The Titans Curse: Apollo's Daughter

Bianca di Angelo

Skyler's POV

We rode the in the Sun Chariot until sunset. I have no idea how many miles we covered, but the mountains faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat, dry land. The grass and scrub brush got sparser until we were driving across the desert

Percy was asleep in the passenger's seat and Zoe and Thalia were passed out on either side of Bianca who was somehow still wide awake.

"So... how do you like being a Hunter so far?" I asked.

She pursed her lips. "You're not still mad at me for joining, are you?"

"As long as you know... you're happy. No hard feelings." I said, focusing on the road ahead.

"I'm not sure 'happy' is the right word, with Lady Artemis gone. But being a Hunter is definitely cool. I feel calmer somehow. Everything seems to have slowed down around me. I guess that's the immortality."

I looked at her through the rearview mirror, trying to see the difference. She did seem more confident than before, more at peace. She didn't hide her face under a green cap anymore. She kept her hair tied back, and she looked me right in the eyes when she spoke.

"Nico didn't understand my decision," Bianca murmured. She looked at me like she wanted assurance it was okay.

"He'll be all right," I said. "Camp Half-Blood takes in a lot of young kids. They did that for Thalia, Annabeth, and I."

Bianca nodded. "I hope we find her. Annabeth, I mean. She's lucky to have a friend like you."

"Lot of good it did her."

"Don't blame yourself. You all risked your lives to save my brother and me. I mean, that was seriously brave. If I hadn't met you or Percy, I wouldn't have felt okay about leaving Nico at the camp. I figured if there were people like you there, Nico would be fine." Bianca said with a small smile.

"So what's the story with you and Nico?" I asked her softly. "Where did you go to school beforeWestover?"

She frowned. "I think it was a boarding school in D.C. It seems like so long ago."

"You never lived with your parents? I mean, your mortal parent?"

"We were told our parents were dead. There was a bank trust for us. A lot of money, I think. A lawyer would come by once in a while to check on us. Then Nico and I had to leave that school."

"Why?"She knit her eyebrows. "We had to go somewhere. I remember it was important. We traveled a long way. And we stayed in this hotel for a few weeks. And then... I don't know. One day a different lawyer came to get us out. He said it was time for us to leave. He drove us back east, through D.C. Then up into Maine. And we started going to Westover."

It was a strange story. Then again, Bianca and Nico were half-bloods. Nothing would be normal for them."So you've been raising Nico pretty much all your life?" I asked. "Just the two of you?"

She nodded. "That's why I wanted to join the Hunters so bad. I mean, I know it's selfish, but I wanted my own life and friends. I love Nico, don't get me wrong, I just needed to find out what it would be like not to be a big sister twenty-four hours a day."

I nodded silently, glancing back at her for a second then back at the road.

"Wake those two up would ya? It's time to stop." I said, pulling the car off to the side of the road.

Bianca woke up a not so enthusiastic Thalia and was about to wake Zoe but the Hunter opened her eyes before she could touch her.

"Why have we stopped?" Zoe asked, looking out the window.