prologue. 

As the barely-a-month-old newborn lay peacefully in her crib, the only thing he could think about was how small she was. Even by normal baby standards, the girl was so very small and fragile-looking. Poseidon was positive he had never seen such a small child. As compared to his other children, she was by far the tiniest. Her small fingers curled into a fist and reached up for him to pick her up, which he did without complaint, marveling even further at how much smaller she looked trapped and cradled in his arms. 

What was even more astounding about the girl, however, was that she was his first girl. Well, non-immortal one, but it was still just as shocking. For many millennia it seemed he was unable to create female children with mortals. She was the first, which meant more unpredictability than his usual child— how a child this small could contain such power, he wasn't sure, but he could definitely sense it. His daughter was going to be a force to be reckoned with as soon as she made it to Camp Half-Blood. 

The little girl was wide awake, but she didn't cry out. Either she just didn't do that (at least often) or she felt reassured by the presence holding her. He noticed, even with the chubbiness all babies carried, that she had very prominent Greek features, all of which very closely resembled his own. However, he did think her ears and nose closely resembled those of Hades and Zeus, respectively. He hoped she never caught the attention of a god before he had the chance to claim her as his daughter. He'd rather his brothers find out from him than another god who'd noticed a mortal looking a little too god-like for comfort. 

His brothers. Gods almighty. They were going to be pissed when they found out. Poseidon hoped neither of them would cause her an early grave. He'd go to war for the small girl, should they ever hurt a hair on her head, but the destruction of the world didn't sound too appealing. 

Her ocean-colored eyes stared up at him with intense curiosity and she began babbling at him. She grabbed a small fistful of his shirt as she grinned toothlessly up at him. 

"What a heartbreaker you'll be, little one. Of course, not that anyone would be worthy enough to carry your heart in their hands," he mused, rocking her very slowly. 

She replied in the only way she could— various noises and a small giggle that warmed his heart.

He knew how risky it'd been to come to see her, but he couldn't resist. He'd risk his brothers' anger if it meant he got to spend at least a little bit of time with his daughter. He wouldn’t be able to risk it again for years and this was his only chance. He had to take it. 

The one-month-old was so like him, it brought a smile to his face just thinking about it. Thick white hair, very unnatural for mortals, blue-green eyes, and a natural tan created the child in the most beautiful way possible. 

He smoothed down the hair on her head. "I’m sorry for the life I’ve brought you into, my Princess,” he said apologetically. “It was selfish of me, yes, but I don’t regret it. Your mother is a goddess among women, and you are our shining little star, aren’t you?"

And yet, Poseidon frowned as the prophecy lines echoed in his head. The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. He grimaced, but wiped it off of his face quickly, not wanting to unsettle his daughter. 

He cleared his throat. "I shouldn’t assume it’s yours, though, should I? Your uncle has also sired a child a year or two older than you, though I think he’s still under the impression that he’s kept it a well hidden secret.” Poseidon rolled his eyes, more playfulness behind the action than anything. “Silly little brother I have, thinking he can hide something such as this from his big brother. Isn’t that right, my Princess?” 

The child giggled up at her father, seeing his smile. The matching grin on her face could’ve brought tears to his eyes. He hoped it would remain on her face for years to come. He ran a finger down the bridge of her nose to soothe her. 

He sighed mournfully. “And yet still I’ve put a life of grief and hardship on your shoulders, even should you not bear the weight of that forsaken prophecy." Poseidon paused and took a deep breath. "You are my daughter, and you will forever be of the sea. Your mother is the strongest woman in the world, and I’m sure she’ll raise you to be the same… I just pray you don’t resent me. I don’t expect… love, and I can handle indifference, but I don’t know how to cope with resentment."

"She won't resent you. I won’t tell her who you are unless I have to, but I’ll make sure she knows… I’ll make sure she knows you would’ve been around if the circumstances were different," a new voice interrupted his brooding. He turned in shock at his former lover's ability to sneak up on him. 

She had not yet worked off the weight gained from carrying their child, and dark circles were prominent under her eyes, but she was still one of the most beautiful mortals he'd ever seen. She'd blown him away with her beauty all those months ago and still managed to do so now. 

She cleared her throat quietly. "What are you doing here?" Sally asked him, gazing at her child, making sure nothing was wrong with her. Then, figuring it came across rude, amended, “I mean, you said you wouldn’t ever be able to see her, so I assumed…”

"I'm not," Poseidon confirmed. "But I had to see her. Just the once."

Sally nodded slowly. "I see,” she replied quietly. “Well, we’ll always be here if you ever..."

Poseidon nodded, swallowing down the grief that manifested in his throat. He knew, logically, that he wouldn't be able to. If he stayed around her too often his brothers would get suspicious and if they found out about the girl, she'd be killed instantly. 

But still… he’d never sired a mortal daughter. His immortal daughters had always been indulged with the… perhaps extra protection that he felt the need to provide. It was fairly well-known that Poseidon lavished a little more in his daughters, wanting— needing— to keep them safe and happy. His loved his sons just the same, but a daughter was different. And given how much grief being his first mortal daughter would bring her…

It would take a lot for her to love him like he was her father. The realization of that fact made him feel very terrible, but Poseidon managed to push away those thoughts. It was how it had to be. He had no say in the matter.

"What did you name her?" he decided on asking, needing something to distract his racing thoughts. 

"Astraea Marcelline Kaimanna Jackson," Sally replied. "I gave her two middle names like my mom. And I also couldn't choose between names. And she was Hawaiian so I wanted to give Allie that, hence Kaimanna."

"'Power of the ocean' isn't it?" he asked softly, moving a small section of white curl off of the child's forehead. 

Sally nodded, a small smile creeping onto her face. "And Marcelline is French, which I wanted from my dad's side. It means 'defender of the sea’, in some interpretations." She spared a glance at Poseidon's lovestruck look as he gazed at their child. She cleared her throat, a pang in her heart. "And I'm sure you know what Astraea means." 

Poseidon certainly did, seeing as he knew the goddess for which his daughter was named, but he could listen to her New York accent all day. He wouldn't have minded if she'd explained it. She could talk about the most mundane things and make them sound graceful and interesting. 

"You called her 'Allie?'" he asked, remembering the nickname Sally had used previously. "Where does that come from?"

Sally nodded in confirmation. "As soon as she was born, I was already calling her Allie. The nurse even asked if I just wanted that to be her name, but I said no. My mother's name was Kakalina and people always called her Allie once she moved here to New York. I guess it just fit." 

Sally's eyes watered at the memory of her mother that surfaced. Allie, seemingly sensing her mother's sadness, whimpered as tears filled her sea-green eyes.  

Sally moved to take the girl, but Poseidon held out a hand and cuddled Allie closer to his chest, rocking her to help ease her stress. 

"It’s a beautiful, strong name, Sally, and so is she. I wish I could be there to see her grow up. My offer... my offer still stands, you know," he said, looking up hopefully at her. 

Sally's expression changed from sad to defensive in seconds. "And my answer has not changed. I refuse to subject her to the pain and ridicule that would come with being an illegitimate child, born of a mortal. She will grow up around her people, not under the sea," Sally replied. 

Poseidon pursed his lips. “I understand your apprehension, and I will accept your denial of my proposal. However, the people and creatures under the sea are hers. As my daughter, she is technically an heir and Princess of the sea."

Sally fought to not roll her eyes. "Well, then it's a good thing you're immortal and she isn't. She’ll never have to take that mantle."

Poseidon cringed at both the acid in her tone and the thought of his daughter dying. Which reminded him of a topic Sally had been too apprehensive of when she'd first told him she was pregnant and they'd talked a lot of things over. 

"She won't be able to stay from Camp long," he warned. "As soon as she can handle herself, you should let her go." 

Sally's frown deepened and her brows furrowed, but she still nodded. "I know. She'll have to be there very early, I was thinking around ten, twelve at the latest."

"I’m afraid it might have to be even earlier than that. She is going to be a very powerful half-blood. I wouldn't be surprised if she has power over all of my domains. There has yet to be a single demigod as such, but I can feel the power she holds." 

Sally's expression didn't change, but Poseidon could've sworn he saw fear shimmering in her eyes. 

"She is my daughter. I will protect her with my life. I will keep her safe. I swear it on the River Styx."

"I know you will," Poseidon said. “But she will never be able to live a normal life. My brother was unable to hide his daughter from me for long, and though I will do everything in my power, I fear the day he finds out about her. He will not be as forgiving as I am.”

Sally’s bottom lip wobbled, and Poseidon wanted so badly to comfort her, but knew he needed to do everything in his power to make her understand. Their daughter’s safety relied on it. 

“I understand,” she whispered, her voice strained. “I do. She’ll… she’s all I have now, Poseidon. Everything I do and have done since the day she was born is to make sure she has a happy life, and is safe.”

Even as he nodded his assent, there was something in her eyes that Poseidon wasn’t sure he liked. Of course she would do anything for their daughter, but at what cost to herself? He knew the kind of woman Sally was; someone who loved with her entire being and would run herself into the ground for those lucky enough to be loved by her. But she would ruin herself in the process, and Poseidon wasn’t sure if he could handle that, either. 

But he had to. This was the bed that he had made, knowing the rules, the laws, the oaths he’d taken. It was no longer in his control, and that was difficult for the god to swallow. 

Knowing his time was running out, he pressed a kiss to his daughter’s forehead. “Goodbye, my Princess,” he whispered. “With any luck, our next meeting won’t be one of pain and sorrow.” 

He then reluctantly passed the little girl to her mother and started to take his leave. He almost turned back, but he knew he wouldn't be able to leave if he did. Plus, monsters would start coming their way if he stayed any longer. 

"I love you both," he said, not turning toward them, and then he was gone in a split second; turned into nothing but a mist and leaving behind the scent of beaches and the ocean. Allie seemed to be able to realize her father wasn't coming back for a long time and started sobbing loudly in her mother's arms. 

Sally clutched her daughter close to her chest as she fell to her knees and sobbed with her.

*    *    *

start | next

0.4 Actually, It's More Like I Was... Driving Sunshine? Does That Even Make Sense?

Leaving the tent, it felt like it had only grown darker and colder. 

Artemis assured us that dawn was approaching, so either she was lying or my perception of the world had been completely skewed by the events of the night… Either possibility could’ve been true, honestly. 

Up on the hill, Westover Hall's windows were completely lightless. I wondered if the teachers had even noticed that the di Angelos and Dr. Thorn were missing yet. I didn't want to be around when they did. With my luck, the only name Mrs. Gottschalk would remember was "Allie" and people would suddenly be conscious of the fact that they’d seen me and I'd be in the middle of a scandal, my blanket Mist or not. The problem with mystifying big areas was the fact that the magic was weaker, after all.

The Hunters broke camp as quickly as they'd set it up. I stood shivering in the snow pulling Luke’s jacket as tight around me as I could (unlike the Hunters, who didn't seem to feel at all uncomfortable), and Artemis stared into the east like she was expecting something. Bianca sat off to one side, talking with Nico. She must’ve been explaining her decision to join the Hunt. I had to look away from his close-to-tears expression. 

Thalia and Grover came up and huddled around me, anxious to hear what had happened in my audience with the goddess and knowing I was freezing my ass off. 

When I told them, Grover turned pale. "The last time the Hunters visited camp, it didn't go well."

I grimaced. Luke had told me the story— it had happened his first year at camp— so I wasn't particularly looking forward to their visit, either. 

"How'd they even show up here?" I wondered, changing the subject. "I mean, they just appeared out of nowhere."

"And Bianca joined them," Thalia said, disgusted. "It's all Zoë's fault. That stuck-up, no good—"

"Who can blame her?" Grover interrupted. "Eternity with Artemis?" He heaved a big sigh.

I grimaced at the lovesick grin on his face, fighting to not roll my eyes at him. 

Thalia rolled her eyes. "You satyrs," she scoffed. "You're all in love with Artemis. Don't you get that she'll never love you back?"

"But she's so... into nature," Grover swooned.

"You're nuts," Thalia said snarkily.

"Nuts and berries," Grover said dreamily. "Yeah."

Finally, the sky began to lighten. "About time," Artemis muttered. "He's so-o-o lazy during the winter."

I grimaced again. It was no secret that many of the gods didn't know how to feel about me. Most would probably strike me dead if they knew they wouldn't offend my father. I was actually quite worried when Artemis first walked up to me as I was basking on the beach in the Hamptons. I didn't know if she was sent there to kill me, but then she offered me a spot on the Hunters. That told me she tolerated me, but I knew that would change if I were to offend her. 

Now Apollo, I didn't know about. I could be dying soon, who knew?

Just as I was in the beginning stages of wondering how Apollo was going to be transporting us all on the sun chariot, there was a sudden burst of light on the horizon. A blast of warmth.

"Don't look," Artemis advised. "Not until he parks."

Parks? I thought as I averted my eyes, and saw that the others were all doing the same. The light and warmth intensified until it felt like the latex of my dress was about to start melting off of me. Then suddenly the light died.

I looked. And I couldn't believe it. It was a red convertible Maserati Spyder. I had to force myself to keep from dropping my jaw. Fuck my fetish for cars. It was literally so sick it glowed. Then, I realized that it was glowing because the metal was hot. The snow had melted around the Maserati in a perfect circle, which explained why I was now standing on green grass and my heeled boots were wet.

The driver got out, smiling. He looked about eighteen or nineteen with sandy hair, blue eyes, and outdoorsy good looks. Tall, probably six or seven inches more than me. His smile was bright and playful, and he wore jeans and loafers and a sleeveless T-shirt. He reminded me so much of Luke, I felt like I’d been sucker punched. 

"Wow," Thalia muttered. "Apollo is hot."

"He's the sun god," I replied, an eye roll to follow.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know," I replied, giggling. “That car, on the other hand…”

I heard Grover groan from beside me. “Allie, you could just buy one of those for yourself.” 

I shrugged. He wasn’t wrong. 

"Little sister!" Apollo called. If his teeth were any whiter he could've blinded us without the sun car. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"

Artemis sighed. "I'm fine, Apollo. And I am not your little sister."

"Hey, I was born first."

Artemis was falling for the very obvious ragebait. "We're twins! How many millennia do we have to argue—" 

"So what's up?" he interrupted, grinning even wider at getting under his sister’s skin. "Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some tips on archery?" 

Artemis grit her teeth in annoyance. "I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood."

"Sure thing, sis!" Then he raised his hands in a stop everything gesture. "I feel a haiku coming on."

The Hunters all groaned. Apparently, they had met Apollo before.

He cleared his throat and held up one hand dramatically.

"Green grass breaks through snow.

Artemis pleads for my help.

I am so cool."

He grinned at us, waiting for applause.

"That last line was only four syllables," Artemis said.

Apollo frowned. "Was it?"

"Yes. What about I am so big-headed?"

"No, no, that's six syllables. Hmm." He started muttering to himself. 

Not to make this a feminist issue, but I was sure if I ever tried writing lyrics like that I would’ve never been taken seriously as a songwriter ever again, past Pulitzer winner or not. Stupid gods and their not-being-held-to-impossible-standards. He was the music god for fuck’s sake! 

Oh, shit, did I fall for the ragebait, too? Damnit. 

Zoë Nightshade turned to us, her face pinched in annoyance. "Lord Apollo has been going through this haiku phase ever since he visited Japan a decade ago. 'Tis not as bad as the time he visited Limerick. If I'd had to hear one more poem that started with, 'There once was a goddess from Sparta—'"

"I've got it!" Apollo announced, clapping his hands. "I am so awesome. That's five syllables!" He bowed, looking very pleased with himself. "And now, sis. Transportation for the Hunters, you say? Good timing. I was just about ready to roll."

"These demigods will also need a ride," Artemis said, gesturing to us. "Some of Chiron's campers."

"No problem!" Apollo checked us out. "Let's see... Thalia, right? I've heard all about you."

Thalia blushed, and I made a mental note to have her checked for a concussion when we got home. Only explanation for her suddenly acting like an actual girl instead of, you know, Thalia. "Hi, Lord Apollo."

"Zeus' girl, yes? Makes you my half-sister. Used to be a tree, didn't you? Glad you're back. I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees. Man, I remember one time—"

"Brother," Artemis said. "You should get going."

"Oh, right." Then he looked at me and gave another bright grin. "Allie Jackson?"

"Yeah?"

"Hmm... and here I thought Ares and Hermes were exaggerating about how pretty you were up close." 

"Uh... thanks?"

He studied me for a few seconds. “Your Grammy performance last February was nicely done, too.”

“Huh?” What the hell was that supposed to mean? 

"Well!" he said, as cheerful as ever. "We'd better load up, huh? Ride only goes one way— west. And if you miss it, you miss it."

I looked at the Maserati, which would seat two people max. There were about twenty of us.

"Cool car," Nico complimented.

"Thanks, kid," Apollo replied.

"But how will we all fit?"

"Oh." Apollo seemed to realize only then that the two-seater might be a problem. "Well, yeah. I hate to change out of sports-car mode, but I suppose..."

You and me both, apparently. 

He took out his car keys and beeped the security alarm button. Chirp, chirp.

For a moment, the car glowed brightly again. When the glare died, the Maserati had been replaced by one of those Turtle Top shuttle buses mortals used for out of state school trips. I tried not to sigh aloud at the loss of the Maserati. 

"Right," he said. "Everybody in."

Zoë ordered the Hunters to start loading. She picked up her camping pack, and Apollo reached out, saying, "Here, sweetheart. Let me get that."

Zoë recoiled from his touch, her eyes flashing murderously.

"Brother," Artemis chided. "You do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters. And you do not call them sweetheart."

Apollo raised his hands, a look of faux innocence on his face. "Sorry. I forgot. Hey, sis, where are you off to, anyway?"

"Hunting," Artemis responded curtly. "It's none of your business."

"I'll find out. I see all. Know all." He tapped his temple with his pointer finger. 

Artemis snorted. "Just drop them off, Apollo. And no messing around!"

"Me? I never mess around."

Artemis rolled her eyes, then looked at us. "I will see you by the winter solstice. Zoë, you are in charge of the Hunters. Do well. Do as I would do."

Zoë straightened. "Yes, my lady."

Artemis knelt and touched the ground as if looking for tracks. When she rose, she looked troubled. "So much danger. The beast must be found."

She sprinted toward the woods and melted into the snow and shadows.

Apollo turned and grinned, jangling the car keys on his finger. "So," he said. "Who wants to drive?"

*** 

The Hunters piled into the van. They all crammed into the back so they'd be as far away from Apollo and the rest of us non-hunter types as possible. 

Bianca sat with them, leaving her little brother to hang in the front with us. Thankfully Nico didn't seem to mind despite how cold it seemed to me. 

"This is so cool!" Nico said, jumping up and down in the driver's seat. "Is this really the sun? I thought Helios and Selene were the sun and moon gods. How come sometimes it's them and sometimes it's you and Artemis?"

"Downsizing," Apollo said with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "The Romans started it. They couldn't afford all those temple sacrifices, so they laid off Helios and Selene and folded their duties into our job descriptions. My sis got the moon. I got the sun. It was pretty annoying at first, having to get up so early all the time, but at least I got this cool car."

"But how does it work?" Nico asked. "I thought the sun was a big fiery ball of gas in space!"

Apollo chuckled and ruffled Nico's hair. "That rumor probably got started because Artemis used to call me a big fiery ball of gas. Seriously, kid, it depends on whether you're talking astronomy or philosophy. You want to talk astronomy? Bah, what fun is that? So boring.”

I actually thought astronomy was quite interesting, but I supposed to a god who had the rest of eternity to learn things about the world, anything would get boring after a while. 

Apollo continued, “You want to talk about how humans think about the sun? Ah, now that's more interesting. They've got a lot riding on the sun... er, so to speak. It keeps them warm, grows their crops, powers engines, makes everything look, well, sunnier. This chariot is built out of human dreams about the sun, kid. It's as old as Western Civilization. Every day, it drives across the sky from east to west, lighting up all those puny little mortal lives. The chariot is a manifestation of the sun's power, the way mortals perceive it. Make sense?"

Nico shook his head, the grin on his face not fading. "No."

"Well, then, just think of it as a really powerful, really dangerous solar car."

"Can I drive?"

"No. Too young."

"Oo! Oo!" Grover raised his hand.

"Mm, no," Apollo said. "Too furry." 

He looked at me and tilted his head. "You're eighteen, right?" he asked. 

I narrowed my eyes slightly. "Yes...?"

"Would it be a good idea to let you drive?" 

"Uh... I mean I can drive, especially if the practical dealership I have in my garage is any indicator, but the deal I have with Zeus only included airplanes and only for work. I don't know if he'd like me driving a huge bus through his domain and I don't know how you feel about risking the sun falling out of the sky."

"Mm, good point." He turned to Thalia and smiled. "Daughter of Zeus!" he clapped his hands happily. "Lord of the sky. Perfect."

"Oh, no." Thalia shook her head immediately. "No, thanks."

"C' mon," Apollo coaxed. "How old are you?"

Thalia hesitated. "I don't know."

Sad though it was, it was true. Thalia had been turned into a tree when she was thirteen, but that had been seven years ago. She would be turning twenty in about a week, but if you asked her, she still felt thirteen, and if you looked at her it seemed she fell somewhere in between. The best Chiron could figure, she had kept aging while in tree form, but much more slowly.

Apollo tapped his finger to his lips. "You're sixteen, almost seventeen."

"How do you know that?"

He shrugged. "Hey, I'm the god of prophecy. I know stuff. You'll turn seventeen in about a week."

"That's my birthday! December twenty-second."

"Which means you're old enough to have your driver’s license!"

Thalia shifted her feet nervously. "Uh—"

"I know what you're going to say," Apollo said, a smirk on his face. "You don't deserve an honor like driving the sun chariot."

"That's not what I was going to say."

"Don't sweat it! Maine to Long Island is a really short trip, and don't worry about what happened to the last kid I trained. You're Zeus' daughter. He's not going to blast you out of the sky."

Apollo laughed good-naturedly. Given I was also on the bus, no one else joined him.

Thalia tried to protest, but Apollo was not going to take "no" for an answer. He hit a button on the dashboard, and a sign popped up along the top of the windshield. I had to read it backward (which, for a dyslexic, really isn't that different from reading forward). I was pretty sure it said WARNING: STUDENT DRIVER.

"Take it away!" Apollo told Thalia. "You're gonna be a natural! Speed equals heat, so start slowly, and make sure you've got good altitude before you really open her up."

Thalia gripped the wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. She looked like she was going to be sick. I bit my lip, thinking of the secret she had shared with me. This wasn't going to go well. I almost regretted not just saying I'd drive— we were going to be in the air regardless, and I doubted Zeus would actually blast us out of the air with his recently-back-from-the-dead-daughter also on board.

"Let's go!" Apollo cheered.

Thalia swallowed, then pulled back on the wheel. It tilted, and the bus lurched upward so fast I fell back and crashed against something soft.

"Ow," Grover groaned.

"Sorry."

"Slower!" Apollo called.

"Sorry!" Thalia cried. "I've got it under control!"

I managed to get back to my feet. Looking out the window, I saw a smoking ring of trees from the clearing where we'd taken off.

"Thalia," I said, trying to keep my voice calm, "you need to lighten up on the accelerator."

"I've got it, Allie," she snapped, gritting her teeth. But she kept it floored.

"Loosen up," I told her urgently, voice no longer soft. I knew what the problem was, but I couldn't say anything without humiliating her, which I was not going to do. Still, if she didn't calm down, we were screwed.

"I'm loose!" Thalia insisted. She was so stiff she looked like she was still a tree.

"We need to veer south for Long Island," Apollo said. He looked tense, and was gripping the back of a seat tightly to keep from falling. I wasn’t sure if the god had regretted a decision so fast. "Hang a left."

Thalia jerked the wheel and threw me into Grover again, who yelped.

"The other left," Apollo suggested.

I made the mistake of looking out the window again. We were above airplane height now and I was fearing we were about to start risking running into satellites. 

"Ah..." Apollo muttered, and I got the feeling he was forcing himself to sound calm. "A little lower, sweetheart. Cape Cod is freezing over."

Thalia tilted the wheel. Her face was chalk white, her forehead beaded with sweat. I'd never seen her so afraid, so I figured the world would be ending soon. 

The bus pitched down and somebody screamed. Now we were heading straight toward the Atlantic Ocean at a thousand miles an hour, the New England coastline off to our right. And it was getting hot in the bus.

Apollo had been thrown somewhere in the back of the bus, but he was slowly making his way up the rows of seats.

"Allie… help," Thalia said with gritted teeth.

I managed to get to the driver's seat, and the second I had my hands on the wheel, Thalia bolted to the seat I was in.

Time to hope Zeus didn't feel the need to blast us out of the sky, I supposed. 

Down below us was a little snow-covered New England town. At least, it used to be snow-covered. As I watched, the snow melted off the trees and the roofs and the lawns. The white steeple on a church turned brown and started to smolder. Little plumes of smoke, like birthday candles, were popping up all over the town. Trees and rooftops were catching fire.

Thank the gods I did well under pressure, otherwise, we would've just torched a town. I pulled up on the wheel and we made it away from New England. 

"Long Island, dead ahead! How you know how to do this, I have no clue!" Apollo said enthusiastically from beside me. 

"I drive through New York. That's practice enough. Not to mention I've street raced there, and that was... an experience," I replied with a nonchalant laugh.  

"Well," Apollo said with a brave smile, "that sounds fun! You should take me sometime."

"Absolutely not."

"Aw, why not?"

I gave him a look. "Street racing has a lot to do with remaining discreet and not getting caught. I'm not sure anything about you is discreet." 

He raised a teasing eyebrow at me. "You aren't very discreet either there, Miss Triple Threat. Not sure how you'd call being an A-List celebrity and well-known, academy-award-winning actress, singer, and model 'discreet,' but okay."

"I'll have you know, I disguise myself. I'm not that stupid." 

"Ooh, do you put on one of those hot, black bob wigs that you sometimes wear for your movies and model-y things?" he asked, looking entirely serious.

I gave him a sharp look, then stared back out to the sky. "Oh, look. We're here."

*    *    *

previous | next

early december, a club in new york city.

“Where are you?” Danny demanded over the phone the moment the call connected.

I looked around at the mass amount of people around me. “... Nowhere?” 

I could hear Danny scoff over the call, despite the blaring music from speakers around the club I was standing in. “Was that a question or an answer?” 

“... An answer?” 

Instead of a scoff, this time it was a sigh. “You’re out drinking again, aren’t you?” 

I paused. “I’m inclined to lie to you, just so you have plausible deniability if I ever get caught and kicked out and/or arrested for underage drinking.”

I wasn’t really sure when I’d decided going out drinking was the best course of action for the night. 

To be honest, I should’ve known better than to let my friends take me out. I should’ve known better than to let my guard down. I should’ve known better than to think everything would be okay.

I should’ve known better.

My night had been shitty well before the end of it. I had locked myself in my at-home studio about six days prior, refusing to be dragged out and only allowing Danny in to bring me water bottles and food. With album finalizations due by the end of the month and three songs still needing to be written and two needing to be produced, I’d decided the best way to finish things up as quickly as possible (mostly in order to have more time to fix any mistakes and make everything perfect) was to lock myself in my room and forbid myself from coming out until everything was complete.

To the surprise of many (read: Danny), it was actually working. The two songs that needed to be produced had been finished, and I was pretty satisfied with two of the songs I’d written, but things hit a bit of a roadblock whenever I’d gotten to the last song. Normally I was pretty good at being able to write lyrics to an already-produced song, but this one was… different.

No matter how much I ingrained each cord into my brain, no song lyrics could come to the forefront of my mind. There was no way only three albums into my music career I’d run out of things to say, right?

Well, that wasn’t exactly fair. I had a lot I felt like I needed to say, but most of it had to do with the Greek side of my life— the side I wasn’t really allowed to mention while out in public. Plus, how many times could I curse out the gods before they finally realized I wasn’t just singing in hypotheticals?

I wasn’t sure what exactly Danny had told my group of outside-world friends, but they’d managed to drag me from my self-imposed lockdown when they mentioned that our friend, Minnie, was in town. She was a K-Pop Idol and hardly had any time to be in the States with us, but she just so happened to be in between comebacks and had a little bit of time off to spend in her home state. Since I didn’t know when I’d get to see her next, I hadn’t put up much of a fight. Plus, I kinda needed the drink.

I had simply… forgotten to tell Danny where I was going. So when he arrived back at my at-home studio to check on me and bring me dinner, all he found was an empty desk chair and a pile of trashed pieces of paper containing failed lyrics. 

“Are you at least out with the girls?” Danny finally asked, in a small bit of silence between songs. 

I nodded, even though I knew he couldn’t see me. “They’ll keep me safe. Plus, I know my limits.” 

His silence told me everything I knew he wouldn’t say aloud to me. “Just be safe. If you aren’t back here by three, I’m coming to get you and the girls. Take care of them, too.” 

Aside from the fact that Danny had my location tracked through Find My Friends and Life360, I knew he would be able to find me because I always went to the same club— it was the only one I knew I’d be able to drink at without being 21 and knew I wouldn’t get caught by paparazzi. 

“I will. Talk to you later.” 

Danny sighed one final time. “You better.” 

Without another thought, I ended the call, taking no note of the extra beep at the end of it, which would’ve alerted me that the monster protection on the phone needed to be strengthened. 

“That Danny?” 

I nodded at Tori, grabbing the shot of whatever that she offered me. “Of course. He’s always assuming I’m getting myself into trouble.” 

She snorted. “Well, you are in a club underage drinking. I think that maybe might constitute ‘getting yourself into trouble’.” 

I took the shot and gave her a raised eyebrow. “Technically speaking, you, Rena, and Minnie brought me out here, so I don’t think that should apply to getting myself into trouble.” I paused, taking a sip of a margarita that Minnie, who’d joined us at the bar, slid me. “Besides, I can drink circles around you guys.” 

“Oh, you wanna bet?!” 

*** 

I think it was by the time they played my song all-american bitch for the third time that I finally realized I was hitting my limit. Or. Well. Maybe I had hit my limit two shots ago, when I was still insisting I could keep going despite all of my friends tapping out. 

Should’ve known better. 

Tori had long since joined the dance floor with a random guy (she’d ignored my obnoxious call of “make sure he signs an NDA!”), Rena had left a few minutes prior, her girlfriend waiting to pick her up outside the club once she’d realized her social battery was quickly running out, and Minnie was still stuck beside me at the bar, her company-mandated dating ban keeping her from finding company other than me. 

I pouted, my arms crossed over my chest. “I don’ wanna go on a blind date.”

Minnie huffed into her cup of plain Coke. “But you don’t date anyone, Alls. Like, I don’t get how you can write all these songs about boys breaking your heart and love when you haven’t had a kiss outside of your acting roles.” 

“Hey,” I complained, sitting up a little to grab the cup of water I’d finally decided on getting instead of another Tequila Sunrise. “I’ll have you know I’ve kissed plenty of boys without it having to do with work. And Mason fucked me over so badly I could probably write songs about that for the rest of my career.”

“How many of those kisses were while you’d been drinking?” 

I sputtered out a sound of objection. “You make me sound like an alcoholic!”

“Alls, come oooooon! Tae’s really sweet. You’d really get along with him, and he thinks you’re really pretty and your music is incredible. Which, he’s not wrong, but still.” 

I rolled my eyes, but didn’t shoot back a response immediately. Truthfully, it had been a while since I’d gotten myself involved with someone. Of course, I knew why. There was a very large elephant in the room in the form of Luke. We were friends. But we also both knew that what we had went a hell of a lot further than friends. I wasn’t taken, but I was also, like, pretty much a step away from married. 

But that also had its own problem: I couldn’t exactly tell my real-world friends about Luke. Because telling them about Luke meant telling them about how I’d met him, and where. It’s not like I couldn’t just tell them a lie, but they were close friends of mine. I didn’t want to lie straight to their faces. Lying by omission was much easier. Especially when I knew the truth would never get out unless I wanted it to. 

“If you think Tae is sooo sweet, you should just date him,” I finally replied. 

Minnie frowned. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. You know that.” 

I grimaced. I probably shouldn’t have said it— Minnie always got really touchy over the subject of her dating ban. I was lucky with my career in that, I was so well established that I could date whoever I wanted with little to no repercussions coming as a result. Maybe a couple of angry fans here or there, but nothing Earth-shattering. Minnie not only had the dating ban, but there was also the looming threat that coming across as taken in her industry could possibly mean the end of her career. When she was still a trainee, only dreaming of being able to debut, she’d had a boyfriend— her high school sweetheart. When that contract holding the dating ban had been slapped in front of her, she thought she’d be able to hide it. They would sneak around, but ended up getting caught by cameras one night. Her company had paid the news site off to keep it hidden, but she’d been forced to break up with her boyfriend. She hadn’t been able to talk to him since. 

I sighed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up. I know it makes you sad.” 

Minnie sniffled a little, but didn’t let any tears fall. Finally, she looked up and gave me a small smile. “It’s alright, Alls. You know I just want you to be happy, right?” 

“‘Course,” I replied. “I want the same for you, too.” 

We sat in silence for a few moments, letting the sounds of Pitbull’s Hotel Room Service fill our ears. 

Finally, I chugged the rest of my water and sat up. “I think I need to head back to my studio.” 

Minnie’s face brightened. “Yeah? Are you ready to go? I think I’m gonna head out, too.” 

*** 

Minnie had wanted to wait for Danny to get there to pick me up, but I’d insisted she go ahead and get back to her hotel room. Her ride had gotten there much sooner than Danny due to how close her hotel was, but she told me she wasn’t above making him wait. I knew she wasn’t bluffing, but I also knew Minnie was getting to the end of her energy. We’d drank a lot, and I knew she’d be out like a light soon, in a bed or not. 

I made sure I was sharing my location with her and she’d begrudgingly crawled into the car, waving as the car started driving. 

When she was out of sight, I sighed and pulled my coat closer to myself. The December air was unforgiving and the wind caused by the tall New York skyscrapers didn’t help any. 

The drunken yelling of men from across the street set my fight or flight off. I wasn’t sure if they were directing their calls at me, or if they were just being loud in general, but I figured it would be best to not find out. I didn’t want to stray far, but finding a hiding spot nearby wouldn’t be too bad, right? 

My first step forward hit me like a truck. 

While talking to Minnie, I could push aside the feeling of the alcohol flowing through my system, but now that the only thing I could concentrate on was how cold it was, it seemed my competitive drinking from earlier was ready to hit me with a vengeance. 

I huffed out a breath, the air fogging as it left my lips. With a determined step forward, I stumbled over to the mouth of an alleyway, holding myself up against the wall as I willed away the feeling of sickness that was creeping up my throat. 

Just when I thought my stupidity had to have met its only consequences, the world decided it was going to show me real bad luck. 

A growl rumbled through the air. 

My head shot up, sending another wave of nausea through me. 

I was in no shape to fight. The world around me was spinning enough as it was. The cold was making my fingertips numb. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hold a sword, much less swing it. 

I looked further down the alleyway. Two glimmering red eyes shone toward the back. A Hellhound. 

Even with the alcohol flowing through my veins, I knew I couldn’t let it leave the confines of the alley. I couldn’t let it get out in the open where the mortals could be put in danger. Of course, they wouldn’t see it for what it was, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t be in harm’s way. 

I’d only come into contact with a Hellhound up close and personal once. When I was seventeen and still in my first few days at camp, one had been summoned into the borders of camp to attack me. I’d gotten my chest clawed open before I was carried into the water to be healed. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to meeting another, especially not like this.

I took unsteady steps forward, bringing a trembling hand up to my neck where Riptide, my first sword, sat in necklace form. Pressing the diamond hanging from the chain would spring it into sword form, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do that yet. Even though I’d taken a few steps forward, the Hellhound hadn’t moved an inch. Maybe it was hoping I wouldn’t do anything and would just walk toward my death with no fight. 

Finally, I stopped a few paces away from where it was still standing, not moving an inch. A low growl settled in its throat, making goosebumps rise on my arms for reasons other than the chill in the air. 

I should’ve known better. I shouldn’t have drank so much. Every limb on my body felt like it was treading water every time I needed to move them. How was I supposed to fight like this? 

My hand was still curled around the gem of Riptide. 

In an instant, the Hellhound settled back on its hind legs and jolted, as though it was going to jump at me. 

My shot nerves caused me to overreact and, with a stumble, I ended up on the ground. 

The pain didn’t hit me. My eyes couldn’t leave the beast in front of me, getting in position to lunge at me for real this time. Trying to scramble back in my drunkenness was difficult, and even though adrenaline was pulsing through my veins, it still felt like my reaction time was seconds behind. 

Finally, the Hellhound had enough of playing with its food and lunged. I rolled out of the way, summoning Riptide once I was on my knees. 

The Hellhound skidded on the ground, its claws making a grating noise against the asphalt as it did, and turned back toward me with a growl. It tensed at the sight of the celestial bronze of Riptide, but seemed to know that I was off my A-game and if it tried a little harder it would get an easy snack. 

My chest heaved. For a moment, I actually doubted I’d be able to get myself out of this one. 

I finally got to my feet, trying not to fall back down when my knees shook with the exertion. 

The Hellhound swatted at me with one of its large paws, but I was able to keep it away from me with Riptide. 

It advanced toward me, slower this time. I backed up with it, until my back touched the wall. 

It was now or never. I was only going to be able to fight off the effects of the alcohol for so long and the longer I took to fight back, the more likely it was that I was going to lose this fight. 

When it got close enough, this time I braced myself against the wall. Steadying myself, all I could think about was making it through this fight. Once I won, I could break down. 

With a final growl, the Hellhound lunged. 

I used the wall to push off of as I went toward the ground once more, this time prepared to do so as I came face-to-face with the belly of the monster. Without another thought, and before it could come down on my legs and trap me, I thrust my sword up and into its stomach. 

It howled in pain, but wasn’t a strong enough monster to fight the deadly effects of celestial bronze. As the blood-curdling howl cut through the air, the Hellhound crumbled into golden dust. 

I panted as I sat there for a moment, the dust falling on my head like confetti. 

“Allie?” 

The sound of my name made my breath hitch. Because it wasn’t Danny’s voice I heard, it was—

“Luke?” I called back, my voice strained. 

He appeared at the mouth of the alleyway like a guardian angel brought to save me. My breath hitched. 

I struggled to my feet for what would hopefully be the last time that night. 

He walked toward me as I stumbled toward him. My heel caught on a rock and I almost tumbled back to the ground, but Luke caught me. Like always. 

His skin was warm despite him not wearing anything other than a Prada hoodie I’d gotten him for his birthday and some jeans. He always ran warmer than I did. 

“Danny called me a few hours ago saying he was sending a car to come get me. Something about you being really stressed? Are you okay?” he said, bringing a hand up to shake the golden dust off of my hair.

I shook my head. “I drank too much,” I replied pitifully. “And the Hellhound— I didn’t think— it really scared me. And I can’t think of this stupid song. And I haven’t gotten any sleep for— for like a week. And— and I drank too much.” 

Once all of the dust was out of my hair, he kept his hand there, smoothing the loose strands as a way to soothe me. “Shh, hey, Angel, it’s alright. You’re okay. I’ve got you, baby.” 

As he pulled me closer, letting me rest my head against his chest, I finally broke down, his words letting me know I was safe to do so. 

“It’s okay, baby. You’re alright,” he continued, slowly rocking me back and forth, still petting my head. 

“I wanna go home,” I whispered tearfully, clutching the material of his hoodie in between my fists. 

He nodded, pressing a kiss on the top of my head and keeping his lips there as he said, “Okay, Angel. We can go home.”

*    *    *

previous | next

0.7 Luke Gives Me Some Much Needed Context in a World Where I Need a Whole Encyclopedia to Understand Everything That Is Going On

News of 'Allie Jackson' being in camp spread around quickly.

Luke led me all around camp and everywhere I went people would stop whatever they were doing and whisper among themselves. One camper on the volleyball court didn’t even flinch when the volleyball he and a few others had been playing with hit him in the head because he’d been too busy watching Luke and I walk past. I wasn’t able to hear most of what they said, but if I got lucky I'd catch a few bits and pieces. 

Most ranged from, "Holy SHIT, it's Allie Jackson," to, "I heard she fought the minotaur. How badass is that?!" The only person in the whole camp who seemed to have a problem with my arrival was Annabeth, who I had yet to see again. 

Luke showed me a few places: the metal shop (where kids were forging their own swords), the arts-and-crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of a goat-man), and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together if you didn't get to the top fast enough. He showed me the mess hall, which was an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables under no roof and surrounded by no walls.

I was going to ask where everyone ate when it rained, but then I thought better of it. I’d just stepped into a world where the Greek gods were real; I doubted they needed to worry about the 'little' things like the weather. 

Then he took me to see the canoeing lake, the stables, the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater, the archery range (which made me very excited and I was sure Luke could tell), and the arena where Luke said they held sword and spear fights (this also made me excited, so much to the point where I didn't even wonder what kind of twisted summer camp had a sword and spear fighting arena). He took me to the armory, where he said all of the weapons and armor were held and that Chiron would get something that'd work for me later today.

Finally, he formally showed me the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in the shape of a U, with Zeus and Hera’s cabins rounding the curve and the rest in two lines shooting off from them. Now that I was fully looking at them head on, I realized what a bizarre pairing they all made. 

They each had brass numbers hanging above their doors, indicating their cabin number, with the odds on the left and the evens on the right. I could’ve guessed which god or goddess each cabin represented by the look of them— the cabin dedicated to Demeter, number four, was surrounded by tomato vines and had a roof made of glass, like a greenhouse. A cabin for Artemis— I made sure to file a question over why she’d have a cabin as well, being a maiden goddess, for later— was covered in stars and had a large full moon hanging down where you’d expect a wooden porch swing to go. Each were as aptly decorated. They all faced a large common area, which held a basketball hoop and was decorated with multiple Greek fountains and statues.

In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined fire pit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smoldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick. I smiled at her and made a mental note to talk to her by the end of the day, if she was still there.

The Zeus and Hera cabins directly in front of us where the only two fairly similar looking ones— kind of like his and hers (Cabin Version). Cabin one was bigger than, well, all of the cabins in the area, decorated to the nines with heavy marble columns and structures. Across the entire front, lighting strikes sparkled whenever the light hit it differently. Cabin two, on the other hand, looked more graceful, slimmer columns and silhouettes of peacocks carved into the stone. Flowers on vines twirled around columns, and I almost felt like I could smell them from where I was standing. 

Then cabin three caught my eye. It wasn’t as large or dramatic as the first two, but it looked perfect. A flat roof of limestone slates were held up by walls of basalt rocks. Decorated around the place were miscellaneous seashells and ocean plants. And in between some of the rocks, pearls filled in the gaps. I was always a sucker for pearls. Through the windows at the front, I could see two beds with silky pine green sheets inside, neither of which looked like they’d ever been used. 

It reminded me of this little shack in the woods near my Hamptons house. It had been pretty much abandoned, as far as I knew, and I’d sometimes sneak off there when Danny was getting on my nerves and I didn’t want him finding me. It sat right on the beach, close to the ocean, and was a great place to sit and think. 

I would’ve gotten closer to study it more, but Luke dragged me towards the canoeing lake before I could think about it further.

I jumped up and sat on the railing that overlooked the lake. I thought over everything in my head. I'd met a few people; I'd found Silena Beauregard again, who was still as likable as when I first met her. Turns out, she was the half-sister of one of my old costars, Vanessa Frost. Nessa and I had met on the set of The Walking Dead together and we’d been inseperable until she’d asked for her character to be killed off and I’d never seen her again. We’d lost touch and she hadn’t been seen in Hollywood for years. I guessed I finally got my answer as to why.  I hadn't seen her in almost four years, so our reunion was very nice. 

Then, I finally ran into Danny, who had almost tackled me to the ground and startled the hell out of Luke. He told me he was glad I hadn't died and gave me my phone and credit cards back. Luke seemed very confused at the device, so I asked why.

"Normally demigods don't use phones. You managed to get to sixteen without many monsters attacking you and you were using a phone? That's crazy," Luke replied.

"Oh, it's something me and Beckendorf have been working on," Danny said. Beckendorf, for the record, was a son of Hephaestus and Danny's half brother, who I'd met just a little after Danny found me. "Her public image is of utmost importance, so she needed to have a phone, mostly in order to keep in touch with her fans and promote what projects she has coming up. When her mom first hired me, she told me Allie was a demigod, but wouldn’t tell me who her father was and made me swear on the Styx that I wouldn’t tell Allie until she got a chance to, and wouldn’t bring her to Camp until she was ready. So me and Beckendorf managed to make a phone that attracted fewer monsters. It's not foolproof, but it works fairly well."

I’d never known that. I hadn’t been around when Mom was shopping for a manager for me, but she’d told me Danny was a perfect fit. It wasn’t as though she were wrong, Danny always had my best interests at heart, but I’d always wondered what it was about him that made her want to hire him straight out of getting his degree online. 

After Danny ran off, needing to check on the forges, I'd met a girl named Katie Gardner, a daughter of Demeter, when we were walking past the strawberry field. She was super nice, and told me she'd help me out if I ever needed it, which I was thankful for. We clicked just as easily as Silena and I, and it was great since they were good friends, too. 

Then there was Will Solace, a happy-go-lucky seeming son of Apollo (he was the one who'd healed the back of my head and pretty much everything else I messed up, so I made sure to thank him for it) and Malcolm Pace, a son of Athena, who, thankfully, didn’t immediately hate me like his half-sister. I'd practically run into another girl, Brylie Vegas, a younger one, around fourteen, who was a daughter of Hermes. She had recognized me as soon as we almost collided and had basically broken her back to keep from bumping into me. She was sweet and shy, so I made sure she didn't feel uncomfortable before Luke told her he had to continue showing me around. 

I did see Clarisse around once or twice, but we never were able to stop and talk for more than a few seconds. 

Luke let me think for a few seconds before speaking, which was something I liked about him; he had tact. 

"Is there a headache forming yet?" he joked, leaning up against the rail beside where I was sitting. 

"Oh, there’s been a headache since I cracked my head open getting thrown from the Minotaur’s shoulders," I replied, giving him a small smile. "As far as all of—" I titled my head looking for the right word and ended up waving my hand in the direction we'd come from— "this... it's not as bad as I think it should be. I feel like if Danny had dragged me here a few years ago I'd be flipping my shit and calling everyone out, saying they were kidding and stuff like that. I might've even thought Danny had just pulled a massive prank on me, killing the Minotaur or not. I'd have thought I was going insane."

Luke nodded in understanding. "I get that. I was thinking about how you were taking this better than most. You're not the first person we've had to react like you are, but it doesn't happen very often."

"Like I said, too many things started adding up. I can't really deny things when they're standing right in front of my face, you know?"

"Yeah, I do," he replied. "So, do you have any dire questions that need to be answered?"

"What's the deal with the whole Minotaur thing? Didn't Theseus kill him like... centuries ago in the Labyrinth? How was he... I don't know, back?" 

Luke hummed. "That's pretty simple to explain, sort of. Chiron calls them archetypes. They get killed, but they don't ever die for good. They get sent to Tartarus and start reforming. There's never a set time that they're down there, either. If you're lucky, they could be stuck reforming for decades; if you're not, it could take a few days." 

I nodded. "Okay, I can wrap my head around that." I paused. "Why does Athena have children? I thought she was supposed to be a maiden goddess like Hestia and Artemis."

"She is," Luke confirmed. "That one's also pretty simple. When she meets someone with a high intellect who she takes a liking to, she talks to them for a while and then imagines what their child would look like. So her children are basically born from her thoughts, like she was from Zeus'."

I gave him an odd look. "That's..."

"Weird? Kinda gross?" he suggested. 

"Well, I was gonna say 'traumatic' but, yeah those work, too, I guess." He laughed and nodded at me to continue. "Okay, kinda off-topic question, but are we allowed to leave? Like, Danny is out in the mortal world most of the time because he has to be there for me, so is that, like, universal to everyone or is that just because he’s older?"

“Mostly because he’s older,” Luke answered. “Once you get to your 20s, most campers can leave with permission from Chiron and Mr. D if you’re capable enough to contend with the real world. Campers like Danny will oftentimes come back to help train some of their siblings on their specialties. But when you’re younger, or haven’t trained as long, only a quest can allow you to leave during the summer. And then you can choose to leave for the winter. If you stay, Chiron takes care of keeping everyone up with their studies, which most do since being a demigod tends to also come with having a terrible home life, with some exceptions.” 

"Makes sense," I told him, nodding. "Alright, this is my last question, I promise. I'm starting to feel annoyed for you," I joked. 

Luke smirked at me. "Don't worry, Angel, I could listen to you talk all day."

“Okay, charmer.” I shook my head, trying to fight a smile. "Why are some of the cabins empty?"

Luke took a deep breath and released it before he answered. “Well, Hera and Artemis have pretty straightforward answers. As the goddess of marriage, all of Hera’s children are Zeus’, so her’s is mostly… honorary. And Artemis doesn’t have mortal affairs, as a maiden goddess, so her cabin tends to just house her Hunters whenever they come to Camp to visit.” 

The look on his face told me he hadn’t had many good experience with the Hunters of Artemis. 

I decided not to press on that, and instead asked, “And as for Zeus and Poseidon? Didn’t, like, almost all of the old myths run on their children?” 

Luke nodded once more, the crease between his eyebrows showing me he was trying to choose his words very carefully. “Yeah, you’re not wrong… Uh, well, technically the Big Three aren’t supposed to have children anymore.” 

"Why not?"

Luke pursed his lips, taking his time to answer. "Historically, the children of the Big Three tend to be pretty… overpowered. All demigods inherit some semblance of power over their parent’s domains, most of the time one or two, maybe more if you’re a more powerful half-blood. But, well… there’s a reason the Big Three are the Big Three. Their domains tend to be more unpredictable and harder for a demigod to control. Some of the deadliest earthquakes you’ve heard of were caused by a child of Poseidon losing control, same with thunderstorms from Zeus’ children. And, I mean, some of the worst dictators in history were children of Hades. It’s… allegedly they’re too powerful to contain themselves, so the three made a swear on the Styx to not have anymore children."

I furrowed my brows. “That doesn’t really make any sense, either,” I commented. “I mean, if marriages didn’t stop the gods from having affairs with mortals, randomly coming into consciousness over their powerful children forced their hands? I guess I wouldn’t think they’d care about something like that.” 

He bit the inside of his cheeks, as though debating whether or not to say something. Finally, he told me, “You’re not exactly wrong there, either,” he told me quietly. “That’s the story that everyone’s told, but it’s not the actual reason. The truth is, when World War II started getting into full swing, the Oracle of Delphi gave a prophecy saying a child of the Big Three would either save or destroy Olympus. In order to counteract that, they made the oath to not sire anymore kids.” 

“And, so what? They just didn’t have anymore? Given the myths, I highly doubt that,” I pressed. 

He sighed, grabbing a stray strand of my hair and curling it around his finger once, then twice. “I supposed that’s a fair assumption. About nineteen years ago, Zeus had an affair with a TV starlet named Beryl Grace— I wouldn't be surprised if you've heard of her."

I had, of course. Beryl Grace was a Hollywood tragedy. Danny used to tell me her story to scare me into making sure I stayed responsible, no matter who it was that offered me a drink or undisclosed pill. Still, I let him explain it to me. 

He had the same sad look on his face as he did earlier when we’d passed the Zeus cabin. "I don’t know if you knew, but she had a daughter whose father was Zeus. Her name was Thalia. Since you’ve heard the story of Beryl Grace, I’m sure you can see why Thalia would want to run away, and she did when she was thirteen. Eventually… eventually we ended up running into each other.”

My eyes widened at the new information. 

Luke refused to meet my eyes as he continued twirling a strand of my hair around his finger and continued, “We stuck together for a while. Our plan had always been to somehow make it to Camp, since we’d both heard about it from our mother’s, but we couldn’t be sure where it was, other than it being in New York. And then we found Annabeth and it was just the three of us. Annabeth was only seven, so we figured we should start trying harder at making it to Camp. Grover eventually stumbled upon us, which was lucky because with three half-bloods, one of which being a daughter of Zeus we were attracting all kinds of monsters.” He paused. “But Grover… he was younger then, too. He made a couple of wrong turns on our way here and it allowed a lot of monsters to catch up with us. We made it so close to the hill, when Thalia told us to go on and she’d hold— she told us she’d hold them off enough for us to make it to safety—" He paused, swallowing harshly before forcing himself to continue. "As she was dying, Zeus turned her into that pine tree at the top of the hill. It’s what keeps all of the monsters from entering Camp. She keeps us all safe."

I took in a harsh breath. “Is that why Chiron said Grover had a meeting with… some council? Is it because I almost died on the way in and he was supposed to keep me safe?” 

Luke grimaced. “Grover is… well, he’s always had his ambitions and he’d have to prove himself as a Keeper to have a chance at ever seeing them through. But… you were his second chance. And the Council of Cloven Elders and Mr. D might not rule in his favor considering you dragged him across the border… and well, your mom…”

I stared out at the water, taking in everything Luke had told me. The information about Thalia’s sacrifice weighed heavily on my heart. And the mention of my mom brought up an old memory I’d pushed far away to the back of my mind. 

"She's not here right now. She's probably on her way back from the airport. And even if she were here, I wouldn’t let you take her!" 

"Sally, she’s not only your daughter," the man's voice snapped back, though it didn't have the bite in it that a statement like that usually would. "I thought you understood. It puts her in direct danger keeping her with you and away from Camp."

"With me? Do you understand what I’ve sacrificed to keep her safe? She is barely even with me. She's been in California for the past month filming Marvel movies and in a few days she leaves for London for Fashion Week. She’s been talking more and more about wanting to learn how to produce music so she can do something with the songs she writes. And there’s too many other things in between that I can't even say 'no' to— what more can you ask of me?" 

"You told me years ago that you'd let her go when she was 10. What happened to that?" My mother hadn't replied so the man continued, "Zeus is distraught over the death of his daughter. It will only make things worse when he finds out I broke my oath as well—"

"She’s my daughter!" Mom yelled, the loudest I’d ever heard her raise her voice. "She’s a child— a small child who knows nothing of this world or who she is, and you decide she’s best used as what— a way to make your brother less angry with you?"

"That’s not it. I am thinking of Allie. Sally, when he finds out, he’ll—"

"No. I won't speak of this any further. I'm done. Leave. She’ll be home soon, and you once said you’d never be able to see her again."

I never figured out who she was talking to and never told her about it— so I pushed all memory of it to the back of my head and never thought about it again. Or, at least, I hadn’t thought about it again. 

“My mom knew who my dad was,” I told him quietly, wanting to move the subject away from the heart-breaking topic before. 

He gave me an apprehensive look, but I could see in his eyes that he was thankful for the conversation change. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Allie,” he said gently. “Most gods and goddesses don’t even reveal themselves when they have their affairs.”

I shook my head. “When I was eleven, I was flying back from LA after filming for the first Iron Man movie. I’d ended up getting sooner than my mom expected and when I got home, I heard them arguing. He mentioned—”

Before I could consider the implications of that memory, a conch shell blew in the distance, cutting me off. 

Luke helped me down from the railing, saying, “I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Angel. If you get claimed, then we can go from there. But in the meantime, that was the call for dinner. C’mon.” 

As the pavilion came into view, I saw torches blazing from the columns and a central fire was burning inside a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each table had a white cloth with purple trim. Despite my earlier concerns about what might happen when it rained (I wondered if that was part of Thalia’s lifeforce protection. Did she make it so the weather didn’t affect Camp?), the entire place looked… cozy. Close. For the first time since I’d woken up earlier in the day, I actually felt like this place could be home.

Everyone in Cabin 11 lined up behind Luke— probably 20 campers in total— and followed him to our table where we were served our dinner by wood nymphs— mostly brisket, different fruit assortments, and cheese, and fresh sourdough bread. I was positive this was something my dietician would have approved of, so I wasn't too particularly worried about eating all of it.

I noticed once everyone had been served they’d all gotten up, walking toward the center of the pavilion. At my confused look, Luke leaned over and explained, “The gods like the smell of burnt offerings, so we have to sacrifice a little before every meal. C’mon, I’ll show you.”

I took the few seconds I had to look around at everybody. In all, there were maybe a little over a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and assorted wood nymphs and naiads.

I saw Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few satyrs, and a couple of plump blond boys who looked just like Mr. D. Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way too small for a centaur. As I scanned the room I caught the eyes of a few people I'd met earlier today, and they all smiled at me, which made me feel a lot more comfortable. 

Luke led me up to the brazier with our plates. For a second, I was sure that I saw the same young-looking girl sitting in the flames but when I blinked, the image was gone again.

Luke pushed a small portion of his meal into the fire, saying "Hermes," in a clear tone. I stepped up beside him, hesitating for a moment before pushing in some of my own food.

"Hermes," I muttered, and I was going to leave it at that (Hermes seemed to most deserving of a sacrifice since he was letting me settle in his cabin), but I suspected the girl in the brazier was Hestia, whom always seemed the most respectable throughout all of the myths to me. I whispered her name and dropped another portion. 

"Most people just direct it to their parents," Luke told me as we made it back to the table. “But until then, you can do whoever you feel the warmest toward.” 

I smiled and as soon as we sat down we were joking around and talking with everyone at the Hermes table. They wanted to know a lot about me, most of which didn't include the 'celebrity' part of my life, which I was thankful for. I would have assumed Luke told them not to if he hadn’t been with me for the entire day. Even still after being slightly overwhelmed, it was nice getting to talk with them. 

I had somehow ended up on Luke's lap after he insisted that it would be much more comfortable than getting my hips crushed on the seat, so after a few jokes, I moved. 

When everybody returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof for our attention. 

Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. "Chiron has let me know I should try to me more welcoming to you brats, so… Hello, and such.” He rolled his eyes dramatically. “As some of you may have heard, Chiron has planned for the next Capture the Flag game to be played this Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels." 

A bunch of excited cheering rose from the Ares table. Clarisse was the loudest, but didn't seem to mind at all. 

"Yes, yes," Mr. D continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations, I suppose. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper joining us today. Angie Johnson." 

Chiron murmured something."Er, Allie Jackson," Mr. D corrected. Chiron murmured something again. "And Chiron wishes me to tell you all not to harass her with questions and such." He rolled his eyes dramatically as all of the campers who hadn’t seen me earlier reached over their siblings to get a better look. "Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on." 

Everybody cheered. We all headed down toward the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led a sing-along. We sang camp songs about the gods and ate s'mores and joked around, and the funny thing was, I didn't feel that anyone was staring at me anymore. I felt that I was home. 

People still came over to me and wanted to talk, but it didn't make me feel weird like it did when I was walking the streets of Manhattan. These people were now technically my family. I'd only been there for a day, but it definitely wasn't as bad as it could've been. 

Later in the evening, when the sparks from the campfire were curling into a starry sky, the conch horn blew again, and we all filed back to our cabins. All of the Hermes cabin (save for a few of the younger ones, like a six-year-old girl, Julie Dixon who was very obviously a daughter of Athena), decided to stay up and get to know me. They asked a lot about my hobbies outside of acting and singing and modeling and stuff like that, which made me happy. I didn't feel singled out, or anything, which was one of the first times I could say that without lying. 

I asked all of them questions, too, and we all became super close in a single night. We laughed and it was only when someone thought they heard Chiron making his way towards us did we finally go to sleep. 

I hadn't realized how tired I was until I'd finally laid down and listened to the ocean. I felt my muscles relax and I knew I'd like it here. 

My last thoughts were of my mother and if I'd ever see her again. Considering the underworld was a real thing, I guessed I would. I hoped wherever she was, it was paradise. After everything she did for me and everything she sacrificed for me, she deserved it.

*    *    *

previous | next

the lightning thief

— 0.0 prologue

— 0.1 kronos ate the kids

— 0.2 fruit ladies of death 

— 0.3 hurricane season 

— 0.4 run for your life

— 0.5 first impressions

— 0.6 born with it

— 0.7 some minor explanation 

— 0.8 smooth like butter

— 0.9 answering your mystical call

— 1.0 once more unto the breach

— 1.1 the enemy of my father is... also my enemy (allegedly)

— 1.2 committing a felony (don’t do this)

— 1.3 avoid detection 

— 1.4 the worst amusement park ride ever 

— 1.5 las vegas’ most normal hotel and casino 

— 1.6 my unpaid acting job

— 1.7 i cry over a cute dog 

— 1.8 family reunions suck 

— 1.9 creating life-long grudges 

— 2.0 the death of the world 

— 2.1 the beginning of the end 

sea of monsters

— 0.0 prologue

— 0.1 nightmare blunt rotation

— 0.2 taxi ride from hell

— 0.3 self-preservation not applicable 

— 0.4 the worst candidate to run camp

— 0.5 birds from hell

— 0.6 decisions, decisions

— 0.7 the princess andromeda

— 0.8 an offer i can refuse

— 0.9 out of sight, not out of mind

— 1.0 it’s a bird, it’s a plane

— 1.1 and lead us not into temptation 

— 1.2 swimming with sirens

— 1.3 caribbean post cards

— 1.4 somebody gets the fleece

— 1.5 we get shipwrecked

— 1.6 unplanned dinner entertainment 

— 1.7 party crashers 

— 1.8 brace yourself

— 1.9 red sky in morning

the titan’s curse

— 0.0 prologue

— 0.1 a sense of foreboding 

— 0.2 rescue mission: failed 

— 0.3 bianca di angelo changes her future

— 0.4 i’m walking on sunshine

— 0.5 the weight of the world

— 0.6 dead men tell no tales

— 0.7 deadly deals

— 0.8 reincarnation gardening 101

— 0.9 i destroy a national museum  

— 1.0 dreams by fleetwood mac

— 1.1 wild blessings

— 1.2 the land without rain

— 1.3 every dam problem

— 1.4 the old man of the sea

— 1.5 dragons don’t like me (frowny face)

— 1.6 let the sky fall

— 1.7 the stars

— 1.8 the gods play russian roulette with our lives

— 1.9 he awaits you

battle of the labyrinth

— 0.0 prologue

— 0.1 legs like yours

— 0.2 he’s just a little... eccentric

— 0.3 we are in deep shit

— 0.4 the council is in session

— 0.5 our descent into madness darkness

— 0.6 lost in the labyrinth of my mind

— 0.7 folsom prison blues

— 0.8 hostage negotiation

— 0.9 the worst afternoon of my life

— 1.0 the dead rise

— 1.1 what it’s like to fly

— 1.2 rest and recovery

— 1.3 wedding funeral crashers

— 1.4 my brother tries to kill me

— 1.5 the creator

— 1.6 an eye for an eye

— 1.7 he who is lost shall be found

— 1.8 his final stand

— 1.9 the marks they leave are too often scars

— 2.0 t-365 days until armageddon 

the last olympian

— 0.0 prologue

— 0.1 down with the ship

— 0.2 another terrible family reunion

— 0.3 the council is adjourned

— 0.4 not the first nor the last

— 0.5 can’t prevent a prophecy

— 0.6 in a perfect world

— 0.7 i object!

— 0.8 the city that never sleeps

— 0.9 battle plans

— 1.0 i destroy a bridge

— 1.1 watch the sun rise

— 1.2 a temporary truce

— 1.3 the eye of the hurricane

— 1.4 reinforcements have arrived

— 1.5 the truth will set you free

— 1.6 a father’s decision

— 1.7 the final push

— 1.8 prophecy fulfilled

— 1.9 a gift worth a thousand lifetimes

— 2.0 ‘cause now you’re mine

— 2.1 the calm

*    *    *

0.8 "You're So Vain" Except I'm Really Not, Certain People Just Expect Me to Be

In any other situation, I would have appreciated Luke’s enthusiasm. As it was, however, I was afraid seeing Annabeth and Cody again might send him into a spiral he wouldn’t be able to return from. 

When he volunteered to follow them alone, promising to use his invisibility in short bursts, I immediately vetoed it. I told him it was too dangerous to have us split up and it would either be all of us going or none of us. 

"Nobody!" Tyson voted immediately. "Please?"

As much as I wanted to agree, I knew if we went we had the opportunity to gather some much needed intel. In the end, I convinced him to come along, even if he chewed nervously on his huge fingernails the entire time. 

We made a pitstop back at the cabins we’d stayed in the night before. No matter what, we wouldn’t be staying another night on this murder-zombie-enchanted cruise ship— it was just way too creepy to stay any longer. I made sure the gifts from Hermes stayed close to the top of my bag. He seemed pretty adamant that they were necessary, so I didn’t want to get stuck digging through the bag when I needed them. 

Tyson insisted on carrying all of our bags, which I felt guilty about, but he could carry three duffle bags the same way I could carry one, so I didn’t argue too much. 

We crept around much more carefully than we had the night before. Despite the fact that the mortals we passed made no indications that they even saw us, it felt wrong to not be on edge. We followed the ship’s YOU ARE HERE sights to lead us to the admiralty suite, as we’d heard Annabeth say.

We hid anytime someone got close, but we didn’t come across another monster, just the glass-eyed mortals who seemed to stare right through us. They all shared similar robotic responses to the first mortals we’d seen, which wasn’t making the situation any less creepy. 

Finally, we made it up the stairs of deck thirteen, where the admiralty suite was supposed to be. We got maybe two seconds to scan our surroundings before Luke was hissing, “Hide!” and shoving us into a supply closet. 

Not even a moment later, I heard voices coming down the hall.

"You see that Aethiopian drakon in the cargo hold?" one of them said.

The other laughed. "Yeah, it's awesome."

Luke took in a sharp breath. I looked up at him and he grabbed my hand. I got the feeling I recognized the second guy’s voice, but I couldn’t remember from where. 

"I hear they got two more coming," the second voice said. "They keep arriving at this rate, oh, man— no contest!"

The voices faded down the corridor.

"That was Chris Rodriguez!" Luke told me when they were fully gone. "He was in my cabin for, like, two years, but I noticed he hadn’t come back yet this year." 

At Luke’s mention of the name, I finally remembered. He was a hispanic kid who had never been claimed by his Olympian parent— one of the undetermineds who stayed in the Hermes Cabin. Now that he mentioned it, I hadn’t seen him at Camp this summer. 

The realization made me grimace. “I don’t like the implications of another half-blood being here…” 

Luke sighed in agreement. “I don’t, either, Angel. This makes no sense.” 

Once we made sure there was no one else passing by, we made our way further down the corridor. The closer we got the less I needed a map— the energy of something cold and unpleasant, something evil, made me sure we were getting close. 

"Angel, wait." Luke stopped suddenly. "Look at this."

He stood in front of a glass wall looking down into the multi-story canyon that ran through the middle of the ship. At the bottom was the Promenade— a mall full of shops— but that's not what had caught Luke's attention.

A group of monsters had assembled in front of the candy store: a dozen Laistrygonian giants like the ones who'd attacked me with volleyballs, two hellhounds, and a few even stranger creatures— humanoid females with twin serpent tails instead of legs. I recognized them a second before Luke said their names, his voice grim.

"Scythian Dracaenae," he whispered, his breath warm at my ear. "Dragon women."

The monsters made a semicircle around a young guy in Greek armor who was hacking on a straw dummy. 

I gasped in horror and had to look away. The dummy was wearing a bright orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. The guy in armor stabbed the dummy through its belly and ripped upward. Straw flew everywhere. The monsters cheered and howled. Luke grabbed my hand in comfort. 

We stepped away from the window, faces pale and unable to watch any further. 

"Come on," I whispered, feeling sick. "The sooner we find Annabeth and Cody the better."

At the end of the hallway were double oak doors that looked like they must have led somewhere important. When we were thirty feet away, Tyson stopped. "Voices inside."

"You can hear that far?" I asked.

Tyson closed his eye like he was concentrating hard. Then his voice changed, becoming a disturbing replica of Cody’s. "— the prophecy ourselves. The fools won't know which way to turn."

My stomach churned again. Before I could react, Tyson's voice changed again, becoming deeper and gruffer, like the other guy we'd heard talking to Annabeth outside the cafeteria. "You really think the old horseman is gone for good?"

Tyson copied Cody’s laugh and continued, "They can't trust him. Not with the skeletons in his closet. The poisoning of the tree was the final straw."

I felt Luke shiver beside me, still holding onto my hand. "Tyson cut it out! That’s freaky as hell.” 

Tyson opened his eye, looking puzzled. "Just listening," he claimed innocently, like he didn’t know what was wrong. 

Despite the nauseous feeling it gave me, I urged him. “Keep going. We might be able to hear something useful.” 

Tyson closed his eye again. He hissed in the gruff man's voice: "Quiet!" 

Then in a mock of Annabeth’s voice, whispering: "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Tyson said in the gruff voice. "Right outside."

I realized what was happening half a second too late. 

I had just enough time to cry, "Run!" when the doors of the stateroom burst open and there was Cody, flanked by two hairy giants armed with javelins, their bronze tips aimed right at our chests.

"Well," Cody said with a crooked smile. "If it isn't my brother, Luke, and the pretty Daughter of Poseidon he follows around like a puppy. Come right on in." 

*** 

It pissed me off how beautiful the stateroom was. 

It had huge windows curved along the back wall, overlooking the stern of the ship and allowing for a stunning view of the ocean waves shooting off behind the ship. It showed the perfect horizon line between the dark blue ocean and the baby blue sky. A Persian rug covered the floor and two plush sofas occupied the middle of the room, with a canopied bed in one corner and a mahogany dining table in the other. The table was loaded with food— pizza boxes, bottles of soda, and a stack of roast beef sandwiches on a silver platter.

If it hadn’t been for the monsters and the, uh, elephant in the room, it would’ve been stunning. 

The elephant in the room, by the way, was the worst part of all— on a velvet dais at the back of the room lay a ten-foot-long golden casket, with an unnatural coldness radiating from it.

A sarcophagus, engraved with Ancient Greek scenes of cities in flames and heroes dying grisly deaths. Despite the sunlight streaming through the windows, the casket made the whole room feel cold and sent my heart leaping into my throat. 

"Well," Annabeth said and she gestured around the room proudly. "A slight step up from Cabin Eleven, isn’t it, Luke?"

She and Cody had both changed since last summer. Instead of shorts and a T-shirt, Cody wore a button-down shirt, khaki pants, and leather loafers. His dark hair, which used to share the same unruly qualities as Luke’s, was now clipped short. He looked like the finance-bro frat guys who I passed on my way to class on campus at Columbia.

Annabeth wore a pair of black dress pants, black-and-white striped top, and a pair of combat boots. I supposed being evil didn’t give you good fashion sense. The blonde princess curls that had once been one of her defining features had been pulled pin-straight, and if she hadn’t betrayed us all, it would have made me feel a little bad for her, her decision or otherwise. The dagger Luke had given her still hung from her hip, and I saw him cast it a sharp glare. I was shocked she still carried the weapon. 

“Come sit,” Cody invited us with a smug smile, and with a wave of his hand, three dining chairs scooted themselves into the center of the room. 

Obviously, none of us moved. 

Their large friends were still pointing their javelins at us. They looked like twins, but they definitely were far from human. They stood about eight feet tall, for one thing, and wore only blue jeans, probably because their enormous chests were already shag-carpeted with thick brown fur. They had claws for fingernails, feet like paws. Their noses were snoutlike, and their teeth were all pointed canines.

"Where are our manners?" Cody chided. "These are our assistants, Agrius and Oreius. Perhaps you've heard of them?"

I said nothing. Despite the javelins pointed at us, the bear-like twins were far from the thing that scared me the most.

I’d spent a lot of time over the last year wondering what would happen the next time I inevitably came across Cody and Annabeth again. They’d tried to kill me last summer and had completely sent Luke down a spiral, so I’d been itching for a chance for revenge. I’d dreamed of what I’d say, what information I could glean from them. But now, standing in the room with that damn sarcophagus, my fingernails had to dig into my palms so I could pretend they weren’t shaking. 

"You don't know Agrius and Oreius's story?" Annabeth asked. "I'm not surprised. Children of Poseidon are never particularly wise."

I clenched my jaw and refused to take her bait. 

She smiled. “It’s quite a sad story, really. Aphrodite ordered their mother to fall in love, but she refused and ran to Artemis for help. Artemis allowed her entry into her maiden huntresses, but Aphrodite refused to let it go and bewitched her into falling in love with a bear as revenge. When Artemis found out, she tossed the girl aside in disgust. How very typical of the gods, fighting one another and the poor humans getting caught in the crossfire. The girl's twin sons here, Agrius and Oreius, have no love for Olympus."

“They quite enjoy half-bloods, though,” Cody added crudely. 

“For lunch," Agrius growled. His gruff voice was the one that had been talking with Annabeth earlier.

"Hehe! Hehe!" His brother Oreius laughed, licking his fur-lined lips. He kept laughing like he was having an asthmatic fit until everyone in the room was staring at him.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Agrius growled. "Go punish yourself!"

Oreius whimpered. He trudged over to the corner of the room, slumped onto a stool, and banged his forehead against the dining table, making the silver plates rattle. Despite the circumstances, I kind of felt bad for the guy. I was sure if I were also a half-blood-eating bear-man I also would’ve thought the comment was funny. 

Cody and Annabeth both acted like this was perfectly normal behavior. Cody moved toward the sofa and dropped down onto it lazily, propping his feet up on the coffee table in front of him. 

“So, we’ve allowed you another year of life, Allie,” he said, smirking. “I hope you’ve appreciated it. What have you been up to?” 

I bit the inside of my cheeks. "Not much. A few movies and TV shows here and there. Fashion week was pretty fun— I always love a good trip to Milan and Paris. Performed at the Grammys, and a few other award shows. I went on tour," I replied coldly, not wanting to make it obvious how difficult it was to think about that specific Grammys performance. "But, I already know what you've been doing. You poisoned Thalia's tree."

For a singular second, I was sure I saw a flash of guilt pass over Annabeth’s face, but it was gone just as soon as it appeared. 

"Jumping the gun, are we?" Cody sighed. "Okay, sure I poisoned the tree. So what?"

"How could you, Annabeth?" Luke’s voice was even more furious than it had been the day of her betrayal. I grabbed his hand to keep him from running forward and attacking her. "Thalia sacrificed herself to save your life! Our lives! How could you kill her again, dishonor her—"

"I didn't dishonor her!" Annabeth snapped, standing and glaring at him. "The gods dishonored her, Luke! They let her die! If Thalia were alive, she'd be on my side."

"No she would’t!" he shot back, face pinched. “You can’t possibly believe—” 

"If you knew what was coming, you'd understand—"

"I understand you want to destroy the camp!" he yelled. "You've lost your mind!"

Annabeth shook her head. "The gods have blinded you. Can't you imagine a world without them, Luke? What good is all of that ancient history? Three thousand years of baggage! The West is rotten to the core. It has to be destroyed. Join me! We can start the world anew. Your experience and talent would be invaluable, Luke."

"Because you have none of your own!"

Annabeth’s eyes narrowed. "I know you, Luke," she insisted. "This isn’t what you’re made for— some helpless quest to save Camp. Half-Blood Hill will be overrun by monsters within the month. The heroes who survive will have no choice but to join us or be hunted to extinction. You would really sacrifice your life… for company like this?" She pointed at Tyson.

“Leave Tyson out of this,” I snapped. 

She didn’t pay me any mind. "Traveling with a Cyclops," she spat. "And you talk about dishonoring Thalia's memory! You of all people—"

"Fuck off!" he shouted.

“Tyson has nothing to do with this,” I said, trying not to lose my cool.

Cody laughed scornfully. "Oh, yeah, we know all about that. Your father claimed him." The surprise must have shown on my face, because he smiled smugly. "Yes, Allie, we heard. And about your plan to find the Fleece. What were those coordinates, again... 30, 31, 75, 12? You see, we still have friends at camp who keep the two of us posted."

I clenched my jaw. "Spies, you mean."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "How many insults from your father can you stand, Allie? You think he's grateful for you? You think Poseidon cares for you any more than he cares for this monster? You're far too pretty to be treated like that." 

I gave a very dramatic scoff and eye roll while Luke just got angrier. Tyson clenched his fists and made a rumbling sound down in his throat.

"'Far too pretty.' Why the hell do people keep saying that? What does me being pretty have to do with anything? My good looks have already gotten me all of the power in the world that I could ever need," I snapped back. “Or do you keep mentioning that because you think I actually care about shit like that? I’m not so vain, you know.” 

Annabeth chuckled bitterly, turning away from her and Luke's staring contest. "The gods are using you, Allie. Do you have any idea what's in store for you if you reach your twentieth birthday? Has Chiron even told you the prophecy?"

I’d been close to snapping, but she was able to throw me just off balance. 

Twentieth birthday?

I knew the gist of the prophecy Chiron had received and suspected at least part of it was about me. The one about the possible end to Olympus that had made the Big Three create a vow to stop having children. But that was about all I knew and all I wasn’t allowed to know. My twentieth birthday? That was… scarily soon. 

I smoothed my expression. “I know everything I need to know,” I said calmly, much calmer than I felt with the storm inside of me. “Like who my enemies are.” 

"Then you're a pretty, little fool."

Tyson smashed the nearest dining chair to splinters. "Allie is not a fool!"

Before I could stop him, he charged Cody. His fists came down toward Cody's head— a double overhead blow that would've knocked a hole in titanium— but the bear twins intercepted.

They each caught one of Tyson's arms and stopped him in his tracks. They pushed him back and Tyson stumbled, falling to the carpet so hard the deck shook.

"Too bad, Cyclops," Cody said, voice filled with mock sympathy. "Looks like my grizzly friends together are more than a match for your strength. Maybe I should let them—"

“Annabeth,” I interrupted, turning to face her. “Your mother sent a message—”

“My mother?” she repeated coldly, her face turning red. “Don’t talk to me about my mother! I don’t care about her opinion anymore. I don’t care about any of them anymore! I want every throne crushed to rubble! You tell all of them it's going to happen, too. Each time a half-blood joins us, the Olympians grow weaker. And every time they refuse to acknowledge us, they just seal their own fate.” 

“You sound like a spoiled child,” I chided. “She said you’d respond to reason—”

“Reason!” she shrieked. “Reason is realizing we were just pawns in a game we had no stake in and doing something to change the status quo. How can you stand just being used all of the time?” 

Deciding I was getting nowhere with that argument, I changed topics. "What's in the sarcophagus?" I demanded.

I wasn’t sure if I imagined it, but the room grew about twenty degrees colder. 

"He is re-forming, Sweetheart," Cody declared, and I had to fight off a cringe at the petname. "Little by little, we're calling his life force out of the pit. With every recruit who pledges our cause, another small piece appears—"

"You’re both fucking crazy," Luke hissed.

Cody was unfazed. "Join us and you'll be rewarded. We have powerful friends, sponsors rich enough to buy this cruise ship and much more. Allie, you can have more than you have now— whatever you want. Live the life you live, without people sexualizing you. You too, Luke, anything your heart desires!"

"Go to Tartarus," he shot back, his anger showing on his face. 

I simply glared, hoping that erased any illusions of my being tempted by his suggestion. "I’m rich enough to buy this whole ship and more, sponsors be damned."

Cody sighed. "A shame." He said it like it really was a disappointment that we wouldn’t agree to his terms. "Allie, you could be queen over everyone in the world. Make them do whatever you want. Respect you the way you should be respected. You won't have to be objectified anymore. Just say yes."

If there was one thing that was certain, he knew how to play to my wants. The objectification was perhaps the worst part of my job, including the privacy invasion. News outlets had come back in full force counting down the days until I turned eighteen, now that we were down to mere months. Still, if this wackjob thought I was about to marry the fucking Lord of Time, he was about to be sorely disappointed.

"I've lived with it all these years, what's a few more? I'm sure as hell not about to be bribed into joining your little pity party against Olympus. So you both can go ahead and fuck yourselves." 

Cody shook his head, disappointed, and picked up something that looked like a TV remote and pressed a red button. Within seconds the door of the stateroom opened and two uniformed crew members came in, armed with nightsticks. They had the same glassy-eyed look like the other mortals I'd seen, but I had a feeling this wouldn't make them any less dangerous in a fight.

"Ah, good, security," Cody said, "I'm afraid we have some stowaways."

"Yes, sir," they said dreamily.

Cody turned to Oreius. "It's time to feed the Aethiopian drakon. Take these fools below and show them how it's done."

Oreius grinned stupidly. "Hehe! Hehe!"

"Let me go, too," Agrius grumbled. "My brother is worthless. That Cyclops—"

"Is no threat," Annabeth said simply. She glanced back at the golden casket, and her face turned pensive, as if thinking something over. "Agrius, you're staying here. There are a few important matters we must discuss."

"But—"

"Oreius, don't fail us. Stay in the hold to make sure the drakon is properly fed."

Oreius prodded us with his javelin and herded us out of the stateroom, followed by the two human security guards.

Oreius’ javelin poked me in the back as we made our way down the corridor. I refused to ponder on Cody’s offer and instead thought about what he’d said— that the bear twins together were a match for Tyson's strength. Sure that may have been true then, but separately… 

We exited the corridor amidships and walked across an open deck lined with lifeboats. I knew the ship well enough to realize this would be our last look at the sunlight. Once we got to the other side, we'd take the elevator down into the hold, and then there would be no other opportunities.

I looked at Tyson and said, "Now."

I thanked every god who may have been listening that he understood. He turned around and, without hesitation, smacked Oreius thirty feet backward into the swimming pool, right into the middle of the zombie tourist family.

"Ah!" the kids screamed in unison. "We are not having a blast in the pool!"

One of the security guards drew his nightstick, but Luke turned and kicked the wind out of him. The other guard ran for the nearest alarm box.

"Stop him!" Luke yelled, but it was too late.

Just before I could hit him over the head with the hilt of Shaker, he hit the alarm.

Red lights flashed. Sirens wailed.

"Get on one of the lifeboats!" I yelled.

We ran for the nearest one.

By the time we got the cover off, monsters and more security men were swarming the deck, pushing aside tourists and waiters with trays of cocktails, making them spill all over the floor. A guy in Greek armor drew his sword and charged, but slipped in a puddle of piña colada. Laistrygonian archers assembled on the deck above us, notching arrows in their enormous bows.

"How do you launch this thing?" Luke shouted.

A hellhound leaped at me, but Tyson slammed it aside with a fire extinguisher.

"Get in!" I yelled. I pulled out Riptide and slashed the first volley of arrows out of the air. Any second now we would be overwhelmed.

The lifeboat was hanging over the side of the ship, high above the water. Luke and Tyson were having no luck with the release pulley.

I jumped in beside them.

"Hold on to something!" I yelled, and I cut the ropes.

A shower of arrows whistled over our heads as we free-fell toward the ocean.

* * *

previous | next

2.0 My Day Doesn't Get Any Better, In Fact, It Just Gets Infinitely Worse

I’d never been more thankful in my life that the mortals seemed to be unable to wrap their minds around anything pertaining to the Greek world and just decided to make something up because it was easier. Given the circumstances, this was the largest scale that I’d see the Mist work with, and yet, there were no further questions.

The LA news reported that the explosion on the Santa Monica beach had been caused when a crazy stalker of mine had fired a shotgun at a police car. The bullet, apparently, hit a gas main that had ruptured during the earthquake, and all of a sudden the sand was on fire. 

I’d simply been on a roadtrip (thank you, Danny and Nora) when this stalker decided now would be a good time to confront me, and had followed me across the United States wreaking havoc. He’d followed me onto a bus and tried attacking my friends and me there before we’d been able to escape (I’d been right— I had heard a camera click. The picture had floated around Twitter for a week with people debating whether or not it was actually me) and he’d been the cause of the explosion at the St. Louis Arch. Then, he had found us in Denver, where a concerned waitress saw an older man threatening me and had a friend take a picture before notifying the police. 

It had then, according to the story, all come to a head on the beach in LA, when the stalker attacked me one final time and I had been able to steal a gun from him, consolidating in one final showdown between the two of us as we battled shotgun-to-handgun. 

Police had arrived just in time. The explosion had destroyed five police cars, and in the commotion, the stalker had fled. No fatalities had occurred, and no one had been severely injured.

The reporters were going rabid over the whole story. This wasn’t the first time I’d had a story about a stalker sensationalized, but this was certainly a whole other level of dramatic. Once it was determined that I was fine, all anybody had time to do was be outraged that the police had let the stalker get away and that I’d been the one having the fight him. 

Luke, with his incredible Hermes-given lying skills, and I, using my career to my advantage, somehow convinced the police that putting the three of us on a plane home straight away, without visiting a hospital or anything, was a terrific idea. In fact, the police and reporters were so ready to give me whatever I wanted that they allowed us to get our tickets and completely bypass all security and everything, just to get us back to New York as quickly as possible.

I didn’t have time to be terrified over the prospect of flying until I was sitting in my seat. It was all I could do to hope that Zeus would cut me some slack given I had his all-powerful weapon of mass destruction sitting in the backpack from Ares. Still, despite the fact that we were sitting in First Class, every jolt of turbulence felt scarier than anything I’d faced on the entire quest.  

I spent the entire time with the window beside me closed and my fingers tapping the beat to a song in my head anxiously. Luke was beside me, watching The Fast and the Furious (if I hadn’t been downing in anxiety, I would’ve cringed at how young I was in that movie, no matter how much I loved it), but I could see the tension lining his jaw and how his eyes shot toward me every time the place did anything but fly smoothly. Grover had knocked out almost immediately and I admired his ability to do so, all things considered. 

Finally touching back down in New York could’ve made me believe in a God (singular) if I didn’t know better. 

The crowd of local press waiting for us in JFK was almost worse than the crowds in LAX. I’d been told airport security would do anything in their power to keep them at bay and allow us to make it through safely, but I knew there was simply not enough personnel in JFK to keep them away. 

Luke had managed to sneak away while the security they provided us tried coming up with a game plan and shouted, “They’re at a different terminal! Come on!” from behind a pillar, which had successfully cleared out the entire area, allowing security to get us through with little further difficulty. 

I’d finally been able to charge my phone on the plane, so I called an Uber while security was game planning. When the ride finally pulled up, I made the boys get in first and told them to go to Camp without me. They’d protested, but I knew this was something I needed to do by myself. Chiron needed to be told the truth in case I made it up to Olympus and Zeus decided he didn’t believe my version of events. If I died, at the very least it would be knowing that Chiron would believe me and maybe it wouldn’t all be in vain. 

It was hard to let them leave without me. The last time we’d gotten truly split up was at the St. Louis Arch and that hadn’t exactly ended up going too well in my favor. But still, I gave their driver a cash tip and asked him to drive safely. I handed them my Prada backpack and with a final goodbye, they were off. 

I waited until the car was out of sight before I hailed a taxi for myself. 

With the typical New York traffic, I had about an hour to rehearse exactly what I wanted to say to Zeus. 

What did I do with that hour, you may be asking. Absolutely nothing. I sat in the back of that cab for an hour willing away the nausea and imagining all the ways in which Zeus was about to kill me, 

An hour later I was standing in the lobby of the Empire State Building. My face and arms were scratched and bruised to all hell, but at the very least I’d been able to change into a fresh Dior top and skirt back in LAX (I would never not enjoy being an ambassador. Truly), so I didn’t look quite as worse for wear. 

I took a deep breath to settle my nerves and walked up to the guard sitting at the front desk. “Six hundredth floor, please,” 

The clock on the wall behind him told me I only had an hour to get to Zeus before the end of the world began. 

The guard didn’t even look up at me, engrossed in whatever fantasy book (I assumed because of the dragon on the font) he was reading. “No such floor, kiddo.” 

I reached over the desk and took the book out of his hand, not speaking until he looked at me, gaping like a fish out of water. "I need an audience with Zeus."

He blinked at me vacantly, staring at the book I’d taken as though he were shocked it wasn’t in his hands anymore. "Sorry?"

“I didn’t stutter,” I told him. I had an hour to stop a war and he was going to sit here and act like he had no idea what I was talking about? I’d been through a hellish week and just wanted to sleep. Cut me some slack, bro. 

He frowned at me. “No appointment, no audience, kid.” He reached for his book, as though our conversation was over, but I moved it out of his reach. He sighed, “Lord Zeus doesn’t see anyone unannounced.” 

I laughed. “Oh, I think he’ll want to make an exception. Just this once.” 

I swung Ares’ backpack off of my shoulder and unzipped the biggest pocket, letting him see what was sitting inside. The guard looked at it, the information taking a moment to process. I saw in his expression exactly when he realized what I had. 

His face paled. “That’s not…”

“Oh, it is,” I chided, a wicked grin on my face. “If you wanna see it better, I can take it out and—” 

“No! No, no, no, no, no—” He scrambled to his feet and tore his desk apart looking for something. He produced a white plastic keycard and handed it to me. "Insert this in the security slot. Make sure nobody else is in the elevator with you."

I plucked it from his fingertips and gave him his book back. “Pleasure doing business,” I told him. 

I could feel his eyes on me as I walked toward the elevators and did as he said once inside, slipping the card into the slot. The card got eaten and another button appeared above the list of others— a slightly larger red one that said 600. 

I pressed it and waited. I heard a cliche elevator song start up, but couldn’t focus on it. The anticipation settled in my stomach. One way or another, this was all about to come to a head. The monsters I’d killed, the injuries I’d sustained, all of it had led to this. No matter if I died, or if I made it back to camp, or some unforeseen third option, this was it. 

A loud ding! brought me out of my brooding. The doors slid open and I walked out before my brain caught up with what I was looking at. 

I froze. 

It was unlike anything I’d ever seen. The elevator had opened to a narrow stone walkway just… floating. In midair. You know, as they do. Below my feet laid Manhattan, and it felt like I was still on the flight over, that’s how high in the air I was. The walkway led to marble steps that wound up the top of a cloud, straight into the sky. I’d never been afraid of heights, but looking down made me dizzy. 

I followed the staircase all the way to where it ended and my breath hitched. 

An entire city rose up on the side of the sliced off mountain peak, sticking out of a cloud. There were multileveled palaces, all looking like they’d been pulled straight from Ancient Greece before it became an empire of ruin. White-columned porticos, gilded terraces, and bronze braziers glowing with a thousand fires. An modern-day expert in Ancient Greek architecture could never have replicated something like it.

Roads spun around the place, connecting the city together, and led up to the very top of the mountain, where the largest palace of them all sparkled in the sunlight. Gardens laid perfectly groomed beside the roads— rose bushes and olive trees and other greenery filled in the empty spaces. I could make out an open-air market filled with colorful tents, a stone amphitheater built on one side of the mountain, a hippodrome and a coliseum on the other.

This place can't be here, I told myself. But it was. This place was hanging above Manhattan, with an entrance in the Empire State Building and no one had ever noticed. Screw the mortals figuring out some story to make sense of the last week and a half— this was the largest scale of Mist-hiding there could probably ever be. 

And yet, I was there.

The tips of my fingers felt numb as I walked down the streets in a daze. 

As I passed by, hawkers in the market offered to sell me ambrosia-on-a-stick, and a new shield, and a genuine glitter-weave replica of the Golden Fleece, as seen on Hephaestus-TV. I supposed even Olympus couldn’t be exempt from Capitalism and salespeople. The nine muses were tuning their instruments for a concert in the park while a small crowd gathered— satyrs and naiads and a bunch of good-looking teenagers who might've been minor gods and goddesses. 

Nobody seemed worried about an impending civil war. It shocked me. I’d figured there would be at least a little apprehension in the air. Maybe even a fight or two breaking out in favor of either side, like Luke had echoed what Annabeth had said were breaking out at Camp. But no. There was a festive energy in the air. Several turned to stare at me as I passed and whispered amongst themselves when they thought I couldn’t see. 

I kept going. If I stopped, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to move my feet again. 

I was standing in front of the palace before I knew it. It was a reverse copy of Hades’ palace in the Underworld. Whereas everything there had been dark, black, and bronze, everything here glittered in shades of white and gold. It hit me that Hades must have designed his palace to replicate this one. He had basically been banished from Olympus except for the Winter Solstice, so he’d remade it underground for himself. 

I frowned. I may have had a screaming match with the guy, but the thought made me sad.

I looked back down at the palm of my hand. It seemed like so long ago that I’d written the lyrics there. The only sign that I’d even written something were the few smudges of ink that didn’t really look like much of anything anymore.

With a sigh I made my way through the central courtyard and to the Throne Room. ‘Room’ isn’t quite the correct word. If it were a room, then Grand Central Station was a broom closet. Massive columns rose to a domed ceiling, which was gilded with moving constellations.

The room-not-room contained twelve thrones, each taller than I was by almost double and fit for beings the size of Hades. They were placed in the same patterned U as the cabins back at Camp Half-Blood. In the center of it all, a huge, warm fire crackled in a hearth pit. 

I squared my shoulders as I walked forward. Only two of the thrones were occupied: the head throne on the right, and the one immediately to its left. I didn’t need anyone telling me who the two gods were. 

Only my experience walking down catwalks kept my legs from trembling. I desperately wanted to turn around, but I wanted even less to show them that I was nervous, so I quieted the flight response my body was going through and smoothed my expression as I approached. 

The gods were in giant human form, exactly as Hades had been. I wasn’t sure if it was just because I was anxious out of my mind, or if I just hadn’t noticed it when confronting Hades, but looking at them made my fingers and toes tingle as though I was on fire. I clenched my fists and willed the feeling away. 

Zeus was wearing a dark blue pinstriped suit that looked like something straight out of a Ralph Lauren magazine and sat on a throne of sparkling platinum. His beard was well-trimmed, gray marble and black mixed together in it like a storm cloud. His face was proud and handsome, yet his expression was grim, his eyes rainy gray. The closer I got, the more the air crackled and smelled of ozone. 

Then I looked to his left. 

Everyone had been right: I looked exactly like him. I almost took a double take. From the white hair, to the sea green eyes, hell, even our facial symmetry was almost exact. Poseidon was, however, dressed very differently to Zeus, and even to me. He reminded me a little of a Key West local who spent all of his time on a fishing boat. He wore leather sandals, khaki Bermuda shorts, and a Tommy Bahama shirt with coconuts and parrots all over it. He was tan, more tan than me, and his hands were scarred and calloused like a career fisherman’s would be. He also had sun-crinkles around his eyes, which told me that he smiled a lot, but currently he wore a brooding expression— the same type that I wore that got me branded stubborn and obstinate during contract negotiation. 

While Zeus’ throne was glamorous and in your face, Poseidon’s was… calmer. It had something almost comforting about it. It was black leather and looked similar to a deep-sea fisherman’s chair— the swiveling kind. It had a built-in holster for a fishing pole, but instead of a pole, sitting in its place was a large golden trident, a green light sparkling around the points.

I immediately sensed the tension in the air. They’d obviously just finished a viscous argument before I’d arrived and were now sitting stone-still and not speaking. 

The heels of my Dior slingbacks echoed against the marble floors.

It was about here that I started really regretting not practicing how I was going to go about this. I could disarm my record label’s CEO to get exactly what I wanted out of a contract using just my words, or make a director change his mind if I disagreed with the direction a scene I was filming was going. But this was so far out of my element. I couldn’t bully Zeus and Poseidon like I could big name executives. They were gods. 

I hadn’t considered what might happen if they were both there. For some reason, I’d assumed, incorrectly, that it would just be Zeus. I’d give him his bolt and tell him my story, and then either he’d believe me and I’d be sent on my merry way, or he wouldn’t and he’d blast me to pieces using the bolt I’d returned. Maybe that was why Poseidon had arrived. To stop his brother if he tried killing me. 

I stopped a few feet in front of them. I figured not bowing to Zeus first, as the Lord of the house, would probably put me in some even hotter water with him than I already was, but I also didn’t want to gravely insult my father somehow by not defaulting to him.

For once, I was thankful for the curtsy training they’d put me through for Game of Thrones. “My Lords,” I said, and I almost caught myself slipping into the fake British accent I used on the very same show before correcting it. 

I kept staring down at my heels, once again glad I’d gone shopping before boarding the plane. I didn’t dare look up, so I just kept reading the ‘J’Adore’ written on the ribbons over and over to give my eyes something to do. 

My heart was racing. Neither god responded for a moment. I wondered if maybe this situation constituted going all the way down to my knees, or if they’d give me a pass since I was wearing a skirt. For a singular, egotistical moment, I thought that this was already a little dramatic considering I’d just gone cross-country to retrieve the stupid bolt I’d been wrongly accused of stealing, but I figured dwelling on that thought probably wouldn’t help my case. 

“Rise, Daughter,” I heard Poseidon’s voice say and my knees almost buckled. The sound brought forth some of my oldest memories. A warm glow, the feeling of his hand on my head. If every muscle in my body hadn’t already been tensed to the point of snapping, it probably would’ve made me flinch. 

When I finally raised my head, Zeus’ expression had darkened even further. "You still claim her then?" Zeus asked, a thinly veiled threat in his tone. "You claim this child whom you sired against our sacred oath?"

There was a subtle shift to Poseidon’s expression that I would’ve missed if our faces hadn’t been identical. "I have admitted my wrongdoing," he said calmly. "Now I would hear her speak."

Now that took everything in me not to flinch. Nothing better than listening to the father you’d never met say you were a mistake upon first meeting him. I supposed I shouldn’t have expected anything else. I looked back at my heels. 

Zeus turned to glare at Poseidon. “I have spared the girl once already,” he grumbled. “Flying through my domain like an insolent child. And to find out she’d done it countless times throughout her life! I should strike her dead and be done with this.” 

"And risk destroying your own master bolt? And now risk war with me, if you chose to harm her?" Poseidon asked, tension in his tone barely contained. "Let us hear her out, brother."

Zeus sighed, like Poseidon was making a big ask of him. “I shall listen,” he decided. “And based on that shall make my mind up over striking this girl from Olympus.” 

I bit the inside of my cheeks to keep from saying something that likely would’ve made Zeus’ mind up before I could explain what had happened.

"Astraea," Poseidon said. "Look at me."

I did. I couldn’t quite decipher what it was in his expression. None of the things I knew not to expect: love or acceptance. But also none of the things that I did: apprehension or indifference. It was like looking at the ocean: some days, you could tell what mood it was in. Most days, though, it was unreadable, mysterious.

I got the sense that Poseidon wasn’t sure what to think of me or how to act around me, which was fine because I was in the same boat. If he’d tried giving me a smile or something comforting I would’ve been able to read through it. Of all the things that he could’ve done, I appreciated the indifference the most, oddly enough. 

"Address Lord Zeus, Daughter," Poseidon told me. "Tell him your story." 

I cleared my throat and squared my shoulders. Here it was. My life now depended on how well I could convince Zeus what I was saying was the truth. 

Yet another reason to love being a career actress. I knew how to invoke emotion. 

I went through the entire story, exactly as it happened, starting with being in LA during the Winter Solstice and ending with my fight with Ares and making it back to New York. When I finished, I took the Masterbolt from the backpack Ares gave me, sparkling and humming in Zeus’ presence, and laid it on the ground in front of his feet. 

There was a long silence, broken only by the crackle of the hearth fire.

Zeus opened his palm. The lightning bolt flew into it. As he closed his fist, the metallic points flared with electricity, until he was holding what looked more like the classic thunderbolt, a twenty-foot javelin of arcing, hissing energy. The fact that I had carried that thing onto a metal contraption 35,000 feet into the air made me want to shudder. 

Zeus studied the bolt for a beat longer before he spoke. "I sense the girl speaks truth," he muttered. "But that Ares would do such a thing... it is most unlike him."

Poseidon’s expression had shifted. It seemed that no longer being on the brink of a war in which he got blamed but had no hand in eased him. "He is proud and impulsive," Poseidon replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "It runs in the family."

I wanted to agree, but decided against it. "Lord?" I interrupted. 

They both turned to look at me and in unison said, “Yes?” 

Under different circumstances I would’ve laughed. "Ares… He didn't act alone. Someone else— something else put the entire thing in motion and planted the ideas in his head."

I described my dreams, and the feeling I'd had on the beach, that momentary breath of evil that had seemed to make the world go dark, and made Ares back off from killing me.

"In my dreams," I explained, "the voice told me to bring the bolt to the Underworld. Ares practically confessed that he’d been having dreams, too. I think he was being used and manipulated, just as I was, to start a war."

"You are accusing Hades, after all?" Zeus asked, but I could read his stormy expression. He knew that wasn’t what I was implying. 

"No," I denied, shaking my head. "I mean, Lord Zeus, I was just in the presence of Hades. This feeling on the beach… It was different. It was the same thing I felt when I got close to that pit. That was the entrance to Tartarus, right? Something powerful and evil is stirring down there... something even older than the gods." 

I didn't dare to say the name aloud, even on Olympus. Especially on Olympus. 

Poseidon and Zeus looked at each other. They had a quick, intense discussion in Ancient Greek, in a dialect I wasn’t very familiar with. I only caught one word: Father.

Poseidon made some kind of suggestion, but Zeus cut him off. Poseidon tried to argue. 

Zeus held up his hand angrily. "No. We will speak of this no more," he declared imperiously. "I must go personally to purify this thunderbolt in the waters of Lemnos, to remove the human taint from its metal."

I felt like I deserved the Presidential Medal of Freedom for my ability to hold my tongue on that one. 

He rose and looked at me. Something… not quite fond, but similar passed over his expression and his face softened, just a fraction. "You have done me a service, girl. Few heroes could have accomplished as much. To show you my thanks, I shall spare your life. I do not trust you, Astraea Jackson. I do not like what your arrival means for the future of Olympus. But for the sake of peace in the family, I shall let you live."

"Actually." I paused. I’d done so good holding my sarcastic quips to myself, I deserved something tangible for going through the grief of finding that stupid bolt, not just a thinly veiled threat. But the look Zeus shot at me almost made me wish I’d kept biting back my words. "If it’s not an outrageous ask, you could thank me by allowing me to continue to fly."

Zeus squinted at me. "Now, hold on—"

“I only ask because… Well, before I found out about all of… this, I used to travel a lot for work.” He grumbled at me, but he didn’t move to blast me to bits, so I figured I could keep going. “And I don’t want to have to give that up. I’m not… I’m not just his daughter.” I gestured to Poseidon, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. “I have my own life in the mortal world, and they know my name, and they know me. If I just disappeared, they would notice, so… With your permission, if I could still fly for work, I would really appreciate it.” 

Zeus stared at me, as though he couldn’t quite figure out how to respond. That same half-baked softened look on his face was still there, and it made me wonder how much I likely reminded him of his own daughter, Thalia. "Fine. You may continue to fly. At the very least I will be able to keep an eye on you while you do. But do not let me find you here when I return. Otherwise, you shall taste this bolt. And it shall be your last sensation." A second later, thunder shook the palace. With a blinding flash of lightning, Zeus was gone.

It was more than I could’ve expected. I’d be leaving Olympus with my life and my career intact. 

Then I realized I was alone in the throne room with my father.

"Your uncle," Poseidon sighed, "has always had a flair for dramatic exits. I think he would've done well as the god of theater."

I’d spent a not insignificant amount of time in my life considering the first thing I’d say to my father if I ever met him. Mom had always said he was “lost at sea”, so I figured if he ever found his way back, I could at least have something prepared. But I had to throw all of that out of my mind. I’d found out the truth. There would be other opportunities to cry or cuss or scream or whatever else I decided on. What couldn’t wait was getting answers. 

"Sir," I started, the word feeling stupid and foreign on my tongue, "what was in that pit?"

Poseidon regarded me. "Have you not guessed, my Daughter?"

I decided to ignore the possessive qualifier he used with Zeus out of the room as I whispered, "Kronos… The King of the Titans."

Despite being in the throne room of Olympus, far above Tartarus, the name Kronos darkened the room and made the hearth fire seem not as warm on my back. I felt like even up in the clouds, I could feel the force of Kronos pulling me down. 

Poseidon gripped his trident, knuckles white from the pressure. "In the First War, Allie, Zeus cut our father Kronos into a thousand pieces, just as Kronos had done to his own father, Ouranos. Zeus cast Kronos's remains into the darkest pit of Tartarus. The Titan army was scattered, their mountain fortress on Etna destroyed, their monstrous allies driven to the farthest corners of the earth. And yet Titans cannot die, any more than we gods can. Whatever is left of Kronos is still alive in some hideous way, still conscious in his eternal pain, still hungering for power."

"He's… He’s healing," I replied, not able to take all of the fear out of my tone. "He's coming back."

Immediately, Poseidon shook his head. "From time to time, over the eons, Kronos has stirred. He enters men's nightmares and breathes evil thoughts. He awakens restless monsters from the depths. But to suggest that he even could rise from the pit is another thing."

I grimaced. "That's what he intends. That's what he said."

Poseidon was silent for a long time. I couldn’t tell if didn’t believe me or if he just didn’t want to. 

"Lord Zeus has closed discussion on this matter,” he told me matter-of-factly. “He will not allow talk of Kronos. You have completed your quest, my Daughter. That is all you need to do."

"But—" I stopped myself. I’d done good holding my tongue, it wouldn’t do me any good to ruin all of that now. "As..." I rolled my eyes, hoping he didn't notice, but sure that he did. "As you wish... Sir."

A faint smile played on his lips, and I could almost see a fondness in his eyes. "Obedience does not come naturally to you, does it, my Daughter?"

I bit the inside of my cheeks to keep from smiling. "Not particularly,” I told him.

He laughed, and I hated that it lifted my spirits. "I must take some blame for that, I suppose. The sea does not like to be restrained." He rose to his full height and took up his trident. Then he shimmered and became the size of a regular man, standing directly in front of me. "You must go, my Daughter. But first, I want you to know something."

I furrowed my eyebrows. I almost wanted to stop him before he said anything that might set me off. I hadn’t slept in over a day and it felt like my ability to hold my tongue was waning the more I had to do it. If he said something that I took the wrong way, I couldn’t guarantee we wouldn’t just end up in a screaming match the same way Hades and I had.  

But he didn’t go any route I thought he would. "Your mother is a queen among women," Poseidon said wistfully. "I had not met such a mortal woman in a thousand years. I am unsure of what my brother will do, but she would’ve been proud of you for the decision you made. I have brought you a hero's fate, and a hero's fate is never happy. It is never anything but tragic. You do not deserve that kind of life and I'm sorry for putting you in that position. Your life will only get harder, that much I'm sure of."

I took in a deep breath and held it, trying to figure out how to best respond. "My mom… No matter what happens, she was the perfect mother. The only reason I was able to get through this quest was because of a decision she made when I was two that gave me the job I have now. She… She did everything she could to give me the world, often at the detriment of herself,” I told him. “It prepared me in a lot of ways. Considering what happened last night and today, I dread the coming years, but… I don’t mind. Not yet.” 

"Not yet, indeed," he said. "Train as much as you can. If what I hear is correct, you are a very skilled fighter." 

I nodded and we fell into a… not comfortable, but not uncomfortable silence. Our conversation had certainly gone a way I never could’ve expected. I almost admired the way he’d been able to craft his words in a way that didn’t piss me off and didn’t lie to make me feel better. 

I figured it was probably best I take my leave before Zeus came back and made good on his threat. "I'll leave you, then." I curtsied smoothly. "Goodbye."

I had barely begun to turn around when he called, "Allie.” 

There was a different light in his eyes, a fiery kind of pride. It seemed as though he felt he'd done his due diligence as a god and couldn't hold back what he really wanted to say to me. I realized maybe the calculated way he’d spoken was because we’d been in the presence of Zeus. Perhaps we were even more similar than just the things that showed on the surface. 

Poseidon smiled, and it deepened the sun-creases at his eyes. "You did well, my girl. Do not misunderstand me. Whatever else you do, know that you are mine. You are a true Child of the Sea God. A Princess of my kingdom."

I nodded again, and left as quickly as I could, heels echoing on the marble once more.

As I walked back through the city of the gods, conversations stopped. The muses paused their concert. People and satyrs and naiads all turned toward me, their faces filled with respect and gratitude, and as I passed, they knelt, as if I were some kind of hero, and not the possible future destroyer of the world.

I passed by my mom’s apartment, already having a feeling this would be the last time I'd step foot inside of it. I took the fire escape to get into my room and you can imagine my shock when I heard my mother's voice coming from the living room.

Stupidly, but so full of want, I called out, "Mom?"

"Allie, run!" It was definitely her. What was going on? I ran, but not towards the fire escape. I threw open my door and in a few seconds, I was looking into the living room where my mother stood. Alive. It was only after that fact did I notice the blood. 

Broken glass sat in a halo around her, and her head bled horribly. Gabe stood above her, the nose of a beer bottle clutched in his hand. 

"You little bitch. Where the fuck have you been? Your mother was just telling me her wonderful story. How about you, whore? You been slutting around New York for three weeks? You got me in trouble with a lot of bad people because you didn't leave me any money. Where's my car, by the way?" 

I stood gaping at him for a moment before pushing past him and going towards my mother, who was whimpering in pain. "Mom?" I whispered. "How are you... here?"

"His— his debt was paid. He let me go."

"What—" 

Gabe grabbed me by my neck and threw me practically across the room and into the couch. He went to grab my mother as she made her way towards the fire escape, but she wouldn't make it unless...

"Hey, asshole."

"The fuck did you just call me?"

"I called you an asshole," I taunted, nodding subtly towards my mother, who'd begun inching towards the fire escape. I was still on the ground, the wind knocked from my chest, but I needed to give her a shot at making it out, and I’d be able to defend myself and not worry about her. "I'm not giving you another cent out of my bank account. I'm tired of being your little servant, you son of a bitch. This will be the last time you see me. Unless, of course, it is on TV."

"You think you're so smart don't you, little girl?" 

I didn't know what he meant, but my mother had made it to the fire escape and was just catching her breath before she'd make her way down. Gabe didn't allow that. He ran as fast as he could towards her, but as soon as he got there I'd put Shaker through his spine. 

He fell and I noticed my mom wasn't there. She wasn't on the staircase.

No... 

Shaker fell out of my hand and I followed it to the ground. Before too many thoughts could go through my head I heard the voice of the person who recently wanted to kill me. 

"I… I didn’t know she’d be leaving again so soon," Hades told me, and I could almost hear the regret in his tone, "I'm not sure how to feel about your existence, godling, but—"

"Leave," I demanded, turning toward him, feeling the tears gathering in my eyes and uncaring of the fact that he was a god. I pushed at his chest. “If you’re going to give me the same spiel Zeus did, leave.”

Hades grabbed my hands, ignoring my continued shoves. "Poseidon is my favorite brother, Astraea Jackson. You look much like him. However, you are also much like him personality-wise. You are restless and stubborn. A little too loose with your tongue. I hope you make the right decisions in your life. Zeus would love nothing more than to strike you dead."

I stopped fighting to glare at him. “You couldn’t have waited until I made it home?” I yelled. “You thought dangling her in front of my face just to rip her away again was the best course of action?” I was only getting angrier. I started pushing at him. “If you were still here, why didn’t you stop him? Why—” 

“I can not interfere with the Fates’ will, child,” he said, my wrists still in his hold. “Her life cord had been cut long before I ever stole her—”

“I don’t care,” I cried. “She was all I had.” 

If I’d looked at Hades’ face, I might’ve seen the slightest crack in his carefully crafted mask. "Your mother will rest in Elysium. As for this one." He gazed at the dead body of my step-father. "I hear he didn't live a very good life. He will, of course, be in the Fields of Punishment. If anything, let his death be a source of solace for you. Not all death is bad." 

And then he was gone, melting into the shadows and leaving behind a faint smell of death and pomegranates. Gabe's body went with him.

I fell to my knees and cried. The pipes in the kitchen exploded. I couldn’t believe I’d been given hope that I would get my mother back, just to have her ripped away from me again. Her marriage to Gabe had always been the thing I’d been horrified of the most. I knew he’d be the end of her. 

Eventually, I pulled myself together and ran to my room. I packed everything I owned into all of the suitcases and bags I had, my movements quick and unsteady. I never wanted to see this building again. If other people weren’t living there, I would’ve torn it down brick by brick.

After almost an hour of packing, my room was bare. All of the polaroids and pictures I had decorating my walls were now down, leaving my walls more blank than they'd ever been. My drawers were empty and so was my closet. Nothing was left on my dresser and my nightstand was completely barren. Nothing was left. It overwhelmed me and I felt like having another mental breakdown. I didn't notice tears streaming down my face for a while. I just sat down in the middle of my room and cried. 

No sobbing, no hyperventilating, just tears streaming from my eyes. When I was done I did another once over, making sure I'd gotten all of the money from secret hiding spots they were kept in. I then went into my mother's room and packed all of her stuff. I'd stop by the Hamptons and put her stuff in her room, as a sort of shrine to remember her. 

Soon her room was bare as well and nothing was left, until I caught a floorboard loose in the floor of her closet.

I pulled it up and uncovered a couple of journals, all over four hundred pages each. I flipped through a few and noticed she'd written once a day, every day, writing of whatever happened. Some had pictures and some were longer than others. I threw them into the last few bags I had and dragged them to my room where my own were.

With a final sigh and another tear for my mother, I began dragging all of the bags down to a new car I bought as soon as I was on my way here. I didn't want to take a taxi or an Uber, I knew that. Plus, I was feeling very impulsive and whenever that happened my ever-growing hoard of cars grew even further. 

It was a Maserati. I hadn't really thought about it, but now I wished I'd picked a different car, simply because of the logo. I wasn't in the mood to be reminded of my father and everything that had happened that day. At least it would match my life's theme. The color I'd chosen looked suspiciously like Luke's eye color, but I also chose to ignore that. 

Getting all of my bags down took a long time, considering there were a lot of them and it was five floors I had to walk up and down. But I did it, no matter how uninspired I felt. I loved the new-car smell the car had and, if I was okay with keeping my friends in the dark for longer, I would've stayed a few more minutes just to gather my thoughts so it wasn’t too unsafe for me to drive. But I couldn’t. Without my mother, I needed my friends.  

My mind buzzed as I drove through Manhattan, debating all of the choices I'd made throughout the past month. I started to cry again, but this time it was completely for my mother. Now that I actually had enough time to slow down, her death hit me like an eighteen-wheeler. 

I spent two hours driving into the Hamptons. The big, expensive houses blurred by as I drove. This was never my mother's scene. The only reason she kept going back was because it reminded her of her parents, and then because it was where I’d come along. She hated the big houses. Hated the mass amounts of wealth that got hoarded there. But it was ours, and now it was just mine. 

I started crying again and had to pull over. 

When I finally pulled into the driveway, the sight of the house made me sick. This had been the last place we’d been before everything went to shit. 

I spent the entire night putting all of her stuff in her usual room the way she would've and put her notebooks on her bed, where I knew I'd remember them. She'd helpfully put dates on the front covers, so I set them up in order. They started when she was around sixteen, when she finally realized she wanted to be an author. I put her pictures on the walls and put her clothes in the drawers as if she'd be using them again. It looked good enough, but since it was for my mother it would never be perfect.

I slept in her room that night. I hadn’t wanted to stay the night there, but it was close to four in the morning by the time I’d finished and it was the second night in a row I’d stayed up. I wasn’t sure I would have made it to Camp, so I’d called Chiron and told him I was alive and would be back at Camp in a few hours. 

A four hour sleep and a fourty-five minute drive later, I was scrambling off of my Harley and sprinting down Half-Blood Hill. I sped up with each step, eager to see my friends again. I’d called Chiron before I left to let him know I was on my way, and it seemed he had gathered the entire camp to welcome me home.

Home. Wasn’t that interesting? There were so many places I considered home, and yet Camp Half-Blood had taken the number one spot in my heart and I hadn’t even been there a full two weeks. I thought of my mom and my conversation with Poseidon and everything Luke, Grover, and I had been through on the entire quest and ran faster. 

Luke made it to me first. I slammed into his chest and one of his hands tangled into my hair. I could hear his heart pounding underneath my ear as the rest of camp— my friends— swarmed us, cheering.

*    *    *

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