The Last Thing I Wanted

I Thought About All The Things I Was Suddenly Able To Do—like Fight With A Sword And Summon A Magical Shell Of Armor. Those Were Not Things I Covered In Home School.

Think Long And Hard About How You Proceed, Nico Di Angelo. You Cannot Lie To Cupid. If You Let Your Anger Rule You... Well, Your Fate Will Be Even Sadder Then Mine.

I Tried To Think Of Something To Say. Excuse Me? Hello? Marry Me? Anything Would Have Done.

Poseidon Held Out His Arms And Gave Me A Hug. I Realized, A Little Embarrassed, That I'd Never Actually Hugged My Dad Before. He Was Warm—like A Regular Human—and He Smelled Of A Salty Beach And Fresh Sea Air.

Carter Pulled Out Several Lengths Of Brown Twine, A Small Ebony Cat Statue, And A Thick Roll Of Paper. No, Not Paper. Papyrus. I Remember Dad Explaining How The Egyptians Made It From A River Plant Because They Never Invented Paper. The Stuff Was So Thick And Rough, It Made Me Wonder If The Poor Egyptians Had Had To Use Toilet Papyrus. If So, No Wonder They Walked Sideways.