“You’ve got spunk, demigod,” he said. “Ares is my Greek form. But to these followers, to the children of Rome, I am Mars—patron of the empire, divine father of Romulus and Remus.” “We’ve met,” Percy said. “We…we had a fight.…” The god scratched his chin, as if trying to recall. “I fight a lot of people. But I assure you—you’ve never fought me as Mars. If you had, you’d be dead. Now, kneel, as befits a child of Rome, before you try my patience.” Around Mars’s feet, the ground boiled in a circle of flame. “Percy,” Frank said, “please.” Percy clearly didn’t like it, but he knelt.
