A/N: This is a not-so-short one-shot taking place after "The Lost Hero," so if you haven't read it, don't read this! (Also, it's technically a prequel to my other PJO story, "Anticipation," but you definitely don't need to have read that first.) Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Percy Jackson universe; I've just high-jacked them again briefly.
If I heard the phrase "follow your instincts" one more time, I was going to start skewering people with three feet of solid bronze.
Seriously, what exactly did Lupa think I'd been doing for the past three months? When you're a little low on the whole memory thing, you don't exactly have a ton of other options. Besides, my instinct was screaming that I didn't belong with people making sacrifices to ancient Roman deities. But somehow Lupa didn't seem too interested in that instinct. Every time I mentioned it, I got that cold look that made me hope she'd already eaten dinner.
It was even worse when I asked her to call me "Percy" instead of "Perseus." Don't get me wrong, I know "Percy" sounds like I should be doing your taxes, not heroically saving your life. But "Perseus" wasn't me. I don't know how I knew that, but I definitely knew it. I guess it was instinct too. And since that was another instinct Lupa told me to ignore, sooner or later she was going to have to deal with my much stronger instinct to go around skewering people.
Even though Lupa didn't seem to care that I couldn't remember anything, it really bothered me. She'd figured my amnesia was probably related to the gods' disappearance since the timing was a little too perfect to ignore. However, as long as the amnesia wasn't affecting my battle skills (and as far as I could tell, it wasn't, but how exactly was I supposed to know?), Lupa seemed to think it was completely unnecessary for me to remember anything from before mid-December.
Not to mention Lupa glared ferociously whenever I mentioned a potential memory until I changed the subject. And that was nothing compared to the five hours of sword drills she'd made me endure the last time I called Neptune "Poseidon." It was obvious she didn't want to tell me something, and I was getting a little sick of her I-know-something-you-don't-know attitude.
The worst part was that I knew there were a lot of things I didn't know. As hard as I tried, I couldn't remember much of anything, and I was pretty sure Lupa could help that if she wanted. I could bring up brief flashes that I figured had to be from my former life, but that was it. There was a warm, brown-haired woman, for example. I was positive she was my mom for some reason, but thinking about her made me kind of sad and a little angry. Did a god really wipe my memory? Why take the memory of the one person I was sure I loved? Maybe she was dead and someone was trying to protect me? Not for the first time, I wondered if my dad was behind it, but from what I'd heard of Neptune, he didn't seem like the fatherly type.
I could remember a few other people too. A man with salt-and-pepper hair reading a book with my mom. An older guy in a wheelchair, grilling me on ancient mythology. An angry brown-haired girl trying to hunt me down through a forest. A less angry redhead in paint-splattered jeans rolling her eyes at me. A curly-haired faun yelling about enchiladas and coffee. A blond guy whose eyes glowed gold.
And another blonde. A girl. She seemed the most familiar, like I couldn't afford to forget her. I couldn't even remember her name; whenever I tried, my lower back started tingling, which freaked me out too much. But I had no problem dreaming about her almost every night.
From what I could tell, I needed about ten times as much sleep as anyone else in camp, and I was starting to seriously suspect it was all the blonde-haired girl's fault somehow. She was definitely the girl of my (literal) dreams. She was gorgeous, no doubt about it, but that wasn't it. She usually only showed up to laugh at me or punch me in the arm. And my insides turned to jelly every single time, which was totally lame. Dream Percy was definitely not a smooth operator.
I figured the blonde girl had to be real. I didn't think I had a good enough imagination to dream up details like her stormy gray eyes or curly hair. Plus, if I'd imagined her, wouldn't she be spending at least some of her time not laughing at me?
Frustrated, I dragged myself out of my thoughts and to the camp villa so I wouldn't miss evening meal. Today had been another day of brutal sword drills with Lupa repeating trust your instincts like a mantra in that way of not-talking she had. It was creepy. Taking instruction from someone with four legs seemed natural to me, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the four-legged teacher should still be speaking. And expressing disappointment in my archery skills.
At the villa, I threw my usual, "I'd like some memory, please" request to anyone listening while I made my offering to the gods. It hadn't worked the last 90 times, of course, but maybe 91 was my lucky number. It's not like I'd know, right?
The food was great, as always, but I didn't really have much of an appetite despite the hours of sword practice this afternoon. The practice had just tired me out, like it always did. Usually I made an effort to stay awake to "listen" to Lupa's announcements during the meal, but suddenly my eyes felt too heavy to ignore. It was probably a stupid instinct, but Lupa had never told me I should only trust my smart instincts. So maybe I could put my head down for just a couple minutes…
I knew instantly I had to have fallen asleep, because I wasn't in the villa at camp anymore. I didn't think I was too far away, though. A forest of redwood trees stretched out for miles on either side of me, and the evening sun glittered through the branches overhead. It was beautiful, but I forgot about it almost instantly.
She was here. Her blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail above a brown backpack, and she was wearing an orange t-shirt and jeans with a baseball cap stuffed in the back pocket. It was obvious this wasn't one of my usual dreams, however. For one thing, the girl was definitely not laughing.
"Come on, Rachel, keep up!" the girl was saying, annoyed.
Behind her was the redheaded girl in the painted jeans, panting heavily. "Why don't we try, oh I don't know, not hiking at the speed of light? Some of us aren't half-god, you know!"
The blonde girl huffed. "Oh, stop it. I wasn't even walking that fast. Would it make you feel better if we rested for a minute?"
The other girl, Rachel, sighed in relief. "I know I'm supposed to say I'm totally up for going another ten hundred miles or whatever, but no way. If we don't stop, you'll be explaining to Apollo why you broke his Oracle before the one-year warranty expired."
At this the blonde girl smiled a little. "I think I'd be doing him a favor. I'm betting he likes his Oracles strong enough to hike through some woods."
Rachel glared at her, but the effect was lost slightly as she flopped down on the ground and started guzzling water. It wasn't a particularly warm day, but her white t-shirt was soaked with sweat. "'You know what would be super fun, Rachel?'" she said in a high-pitched voice, presumably an imitation of the blonde girl's. "'Spending spring break visiting my dad in San Francisco! We haven't had any quality time in ages, and we could both use a break.'"
Rachel switched to her regular voice again. "'Wow, really? That sounds so awesome! I'm so lucky to have a friend like you, Annabeth!'"
Rachel continued the conversation with herself, but my heart stopped the second I heard the blonde girl's name. Annabeth. It was kind of like "Percy." It just seemed to fit, and I couldn't figure out why I hadn't known it sooner. Once her name fell into place, my lower back started to tingle again, but I ignored it. For the first time, instead of being missing, I felt like my memories were just on the other side of a giant wall, and all I had to do was punch through the wall to get to them. Punching I could do. I immediately began listening to the two girls again.
"Look, I already said I was sorry, okay?" Annabeth was saying. "But there's no way Chiron would've let me go if he'd known."
"Chiron didn't let you go," Rachel pointed out resentfully. "I believe he all but put you under cabin arrest after the New Year's fiasco. If Malcolm hadn't snuck you out while Travis and Connor planted those Greek fire bombs near the Demeter cabin…"
"Okay, fine," Annabeth conceded exasperatedly. "But you can't claim you didn't know what you were getting into."
It was Rachel's turn to concede. "True. It wasn't a hard decision. I am so not dealing with an angry son of Poseidon when you get yourself killed looking for him. He's already run me through with his sword once."
I frowned. I was kind of a son of Poseidon. Were they looking for me? Or did I have a brother no one had mentioned?
Wait, that sounded familiar. I did have a brother, didn't I? Who liked peanut butter and sticks? I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. I'd kind of been hoping Annabeth was searching for me.
Either way, apparently it wasn't a good time to be related to the Lord of the Sea. And I could only think of one other god who would hate my dad's kids enough to wipe my memory and attack my brother: Minerva.
I was suddenly so angry I almost missed that Annabeth was talking again.
"Look, I'm sorry I dragged you into this, but I can't just wait for the summer solstice, you know?"
"Well, look on the bright side. We'll need some time to prepare, so we'll probably be there a few weeks early!" Rachel said brightly. Annabeth glared at her, and Rachel suddenly turned serious. "Sorry. But at least we know he's alive, right? He'll be fine."
"I'm not worried about him staying alive," Annabeth snapped. Her face immediately turned red and she looked away.
Rachel's eyes got wide. "Oh, that's the problem."
"No, there's no problem. Just forget it," Annabeth ordered, avoiding Rachel's gaze. "So if we keep heading north by northwest—"
"You're afraid he's going to find someone else," Rachel interrupted gleefully. "You think he's forgotten all about you, and now he's madly in love with some new girl!"
I would have laughed if I could have. I couldn't imagine anyone forgetting this girl. I mean, I couldn't remember much of anything, and even I still knew her. My brother was one lucky guy.
"You don't have to sound so excited about it, you know," Annabeth was grumbling at Rachel. "And I'm not…I mean, I don't…it's not just that. What if he's not…you know?"
Rachel looked lost. "Pretty sure your mom wouldn't be too impressed with your mastery of the English language there, Annabeth. What are you talking about?"
Annabeth seemed frustrated. "I don't know! Just what if he's not…not Percy anymore?"
For the second time, my heart stopped. They were talking about me? Unless my dad had two kids with the same name, which I doubted. Although that would be just my luck. Find the most amazing girl on the planet and lose her to another guy named Percy.
I couldn't help gloating a little too. I told Lupa it was "Percy."
Rachel was frowning. "I don't think he can stop being Percy. He might be a little different, but he'll get his memory back eventually. You can't undo sixteen years of work in six months."
Annabeth blew a stray hair out of her face. "I guess. But those last four months had been the best of my life. How can he just lose that?"
She was glaring and stabbing the ground absently with a wicked-looking bronze knife, and I got the feeling she was imagining my face underneath that knife. Maybe it was better she didn't know where I was right now.
I think Rachel thought the same thing, because she was eyeing the knife cautiously. "It's not exactly his fault, you know. And we don't know for sure he lost anything."
Annabeth scoffed. "Right. And he's just decided not to IM or call or whatever because he's too busy?"
I felt a little offended, although she was completely right. I thought I remembered her being right a lot.
Rachel sighed. "Yeah, but keep in mind his fatal flaw. He's not going to just abandon you."
I was hoping she'd elaborate on that "fatal flaw" thing, but she didn't say anything else. Knowing my fatal flaw sounded like the sort of information that might come in handy someday.
"Yeah, I guess," Annabeth said, although she didn't sound convinced.
The two girls were silent for a few minutes. I wished I could reassure Annabeth somehow, but not only was that impossible, I also had no idea how to reassure her. I wanted to tell her there was no way I'd ever abandon her (something told me that just by leaving, I'd done serious damage there), but how could I be sure?
I needed my memory back. I needed to find Minerva and demand she undo whatever she did to me.
"Hey, we never looked through the pack," Rachel said, breaking the silence.
Annabeth looked surprised. "I assumed you had. Didn't you pack it?"
Rachel laughed. "Nope. Connor handed it to me when he and Travis were on their way to the Demeter cabin."
"One of the Stoll brothers handed you a pack, and you didn't think to open it before you left?" Annabeth asked with a raised eyebrow. I grinned as an image of two curly-haired brothers smirking at each other with their hands behind their backs flashed through my head.
Rachel shrugged. "I figured since they were helping, it was better not to question it." She opened the backpack and began pulling out items that should not have fit in a regular backpack. It had to be magic.
"Looks like the usual nectar and ambrosia," she reported, pulling out a Ziploc bag and a thermos. "Some drachmas." A bag of gold coins. "A Latin phrasebook. Aw, look, Leo sent one of his cute little windup toys! Some cans of Coke, which I assume are from the Stoll brothers—wait, blue Coke and still cold, so I'm betting the Hecate kids were involved. Fresh strawberries, which I'm guessing Katie snuck out of the fields? I feel a little bad about using the Demeter cabin as the distraction now…a first aid kit, for those of us not endowed with superhuman abilities. Thanks, Will. Some Hypnos 2000 sleeping bags. The usual clothes from the Aphrodite cabin, although I think Piper picked them out, so you may be safe. It looks like she raided Jason's memory for you too, judging by the sketch of San Francisco on top."
This time, my heart began to race. I'd heard Jason's name around camp a couple times, and I didn't think it was a coincidence even if the name was pretty common. They were headed straight for us!
Rachel was pulling the last of the items from the bag. "Malcolm sent along your sketchpad and a couple architecture books, and…whoa, check it out!" She was admiring a long spear.
Annabeth's mouth dropped open. "No way. Didn't Clarisse just get that the other day?"
Rachel nodded, speechless.
"Wait, there's a note!" Annabeth pulled a piece of paper away from the shaft of the spear. "'Don't let Prissy destroy this one.'"
The two girls laughed, but I didn't see what was so funny. I was pretty sure that was a dig at me.
Suddenly I heard a branch break off to my left. I saw a dark shape darting through the trees, but neither Annabeth nor Rachel seemed to notice it. I tried to yell to warn them, but of course it was pointless.
A few seconds later a roar like a trumpet pierced the air, startling the girls. The dark shape resolved into a creature with the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion.
"A manticore," Annabeth said grimly.
"A manticore?" Rachel squeaked. "That looks so not good."
"Don't worry," Annabeth told her, eyes still locked on the monster. "I've fought it before."
Rachel looked relieved. "Thank the gods."
I wasn't as reassured. Annabeth plus manticore…something about that didn't add up. Even if you weren't an ADHD kid with notoriously bad math skills.
When Annabeth analyzed the monster a few extra seconds, Rachel seemed to pick up on her uneasiness. "Um, you said you fought it before. You killed it, right?"
Annabeth hesitated, still not looking away from the manticore. "Not exactly."
"So Percy killed it and you helped?"
"Not quite."
"But Percy killed it while you watched."
"No."
"…You've seen it killed before, though, right?"
"No."
"We're going to die, aren't we?"
Annabeth gripped her knife, then abruptly reached down to grab the spear from the backpack as well. "Run back through the woods as fast as you can. Don't stop for anything."
Rachel swallowed hard, but she didn't move. I had to admire her bravery, especially since I was busy completely panicking. It had taken a god to kill the manticore last time, I remembered now. Everything was flooding back to me. Annabeth had been captured, hadn't she? Oh, gods, she needed help. And Rachel was a mortal with zero fighting experience. Did anyone else know where they were?
"I said go!" Annabeth ordered.
"I'm not leaving you!" Rachel fired back.
I wanted to scream at them to both stop being stupid and just run and get help or something, but I couldn't move. The last thing I saw was the manticore charging through the trees.
I woke up yelling in the middle of the villa, with several dozen campers in purple shirts staring at me like I'd gone crazy. I stood up quickly, stumbling, but I pushed away the hands that tried to help me. I didn't have time for that. I ran to the head table, appealing directly to Lupa.
"I need to go!" I told her. She didn't say anything, and I started to get mad. "I have to leave camp right now!"
No one leaves without permission, she said calmly.
"So I need permission! My friends are in trouble! There's a manticore, and they need help!" I'm sure I sounded a little nuts, but I didn't have time to fill her in on everything.
Lupa looked almost sad for a moment. I'm afraid we can do nothing. You are not to leave camp.
"You don't understand!" I shouted, ignoring the gasps from the kids behind me. No one spoke to the she-wolf like this, but I had to make her agree. "It's a demigod, Annabeth Chase, and—"
Lupa clicked her tongue. It has been decided. Return to your table.
A couple campers exchanged looks and mutters. I heard one guy behind me say bravely, "If there's a demigod that needs help—"
Silence! Lupa ordered, and the villa fell deathly quiet instantly. No one may leave.
"Annabeth needs help. I'm leaving. You can't stop me," I told her, my teeth clenched. A few campers started muttering again.
Lupa's eyes turned hard. I believe I can. She clicked her tongue again, this time in the direction of two sons of Mars. Take Perseus to the barracks. Lock the doors.
Now the villa was in an uproar. The two Mars kids looked confused and didn't move.
It gave me time to grab the pen from my pocket and uncap it, giving me my bronze sword. "I'm going. I don't need your permission."
It was the wrong thing to say. In an instant the giant she-wolf had pinned me down, disarming me in the process. With no effort at all, she grabbed my t-shirt with her powerful jaws and carried me to the barracks herself. I struggled, but I was helpless. I just kept shouting over and over that someone needed to help Annabeth; that they couldn't let her die.
Lupa locked the barrack doors as soon as she dropped me, and even attacking the lock with my sword when it reappeared in my pocket didn't help. I yelled until my throat was raw, but no one responded. How long had passed since the manticore had been seen in the woods? Five minutes? Ten? I realized I was crying. Annabeth was not dying when I'd just remembered who she was. Even the gods couldn't be that cruel.
Desperately, I did the only thing I could think of. I prayed to my father.
Dad, please help me get out of here. I'll make any sacrifice you want. Take my life instead of theirs, just please, please let me out of here to help!
Like always, I got no response. Furious, I threw my sword across the room at the door. It bounced harmlessly back at me, and I sunk to the floor.
I wasn't going to be able to help. As it hit me, I started crying harder. Annabeth had taken that knife for me during the Titan War, and how had I repaid her? By abandoning her and then getting her killed when she went looking for me. I was officially the worst boyfriend of all time.
I just stared blankly at the wall in front of me for what felt like hours. Eventually I fell asleep in the same position, not even bothering to move to a bed.
I was dreaming again, but this time it was like the dream couldn't focus. Everything around me was in black and white, with fuzzy bands running through it. A woman was standing in the middle, fiddling with a small dial. The bands disappeared, although the scene remained in black and white.
"There. I suppose that will have to do," she said with a sigh, turning to face me. I could feel my jaw drop. She was amazing. Perfect, with flawless hair, flawless features, and flawless makeup. She looked like she'd just stepped out of a fashion magazine from the 1930's. But her image kept flickering. At first I thought it was due to the fuzzy picture, but it was more than that. When her features shifted to look a little like Annabeth's, I remembered I'd met her before.
"Venus," I said.
She nodded, pleased. "You remember me! Isn't that just so sweet?"
I didn't know how to respond, but luckily the goddess kept going.
"But please, call me Aphrodite. We both know you'll be a tad more comfortable with that," she continued. I wasn't sure I could ever really be comfortable in her presence, but she was right that it helped a little. Regardless, Aphrodite didn't seem concerned. "So, I'm sure you know why I'm here."
Suddenly I remembered the events from earlier. "You have to help Annabeth!" I blurted out. "She's in trouble!"
Aphrodite just chuckled, a beautifully light sound. "I believe you took care of that earlier, didn't you?"
I stared at her, confused. "What?"
She laughed again. "It broke my heart, hearing you plead with your father like that. And my heart is fairly impressive, if I do say so myself."
I was starting to think this goddess didn't exactly do "urgent." "For all the good it did me. Annabeth's probably dead by now, and—"
"No worries, little demigod," Aphrodite interrupted. "The girl is fine. Your father circumvented Lord Zeus' wishes in order to destroy the monster."
I was shocked, and I didn't even try to hide it. "He…he did?"
Aphrodite smiled. "Granted, no one is really taking Lord Zeus' paranoia to heart these days. But yes. Your father couldn't help you directly for fear of interfering with Lady Hera's plan, but he heard you all the same. He has seen the girl and her friend safely to her father's house."
I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. "Thank the gods. I thought she was…"
I trailed off, but Aphrodite looked at me sympathetically. "Well, if you'd fallen asleep a little sooner, I could have reassured you right away. But alas, I have to rely on my husband's pirate broadcasting equipment so Lord Zeus cannot detect my infiltration into your dreams. You are being watched quite closely, my dear."
"Hooray," I said without enthusiasm. "So everyone's been watching me struggle to regain my memory without bothering to help? No one tried to stop Minerva?"
She frowned. "Why in the world would you want Athena stopped? She has been your strongest advocate on Olympus. Although admittedly she has seemed a bit happier with you on the opposite side of the country from her daughter…"
Right. Annabeth was the daughter of Miner—no, Athena, who wasn't exactly my biggest fan. I remembered that now. Athena wasn't the type to go around stealing people's memories, though.
"So she didn't steal my memory?" I asked to clarify.
"Of course not!" Aphrodite said as if she were indulging a small child. "Athena perhaps sees you as a poor choice for her favorite daughter, but she trusts her children to make their own decisions. And her daughter decided on you. She has even been making an effort to be civil to Poseidon lately. No, I told you already who was to blame for your condition."
I was pretty sure she hadn't, but I thought back through our conversation anyway. Finally, I said the only thing I could come up with. "You said I was part of Hera's plan. Did she do this?"
Aphrodite's eyes lit up. "I knew you were not as stupid as Ares would have everyone believe! Yes, this was her doing. But do not judge her too quickly, young hero. She had the best interests of the world at heart. The fate of civilization itself hinged on you forgetting your former life. But," she leaned forward like she was sharing a secret, "her plan didn't work completely, did it?"
I was confused. "I'm pretty sure it did."
"Oh, really? She stole your memory. And yet, what would you say if I were to ask you the name of your sword?"
My answer was immediate. "Anaklusmos. Riptide." I paused, suddenly aware there was writing on my sword I hadn't noticed before. I'd spent hours every day with it. How had I missed the Greek writing on the side? "So what, Hera just decided to give my memory back?"
Aphrodite laughed yet again. "I highly doubt she has given it back to you. She is not particularly fond of you, after all. No, there are some forces much more powerful than a goddess, though please do not tell her I said so."
I thought about earlier that day when my memory had come flooding back. Annabeth had been in danger, and I wanted to help. Then I thought about the goddess who had come to visit me and almost smacked myself in the forehead. Duh. "It's love, isn't it? The force more powerful than Hera?"
Aphrodite smiled. "You are such a sweet boy. But maybe not quite as bright as I initially believed. Love is powerful, yes, but you know the force of which I speak. It has sealed your fate against the wishes of the gods."
That sounded familiar somehow…"The curse of Achilles," I said. "Hermes wanted to blast me, but he said he couldn't."
"Exactly!" Aphrodite squealed cheerfully, as though blasting me was the most exciting idea anyone had ever had. "And something ingrained in you so fully as to ground you to your mortal life is not easily stolen. So Hera could not succeed entirely, even by removing all possible reminders of home. But you must not let anyone know you have regained your memory. Especially Lupa."
"She knew, didn't she?" I asked suddenly, as the thought occurred to me. "She knew who I was the whole time, but she didn't say anything."
Aphrodite's smile faltered only slightly. "She suspected, yes. She made a sacred oath long ago, which she was bound to honor. The alternative was…unthinkable. At the time."
This made no sense to me, but as I opened my mouth to ask her to elaborate, the dream began to fade out.
"I'm afraid that would be my cue to leave," Aphrodite said sadly. "The transmission will be detected soon."
"Wait!" I shouted as she went to the dial in the center of the room. She stopped and turned back toward me. Thinking quickly, I asked, "Can you send a message to Annabeth for me?"
The goddess paused for a moment then squealed again, making me wince. For a dream, the acoustics were amazing. "A love note? Oh, of course," she gushed. "That is just adorable! I know quite a few men who could learn a thing or two from you, Percy Jackson!"
"Um, thanks," I said awkwardly, before taking a deep breath and plunging into it. "Annabeth almost got killed looking for me, and I'd kind of rather avoid that. Could you let her know I'm okay, and I still remember her and everything so she stops looking? I don't want her running into any more monsters because of me."
The goddess wiped at her eye. "Oh, now you're making my mascara run! That is just tragically adorable." The way she said "tragically," like it was some sort of great honor, worried me a little, but I figured I'd better not comment on it if I wanted her help. "I'll be sure to let her know, don't you worry."
"Thanks," I said sincerely. "And, uh, thank my dad for me too, if you get a chance. For saving them and also for not killing me even though I offered. I thought something like that definitely needed a sacrifice."
"Oh, there was a sacrifice!" Aphrodite said cheerfully. "I do hope you weren't too attached to that driver's license of yours!"
I groaned. Really, Dad? You couldn't have taken the dirty underwear I left in the middle of my room or something instead?
Oh well. It's not like I'd be near a car anytime soon. And police rarely ask for identification if you're driving a chariot down Fifth Avenue.
I was ready for Aphrodite to cut off the dream, but suddenly she gasped delightedly. "Oh, I just had the most marvelous idea!"
I looked at her warily. That was never good coming from the goddess who had promised to turn your love life into a soap opera. "What idea?"
Aphrodite clasped her hands together. "We'll set up a secret rendezvous for you two!"
"Me and my dad?" I asked, confused.
"No, silly!" she said, reminding me forcefully of Silena Beauregard. "You and your girlfriend! You leave all the planning to me. Just be at the clearing in the woods on the first of June. Maybe some sort of quest to get you out of the way…yes, I have just the thing! Then come back to the woods instead of camp and wait there. I'll show her the way to meet you. Oh, this is such fun!"
I was glad Aphrodite seemed so excited, but I still wasn't sure what was going on here.
"But you have to promise not to tell anyone!" Aphrodite warned me suddenly, just as I was about to ask her to clarify. "If Hera were to find out I am going against her wishes, the consequences would be severe."
I just nodded dumbly. I guessed I owed her for letting me know Annabeth and Rachel were okay. Go on a fake quest, then wait in the woods for Annabeth to show up. I could do that, even if the next couple months would be torture.
I was about to ask another question when Aphrodite held up her hand for silence and cocked her head to the side like she was listening to something. "Oh, dear, that would be my husband. I really must go."
"But—" I protested, about to complain I still didn't really know anything about what was going on.
"I can tell you nothing else," she said sympathetically. "To do so would endanger Hera's dangerous gamble further. You must trust me, and her as well. The fate of civilization, you remember. All will be clear in time!"
Aphrodite gave me one last brilliant smile, and then the transmission ended. I was back in the barracks, the door still firmly locked.
I'd get to see Annabeth again, though. Just two months of hiding my memory. Apparently civilization depended on it.
No problem. Been there, done that, bought the dam t-shirt at the dam gift shop. But the next time Lupa told me to trust my instincts…well, I was keeping Riptide handy just in case.
