Where You Go ― Jason Grace

vii. italian ice cream in greece, french fries in russia

THE ONLY UPSIDE to having a boyfriend who had his fair share of self-sacrificing, dumbass moments—sometimes they worked out better than expected.

Like how jumping into the raging sea during the worst thunderstorm Ophelia had ever witnessed had ended in Jason's wound being healed and his identity crisis finally being officially solved.

And if they spent the entire night together while Buford the Table was busy in the engine room helping Leo and Annabeth with engine repairs... well, no one really needed to know that.

"Pontifex Maximus," Ophelia mused. "Never would have pegged you as a priest."

Jason blushed. "It just... feels right," he said. "This way, we can go between both camps, honor all of the gods, maybe prevent any more wars between the gods... for a while, at least."

Ophelia tilted her head up, looking at the determined look in his eyes. She hid a smile as she asked, "'We'?"

Somehow, Jason's face got redder. "I—I just thought, I mean—"

"I'm teasing," Ophelia said with a laugh. "I'm with you 'til the end, Jase."

Jason tangled their fingers together, bringing them up to kiss the back of her hand. "I'm counting on that."

Ophelia let herself relax for a moment, her head on his chest and her ear pressed against his heartbeat. When he'd been injured, she'd been so scared—scared that she would lose him, just like she'd lost her mother, Matt, even Maren. But he'd pulled through, and she was thanking every god for that.

After a while, she sat up reluctantly. "I should head back to my cabin," she murmured.

Jason groaned, reaching out to pull her back down. "No," he whined. "Stay here."

Ophelia laughed. "And risk Holographic Hedge barging in and shouting about how indecent we are for the whole ship to hear?" she asked. "I don't think Hazel'd ever be able to look either of us in the eye if that happened again."

Her boyfriend pouted, but let her go. "Fine," he mumbled. "I hope you sleep terribly without me."

"Baby," she teased, kissing him one last time before sneaking out into the hall and back into her cabin.

❖

Ophelia had never had gelato before, but as she quickly discovered, it made everything better.

After Percy and Annabeth returned from their scouting mission on the island of Mykonos with gelato for everyone, the whole crew settled on the deck. For the first time in days, no monsters or storms ravaged their ship.

The day was hot and windy. The sea glittered with chop, but Leo had fixed the stabilizers well enough that Hazel didn't look as seasick as she usually did.

Curving off to their starboard side was the town of Mykonos—a collection of white stucco buildings with blue roofs, blue windows and blue doors.

"We saw these pelicans walking around town," Percy reported. "Like, just going through the shops, stopping at the bars."

Hazel frowned. "Monsters in disguise?"

"No," Annabeth said, laughing. It was a nice thing to hear, especially after... well, everything. "Just regular old pelicans. They're the town mascots or something. And there's a 'Little Italy' section of town. That's why the gelato is so good."

"Europe is messed up." Leo shook his head. "First we go to Rome for Spanish steps. Then we go to Greece for Italian ice cream."

"Next we'll be headed to Russia for French fries," Ophelia quipped, earning a rather dignified snort from Piper.