A/N: Hi everyone! I know it's been forever. My sickness stuff has just now been sorted out, and I've started my therapy. School's out, so I'm hoping to get caught up on this. I apologize for it being so long!

Please forgive any spelling/errors I have missed as I edited this in quite a hurry :)

-Apollo-

Two days worth of detention, and she hadn't answered a single question. But in truth, there hadn't been much he had been able to ask her.

She seemed to know exactly how to get around him. Cassia was always with someone, always around a teacher or student. She even stayed close to Orion, and he seemed extra protective of her the past couple of days. Apollo had questioned his sister, but she said that Orion didn't know what was going on. Artemis even asked her for him, and Cas just replied that she wasn't feeling well.

Apollo didn't buy it.

She was trying to avoid him, and that got on his nerves. Who was she, a mortal, to deny him knowledge he desired? He was a god for crying out loud, and he'd be damned if he was going to let a mortal play him. It was Friday, the last day of detention, and Apollo sluggishly pulled himself into the classroom.

"Hello brother."

Apollo looked up into the smiling face of his sister. Orion was seated behind her, a timid grin on his face.

"You're in detention, too?" he questioned her. Artemis dramatically sighed and propped her feet up on the desk.

"Yes, we got busted trying to leave campus today, so it looks like we will be joining you for detention," she huffed as she leaned her head back against a desk. "I wanted to have an early Friday, but apparently that isn't common practice around here." Artemis had a pencil in her hand, taking aim at something on the ceiling.

A muffled sound came from the doorway, and Apollo's head snapped in that direction. Cassia stood there, eyes wide at the group in front of her. She had dropped her bag at her feet, her hair in a disheveled braid with her glasses sitting slightly crooked on her face. Still, she looked beyond amazing, or at least that's what Apollo thought. He really didn't want to hurt her. Maybe a little intimidation would work.

"Cas, you look like you got in a fight with a library and lost! What's the rush?" Orion playfully teased her. "Worried you were going to be late for detention?"

"I – um…I-

Orion didn't notice what Apollo did. Cas's eyes were locked on Artemis, apprehension apparent in them. Just as quickly as he noticed it, the look was gone. Her face was perfectly blank, a mask no one would be able to see through. But Apollo knew better. After watching her so closely the past few days, he was picking up on things about her. She was always on time, and she was late, just by a minute. She was hiding something, and Apollo wanted to know what.

"Had business to take care of, right?" Apollo suggested. Her eyes flashed to him, the blank look remaining in place.

"I had a report to finish," she murmured quietly to Orion. She stole another glance at Apollo, looking a little apologetic. She reached down to pick up her bag, moving gingerly. Maybe she was sore or tired, but Apollo couldn't tell. Suddenly, the Principle strode into the room, knocking Cassia over and causing the papers in her arms to scatter everywhere.

"Oh, Miss Woodard, I didn't see you there."

Cas shot him a reproachful look as she began scrambling to pick up the papers and assignments. The Principle just raised his eyebrows and gave her a disdainful look as he pushed a paper towards her with his foot.

"Trying to apply to college early? Like any would accept you with your disciplinary record."

Cassia blushed furiously, and Apollo wanted nothing more than to curse that stupid mortal into an insect so he could squash him like the bug he was. Why in the gods' names did he feel so protective of her!? She stood up and began to walk towards a desk, but the Principle held his hand up to her.

"That's not needed, Miss Woodard. Today, you will be spending your detention cleaning up trash in the park a few blocks away from the school."

Oh great, mortal labor. Apollo had been unfortunate enough to have to endure a year of living like a mortal on a farm for upsetting his father (which would have never happened if his father had not killed his son!). Picking up trash for one afternoon wouldn't but that much of a hassle.

"St. George?" Cas blurted anxiously. She had frozen in place, looking at the Principle like she was seeing Hephaestus in his underwear.

"Ah, you're familiar with it? That should help you clean the area a little faster."

"We can't go there," she protested. Her eyes were wide, her hand gripping into her cell phone. Her free hand was itching for something; Apollo could tell by the way it twitched towards her waist. She must have been hiding a weapon.

"Unfortunately, you don't make the rules, Miss Woodard, I do."

"Please," she whispered as she moved closer to the principle. They were closest to Apollo, and her voice was so soft, so passionate. It was just loud enough so he could hear. "Can we please do detention here? Something terrible will happen if-"

"The only thing terrible is your behavior. One more outburst, and I will give you detention every single day for the rest of the year, do you understand me?" Cas nodded her head, biting her bottom lip. She looked on the verge of tears. Apollo wondered what could she know… was someone setting them up? "Now, all of you, come on. I haven't got all day."

Artemis and Orion walked out behind the principle, oblivious to the conversation that had just happened. Apollo followed behind them, with Cassia not far behind. They walked to the park in silence, but Apollo saw Cassia texting away furiously on her phone. Once there, the principle gave them each a bag and gloves, ordering them to leave their bags and phones here with him until the hour was up. After about five minutes, the principle stopped watching them so closely. Cassia darted into a corner of the park, where she was hidden by some rocks and trees, and Apollo followed.

"Please, please, this can't be happening, not here, not now," she muttered to herself. To Apollo's surprise her phone was in her hand, but he could have sworn she saw her stick it in her bag. She quickly dialed a number and held the phone to her ear. He watched as her face fell, worry and fear covering every inch. There must not have been answer. Cas pulled a dagger from the inside of her boot, and she plunged it into the tree in frustration.

"Actaeon, pick up the damn phone. Do not make that drop off today, do you hear me? Something's changed; we have to reschedule. Call me as soon as you get this," she added as she slumped down against the tree.

"What's changed?"

Apollo watched as Cassia shot up and pulled the dagger from the tree with a graceful ease. She held off her attack, looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"Why do you want to know?" she whispered in irritation. "Can't you just leave me alone, please? At least until tomorrow? I'm busy."

"Oh, I am so sorry to interrupt. You've been alone! You've been purposefully avoiding me," Apollo retorted. Cas rolled her eyes, giving him a deadpanned gaze.

"Of course I have! I can't deal with you and your inquisition on top of all the other things happening!"

"So you admit that you've been avoiding me?! No one avoids me! Do you know who I am?" Apollo shouted indignantly. He was a god, and no one, not even this mortal, should dare speak to him like that.

"Of course I know who you are! You didn't even use a fake name! You could have at least used Fred again-"

"Wait a minute," Apollo roared. "How in the world did you ever know I used Fred as a cover name?" That was at least five years ago, when the girl in from of him was barely out of single digits. How could she possible know about that? Cas's eyes widened just a little, her mouth opening slightly as she tried to come up with a reply. She groaned loudly, running her hand through her hair.

"It doesn't matter! Go be a god somewhere else!" she declared as she began to walk away.

"Tell me what's going on, and I will," he promised as he grabbed her arm. He wasn't going to let her avoid him any longer.

Cas stopped, rounding on him with a ferocity that could rival any god's. She was close, way too close, and that pull that he didn't understand was there again. He wanted to blast her, to punish her for being so insolent, but at the same time, he admired her guts, her tenacity. He couldn't help but noticed how beautiful her eyes looked when she was yelling at him, the way they sparkled against the darkness of her hair. He looked straight into her eyes, and even though her expression was fierce, her eyes were a lot softer.

"I can't tell you, you won't-

"Believe you?" Apollo scoffed. He was tired of having her say that to him. "You don't tell anyone anything. Do you lie to everyone? No wonder no one trusts you!"

"You," she sputtered as she jerked her arm free and backed away from him. "have…no right…."

"I'm a god; I have every right!"

They stood there staring at each other, about five feet apart. Cas's face melted into something cold, something so guarded from the world.

"Because you can do whatever you want, and the consequences are damned. You never think farther than yourself. What does it matter what happens to the mortals as long as your will is satisfied? You are all so selfish!"

"Selfish?" Apollo dared to repeat. He hadn't been this mad with a mortal in a long time. Cassia stood in front of him, unwavering, but one thing held him back. She was trembling. "You call me selfish, yet you are willing to risk my wrath to keep your secrets-"

"Oh, so what if I incur your wrath? There's a hell of a lot of things I'd risk to do what needs to be done. Do you think I enjoy hiding things from people? I hate this! I hate what… I-I don't have time for this!" she cried as she pushed past him. Apollo ran in front of her, intending to stop her, but he didn't have to.

Cassia froze in place, her eyes somewhere far away. Her hands came to her head, and she squeezed her eyes tight. She fell to her knees, clutching her head. Apollo couldn't do anything but watch the girl curl up on the ground, a low whine escaping as she fought the pain. He could feel her suffering, like a white-hot needle poking into her head repeatedly, and he had to help. Apollo knelt beside her, scooping her up in his arms, holding her firmly against him. For some reason, she seemed so light to him, so fragile. He brushed the hair from her face. She was burning up, her frame softly shaking from the fever. Maybe it wasn't fear that had caused her trembling…maybe she really was sick, like she had said. Her eyes blinked open, looking for something to focus on.

"I'm too late," she confessed in a whisper. He placed his hand on her cheek, willing his power to heal her. Strangely enough, he met no resistance. There was nothing for him to heal.

"Cas, just rest. I'll take care of you," he promised her. He might not be able to heal her, but he could cool her body down. He concentrated on that, worried that someone had hurt the girl in his arms. If she was tied up in the Egyptian's schemes, it was possible she could have made enemies.

"She's gone. She found out. She's gone," Cas breathed. Apollo stopped. Something about her words sent a chill down his spine. He knew they had something to do with him. This wasn't a bluff. It was the truth.

"Cas, who's gone?"

Cassia's eyes opened wide, the ghost of fear still in them. She was still shaking in his arms, her cheeks stained red from the heat of the fever.

"Artemis. She's found out everything. She's left Olympus."

Oooo cliffhanger! Any theories? Please leave a review (if you'd like ;), that is!)

Won't be nearly as long in between chapters! I've already started the next one!