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xxiv. happy endings and new beginnings
the next morning percy, frank, hazel, gale, and arcana ate breakfast early, then they headed to the city to before the senate was due to convene. as percy was a praetor now, he could go pretty much anywhere he wanted, whenever he wanted.
on the way they passed the stables, where tyson and mrs. o'leary were sleeping in. tyson snored on a bed of hay next to the unicorns, a blissful look on his face like he was dreaming of ponies. mrs. o'leary had rolled on her back and covered her ears with her paws. on the stable roof, ella roosted in a pile of old roman scrolls, her head tucked under her wings.
when they got to the forum, they sat by the fountains and watched the sun come up. the citizens were already busy sweeping up cupcake simulations, confetti, and party hats from last night's celebration. the engineer corps was working on a new arch that would commemorate the victory over polybotes.
hazel said she'd even heard talk of a formal triumph for the five of them— a parade around the city followed by a week of games and celebrations— but percy knew they'd never get the chance. they didn't have the time.
percy told them about his dream of juno. gale wasn't happy that the queen of the gods visited his boyfriend, seeing as the goddess and percy must've had some interaction before he had his amnesia, though he was happy that percy seemed alright, if not a bit shaken up.
"the gods were busy last night," hazel said through a frown. "show them, frank."
frank reached into his coat pocket. gale thought he might bring out his piece of firewood, but instead he produced a thin paperback book and a note on red stationary.
"these were pillow this morning." he passed them to percy. "like the tooth fairy visited."
the book was the art of war by sun tzu. gale had read it before, the cover looked familiar, but it didn't take long to figure out who sent it. he peered over percy's shoulder to read the letter: good job, kid. a real man's best weapon is his mind. this was your mom's favorite book. give it a read. P.S— i hope your friend percy has learned some respect for me.
gale looked up at percy. he shook his head in response.
"wow." percy handed it to arcana, who took a glance at it. "maybe mars is different from ares. i don't think ares can read."
arcana snorted. "sounds like the kind of guy to fight a twelve year old for fun."
