"What was all that about?" Thalia demanded as I made my way back to the now deserted campsite.

"I, err, I'm not really sure yet," I admitted with a shrug.

"Yet?" she questioned with a frown. Sasha looked up at me from by Thalia's side, her tail flicking nervously.

"Everyone ready?" Apollo called loudly from the side of what now appeared to be a minibus, large enough for all of us to fit inside. He was wearing a smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Pulling up my collar and squaring my shoulders, I fell into step beside Percy and Thalia, while Grover tried unsuccessfully to get Nico onto the bus quietly.

"So!" Apollo grinned as we neared. "Who's driving?" I felt my eyes widen a fraction, as Nico immediately jumped up a down with his hand up. "Too young," the god dismissed.

"We all are," I found myself arguing pointedly.

He cast me half a glance, then grinned at Thalia. "How about you? Daughter of Zeus, he won't strike you out of the sky."

My sister flushed, and I had difficulty keeping my face straight. "I-I d-don't think that's…" Thalia trailed awkwardly, looking at me for support.

"That's not a good idea," I finished for her shortly, shooting him a dangerous look.

His eyes flickered between us, and a smirk played at his lips. "Would you rather try?" he asked, dangling his keys in front of me.

My eyes narrowed. "No."

"I'll try!" Nico grinned.

"Thalia it is then!" Apollo declared, tossing her the keys. She caught them, panicked, and for a second, looking at her made me smile a fraction.

"Maybe it won't be so bad this time," I suggested timidly with a small shrug, and she shot me a look so venomous, Apollo and Percy choked. I, however, had a hard time not laughing at her, biting down hard on my lip and climbing onto the bus behind her.

"Why can't I drive?" Nico was complaining, and I ushered him into one of the seats by the window.

"Thalia's Zeus's kid," Apollo yawned. "What can go wrong?"

I snorted at him. "Nico, hold onto something. Tightly." He gave me a puzzled look, but I pushed him into his seat and took my place beside him. "This is a bad idea," I repeated. Apollo just waved me away, stepping aside as Sasha leapt onto the bus and slipped underneath my seat. He raised an eyebrow at me. "What?"

"Nothing," he said, holding his hands out.

I don't trust him, Sasha declared.

"I'm not overly fond of you either," Apollo grinned tightly at her, and I blinked in surprise. He shrugged, his expression darkening as he turned to shut the door. "Right! You ready?"

Thalia looked anything but. Her face was horrifically pale, and her hands were so tight around the wheel, I thought she might break it. The smell of ozone was back, and even Nico was starting to look a little nervous.

"Okay, so what you want to do is add the gas gently," Apollo instructed, and looking between him and Thalia, an irrational surge of jealousy made my lips purse and my stomach churn sickly.

She nodded at him with a gulp, and pursed her lips. Gritting her teeth, she tilted the wheel back – and the bus took off with a lurch so fast, I had to gulp back my stomach. Nico and I were shoved into the back of our seats, and on our right, Percy and Grover didn't look any better. Worst still, Apollo went skidding back toward the back of the bus. I let out a short laugh, partly out of panic, partly because I was a little smug I was right.

"Err, aren't we a little high?" Percy called, peering out of the window. We were at least as the height of an aeroplane, and still climbing. Glancing over my shoulder, I watched Apollo try to pull himself forward.

"Thalia!" I shouted. "Level out!"

"I know, Acacia!" she yelled back, but she did nothing about it.

"Now, kid!" Apollo yelped, and Thalia pushed the wheel back down.

Instantly, Percy crashed into Grover, Nico landed on top of Sasha, and I slammed into the front of the bus with a loud yelp. "Thalia!" I cursed, stretching my neck out as I sank to the ground. "Oh for the love of – Apollo, would you please take the wheel?"

The god had skidded back down the bus and somehow managed to regain his balance, staring out of the window and trying to remain calm. "Bad idea, huh?" he ventured. I only glowered at him.

"There!" Percy pointed. "That's Camp!"

"Please leave it intact!" I snapped pointedly, not even bothering to stand up.

"Slow down, kid," Apollo said, a little more gently. I rolled my eyes in irritation. "Slow down." I glanced up and saw Thalia nod at him. He paused, waiting for her to react, but she did nothing. "Brake, kid!"

Again, she nodded. Then nothing.

"BRAKE!" Percy and I screamed.

Thalia responded at the last second, and slammed her foot on the brake, so hard I lurched forward and caught myself with a jolt, shooting pain up the side of my neck. Water splashed at the sides of the bus, probably boiling hot now, and everyone on board looked more than a little motion sick. Even I had to stay where I was, trying desperately to control my breathing without moving my scar.

"Err, Ace? You alright?"

Apollo had knelt down beside me, and I managed a withering look in his direction. "Does it look like it?" I groaned. Hesitating a second, he lifted a hand and made for the scar. Without thinking about it, I slapped it aside. "Don't."

Immediately, he looked pained. "Ace, you're in pain, let me help," he mumbled.

I wanted to argue, but I didn't really have one to give. The pain was mounting, and black dots were swimming in my eyes. Without waiting for an answer, he leant forward and wrapped a warm hand around my throat. Instantly, the pain began to fade and the sickly feeling calmed.

I took a deep breath and relaxed again, blinking a few more times than necessary. Apollo's expression was tight and guarded, but he only cleared his throat once and straightened out.

When he moved, Sasha was staring at me strangely. You still have feelings for him. It wasn't a question. I don't understand.

My lips pursed. Neither do I, I admitted.

Percy and Nico helped me back to my feet, while Grover tried to coax Thalia out of the bus. Outside, the ground was covered in snow and the sun was now creeping across the sky, much slower than it had seemed when we were on the bus. In the distance, I could see the lights were on inside the Big House, which must have meant Chiron was already awake. Everywhere else was quiet and peaceful, though I wouldn't be surprised if half the camp woke demanding to know why they were almost burned alive by a fireball bus.

"Tell Chiron we're here," Zoe instructed coolly as she marched past, Bianca right beside her. "We'll be in Cabin Eight." I watched her walk past and tried not to get too wound up, but it was getting harder, and I had a feeling it had something to do with Apollo's presence.

"What was all that with Thalia about?" Percy frowned at me.

"Probably best not to ask," I grimaced, watching Thalia climb down behind him. "Are you okay, Thal?"

"Fine," she said shortly, marching past and heading straight toward the cabins.

"The last time I ever let anyone drive my car," Apollo shuddered. The bus had changed back into his sports car. "Unless you want a go, Ace?" He tried to smile, but whatever he'd done to stop the pain was making me drowsy, and I'd lost the energy to keep up the pretence anymore. His expression slipped.

Grover cleared his throat awkwardly. "Err, Perc? We should show Nico to the Big House."

Percy flicked his eyes between Apollo and me, then nodded slowly. "Sure." The three of them started to move away, and with a lingering air of disapproval, Sasha followed.

Alone for the first time in months, Apollo suddenly looked like he was out of his depth. For some strange reason, I found it quite endearing. The arrogance and confidence he usually held was gone, and he kept running his hand through his ruffled air anxiously. I found myself wondering vaguely if I could actually repair the damage I'd done. Sooner or later, the poison would take ever, and no matter what I did or said, Apollo was going to crack. When he did… The thought of the other prophecy, the one about me and him, loomed over me in that second and something in my throat caught.

Finally, Apollo ran his hand through his hair one last time and then squared his shoulders. "Do I want to know what Artemis wanted from you?" he questioned quietly.

I shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. "Probably not," I replied. "I'm not sure, she didn't really explain herself very well."

He allowed himself a small smile. "Thought you'd be used to that by now," he commented, and I blinked in surprise. The smile wavered.

"Guess you're right," I answered.

Then, with the conversation over, we descended back into an awkward silence.

A few seconds later, Apollo began to get annoyed. "Is this it now?" he demanded with a frown. "You're just going to avoid or ignore me for the rest of the winter?"

"I was planning to," I admitted, with another shrug. "Didn't work very well though."

"And now?" he persisted.

I took a deep breath and sighed. "I don't know," I replied. "I really don't know what else you're expecting."

He laughed incredulously, running his hands over his face in surprise. "Not even an argument? More lectures about what I've done?"

I glowered. "Lectures?" I repeated. "Are you trying to insult me or does it just come naturally?"

Apollo snorted. "Everything that's happened and you aren't going to so much as comment?"

Something twisted in my chest and I gulped hard, dropping my gaze. "I've already said as much as I'm going to on that," I muttered.

"Ace," he started, stepping forward.

I held up my hands with a wince. "Stop," I frowned. "I mean it, I'm done and it's too late to change my mind even if I wanted to." His face paled. "If you want to do something useful, keep an eye on your sister."

"What has she done?" he snapped defensively.

"Nothing!" I sighed with a roll of my eyes. "But whatever she's doing is dangerous."

He shifted slightly, dropping his gaze and shrugging a shoulder. "And?"

"She's your sister, Apollo," I scolded. "And she might be in trouble. You can stand there and scowl all you want, but you care about her as much as she cares about you. Please, just keep an eye on her?"

His eyes shone slightly, but he sighed and nodded once. "You know, there was a time when she'd been asking me the same thing about you," he muttered, heading back to his car. With a last knowing look, he climbed into the driver's seat and the car began to glow. Spinning around, I shut my eyes tightly until the roaring of the engine and the bright light of the sun had disappeared.

Sighing heavily, I wrapped my arms around my stomach and started toward the Big House, my mind still in that damn Sun Chariot with Apollo. Ever since summer, I'd been angry – hell, I'd been furious at him for lying to me, and for tricking me into those tests. And I still was, that wasn't just going to go away even if I wanted it to.

But right now, that prophecy bothered me more.

Beware the daughter of lightning. Those were his exact words. And I was starting to think I knew why we were so dangerous together. Apollo had risked everything for me in an attempt to make me immortal, and now the gods were arguing. If they'd argued over that, I didn't even want to think what they'd do if he ever lashed out if I was in danger.

There had to be a way to make sure that didn't happen. The only thing was, how did I find out what I had to do? As I reached the Big House, my eyes drifted upward to the loft. The Oracle… I shuddered, but what other choice did I have?

"Acacia," Thalia sighed in relief, and I shook myself hurriedly as she skipped down the stairs, a moody looking Percy behind her. "Are you alright? What did Apollo want?"

I shrugged. "I'm fine," I replied. "And the same as always."

"Ah yes," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Because it must be such a drag to have a hot god determined to make you his immortal girlfriend."

My expression twisted. "Thanks for that, Thal. The voice of reason has spoken again." Percy scoffed, shoving his hands in his pockets with a frown. "What? Did Chiron say anything about Annabeth?"

Thalia's face darkened. "We're not allowed out of Camp," she muttered darkly. "They aren't even setting up a search party for her."

I gulped hard and tried to quell the pounding in my chest. "So what are we going to do?" She shot me a look. "We can't just leave her!"

"You aren't in any state to go anywhere!" she protested, flicking my hair away from my throat.

Slapping her hand away, I scowled. "I'll decide when it's time to stop, and no one else," I snapped at her. Immediately, my sister made to argue.

"Alright!" Percy interrupted, stepping between us. Thalia blinked. Admittedly, he was the first half-blood to be brave enough to get in the middle of us. "Right now, we need to get some sleep. Then we can argue about what we do about Annabeth."

Whether it was shock or tiredness that made Thalia agree, we ended up heading straight through camp and into the cabin common area. Around us, the rest of camp was just beginning to wake up, and as we passed, we explained to some of the others that the Hunters were staying in Artemis's cabin.

"You should be in the infirmary," a stern voice came as I finally reached the steps to Cabin One.

I sighed. "Morning, Will," I grimaced. "Haven't you got anyone else to annoy yet?"

"No," he dismissed easily. "You should be in the infirmary."
"Too busy for that," I said, waving him away. "Right now, I'm going to grab an hour's sleep, then I'm going to argue with Percy and Thalia some more, then we might actually see if we can make progress on something. Okay?"

He pulled a face at me, but I only smiled wearily and shouldered the door to Cabin One with a yawn. Good morning, my lady, Sasha yawned from the end of my bed.

"I'm going to sleep," I warned her. "Wake me in an hour?"

Yes, my lady. Are we going to find Miss Chase?

"Yes," I promised. "After a lot more arguing, yes." She grumbled, but said nothing as I threw myself onto my bed and closed my eyes, falling asleep almost instantly.

I woke to the sound of thunderous knocking on the door.

On my left, Thalia was out cold, snoring softly in her sleep. Sasha was still lying on the end of my bed, her eyes fixed to the door and her ears pricked up. She wasn't barking or growling, so I guessed whoever it was wasn't deadly.

Then I opened the door.

"You look worse than I feel," I commented with a grimace when I saw Percy. He was pale and shaking, his hair ruffled and messy and bags growing under his eyes.

"I know what happened to Annabeth," he said, and my face fell. "It's Luke."

Something snapped in the back of my chest. "Thalia!" I shouted.

She moaned slightly. "Go back to sleep…" she trailed.

"Thalia, get up! Luke has Annabeth."

There was a moment's silence, before Thalia stormed past me, already tugging her jacket over her shoulders. My lips pursed. "She's going to the Big House," I muttered. "Best stay out of her way until she's done yelling. Meet me for breakfast in ten." Percy nodded, and the worry on his face was evident. "Hey, we're going to get her back." He gulped, nodding.

I turned back into the Cabin and hurriedly washed and dressed, trying not to focus on Luke, but it was almost impossible. The anger burned through me almost as painfully as the poison. Sasha watched me tug my boots on with her ears pinned back and a grumble in her throat. "Don't try and warn me away again, Sasha," I scowled.

My lady, he's killing you, she reminded me timidly.

"And if Annabeth's hurt, I'll kill him," I snarled back, snatching my swords from beside my bed.

Apollo won't be happy about that.

"He never is," I dismissed shortly, storming out of the cabin and straight across the common area.

Or at least, that was the plan. Then Zoe Nightshade appeared in front of me.

"Zoe, I don't have time for this," I snarled. "Out of my way." I made to step around her, but she only moved to mimic me.

"I need your help," she interrupted, and that was enough to make me hesitate for a split-second.

"Luke Castellan has Annabeth," I growled. "He's hurting her, and I'm going to find her, and kill him. Now get out of my way!" Campers were staring at us now, and my limbs were shaking awkwardly.

"Artemis is in trouble," she told me simply.

My heart sank, and at my feet, Sasha growled. "W-What do you mean, trouble?" I gulped. "H-How?"

"She's lost," Zoe told me, and her voice quivered in grief.

"Lost? How does an immortal goddess get lost? You mean she was taken? But who-" I faltered, thinking about Luke and his rebellion. "Titans?" I gulped. "He can't have released any… surely?" Zoe only paled a fraction.

Gulping hard, I stepped around her and rushed toward the Big House. Before I'd even opened the door, I could hear Thalia yelling. Muttering a small prayer to Zeus, I took the steps two at a time and shouldered my way inside.

Everyone spun. Thalia was breathing hard, her fists clenched and her eyes flashing. Chiron sat in his wheelchair by the fire, looking grief-stricken, while Mr. D looked seconds away from turning my sister into an insect and stepping on her. Behind him, Apollo was white and sickened.

"Mr. D," I started with a gulp.

"Don't start with me, girl," he spat angrily. "You have caused enough trouble over the past two years, stay out of it!"

"But sir-"

"ENOUGH!" he bellowed, and Thalia and I flinched. Apollo gulped, shivering, but he said nothing. "Thalia, you and the Poseidon brat are leading the Capture the Flag match later, so I suppose you should get out of my sight and start training. You, Acacia Grace, will stay here."

I didn't like the sound of that, and apparently, neither did Thalia, Chiron or Apollo. My sister glanced at me uncertainly, and both Chiron and Apollo shifted to interrupt, but Mr. D wasn't in the mood. Without a word, I gave Thalia a small push toward the door and took a step further into the room.

"Mr. D, I'm sorry about Thalia," I started quietly. "She's just upset, she-"

"I've heard enough," he growled. "Annabeth Chase and Artemis are missing, and now you and your little friends want to go after them."

"We can't leave Artemis-"

"And I can't let you leave this camp," he interrupted. I froze. "If the others are still alive after their Capture the Flag match, and once everyone has calmed down, I may let them go. You, on the other hand, are staying here."

I stared, stunned into speechlessness. "I'm fine, sir, I can't just sit back and wait!"

"I don't care if you're fine or not, you're a liability," he snapped.

"Hey!" Apollo scowled.

"Don't start, you're the reason!" Mr. D bit back. "The two of you make a mess wherever you go, and if you hadn't noticed, we can't afford to lose one of our own! You will both stay here, in my line of sight, until I tell you otherwise." Apollo made to argue with a snort, but Mr. D just sneered. "Zeus's orders. Count yourself lucky, he's other option was having Ares watch over you."

"You've got to be joking," I gawped, but he just glowered and stepped around me, slamming the door on his way out. I blinked. "Chiron, please-"

"You're growing weaker, Acacia," he said softly. "Zeus doesn't want you wandering outside of camp."

"And how am I supposed to do anything from here?" I argued. "This isn't fair!"

"Acacia," Apollo started.

"You can't seriously be expecting me to do nothing while my friend dies?" I snapped at them both. Neither seemed to have an answer, Chiron staring at me in pity and Apollo scowling. My jaw locked. "Fine." I whirled and stomped toward the door.

"Ace-" Whatever Apollo was going to say next was cut off when I slammed the door shut after myself. As ever, part of me shuddered at the thought of being so rude toward a god, but the larger, stronger part of me was as mad as I had ever been at him. It was one thing to put me in danger, but another entirely to force me to watch my friends get hurt.

"I take it that went well?" Zoe glowered at me as I skipped down the steps from the porch.

I glared. "What do you think?"

She bristled, taking a deep breath and falling into step beside me. "We cannot leave Lady Artemis!"

"Don't you think I know that?" I spat back, my fists clenched.

"But-"

"Oh, shut up!" I yelled, and Zoe went rigid, her cheeks flushing in fury. I didn't care. I could only glare back at her. "Stay away from me," I warned quietly, storming away with my skin crackling dangerously.