The Male Hunter | Olympus' Traitor #1

Chapter 42: Holy Matrimony

"What happened?" Percy asked, lips pursed in concern.

"I, I saw him get blasted back and then Jason run across the message to get to him," Violet stammered, clearly still trying to process what she saw.

"That son of a skýla!" a fuming Thalia exclaimed before she devolved into a long-winded rant in a mixture of Greek and English. It was a few minutes long, but Thalia essentially laid out many creative ways that she would kill Jason for all the pain that he had caused and how he was no longer her brother.

"Hey, Thals," Percy attempted to sooth the pacing Daughter of Zeus, coming up behind her to give her a hug in his attempt to do so. "Calm down, we can figure this out together." She judo-flipped him in response.

"Oh, sorry!" Thalia exclaimed once the red tinge disappeared from her vision and she saw Percy groaning on the ground.

"S'all right," Percy grunted as Thalia pulled him to his feet. "Better?" he asked while rubbing the spot where he had hit his head.

"Ya," Thalia replied simply.

"If you two are quite done, I believe we have some matters to discuss?" Artemis interrupted, causing the couple to blush, mutter some apologies, and sit back down where they had been. Once they were done, Artemis laid out her new plan which essentially consisted of sending Nico, Violet, and a couple other Hunters ahead to scout the way while the rest of the force followed behind. "Now, why is it that you two so rudely barged in here before?" Artemis questioned.

Both Thalia and Percy suddenly looked very nervous and embarrassed at the same time. "We, uh, um, we, uh, were wondering. . .," Thalia stammered before trailing off.

"If you would marry us, tonight," Percy finished since Thalia clearly wasn't going to.

Artemis raised an eyebrow at their strange request. "You want me, the goddess of chastity, to marry you?" she questioned.

"Um, yes please, mom," Percy replied. Violet had been very confused and shocked by this whole situation, but Percy calling Artemis his mom practically had her jaw hitting the floor.

"Fine, but only because you called me 'mom'," Artemis said. She tried to appear reluctant, but her eyes betrayed the truth. Artemis was overjoyed to be officiating the wedding, and even more so since Percy had called her mom.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Thalia exclaimed as she threw herself at the goddess and pulled her into a tight hug. Taken aback at first, Artemis was unsure how to react. After a few moments, however, she returned the embrace.

"Wait, hold up, back up a bit. Artemis is your mom?" Violet exclaimed once Thalia and Artemis had broken apart.

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The sun was setting, and Percy was standing at the end of an aisle that had been hastily prepared by the Romans. He had no suit to wear, but his Hunter's uniform had been freshly washed. The leather and metal on it had also been freshly waxed so that they faintly gleamed in the light of the setting sun. Nico, Leo - who had arrived with Calypso just in time -, and Frank stood as his best men. Meanwhile Artemis stood where a priest would normally stand in a form that looked to be in her forties, except she looked unsure about what exactly to do. From somewhere, an Apollo kid started strumming a lyre which triggered Kate to start walking towards him as a flower girl. It was mostly symbolic though, there weren't exactly any flowers around at this time of year. Behind her came Hannah, Atalanta, and Reyna who were serving as bridesmaids. Finally, it was Thalia's turn.

From the cover of the trees Thalia emerged, and Percy's breath caught in his throat. He thought Thalia looked amazing all the time, but this was just, wow. Somewhere, they had found a dress for Thalia, and she looked beautiful. It was very simple with long sleeves and form-fitting, yet surprisingly modest top which then flowed freely at the waist. It was colored silver, the same shade as the Hunt's uniforms, but had some small accents of blue gems. Thalia's hair also flowed freely, which she never did after she had grown it out, framing her face perfectly. Screw Aphrodite, at this moment Percy knew that Thalia was the most beautiful woman that had ever lived.