Hi everyone! I'm sorry it's been so long since I've last updated. I had some health issues that completely derailed my writing, but I finally managed to finish the chapter. Hope you like it!

~Secrethalfblood

Cpov

"For the record." Evelyn said, scowling at a man that had jostled her as we navigated the crowd of people that surrounded us. "I am very uncomfortable right now."

"I can see that." I muttered.

Despite the fact that it was the middle of summer, and it was early afternoon on a cloudless day, she was wearing a jacket with the hood pulled up. Headphones trailed from under it, but I knew she was only pretending to listen to music. Her eyes continually scanned the room and I could tell by the way she was walking she was on high alert, looking for any signs of trouble.

"But you're going to have to put up with it for a little while." I continued quietly, grabbing her book bag so we wouldn't be separated as a line of tourists pushed their way to the next exhibit.

"I just don't understand why we can't come back later, when the Museum is empty." She said agitated, glancing over her shoulder. "I hate being around this many people. I can't see anything."

We were currently walking among the hundreds of people touring the Museo Chiaramonti. While this wasn't my first time in the Vatican, it was my first time at the museum. Surrounding us were dozens of beautifully crafted statues dating as far back as the bronze age and while normally this sort of excursion would have been right up my alley, I couldn't have been less interested in the art. I had more pressing things on my mind, primarily the glowering girl next to me, and what was going through hers.

"Relax Ev." I assured her. "It'll be fine. And I doubt you want to be stumbling around this place after hours. It'll be dark and crawling with security."

"Neither of those things are an issue for me." She pointed out sounding a little annoyed.

"Well I still think we should be trying to get this done as fast as possible. It'll be a lot harder to talk our way out of trouble if we get caught here after the museum is closed. The more people that are here the less likely it is that we'll be noticed. At worst, they'll think we're idiot tourists. Not terrible art thieves."

"If you say so." She mumbled, but the look she gave me was unconvinced and I knew she wanted to get out of here.

She'd been tense from the moment we'd stepped out of the shadows and into the museum, and while I had an idea of what was bothering her, I wasn't sure what to do about it. While my ability to read her emotions was frustratingly limited, no self-respecting member of cabin 10 would have missed the shift in them during our conversation a few hours ago. Something had happened, and I was pretty sure I knew what, but if I was right, I wasn't sure if Evelyn or I was more surprised by it.

These thoughts continued to preoccupy me as we waited to get into the next room.

Even if she did feel something for me, that didn't mean she'd be ready or willing to do anything about it. It was more than likely she'd just want to ignore it and hope it went away. But I didn't want that. I just wasn't sure where I was supposed to go from here. Usually in this situation I'd flirt with a girl, ask her out, get bored and move on, but with Evelyn that option was off the table. She didn't work that way and, though it was still a bit of a shock to realize this, that wasn't what I wanted. But I couldn't do nothing, and trying to figure out where to go was taking up a lot of my mental space.

'Focus man.' I thought as I almost walked into a couple trying to take a selfie by one of the exhibits. 'You're supposed to be on a mission right now. This can wait.'

But I wasn't entirely sure if it could. I didn't know if saying something would freak her out or keep her from running from the problem.

I shook my head, hoping she wouldn't notice. I needed to keep my wits about me. We were in the mortal world looking for a goddess surrounded by Gods know what, but it didn't seem to matter. Maybe it was because I was a child of Aphrodite, or maybe this was how everyone got when they fell for someone, either way the mission was the farthest thing from my mind. Was it stupid? Yeah. But did I care?

I glanced at Evelyn only to see she'd been looking at me. She quickly looked away and I saw her cheeks flush.

I couldn't completely hide my smile in response.

Not at all.

We stepped into a large room with high ceilings and marble statues lining the walls. Immediately her gaze darted across the room and I saw a guard glance in our direction. I put my arm around her shoulders and turned so our backs were facing him, steering her away.

"You need to cool it on the hyper vigilance." I said quietly, leaning closer to her so as not to be overheard and her heartrate shot up. "You look like you're casing the joint."

"Easy for you to say." She muttered darkly refusing to make eye contact. "Have you considered the fact this crowd could be full of monsters? We're nowhere near an exit and I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly thrilled about the prospect of a round two with the Manticore. Especially around all these mortals."

I knew she was wanted me to think her unease stemmed from our location, not the conversation we'd been having before her mother had shown up, and I was willing to let her have that for now, but she needed to calm down. Her anxiety was starting to attract attention. Shadows grew darker and stretched towards her as we passed them and I could feel the temperature around us start to decrease.

The couple looking at the bust next to us gave her a nervous glance before taking a few steps away, obviously picking up on her mood and reacting on instinct. She must have noticed because she shoved her hands in her pockets and her scowl returned, but she didn't look angry. She looked upset. Her shoulders hunched in an automatic motion, as if to arm herself against their discomfort and more people glanced in our direction before shifting away. The Death Aura was in full effect and suddenly, in this building crammed full of people, we were the only two with any sort of space.

This wasn't good. I had to get her to relax or we were definitely going to be on the museum's security's radar.

"Looks kind of like Broderick don't you think?" I said nodding a few feet down the line to a statue of a grotesque, but vaguely humanoid monster.

She glanced in the direction I'd indicated and let out a surprise laugh.

"Nah," she said grinning and I felt the aura that had been hanging around her like a dark cloud start to slip away. "Too good looking."

"True." I said with a smirk and we kept walking.

With the museum as packed as it was, it took us another thirty minutes to find what we were looking for, then another ten to get close enough to the statue.

"It's smaller than I thought it would be." She said looking at the marble with a frown. In front of us was three figures of the same woman, standing with their backs to each other and staring out over the crowd.

"That's what you find weird about this?" I asked raising an eyebrow at her. "There's three faces."

"She's still taller than that." Evelyn said with a shrug, apparently unfazed. "Besides, it's not like multiple faces is uncommon in our world. Just look at Cer Bear."

"Point taken." I said, still a little amused at the nickname she'd given her father's monstrous guard dog. I looked over my shoulder at the nearest guard. "That guy's pretty big, you sure you're going to be ok?"

"Please," she said interlinking her fingers and stretching her arms in front of her so her knuckles cracked. "I could do this in my sleep."

"Someone's a little full of herself." I teased and she rolled her eyes.

"Just get to work Cass."

"Alright bossy, jeez."

At this she smirked.

"Don't pretend you don't love it."

She reached into her book bag and after rummaging for a few seconds, withdrew her hand and handed me the medallion.

I took it, then after a last look over my shoulder, I ducked under the chain separating us from the statue.

"HEY!" a voice shouted furiously and I couldn't help it, I glanced back to see the security guard I'd spotted earlier pushing people out of his way as he ran towards us.

He tried to shove Evelyn out of the way, ignoring her to get to me who he apparently thought was the threat. Poor guy.

Faster than he could react, she grabbed his shoulder, kicked out his knee, and put him in a sleeper hold.

"Get moving." She said nodding towards the statue as shouts broke out over the crowd.

Already people were clearing a path for more guards and pulling out their phones, trying to record the commotion. I hopped onto the platform on which the statue was standing and placed the medallion around one of the heads.

There was a 'thud' and I looked back to see the guard had hit the floor, unconscious, but the others had almost reached Evelyn.

She looked ready to take them on, but before any moves could be made, there was a deep rumbling as the platform under me started to shake.

I turned back to the statue to see it was glowing silver. Suddenly, there was a flash, and not for the first time in the past few days, I found myself transported to a place with which I was completely unfamiliar.

Evelyn staggered into me and I caught her arm, holding her steady.

"You alright?" I asked as she found her feet.

"Yeah." She said sounding a little surprised. "Just caught off guard."

She rubbed her head and looked around, clearly trying to marshal her thoughts.

We were standing at the intersection of two dirt roads, surrounded by nothing but grass as far as the eye could see and the sun was just starting to set. A string of wooden utility poles carried a powerline along one of the roads, but there were no signs or buildings to give us any sort of indication as to where we might be.

"Jeez, this is disorienting." She said turning as she searched the area. "Is this what it feels like to shadow travel when you're not ready? Where are we?"

But before I could say anything, someone else did.

"Evelyn!" a voice said cheerfully and we jumped. I spun to see a tall woman with chin length dark hair, tan skin, and a bright smile looking at Evelyn with excitement. She looked to be in her thirties with a black pantsuit and lethal looking stilettos, but her light brown eyes were warm and her smile was wide. "It's good to see you again dear."

Evelyn waved a little awkwardly, but the woman let out a laugh.

"Gods you are just like your father." She said amused. "Is that how you greet me after all this time? Come here girl."

And without waiting for a response, she threw her arms wide and pulled Evelyn into a hug.

Evelyn went stiff for a second, but allowed the embrace to continue as she said.

"Hey Auntie H."

"You two know each other?" I asked Evelyn, who was still being crushed by the excitable goddess, a little surprised by Hecate's enthusiasm. Everything I'd ever heard about her was that she preferred solitude.

Then again, Micah was Evelyn's best friend, and if the stories were to be believed, Hecate was close with Evelyn's father and Persephone.

"Of course." Hecate said loosening her grip but continuing to hold Evelyn by the shoulders as she beamed at her. "I've been baby-sitting this one since she was old enough to crawl around the palace. Even before she met my Micah. The number of times I caught her riding Cerberus around the fields of Asphodel when her father wasn't watching…"

Her tone was disapproving, but her smile was fond, and Evelyn looked mortified.

"He didn't talk to me for months after that summer you nearly fell into the Styx. But I don't know what he was so worried about." She said airily. "How old were you?"

"Six." Evelyn said and Hecate waved it away.

"You're tough." She said dismissively. "I'm sure you would have been fine."

"She can't swim." I said indignantly, wondering how on earth Evelyn made it past childhood if this was one of her babysitters.

Hecate's smile faded and her eyes narrowed as for the first time since her appearance, she gave me her full attention.

"And what would you know about it?" she asked raising an eyebrow. "Who are you anyway?"

From her expression and her tone, she might as well have added 'outsider' to the end of her sentence. It was clear to me she knew I wasn't related to the Underworld and didn't trust me because of it.

"This is my friend Cassian." Evelyn explained, extricating herself from Hecate's grip and gesturing to me.

"Cassian?" she asked, her brow furrowing as if the name was familiar to her. "The son of Aphrodite?"

"Yeah." I said a little surprised. "You know who I am?"

"Of course I know who you are." She said dismissively. "I'm the one responsible for your curse."

Epov

I stared at Hecate in complete shock as she looked between Cass and I, apparently just as confused as we were.

"You cursed Cass?" I asked furiously, anger catching within me like butane thrown on open flame.

"Of course." She said as if this should have been obvious and I continued to look at her, unable to find words. "And I must say I've out done myself." She said inspecting Cass with an analytical expression. "He looks nothing like he used to, it hasn't worn off. Who else do you think could to pull this off?"

"But why did you curse him?" I asked and she shrugged.

"Why do I curse anyone I curse? Because I was asked. I don't bother with the hows and whys, you know that." She frowned. "But what do you mean friend?" She gestured between Cass and I. "Micah never said anything about you hanging out with one of them."

Cass raised an eyebrow, apparently a little offended at her remark and I had to admit, it was a little strange hearing someone say that about an Olympian camper and not one of the Underworld kids.

"I, uh," I started, realizing as I tried to explain my relationship with Cass, I wasn't really sure I knew how. We were friends, but our friends weren't friends. And yet, somehow it seemed like it was more than that. We weren't just acquaintances, but were we close? Or did it only feel that way because we were spending a lot of time together recently? And what happened when we got back to camp? Was all of this over?

Cass, obviously realizing I was drowning in my response, stepped in.

"Our relationship exists outside the social circles at camp." He said smoothly, and I had to admit, I was impressed by his ability to keep his head while facing a Goddess who clearly did not like him. "I wouldn't expect Micah to think much about it if he does at all. But we've been friends for a while."

I pictured Micah's expression as I'd left the beach the day Cass and I had left camp. Guilt surged through me, and it only increased as I thought of the things he'd say to me if he'd heard those thoughts, the things I'd been thinking since we'd left my mother's house.

I shook my head trying to clear my mind. I could worry about Micah later, we had other things to address.

"This doesn't make any sense." I said in frustration, running my fingers through my hair.

I turned back to Hecate who was still looking between Cass and I, her expression suspicious, but I ignored this and continued with.

"If April was going to bring a God into this, why on earth would she come to you?"

"Who's April?" Hecate asked sounding perplexed, causing my train of thought to hit the brakes and derail.

"What do you mean who is April?" I asked confused. "Isn't that who asked you to curse Cass?"

"No." she said blankly. "That was Ares. And don't bother asking me why," she said holding up her hand, forestalling my question when she saw my expression. "I don't know why. All I know is that he said he'd let me borrow his chariot no questions asked if I did him this favor. And that, my little shadow jumper, is too good a deal to pass up."

Deciding not to question why she might need a war chariot. I looked at Cass.

"I'm still not getting it. No offense Cass, but I don't really get why Ares would care enough about you to curse you."

But he seemed to have understood something I didn't, because his eyes had gone uncharacteristically hard.

"Because it's not Ares who wanted to curse me." He said quietly, his tone dark. "It was Broderick."

"What?"

"He asked his father to make the deal."

"No, I get that." I said with a frown. "But why? I mean, I know he's friends with April, but what does any of this have to do with him?"

At this Cass looked a little uncomfortable.

"He's kind of had a crush on April for a while now." He said avoiding my eye and scratching the back of his head self-consciously as he continued to speak. "And he knew I knew it, even when I asked her out."

"Oh." I said, not sure what to do with this unpleasant information and Hecate let out a huff of irritation.

"Typical child of Aphrodite." she muttered crossing her hands over her chest and rolling her eyes in disdain. "Getting caught in a love triangle and needing to be bailed out."

"I didn't exactly make him look great when she and I were dating and we were all hanging out." Cass continued, ignoring Hecate. "I mean, he really likes her, so he probably would have helped her anyways, but I'm sure humiliating me only furthered the appeal."

"Well," I said a little awkwardly, trying to move past this. "I guess it doesn't really matter how we got here." I looked at Hecate who raised an eyebrow at me. "At least we know we're in the right place. You can remove the curse and we can head back to camp."

"Yeah, there's just one problem kiddo." she said apologetically and I felt my heart sink.

"What?"

"As much as I'd like to help you and your friend." She gave Cass a suspicious look before her eyes darted back to me. "I can't."

"Why not?" I asked feeling my temper starting to flare again. "You're the one who set the curse, you can remove it can't you?"

"Well, yes." She said hesitantly. "But it's not that simple."

"Why not?" I said keeping my voice calm, but I could hear darkness creeping into my tone.

"Look, Evy." She started quickly, in a conciliatory tone. "You know I love you and would never want to do anything to hurt you or one of your friends. But I didn't know he was your friend when I agreed to set the curse." She made a hopeless gesture towards Cass. "What am I supposed to tell Ares? That I just decided to go back on our deal? Even if he let that go, which he wouldn't, no one would ever trust me again! You know how hard it is for people like us." She said in a pleading tone. "Things are bad enough as it is. And I can't be making powerful enemies, especially after… well, you know."

She shrugged and avoided my eye, looking at the ground.

I did know. As much as I liked Hecate, not just as Micah's mother, but also as my father's friend and a person, she was on thin ice with Olympus and a lot of the Gods. Tired of being treated like she was second class by the Olympians, despite having always been loyal to them, she'd sided with Kronos in the Second Titan War. The Gods hadn't forgotten and if history had taught us anything, they wouldn't forget any time soon.

"I can't risk going back on a deal." she said softly. "Not with someone like Ares. If he didn't use it against me someone else would."

"So that's it then?" I asked angrily curing my hands into fists but it was only they wouldn't shake. It felt as if my stomach had fallen through the floor and my entire body was going cold. "Cass, has to stay cursed? There's nothing we can do?"

"No." she said shaking her head quickly. "I can't go back on my deal with Ares, but that doesn't mean you can't remove it yourselves."

"How are we going to do that?" I asked hopelessly.

This was way out of my depths. I didn't have a clue how to use magic. Not even Micah would be able to fix this, even if he wanted to help.

"Luckily, for you." she said with a smile. "I've been around the block a few times and have had several millennia to come up with a solution for this very situation. Do you really think I wouldn't have a backup plan if I needed a curse to be removed?"

"And you're going to tell us what it is?" Cass asked sounding skeptical. "What about Ares?"

She shrugged.

"The curse has been set. I've done my job. I can't help it if you get manage to get rid of it yourselves."

"What do we have to do?" I asked.

"There's spring. One I've hidden and have been enchanting for thousands of years. Anyone who's been touched by magic, mine or others, blessing or curse, will have all traces of it washed away when they enter the water."

"Seems simple enough." I said with a shrug, but evidently Cass wasn't convinced.

"What's the catch?" he asked suspiciously and Hecate gave him an appraising look before saying.

"The spring is heavily guarded. I've had to be…" she paused apparently choosing her words carefully before continuing with. "Creative, in my spell work to ensure my secret has been kept safe from the Gods. Olympian and Underworld alike."

At this she gave me a pointed look.

"Don't tell Dad." I said with a nod. "Got it."

"If you go, you'll have to go alone." She continued. "Ares can't fault me if you lift the curse, but I don't think he'll be very understanding if I lead you straight to the spring."

"Ares? Not understanding? Who'd have thought." Cass muttered sarcastically.

"The best I can do is cover you tracks, keep his attention away from the two of you as you try to lift the curse. But be warned Evy," she said her eyes meeting mine. "This journey, should you choose to take it, is a perilous one. You'll be facing old magic. Ancient enchantments and curses. I've kept more than a few monsters in my employ to keep this place safe." She glanced at Cass before asking. "Are you sure you-"

"Just tell me where I'm going." I said cutting her off.

"Hold on a second Ev." Cass said shaking his head and looking at me in alarm. "You don't have to do this."

"I said I'd help you." I said looking at him in surprise.

"You said you'd help me find my mother." He countered. "Which you've already done. And you've been helping me ever since. But you didn't sign up for something like this."

His tone was a little incredulous and while I knew what he was saying was right, I found I didn't care.

"So what?" I asked. We finally had an answer. Something definitive we could work towards to remove the curse. I wasn't going to back out now.

"So just slow down for a minute." He said looking at me like I was crazy. "This sounds like it could be really dangerous. Even for you."

"You want to remove the curse, right?" I asked him impatiently.

"Yes," he conceded. "But not if that means we end up dying in the process. Let's just take a second to think about our options. There might be another way."

"Is there?" I asked looking at Hecate and she frowned. "Is there another way to guarantee the curse will be removed other than you lifting it yourself?"

"Not that I know of." She said quietly. "Unless you want to get other Gods involved."

"We don't." I said turning back to Cass in determination. "This is our best bet."

I wasn't sure why I was being so stubborn. It didn't matter to me what Cass looked like and he was right. I'd already done what I'd told him I would. Logically, I shouldn't care if the curse was broken or not. But my brain seemed to be working at a frantic pace at the moment, and logic had apparently been thrown out the window at this speed. I might not care what Cass looked like, but I knew he did, and I cared about him. So I had to help. I didn't understand it, but that didn't seem to matter at this point. I wasn't changing my mind.

He seemed to know it to. His expression was hard to read, but while I thought he'd be relieved that I'd decided to continue the mission, he looked a little upset.

"You don't have to do this." He said quietly.

"You'd do it for me, wouldn't you?" I asked.

His eyes met mine and I knew he too was thinking of the words Micah had said the day we'd left.

'He wouldn't do it for you.'

He hadn't answered then, but he did now, and he didn't hesitate.

"Yeah. I would."

I couldn't help it. I smiled.

His gaze was still locked with mine and I realized, that this time, he wasn't the only one who didn't want to look away.

My thoughts were still racing, and I felt a little light headed. But before I could even begin to try and figure out what was happening, Hecate's voice brought me back to reality.

"Are you sure about this Ev?"

"Yeah." I said, letting my eyes linger on his for just a second longer before turning to face her.

"What about you?"

She was looking at Cassian who nodded.

"Yeah."

"Where are we headed?" I asked.

"You've already been there." she said hesitantly. "Do you remember your final night at camp the summer you met my son?"

I felt my stomach tighten, but I nodded.

"Do you still have it?"

"Yeah."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Cass shoot me a curious expression, but I kept my eyes trained on Hecate.

"Alright." She said giving me a final, anxious look. "Be safe my little shadow jumper. Good luck."

"Thanks Auntie H."

She gave me one last smile as she placed a hand on my shoulder. Dusk had fallen, and I could feel her power growing as the light slipped away and the night claimed the sky.

"Try not to get hurt." She continued.

"I'll be fine."

"I know." She said with a sad smile and resting her hand on the side of my face. "But be careful. I couldn't bear it if it was my magic that got you into that put you in danger."

"You said it yourself. I'm tough."

She laughed, but it was short and somewhat irritated.

"You are definitely your father's daughter." She said shaking her head but then giving me a stern look. "But speaking of you father, you should visit him more."

"Yeah. I know." I muttered guiltily, avoiding her eyes.

"He misses you more than he lets on." She pressed and I forced myself to meet her gaze.

"He said that?" I asked warily and she shook her head.

"He doesn't have to sweetie. We all can tell."

She'd let go now, and I felt a little awkward.

"I'll try and come down in a little while." I said trying to fill the silence between us. "You know. If he has time. He's usually got a lot on his plate."

"He always has time for his daughter." She said gently and for some reason, I couldn't help but remember his expression when I'd explained Cass and I were on a mission together.

I smiled a little and she continued.

"I know he's a busy man, but the day will come that you'll be grateful you have such a powerful father."

"Yeah, I guess." I said not really sure when that would be. I loved my Dad, but being related to him had certainly caused me far more problem then they had solved so far.

"You'll see sweetie." She said taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. "But you'd better get going. It's always safer for ladies such as ourselves to move under the cover of night."

"Alright." I agreed.

"Until next time love." She said stepping back as her figure dissolved into the darkness.

I watched the point at which she disappeared for a few seconds before I turned and looked at Cass.

Neither of us spoke for a moment, and I knew I should probably feel embarrassed about my heart to heart conversation he'd just been forced to witness but I didn't.

"You ready to go?" I asked offering him my hand.

"I don't know where we're going." He said taking it. "But yeah."

It was dark now, and while my night vision was far superior to most people's, I found his expression hard to read.

"What?" I asked as he continued to look at me.

"I want to ask you if you're really sure you want to do this. But you can be stubborn as hell sometimes and I saw you take down that guard earlier. I don't want to annoy you."

I was surprised into a laugh, and not for the first time since we'd left camp, I saw traces of his old appearance in his responding smile. But it wasn't the Cass I saw flirting with girls around camp or irritating people just because he could. It was the one who'd spent the night on the beach with me, who'd been happy, not terrified, to bump into me after a horrible mission that had me cursing the camp and wondering if I should hate the Olympian campers. The one who'd never been afraid of me, and no matter what anyone did or said, had always been nice to me. Even when people thought he was crazy for it.

"Yeah." I said simply. "I'm sure."