Oh god , I was having sex dreams about her nephew . How much more embarrassed could I be ?

She raised an eyebrow. "You got something to say to me, Seaweed Brain?"

You'd probably kick my butt."

You know I'd kick your butt."

I brushed the cake off my hands. "When I was at the River Styx, turning invulnerable . . . Nico said I had to concentrate on one thing that kept me anchored to the world, that made me want to stay mortal."

Annabeth kept her eyes on the horizon. "Yeah?"

Then up on Olympus," I said, "when they wanted to make me a god and stuff, I kept thinking-"

Oh, you so wanted to."

Well, maybe a little. But I didn't, because I thought-I didn't want things to stay the same for eternity, because things could always get better. And I was thinking . . ." My throat felt really dry.

Anyone in particular?" Annabeth asked, her voice soft.

I looked over and saw that she was trying not to smile.

You're laughing at me," I complained.

I am not!"

You are so not making this easy."

Then she laughed for real, and she put her hands
around my neck. "I am never, ever going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it.

"I've developed an interest in geological studies and the search for fossils. And I am hoping to get an article published through the American Philosophical Society."

"A society? About fossils?" Rafe asked.

"The Proceedings is their quarterly journal."

Rafe grunted.

She reached a level spot, and when Rafe came down next to her, she leaned close and whispered, "I believe my findings might make me eligible for the Magellanic Premium." Julia felt the excitement shining out of her.

"You don't have a brain in your head, do you?" Rafe sound sad but resigned, the idiot.

Julia turned and Rafe was only inches away. He said, "We should use ropes. Tie ourselves together. Then when you fall I can save you."

That was nice.

Disrespectful, definitely doubtful, slightly sneering even, and she was very tempted to punch him in the nose. But his underestimation of her was rooted in his wanting to keep her alive, so there were heroic overtones to his sneering.

And that was nice.

I had never expected to fall in love , but then , I never imagined anyone like Jess . She was one beautiful contradiction . The idea of letting someone else own my heart wasn't appealing . It sounded weak and foolish . Something meant for the words of a song . I was wrong . When I thought about my future now , Jess was all that I could see , and that was all I needed . I couldn't ask for more .