The Crown of Ptolemy (Demigods & Magicians, #3)

by Rick Riordan

Annabeth peered into the rain, waiting for magical teenagers to fall out of the sky.

Not sure if that's how it works

At this point I should probably back up and explain what the heck was going on. Only problem: I wasn’t sure what the heck was going on.

Typical Percy

Annabeth knit her eyebrows. Even with her blond hair plastered to the side of her face, she looked cute. Her eyes were the same color as the storm clouds.

NOW'S NOT THE TIME, PERCY

“I’m getting a headache. Usually when I get a headache, it’s time to stop talking and attack something.”

“Understood. No bad guys turning immortal on my watch.” I kissed her, because 1) when you’re a demigod going into battle, every kiss might be your last, and 2) I like kissing her.

I wanted to get up and face Setne, but my rear end had other ideas. It wanted to stay where it was and be in extreme pain. Butts are like that sometimes. They can be, well, butts.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?” Wadjet roared. “YOU DARE TAKE A SELFIE WITH THE COBRA GODDESS?”

“Hold up,” I said. “Low tolerance for confusing names. Can you explain what’s going on in, like, regular words?”

My last two braincells:

Then it occurred to me. She looked like a younger version of Annabeth, but her fidgeting and hyperness reminded me of…well, me. If Annabeth and I ever had a daughter, she might be a lot like Sadie. Whoa.

Awwwwwww

I looked at Sadie. “Is he trying to confuse me?” “No,” she said brightly. “He’s confusing without trying.”

“Which of you is better with that kind of magic?” “Sadie,” Carter said. “I’m more a combat magician.” “Giant chicken mode,” I remembered. “Dude, my avatar is a falcon-headed warrior.” “I still think you could get a sponsorship deal with KFC. Make some big bucks.”

HAHAHAHAHA WHYYY

“Carter, give it a shot,” I said. “The only thing better than a giant chicken man is a giant invisible chicken man.”

What was it like merging with a god? If you want the full details, read my Yelp review. I don’t feel like going into it again. I gave the experience half a star.

(For the record: I have my own healthy fear of Annabeth. She has kicked my butt on more than one occasion. But disdain? Not so much. That was all Nekhbet.)

My one advantage: I’d been holding Setne in my claws, which meant he was directly below me. I slammed right into him and locked my arms around his chest. We plummeted together through the clouds.

Mark of athena 2.0?

Let me tell you: If you actually see someone puking rainbows…there’s nothing cute about it.

My mouth went dry. I imagined Annabeth invoking hieroglyphs at Camp Half-Blood, blowing up chariots on the racetrack, hurling giant blue fists during capture the flag.

She kissed me, and I decided that I was glad too. A kiss in the sunset and the promise of a good bacon cheeseburger—with that kind of payoff, who needs immortality?