The Tyrant's Tomb (The Trials of Apollo, #4)

by Rick Riordan

mean, come on. Have a little respect for the people you slaughter.

Meg had single-handedly brought the Swedish Fish ecosystem to the brink of collapse.

DWSPW, driving while shooting projectile weapons, is a big no-no, kids.

I LIKE FLYING CARS. I prefer it when the car is actually capable of flight, however.

“Ow,” I muttered, because I was once the god of poetry and have great descriptive powers.

Hazel’s calmness made me uneasy. I almost would’ve preferred it if she screamed and threw things at me. Her misery was like the cold gravity of a mountain. You could stand next to that mountain and close your eyes, and even if you couldn’t see it or hear it, you knew it was there—unspeakably heavy and powerful, a geological force so ancient it made even immortal gods feel like gnats. I feared what would happen if Hazel’s emotions turned volcanically active.

You have conversations like this with your brain, don’t you? It’s completely normal, right?

Jason’s song became their song. By honoring him, we honored all the fallen.

New Rome…the likeliest city on earth to find Olympian gods lurking in disguise. (Followed closely by New York, then Cozumel during spring break. Don’t judge us.)

As far as Cyclopes went, Tyson was tolerable. He took up no more space than a large human. He’d never forged a lightning bolt that had killed anyone I liked. His gentle big brown eye and his broad smile made him look almost as cuddly as Frank. Best of all, he had devoted himself to helping Ella the harpy reconstruct the lost Sibylline Books.

I had never been a fan of felines. They were self-centered, smug, and thought they owned the world. In other words…All right, I’ll say it. I didn’t like the competition.

Dearly beloved, We are gathered here because Hera stinks. Amen.

LOL

But at the same time, I was a romantic disaster. I had ruined every one of my relationships, brought nothing but destruction and misery to the young men and women I’d loved. How could I believe I would be any good for the praetor?

He laughed. “Just take care of yourself, okay? I don’t think I could handle a world with no Apollo in it.” His tone was so genuine it made me tear up. I’d started to accept that no one wanted Apollo back—not my fellow gods, not the demigods, perhaps not even my talking arrow. Yet Frank Zhang still believed in me.

Oh, human body odor, why did you have to be so pungent after several hours of hiking?

“Like in some stories. You kill the master, and you can free the people he’s turned.”

She fell into my hug like I was a comfy mattress. I grunted, surprised by how solid and heavy she was. She smelled of apple peels and mud, but I didn’t mind. I didn’t even mind the mucus and tears soaking my shoulder.

I took absolutely no notice of the way the tanning oil glistened on his muscular bronzed body.

Reyna’s mouth tightened into a grimace. She bent over, gripping her knees. Her body began to shake. Oh, gods, what had I done?

But because I will not go into oblivion carrying hate when I can carry love.”

“Terminus, can you open our defensive barriers here at the main gate?” “Why would I do that?” “We’ll try the Wakanda thing.” “The what?” “You know,” Frank said. “We’ll funnel the enemy into one location.” Terminus glowered. “I do not recall any ‘Wakanda thing’ in the Roman military manuals. But very well.”

I love this reference lol

“Yay!” he exclaimed. “Zoom Pony!”

Tyson never change babes

If I was going to die tonight, which seemed increasingly likely, first I wanted to see my sister one last time.

Awh

“O protector of Rome!” I read aloud. “O insert name here!”

MUFFIN, BUSTER, WHANGDOODLE, SHIRLEY, and HORATIO, the Five Unicorns of the Apocalypse.

Her sunken eyes and slumped shoulders made me suspect that she already knew about Jason’s death—perhaps had known for a while and had gone through a first hard wave of grieving.

Frank’s survival was wonderful. A miracle. But somehow it made losing Jason feel all the more unfair and painful.

“It seems so cruel,” she continued. “We lose someone and finally get them back, only to lose them again.”

At one time, I would have discounted that connection. They’re just demigods, I would have said. Not really family. Now I found the idea hard to accept for a different reason. I didn’t feel worthy of that family. Or Thalia’s forgiveness.

I don’t need another person to heal my heart. I don’t need a partner…at least, not until and unless I’m ready on my own terms. I don’t need to be force-shipped with anyone or wear anybody else’s label. For the first time in a long time, I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

Seeing Frank and Hazel side by side, I had to smile. They looked so right together—wise and strong and brave. The perfect praetors. Rome’s future was in good hands.

“O son of Zeus the final challenge face The tow’r of Nero two alone ascend Dislodge the beast that hast usurped thy place.”

“Yep, yep, yep. That’s it.”