Luke didn't want me to go all the way with him to the River Styx even though I begged him to let me. I didn't want him to be alone, but he insisted that he needed to do this next part by himself, so he left me to wait for him with Snowstorm as he flew off on Cosmo, and although Snow tried to comfort me I aggressively continued twisting at my bracelets out of severe anxiety that felt like someone was kneeling on my chest and refusing to budge. I had no idea where we were, but Luke had left me somewhere that smelled pleasant, like a garden or something. Snow wasn't sure either as she wasn't used to the area, but she described our surroundings as a large meadow with long grass and flowers with a forest in the distance. With a jolt, I realised it sounded a lot like the meadow that Hermes had created in the dream when he'd visited me. I took a chance, though I didn't expect anything. "Hermes?" A shimmering sensation like the feel of glitter being thrown in a thick cloud on my skin appeared near to me and Snowstorm reared with a cry and flapped her wings as a form appeared all at once.

"Well my dear, it appears you are in it deep." Hermes said to me kindly and with no lacking amount of sympathy. Before I could answer I heard a phone start to ring and two hissing voices began to speak, making me twist around in confusion trying to figure out where they were coming from. "Ah, hold on a minute, sweetheart." Was he talking to me? Thankfully Snowstorm had calmed down and whispered to me that Lord Hermes was answering a call, though the two voices continued to hiss softly.

She looks like her brother. The first voice said, a male.

Or does her brother look like her? The second questioned, this time a female. Snowstorm snorted nervously and started pawing at the ground as Hermes seemed to be answering some kind of emergency. Either way, she looks lovely. I do hope you succeed, Lily! We're rooting for you!

"Martha please, you're confusing the poor child." Hermes scolded after finishing his call, though I could already hear it ringing and buzzing simultaneously which made him sigh in exasperation. "George, switch to silent, please." Both the voices gasped, hissing in absolute shock.

He never puts us on silent! Hermes must really like you Lily. The feminine voice, Martha I guessed, said to me again before all at once, the ringing stopped and there was quiet around us save for the heavy breaths from Snowstorm as her nostrils continued to flare the way they did whenever she was around something that freaked her out. It was usually either Tyson, grasshoppers, flying burritos – long story – or snakes. The poor dear is confused. Tell her who we are! Introduce us properly! Martha demanded with George piping up in agreement which made them both gasp at each other next, because apparently they very rarely agreed.

"Quiet you two, we don't have the time for this. Lily." He now turned to me and his smile felt like sunshine on my face. "So glad you put two and two together. I've been waiting for you to call me. I have to thank you for keeping your promise. How's it going?"

"I don't think I can keep my word, Lord Hermes. Luke is…he's going to have to do something that will probably end up getting him killed. I'm so confused, I don't know what to do! Did you set me up for failure? Did you know this was happen?" Although I hated crying, more so when it was in front of a god, I couldn't help the tears of broken frustration that began to slide down my face, stinging and salty. "I've tried to persuade him to run away with me but he won't. He doesn't want to risk it. He's terrified of being caught and dragged back to the Crippled One." I didn't dare invoke Kronos's name aloud in fear that he would become aware of who I was talking to. "Oh I have so much I need to tell you, information that the others need to know. Does Chiron know about Luke searching the Labyrinth? About the attack he plans on Camp Half-Blood? What about how Luke is…" I cut myself off then, because I suddenly didn't want to say anything about Luke. If the gods knew what he planned, would they try to kill him all the more? The Curse of Achilles would make him invulnerable, true, but there were many other ways for someone to die. They could vaporise him on the spot, and then what? I'd probably take up arms and destroy Olympus myself in vengeance. Hyperventilating from the stress and exhaustion, I almost jumped out of my skin when something silky and folded like a napkin touched my face.

Hermes was drying my tears with a handkerchief. A god was drying my face for me. My mouth dropped open and it did not close again for a long while. "There, there, you've been through a lot and I'm sorry for it. Here, why don't you keep this? It's very versatile. Very absorbent. It can soak up an entire river and hold the water whilst staying dry. Makes it very fireproof too." I had no idea why Hermes wanted to give me such an item, but even I knew better than to refuse a gift from a gods. "And I wouldn't worry about our deal, my dear. You promised to save Luke, and there's more than one way to save a person. I knew a long time ago what kind of fate Luke would have, though I have tried to protect him from it. Evidently I have failed, but a father can still hope." He said sadly, and I almost reached out to give him a hug because of how depressed and mournful he sounded. "I just wanted to check in on you, my barnacle-bearded uncle is quite furious with me you know. I'm still not hearing the end of it all these months later. You have no idea how fond he is of you." Who, dad?

"But I curse him all the time." I pointed out and Hermes chuckled richly, his mood lifting slightly though there was still an edge of sorrow to his voice.

"Don't worry, we gods are used to our children being angry and resentful towards us. It does not mean we love them any less, and that goes for all of us." It seemed to me that he was hinting at something so I nodded my head, understanding. Despite all of Luke's rage towards him, it didn't change the way Hermes felt about his son. My own resentment towards the gods lessened a little further. "You really are a delight, you know Lily. I can see why Poseidon cares so much for you." Now I was the one to laugh, because I could hardly believe that to be true, telling Hermes that I had heard the Sirens sing about me and delightful was not one of the words they used before reminding him that Poseidon had been trying to sink the boat I was living on. "Ah, but a person can be more than just bad things, yes? Some people even like a little imperfection in a person, a little realism. Besides, you should know better than to think your father would purposefully drown you. Have you not been able to sense the army of his mer-people following the Andromeda waiting for it to sink so that they can dive in and spirit you away to safety? Honestly Lily…a child of Poseidon drowning at sea. Ha! As if he would ever allow that to happen."

"But I can't breathe underwater like Percy can."

"Only because you reject your godly self and everything to do with the ocean. Perhaps you should give your father a little more credit, he has watched over you more than you realise. Isn't the bracelet you wear a gift from him? And the weapon?" My hand strayed towards the two charms that hung from my wrist, gripping them tightly as I frowned. "I may have given you the latter, but I am after all the messenger god. It is my job to deliver things. That weapon was made for you and you alone by your father. Of course, he did not craft it, Hephaestus had a hand in that, but he did imbue it with some rather cool magic. Can't you tell?" Even as he spoke I came to realise that this was true, along with the feeling that I had always known all along. "Ah, I don't have much time left. Keep that handkerchief on you at all times. I think you'll need it sooner or later. And don't worry, I'll carry your messages to the people who need to hear them. You've done excellently well thus far, though some people still need convincing that you're not a traitor. Ares in particular is in favour of turning you to ash, though I think that is more because he loathes your brother, unfortunately."

"That's not exactly comforting. Anyway, I feel rotten spying on Luke despite everything. It's like I'm playing for both sides." Again Hermes gave me a look of understanding and patted my shoulder where I felt that same burning heat as I had last time, hot but not scalding though the longer he lingered, the more it felt like it would burn. "But how exactly will you remember everything I need to tell people? It's not like I can write it down." Now I could feel his eyes dancing with mischievous mirth.

"I am the messenger god. If there is a message that needs sending, I can send it. Now, make it quick my dear. Martha and George are about to blow up from being kept on silent for so long." Alarmed I hurriedly began to organise my thoughts and rattle them off, because whoever Martha and George where I didn't want to be responsible for them exploding. I barely had to say a person's name before Hermes hummed and said 'next', knowing exactly what I wanted to tell them until finally I was done and severely out of breath. "Excellent, Lily."

"Doesn't everything come with a price? I don't have any money on me to pay you, and I'm not exactly sure I'd even have enough." I said before suddenly remembering. "Oh! I have a ship full of treasure. Take as much as you want from there, if you like."

"You are kind, however I always decide my own prices. For your requests? Hmm let's see…the price is a smile. Let's see your teeth, shall we?" Hermes teased as I stared at him incredulously. But then I felt so immensely grateful and relieved, I would have smiled at him anyway. I gave him the best and brightest smile I could possibly manage, feeling his hand come to rest upon my head briefly. "Payment accepted. Now take care of yourself, and Luke, as best you can. A word of advice, though, you might want to wash yourself to get rid of the scent of my presence. My dearest grandfather will be able to tell before you even return to the ship that we had been talking. Use the handkerchief, it's very good at absorbing a lot of things." He advised me before stepping back, giving me a final sunny smile however just before he could go, I suddenly cried out.

"Wait!" He paused, looking at me expectantly as I started to twist at my bracelet. "One final message, if that's alright?" Accepting, Hermes urged me to hurry and even as he spoke, I could sense his presence fading. "To Poseidon, my father. Tell him…tell him 'thank you'." Now Hermes was grinning, I could feel it like sunshine on my face as he practically gloated.

"Oh man, I'm so going to deliver that one personally. He'll probably turn into a dolphin and do a backflip. I should bring a camera…" His voice faded away as he disappeared, Snowstorm turning her head to look away and covering my face with her wing as when a god revealed their true form, anyone who looked at them would disintegrate. I'm not sure if it would work on me because I couldn't see but clearly Snowstorm wasn't willing to risk it. Once Hermes was gone she tucked her wing away and I hurriedly started to wipe myself down with the handkerchief he'd left me, rubbing at my face, hair, arms and pretty much anywhere I could reach before then asking Snowstorm if she could smell anything.

'No my lady, the scent does not even linger in the air. A curious magical item, but since it is a gift from Lord Hermes I expect you will need it for another purpose at some point. Keep it close to you.' She advised and I agreed, stuffing it into my pocket. A lot more was now pressing on my mind, but I didn't have the energy to think too deeply on it for now, most of my thoughts occupied with worry for Luke as we sat and waited for him to come back, though my fingers strayed once more to my bracelets. Mom had always taught me to be grateful for gifts and favours, so after knowing for certain that dad had given me Amaryllis, I felt it only right I should thank him for it. It had already served me well, and would probably continue to save my life in the future. That is if Kronos doesn't send me to Tartarus first.