"We need to talk," a voice said from behind me.
I sighed, turning around from the dessert table ladened with sweets of all different kinds. "I was expecting you, Thalia."
Thalia nodded, and though she was now . . . glowing the way all Hunters did, her eyes seemed older. "Not here though."
"Of course not," I agreed, grabbing a pineapple tart. "I'll meet you. . ." I glanced around the pavilion, noting the crowds of nymphs and satyrs dancing in the courtyard, the nine muses in the corner playing music, and the gods interspersed throughout. There was literally no place we could talk in private. After a few moments of hesitation, I said, "Take the west hall from the courtyard and turn left after the second hallway. I'll meet you outside the door in that hall. There's only one, you can't miss it."
Thalia nodded and vanished back into the crowd, heading for the west hall of the courtyard. I tried to squash the nagging sensation in my gut. Did Thalia want to question me about Olympus? Or, even worse, my relationship with Luke?
I shook my head, dislodging the thought with a bite of the pineapple tart, though I hardly tasted it. It doesn't matter. I owe it to her to answer any questions she asks. As with Percy, but I'll talk to him later. I smiled as I saw him surrounded by the gods, looking quite flustered. Busy, indeed. "Paper bag, please," I said, smiling when a bag appeared on the table. Daughter of Zeus or not, no one could resist a few good sweets.
Dusting my hands, I picked up my bag and skirted the crowd along the perimeter of the courtyard towards the west hall, making sure to stay out of sight. The last thing I needed right now was for one of the gods to come and interrogate me about one of their particular children. Thankfully, no one stopped me, though Aphrodite caught sight of me from where she was gossiping with a few minor gods and gave me a meaningful wink, which I pretended to not see. "Gods, what a nightmare," I muttered aloud as the sound of the party lowered to a tolerable level once I was a few hundred metres down the hallway. "If it wasn't for the food, I'd be outta here."
"One would think you'd enjoy this," Thalia said, arms crossed over her chest as she materialized from the shadows of one of the silver wolves guarding this wing with their ever-watchful cobalt eyes. "I mean, after what, seventeen years?"
I ignored her jab, knowing full well where it was coming from and the fifteen years of pain she'd experienced. She fell into step beside me as I stalked down the hall and turned the corner of the second hallway.
"Did you know," I said as I pushed open the door, its hinges still smooth even after two years of unuse. "When I was six, I destroyed the entire training arena on Olympus?"
Thalia was silent, not sure where I was going with this.
"And then, at ten, I drew blood from Ares. Fought Ladon and won when I was twelve."
"So you think you deserve this?"
"My point," I said, walking into the room and surveying the bare, white walls and the bed in the far corner, the only other furniture, a nightstand, and bookshelf with less than a dozen books in it, "is that the gods had no other choice. I'm a shadow-walker, Thalia. The first since the fifteenth century. The gods brought me here to train me. To protect the world from me. To protect me from myself. I was six when I nearly destroyed a part of the palace. I couldn't control my powers. Imagine what would have happened if I'd been left in the mortal world."
"But why you? The gods never cared about us. They always turn a blind eye. No immortal interference. But you were made an exception. Why?"
"Hah, as if I know the answer to that," I said, turning to meet her gaze. "I spent thirteen years inside this room, the arena, or Hades' castle. As if I'd know why I got dropped off on Olympus' doorstep when I was three."
"This . . . was your room?" Thalia said after a moment of silence. "It's a lot. . .more simple than I thought it would be."
"I'm still mortal. And the gods are gods."
"So . . . you basically spend thirteen years alone?"
"Well, no," I admitted. "I was usually with at least one god. Training, practicing," I wrinkled my nose, "helping them . . ." I trailed off. "But yeah, in the ways that counted."
"That must have sucked."
"I wouldn't know. That's how I grew up."
Thalia looked around the room, then to me, searching my face for answers. She knew that I knew that the time she'd spent with Annabeth and Luke on the run was the only time, excluding now, that she'd felt peace. No matter how hard it may have been, she'd at least had company. And I never did. It was wrong in all sorts for me to be jealous of her, but I couldn't help it. You're both here now, I reminded myself. There's no point in it.
Apparently, whatever Thalia saw there was a pass in her book because she sighed and sat down on the floor. "I suppose no demigod ever has an easy life."
I figured that was as close to an apology I was going to get from her. Artemis definitely had a thing for stubborn lieutenants. "Want some lemon raspberry cookies?" I sat down across from her and opened the bag.
Thalia wordlessly reached inside and pulled a cookie out.
"It's not poisoned, you know," I said as she peered at it.
"Oh, it's not that." She took a bite and gave me a thumbs up at the taste. "I was just wondering about you."
Gods, she was direct. I fought down a smile. "About me what?"
"About how you seem to have two different personalities. It freaks me out."
I burst out laughing at her comment and only laughed harder as she stared at me in shock. "I get that a lot from people I first meet," I said as I recovered. "Sorry. I'll try to stick to menacing and dark if it makes you uncomfortable."
"Kinda too late for that," Thalia muttered, though I caught a ghost of a smile on her lips. "You know what, I think I've decided that maybe you aren't too bad."
"Hmm," I replied. "I should hope not. I mean, I can't have the lieutenant of Artemis thinking that I'm a stuck-up, pompous idiot, right? That'd dethrone Ares and his self-inflated head."
Thalia stared at me for a moment and then cackled in delight. "Skies, you're something. You're eighteen, now?"
"Nineteen," I corrected. "Just this September."
Thalia blinked. "Hold on." She paused, thinking, then sighed. "Nevermind. You're one year older than me."
"You're fifteen," I pointed out.
"If it wasn't for being turned into a tree, I'd be eighteen right now."
"Oh. Right. Wow. Being a tree for five, six years must have been something."
"Tell me about it," Thalia sighed. "But I wasn't conscious. I just woke up and suddenly found Annabeth the same age as me."
"Must have been a shock," I said, and Thalia nodded in agreement.
We sat in comfortable silence after that for a few moments. My mind jumped to Luke. But, perhaps the subject matter was still too fresh to dig back up, and I'd be able to avoid that conversation.
But then, Thalia said, "You said you were Luke's lieutenant."
I blinked in surprise. Alright, I was wrong. Maybe becoming a Hunter had simply wiped it all away. "Yes," I said carefully.
"But that's not it, is it."
It wasn't really a question. I sighed. "No, it's not."
Thalia nodded to herself in satisfaction. "That's what I thought. He doesn't know, does he?"
That wasn't a question either. I shook my head, but before I could say anything, Thalia held up a hand.
"It's fine. I figured as much when I saw him on the mountain. Do me a favour, alright? I'm not like Annabeth. I think he's truly gone. So if the time ever comes where you can, just kill him."
I blinked. Wait, what? It took me a moment to process her words, and then I realized she wanted me to kill him. And then the realization that she thought his feelings for me were one-sided hit me. She hadn't overheard what Zoe had asked me in her last moments.
"I can't make any promises," I told her quietly. "But I'll see what I can do."
Thalia nodded. "That's good enough for me. And, when all this is over, if you want," she hesitated. "Just, you know, there's always space in the Hunt."
I nodded in thanks, too tired to say, once again, that the Hunt was no longer an option. If I managed to survive the next two years and, if the Fates willed it, lived to see the end of this war, I'd likely vanish into the wild. Or seek solitude in the Underworld, because honestly, I didn't belong at Camp Half-blood. That path was too late for me.
Now is not the time to be thinking about that, I scolded myself. You can brood later. "Do you want to stay here, or go back?" I asked Thalia.
She shrugged. "I won't be missed. And it's kinda crowded, anyway."
"True," I said. "I was never really a party person."
Thalia nodded, and I soon found myself deep in an animated conversation with the daughter of Zeus. Some mishaps from both our pasts that were terrifying back then but hilarious in hindsight, my time at camp, snapshots of her life when she was with Luke, and even battle techniques and my past experiences when I'd gone on the Hunt.
I found myself naturally gravitating towards asking her questions about Luke when they'd been together, while Thalia always circled back to asking me questions about the gods, specifically Zeus.
It was only natural, I supposed, and if Thalia was suspicious about why, she didn't ask. But I discovered that Luke had a thing for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Kool-aid, and chocolate chip cookies, at least, according to his mom who Thalia met once. That had been a surprise; I hadn't pegged Luke for a peanut-butter jelly person. When I got back to the ship, I had to ask him what the ratio of PB to J was.
Before I knew it, nearly an hour had passed. "Crap, we gotta go."
"What time is it?" Thalia asked, standing up.
I dusted myself off, glancing at the candle on the wall. It looked to be about a centimetre shorter. "I think it's been an hour. We should probably head back just in case."
"Yeah, okay, You coming?" Thalia added as she paused in front of the door.
I shook my head. "You go on first. I just kinda need a moment."
Understanding flashed across her face and she nodded. "If we don't see each other again tonight, good luck on our mission, Clarianna. I have a feeling I'll see you again soon."
I nodded. "You too, wherever the Hunt takes you, Thalia."
Thalia smiled and then left, and I waited until the sound of her footsteps disappeared down the marbled floor before summoning Avalanche.
My wolf materialized by my bookshelf and padded over, where she silently sat down and nuzzled me. "Thanks, girl," I muttered, my hand automatically reaching forward to scratch her behind her ears. "I think everything that's happened is just hitting me now."
"Never thought you'd be one to be so sentimental, Clari," a voice said, amused. "Nostalgic?"
"Apollo, you didn't knock."
"What, me? KNOCK?"
I sighed and turned around to see the god leaning against the doorframe, grinning at me. "What do you want?"
"Oh come on, are you still mad about the confetti! It was just a joke!"
"I'm not mad about that," I sighed. "Just tired."
Apollo made a face. "Alright, I never properly thanked you for helping the demigods save my baby sister."
"Gods, I must be dreaming," I said, smiling a bit. "Apollo is actually thanking me."
Apollo grimaced. "You're such a pain."
"I know," I replied cheekily. "But since you're not blasting me to bits, I suppose I'm not too much of a pain."
"Hah, as if I could without Artemis killing me."
"Yeah, but you have to admit, you're kinda fond of me."
"Sure, sure. You're the only good conversation around here. Everyone is so stuck up." Apollo shuddered. "Councils this, councils that. Blah, blah, blah. Hermes is the only one worth talking to. Artemis is constantly chiding me, and Athena is such a damper."
"You're just irresponsible, that's why. Lady Athena is just too wise."
"Hmph. Speaking of her, she's requested your presence. Didn't say why," Apollo added at my anxious expression. "Just grabbed the closest person, which happened to be me, and told me to go find you. I'm just the messenger, and unfairly at that. Should've been Hermes."
Right. It should have been Hermes. Unless . . . the subject in question was about someone's son. Shit.
I sighed. I supposed there was no way out of this.
"Her quarters," Apollo tossed out. "See you around, Clari." He vanished in a flash of light.
"Argh, can't I get a moment of peace?" I muttered as I walked out of my room and headed further down the hall. Unlike Artemis, who had chosen to live outside of the palace on Olympus, Athena's quarters were here. Five minutes later, I passed under a wooden archway with the figure of an owl perched on top and emerged into a courtyard. Fragrant olive trees sprouted out of the ground, and beds of Paeonia 'Athena' peonies carpeted the tree roots. There was a bubbling fountain carved with owls in the centre, and a figure in grey standing on the cobblestone path.
Athena.
"Clarianna, I've been waiting for you," the goddess said softly. She turned around to stare at me with fierce grey eyes. "We have a lot to talk about."