Her heart was beating faster and she rushed to calm it as she checked if she had woken Elon. The satyr was still, his chest rising and falling in the slow rhythm of sleep.

Eirene scrambled for her covers and almost tumbled out of bed as she dashed for the door. She had to find somewhere private to talk to Bia. She attempted to go the bathroom, but thought better of it as she assumed people would be going in and out all night and might overhear her. She wondered the corridors until she found a staircase. Once she followed it, she discovered it led to the attic.

The attic of the bed and breakfast was filled with antic furniture and paintings, books and even toys. There was a large window; moonlight shining through it and causing an illuminated strip in the middle of the wooden floor. She was tempted to linger on the paintings but knew that she'd come up here for a reason other than exploration. Eirene went towards the window and took out the golden pocket watch Bia had given her, staring at it. She hadn't asked Bia how exactly the pocket watch worked, but she was able to sense it. Her fingers moved as if they were familiar with the object, and twisted the knob three times before opening it.

The watch momentarily shined, and then Bia was before her. The time goddess was dressed in white and gold draping, a laurel accented on her curly mane of hair. Her caramel skin looked gold in the light of the watch, and Eirene was taken aback by the sight of her sister.

Sister, she would never get used to that word.

"Eirene," Bia breathed, looking happy to see her. "I've been waiting for you to contact me."

"I'm sorry, I just haven't been able to find the right time to." Eirene set the pocket watch down on the ledge of the window. "Have you been watching us?"

Bia nodded. "Stymphalian birds, Attacked by satyrs, Khione…I've seen it all. Oh Eirene," she shook her head. "You're so brave. And I'm so sorry,"

Eirene started crying then. She had not been intending to cry, but it came out in waves then. She still thought of what Bia said every day, and what it would mean for Eirene's life. It weighed heavily on Eirene's mind mostly during the night, when the air was quiet and her mind attempted to dream up a reality after the quest. She never got far.

Eirene shook her head, roughly wiping her tears away. "No, no, I came to talk to you about other things. I just had a dream…a dream about Khione."

Bia listened intently as Eirene relayed the dream to her. Her facial expression didn't change and she nodded when Eirene finished. "It is not abnormal for demigods to have dreams that reflect reality."

"Reality? So then…it really happened? They really erased her memories?" Which meant what Eirene had seen with the Gorgon sisters…

"I'm afraid so," Bia sighed. "My sisters are cruel. They do not know a thing such as mercy."

"Then how are you different? Why are you different?"

Bia hesitated. "I wasn't always so different. I used to agree with them on many things, although they were always harsher than I. I believe it's because of our respected rulings… Zeal, Victory and Power are things that require a bit of cruelty and weigh heavily on the right-now emotion. Ruling over time…it makes you patient, and in turn, understanding." She smiled sadly. "I love my sisters, naturally…I only wish they would change their ways. I'm still trying to talk to them, convince them to stop chasing you…but they've shut me out. They no longer listen when I call." She sighed. "All I can do right now is help you,"

Eirene nodded questions still floating in her head. "Can you see the future?"

"Yes. But do not ask me about your future or anyone else's, because I will not answer."

It was the answer Eirene had been expecting, so she didn't press any further. "Earlier, when we were encountering the Panes…Roan seemed suspicious. He didn't want to let me leave, as if he was waiting for someone. Do you know if The Sisters are using him?"

"I suspect that they are. Though he wasn't initially part of their plans, the way he was acting, he seemed so determined to make sure you stayed that I'm certain he is. They're changing their plans. They've been sending less and less monsters your way and more and more…"

"Gods," Eirene finished. "They're sending more people with personal vendetta's, who have more power than petty monsters." Eirene wanted to say she preferred the monsters, they were much easier to kill than gods themselves, but she'd feel selfish is she said that. The monsters they'd sent had attacked not just the demigods, but innocent civilians. Enemies with personal vendetta's only attacked her, and reduced the amount of collateral damage.

Bia nodded. "It's a more direct approach. They want you captured, not killed." Bia started rubbing her temple, thinking. "I'll convince them to trust me again, and I'll learn their course of attack. I can help you better that way."

"Thank you." Eirene was already moving onto another topic in her mind: The Kobalos pendent. "Can you tell me what you know about the Kobalos pendant? What does it do?"

"It's an enlightenment object," She confirmed, reinstating Eirene's fear: Andrew was right. "It's meant to wisen the Kobalos race, but it when used on mortals, it gives them the sight."

"We gods sought to destroy the Kobalos pendant some time ago. We knew it could cause some astronomical disaster if we didn't," Bia shook her head, sighing deeply. "But they wouldn't allow us, said it was an act of war against them," She rolled her eyes. "The wisest and most dramatic race, I tell you."

Eirene stayed silent, thinking. "Do you know if it's already been used? Are the Kobalos alerted when it's activated?"

She nodded. "I'm certain they are alerted, and I'm certain it's been used already. The amount of mortals reported with the sight has risen since—"

"Summer last year," Eirene finished. The year Dennis disappeared from camp.

"If he has used it, he isn't stopping. Eirene," Bia drew closer, her image enlarging. "You have to find him, that stupid, foolish, mortal boy, and you must stop him. Even if he's just giving mortals the sight one-by-one, who knows how long until he figures out a way to project it into groups. And then cities, and then… much worse. The gods will be revealed, and all Hades will break loose." Bia winced. "I know you aren't very happy with Olympus right now. But know that your life depends on this too. If Olympus is revealed, you would disappear."

Eirene blinked, surprised. "What?" Disappear?

"Our mother only disappeared because people stopped believing in her. If the world knows the truth, then more people would be forced to believe in all the so called 'legends'. If the Kobalos pendent removes their veil ignorance…Styx would come back, and there would be no need for you."

Eirene started to feel queasy, thinking of the possibility. Would Zeus kill her if Styx came back? Would he really see no more use for her? Why wouldn't he, she thought gloomily, he only sees you as a vessel, a shell to hold an 'essence'. Eirene shook her head, trying to clear her mind of negativity. If she started having too much of an existential crisis, she would stop trying to do anything at all, and truly wither away. So she slapped her cheeks and forced away the bad thoughts, keeping them at bay, if only for a little while.

She nodded, determination charging the adrenaline racing through her. She would only think of Dennis, and how to stop him. "I'll stop him," She took a deep breath. "I swear of the Styx River, I'll stop him."

Just then, Eirene felt a shot of electricity shoot through her stream, and she felt undesirably hot for a second, before her eyes flashed green and the strange sensation left her body. She'd never felt it before, but knew immediately what it meant.

Her promise had been made, and now it was sealed with fate.

-Time skip -

Andrew woke at the crack of dawn, barely getting any sleep the night before. The truth was, he'd been having a dream so terrible his brain forced his consciousness to awaken. He touched his face, feeling the tears he'd knew were there, and cursing to damn Hades. Andrew rarely dreamed (which he was very glad of) except for the few times Morpheus decided he was bored. In those few times, Andrew's dreams were never pleasant, but filled with visions of her, his life after her, and the choices he'd made that damned her. Eirene had even been there, taunting him and shaming him for what he'd done.

It worried him that his feelings for Eirene had penetrated his dreams. It worried him that he had those kinds of feelings at all, especially in such a short while. He had no business including her in the mess that was his life.

You can fix that mess, his consciousness told him. The quicker this quest is over, the sooner you can fix yourself. If Eirene agreed to take him to the Styx River, he could save the one he loved, the one he'd wronged so many years ago. Build back friendships he'd lost. And then he could deal with these 'feelings' once and for all.

I'd like to shoot these ruddy 'feelings' in the face. He thought groggily, getting out of bed and into the bathroom. I must be bonkers or something… He brushed his teeth quickly and showered, scrubbing off the last remains of his nightmare. He'd wake up Connor and everyone else so they could get on with this quest.

Something else had been bugging him, tugging at his mind; those two monster hunter girls with the sight…he felt that they were connected to Dennis. He was also worried about when he'd see them again.

Once Connor was awake and jumping into the loo, Andrew knocked on the room Eirene shared with Elon. A few moments later, the sleepy satyr opened the door and yawned, "Yes?"

"Is Eirene awake?"

Elon yawned. "Yes, I think s—" He turned to look at her bed, and she wasn't there. "hmm, that's peculiar. Maybe she's in the bathroom."

Andrew tried to contain his rising panic as Elon went to check the bathroom. When the satyr came back, his face no longer held a hint of sleep, but instead concern. "Maybe she's downstairs having breakfast?"

"Bollocks," He cursed, and started searching for her. He told Elon to check the breakfast room, and Connor to check the basement. Andrew started searching the floors; worry building as he raced up the stairs into the attic. Bloody hell, she can't be gone, for the love of Zeus please let her be

He found her.

Lying on the attic floor, fast asleep.

"Eirene!"

She jolted awake, taking a wobbly fighting stance as sleep clung to her. "Who's there? What's attacking?"

He dropped to the floor, his head in his hands, heaving giant sighs of relief. Thank the gods…

"Andrew? What's wrong?"

"We were looking for you," He lifted his head to look at her; eyes red and hair tangled and her face decorated with imprints of the wood she'd slept on. He held back a laugh, trying to keep a stern face. "We thought something had happened to you…that you were taken or worse."

Her face filled with horror, and she immediately started apologizing. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to worry you guys, I accidentally fell asleep here, I'm sorry, it won't happen again, please don't be angry with me!"

He let her keep apologizing for a few more moments; he'd never seen her so flustered, and it was incredibly cute. "Eirene, it's okay. I'm not mad,"

She paused, looking at him with caution as she stood. "You aren't?"

He shook his head, walking towards her. He reached out to touch her lined face, but hesitated and smoothed down her hair instead. "No. Just…" He let out another sigh of relief. "Never scare me like that again." He locked eyes with her and allowed himself a moment of her sky-colored eyes.

She gazed back at him, and for a moment he saw something change in her eyes before she looked away; hands grabbing at her ears. She side stepped him and walked towards the door, mumbling, "We should let them know I'm okay."

Just then, Connor bolted up the stairs and shot straight at Eirene, squeezing her in a hug. "Eirene! You're alive! You're okay!" He picked her up and spinned her. "We thought something slithered in at the dead of night and took you."

"I'm sorry, I just fell asleep here; I didn't mean to worry you!" She started walking down the stairs with Connor as she apologized, and he forgave her, moving onto the breakfast foods they were going to have.

Andrew started following them, but stopped when he stepped on something. He looked down and saw a locket, golden and beautiful in its design. It was lying right where Eirene had been sleeping, so he picked it up and put it in his pocket, starting to wonder what she had been doing up here in the first place.

[Authors Note:/ In honour of the New Year, here's an extra long chapter for you all. Happy New Years! :)]