The Ship of the Dead (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #3)

by Rick Riordan

I could totally imagine Percy bouncing baby Estelle in his arms, singing “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid.

“Huh.” Annabeth shook her head. “All these years sneaking around, and we could’ve just been ourselves?” “You should always do that.”

“And you have to flaunt the weird, my friends.”

“You’re a strange person.” “I prefer the term fabulously weird.”

He squinted at the page. When he concentrated, the left corner of his mouth twitched like he was enjoying a secret joke. I found that tic distracting. I wanted to know what he found so funny.

I found the idea of Alex taking a souvenir from my family mansion strangely pleasing.

PLEASE he needs to be happy! I hope they end up togethr

You can’t hold on to hate forever. It won’t do a thing to the person you hate, but it’ll poison you, sure enough.”

Even that little bit of consideration from Alex—the idea that my death might be slightly disagreeable to her—gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling. Yeesh. I was pathetic.

Awwww

Instead, a single clear memory hit me: nothing special, just breakfast at Café 19 in Valhalla, a quick snapshot of me, stupid Magnus Chase, the way Alex saw me.

AWWWW MAGNUS THEY LIKE YOU TOO BABE

Then, before I even knew what was happening, she kissed me. She could have bitten off my mouth and I would have been less surprised. Her lips were cracked and rough from the cold. Her nose fit perfectly next to mine. Our faces aligned, our breath mixed. Then she pulled away. “I wasn’t going to die without doing that,” she said.

AHHHHHHHHHH

so we’d don’t

Typo Uncle Rick!

But I needed more. I turned to Alex. “Let me tell you all about Alex Fierro!” “Saving the best for last?” Alex asked, a hint of challenge in her voice. “She is our secret weapon!” I said. “The Terror of Jorvik! The creator of Pottery Barn, ceramic warrior!” “I got some lovely place mats at Pottery Barn,” one of the giants muttered to a friend. “At the House of Chase, he decapitated a wolf with nothing more than a wire, then drank guava juice from the horn of my ancestors!” “He?” asked a giant. “Just go with it,” said another. “She once decapitated Grimwolf the elder lindworm!” I continued. “She defeated the sorcery of Utgard-Loki in a bowling tournament of horrors! She won the trust and affection of the goddess Sif! She kept me alive across the frozen sea of Niflheim, and when she kissed me under that blanket yesterday…” I met Alex’s two-color eyes. “Well, that was just about the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Somebody sedate me

I, alas, was not a good Muslim girl.

I’ll be honest. A small part of my brain thought, Alex is male right now. I have just been kissed by a dude. How do I feel about that? The rest of my brain answered: I have just been kissed by Alex Fierro. I am absolutely great with that.