I touched the combination lock. I concentrated so hard I felt like I was dead-lifting five hundred pounds. My pulse quickening. A line of sweat trickled down my nose. Finally I felt gears turning. Metal groaned, tumblers clicked, and the bolts popped back. Carefully avoiding the handle, I pried open the door with my fingertips and extracted an unbroken vial of green liquid.

Hal exhaled.

Thalia kissed me on the cheek, which she probably shouldn't haven't done while I was holding a tube of deadly poison.

"You are so good," she said.

Did that make the risk worth? Yeah, pretty much.

Autore: Rick Riordan