The Tyrant's Tomb

“Where do you even mail the letters to?” I asked. “The Hunters are
constantly on the move.”
“They have a PO box in Wyoming and—Why are we talking about
this?”
Meg pinched a seed between her fingers. A geranium exploded into
bloom. “Is that where your dogs went? Searching for Thalia?”
I didn’t see how she’d made that connection, but Reyna nodded.
“Just after you arrived,” Reyna said, “I wrote Thalia about…you know,
Jason. I knew it was a long shot that she’d get the message in time, so I sent
Aurum and Argentum out looking for her, too, in case the Hunters were in
the area. No luck.”
I imagined what could happen if Thalia received Reyna’s letter. Would
she come charging into Camp Jupiter at the head of the Hunters, ready to
help us fight the emperors and Tarquin’s undead hordes? Or would she turn
her wrath on me? Thalia had already bailed me out of trouble once, in
Indianapolis. By way of thanks, I’d gotten her brother killed in Santa
Barbara. I doubted anyone would object if a stray Hunter’s arrow found me
as its target during the fighting. I shivered, thankful for the slowness of the
US Postal Service.
We made our way past Treasure Island, the anchor of the Bay Bridge
midway between Oakland and San Francisco. I thought about Caligula’s
fleet, which would be passing this island later tonight, ready to unload its
troops, and if necessary, its arsenal of Greek fire bombs on the unsuspecting
East Bay. I cursed the slowness of the US Postal Service.
“So,” I said, making a second attempt at nonchalance, “are you and
Thalia, er…?”
Reyna raised an eyebrow. “Involved romantically?”
“Well, I just…I mean…Um…”
Oh, very smooth, Apollo. Have I mentioned I was once the god of
poetry?
Reyna rolled her eyes. “If I had a denarius for every time I got that
question…Aside from the fact that Thalia is in the Hunters, and thus sworn
to celibacy…Why does a strong friendship always have to progress to
romance? Thalia’s an excellent friend. Why would I risk messing that up?”
“Uh—”
“That was a rhetorical question,” Reyna added. “I do not need a
response.”