The waters of the sewers are freezing. To warm the group, Leo summons flames and congratulates Apollo on the display of his power. Apollo reminds Leo that he cannot control his powers; the last time he had experienced the surge was when he was protecting his children from the Germanus soldiers at Camp Half-Blood (The Hidden Oracle). Perhaps his power returned because Meg’s safety was at stake. This concern for others is a departure for Apollo, who, as a god, was most interested in his own well-being.

Apollo, Meg, and Leo reach the channel encircling Commodus’s throne room. They can spot Commodus and Lityerses busy in conversation. Lityerses says the trackers he had placed on the griffins have helped them pinpoint the exact location of the Waystation. Commodus asks Lityerses to attack the Waystation immediately, but Lityerses requires a couple of days to plan an offense. Just then, news about an incursion at the main gate draws Lityerses away. Commodus tells his bodyguard, Alaric, that Lityerses’s days are numbered. After Lityerses deals with the incursion, Alaric must kill him and wipe out the Waystation the next morning. Commodus and Alaric leave.