I woke up in a cot in the Camp Half-Blood infirmary. I could hear other voices in the room.

"I allowed her to go into the Labyrinth and now she's slowly losing her sanity." The voice was Chiron's and he sounded incredibly guilty.

"Her mind isn't anywhere near as bad as Chris'." Pollux or Castor informed him. "She should recover."

"She's lucky that the dryads found her in time." Lee agreed. "Her wounds are fatal. If she had been brought back to us even 10 minutes later, we might not have been able to save her."

Will came to stand nearer to me.

"Guys, I think she's awake. Hey, Clarisse. Can you speak?" I didn't bother opening my eyes. I didn't want to look at anyone and see the pity in their faces.

Chiron cleared his voice.

"Perhaps, we should leave her alone for a while." They finally left the room. I could still hear their words, echoing down the hall. I could hear words like insanity, too dangerous, and Labyrinth. They might as well have been discussing how much of a failure I was.

Mercifully, I drifted off into sleep again.

This time, I dreamed that I was in my father's temple, the worst place for a failure to be. The walls were dark red and covered with bloody weapons, shields, and armor. The place was decorated with statues and pictures of Ares; his greatest victories and the bloodiest wars. My father, himself, sat on a throne at the end of the room. I approached cautiously and kneeled before him.

"Well," He boomed. "Look, you have some nerve to show up here! In front of me! After letting herself go crazy in the Labyrinth! And letting Aphrodite's brats make fun of you without even punching them! Weak! Pathetic!" I kept my eyes on the floor. He stood up and started pacing in front of me.

"I'll be the laughingstock of Olympus with a daughter like you." He came to stand directly in front of me. I risked a look upwards. Ares was glowering at me as if I was his worst enemy. It hurt. Stung. But I doubted tears would help the situation.

Ares drew his sword.

"I ought to cut your worthless head off and-"

"Enough, Ares!" A woman's voice ordered briskly.

The walls changed from blood-red to shining silver. Images of Ares were replaced with statues of a stern-looking woman and Ares's throne melted away to reveal a tapestry of a glowing owl.

I turned around. Standing behind us, was Annabeth's mom, the grey-eyed goddess Athena.

She looked a lot like Annabeth. Athena had the same grey eyes, curly hair, and confident stance though she was brunette instead of blonde. Her eyes shone with fierce energy.

"Hey, Owl-Head!" Ares growled. "This is my daughter. What are you doing here! Get out! I'm handling this." Athena rolled her eyes.

"You believe yelling at someone who almost went insane is helpful? You. Leave. Now." Ares tightened his grip on his sword and disappeared in a column of red fire.

I swallowed uncomfortably. It was one thing to be alone with Annabeth, a completely different thing to be alone with her goddess mother.

Athena examined silently for a few minutes, circling me like a vulture. It felt like I was a lab specimen.

"You are a fine warrior, Clarisse."

I stared at the goddess in shock. Where was she heading with this?

"While lacking strategic ability," I should have expected some criticism. "you are skilled with all weapons, remarkable at hand-to-hand combat, and fearless in battle." Athena stopped in front of me.

"However, you are confronting the one thing no child of Ares is ever prepared to face." I frowned at her.

"Which is?"

"Emotions." A faint smile graced Athena's face. "Who have you met in the Labyrinth, Clarisse? Not monsters but the minions of Aphrodite. The Labyrinth uses its wanderer's mentality against them. Instead of offering you monsters to fight, chances for glory, it only gave you reminders of emotions that you don't want to feel."

My throat dried up. I didn't know how to respond. I didn't want to respond. Athena looked me directly in the eyes.

"Usually I despise Ares and his breed but you and my daughter were able to work together and I can honor that." She walked up to me and was silent for a moment.

"Be brave, Clarisse." Athena sighed. "Aphrodite gave me a whole speech about this but that seems excessive. True victory and honor come from facing what we most fear. What we most hate. Fighting is the coward's escape for the problems that come from silence and peace."

Athena put her hand on my shoulder. "So wake up and be brave."

I woke up. Will had wrapped my arms and torso in so many bandages that I looked like a mummy. It was still the middle of the night. I got off the cot and crept out of the room. Some of the Apollo campers were supposed to have a night shift to watch over the overnight patients but they were all asleep.

I was able to walk to Chris's private room without being noticed. He was still sleeping, tossing, and turning. He was talking in his sleep, talking about string. It was pitiful and I was almost reduced to that.

But I wasn't. I had survived. I had survived that and so much more and I was tired of being mocked. I glanced at Chris again. And tired of being afraid. Before I could chicken out, I pressed a soft kiss to Chris' forehead and left the infirmary.

The harpies knew better than to bother me. I had messed some of them up pretty badly the last time they tried to stop me from leaving.

I walked out of Camp Half-Blood and headed towards the entrance to the Labyrinth.