He didn't blame Artemis, not really. It's not like she would have known. And it would've been a bad idea for him to spend all his time around the Hunt. Nepotism aside, males never really worked out in the Hunt. Hippolytos died (but got better), and Orion...well, he myth's were a bit fuzzy on him. And Thalia was an amazing fighter, no doubt about that.

Quinn went through a million of these justifications in his head. They didn't really make him feel better. Nothing did.

"You look different already."

She really did. Thalia had only been a hunter for half an hour at the most, and already she had a sort of silvery aura around her. It went well with the circlet she was wearing. He could hear the sounds of the solstice celebration from here. They'd be wondering where the two of them went.

Thalia laughed shakily. "What, do you have eyes in the back of your head or something?"

Quinn shrugged, turning around. "Sort of. Think it's another gift from Hecate. It'd make sense, her being a triple goddess and all."

"Wow...Lots of stuff's happened since camp."

"Yup."

Even with what Quinn assumed was some sort of temperature control built into Olympus, it was still a bit chilly. Thalia seemed perfectly fine.

She broke the silence first. "Look Quinn, I-"

"Congrats on the job Thalia, i'm sure you'll do great." Quinn picked up his scythe and started to walk away.

"Quinn, I'm trying to explain myself, just listen!"

He spun back around. "Explain what? There's nothing. With barely any hesitation at all, you just accepted it. And now you're just ditching me to go run around in the woods playing girl scouts."

Thalia sighed, sending out little sparks of electricity around her. "I'm not 'ditching' you . I'm here, trying to explain myself. And there's the prophecy. If I turned sixteen, it could mean the end of Olympus. Do you really want to risk that?"

"Of course not, I'm an idiot." He turned back around, staring down at New York.

"Could've fooled me."she muttered.

That got his attention. Even Thalia, looked shocked, like she didn't mean to say it.

"...Goodbye Thalia."

Getting back was easy. He just walked out of the Empire State Building, hailed a cab, and wiggled his fingers and conjured up some Mist when the taxi driver complained about payment.

Leaving was a bit harder. Quinn thought about it for what felt like hours, filling up his bag and dumping it out all over again.

But he never really felt at home at camp. Sure there was Silena, but she was the social butterfly cabin leader in a cabin filled to the top with social butterflies. She had other priorities.

Everyone was busy celebrating downstairs, with hot chocolate and marshmallows and in the case of the satyrs, coffee cups. No one would miss him. For a while, at least.

He couldn't sense anyone outside. He should be fine until-

Wait. Who was that? Quinn could see someone climbing into what looked like the Hermes cabin's bathroom window.

Now was as good a time as any to leave. Quinn placed a letter on his newly made bed, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. The letter would explain that he was just taking a little break from camp for the while, and that he hadn't done anything crazy like joining the Titans. They wouldn't be happy, but at least he wouldn't be seen as a traitor.

He pushed open the window, letting it drop behind him as he dropped to the ground. He trudged over to Cabin Eleven just as its mysterious intruder was exiting.

Nico di Angelo. The ten year old had been crying recently, by the looks of it. He had a hastily packed bag and his Mythomagic cards in hand.

The kid glared at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Same as you, by the looks of it. Running away. Mind telling me why?"

Nico sniffed,looking at his feet. "Bianca, she...she died on the quest. I can hear in the Underworld, and its all Percy's fault tat she's there in the first place!"

Quinn frowned. He could hear her in the Underworld. But that could only mean one thing. Nico and Bianca di Angelo were children of Hades.

Two more subjects of the prophecy. Now he felt even angrier at Thalia.

"What a day. Come on, where are you heading to? I'll give you a ride." Hopefully the taxi driver was still there. Last he saw, he somehow mysteriously had gotten a tire punctured.

Nico still looked suspicious. "You're not stopping me?"

Quinn shrugged. "Well, I sorta promised your sister I'd look after you. Might as well do that. Now if you don't want to get caught, let's get going."

Peleus was huddled underneath the pine tree, breathing tiny bouts of flame on his scales to keep warm. He raised his head at the sight of them, but otherwise didn't pay them any special attention.

Miraculously the taxi was still there. The driver was talking animatedly with a man in uniform while the man's partner was replacing the taxi tire.

Quinn tossed their bags in the trunk, slipping into the back as the taxi driver finished paying the repairmen. When he got back behind the wheel, he jumped at the sight of the two demigods (technically one).

"Jesus, you guys scared the hell out of me Anyways I can't take you, already got a call."

A snap of his fingers, and that was no longer a problem. "Oh, I know. That was us calling, we're your passengers."

His eyes glazed over. "Huh...Oh, yes that's right. Welcome to your cab for the evening, I'll be your driver."

"So," Quinn said as he turned to face Nico, "Where to?"

And the Lunar Child comes to a close. Thanks for reading, everyone.

Of couse, there'l be more in Quinn's story, just think about this as a sort of introduction story. The next story will be uploaded (relatively) soon, and will diverge more from Riordan's fantastic story to focus on Quinn.

The Epic of Quinn: The Ghost King(s) arrives on March 1st.