They 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."
Annabeth looked down, embarrassed. This left sounded very close to ran away.
"I decided to try melting some down to make bullet casings," Dr. Chase continued. "Just a little experiment."
He said it like it was no big deal, but he had a gleam in his eye. Right that moment, it wasn't hard to understand why Athena, Goddess of Crafts and Wisdom, had taken a liking to him? He was a mad scientist and excellent in his field.
"Dad. . . ." Annabeth faltered.
"Guys," Thalia interrupted. Her voice was urgent. She and Artemis were kneeling at Zoë's side, binding the huntress's wounds.
Ethan helped Y/N up and supported him as they walked over. There wasn't much they could do. They had no ambrosia or nectar. No regular medicine would help. It was dark, but it didn't make it any harder to see that Zoë didn't look good. She 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 troubled. "Life is a fragile thing, Percy. If the Fates will the string to be cut, there is little I can do. But I can try."
She tried to set her hand on Zoë's side, but Zoë gripped her wrist. She looked into the goddess's eyes, and some kind of understanding passed between them.
"Have I . . . served thee well?" Zoë whispered.
"With great honor," Artemis said softly. "The finest of my attendants."
Zoë's face relaxed. "Rest. At last."
"I can try to heal the poison, brave one."
But in that moment, it wasn't just the poison that was killing Zoë. It was her father's final blow. Zoë 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 Artemis, and Atlas's fury had broken her inside.
She saw Thalia, and took her hand.
"I am sorry we argued," Zoë said. "We could have been sisters."
"It's my fault," Thalia said, blinking hard. "You were right about Luke, about heroes, men—everything."
"Perhaps not all men," Zoë murmured. She smiled weakly at Y/N, Ethan, and Percy.
A shudder ran through her body.
"Zoë—" Ethan said.
"Stars," she whispered. "I can see the stars again, my Lady."
A tear trickled down Artemis's cheek. "Yes, my brave one. They are beautiful tonight."
"Stars," Zoë 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. Y/N watched as Artemis cupped her hand above Zoë's mouth and spoke a few words in Ancient Greek. A silvery wisp of smoke exhaled from Zoë's lips and was caught in the hand of the goddess. Zoë'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.
Y/N looked up in the sky. Annabeth gasped next to him. The stars were brighter now. They made a pattern he 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."
The thunder and lightning were still boiling over Mount Tamalpais in the north. Artemis was so deeply moved she flickered with silver light. This was quite worrying, because if she suddenly lost control and appeared in her fully divine form, they 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."
Then she looked quizzically at Thalia, as if she weren't sure what to make of this younger daughter of Zeus. Thalia seemed reluctant to look up, but something made her, and she held the goddess's eyes. Y/N's brain was still too muddy for him to get what passed between them, but Artemis's gaze softened with sympathy. Then she turned to him.
"You did well," she said. "For a man."
As Artemis turned away, he whispered, "Ethan. You heard what I heard? She said man."
Ethan didn't seem to get it. "And?"
"Before, she only called me boy."
Artemis mounted her chariot, which began to glow. They averted their eyes. There was a flash of silver, and the goddess was gone.
"Well," Dr. Chase sighed. "She was impressive; though I must say I still prefer Athena."
Annabeth turned toward him. "Dad, I—I'm sorry that—"
"Shh." He hugged her. "Do what you must, my dear. I know this isn't easy for you." His voice was a little shaky, but he gave Annabeth a brave smile.
Then they heard the whoosh of large wings. Five pegasi descended through the fog: four white-winged horses and one pure black.
"Blackjack!" Percy called.
The black one whinnied.
"It was rough," Percy admitted to the question he alone could hear.
Whinny.
"Nah," Percy said. "These are my friends," he added, pointing at Y/N and the others. "We need to get to Olympus pretty fast."
"Fascinating," Dr. Chase said, staring at the pegasi. "Such maneuverability! How does the wingspan compensate for the weight of the horse's body, I wonder?"
Blackjack cocked his head and whinnied.
"Why, if the British had had these pegasi in the cavalry charges on the Crimea," Dr. Chase said, "the charge of the light brigade—"
"Dad!" Annabeth interrupted.
Dr. Chase blinked. He looked at his daughter and managed a smile. "I'm sorry, my dear. I know you must go."
He gave her one last awkward, well-meaning hug. As she turned to climb aboard one of the pegasi, he called, "Annabeth, I know . . . I know San Francisco is a dangerous place for you. But please remember, you always have a home with us. We will keep you safe."
Annabeth didn't answer, but her eyes were red as she turned away. Dr. Chase started to say more, then apparently thought better of it. He raised his hand in a sad farewell and trudged away across the dark field.
Ethan helped Y/N mount his pegasus. He wouldn't say no; he didn't think he could transform into an eagle and fly even only a second in his state.
Together, Y/N, Annabeth, Ethan Percy and Thalia soared over the bay and flew toward the eastern hills. Soon San Francisco was only a glittering crescent behind them, with an occasional flicker of lightning in the north.
Thalia was so exhausted she fell asleep on her pegasus's back. She had to be really tired to sleep in the air despite her fear of heights.
Y/N and Annabeth flew along side by side.
"Your dad is cool," he told her.
It was too dark to see her expression. She looked back, even though California was far behind them now.
"I guess so," she said. "We've been arguing for so many years."
"Yeah, you said."
"You think I was lying about that?" It sounded like a challenge, but a pretty halfhearted one, as if she was asking it of herself.
"No, I don't think so," he said. "It's just he's cool. Your stepmom, too. Maybe they've gotten cooler since you saw them last."
She hesitated. "They're still in San Francisco, Y/N. I can't live so far from camp."
The next question came out of his mouth before he could suppress it: "So what are you going to do now?"
They flew over a town, an island of lights in the middle of the dark. It whisked by so fast they might've been in an airplane.
"I don't know," she admitted. "But thanks for rescuing me."
"It's nothing."
"You didn't believe I was dead?"
"The Underworld wouldn't stop me from saving you."
She hesitated. "You know . . . I don't think Luke is dead."
He stared at her. He hadn't seen Luke's fall, but everyone's reaction told him it wasn't a fall one could survive. "Annabeth—"
"He isn't dead," she insisted. "I know it. The same way you knew about me."
He didn't like this comparison. He didn't like it a bit. In fact, he already imagined his own hands strangling Luke to death.
The towns were zipping by faster now, islands of light thicker together, until the whole landscape below was a glittering carpet. Dawn was close. The eastern sky was turning gray. And up ahead, a huge white-and-yellow glow spread out before them—the lights of New York.
Blackjack whinnied.
"You're the man, Blackjack," Percy said. "Er, the horse, I mean."
"You don't believe me about Luke," Annabeth told Y/N, "but we'll see him again. He's in trouble, Y/N. He's under Kronos's spell."
Y/N gritted his teeth. It drove him crazy. How could she still feel sympathy for this human piece of trash? How could she find more excuses for him? Luke deserved that fall. He deserved way more. Above all, he deserved to die. Unlike Bianca. Unlike Zoë. Luke couldn't be alive. It wouldn't be fair.
Yet, deep down, Y/N knew. He knew that whatever had happened, might Luke be dead or not, it wouldn't be enough. He wanted more. Luke's corpse before his eyes wouldn't satisfy him—he wouldn't believe it.
"There it is." Ethan was pointing toward Manhattan, which was quickly zooming into view. "It's started."
"What's started?" Y/N asked.
He looked where Ethan was pointing. High above the Empire State Building, Olympus was its own island of light, a floating mountain ablaze with torches and braziers, white marble palaces gleaming in the early morning air.
"The winter solstice," Ethan said. "The Council of the Gods."
They circled over midtown Manhattan, making one complete orbit around Mount Olympus. It amazed Y/N even more than when he had been there before, traveling by elevator up to the secret six hundredth floor of the Empire State Building.
In the early-morning darkness, torches and fires made the mountainside palaces glow twenty different colors, from bloodred to indigo. Apparently no one ever slept on Olympus. The twisting streets were full of demigods and nature spirits and minor godlings bustling about, riding chariots or sedan chairs carried by Cyclopes. Winter didn't seem to exist here. Y/N caught the scent of the gardens in full bloom, jasmine and roses and even sweeter things he couldn't name. Music drifted up from many windows, the soft sounds of lyres and reed pipes.
Towering at the peak of the mountain was the greatest palace of all, the glowing white hall of the gods.
Their pegasi set them down in the outer courtyard, in front of huge silver gates. Before they knocked, the gates opened by themselves.
Blackjack whinnied.
"Yeah," Percy said simply. "We'll need that."
Y/N didn't know why, but he had a sense of doom. He'd never seen all the gods together. He knew any of them could blast him to dust. And except his mother and Artemis—Apollo seemed nice, too, but he couldn't be sure; and Hermes had helped in the Sea of Monsters, even though they had never met—every one of them would like to. Especially Ares.
Blackjack and his friends flew off, leaving Y/N, Annabeth, Ethan, Percy, and Thalia alone. For a minute they stood there regarding the palace, the way they'd stood together in front of Westover Hall, what seemed like a million years ago.
And then, side by side, they walked into the throne room.
Twelve enormous thrones made a U around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp. The ceiling above glittered with constellations—even the newest one, Zoë the Huntress, making her way across the heavens with her bow drawn.
All of the seats were occupied. Each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall. If you've ever had a dozen all-powerful, super-huge beings turn their eyes on you at once. . . . Well, suddenly, facing monsters seemed like a picnic.
"Welcome, heroes," Artemis said.
My Lord!
That's when Y/N noticed Bessie and Grover.
A sphere of water was hovering in the center of the room, next to the hearth fire. Bessie was swimming happily around, swishing her serpent tail and poking her head out of the sides and bottom of the sphere. She seemed to be enjoying the novelty of swimming in a magic bubble. Grover was kneeling at Zeus's throne, as if he'd just been giving a report, but when he saw them, he cried, "You made it!"
He started to run toward them, then remembered he was turning his back on Zeus, and looked for permission.
"Go on," Zeus said. But he wasn't really paying attention to Grover. The Lord of the Sky was staring intently at Thalia.
Grover trotted over. None of the gods spoke. Every clop of Grover's hooves echoed on the marble floor. Bessie splashed in her bubble of water. The hearth fire crackled.
Y/N glanced at his mother, Hera. She was dressed differently from the last time he'd seen her: She wore a dress that shimmered colors like peacock feathers. Her face was beautiful, warm and white. Her hair was silver and braided over one shoulder. How would she feel about seeing him again? The corners of her eyes raised as she smiled. She nodded as if to say Everything is fine.
Grover gave Annabeth and Thalia big hugs. Then he grasped Percy's arms. "Percy, Bessie and I made it! But you have to convince them! They can't do it!"
"Do what?" Y/N asked.
"Heroes," Artemis called.
The goddess slid down from her throne and turned to human size, a young auburn-haired girl, perfectly at ease in the midst of the giant Olympians. She walked toward them, her silver robes shimmering. There was no emotion on her face. She seemed to walk in a column of moonlight.
"The Council has been informed of your deeds," Artemis told them. "They know that Mount Othrys is rising in the West. They know of Atlas's attempt for freedom, and the gathering armies of Kronos. We have voted to act."
There was some mumbling and shuffling among the gods, as if they weren't all happy with this plan, but nobody protested.
"At my Lord Zeus's command," Artemis said, "my brother Apollo and I shall hunt the most powerful monsters, seeking to strike them down before they can join the Titans' cause. Lady Athena shall personally check on the other Titans to make sure they do not escape their various prisons. Lord Poseidon has been given permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship Princess Andromeda and send it to the bottom of the sea. And as for you, my heroes. . . ."
She turned to face the other immortals. "These half-bloods have done Olympus a great service. Would any here deny that?"
She looked around at the assembled gods, meeting their faces individually. Zeus in his dark pin-striped suit, his black beard neatly trimmed, and his eyes sparking with energy. Next to him, Hera.
On Zeus's right, Poseidon. Next to him, a huge lump of a man with a leg in a steel brace, a misshapen head, and a wild brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. The Lord of the Forges, Hephaestus.
Hermes winked at them. He was wearing a business suit, checking messages on his caduceus mobile phone. Apollo leaned back in his golden throne with his shades on. He had iPod headphones on, so Y/N wasn't sure he was even listening, but he gave them thumbs-up. Dionysus looked bored, twirling a grape vine between his fingers. And Ares sat on his chrome-and-leather throne, glowering at Y/N while he sharpened a knife.
On the ladies' side of the throne room, a blond-haired goddess in green robes sat next to Hera on a throne woven of apple-tree branches. Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest. Next to her sat a beautiful gray-eyed woman in an elegant white dress. She could only be Annabeth's mother, Athena. Then there was Aphrodite, who winked at Y/N knowingly. He tried hard not to blush. He failed.
All of the Olympians in one place. So much power in this room it was a miracle the whole palace didn't blow apart.
"I gotta say"—Apollo broke the silence—"these kids did okay." He cleared his throat and began to recite: "Heroes with laurels—"
"Um, yes, first class," Hermes interrupted, as if he was anxious to avoid Apollo's poetry—how Y/N understood him. "All in favor of not disintegrating them?"
A few tentative hands went up—Demeter, Aphrodite, Hera, Artemis.
"Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at Percy and Thalia. "These two are dangerous. It'd be much safer, while we've got them here—"
"Ares," Poseidon interrupted, "they are worthy heroes. We will not blast my son to bits."
"Nor my daughter," Zeus grumbled. "She has done well."
Thalia blushed. She studied the floor.
The goddess Athena cleared her throat and sat forward. "I am proud of my daughter as well. But there is a security risk here with the other two."
"Mother!" Annabeth said. "How can you—"
Athena cut her off with a calm but firm look. "It is unfortunate that my father, Zeus, and my uncle, Poseidon, chose to break their oath not to have more children. Only Hades kept his word, a fact that I find ironic. As we know from the Great Prophecy, children of the three elder gods—such as Thalia and Percy—are dangerous. As thickheaded as he is, Ares has a point."
"Right!" Ares said. "Hey, wait a minute. Who you callin'—"
He started to get up, but a grape vine grew around his waist like a seat belt and pulled him back down.
"Oh, please, Ares," Dionysus sighed. "Save the fighting for later."
Ares cursed and ripped away the vine. "You're one to talk, you old drunk. You seriously want to protect these brats?"
Dionysus gazed down at them wearily. "I have no love for them. Athena, do you truly think it safest to destroy them?"
"I do not pass judgment," Athena said. "I only point out the risk. What we do, the Council must decide."
"Anyway," Ares groaned. His eyes turned toward Y/N. "Him, I want—"
"You don't want anything, Ares," Hera cut in. Ares started to say something, but she went on as if she were lecturing a child, "You and Y/N scuffled a year and a half ago. You ought to move on to something else."
"But, Mom—" Ares complained.
What happened next really made him look like a sulky little child. Hera raised three fingers, and he began to whine. "It's not fair!" She lowered one. "I would have won if the other brat hadn't—" She lowered another. "Mom, please!"
Hera now threatened to lower the last finger, and Ares shut up.
"I will not have any of these heroes punished," Artemis said, as if nothing had happened. "I will have them rewarded. If we destroy heroes who do us a great favor, then we are no better than the Titans. If this is Olympian justice, I will have none of it."
"Calm down, sis," Apollo said. "Jeez, you need to lighten up."
"Don't call me sis! I will reward them."
"Well," Zeus grumbled. "Perhaps. But the monster at least must be destroyed. We have agreement on that?"
A lot of nodding heads.
Y/N realized what they were saying. "Bessie? You want to destroy Bessie?"
My Lord, help me!
Hera frowned. "You have named the Ophiotaurus Bessie?"
"Mother," he said, "she's just a sea creature. And she isn't a bull, but a cow. A really nice submarine cow-serpent. You can't destroy her."
Zeus glanced at his wife, as if he found this whole situation very amusing. Y/N himself realized what he said had to sound ridiculous.
If Hera was embarrassed, she showed nothing of it. "Y/N, the monster's power is considerable. We can't allow the Titans to steal it."
"You can't destroy her," he insisted. He looked at Zeus. If the Lord of the Sky had been amused a moment before, his eyes were now full of menacing lightning. "Has your power gone to your head? Controlling the prophecies never works. By killing Bessie, you wouldn't change the end of it. You would change only the way to it. Besides, Bessie is innocent. Killing something like that is wrong. It's just as wrong as Kronos eating his children, just because of something they might do."
Despite the lightning that seemed to dart out of his eyes, Zeus seemed to consider this. "And what of the risk? Kronos knows full well, if my daughter or Poseidon's son were to sacrifice the beast's entrails, they would have the power to destroy us. Do you think we can let that possibility remain? You, my daughter, will turn sixteen on the morrow, just as the prophecy says."
"You have to trust them," Annabeth spoke up. "Sir, you have to trust them."
Zeus scowled. "Trust a hero?"
"Annabeth is right," Artemis said. "Which is why I must first make a reward. My faithful companion, Zoë Nightshade, has passed into the stars. I must have a new lieutenant. And I intend to choose one. But first, Father Zeus, I must speak to you privately."
Zeus beckoned Artemis forward. He leaned down and listened as she spoke in his ear.
A feeling of panic seized Y/N. "Annabeth. Don't."
She frowned at him. "What?"
"You mustn't . . . I mean, I couldn't—"
"Y/N?" she said. "You're all right? You're very pale."
Oh, pale he was. And his stomach did somersaults. He wanted to say more, but his tongue betrayed him. And then Artemis turned.
"I shall have a new lieutenant," she announced. "If she will accept."
Only a low rattle came out of Y/N's throat as he tried to protest.
"Thalia," Artemis said. "Daughter of Zeus. Will you join the Hunt?"
Stunned silence filled the room. Y/N stared at Thalia, unable to believe what he was hearing. Annabeth smiled. She squeezed Thalia's hand and let it go, as if she'd been expecting this all along.
"I will," Thalia said firmly.
Zeus rose, his eyes full of concern. "My daughter, consider well—"
"Father," she said. "I will not turn sixteen tomorrow. I will never turn sixteen. I won't let this prophecy be mine. I stand with my sister Artemis. Kronos will never tempt me again."
She knelt before the goddess and began the words Y/N remembered from Bianca's oath, what seemed like so long ago. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men. . . ."
Afterward, Thalia did something that surprised Y/N almost as much as the pledge. She came over to him, smiled, and in front of the whole assembly, she gave him a big hug.
Instinctively he backed away. "Um . . . aren't you supposed to not do that anymore? Hug boys, I mean?"
"I'm honoring a friend," she corrected. "I must join the Hunt, Y/N. I know you don't like it, but I haven't known peace since . . . since Half-Blood Hill. I finally feel like I have a home."
"Oh, don't worry about me," he said, brushing it off with a wave of his hand.
"I'm proud to be your friend."
Thalia hugged Annabeth, who was trying hard not to cry. Then she hugged Percy, who went red as a beet. She hugged Ethan and Grover, and Grover looked ready to pass out, as if somebody had just given him an all-you-can-eat enchilada coupon.
Then she went to stand by Artemis's side.
"Now for the Ophiotaurus," Artemis said.
"This boy is still dangerous," Dionysus warned, pointing at Percy. "The beast is a temptation to great power. Even if we spare the boy—"
"No." Percy looked around at all the gods. "Please. Keep Bessie safe. My dad can hide her under the sea somewhere, or keep her in an aquarium here in Olympus. But you have to protect her."
"And why should we trust you?" Hephaestus rumbled.
"I'm only fourteen," Percy said. "If this prophecy is about me, that's two more years."
"Two years for Kronos to deceive you," Athena said. "Much can change in two years, my young hero."
"Mother!" Annabeth said, exasperated.
"It is only the truth, my child. It is bad strategy to keep the animal alive. Or the boy."
Poseidon stood. "I will not have a sea creature destroyed, if I can help it. And I can help it."
He held out his hand, and a trident appeared in it: a twenty-foot-long bronze shaft with three spear tips that shimmered with blue, watery light. "I will vouch for the boy and the safety of the Ophiotaurus."
"You won't take it under the sea!" Zeus stood suddenly. "I won't have that kind of bargaining chip in your possession."
"Brother, please," Poseidon sighed.
Zeus's lightning bolt appeared in his hand, a shaft of electricity that filled the whole room with the smell of ozone.
"Fine," Poseidon said. "I will build an aquarium for the creature here. Hephaestus can help me. The creature will be safe. We shall protect it with all our powers. The boy will not betray us. I vouch for this on my honor."
Zeus thought about this. "All in favor?"
A lot of hands went up. Dionysus abstained. So did Ares and Athena. But everybody else. . . .
"We have a majority," Zeus decreed. "And so, since we will not be destroying these heroes . . . I imagine we should honor them. Let the triumph celebration begin!"
There are parties, and then there are huge, major, blowout parties. And then there are Olympian parties. If one ever gets a choice, they must go for the Olympian.
The Nine Muses cranked up the tunes, and Y/N realized the music was whatever you wanted it to be: the gods could listen to classical and the younger demigods heard hip-hop or whatever, and it was all the same soundtrack. No arguments. No fights to change the radio station. Just requests to crank it up.
Dionysus went around growing refreshment stands out of the ground, and a beautiful woman walked with him arm in arm—his wife, Ariadne. Dionysus looked happy for the first time. Nectar and ambrosia overflowed from golden fountains, and platters of mortal snack food crowded the banquet tables. Golden goblets filled with whatever drink you wanted. Ethan juggled with tin cans and stuffed himself with fries. Grover trotted around with a full plate of enchiladas, and his goblet was full of double-espresso latte, which he kept muttering over like an incantation: "Pan! Pan!"
Gods kept coming over to congratulate Y/N. Thankfully, they had reduced themselves to human size, so they didn't accidentally trample partygoers under their feet. Apollo told him he could drive the sun chariot any time, and if he ever wanted archery lessons, he only had to ask.
"Target practice from the chariot as we fly over the U.S.?" Apollo said. "Best fun there is!"
Y/N made some excuses and wove through the crowds that were dancing in the palace courtyards. He was looking for Annabeth.
Then a man's voice behind him said, "You have a fair lot of luck."
He turned and found himself face to face with a man in a dark pin-striped suit.
"Lord Zeus." He had tried not to sound too sarcastic, but his Lord didn't sound very respectful.
The air seemed electrified around Zeus's face. "Do not think, because I didn't mention you in front of the Council, that I have forgotten you. Your case was also discussed, just before your arrival. Believe me, if it weren't for Hera and Artemis, the other gods would have followed my orders to destroy you as soon as I would have snapped my fingers."
"Why do you hate me so much?"
Zeus seemed to find the idea unworthy of him. "I don't hate you. I don't like what you might do."
"That sounds like something Kronos would say."
"Except that I am not your father."
Someone cleared their throat behind Zeus. He turned, and Y/N saw his mother, Hera, standing behind her husband, stern and regal.
"I hope you didn't forget our discussion," Hera said.
"How could I?" Zeus said coldly. "I simply wanted to have a word with him. And it is now done."
Zeus walked away without looking back, mingling in the crowd.
Hera sighed. Then she looked up at Y/N, and smiled. "I see you keep coming back braver from each of your quests."
Her compliment made him uncomfortable. Sure, he liked it, but this was only the second time in his whole life he met her in the flesh. He didn't know what she had actually said to Zeus about him before. But he knew that without her, his life would be way more complicated.
"I'm trying to make you proud," he said.
She smiled again. She reached over and stroked his arm. He wasn't very good at interpreting gods' feelings, but he thought she would've liked to get closer. Only, she couldn't. Some half-bloods never met their divine parent. It was already a lot that they could speak to each other.
He wanted to sit down and talk about anything and everything with her. Maybe tell her how his day had gone, as if he were a schoolboy. But he wasn't. His day had been pretty horrible. Being a half-blood has disadvantages. Not being able to have a normal relationship with a parent—in his case, his only parent—was one of many.
Nothing else came to his mind, so he asked: "What does Zeus have against me?"
Hera glanced at the crowd where Zeus had disappeared. "My husband doesn't like anything that might destabilize Olympus. Any change that might put the balance between the gods at risk is not welcome."
"But I'm a demigod. Just that. And I'm not Percy. I don't have some big prophecy that says I'll bring destruction to the world."
She pursed her lips, and he wondered if she was hiding more things from him than she should. "Don't worry, Y/N," she said. "Let me handle this for you. Focus on your quests. There will be many more of them, and you will come out of them more glorious. Besides, you are not a mere demigod. You are my son."
"Y/N!" Annabeth said, running through the crowd. She stopped short when she saw who he was talking to. "Oh . . . Lady Hera."
"I will leave you," Hera said. She smiled. "For now."
She turned and strode through the crowds, which parted before her and saluted her.
"Everything's fine?" Annabeth asked. "What did she say to you?"
"Oh . . . nothing," he said. "It's all right."
She studied him with concern. Suddenly she reached over and touched a streak of gray in his hair that matched hers exactly—the painful souvenir that Atlas's burden left on those who thought themselves strong enough—and were fool enough—to hold it. There was a lot he'd wanted to say to Annabeth, but Zeus and his mother had drained his morale. He felt like he'd been punched in the gut.
I don't like what you might do.
Focus on your quests.
"So," Annabeth said. "What did you want to tell me earlier?"
The music was playing. People were dancing in the streets.
"I was thinking . . . we got interrupted at Westover Hall. And . . . I think I owe you a dance."
She smiled slowly. "All right, Bovine Eyes."
So he took her hand, and he didn't know what everybody else heard, but to him it sounded like a rock: maybe a little too quick for someone who still felt weary because of the weight of the sky, but he felt able to dance all night if it went on.
A/N: Hey! Hope you liked the chapter.
Really, I did everything I could so you could have it on Saturday in America (it's around 3:40 am in France when I update XD). I'm just so tired, I'm going to sleep right away. Maybe there's a little mistake here and another there in the chapter. Point them out to me and I'll correct everything once I wake up.
I don't know if this chapter satisfied you as much as it should, but well, I did my best. Second time Y/N meet Hera. Mostly, I'm still hinting there's something about Y/N (and believe me, that'll turn out to be kinda really important later XD).
But I'm rambling. I should really go to sleep right away.
Happy reading. See you next time!