-Addie-

Apollo had not tried to contact me since our last encounter. For that, I was really grateful.

He would have known, and I did not think I could stand to talk about it anymore. I felt something bugging in the back of my head. The seed that Gaia had planted was growing into a weed that was consuming my thoughts. Annabeth and Percy's words were repeating themselves over and over again…. I had never really questioned what had happened.

Sometimes, as the mortals say, 'shit happens.'

I thought it was just a bad situation with a terrible, terrible outcome. I had done everything I could; I had tried to do the best thing. Now? I was not so sure. I was starting to feel like a pawn in a huge chess game I could not see.

I felt a rumble rock through the ground at my feet, and my head shot up. Someone was near our little camp. They were not close, but I was curious how far behind us they were. I had not mentioned to Annabeth or Percy that I knew we were being followed since Arachne had attacked us. They were already worried enough, and I just could not bring myself to say anything. Now that we were on their radar, it was going to be a tough go. So far we had avoided them, but it would be harder now. Much harder.

I had to make a choice. Should I stay and make sure they were okay? Or should I try to figure out exactly what the earth drag queen was up to?

I decided to go with option three.

I felt inside me for the magic and cast a barrier spell. If anything came inside the circle, I would be able to get back in time. That would keep Percy and Annabeth safe. I leaned in towards Percy's ear, pulling a little more of the magic from me.

"I'll be right back. Do not worry," I whispered softly. Percy stirred for just a minute, and I knew my message got through to him while he slept. He would only remember when he woke up. It was a little trick I had picked up from Morpheus, and it came in handy when dealing with mortals.

I opened up the wall, moving towards the disturbance I was feeling. It was eerily quiet and silent in the tunnels like Tartarus was holding its breath. That could have every well been the case. Tartarus was a primordial god, a being way older than the Olympians. It seemed to get darker the further that I walked away. Was it just me or was it a trick of land? With a quick spell, I could see in the dark.

Tartarus was a terrible place. The air was thick and poisonous, and it would slowly kill a mortal. Thankfully, I had learned a spell a long time ago to prevent that. Keeping the spell supplied on myself, Percy and Annabeth was a little taxing, but it was nothing that I could not handle. I was trying to keep us off the bank of the river, away from the general path monsters took. Tartarus had miles and miles of tunnels, and while traveling in the tunnels pinned us down, it kept us more covered. I could feel if they were getting close; there was more rock to feel the pulses through, which gave me a better warning system. Now that they knew we were in them, I was not sure what to do, which is why it was so important that I did some scouting and spying.

I came to a ledge, molten red light shining from the river below. I knew they would not be able to see me from below. I peered over; just enough so I could see what was below me. My breath hitched tightly, and I ducked back behind the rock.

Holy Hera.

I did not get shocked by much anymore, but right now, I was.

There was an army below me, thousands of the ugliest and nastiest monsters that the underworld could turn up. I saw earthborn, telekhines, drakons, empousai, Laestrygonians, even a Gorgan, and a manticore. What really caught my eye was a guy dressed in pure gold armor and one dressed in what looked like dark blue, or maybe black. Hyperion and Krios were back.

How in Tartarus were they already reformed!?

My gods, it seemed like only yesterday I secretly helped the Roman camp beat Krios's army. Somebody had to do something while all the other gods were tied up with Typhon. The Greeks had Hades and Poseidon. So what did they do? They sent me.

'Go help the Romans!' they said. 'It'll be fun!' they said.

Well, it was fun, but that was not the point.

That was a situation…This, in comparison, was a nuclear holocaust.

I felt the sweat pool at the base of my throat and temple, the escaped strands of my hair sticking to my neck. The heat was uncomfortable but tolerable. Hyperion and Krios were walking towards a ledge just below me. I tried to listen, but it was hard. I could not hear them over the chatter of the monsters and the roar of the flaming lava river.

So I did something incredibly stupid and decided to climb down. I knew someone would see me, so I used my magic. I folded the mist around me, hopefully making me blend into the rock as I wanted. I snuck down the rock, anxiety racing through my body. I hid in between a rock and the stone wall, propping myself up in between them.

"-have already passed through the doors, along with the bulk of the army. Alops waits at the House of Hades to slay the other demigods," Hyperion sneered. "We just have to protect the doors to make sure Thanatos does not gain control of them again. We have to keep them anchored so the rest of the army can pass through."

"I don't see why we can't go above ground and fight! We are so much better than those stupid, no good giants anyway!" Krios pouted.

"We have an important job, brother. We must find the demigods, that infernal Jackson boy and his companion, and capture the Thýella. I have already sent scouts into the tunnels to find them. The Thýella is what will hinder our process. As long as we beat them to the doors, we should have no problem capturing them."

My stomach gripped, and I felt my hands dig into the rock like it was butter. I hated that name, Thýella. I knew that is what everyone called me behind my back. It made me want to punch them all in the gut. I quickly checked my magic, making sure that nothing had gotten close to Percy and Annabeth. I knew I needed to get back, and soon.

"Our mother has big plans for this Euadne, along with her new favorite servant! The dead cannot be trusted I fear, but this one seems to hate the gods just as much as we do. I will admit, I am curious about this girl," Hyperion added thoughtfully.

"Why are you curious? She's just some stupid demigod who the gods wrangled in their games. I knew it was her that caused that damned Romans to defeat me!" I could almost hear Hyperion roll his eyes. Krios was never the titan people were most scared of. He was still a formidable opponent, sure, but I'd pick him over most of the titans in a fight any day.

Hyperion stopped, and through the rock, I could tell they were just on the other side. I held my breath, wishing the rock could just absorb me.

"I am curious because of her lineage," Hyperion stated. "She is no ordinary demigod. If the gods felt she needed to be—"

"Do you smell that?" Krios interrupted.

"Smells like something between a demigod and a god," Hyperion replied scathingly. You could hear his annoyance like his brother was just overreacting. "It's most likely just their trace. We know they will follow the river to head to the doors."

"No, it is stronger. I recognize that smell. It's the girl, Euadne."

I knew I was caught. I ran through every scenario in my mind. I should not have come down. Would it not have been better to simply enhance my hearing? I had been reckless. I could not open the rock behind me up without alerting them to my presence. I closed my eyes, praying to Athena for some form of wisdom. I pulled my daggers into my hands, my body tense and ready.

"It's probably just some of the girl's blood. Arachne managed to bite Euadne before the others killed her. This is all going exactly to plan, soon it will start to take effect-"

They walked away, and I could feel every step they took. I camouflaged myself once again, panic creeping into my system. I climbed up and fell on top of the cliff that I had originally been observing from. Exhaustion took over like I had just run a marathon. I was normally never this tired from such a small amount of magic. I lifted my sleeve, looking at the bite on my arm, and despite the amount of nectar I had consumed, it still was a gross shade of black and red. The wound was still open, oozing slightly. Black tendrils leached out in my veins from the injection site.

Surely, nectar would have cured any poison Arachne had given me. I had not noticed any side effects. Time in Tartarus was different. It felt like it had been a day since Arachne's attack, but it could have been longer. Maybe there would be no symptoms because of the nectar, and it was just taking a lot of time to heal.

I rushed back, with more than one worry in my head.

Why did Gaia want me in particular? What had Hyperion meant when he said the gods felt that something was needed for me? And finally, what did I feel about all of this? How was I going to outrun this army with two demigods, and keep them back long enough to free the doors?

I felt myself enter the ring of my magic, and I let the spell go. I opened the door, and Percy and Annabeth were still sleeping. After all they had been through, I could not blame them.

I settled down and decided to take a nap. I cast another spell, smaller this time, so it would alert me if anyone was near. I closed my eyes, and for the first time, I really felt the fatigue hit me. The adrenaline was out of my system now, leaving aching bones and muscles in its wake.

I just needed some sleep, that's all.

I closed my eyes, letting my mind drift.

I saw flashes of images, the same images that tore through my mind when Iapetus had touched me. I wish I could tell you what they were, but I honestly could not remember. I just felt sad and lonely, the emotions engulfing me. Then, I was in a dark pit, and I curled up, letting the defeat and helplessness take hold. I made myself as small as possible. Why did Athena decide to put this on my shoulders? I would not have to worry about Apollo's orders. I'd be dead before we got to the doors most likely. And I had no idea what words brought the doors to life. I could not shut them if I did not know the words.

How in the world was I going to do this?