𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐒 ! [percy jackson]¹

𝐢𝐢𝐢. octavian slaughters percy's friend !

𝐒 𝐓 𝐀 𝐑   𝐖 𝐀 𝐑 𝐒   !

C H A P T E R   T H R E E

( octavian slaughters percy's friend )

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⬩❖⬩ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

          ON THE WAY out of camp, Aurora and Hazel stopped in at one of the coffee shops to get some fuel. Aurora bought Percy an espresso and herself a hot chocolate, picking out three muffins for the trio to eat on their way to Temple Hill. She believed that after saving their lives, it was the least she could do for him. That, and she could hear his stomach growling.

Percy had inhaled the muffin and his drink, and Aurora half expected him to start bouncing off of the walls. To her surprise, the coffee seemed to calm him down, allowing him to focus on everything that the camp had to offer. Unlike Percy, Aurora drank her hot chocolate slowly, enjoying her favorite drink.

A few campers raced past them in swimsuits and towels, heading into the bath house. A building located near the barracks with steam coming from a row of chimneys along the side. She could hear laughter and water splashing echoing from inside, her lips pulling up in a small smile. She would definitely need a shower after the war games that night.

"Bath house," Hazel said, having noticed Percy's gaze on the building. "We'll get you in there before dinner, hopefully. You haven't lived until you've had a Roman bath."

Percy let out a sigh that made Aurora chuckle softly. They approached the front gate, the barracks getting larger in size and nicer. The ghosts that floated around them looked better—with fancier armor and shinier auras. Her eyes scanned the banners hanging along the barracks, eyes growing dark as she met the eyes of one of the centurions from the First Cohort. He made a rude gesture in her direction that she ignored, turning to Percy to distract herself.

"You guys are divided into different cabins?" He asked, eyes studying the barracks.

"Sort of." Aurora ducked as a kid riding a giant eagle swooped overhead. "We have five cohorts of about forty kids each. Each cohort is divided into barracks of ten—like roommates, kind of."

Percy took a second before responding, "You're telling me there's two hundred kids at camp?"

"Roughly."

"And all of them are children of the gods?" Percy whistled lowly, eyes wide. "The gods have been busy."

Hazel and Aurora laughed. Aurora remembered when she thought that way, believing every single member of the legion was a demigod. Then she found out about legacies, and she understood how the camp was so big.

"Not all of them are children of major gods," Hazel clarified, Percy's eyes shining with understanding. "There are hundreds of minor Roman gods. Plus, a lot of the campers are legacies—second or third generation. Maybe their parents were demigods. Or their grandparents."