Hi, guys! It's been a looong while. Almost two years now I believe, but honestly I'm too frightened to check. I owe you all an explanation, I believe. As I've mentioned last year I was preparing for exams to get in university to study Medicine. Which meant spending almost 18 hours every day immersed in school books. Which meant I literally had no time to write. And in the end I failed… My grades were not high enough considering how many candidates there were last year. Which led to the most depressing period of my life, which I really don't want to talk much about. But recently I started studying again so I could try again this year. And I started writing again as a form of stress-relief, you could say. And here is the next chapter. I cannot promise regular updates (considering that I have Chemistry and Biology lessons practically every day of the week) but I promise I would give my best to update if not once a week then at least once every other week or something like that.

And I want to thank you all so much! I'm a bit ashamed to admit that it took me awhile to start reading the reviews but when I did… God it was such a help. It gave me motivation to start writing again when I had given up. So THANK YOU! I owe you big time.

And here is, finally, the next chapter!

Daughter of Broken Vows
Chapter 21
Divine Assistance

Hephaestus lounged on his throne on Olympus, a small smirk on his lips as he stared at the huge LSD screen he had made appear right in the middle of the throne room. He had felt the exact moment his trap had been activated and he had invited every god to watch. Flashes of gold light informed him of the arrival of his family as the countdown boomed through the enormous hall of the gods.

"Hephaestus what is the meaning of this?" His dearly beloved mother, Hera, questioned, seeming annoyed at being interrupted doing… well whatever a self centered bitch like her would be doing in her free time.

"Watch." Hephaestus waved towards the screen as the countdown reached its end and the TV screen lit up. Smug anticipation coiled in his gut as he noticed that the idiot Ares was not among them. It was slightly disappointing that his cheater of a wife was there but he was happy that he would be able to humiliate at least one of them.

The screen finally focused and Hephaestus had to grit his teeth in disappointment. Because instead of Ares' bulky frame it was a female figure standing in the ridiculously pink boat. From where she stood with her back towards the camera he was able to make out striking auburn hair and a lithe muscled body that strongly reminded of that of a swimmer.

When the girl finally turned to look at the screen, half of the gods gasped when a pair of sea-green eyes focused on them.

"Andronika?" Artemis gasped, watching as her daughter frowned at the camera, before her attention was attracted back towards the wave of mechanical spiders started climbing into the boat.

"Hephaestus you must stop that!" Poseidon roared as he saw one of the spiders nearly take a chunk out of his daughter's arm.

The smith shifted uncomfortably under his uncle's glare, silently cursing Ares for sending exactly this girl straight into a trap. "I can't stop it" Poseidon opened his mouth to say something but –surprisingly- Athena interrupted him.

"Hush, she is planning something." The gods switched their attention back towards the TV, to see that she was right. The godling had her eyes closed and a hand stretched forward as if she was reaching out for something.

"What is she doing?" Someone murmured but their question was quickly answered as a deep rumble came from the recording. They watched as water rushed into the pool, causing the spiders to short-circuit. Mentally Hephaestus berated himself for not making the spiders water-proof but then again the trap was not set up for a daughter of the sea god.

The cameras followed Andronica's journey down the tunnel, perfectly capturing her shot at the gate-lock.

"She has your ability with the bow, sister." Apollo chimed in appreciatively and Artemis gave him a small smile, looking somewhat proud that her daughter had inherited some of her characteristics.

There were a few smirks among the gods as the girl turned and bowed to her audience, her smile lighting up the throne room. "Thanks for watching! Have a nice day!"

The screen turned back to black leaving the gods in a stunned silence.

"Well, that was interesting." Zeus murmured, still looking at the screen and rubbing his chin.

Interesting indeed, Hephaestus silently agreed, not able to bring himself to be angry at the girl for spoiling his trap. Ares, on the other hand, was a whole different matter.

I pulled the bike to a stop in front of the diner, glancing at it regretfully as I had to get off. I would miss the feeling of riding it, but I knew I had to make sure that the god of war had not murdered my friends in a bout of anger, even though I doubted it because they were the only leverage he had over me and despite the opinion of most, I knew Ares was not stupid. War had many faces and brute strength was just one of them.

The bell above the door chimed as I opened it and my eyes immediately shot among the patrons, who were surprisingly all looking at me in trance. It seemed that Ares' influence had not worn off. Knowing Ares' power I was kind of shocked that a fight hadn't already broke out, but apparently the Olympian had decided to be on his best behavior. Thankfully. Although now that I thought about it I would not refuse a fight to release some stress.

I looked towards the boot in the corner, smirking slightly when I saw my friends awkwardly huddled at one end of the boot, as far away from the threatening looking god as possible. Ares on the other hand had spread out on the boot looking comfortable – or at least as comfortable as a god among mortals could be.

I chucked the bike keys towards his head, feeling a little disappointed when he managed to catch them before they imprinted themselves on his forehead. His glare was so intense that for a second I feared it might burn the skin off my bones in its heat. I heard my friends sigh in relief that I was alive and well (I was not sure if I should be insulted or flattered at that). Carefully I climbed over them and collapsed right in the middle of the boot acting as a physical barrier between them and the annoyed god.

"So what are we having for dessert?" I asked absently, browsing the menu, completely ignoring the tension around me which was thick enough to be cut with a knife. My eyes lit up when I saw a picture of sinfully-delicious looking chocolate ice-cream.

"My shield, Godling?" I heard Ares growl and glanced towards the shield which was situated between me and Annabeth, away from the god's reach, though I was sure he could easily get it if he wanted.

"Well, it's right here but I doubt it would be very delicious, not to mention sweet." I quipped in my most innocent voice knowing full well that I was playing with fire, literally, considering that I could see the flames in Ares' eyes flare up even behind his sunglasses. "Look," I sighed, taming a little the annoyance in my voice. "You just made me walk in a trap. The least you owe me is some ice cream, considering that I brought your girlfriend's scarf as well, even though it was not part of our deal." I drew the flimsy piece of fabric out of my pocket and threw it towards the god who put it away somewhere. "I'm sure Aphrodite would be grateful for the return."

Ares did not look happy (absently I wondered if he ever looked happy outside a battle) but waved the waitress over anyway and ordered us all some ice cream.

"So," I started, happily licking the ice cream off my spoon, trying to remember when I had had ice-cream last. Damn Camp and its rules about eating healthy. "You had something to tell me about my mom?"

"Yes, I do." Ares leaned it towards her, still twirling a maliscious looking dagger in his hands. "She disappeared in a shower of golden sparks, right? That means she was not dead, godling, she was taken by someone."

My mind was in turmoil. One on hand I felt absolute happiness and relief wash over me at the news. My mom, the woman who had given everything to me and the person I valued above anything was alive and I could get her back. Our life would probably never be the same as before – not with everything I had learned, but at least I would have her back with me.

On the other hand, the fact that she was taken by someone did not bode well. Whoever had taken her had chosen her specifically for her connection with me and that worried me. Whatever that person wanted from me, it could not be good.

"Why would-" Grover started to ask and I almost rolled my eyes at his innocence, before interrupting him.

"A leverage." I murmured, closely watching Ares' face for confirmation. The war god himself nodded, seeming pleased that I had caught up so quick.

"That's right. Someone wants to control you Andre." Before I could mull over the information more, to demand more answers, the god changed the topic. "I have something else for you." From somewhere he produced a red backpack and unceremoniously dumped it on my lap so I could look over the contents. There were some clothes inside for the three of us, some food and money, both dollars and drachmas. All in all, useful things.

"Thanks." I murmured passing the Waterland backpack to Annabeth so I could shoulder the new one. I would not leave one stash of clothes and money behind just because a god gave us more. The red backpack seemed to be a little heavier than normal and the hairs on the back of my neck stood as soon as I touched it, probably because it had been created by Ares' power.

"You promised us transport," I reminded Ares when we stood to follow him outside, where he slung a leg over the bike and with a wave of his hand transformed the shield into a bulletproof vest, which he promptly put on.

"Ah, of course, there it is." He pointed towards a van parked nearby.

I managed to make out the letters printed on its side, frowning.

"KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD

ANIMALS? No way." I threw the god my best glare. "I'm not going in there."

"It's a free ride West, godling." Ares growled, but I was adamant in my refusal. I would not spend the night in a cramped bus with who knows what animals. I didn't fancy becoming someone's dinner. After facing monsters and gods it seemed like a ridiculous way to die.

"Fine." He sighed and waved his hand towards the closest car casing it to unlock immediately. "The keys are in the starter. Good luck, Andre, you'll need it." With that he started the bike and with a roar, he disappeared down the hill, leaving us to stare after him in shock.

"That was not very wise." Annabeth murmured as she climbed on the front seat, "Challenging Ares like that."

"Nah," I shot her a grin as I pulled out of the parking hurriedly, not sure if the car would be considered stolen or not. "He wouldn't dare touch me."

The diner disappeared behind us as I pressed on the gas pedal, humming ACDC's Highway to Hell, allowing myself to forget my worries for a moment and busy myself with driving.

Thank you for reading! Reviews are very welcome!