The Titans Curse: Apollo's Daughter

Stars

Skyler's POV

We landed at Crissy Field after nightfall.

As soon as Dr. Chase stepped out of his Sopwith Camel, Annabeth ran to him and gave him a huge hug. "Dad! You flew... you shot... oh my gods! That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!"

Her father blushed. "Well, not bad for a middle-aged mortal, I suppose."

"But the celestial bronze bullets! How did you get those?"

"Ah, well. You did leave quite a few half-blood weapons in your room in Virginia, the last time you... left." He glanced towards me and then back at his daughter.

"I decided to try melting some down to make bullet casings," he continued. "Just a little experiment."

"Annabeth, Percy," Thalia interrupted from her spot across from me. Artemis and I were kneeling at Zoe's side, binding the huntress's wounds.

Annabeth and Percy ran over to help, but there wasn't much they could do. No amount of ambrosia or nectar or regular medicine would help. Zoe was shivering, and the faint glow that usually hung around her was fading.

"Can't you heal her with magic?" Percy asked Artemis. "I mean... you're a goddess."

Artemis looked at me and I sighed softly. "Life is a fragile thing, Percy. If the Fates will the string to be cut, there is little Artemis or I can do. But we can and will try."

Artemis nodded to me and I tried to set my hands on Zoe's side, but Zoe gripped my wrist. She looked into mine and then the goddess's eyes.

"Have I... served thee well?" Zoe whispered.

"With great honor," Artemis said softly. "The finest of my attendants."

Zoe's face relaxed. "Rest. At last."

"I can try to heal the poison," I said softly but I knew it wasn't just the poison that was killing her. It was her father's final blow. Zoe had known all along that the Oracle's prophecy was about her: she would die by a parent's hand. And yet she'd taken the quest anyway. She had chosen to save me, Percy, and Artemis and Atlas's fury had broken her inside.

Zoe saw Thalia and took her hand.

"I am sorry we argued," Zoe said. "We could have been sisters."

"It's my fault," Thalia said, blinking hard, trying to keep the tears at bay. "You were right about Luke, about heroes, men- everything."

"Perhaps not all men," Zoe murmured. She looked at me with a pain in her eyes and then glanced at Percy. "Do you still have the sword, Percy?"

Percy brought out Riptide and put the pen in her hand. She grasped it contentedly. "You spoke the truth, Percy Jackson. You are nothing like... like Hercules. I am honored that you carry this sword."

"Zoe--" Percy said.

"Stars," she whispered. "I can see the stars again, my lady."

A tear trickled down Artemis's cheek as she placed a hand on Zoe's shoulder. "Yes, my brave one. They are beautiful tonight."

"Stars," Zoe repeated. Her eyes fixed on the night sky.

And she did not move again.

Thalia lowered her head. Annabeth gulped down a sob, and her father put his hands on her shoulders.

I stood, giving Artemis her space. I walked away from the group only to be followed by Percy who looked out at the San Francisco bay in silence. I glanced back at Artemis to see her cup her hand above Zoe's mouth and spoke a few words in Ancient Greek. A silvery wisp of smoke exhaled from Zoe's lips and was caught in the hand of the goddess. Zoe's body shimmered and disappeared.

Artemis stood, said a kind of blessing, breathed into her cupped hand and released the silver dust to the sky. It flew up, sparkling, and vanished.

For a moment I didn't see anything different. Then the stars were brighter. They made a pattern I had never noticed before, a gleaming constellation that looked a lot like a girl's figure, a girl with a bow, running across the sky.

"Let the world honor you, my Huntress," Artemis said. "Live forever in the stars."

It wasn't easy saying our good-byes. The thunder and lightning were still boiling over Mount Tamalpais in the north. Artemis was so upset she flickered with silver light... if she suddenly lost control and appeared in her fully divine form, we would disintegrate by looking at her.

"I must go to Olympus immediately," Artemis said. "I will not be able to take you, but I will send help."

The goddess set her hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "You are brave beyond measure, my girl. You will do what is right."

She glanced at me then nodded, walking a ways away from everyone. I followed her, keeping my eyes on the ground. Artemis placed her hand on my back and nodded towards my mother and the rest of the group "You did well. They may not see it yet but they will. But do not blame yourself, not every action can be undone child. But some will speak louder than others."

She walked back towards the group and looked quizzically at Thalia as if she weren't sure what to make of the daughter of Zeus. Thalia seemed reluctant to look up, but something made her, and she held the goddess's eyes. I wasn't sure what passed between them, but Artemis's gaze softened with sympathy.

Then she turned to Percy who had torn his gaze from the bay to look at the goddess. "You did well," she said. "For a man."