This Dark Night ― Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase¹

―v. fatal flaw

She nodded. "Did you have a good visit with May Castellan?"

Percy nodded slowly. "What's wrong with her exactly?"

"She was born with a gift," Hestia said. "She could see through the Mist."

"Like my mother," Percy said. "But the glowing-eyes thing—"

"Some bear the curse of sight better than others," the goddess said sadly. "For a while, May Castellan had many talents. She attracted the attention of Hermes himself. They had a beautiful baby boy. For a brief time, she was happy. And then she went too far."

Naomi remembered what Ms. Castellan had said: They offered me an important job...  It didn't work out. What kind of job could leave a person like that?

"One minute she was all happy," Percy said. "And then she was freaking out about her son's fate, like she knew he'd turned into Kronos. What happened to... to divide her like that?"

The goddess's face darkened. "That is a story I do not like to tell. But May Castellan saw too much. If you are to understand your enemy Luke, you must understand his family."

"No wonder Luke ran away," Percy said. "I mean, it wasn't right to leave his mom like that, but still—he was just a kid. Hermes shouldn't have abandoned them."

Hestia scratched behind Mrs. O'Leary's ears. The hellhound wagged her tail and accidentally knocked over a tree.

"It's easy to judge others," Hestia warned. "But will you follow Luke's path? Seek the same powers?"

Nico set down his plate. "We have no choice, my lady. It's the only way Percy stands a chance."

"Mmm." Hestia opened her hand and the fire roared. Flames shot thirty feet into the air. Naomi flinched back as the heat hit her. Then the fire died back down to normal.

"Not all powers are spectacular." Hestia looked at Naomi, then tore her eyes away to look at Percy. "Sometimes the hardest power to master is the power of yielding. Do you believe me?"

"Uh-huh," Percy said warily.

The goddess smiled. "You are a good hero, Percy Jackson. Not too proud. I like that. But you have much to learn. When Dionysus was made a god, I gave up my throne for him. It was the only way to avoid a civil war among the gods."

"It unbalanced the Council," Percy recalled. "Suddenly there were seven guys and five girls."

Hestia shrugged. "It was the best solution, not a perfect one. Now I tend the fire. I fade slowly into the background. No one will ever write epic poems about the deeds of Hestia. Most demigods don't even stop to talk to me. But that is no matter. I keep the peace. I yield when necessary. Can you do this?"

"I don't know what you mean."

She studied him. "Perhaps not yet. But soon. Will you continue your quest?"

"Is that why you're here—to warn me against going?"

Hestia shook her head. "I am here because when all else fails, when all the other mighty gods have gone off to war, I am all that's left. Home. Hearth. I am the last Olympian. You must remember me when you face your final decision."

She looked at Naomi, and Naomi knew she was talking to her, too.

Percy looked at Nico, then Naomi, then back to Hestia's warm glowing eyes. "I have to continue, my lady. I have to stop Luke—I mean Kronos."

Hestia nodded. "Very well." She settled her gaze onto Naomi once more. "Walk with me a moment, dear?"

Naomi's throat closed up, but she knew better than to deny a god—even a god as kind-seeming as Hestia.