"Thanks, Apollo," I said. "I'll, um, let you handle the poetry."

 

The next few hours were a blur. I remembered my promise to my mother. Zeus

didn't even blink an eye when I told him my strange request. He snapped his

fingers and informed me that the top of the Empire State Building was now lit up

blue. Most mortals would just have to wonder what it meant, but my mom would

know: I had survived, Olympus was saved.

 

The gods set about repairing the throne room, which went surprisingly fast with

twelve superpowerful beings at work. Grover and I cared for the wounded, and

once the sky bridge re-formed, we greeted our friends who had survived. The

Cyclopes had saved Thalia from the fallen statue. She was on crutches, but

otherwise she was okay. Connor and Travis Stoll had made it through with only

minor injuries. They promised me they hadn't even looted the city much. They

told me my parents were fine, though they weren't allowed into Mount Olympus.

Mrs. O'Leary had dug Chiron out of the rubble and rushed him off to camp. The

Stolls looked kind of worried about the old centaur, but at least he was alive.

Katie Gardner reported that she'd seen Rachel Elizabeth Dare run out of the

Empire State Building at the end of the battle. Rachel had looked unharmed, but

nobody knew where she'd gone, which also troubled me.

 

Nico di Angelo came into Olympus to a hero's welcome, his father right behind

him, despite the fact that Hades was only supposed to visit Olympus on winter

solstice. The god of the dead looked stunned when his relatives clapped him on