The Tyrant's Tomb
Life is uncertainAccept presents, and alwaysEat your birthday cakeMY FIRST SURPRISE: A front-row seat.Meg and I were given places of honor next to the senior senators, and themost important citizens of New Rome, and those demigods withaccessibility needs. When Meg saw me, she patted the bench next to her, asif there were any other place to sit. The chamber was absolutely packed.Somehow, it was reassuring to see everyone together, even if the populacewas much reduced and the sea of white bandages could have caused snowblindness.Reyna limped into the chamber right behind me. The entire assemblycame to its feet. They waited in respectful silence as she made her way to herpraetor’s seat next to Frank, who nodded at his colleague.Once she was seated, everyone else followed suit.Reyna gestured at Frank like, Let the fun begin.“So,” Frank addressed the audience, “I call to order this extraordinarymeeting of the people of New Rome and the Twelfth Legion. First item onthe agenda: a formal thank-you to all. We survived by a team effort. We’vedealt a huge blow to our enemies. Tarquin is dead—really dead at last. Twoout of three emperors of the Triumvirate have been destroyed, along withtheir fleet and their troops. This was done at great cost. But you all acted liketrue Romans. We live to see another day!”
There was applause, some nods, and a few cheers of “Yes!” and“Another day!” One guy in the back, who must not have been payingattention for the last week said, “Tarquin?”“Second,” Frank said, “I want to reassure you that I’m alive and well.”He patted his chest as if to prove it. “My fate is no longer tied to a piece ofwood, which is nice. And if you would all please forget that you saw me inmy underwear, I’d appreciate it.”That got some laughs. Who knew Frank could be funny on purpose?“Now…” His expression turned serious. “It’s our duty to inform you ofsome personnel changes. Reyna?”He watched her quizzically, as if wondering whether she would really gothrough with it.“Thank you, Frank.” She pulled herself to her feet. Again, everyone inthe assembly who could stand did.“Guys. Please.” She gestured for us to be seated. “This is hard enough.”When we were all settled, she scanned the faces in the crowd: a lot ofanxious, sad expressions. I suspected many people knew what was coming.“I’ve been praetor a long time,” Reyna said. “It’s been an honor to servethe legion. We’ve been through some rough times together. Some…interesting years.”A bit of nervous laughter. Interesting was the perfect curse word.“But it’s time for me to step down,” she continued. “So I am resigningmy post as praetor.”A moan of disbelief filled the chamber, as if homework had just beenassigned on a Friday afternoon.“It’s for personal reasons,” Reyna said. “Like, my sanity, for instance. Ineed time just to be Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, to find out who I amoutside the legion. It may take a few years, or decades, or centuries. Andso…” She removed her praetor’s cloak and badge and handed them to Frank.“Thalia?” she called.Thalia Grace made her way down the central aisle. She winked at me asshe passed.She stood before Reyna and said, “Repeat after me: I pledge myself tothe goddess Diana. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternalmaidenhood, and join the hunt.”Reyna repeated the words. Nothing magical happened that I could see:no thunder or lightning, no silver glitter falling from the ceiling. But Reyna
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Life is uncertain
Accept presents, and always
Eat your birthday cake
MY FIRST SURPRISE: A front-row seat.
Meg and I were given places of honor next to the senior senators, and the
most important citizens of New Rome, and those demigods with
accessibility needs. When Meg saw me, she patted the bench next to her, as
if there were any other place to sit. The chamber was absolutely packed.
Somehow, it was reassuring to see everyone together, even if the populace
was much reduced and the sea of white bandages could have caused snow
blindness.
Reyna limped into the chamber right behind me. The entire assembly
came to its feet. They waited in respectful silence as she made her way to her
praetor’s seat next to Frank, who nodded at his colleague.
Once she was seated, everyone else followed suit.
Reyna gestured at Frank like, Let the fun begin.
“So,” Frank addressed the audience, “I call to order this extraordinary
meeting of the people of New Rome and the Twelfth Legion. First item on
the agenda: a formal thank-you to all. We survived by a team effort. We’ve
dealt a huge blow to our enemies. Tarquin is dead—really dead at last. Two
out of three emperors of the Triumvirate have been destroyed, along with
their fleet and their troops. This was done at great cost. But you all acted like
true Romans. We live to see another day!”
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