Annabeth was hovering in the common area as I neared. Percy had left to find Grover, still annoyed that I was heading toward the Underworld. His protectiveness over me was a little flattering, if not entirely unnecessary. As sick as the thought of the Underworld made me, I could take care of myself. Besides, this time we were going there on our terms, not his. Then again, the thought had occurred to me that, down in the Underworld, there was only one set of terms that mattered, and it certainly wasn't ours.

"Acacia!" she exclaimed, bolting forward. Behind her, Luke and a few of the other campers I'd grown closer to frowned curiously. "Is everything okay? Chiron looked really annoyed."

I pulled a face. "Yeah, well, about that . . ."

Her eyes shone excitedly. "You want me to go on a quest with you?"

"How in the name of the gods did you know that?" I blinked, but she squealed and threw her arms around my neck.

"Thank you!" she breathed. "Gods, I've been waiting for this for so long!"

"Whoa, whoa," I frowned, pushing her back carefully. "You don't even know what we're doing yet, or where we going. This isn't going to be easy, Annabeth. Not by a long shot."

Her face straightened, suddenly business like. "Okay, so what are we doing?"

I took a deep breath. "Not here. I'm not wasting any more time just standing around. If you want to talk, we train at the same time."

"Hey, need a hand?" Luke called forward.

My lips pursed. "No thanks. We got it. But if you're up early enough tomorrow, I could always do with a hand in the morning?"

He smirked slightly. "You're on." I grimaced, ushering Annabeth out of the common area.

As it turned out, she wasn't great at sword work. She coped; her defence was pretty good, but she couldn't attack. I spent more time trying to teach her than strengthening my own skills, but I was pretty confident that, with the help of the lightning that coursed through my swords, I had a good attack. I didn't use the lightning with Annabeth though. It seemed a little harsh.

As we worked, I explained everything. I could see Percy and Grover out of the corner of my eye, sat at the edge of the forest, watching us and having their own conversation. By the time I had finished, night was falling and the air seemed to get a bitter sting. Annabeth, who had done quite well for a girl who didn't like sword work, let her sword clatter to the ground, and held her hands up in surrender.

"So you're telling me that we have to travel to the Underworld and get your father's bolt off Hades?" she asked, panting slightly. I nodded grimly, putting the swords back in their sheaths and turning them back into belts. "And all the while, you're being tested by twelve Olympian gods?"

"Unless there's suddenly been a new development and there are more than twelve, it sounds about right," I admitted, gulping hard and shifting on the spot.

Annabeth gave me a withering look. "You realise that two of them are going to be very hard to please?"

"You're not helping, Annabeth," I groaned, running a hand through my hair.

"Acacia, I know it's not ideal, but you have to think things through," she scolded. "If we don't get this bolt back, Zeus and Poseidon will go to war. You'll be fighting against Percy, and this time, it won't be for training."

"Yeah, me and Percy already figured that much out," I admitted in a quiet voice. "That's pretty much out of my hands."

She grimaced at me pitifully, but didn't stop on her lecture. "And what about Hera?"

A shudder ran down my spine. "I was trying not to think about it."

"Gods, Acacia!" she groaned. "Do you have any idea what she did to Hercules because he was Zeus's son?"

"No, I don't, and I don't want to," I rushed before she could tell me. She scowled. "No, Annabeth! I know you want me to try and figure everything out on the spot, but I can't. I just can't. It's hard enough voluntarily travel to the Underworld again, let alone try and figure out how twelve gods are going to try and kill me, so I'm sorry if I offend you, but I'll deal with it when I have to."

She blinked, shuffling cautiously. "Erm, okay."

I sighed heavily. "Sorry. Just . . . freaking out."

Annabeth grimaced, patting my arm in a manner that was obviously supposed to be supportive. It just seemed like my death sentencing. "We'll all be there for you, Acacia," she said. "Grover and Percy, too."

I couldn't help flinching away from her, shaking my head roughly. Her eyes widened a fraction. "No," I said sternly. "Annabeth, they're testing me, not you, not Grover, and certainly not Percy! He has enough to worry about as it, let alone getting on the wrong side of any more gods!"

Something in her expression flinched. "And what about you? You have to go along with Percy, into the Underworld to face Hades again – after everything that he did to you – and complete twelve tasks to please the gods? Acacia, do you even realise what you're letting yourself in for? This is impossible! They're going to get you killed!"

Thunder rumbled overhead, but for once, Annabeth didn't even flinch. She just frowned at me, locking her eyes on mine.

My lips pursed, trying to stop my stomach squirming as I replied. "Annabeth, forget about it." She immediately made to argue, but I held up a hand, and the two of us were stunned to see electricity flickering impatiently between my fingers. I clenched my fist, hiding my hand behind my back. "Forget about it. I have to help Percy, and I have to complete these tests."

"Acacia," Annabeth breathed, her eyes shining. "It's impossible!"

Her words made my lips twitch wryly. "Yeah," I sighed. "But I get the feeling I've heard that before." She blinked, but I shook my head. "Just . . . focus on getting the bolt back. Get some rest. We're leaving straight after breakfast. I'll see you in the morning."

Before she could say anything else to worry me about my tests and the bolt, I turned and walked down to the furthest end of the training arena. Unable to stop my gaze drifting back toward Percy and Grover, I leapt over the fence and made my way back to the common area. In the distance, I could see three figures leaning against the porch railing of the Big House. One was obviously Chiron, his tail flicking nervously behind him as he watched me walk away. Beside him, I thought Mr. D was scowling, and it looked like Apollo was smirking, winking once when he realised I was looking in his direction.

The smirk unsettled me so much, I barely slept.

Before breakfast the next morning, I trained with Luke for two entire hours and spent another hour at the archery range with Lee and Michael before Mr. D as good as dragged me toward Half-Blood Hill. I didn't want to stop, but I knew that we had to start on the task. The thought that I was about to begin a quest at the same time as being challenged by twelve gods.

Within the first hour of training with Luke, he had me beat. I was reluctant to use the weather or lightning to help me train. I wanted to know for sure what I could do without them. The answer; not as well as I had hoped. Luke kept assuring me that I was more than equipped to face any monster out there. The problem was, I knew I wasn't prepared to take on twelve gods. No one other than Percy, Annabeth and Grover knew about the tests I had to complete, and they'd been threatened with death via Mr. D if they ever mentioned it. The gods apparently didn't take favouritism lightly, though I was seriously finding it difficult to see how this was favouritism in my favour.

Of course, archery had been a different matter. I didn't miss a single target, even the ones that moved or turned invisible just as you were taking aim. Considering I was really just training alone, I let myself experiment with the whole daughter-of-Zeus thing. It turned out quite well. Not only did I manage to start a fire so strong, they had to drag Percy out of bed to empty the creek of water, I also managed to create a mini-tornado that twisted on its side, pulled along by the arrow I'd released. So, all things considered, I was reasonably pleased with my defences by the time we started to climb Half-Blood Hill.

A crowd had assembled to wish us luck at the top of the hill, something I was not fully anticipating. I got a hug from Lee, Michael, Will and Luke, all of whom then got snapped at by Sasha. Annabeth was shifting her weight from foot to foot anxiously, her gaze flicking to the top of the hill every now and then. I knew she wanted to get out of the camp for awhile now. After all, she'd lived here for five years, never leaving. It was understandable that she'd want to get out, but I couldn't share her enthusiasm.

"Calm down, Acacia," Will Solace said, for what felt like the hundredth time in five minutes. "You'll do fine."

I met Percy's worried gaze, but snapped my eyes away quickly. "Yeah," I grimaced at Will, trying to stop my stomach squirming nervously.

"Hey Percy," Luke called, holding out what looked like a shoe box. Percy took it, frowning slightly. "I figured you could use them," Luke answered with a small shrug.

"Err, thanks," Percy replied slowly, casting a strange look in Annabeth's direction. She rolled her eyes impatiently, as good as ripping the box open and snatching out the pair of red Converse that had been tucked inside. "Shoes," he said intelligently, and I couldn't help smiling at him.

Luke chucked. "Maia!" A small pair of white wings suddenly sprouted from the back of the trainers, fluttering rapidly in an attempt to escape Annabeth's hold. Percy's eyes widened, and I blinked a few more times that necessary, sure I was hallucinating. "They were a gift from my Dad," Luke grimaced. "Used them on my own quest. Don't exactly need them anymore."

He'd lost his smile as he spoke, and I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.

Percy must have seen this too, because he quickly took the shoes from Annabeth and shoved them back into the box. He smiled tightly back at Luke. "Well, thanks, I appreciate it."

Luke grimaced, but behind him, Mr. D cleared his throat. "Alright, touching farewell and all," he grumbled. "Everyone back to training!"

The crowd gave us one last pat on the back before reluctantly heading back down the hill and into the valley. Suddenly, my stomach twisted and Mr. D's eyes found mine. They narrowed a fraction, but he tore them away and regarded Percy almost as coldly. "Try not to make a mess," he warned, before wheeling around and marching away.

I gulped hard. "We should leave."

Chiron sighed heavily, letting one of his hands fall onto my shoulder. "I'm afraid Acacia is right," he grimaced. "There is little time to waste."

Percy snorted. "Try none."

Chiron shot him a withering look, before dropping his gaze and frowning down at the shoe box he still held. "Percy," he started slowly, and my cousin nodded with pursed lips.

"Not a good idea," he agreed with a slow nod. "I figured. Hey Grover? Want a magic item?"

Grover's face lit up. "Really?" he asked, his eyes sparkling excitedly. Annabeth didn't look very impressed, but she didn't say anything as Percy helped him replace his normal trainers with the ones Luke had brought with a little difficulty. Grover wore baggy pants and fake feet to pass as a human, but he stilled walked with a limp. I wondered how he was supposed to fly properly, but decided it was probably best not to ask.

He stood up, beaming. "Maia!" The wings sprouted out the back of the trainers and his feet rose off the ground a little unsteadily. For a moment, he had perfect control. I had just opened my mouth to congratulate him, when he fell to the right and was dragged down the other side of the hill by the shoes, kicking and screaming the entire way. In the same second, Percy had burst out laughing and I winced loudly as Annabeth raced down the hill after him.

Chiron sighed. "Perhaps its best he doesn't use them too often."

"Right," Percy and I agreed.

"Are you ready?" Chiron asked, shifting awkwardly.

After glancing in Percy's direction, I nodded with a deep breath. "Locket, swords, knife," I listed. "And I spent three hours training this morning."

Percy choked. "Three hours?" He let out a low whistle. "I think I managed half an hour after you set the place on fire."

I felt myself blush. "That was an accident, Percy."

"I never said it wasn't," he shrugged. "Just . . . try not to do the same while we're out there, yeah?" I pulled a face, but nodded.

"Then good luck," Chiron smiled worriedly. We grimaced back at him, turning to make our way down to the bottom of the hill where Annabeth and Grover were trying to control the shoes. "Oh, a word please Acacia."

I shuddered at his tone, shooting Percy a pleading look. Again, he snorted, holding his hands out in surrender and retreating down the hill. Breathing deeply through my nose, I turned back to look up Chiron.

"Before you say anything, I know Percy and Poseidon are innocent," I assured him.

He raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly. "That is good to know, but not at all what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh, Chiron, please," I groaned before I could stop myself, running a shaky hand through my hair.

"Acacia, the Olympians have never taken such an interest in a demigod before now," he sighed heavily, frowning down at my reluctant expression in concern. "I do not know why they have chosen now to pay attention and I do not know why they chose you. I don't know what you are supposed to be worthy of. But I do know the tests they put you through will not easy and could very well get you killed. Please, be careful. Know when to let your instincts guide you and when to use your head. remember, you will have to impress Athena as well."

I pursed my lips. "It isn't Athena I'm worried about," I admitted in a small voice. Sasha whined quietly, nudging my leg. Chiron raised an eyebrow. "Hera." His face instantly darkened.

"Do not dwell too much on Queen Hera," he said, though he couldn't find anything more useful to say. I gulped.

"Chiron, look at what she did to Hercules! If I have to impress all of the Olympian gods, I'll be trying for the rest of my life!"

"It is not impossible to change Hera's mind, Acacia," he persisted. "I would like to think the other gods would be able to make their minds up without her, if she should prove impossible to impress. But I don't know their motives, so I cannot say what they are looking for. Keep your eyes open and your mind concentrated. I have every confidence in your abilities."

"Thanks," I mumbled, staring down at my feet.

Chiron sighed. "Good luck, Acacia," he said. I nodded and turned to meet Percy, Annabeth and Grover before he could say anything else, Sasha at my heels. What was I thinking? I may as well give up now, get it over with. The only problem; I didn't like giving in. Especially not to biased gods like Hera.

I'm doomed.