They arrived at Long Island right after Clarisse, since centaurs' traveled quickly. Chiron didn't talk much about Kronos or anything else. But they made it to camp and the centaurs were rather anxious to meet Dionysus, as the wine god threw some really wild parities, but they were disappointed. As he was in no mood to celebrate as the whole camp gathered at the top of Half-Blood Hill.

The camp had been through a hard two weeks. The arts and crafts cabin had burned to the ground from an attack by a Draco Aionius. The Big House's rooms were overflowing with wounded. The kids in the Apollo cabin, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid. Everyone looked weary and battered a they crowded around Thalia's tree.

The moment Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece over the lowest bough, the moonlight seemed to
brighten, turning from gray to liquid silver. A cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley. Everything came into sharper focus-the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach. Gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green. Everybody cheered. It was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt-the Fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison.

Chiron ordered a twenty-four/seven guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an
appropriate monster to protect the Fleece. He said he'd place an ad in Olympus Weekly right away. In the meantime, Clarisse was carried on her cabin mates' shoulders down to the amphitheater, where she was honored with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire. Though no one bothered giving any of them a second look, since if any of the campers dared to admire our tenacity for escaping from camp, they would've been expelled.

Later that night, they roasted s'mores and listened to the Stoll brothers tell a ghost story about an evil king who was eaten alive by demonic breakfast pastries, Clarisse shoved Percy from behind and whispered something to him and he gave her a grudging smile.

"What?" she demanded.

"Nothing," Percy said. "Just good to be home."

Macaria sent Percy a happy look and once they had time she told him everything that happened to her, the strange voice, the weird dream, Percy seemed more confused then anything but he promised to protect her. Macaria rolled her eyes and shoved him.

"More like I'll be protecting you, I did save you from Luke." He rolled his eyes and return and sent her a big smile as he went into Poseidon's cabin. Macaria hadn't bothered to go in and instead went to sleep on the forest floor.

"Took you long enough." Macaria heard a familiar voice say and she opened her eyes. The bed she was laying on was much larger than before, clear blue in color with the appearance of a cloud. Macaria hoped she was going to sleep deeply after this 'family meeting'.

"Don't be all pouty." A voice said to her right and Macaria nearly jumped up when she saw Nyx running her hands through her hair, but she pulled her closer to her. Can she die in dreams?

"No." Hypnos said at the end of the bed, his body stretched out and taking up the majority of the bottom half of the bed.

Morpheus, the voice she heard first, was floating a few feet above her. "Your father is in a mood cousin."

"Why?" Macaria asked once she was able to escape from her grandmother's hold.

"He's just moody that someone got into your dreams." Hypnos said.

"Yet for some reason we're getting blamed." Morpheus said.

"Boys, it is your job." Nyx said and she jumped out of the bed and sat on an invisible chair. "So of course he's upset with you."

"Like we can do anything…" Morpheus muttered and held his hand out into the black void and pulled out her father who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. His mother pointed to the bed and her father laid down beside her, his large arm around nearly all of her body, and pulled her close. He looked like a little boy angry at his mother, it made her smile, somehow she felt like they were all getting closer.

Hypnos smiled as he poked at her feet until her father slapped his hand away. His grip was somehow even stronger than usual, as he wrapped both of his arms around her and placed her in the middle of him.

"Father…" Macaria wined. "Let go.."

"If you wanted to see her so badly you should've asked." Hypnos said amused at his twin's annoyed expression.

Macaria turned around and looked at her father's golden eyes. "Will you finally tell me who she is?"

She received an expressionless face back.

"Thanatos—" Hypnos went to say.

"None of us could tell what she was at first." Her father spoke, his eyes only on hers. "She enchanted everyone she met and left a wave of broken hearts in her wake. Her scent attracted everything and there was a pull to her that made even the angriest of monsters at her break and call. Her body was her own creation, with the guise of a demi-god, some wondered if she was the daughter of Aphrodite… If someone this mysterious could possibly exist. Of course none of us could guess what she was. Just a form shaped in her exact image." A dark look crossed his face and he buried his head into hers as the others left them to their father-daughter bonding.

"Just promise me one thing, Macaria." Her father said.

"What?"

"Never go after her."

"I don't want to, but I think she's coming after me, so I have so choice.." She said sadly.

He frowned and held her even closer.

"Her name then... was Psevdís."

He whispered so quietly she almost couldn't hear him.

The next morning, after the party ponies headed back to Florida, Chiron made a surprise announcement: the chariot races would go ahead as scheduled. They had figured they were history now that Tantalus was gone, but completing them did feel like the right thing to do, especially now that Chiron was back and the camp was safe.

Tyson wasn't too keen on the idea of getting back in a chariot after the first experience, but he was happy to let Percy team up with Annabeth. Percy would drive, Annabeth would defend, and Tyson would act as the pit crew. Macaria would be happily sitting out of the entire fest.

The night before the race, Macaria stayed late at the stables with Percy. As they were talking to the horses, giving them one final brush, someone right into Macaria's ear said. "Fine animals, horses. Wish I'd thought of them."

Macaria wiped around as a a middle-aged man in a postal carrier outfit leaned behind her. He was slim, with curly black hair under his white pith helmet, and he had a mailbag slung over his shoulder.

"Hermes?" Percy stammered as Macaria backed away.

"Hello, Percy. Didn't recognize me without my jogging clothes?"

"Uh …" Percy paused. "Oh, listen, Lord Hermes, about Luke …"

The god arched his eyebrows.

"Uh, we saw him, all right," Percy said, "but-"

"You weren't able to talk sense into him?"

"Well, we kind of tried to kill each other in a duel to the death."

"I see. You tried the diplomatic approach."

"I'm really sorry. I mean, you gave us those awesome gifts and everything. And I know you wanted Luke to come back. But … he's turned bad. Really bad. He said he feels like you abandoned him."

Hermes sighed. "Do you ever feel your father abandoned you, Percy?"

Oh, man.

I wanted to say, "Only a few hundred times a day." Percy said, he hadn't spoken with his father since the last summer.

"Macaria?" Hermes asked and she looked away from him.

"He's interesting… But I don't feel very connected to him, more than Percy but… considering my mother is a very sore topic. I'd rather deal with him as he is then even bother touching those complicated feelings." She explained.

Hermes readjusted the mailbag on his shoulder.

"Children, the hardest part about being a god is that you must often act indirectly, especially when it comes to your own children. If we were to intervene every time our children had a problem … well, that would only create more problems and more resentment. But I believe if you give it some thought, you will see that Poseidon has been paying attention to you. He has answered your prayers. I can only hope that some day, Luke may realize the same about me. Whether you feel like you succeeded or not, you reminded Luke who he was. You spoke to him."

"I tried to kill him."

Hermes shrugged. "Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the
best we can do is to remind each other that we're related, for better or worse … and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum."

The two siblings looked at each other with a frown. If Luke would stop being a creep maybe she would. In the distance, the conch horn sounded, signaling curfew.

"You should get to bed," Hermes said. "I've helped you get into quite enough trouble this summer already. I really only came to make this delivery."

"A delivery?"

"I am the messenger of the gods." He took an electronic signature pad from his mailbag and handed it to Percy. "Sign there, please." He picked up the stylus before realizing it was entwined with a pair of tiny green snakes.

"Ah!" He dropped the pad and Macaria quickly grabbed it before the snakes fell.

Ouch, said George. Thanks, love.

Really, Percy, Martha scolded. Would you want to be dropped on the floor of a horse stable? Thank you, Macaria.

"Oh, uh, sorry." Macaria passed them to Percy. Martha and George wriggled under his fingers, forming a kind of pencil grip

Did you bring me a rat? George asked.

"No …" Percy said. "Uh, we didn't find any."

What about a guinea pig?

George! Martha chided. Don't tease the boy.

Percy signed his name and gave the pad back to Hermes. In exchange, he handed him a sea-blue envelope. Macaria did the same and opened a box with galaxy wallpaper on it.

Macaria looked at her brother's trembling fingers. "Good luck tomorrow," Hermes said. "Fine team of horses you have there, though you'll excuse me if I root for the Hermes cabin."

And don't be too discouraged when you read it, dear, Martha told him. He does have your interests at heart.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked.

Don't mind her, George said. And next time, remember, snakes work for tips.

"Enough, you two," Hermes said. "Good-bye, children. For now." Hermes messed up her hair and small white wings sprouted from his pith helmet. He began to glow as they looked away from his true form and with a white flash he was gone.

Macaria stared at the blue envelope in her brother's hands. It was addressed in strong but elegant handwriting.

Percy Jackson
c/o Camp Half-Blood
Farm Road 3.141
Long Island, New York 11954

Percy opened the envelope and unfolded the paper.

Two simple words were printed in the middle of the page:

Brace Yourself

Percy had a miserable look on his face and with a tight hug left Macaria in the stables. She frowned and opened up her box and pulled out what appeared to be a blanket. The handwriting was messy.

Stop sleeping on the ground you weirdo,
Love your favorite everything
Nyx
P.S. Your Father sends his affections.

Macaria smiled at 3D star print blanket and watched as it shrunk itself into the side of a handkerchief.

The next morning, everybody was buzzing about the chariot race, though they kept glancing nervously toward the sky like they expected to see Stymphalian birds gathering. None did. It was a beautiful summer day with blue sky and plenty of sunshine. The camp had started to look the way it should look: the meadows were green and lush; the white columns gleamed on the Greek buildings; dryads played happily in the woods where Macaria joined. Though still watching the chariot race from afar.

In the end Percy finally called Tyson his 'baby brother' and got a kiss on the cheek from Annabeth. The entire Athena cabin lifted the three of them on onto their shoulders and carried them toward the winner's platform, where Chiron was waiting to bestow the laurel wreaths.