrival has been policy for over a century and a half, and that we shouldn't discount that. And then they're going to ask about those who are under seventeen who are already in the legion."

"They'll be grandfathered in, of course." Vanessa said quickly. "Most of them are veterans of the Giant War, anyway, right?"

"That was my plan." Percy nodded. "Though I am going to give them the option to defer service until they're seventeen."

"You sound like you have this law all planned out, Percy." Vanessa noted. "Why do you need us?"

"Because this needs to be seen as something that we all agree on." He said. "Despite everyone seeming to think otherwise, I am strictly apolitical when it comes to the parties, so having us work together shows that this was something that both sides of the aisle agree on."

"Well…I do agree." Andrew gave a small nod. "Not everyone will, though."

"Respectfully to your fellow senators, but anyone with a shred of common sense will agree." Percy rolled his eyes. "Anyone who doesn't is a moron, and I won't hesitate to say it, no matter what party they belong to. We have a city full of adults—we don't need children fighting our wars for us."

"They'll point out that you were one of those child soldiers."

"Yeah, and I really wish I hadn't been." He said, maybe a little too sharply. "I had to watch all of my mentors and leaders die on my birthday. I don't regret my service, and I wouldn't change it for anything, but I am also not the average demigod."

He took a deep breath.

"I have your support for the bill?"

"You do, Imperator." Vanessa confirmed. Andrew nodded in agreement.

"Fantastic, let's move on to other matters." He smiled softly. "We'll start with the discovery of the Waystation in Indiana."

XXX

It was getting close to midnight when Percy finally slid into his bed. Reyna was fast asleep, long having given up on waiting for him but even in her sleep, she shifted so that she was pressed up against him. He pressed a gentle kiss to her temple, and faster than any night since returning from New York, Percy fell into a deep sleep. He should have known it meant that something was up, rather than him just being fortunate.

It didn't take long for the blackness of sleep to be replaced by a flat grassland, a stone marker resting not far from where Percy was standing. He wandered over to it, running a hand over the plaque on it before reading it.

The GEOGRAPHIC CENTER of the UNITED STATES, it read, followed by more information.

"Well." He said aloud. "This has got to be the weirdest dream yet."

"Is it, though?" A new voice asked him, deep and powerful, and familiar. Percy turned to find his father standing before him, along with Jupiter, Pluto, Juno, Vesta, and Ceres. He immediately dropped to a knee. "None of that, son. We're the ones in your head. Rise."

Percy did so, and Vesta stepped forward. "You have been a strong ruler, Perseus. We appreciate all you have done from Rome, and for us gods. But your job is not over yet. There is more for you to do."

"I am here to serve, my lady." He said, noticing the flicker of annoyance on his father's face.

"Yes, you are, aren't you?" Juno crooned. "A strong, powerful hero leading New Rome into a new era of prosperity."

He felt distinctly uncomfortable with her words and more specifically her tone, but he didn't let it show.

"Enough." Jupiter rumbled. "Your service is not in question, young Perseus. Very few could manage the task you have had thrust upon you with as much skill and gravitas. But as my sister said, your work is not done. Tell me, what do you see around us?"

"Grass?" He offered. Jupiter sighed deeply, so Percy pushed onwards before he upset him too much. "It's a plain. Flat for probably hundreds of miles around."

He kneeled down and scooped up some of the soil into his hands. It technically shouldn't have been possible, but a lot was possible through the power of the gods. It was slightly dry, but dark and soft in his palm, falling through his fingers back onto the ground. "Relatively fertile, by mortal standards. It'd make good farmland, at the very least, but this plain would make for a fantastic city, by Roman standards. We're somewhere in the Great Plains, right?"

"Kansas." Jupiter confirmed.

"Kansas." Percy repeated. "It's practically broken up into square plots as it is. It would make laying out a city even easier. Is that what this is? You want us to move New Rome to the middle of the United States?"

"Yes and no." Jupiter told him. "More will be explained at the Winter Solstice meeting. Until then, all you need to know is that we are considering making such an order. Order a halt to all non-essential construction—that includes the Pantheum—and begin discussing the feasibility of such a move with your engineers."

"May I ask why, Lord Jupiter? As I understood it, the Legion has been keeping an eye on Mount Othrys since the Civil War."

"That was a necessary decision." The King of the Gods sighed. "I stand by it. That is one of those questions that will be answered at the Winter Solstice, Perseus. I will not say any more until then."

"I understand, my lord." He tipped his head in deference. "And I will obey."

"The Legion could not have chosen a better person to be Imperator, Perseus." Vesta told him with a warm smile. "Do not forget that."

"Jason—" Juno began, but was cut off by Ceres, of all people.

"Too Greek." She sniffed. "Your fault, dear sister. I can't imagine what kind of corruption he's been through to be caught in such a position as he was with Venus' girl earlier today. Iris will not stop bursting out into laughter because of it. Honestly, Juno, he's your champion? At least Neptune's boy has the courtesy to keep his private life private."

"In defence of Jason—" Percy began, only to be soundly ignored as the Olympians began bickering with one another. A few moments in, and he felt a light and warm hand on his shoulder.

"My siblings have become distracted." Vesta told him. "A peril of immortality. Separate from everything they have said, I wished to be the one to thank you."

"My lady?"

"You are a brilliant leader, Percy, and despite what you may believe at times, New Rome is blessed to have you guiding it into the future." She smiled at him brightly. "And we gods of Olympus are blessed that it was you who was chosen. All that said…you need to take a step back."

"Sorry, what?"

"You are, quite literally, working yourself to death, young man." Vesta told him sternly. "Your health will start declining soon, as you are getting less and less sleep, consuming more and more caffeine, are sitting at a desk for twenty hours a day—the fact of the matter is, if you keep going as you have been going, you are going to die. It may not be soon, but it will be sooner than you would like. Furthermore, you will lose those few friends you cherish as you begin focusing only on your work. And then, maybe in a few months, maybe in a few years, you will lose the person you love most in this world. Because Reyna will continue to sacrifice her happiness for you, but eventually, she will realise that it is one sided. That you will always put Rome first. And then she will leave you. And then, you will be alone. I am the Goddess of the Hearth, and I refuse to see yours smothered. Now wake, Percy, and be better."

She tapped his forehead, and he jerked upright in his bed, sunlight beginning to stream in through the windows. Beside him, Reyna groaned in annoyance, but didn't wake, instead burrowing deeper into the blankets. He blinked several times, running a hand down his face that came away with a disturbing amount of sweat. He glanced at the clock beside him that showed the time as seven in the morning. His first meeting wasn't until after lunch, but he normally did a lot of paperwork and reports before then.

Instead, he settled back into the bed, pulled Reyna into him, and closed his eyes again. Sleep came just as easily as before. There were no dreams this time.

MMXXI

First of all, Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to everyone! Second of all, to my great regret, this story is still not complete, so do not expect to see it updated again anytime soon. That said, I felt like everyone had been waiting too long for the continuation of the Imperator Series, so I would release this chapter both to give you a taste of what was to come but also to prove that I have, indeed, been working on it. Big Shoutout to the folks over at the Emerald Library for encouraging me to post this chapter now instead of later, so make sure to head over there if you aren't already and say thank you ;). Again, to reiterate, this story is not finished yet and I will not be updating on a regular schedule until it is.

The first chapter of Parabellum is done! Just a reminder that this is not a full-length sequel to Filii Deorum, but instead a mini-sequel to set up the main storyline to follow. This will be about ten chapters, though I can't promise that to be a firm number at the moment. To discuss the chapter, I wanted to show Percy and Reyna having a domestic moment because there wasn't a lot of that in our previous stories. There'll be more moments in this story, because we all deserve more Preyna in our lives, and I am nothing if not a benevolent lord and saviour. The confrontation that happened on the beach was originally going to be a couple of monsters posing as mortals, but then I decided to just have the whole thing be mundane. There will be time for conflict and action in the next story. This one is going to be (mostly) political and domestic in nature. As always, I hope you enjoyed, and please, please, please leave a review letting me know what you think. Feel free to send me a PM as well with any further thoughts, questions, or anything else. I love hearing from you guys.

Friendly reminder that I have a discord channel where I talk about this story and all my others! Code is aQyrha34Pu!

Cheers, CombatTombat