Reyna perched regally on the throne, toying with the eagles that were etched into the marble. On either side of her sat two enormous dogs, who bared their teeth at us in wicked grins. One was made entirely of gold, the other of silver.

Ross glared at them.

'I hate dogs' he whispered to me, making a shooing motion at them with his hands. The silver one cocked its head and let out a low, rumbling growl. Ross flinched.

Reyna placed her hand gently on the dog's head, quieting it instantly. She then regarded us critically, her dark eyes brooding.

'It's never a good sign when Greeks show up at my camp unannounced' she commented. 'It usually heralds disaster. I take it you haven't just dropped in to see how I'm doing?'

This last question was directed at Percy. His eyes darted to Annabeth, before clearing his throat nervously.

'Ah, no, we haven't. But we do have a good reason. There's trouble on its way Reyna – and it's coming for both Greeks and Romans.'

Reyna rolled her eyes.

'Why am I not surprised?' she muttered sarcastically.

Percy pointed towards the throne next to Reyna, which was empty.

'I was hoping to see your fellow praetor' he said. 'How's he doing?'

'Frank is not here at present' Reyna told Percy. 'He's out west with Hazel, responding to reports of increased monster activity. Communications are patchy; I have not heard from them for a few days now.'

'Aren't you worried?' Annabeth asked.

Reyna arched an eyebrow, her normally passive face betraying a hint of annoyance.

'Our legionaries are often caught in situations where they are unable to report back to camp' she replied curtly. 'It's hardly unusual. Besides, Frank and Hazel are more than capable of looking after themselves.'

I got the feeling that there was more to the story than Reyna was letting on, but I kept my mouth shut. Reyna didn't seem like the type who would appreciate someone pointing out a weakness.

'So, I'm afraid you'll have to deal with me' she told Percy, a smirk playing at the corner of her mouth. 'Don't worry – I'll give you a fair hearing.'

'Chiron's gone missing' Annabeth said abruptly. 'We think he's being held somewhere against his will.'

Reyna's eyes widened.

'Chiron's been captured?' she asked incredulously. 'But how? And by who?'

'Well, if we knew that, we wouldn't need your help, would we?' sniped Ross. Reyna glowered in his direction.

'What I mean' she growled 'is that Chiron is a particularly powerful entity. There aren't many who could successfully defeat him and keep him hostage. Do you think this is the work of Gaea?'

Annabeth shook her head.

'No, this isn't her. As far as we can tell, Gaea still sleeps. And it doesn't seem to be the Titans either. We may have a new enemy.'

Reyna rolled her eyes.

'Of course we do. As if the enemies we had already weren't enough. But why have you come to Camp Jupiter? I respect Chiron, but he's no Roman.'

'There was a prophecy' Percy told Reyna. 'It came from the Oracle. It mentioned "Old enemies and new friends same" We think that refers to you.'

Reyna looked sceptical.

'Prophecies are notoriously hard to decipher correctly' she pointed out. 'Look at what happened to Michael Varus. It doesn't seem clear to me that Camp Jupiter should be involved in this matter.'

I raised my hand. Everyone turned to stare at me.

'This isn't a classroom' Reyna said, clearly amused. 'I'm not your teacher. If you have something to say, just say it.'

'Right. Yeah. Obviously' I said, slightly mortified. 'What I wanted to say was that the prophecy also mentioned that "All are betrayed by those to blame." That means you're already involved, whether you like it or not.'

Reyna pursed her lips, regarding me.

'Perhaps you're right, child of Tempus. But I'm reluctant to risk Roman lives on a wild goose chase.'

'Wild goose chase?' Annabeth snapped. 'Chiron is in trouble. Gods only know what is being done to him right now. We have to rescue him – with or without your help.'

'Have you considered that it might be a trap?' Reyna asked calmly. 'Whoever has captured Chiron may be using him as bait to lure you out. You should think carefully before doing anything.'

'If you don't want to help us' Annabeth retorted. 'Fine. Stay in your camp. We'll find Chiron on our own.'

Reyna raised her hands placatingly.

'Annabeth' she began, but was cut off by the loud cries of an alarm bell sounding. From outside came the sounds of raised voices and boots hitting stone as people began to run. Reyna stood quickly, drawing her sword from beneath the folds of her purple cloak.

The doors opened and a scrawny kid in hastily donned Roman battle armour fell inside, his helmet askew.

'Praetor!' he gasped, out of breath. 'The camp… we're under attack… automatons.'

Reyna shot us a glance.

'Your doing?' she asked sardonically.

Percy shrugged apologetically.

'We thought we'd lost them.'

Reyna strode towards the doors, her face set in a hard expression.

'We'll finish this conversation later' she called over her shoulder. 'For now, come and help defend this camp.'