Ares was waiting at the diner I had seen in the Iris message. His eyes were covered by red wraparound glasses, but his smirk grew as he turned to me. Sasha growled at my feet, stood between Percy and I. I hadn't asked her why she had suddenly taken such a liking to him, but I was grateful. I loved knowing that Sasha was there for me, yet it was even better knowing she was there for the others too.

"So!" Ares smirked. "Acacia Grace survives again!"

"I'll admit, you probably did a better job than Hera," I shrugged, my voice sour.

Ares laughed loudly at me. "That was some good fighting, kid. You ain't that bad after all."

"Gee, thanks," I replied sarcastically.

His smirk wavered slightly. "Hey, I ain't got time for sarcasm, kid," he warned, still smiling. "But I suppose you pass. Not many half-blood's could kill a guy who is already dead. Good girl." I remained silent this time, trying to hide the scowl. He spoke to me like I was a puppy being praised for good behaviour.

"You tricked us," Percy scowled.

Ares smirked. "You look good on TV," he shrugged. "Acacia, not so much. Talking to yourself. We're betting on how long it takes for my lovely mother to drive you insane."

My eyes narrowed before I could stop myself and a misplaced anger burned in my stomach. I knew instantly that it was Ares, that his presence was making me feel like this. I pursed my lips tightly and didn't answer him. He snorted, then pointed across the car park at a van that read, 'KINDESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT'.

"There's your ride. Thought it might be the best place for your little runt." Ares flicked his gaze at Sasha, who straightened and snarled at him. Ares's presence was even affecting her judgement. He scowled. "If you want the thing alive, I'd call it off." Sasha barked angrily, but I snapped my fingers behind her impatiently, not risking letting my mouth open. I'd only end up saying something I would regret and one god on my back was bad enough.

"You're kidding," Percy scoffed, staring at the large truck in disgust. Ares smirked slightly, clicking his fingers and unlatching the door. In his other hand, he held a bag out at Percy.

"It's a free ride west punk," Ares smirked. "And there's clothes and everything you need in here. Don't knock it." Annabeth nudged Percy harshly, as Grover took the bag. Percy and I still didn't move.

"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover stammered. Annabeth rolled her eyes and snatched Ares's shield from Percy and handed it to the god, keeping her mouth shut.

"Oh and punk," Ares started, climbing onto his motorbike. The engine roared to life. "Your mum. She ain't dead." Percy paled and I glowered at Ares.

"Wh-" The sound of Ares's speeding away cut Percy's question short, leaving us stood there confused and angry. Annabeth and Grover exchanged a glance, then turned to me.

I shrugged slowly, taking a deep breath. "I guess we should go," I muttered reluctantly. "I really don't like this town." The words were out before I could stop them, but they left my chest tight and my stomach hollow. My mother's house was in pieces and everything I had ever had to remember my siblings by destroyed. Threading my fingers around the chain on my locket awkwardly, I led the way to the van silently. The four of us clambered on board, Percy somewhat reluctantly.

Inside the truck, there was a male lion, a zebra and an antelope. The conditions they were kept in were less than humane, to say the least. Grover didn't stop complaining about it for an hour, but went to talk to the antelope and finally left the three of us to get some sleep. I curled myself into the corner, running the chain through my fingers. There was still a red mark on my chest, where the locket had burned into my skin while I slept. I had no idea what it meant and just thinking about the dream itself sent shudders down my spine. Shaking myself and scanning the truck for something to catch my attention. But the lion was asleep, the antelope was talking to Grover and the zebra was staring oddly at Percy, who's eyes were wide.

"What now?" I groaned.

He can hear the animal, my lady, Sasha answered, shuffling closer to me in disgust. I guessed she wasn't used to being kept in these conditions. His father, Poseidon, created horses. Since zebras are closely related...

"I get it," I muttered, yawning loudly and tilting my head back.

"Acacia?"

"What's up, Annabeth?" I asked quietly, shuffling to try and make myself more comfortable.

She hesitated and shuffled a little closer, gulping. "I... erm... I wanted to say thanks, again," she mumbled.

I frowned, tilting my head forward again and meeting her gaze. "For what exactly?" I asked her slowly.

"Asking me to come on this quest," she answered. "I was waiting for ages for something to do, somewhere to go. And even after what happened, you still asked me."

"What do you mean, what happened?" I questioned rather harshly. "Nothing happened!"

Annabeth gulped and lowered her gaze. "Thalia," she replied, so quietly I had to strain to hear her.

My jaw dropped slightly, but I took a deep breath and closed it again. "It wasn't your fault," I told her, tilting my head back and closing my eyes. "Don't even think of trying to argue with me Annabeth. Thalia sacrificed herself for people she cared about. I would have done the same."

"That's just it. When we thought you were dead..." I flinched. I didn't know what to say to her. It's alright? Hera won't win? I'll be fine? All of those sounded so false, I couldn't even bring myself to open my mouth. Annabeth sighed heavily and shuffled away, laying down and taking a deep breath.

It took me awhile to be able to fall asleep, with Grover bleating in his sleep every now and then, Annabeth shuffling anxiously, and Percy still in deep conversation with a zebra. When I finally did, it was not the peaceful rest I had been hoping for.

For one, the dream version of me was about sixteen years old. She was stood in a deserted alleyway, and in the background, I thought I could make out the Empire State Building. Considering it was midday in New York, I couldn't hear the sound of the usual rush of traffic and pedestrians, and dream-me was stood completely alone.

I wasn't sure whether it was this that made her look so distressed, but I could tell she was terrified. The sixteen year old me was taller by a few inches short of a foot. She wore torn, dirty skinny jeans, ripped combat boots and a checked shirt beneath a chest plate of Greek armour. Apollo's locket still hung around her neck, but she also wore a beaded necklace. I'd seen them before; all the campers at Camp had one. But this one only had two beads, despite the fact she must have been at camp for at least three or four summers by now. One depicted a lightning bolt, while the other showed something I couldn't make out. Beside the two of them, a white gold ring glittered in a non-existent light, with a golden jewel held in place by an intricate web of expertly weaved white gold.

My first thought when I saw that was that it was an engagement ring, which was ridiculous. Where would I have ever got an engagement ring at sixteen years old? My second thought was complete confusion. As far as I could see, nothing about this picture made sense.

Then it got stranger. A figure stumbled to a halt at the end of the alley, and dream-me tensed, pulling a dagger out of nowhere so fast I barely had time to blink. But the figure held its hands up in surrender as it moved closer. "Wow, sneaking up on Lady Acacia," a sarcastic girl's voice came, and I swore I recognised it. "Should that even be possible?"

"I'm really not in the mood for this," dream-me warned with a scowl as the figure kept walking toward her, shielding by the shadows cast by the buildings.

"Are you ever?" the girl snorted back. "But you've really got to snap out of this. And fast. We don't have time for your personal crisis again, Acacia."

"Oh, I apologise for being a burden," dream-me snapped irritably, and I felt my eyes widen. It took a lot for me to snap like that. Just what kind of trouble was I supposed to be in here?

The figure came to a halt before she got close enough for me to see, leaning against the wall opposite dream-me. Drumming her fingertips against the wall remarkably loudly, she took a deep breath before she spoke again. "You're not going to listen to them, are you?"

The sixteen year old me tensed, her eyebrows pulling together deeply. "I've got no choice," she said quietly. The figure shuffled. "If I do as the Olympians told me to, this won't end well. If I go against them . . ."

"They wouldn't . . . kill you, would they?" the girl asked, her voice breaking slightly.

Dream-me straightened out with a deep breath. "Probably. Better get it over with then, ey?" Without another word, she turned and strode away from the figure with a troubled expression. The figure, however, had other ideas. She leapt forward out of the shadows and caught dream-me's wrist, pulling her to a stop and turning her around.

Her lips were moving, but I couldn't hear a word. My eyes were fixed to the girl's face, and my heart was pounding so hard, I could barely breath. The moment I had heard her voice, I was sure I knew who she was, but never in a million years . . .

"OH, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S HOLY! ACACIA!"

Something suddenly slapped my cheek. Hard.

I stirred, frowning and groaning. Percy, Annabeth and Grover were knelt around me, all staring at me in worry. Gulping hard, I rubbed at my eyes and pushed myself away from the corner. Instinctively, my hand went to the chain around my neck, but before I could even touch it, Annabeth gasped, pulling my hands away and staring at the large burn in the centre of my chest with wide, glistening eyes.

"What in the name of Zeus?" she muttered, eyes wide and shocked.

I slapped her hands away, scowling. "Don't ask, I don't know," I said, realising my voice was hoarse and shaky.

Percy raised his eyebrows, glancing across at Grover. "Are you okay?" he asked me slowly.

"Fine," I snapped back. "You?" Percy's face straightened and by the look on his face, he knew I'd noticed I wasn't the only one with disturbing dreams. Setting his jaw, he nodded stiffly. "Fine or not, the truck's stopped," Annabeth said, shaking her head in exasperation and standing up. "We'll need to move before they close the doors."

"Really? Because I was going to try running through them," Percy mumbled sarcastically, still eyeing my expression cautiously. Annabeth glowered at him.

I didn't get it. How was it possible for her to be there when I was sixteen? It wasn't possible for her to be here now, let alone in four years! And why did I always wake up with the locket burning through my skin? Were the dreams somehow connected to it? And it they were, how were they connected? Did this have anything to do with Apollo? After all, he had been paying me far too much attention, and Chiron had already taken the time to warn me to keep away from him.

It crossed my mind that it wasn't possible to follow Chiron's advice, even if I wanted to. Apollo hadn't tested me yet, which meant no matter how dangerous he may be, I still needed to pass the test. Which raised another question; were these dreams part of my test? Was he just trying to unsettle me?

"Acacia, are you even listening to me?" Annabeth scowled down at me.

"No," I answered truthfully. "Can we just go? I can't sit still anymore." Annabeth groaned, but held a hand out to me and helped me to my feet. As we waited for the right moment to get off the truck, I wondered vaguely how long I could last without sleep.