AT LEAST THE CAMP FOOD WAS GOOD. Invisible wind spirits—aurae—waited on the campers and seemed to know exactly what everyone wanted. They blew plates and cups around so quickly, the mess hall looked like a delicious hurricane. If you got up too fast, you were likely to get beaned by beans or potted by a pot roast.

Cato got a salad with avocados and tomatoes and other vegetables. Selena gave him a strange look and Cato smirked at her, "I've never seen a boy eat a salad in my life." She commented.

Why'd she sat that? She doesn't even remember the last time she ate with a boy.

"My mom is Ceres, goddess of agriculture." Cato grinned, and took a bite of his salad, "I like to eat whatever is in season. Avocados and tomatoes are popular in the summer."

She hummed as a red tray was placed in front of her. A burger and fries wrapped in a paper, with words written on it. 'Hoover Dam Snack Bar'. Selena traced her fingers over the words, "Hoover Dam?"

"Wonder if that's where you're from." Cato stated as he chewed on his food, "The aurae's wouldn't have gotten it if you weren't thinking about it."

"I have no clue where the Hoover Dam is." Selena stated,

"Nevada." He answered,

"I could use some dam french fries."

"I need to use the dam restroom."

"I want to buy a dam t-shirt."

There were humour behind the words, but Selena didn't recognise who said them. But she must've been to Nevada before.

The voices were drowned out by the people in the mess hall. Laughter echoed off the walls. War banners rustled from cedar ceiling beams as aurae blew back and forth, keeping everyone's plates full. The campers dined Roman style, sitting on couches around low tables. Kids were constantly getting up and trading places, spreading rumors about who liked whom and all the other gossip.

As usual, the Fifth Cohort took the place of least honor. Their tables were at the back of the dining hall next to the kitchen. Selena sat with Cato and a few others. One was their centurion Dakota, another was Hazel, a young, dark-skinned girl with golden eyes. Dakota reclined glumly on his couch, mixing sugar into his drink and chugging it. He was a beefy guy with curly black hair and eyes that didn't quite line up straight.

"So." He burped, waving his goblet. "Welcome to the party, Selena." 

"Um, thanks,"  Selena watched as he poured more sugar into his cup, "Is that healthy?"

Dakota stared into the cup for a moment before shrugging, "Eh." 

Cato sighed, "He's okay. He's a son of Bacchus, the wine god. He's got a drinking problem."

Selena stared at them, "You let him drink wine?" She turned to look at Dakota, "What are you, sixteen?"

"Gods, no!" Hazel laughed, "That would be a disaster. He's addicted to red Kool-Aid. Drinks it with three times the normal sugar, and he's already ADHD—you know, attention deficit/hyperactive. One of these days, his head is going to explode."

"And I will wait patiently for that day." Dakota burped again and the group laughed,

The laughter died and Selena looked around before turning back to the kids at her table, "Okay, so tell me, why is it bad to be in the Fifth Cohort?" She asked,

Hazel sighed, "It's...complicated. Aside from being Pluto's kid, I want to ride horses."

"That's why you use a cavalry sword?"

She nodded. "It's stupid, I guess. Wishful thinking. There's only one pegasus at camp—Reyna's. The unicorns are just kept for medicine, because the shavings off their horns cure poison and stuff. Anyway, Roman fighting is always done on foot. Cavalry...they kind of look down on that. So they look down on me."

"Well I say it's their loss," Selena responded, "What about you, Cato?"

"Oh, I'm not much of a fighter. I like helping with the crops." He answered, "That's why I was put in this cohort. I'm not worthy, in their eyes."

"That's horrible." She shook her head, "Screw what those people think."

"You asked about the Fifth," Hazel stated,  "Why it's the worst cohort. That actually started way before us." She pointed to the back wall, where the legion's standards were on display. "See the empty pole in the middle?"

"The eagle," Selena stated,

Hazel was stunned. "How'd you know?"

She shrugged. "Vitellius was talking about how the legion lost its eagle a long time ago—the first time, he said. He acted like it was a huge disgrace. I'm guessing that's what's missing. And I'm guessing your eagle got lost a second time, more recently, and it had something to do with the Fifth Cohort."

"You're right," Cato and Hazel looked at each other, "That's exactly what happened."

"So what is this eagle, anyway? Why is it a big deal?"

Cato leaned in, "It's the symbol of the whole camp—a big eagle made of gold. It's supposed to protect us in battle and make our enemies afraid. Each legion's eagle gave it all sorts of power, and ours came from Jupiter himself. Supposedly Julius Caesar nicknamed our legion 'Fulminata'—armed with lightning—because of what the eagle could do."

"Yeah, well," Hazel continued, "it didn't make us invincible. The Twelfth lost its eagle the first time way back in ancient days, during the Jewish Rebellion."

"Unfortunately it happened quite a few times." Cato said, "The eagle was so important...well, archaeologists have never recovered a single eagle from ancient Rome. Each legion guarded theirs to the last man, because it was charged with power from the gods. They'd rather hide it or melt it down than surrender it to an enemy. The Twelfth was lucky the first time. We got our eagle back. But the second time..."

"You guys were there?" Selena asked.

They both shook their heads, "But everyone's heard the story. It's bad luck to even talk about this. There was this huge expedition to Alaska back in the eighties...."

"That prophecy in the temple," Hazel continued, "the one about the nine demigods and the Doors of Death? Our senior praetor at the time was Michael Varus, from the Fifth Cohort. Back then the Fifth was the best in camp. He thought it would bring glory to the legion if he could figure out the prophecy and make it come true—save the world from storm and fire and all that. He talked to the augur, and the augur said the answer was in Alaska. But he warned Michael it wasn't time yet. The prophecy wasn't for him."

"But he went anyway," Selena guessed. "What happened?"

Cato lowered his voice. "Long, gruesome story. Almost the entire Fifth Cohort was wiped out. Most of legion's Imperial gold weapons were lost, along with the eagle. The survivors went crazy or refused to talk about what had attacked them. Since the eagle was lost, the camp has been getting weaker. Quests are more dangerous. Monsters attack the borders more often. Morale is lower."

"And the Fifth Cohort took the blame," Selena stated, "So now everyone thinks we're cursed."

"We've been the outcasts of the legion since...well, since the Alaska disaster. Our reputation got better when Jason became praetor."

Selena looked over to where the blonde boy was laughing at his table with Reyna and a few others, "He sounds like a good leader."

"He is." Cato nodded, "He doesn't judge someone based on their cohort. He's been here since he was a kid."

Hazel sighed and put her hands on the table, "Well, now you know what you've gotten yourself into, Selena."

Selena hummed, "I may not even know where I come from...but I've got a feeling this isn't the first time I've been an underdog." She grinned, "Besides, joining the legion is better than being chased through a field by a giant wolf. I've got myself some new friends." She smiled at the two, "Maybe together we can turn things around for the Fifth Cohort, huh?"