(A/N) Hi! So, this is the last chapter I had saved up. Expect updates to be slower from now on. I'm still hoping to get a chapter out a week on average, but I don't know whether I'll be able to keep to that. Everyone knows how things can get in the way. I doubt I'll go more than a month in-between chapters at least.

Anyway, enjoy!

Week 0, Day 0

Thalia's POV

I received the dream the night after the battle on Mount Olympus.

I and the other Hunters had been pretty confused initially when Artemis teleported away, the newly resurrected Meg tagging along with her. That look on Lady Artemis's face when she rushed over to Meg, as she held the green bundle… I wasn't able to see exactly what was going on, but I knew that something WONDERFUL had occurred.

With Artemis gone, I couldn't ponder what had happened for very long. She was counting on me to look after her Hunters in her stead. We all swiftly disembarked from Mt. Olympus, filling up the elevators several times. I did NOT want us to get caught up in the gods' squabbling as they tried to figure out what to do, with Zeus gone, Apollo… maybe alive? Somehow? I wasn't clear on the details, but nothing else could have made Artemis so happy after she'd just heard that he had died. I know better than most how painful it is to hear that your little brother, your baby brother, is DEAD. That you failed them. That you WEREN'T THERE.

"Thalia?" one of the Hunters, Camila, asked hesitantly. She was a new addition. We'd found her a few months ago crying in a shed, bruises coloring her skin from where her captor had beaten her. She was only fourteen, yet had endured her family's death by gang violence, crossing the border into the U.S. to try to find SOME sort of life for herself, some sort of HOPE… only to discover that the people who had brought her over, only wanted to use her and abuse her.

We'd taken down that entire ring of human traffickers. That filth was worse than the most crazed of beasts.

"Are you OK?" she questioned, concerned. I looked down. My hands were trembling slightly, and I could feel my eyes watering and my nose starting to run. I turned away. I needed to be the strong, fearless leader. I couldn't afford to break down now, not yet. I had to be in control. When I'd first found out that he'd died on Apollo's quest…

I shoved that memory out of my mind. Regrets would do no good now. Focus on the problem at hand. Many of my Hunters had been injured, but none too badly. They'd be well enough to travel tomorrow.

"I've heard reports that poachers are hunting down the few wild Unicorns that are left. It's our job to protect them. We'll rest today, and start making our way to the Monokerata habitat at dawn tomorrow."

Several Hunters murmured angrily at that. Everyone loved the Unicorns. To hear that someone would harm them… well, I doubted that they would get out of this alive.

I retired to my tent a few hours later. It had been a long day, and I needed sleep.

Artemis contacted me that night in my dreams.

She was holding a tiny baby with golden curls. My heart constricted. I remembered when mother had brought Jason home from the hospital. This baby looked just like him.

Artemis looked up at me. She spoke psychically, not moving her mouth, presumably so she didn't wake the infant.

"Thalia, I'm sorry I was unable to talk with you after everything that happened. I wanted to get Apollo out of there as quickly as I could, to a safe place for him, far away from any who might hurt him. And I REALLY didn't want him to get caught up in the other Olympians' squabbles."

"So that's Apollo?" I asked, waving at the baby. I had suspected as much, but it was another thing to have it confirmed. Gods could appear as anything they wanted, but I'd never seen a god CHOOSE to appear that young. Then again, I was pretty sure it wasn't a choice…

"What happened to him? Zeus said Apollo died! Did he come back from the dead somehow? Come to think of it, how did Meg come back?"

"Apollo DID die. Fortunately, he and Meg shared a mental bond, similar to the empathy bonds that satyrs sometimes form. Unlike those bonds, when one of them died, instead of the other person dying from the shock, Meg kept his soul alive and together instead. Remember how Kronos possessed Luke? Meg basically enforced a far, FAR milder version of that in order to keep Apollo together and help him heal."

I tensed at the comparison. Anything that was comparable to what Kronos did to Luke sounded like bad news to me. Artemis noticed my guarded expression.

"Don't worry, he would never have been able to possess her. Nor would he have been willing to harm her. Truthfully it's more similar to the partnerships that Egyptian Magicians have with their gods, I just didn't use that comparison because you haven't met any Magicians yet. Meg would not have been harmed, even if he had remained inside her. Apollo's power is far less corrosive than Kronos's."

I sighed in relief. I should have known it was okay. Apollo would NEVER have harmed Meg, even unconsciously. I had seen how much he cared for her when I met up with them at Camp Jupiter.

I buried the thought. Concentrate on Artemis. Thinking about Jason would NOT help anything.

"So what happened after that?" I prompted. "I understand why he's not in the Underworld, but he and Meg should still be dead. And how did Meg make Zeus vanish? Making giant angry asshole gods disappear is NOT a Demeter power."

Artemis smirked, her eyes glowing silver with mirth. "Meg was always strong - stronger than even I had suspected. After reincarnating the Meliai, an impressive feat in and of itself, she became MORE than a demigod. Her natural power, paired with her small amount of exposure to Apollo's divine essence, and most importantly, her being worshiped by the nature spirits of Southern California, slowly transformed her into a god, similarly to how Dionysus transformed from demigod to god. Zeus incinerating her physical body completed the process. As Apollo's essence was connected to her soul, she was able to drag Apollo back with her. His essence is tiny and weak at the moment, however. He's stable, but we're not sure how much of his memory and powers he has retained. But at least he's alive," she finished off, smiling softly at the sleeping baby Apollo.

Pangs of jealousy shot through my heart. She got her little brother back. She got to hold him safely in her arms. I would NEVER get that experience again, NEVER. I'd had such a short time with Jason before he was ripped away and seemingly killed. Even when I got him back, there was so much going on, I barely got to see him.

When communication went out, I was worried. I asked Apollo to check up on him while he was in the area, since I had to continue the Hunt. But he did more than that. He involved my little brother, my baby brother on his quest.

Apollo survived. Jason didn't.

Don't get me wrong, I know now that it wasn't Apollo's fault. Jason knew what was going to happen. He made his choice. He'd rather die than allow his friends to be killed, I KNOW that.

But feelings aren't rational. They don't quietly go away when reasoned with. Reason just makes them easier to suppress.

And right now, I was trying VERY hard to use reason to tamp down on my jealousy and sorrow. It wasn't fair that Apollo and Meg got to come back when Jason didn't. It just WASN'T. It wasn't fair they survived while Jason was scattered ash. But it wasn't their fault. It WASN'T.

It wasn't mine either (I should have protected him. I was his older sister. I should have been there.)

Maybe one day I would even believe that.

"I'm glad that your little brother survived," I muttered, trying desperately to keep the bitterness out of my voice.

Evidently I hadn't succeeded. Artemis's face turned somber.

"Thalia…" she began. She seemed to be desperately searching for words.

She seemed to give up a moment later, her shoulders slumping.

"I… I'll talk to you later. Once Apollo is slightly less vulnerable. Just… please. Stay safe."

The vision faded. I woke up with tears stinging at the corner of eyes. Alone, safely in the privacy of my personal tent, I cried for my baby brother.

0 - o - 0

Week 2, Day 0

Thalia's POV

I received the summons a week after the battle. Artemis didn't go into much detail. She simply stated that she, Meg, Apollo, and Leto were waiting for us at Camp Half-Blood… and to prepare for a memorial for Jason.

It took an entire week for us to reach Camp. We were on the other side of the country and kept on running into wild beasts to hunt. Truthfully, we could have made better time. I may have slowed us down a little, insisting on longer breaks than were necessary, or hunting beasts that weren't immediate threats. I think some of the other Hunters noticed, but if so, they said nothing.

I knew that delaying wouldn't solve anything. I had to go eventually. But every time I thought of Jason, I just wanted to shut down. I had pretended he didn't exist for half my life, since Hera sent the wolves for Jason, leaving me to believe he was dead. I couldn't do that this time. I WOULDN'T do that this time. Jason deserved to be remembered. My wonderful, brave, rash little brother deserved this memorial, to be remembered by EVERYONE.

Jason's memorial wasn't the ONLY reason for my apprehension. Apollo… he'd be at Camp. Seeing him in a vision while he was sleeping was one thing, but in person…?

My feelings towards Apollo were… complicated. I was bitter that he survived instead of my brother. His appearance was too similar to my brother's to escape thinking of my baby brother… and how he was gone. But there was also an undercurrent of guilt. I hadn't exactly been welcoming to Apollo when we met up again.

(some months ago)

We'd finally subdued the Teumessian fox. It had been a hard battle, but we'd chased it into Tartarus eventually. Just because the fox couldn't be CAUGHT, didn't mean it couldn't be NEUTRALIZED. Portals to Tartarus are more common than you'd expect, thankfully.

We headed to Camp Jupiter. Hopefully, the Romans were able to hold off the attack Trophonious's prophecy had told of. It would have already occurred by now, but perhaps we could help with the aftermath. With the newfound cooperation between Greeks and Romans, Hunters of Artemis were welcome in New Rome. I'd hoped to run into Annabeth and Percy as well since they were going to New Rome for college. At the very least, I'd get to talk to Reyna again. It's a pity that girl didn't want to be a Hunter. Anyone who could take me down while restrained was someone I wanted by my side.

We approached the Camp boundaries. Even from a distance, I could tell it had taken a beating. The walls surrounding the camp were burnt and crumbling in places. There were even gaps in the wall - unheard of for Romans. They were great builders and architects. For them to have not repaired the damage yet meant that either whatever had caused it had occurred VERY recently, they had higher priorities than repairing the walls, or that there weren't enough resources or manpower to do so. Worst of all, it could be a mix of the three.

I attempted to calm myself. No point working myself up until I knew exactly what had happened. Maybe it wasn't so bad.

I didn't believe that.

At least Jason wouldn't be among the casualties. He was many, many miles away at a boarding school. My little brother was safe. Though I still hadn't heard from him…

I pushed that thought away. Communications were down. Not hearing from him was expected. Apollo would likely have visited Jason, he'd tell me how he was doing and soothe the nagging feeling in the back of my head.

We approached the gates. The sentry tensed. "Who are you?" He called. "State your business!"

This guard didn't recognize us Hunters, which meant he was probably new. Come to think of it, he seemed rather young… why was an inexperienced recruit on duty when an attack seemed to have just occurred?

Fear curdled in my stomach. How shorthanded were they?

"We are the Hunters of Artemis," I announced. "I am Artemis's lieutenant, Thalia Grace. I need to speak with Reyna."

The boy hesitated for a moment, but then left his post, presumably to retrieve Reyna. That was generally a bad call, leaving the gates unguarded, but it didn't look like they had much of a choice. Again I wondered: what had happened here?

Reyna appeared on the watchtower a few minutes later. She glanced at us, then climbed down and opened the gates.

Reyna had seen better days. Bruises, cuts, and burns littered her body. She looked unkempt and exhausted, as if she hadn't had a full night's sleep in weeks. Her eyes were haunted, but the steely glint of determination still shone within them. Her eyes widened when she saw me, her face turning somber. Something cold trickled down my back. Why would looking at me cause her to become more depressed than she already seemed to be? I'd expect her to be glad to have more help, with the state things were in.

Unless something had happened to my friends. Annabeth. Percy. They were heading to New Rome. Could something have…?

I blurted out quickly, dreading having my suspicions confirmed, but needing to know, "Annabeth, Percy… are they alright?"

She nodded, her face not changing expression. "They arrived just a few hours ago. They're resting in one of our spare tents right now ."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. They were fine. Anything else she had to tell me couldn't possibly be as bad as their deaths would be… right?

I told myself that, but didn't ask what WAS wrong. At the time I told myself that Reyna was simply sad about her fellow soldier's death, that I'd been imagining it when she grew sadder upon seeing me. Now I can admit that I had suspected that something worse was coming. If I didn't ask, then maybe nothing would be wrong. As soon as I asked, I wouldn't be able to pretend things were alright. It's a stupid philosophy, I know, but it got me through Jason's death the first time. I'd simply pretended he'd never existed. That I'd always been an only child.

She looked at me as if expecting me to ask something. I didn't. Finally, Reyna sighed. "Come. I have something to tell you. I think it would be best if you reunited with your friends first, before hearing the bad news."

My dread increased. There was no doubt now; something truly terrible had happened, something that would devastate me personally. But I had no clue what it could be.

She escorted us through camp. Everywhere I looked I saw injured campers and devastation. Many buildings were heavily damaged by cannonballs, walls collapsing, bricks strewn about the ground. It's a testament to Roman engineering that most of the structures hadn't completely collapsed.

There were fewer legionnaires around than usual, and those that were up didn't appear to be in much better shape than Reyna. Several were puffy around the eyes, as if they'd been crying.

Reyna escorted me to a large tent and opened the flap. Percy and Annabeth were sitting on a bed inside, holding each other, their faces streaked with tears.

It took them a minute to notice me. Annabeth saw me first. "Thalia…" she gasped, and collapsed into tears. I hugged her close to me, stroking her hair like I used to, back when it was just me, her, and Luke against the world, when she was a young child running from monsters. She may be older than me now, but I'd always comfort her when she needs it.

Percy looked up at Reyna. "Does she know?" he asked, his voice dead.

She shook her head. "Not yet. I want her to be here, with her friends, to hear the news."

My heart froze. I could feel the air thicken with tension. The next few words would change my world.

But I couldn't pretend forever. I had to know. "What happened?" I asked in a low voice. "Why are you crying? What happened that was so terrible, you had to wait until now to tell me?"

Reyna looked straight at me, her eyes swimming with tears, and uttered the words that would shatter my world. "Jason is dead."

My vision blurred as I collapsed. On some level, I had expected it. That did not lessen the pain. Distantly I could hear Annabeth calling my name, stroking my hair, trying to return some semblance of the comfort I had given her. But all I could think was

Jason is dead.

He's dead.

My little brother is dead.

He's dead again.

And this time he's not coming back.

I screamed. The guttural howl reverberated throughout camp. I was sure that everyone could hear my anguish, but I didn't care. Nothing mattered. Not then.

I screamed until my throat was hoarse and raw. Choking on my sobs, I gasped out a question. "What happened?"

Reyna hesitated, reluctant. "I wasn't there. I only know what I was told."

"Just TELL ME!" I screamed, the air crackling with electricity, wind starting to blow inside the tent.

Reyna spoke slowly and clearly, so she would not have to say any of it twice. "Jason received a prophecy many months ago. It stated that if he and Piper went after the emperor Caligula, one of them would die. He decided that he couldn't stand aside and let Caligula do what he wanted, nor could he allow Piper to die. He decided that he would be the one to die. When Apollo asked for his help fighting against Caligula, he accepted. He died fighting Caligula, holding him off long enough for Apollo, Meg, and Piper to escape."

Of course.

Of COURSE, Apollo involved Jason in his quest. OF COURSE, Jason gave his life to save them. That was just the kind of stupid, heroic thing he'd do.

Caligula.

My blood boiled.

Was he still alive?

"Is Caligula dead?" I growled, my voice low and rough.

"Not yet," Reyna replied, her voice determined and deadly.

"He launched an attack on camp a few hours after Apollo and Meg arrived with… " Reyna stumbled on her words for a moment, "with Jason's body. We didn't even have time for a funeral before Caligula attacked a second time. His body is in the Fifth Cohort's barracks. Would… would you like to see him?"

"Yes." I croaked.

Reyna escorted me once again. We didn't have far to travel, but each step seemed to stretch into eternity.

"I'll let you have some privacy," she spoke softly and walked back towards the tent we came from.

I opened the door to the barracks.

There he was.

My little brother. Dead in his bed. I could almost pretend he was sleeping, if not for the pallor to his skin.

Beside him sat a boy with curly brown hair. A young girl sat a few bunks away, fiddling with a belt. They looked up as I entered.

That boy… Apollo.

Apollo.

Apollo was here.

Apollo, who I had asked to check on my brother.

Apollo, who had involved Jason in his quest.

Apollo, who had lived while Jason had died.

Did he even care?

Did it matter to him at all?

The gods watched us die. Sometimes they killed us themselves. They expected us to sacrifice our lives again and again, while they just WATCHED. They would NEVER do what Jason had done.

Except for Artemis, a tiny voice whispered in my head. She trapped herself to save Annabeth.

I ignored it. Artemis was the exception, not the rule. I remembered all those years ago when Luke and I had been on the run together. We had entered a mansion, becoming trapped in it. But we had not been the only occupants. Halcyon Green, one of Apollo's sons, had been confined there for decades. Apollo had cursed him for the crime of saving a young girl who wasn't supposed to live. His punishment? Being trapped in his own home for decades, his voice stolen, used to lure in young demigods to die. How many demigods, how many CHILDREN had died before us? Did any of them care?

Apollo had been responsible for it all.

He was the worst of them all.

How DARE he be here?! How dare he even LOOK at Jason, after he'd gotten him killed?!

I let out an animalistic yell as I launched myself at Apollo.

"WHY. IS. MY. BROTHER. DEAD." I screamed, lifting Apollo into the air and slamming him into the nearby wall. The air crackled with electricity, small bursts running down my arms and into Apollo's body. He shuddered as he was slammed with wave after wave, convulsing, unable to leave my grasp. He made a soft choking noise as he stared back at me, terrified.

"GET OFF OF HIM!" I heard from my right. Golden scimitars flashed into existence as a small figure clad in green slammed into me, breaking my grasp, freeing Apollo. Meg interposed herself between me and my prey.

She glared up at me, the rhinestones on her glasses blazing. "He TRIED to save Jason! He risked his own life to try to get Jason home safely!"

I scoffed. "Risked his own life? Yeah, right. Gods don't care about mortals' lives. They've proven that again and again. Jason would be alive otherwise!"

"He did. He stabbed himself through the chest with his OWN ARROW to give Meg, Piper, and Jason a chance to escape!"

I let out a broken laugh. "Really? And how did THAT work out?"

"HE. TRIED." She screamed.

Apollo spoke up, his voice softly cutting through the air, "If you want to hurt me… please. Just leave Meg out of it. I won't fight back if you do that."

"APOLLO!" Meg cried out, twisting around to face Apollo, aghast.

He just continued to look at me, resigned. Accepting whatever I would do to him.

The anger drained out of me. "You mean that," I whispered. "You really mean that."

Apollo just continued staring at me determinedly, though his whole body shook. He would accept whatever I would do to him, so long as his young friend wasn't harmed.

I collapsed on the nearest bed. Hurting Apollo would not help anything. Jason would still be dead.

"Leave,." I whispered hoarsely. "Leave me with my brother. And don't come back."

Apollo looked like he'd been slapped. He left without a word, Meg trailing after him.

I waited a moment, then another. I picked up a pillow and screamed into it.

I cried myself to sleep soon after.

(present)

I'd calmed down after a few days had passed. It wasn't Apollo's fault. My brother had made his choice, Apollo hadn't chosen for him. Caligula was to blame, not him.

I still didn't want to see Apollo. I felt bad that I'd attacked him, lashed out at him when he didn't deserve it. But a part of me still blamed him for Jason's death, even then.

When Reyna had requested the Hunters' help in the final battle against Python and the Triumvirate, I'd agreed immediately. But I hadn't approached Apollo when I saw him in the lead up to the fight. I saw him looking at me one time as if wanting to talk to me. I'd purposely turned away. It was safest not to interact with him. I hadn't been sure how I would react if we started talking again.

When everyone was teleported to Mount Olympus and Zeus declared that Apollo had died, I didn't know WHAT to think. I was still kinda pissed at him, but felt guilty for feeling pissed. Whatever my feelings, he didn't deserve to die.

I didn't have long to stew over my thoughts, since things got VERY hectic VERY quickly.

Now though… now I'd had time to think. I didn't know exactly what state Apollo would be in when I saw him at Camp Half-blood, whether he'd regained more of his memories, whether he remembered Jason… and whether he remembered our fight. Though, I suppose it couldn't really be called a fight. The other person has to fight back for that…

I shook off the thought and took a deep breath. We would arrive at camp within the hour. I needed to be ready.

0 - o - 0

We arrived at camp as the sun peeked over the horizon. As we descended Half-Blood Hill to enter camp, I stared at my pine tree. I had held off Hades' minions to give Luke and Annabeth time to escape and had died as a result. Or I would have, if Zeus hadn't transformed me into a tree at the last minute.

I had survived my last stand.

Jason hadn't survived his.

We made our way to Artemis's cabin. A golden doe was watching a small grey tabby cat run around near the front entrance, climbing trees, jumping, and generally expending energy.

That doe… I took a closer look at her. She turned her head to face me, staring at me with cold silver eyes.

Ah. Artemis had decided to shapeshift into a deer for some reason. But why? And where did the cat come from?

Artemis turned back into her usual form of a twelve-year-old girl. "Thalia!" she greeted me. "I've been waiting for you. We need to discuss certain arrangements for your brother."

Just then the small cat - more of a kitten, really, looking more closely at it - performed some impressive acrobatics off a nearby tree, leaping off a branch that was 15 feet off the ground onto a tree trunk, then jumping off of THAT trunk to ping-pong to a different trunk, just farther down, like a wall jump in a platformer game, except going downwards instead of upwards. On that jump, the kitten catapulted itself towards us, landing at our feet, standing proudly.

Artemis beamed at the kitten. "That was an excellent show of maneuverability, Meg!" she congratulated.

Wait… MEG?

The kitten glowed. A second later a small twelve-year-old girl had taken its place.

I blinked in surprise. I knew intellectually that Meg was a goddess now, but somehow I hadn't thought about what all that meant. Like that she had shapeshifting powers now.

But why a kitten?

Meg noticed my quizzical look and explained. "Artemis is training me to use my divine powers better. Transformation can be really useful for stealth and moving around, plus it can be harder to hit a small target. I've tried other forms, but so far I've been most comfortable as a cat, so I'm practicing as that before trying to master other forms. I've still TRIED other forms though. Still, haven't found a bird I'm comfortable with…" she muttered.

I stared for a moment, unsure what to say to that. Artemis broke the silence.

"Meg, could you fetch Apollo, please? I need to update Thalia on the plans for Jason's memorial.

"Sure," Meg said, and walked off to the nearby Apollo cabin.

Artemis turned to me. "Apollo wanted a memorial for Jason, something to let campers know who he was and what he did… and, I suspect, as a reminder to himself of what Jason meant to him. He had an idea for what it should be, but I wanted to run it by you first. You're his sibling, you ought to have a say."

She turned and stared at Half-blood hill, and at my tree in the distance. Even this far away, I could see the faint glow from the Golden Fleece which had set me free all those years ago.

"Apollo wanted a memorial near your tree. It seemed fitting, to have the two of you together. and he wanted it to have the last word Jason said, the thing that Jason drilled into his head - 'Remember'"

That seemed like a good idea, but it needed more details. What would Jason want?

And I had it.

"I like that idea," I spoke slowly, "but there needs to be more. Jason's not the only one to have died, and he'd have HATED to be the only one remembered when other people deserve it too. Build the memorial. Make a plaque for Jason, telling who he was and why he died. But make it for MORE than just Jason. Surround it with the names of all the others who have died before their time, who died bravely - Greek, Roman, nymph, even machine if they have a soul. Make sure that all their sacrifices are recognized."

Artemis smiled at me proudly. "That seems like a fine addition, Thalia."

Meg rounded the corner just then, Apollo following close behind. I nearly gasped. With his blond hair and sky-blue eyes, he could've been mistaken for a two-year-old Jason - the age I lost him at the first time.

Apollo flinched when he saw me, retreating slightly. I winced. I'd felt kinda bad about hurting Apollo and yelling at him when he looked sixteen, but now? I felt pretty horrible. This child, who looked so much like my little brother, was scared of me - and for good reason.

Artemis noticed Apollo's reaction and gave me a hard look. I couldn't meet her eyes.

She turned to Apollo, shooting me a warning glare, as if saying I don't know what you did, but if you hurt him, I'll turn you into a jackalope.

She told Apollo my idea, to have the memorial be for everyone who dies, who deserves to be remembered. Apollo teared up a little at that, making a request, "Can we put Heloise, Money Maker, and Crest on the memorial too?"

I didn't know who those people were - Money Maker, in particular, seemed like a VERY strange name - but they clearly meant a lot to him.

"They deserve to be remembered," I announced somberly. "I'm sure Jason would like that."

Apollo smiled as he started crying, tears running down his cheeks. He stepped towards me, looking like he was about to give me a hug - and then thought better of it, and stopped.

I needed to lay this to rest.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I shouldn't have yelled at you before, about Jason's death. And I shouldn't have hurt you," at that, I heard a small hiss from Artemis, but I continued onwards. I'd take whatever punishment she deemed fit later. Apollo was my focus right now. "I was furious and wanted to hurt anyone or anything I could. That doesn't excuse what I did. You were hurting too, I should have seen that. I DID see that but didn't want to believe it. I needed someone to blame, and you were convenient. You didn't deserve it. And I was wrong. You do care."

Apollo stared at me, unbelieving. Then he surged forwards and wrapped his little arms around my leg, which was as high up as he could reach.

Meg escorted Apollo back to his cabin. Artemis waited until they were out of earshot, then confronted me. "You will not hurt Apollo again," she stated coldly. It was a statement of fact, rather than a threat. She would not allow her little brother to be harmed, not now that she had the power to stop it.

That was fine with me. I had no intention of doing so.

She changed tone. "We'll have the memorial service in three days time. That will be plenty of time for the Hephaestus cabin to craft the plaques and build the wall to record the fallen's names on."

Those three days passed quickly. Apollo no longer appeared nervous around me, though he didn't seek me out much either.

On the morning of the third day, the entire camp assembled on Half-blood Hill. The Hephaestus cabin had installed the plaques and the memorial wall overnight. Jason Grace, Crest, Heloise, and Money Maker's names were carved into the wall, as those of us who knew Jason best swapped stories. My rendition of how EXACTLY Jason had gotten that scar on his upper lip was extremely popular.

I heard a new name for the hill, in the snatches of conversation I caught at dinner. "Grace Hill."

I smiled. I used to despise that last name because it reminded me of my mother, but now it meant something different. It connected me to my brother. It declared proudly that Jason had been my brother, my fantastic little brother.

Smiling, I decided that the name "Grace" wasn't so bad after all.