I remembered those who had died. I remembered Beckendorf, Silena, Michael, and all the others who had given their life. I remembered them alive, seeing them in Capture the Flag, watching them at the campfire, singing their heart out, sneaking glances of them sparring when they thought I wasn't there. I saw the Apollo cabin cursing the Ares, and the creative rhyming that one camper did.

I remembered Luke back before he betrayed us, before I realized this was real. I thought of those who used to be on our side. I thought of Ethan Nakamura, pledging himself to Kronos, and remembered someone saying he had betrayed Kronos, causing his own death.

My thoughts were too mixed to pray, so I simply let the Holy Spirit pray for me. I bared my heart to God, trying to rid myself of my grief. I thought of the entire summer, and, still, I couldn't cry.

Eventually, I turned on my mp3 and set the song that best described my mood to repeat. I listened to Worn, by Tenth Avenue North, for three hours.

Finally, campfire time arrived and I went to burn the shrouds for the dead.

Silena's shroud was hot pink, but embroidered with an electric spear. The Ares and Aphrodite cabins lit the shroud together, both claiming her as a hero. Nobody mentioned the word spy, and that secret burned away as the perfume smoke drifted to the sky.

Ethan Nakamura's shroud was black silk with crossed swords under scales. I didn't know exactly what he had done, but I sensed that he was the reason for Percy's gift from the gods.

There were too many shrouds to burn, too many lives lost. We comforted ourselves by reminding each other that their sacrifice helped win us the war.

No one talked much at dinner, and afterwards I went to a secluded spot just outside the pavilion. I was staring off into space when I noticed Annabeth sit down next to Percy, who hadn't left the Poseidon table. She had what looked like a cake in her hand, and I figured she was telling him happy birthday. After some conversation and laughing, Annabeth put her hands around his neck, then kissed him. I crept closer. Knowing the other kids here, there was no way they would have privacy after that, and I needed something else to focus on—even if just for a few minutes.

I knew I was right when I heard Clarisse growl, "Well, it's about time!"

I joined the throng led by Clarisse, hoisting Annabeth and Percy on our shoulders. Connor called out the canoe lake, and that's where we went. Percy turned completely red, and Annabeth was laughing. When we threw them in the lake, they stayed down a while. Percy probably formed an air bubble and they were down there kissing.

Compared to last week, the final two weeks of camp were stress-free. Nico was busy building a Hades cabin, and being built near-by were Nemesis, Iris, Hypnos, and many more I couldn't recognize yet.

Annabeth was frantic: she's in charge of rebuilding Olympus and building the new cabins. Plus, she's trying to spend time with Percy—her new boyfriend—and lead the cabin. Needless to say, as much as I love my sister, I tried to avoid her. I was sick of being drafted to help build. I didn't mind helping her plan, but she recruited her siblings to do the building.

I didn't know how they could be so upbeat. I was still in shock that I was a demigod and had just finished a war. I receded into myself, becoming even quieter. I didn't know how to deal with this, so I didn't. I became a loner, well, more than usual, and people were too busy with other stuff to notice the new girl was in shock. I shut off my emotions. If I didn't care, it wouldn't hurt. I hid in the Athena library most days. Others I spent on the beach, just staring into space.

The Hermes cabin wasn't near as crowded now. Within a few days of their promise, the gods claimed all their kids. That, plus all the new demigods arriving, will make camp a lot different next year.

Since we weren't preparing for battle, I didn't know what to do. My entire summer had been devoted to preparing for the war. I took to walking on the beach all day. Most were either helping build the new cabins or hanging with friends. The only people I wanted to be around—Annabeth and Thalia—were busy, Annabeth with architecture and Thalia with the Hunters. I had gotten pretty close to Malcolm over the summer, but he was too close to Annabeth to avoid being drafted. So I walked. I walked up and down the length of the camp beach. Sometimes I stopped to sit and stare at the ocean—which had always calmed me (weird, considering the Athena/Poseidon rivalry)—but mostly I walked. I walked to clear my mind, to avoid thinking about the war.

Sometime in the late afternoon the last day of camp, I was walking near the Poseidon cabin when I saw Percy in the distance. He was talking to an older version of himself. Must be his father, Poseidon. Wanting to give them privacy, I turned around and walked the other way. By the time I got back to that spot on the beach, both of them were gone. I sat down near where Percy had been and stared into space for a while before going to dinner. Tonight was the bead ceremony.

The Hephaestus cabin made the bead this year: the Empire State Building with the names of the heroes who had died etched in tiny Greek letters around the image. Instead of wearing a new necklace, I just put the bead on my other necklace. As down as I was, I still felt proud of myself. Not many people could claim to have done what I had their first year here.

"Never forget this summer!" Chiron told us, trotting up front with a slight limp. I know I would never forget this summer. I had learned so much. "We have discovered bravery and friendship and courage this summer. We have upheld the honor of the camp." Chiron glanced Percy's way in pride. "And now, early to bed! Remember, you must vacate your cabins by noon tomorrow unless you've made arrangements to stay the year with us. The cleaning harpies will eat any stranglers, and I'd hate to end the summer on a sour note!"

We all drifted off to bed. I had already sent my mom a Facebook message—the Hephaestus cabin had made all my electronics monster-proof after the Wilds—saying I would be back around one or two the next afternoon.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next few chapters reach outside the book a bit. As this story is The Life of a Demigodand not The High Points in the Life of a Demigod, I am about to delve into life outside of camp. Life for a demigod does not stop when you leave camp, it just usually isn't written about. Thanks for reading, and please review your thoughts!