The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan Page B

over a century. He loved reminding recruits that they were less important than he was.
    “No letters,” Octavian said regretfully. “Will any legionnaires stand for him?”
    “I will!” Frank stepped forward. “He saved my life!”
    Immediately there were shouts of protest from the other cohorts. Reyna raised her hand for quiet and glared at Frank.
    “Frank Zhang,” she said, “for the second time today, I remind you that you are on probatio. Your godly parent has not even claimed you yet. You’re not eligible to stand for another camper until you’ve earned your first stripe.”
    Frank looked like he might die of embarrassment.
    Hazel couldn’t leave him hanging. She stepped out of line and said, “What Frank means is that Percy saved both our lives. I am a full member of the legion. I will stand for Percy Jackson.”
    Frank glanced at her gratefully, but the other campers started to mutter. Hazel was barely eligible. She’d only gotten her stripe a few weeks ago, and the “act of valor” that earned it for her had been mostly an accident. Besides, she was a daughter of Pluto, and a member of the disgraced Fifth Cohort. She wasn’t doing Percy much of a favor by giving him her support.
    Reyna wrinkled her nose, but she turned to Octavian. The augur smiled and shrugged, like the idea amused him.
    Why not? Hazel thought. Putting Percy in the Fifth would make him less of a threat, and Octavian liked to keep all his enemies in one place.
    “Very well,” Reyna announced. “Hazel Levesque, you may stand for the recruit. Does your cohort accept him?”
    The other cohorts started coughing, trying not to laugh. Hazel knew what they were thinking: Another loser for the Fifth .
    Frank pounded his shield against the ground. The other members of the Fifth followed his lead, though they didn’t seem very excited. Their centurions, Dakota and Gwen, exchanged pained looks, like: Here we go again.
    “My cohort has spoken,” Dakota said. “We accept the recruit.”
    Reyna looked at Percy with pity. “Congratulations, Percy Jackson. You stand on probatio. You will be given a tablet with your name and cohort. In one year’s time, or as soon as you complete an act of valor, you will become a full member of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. Serve Rome, obey the rules of the legion, and defend the camp with honor. Senatus Populusque Romanus! ”
    The rest of the legion echoed the cheer.
    Reyna wheeled her pegasus away from Percy, like she was glad to be done with him. Skippy spread his beautiful wings. Hazel couldn’t help feeling a pang of envy. She’d give anything for a horse like that, but it would never happen. Horses were for officers only, or barbarian cavalry, not for Roman legionnaires.
    “Centurions,” Reyna said, “you and your troops have one hour for dinner. Then we will meet on the Field of Mars. The First and Second Cohorts will defend. The Third, Fourth, and Fifth will attack. Good fortune!”
    A bigger cheer went up—for the war games and for dinner. The cohorts broke ranks and ran for the mess hall.
    Hazel waved at Percy, who made his way through the crowd with Nico at his side. To Hazel’s surprise, Nico was beaming at her.
    “Good job, Sis,” he said. “That took guts, standing for him.”
    He had never called her Sis before. She wondered if that was what he had called Bianca.
    One of the guards had given Percy his probatio nameplate. Percy strung it on his leather necklace with the strange beads.
    “Thanks, Hazel,” he said. “Um, what exactly does it mean—your standing for me?”
    “I guarantee your good behavior,” Hazel explained. “I teach you the rules, answer your questions, make sure you don’t disgrace the legion.”
    “And…if I do something wrong?”
    “Then I get killed along with you,” Hazel said. “Hungry? Let’s eat.”

A T LEAST THE CAMP FOOD WAS GOOD . Invisible wind spirits— aurae —waited on the campers and seemed to know exactly what everyone wanted. They