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Percy could give Theo this: She had done a number on the Apollo Belvedere.
Once standing fifteen feet tall, solidified in pure marble that practically glowed with contempt—as though the Roman that had forged it personally poured his hatred for the Greeks into his creation—it was reduced to, really, a step above grinder dust. Leo's new mechanical hoist system had lowered the remains of the statue onto the hillside with ease, all of the pieces gathered in a net like a fisherman's. At the bottom of the barrel, Percy saw half of Apollo's face glinting in the sun. He found some sort of irony in that pretty easily.
Speaking of the sun; the moment Hedge and the Argo II had descended over the River Acheron, Percy had boarded the ship with Theo in his arms and set her up in a bed in the infirmary. He hooked her up with ambrosia and all the nectar a demigod could dream of. He hadn't wanted to leave her side, but Jason had promised him that he wouldn't take his eyes off of her for a second until she woke up. That had made Percy feel a little better.
Everyone else ate a lunch of sandwiches on the deck to appreciate the nice weather while they discussed what to do.
"So," Reyna said. "Frank Zhang... praetor."
Frank shifted, wiping crumbs from his chin. "Well, yeah. Field promotion."
"To lead a different legion," Reyna noted. "A legion of ghosts."
Hazel put her arm protectively through Frank's. After an hour in sick bay themselves, they both looked a lot better, but Percy could tell they weren't sure what to think about their old boss from Camp Jupiter dropping in for lunch.
"Really," May said to Reyna, sensing her distaste for the promotion, "you should've seen him."
"Frank is a leader," Hazel insisted. "He makes a great praetor."
Reyna's eyes stayed on Frank, like she was trying to guess his weight. "I believe you," she said. "I approve."
Frank blinked. "You do?"
Reyna smiled dryly. "A son of Mars, the hero who helped to bring back the eagle of the legion... I can work with a demigod like that. I'm just wondering how to convince the Twelfth Fulminata."
Frank scowled. "Yeah. I've been wondering the same thing."
Percy still couldn't get over how much Frank had changed. A 'growth spurt' was putting it mildly. He was at least three inches taller, less pudgy and more bulky, like a linebacker. His face looked sturdier, his jawline more rugged.
"The legion will listen to you, Reyna," Hazel said. "You made it here alone, across the ancient lands."
Reyna chewed her sandwich as if it were cardboard. "In doing so, I broke the laws of the legion."
