the back. I doubt he'd ever gotten such an enthusiastic welcome before.

 

Clarisse marched in, still shivering from her time in the ice block, and Ares

bellowed, "There's my girl!"

 

The god of war ruffled her hair and pounded her on the back, calling her the

best warrior he'd ever seen. "That drakon-slaying? THAT'S what I'm talking

about!"

 

She looked pretty overwhelmed. All she could do was nod and blink, like she was

afraid he'd start hitting her, but eventually she began to smile.

 

Hera and Hephaestus passed me, and while Hephaestus was a little grumpy about my

jumping on his throne, he thought I'd done "a pretty bang-up job, mostly."

 

Hera sniffed in disdain. "I suppose I won't destroy you and that little girl

now."

 

"Annabeth saved Olympus," I told her. "She convinced Luke to stop Kronos."

 

"Hmm," Hera whirled away in a huff, but I figured our lives would be safe, at

least for a little while.

 

Dionysus's head was still wrapped in a bandage. He looked me up and down and

said, "Well, Percy Jackson. I see Pollux made it through, so I suppose you