"In Latin my name, Aurelia, basically means 'the golden one.' My mother literally named me her golden light through the storm that was her life. That is my job. To be everyone's light at the end of the tunnel. And I got stuck worrying so much about...
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Aurelia loved her cousins.
Love didn't come easy to her. The amount of people she loved, she could count on one hand. And there are a total of three people she ever said the words to, and of them—Martina—is dead.
Reyna has been her person Aurelia's entire life. The two of them were multiple things to each other. They were co-workers and partners. They were cousins, family. They were each other's therapists and confidants. They trusted each other more than anybody else and they would go to the ends of the earth for each other. They loved each other.
Hylla taught Aurelia a lot. From how to read and write when they were in Circe's Island to how to use her sword when Aurelia had been freed from the pirates. Hylla had been very protective over both her sister and her young cousin, not out of obligation but because she truly loved them.
So during the Feast of Fortuna after such a beautiful victory, Aurelia felt surrounded by joy and love—not just from her cousins but from the entire camp.
Campers, Amazons and Lares crowded the mess hall for a lavish dinner. Even the fauns were invited since they'd helped out by bandaging the wounded after battle (although Aurelia made sure Don the faun couldn't steal her food). Wind nymphs zipped around the room, delivering orders of pizza, burgers, steaks, salads, Chinese food, burritos, and more, all flying at terminal velocity.
Despite the exhausting battle, everyone was in good spirits. Casualties had been light, and the few campers who'd previously died and come back to life, like Gwen, hadn't been taken to the Underworld. Maybe Thanatos had turned a blind eye. Or maybe Pluto had given those folks a pass, like he had for Hazel. Either way, no one felt like complaining.
Colorful Amazon and Roman banners hung side-by-side from the rafters. The restored gold eagle stood proudly behind the praetor's table, and the walls were decorated with cornucopias—magical horns of plenty that spilled out recycling waterfalls of fruit, chocolate and fresh baked goods.
The cohorts mingled freely with the Amazons, jumping from couch to couch as they pleased, and for once the soldiers of the Fifth will welcome everywhere. And although Aurelia continued to move from place to place, she never went without her family.
There was a lot of flirting and arm wrestling going on. Aurelia spoke to so many Amazons she lost count. She sat with Kinzie and Percy at some point, listening to the Amazon recount the story of what happened after they left Seattle. How Hylla had defeated her challenger Otrera in two consecutive duels to the death, so that the Amazons were now calling their queen Hylla Twice Kill.
"Otrera stayed dead the second time," Kinzie told Percy, batting her eyelashes. "We have you to thank for that. If you ever need a new girlfriend ... well, I think you'd look great in an iron collar and orange jumpsuit."
