The Forgotten Olympian |BOOK 1| PJO X HP | Alexandra Marine

Chapter 69 - Alex - Aftermath

Frank raised his hand for quiet. "You'll all be welcome at Camp Jupiter. We've come to an agreement with Chiron: a free exchange between the camps – weekend visits, training programmes and, of course, emergency aid in times of need –"

"And parties?" asked Dakota.

"Hear, hear!" said Conner Stoll.

Reyna spread her arms. "That goes without saying. We Romans invented parties."

Another big Oooohhhhhhhh!

"That's debatable," Percy and I said together, and high-fived each other for timing.

"So thank you," Reyna concluded. "All of you. We could've chosen hatred and war. Instead we found acceptance and friendship."

Then she did something unexpected. She walked up to Nico, who was standing to one side in the shadows, as usual. She grabbed his hand and pulled him gently into the firelight.

"We had one home," she said. "Now we have two."

She gave Nico a big hug and the crowd roared with approval. He buried his face in Reyna's shoulder and blinked the tears out of his eyes.

As Consul for Romans, I was technically supposed to leave Camp Half Blood with them, but Reyna insisted that I spend time with my real family. It was hard to resist, so I promised them that I would visit them from time to time.

The next day, I woke up early and lent a hand to my people as they broke camp. Frank went to the Hades Cabin, got a few threats from Nico and brought back Hazel. 

Jason had decided to stay at Camp Half-Blood. He greeted me at daybreak and headed to the Hades Cabin and talked with him for a while.

"So," I said as he headed back, "no long praetor."

"Yeah," Jason said, scratching his head, smiling. Yeah, he was cute. 

"It can get a little lonely when you're alone in a Cabin," I said, smiling.

"Tell me about it!" 

"I suggest Rachel's cave. It's fun. You can try and guess her weird paintings."

"Or I could sneak into Aphrodite Cabin," Jason said, smirking.

"Oh, she'd kill you. Trust me, I talk from personal experience."

"Wait- you mean- you had a love-"

"No, no, not what I meant. I was cursed to love only one," I said, laughing. "I meant, she doesn't even like it when I enter the Cabin to give advice to warriors."

"Oh wow," Jason mused. "Guess Piper'll have to kidnap me then."

"Seems so," I replied. 

"Dude, Alex," Frank called. "You gonna help us?"

"Alright," I said, and turned to Jason. "See ya round, Sparky."

"Yeah, Starfish."

"No," I warned with a smile and turned back to help Frank.

A loud 'whoop!' cut through the air.

Over by the hearth in the center of the common, Percy was grinning at something Annabeth had just told him. Annabeth laughed and playfully slapped his arm.

"I'll be right back," I said, dusting off dirt from my hands. "Need to see what all the fuss it about."

"Maybe he proposed," Frank muttered.

"They're underage, idiot," I scolded Frank. "They still have one year left." 

I walked over to Percy and Annabeth, who were both still grinning like crazy. Nico joined us.