(A/N I read Tower of Nero! I really wish I had to change things here, but I only added a few lines. There are spoilers ahead if you haven't figured that out yet.

Enjoy!)

End of Trials of Apollo

Artemis

Artemis was every shade of angry. Her father had cast out her brother. Again! What would happen if he died in that state? Would Hades return him to Olympus? Would Zeus interfere? Would he shed his mortality and return to his godly state? She didn't know. Zeus wouldn't answer. Could he...actually die? Where would he end up?

The others were betting on him! And speaking of eleven Olympian gods! As if he'd already failed and died.

She would be alone!

Taking a deep breath she reminded herself he had survived this fate in the past. Though he wasn't quite as...human those times.

Feeling her heart race again she took another breath. This time reminding herself that she was not alone. She had her huntresses as well as a select few Olympians she could count as confidants if she needed them.

As her brother descended the stairs of Nero's tower she could bear to watch no longer. She left the throne room to find comfort with her own furs and hearth in her tent.

Plopping down and hugging her knees she shed a few tears. All the people in the world couldn't replace her brother. Her twin. Her equal and opposite. He may be exasperating, but he was hers. He embodied everything she hated about males, but he always showed that even on his worst day he could respect her and her hunters in the end. It gave her hope for mankind. If her brother could overcome his own crudeness surely they could too.

Thalia entered while she was weeping. She wished she felt embarrassed, but over the past few months this had become commonplace between the two. None of the other hunters saw her outside of when she offered aid in New Rome, only Thalia. Her faithful lieutenant.

At first Artemis wasn't sure if Thalia would be a good huntress, let alone lieutenant. But Thalia had more than proven herself. She wasn't offended by the presence of men, which made her a good ambassador. But she didn't need a man to feel complete, which made her faithful. Artemis was beginning to understand some of her hunters' choices to leave the Hunt. She never denied them love if they found it, and was glad two of her previous hunters had helped her brother. It was still hard though. The idea of love tying you to something. She didn't quite understand it, but she also knew it wouldn't take her long to understand if she let herself.

She hadn't though. Not yet at any rate. With her brother masquerading as 'Lester,' the temptation to simply leave Olympus was palpable. The red ring on her finger would be a lovely excuse, and then she could stand by Apollo-even while he was mortal. Another tear rolled down her face. Oh what it would be like to leave the gods and their cruelty.

Sighing, she wiped her face and looked up at the daughter of Zeus, her sister. She didn't try to speak, knowing her voice would come out ragged and raspy. Thalia gave her a weak smile and handed her a note. The tears in the huntress's eyes made Artemis fear the worst, but she forced herself to read.

Finally, after six long months she breathed a sigh of relief. Her brother was okay. Apollo was home. She sputtered a laugh and looked up to Thalia.

The look on the girl's face was easy enough to read. She was glad, happy for Artemis's suffering to be over and Apollo to be okay. But she was also grieving, remembering her own brother who she would never speak to again.

Artemis wrapped her in a hug and they both cried. Tears of relief. Tears of anguish. Tears of what could have been. And not for the first time, Artemis wondered if Thalia would have joined her ranks if she'd known Jason was alive...and how the Titan war would have progressed had she refused.

(A/N I wanted some miracle to bring Jason back because I'm a total sucker who can't handle major character deaths!)