The Tyrant's Tomb

from Celestial bronze and threads from the looms of the Fates (which…
gosh, where did those come from? I certainly didn’t steal them). The bow
weighed almost nothing.
“That has been in the principia treasure room for centuries,” Frank said.
“No one can wield it. It’s too heavy to draw. Believe me, I would have if I
could have. Since it was originally a gift from you to the legion, it seemed
only right we give it back. With your godly strength returning, we figured
you could put it to good use.”
I didn’t know what to say. Usually I was against re-gifting, but in this
case, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. I couldn’t remember when or why
I’d given the legion this bow—for centuries, I’d passed them out like party
favors—but I was certainly glad to have it back. I drew the string with no
trouble at all. Either my strength was godlier than I realized, or the bow
recognized me as its rightful owner. Oh, yes. I could do some damage with
this beauty.
“Thank you,” I said.
Frank smiled. “I’m just sorry we didn’t have any replacement combat
ukuleles in storage.”
From the bleachers, Lavinia grumbled, “After I went and fixed it for him,
too.”
“But,” Hazel said, carefully ignoring her new centurion, “we do have a
gift for Meg.”
Larry rummaged through his Santa bag again. He pulled out a black silk
pouch about the size of a deck of playing cards. I resisted the urge to shout,
HA! My gift is bigger!
Meg peeked in the pouch and gasped. “Seeds!”
That would not have been my reaction, but she seemed genuinely
delighted.
Leila, daughter of Ceres, called out from the stands, “Meg, those are very
ancient. We all got together, the camp’s gardeners, and collected them for
you from our greenhouse storage bins. Honestly, I’m not even sure what
they’ll all grow into, but you should have fun finding out! I hope you can use
them against the last emperor.”
Meg looked at a loss for words. Her lip quivered. She nodded and
blinked her thanks.
“Okay, then!” Frank said. “I know we ate at the funeral, but we need to
celebrate Hazel’s and Lavinia’s promotions, wish Reyna the best on her new