A/N: This chapter has content warnings for implied past sexual assault/harassment.


It was still dark when we left, and I do mean dark. Once the campfire was out, I could barely see my hand in front of my eyes, and as I looked back towards Westover Hall, I could barely make out its silhouette against the dark sky, not a single light in its windows. I felt a sort of bittersweet longing – not that I wasn't relieved to get away from it, but an uncertain future wasn't what I'd dreamt of.

Ahead, the hunters had lit up torches, and us trailing behind in the dark simply followed them. I couldn't tell you for how long we walked – an hour, two, five.

Behind me, I could hear Percy and his friends argue. Thalia obviously had some feud to settle with Zoë, while Grover was making Romeo eyes at Artemis.

Weirdo, I thought, not for the last time.

I was almost falling asleep on my feet when dawn arrived. From the east (it had to be east, right?), a bright light appeared, a sort of fireball, and I had to shut my eyes because the brightness of it began to hurt. When I finally peeked, I saw… a sports car?

It certainly appeared like one, although it didn't look like any I'd seen before. Just a few years back, I remembered cars looking… well, different, I don't know. Bulkier. Boxier. But then again, it had been a while since I had been fascinated with cars, back in my first year of school, although this Maserati (a car from home!) might just bring that fascination back.

The driver got out and he seemed to practically glow. Blonde, practised smile, T-shirt, not unlike the rich upperclassmen at Westover. He was lean and fit, but in a subtle, elegant way, not like the pumped-up men half my classmates wanted to be like.

'Wow', Thalia muttered next to me. 'Apollo is hot.'

'He's the sun god', Percy pointed out.

I lost track of the conversation after that, trying to reconcile this Apollo, with his loafers and jeans, with the Apollo I knew, with his 2000 defence, crown made of sun rays, and +30 health for every god on the same team. Nevertheless, years later, in an unexpected realisation, I would remember this moment as the first time I had heard any guy called 'hot', and as I'm recalling this, I have to agree: Apollo is hot.

When I returned my attention to the moment, Apollo and Artemis were squabbling about something or other, archery this, girls that… I zoned out again. If I wanted to hear siblings fight, I'd—actually, no, I didn't want to think about siblings at all at the moment.

'—for my help, I am so cool.'

'That last line was only four syllables.'

I took a look around while the two continued arguing, this time about poetry. The hunters all angrily glared at Apollo, except Bianca, who seemed kind of confused about what was going on. This isn't her problem, I angrily thought, and Zoë explaining about Apollo's haiku phase (what a sentence) to Percy and his friends did nothing to lessen my anger; even more so, when this insufferable guy – Apollo – started, what did you call it, 'coming on' to Thalia. I had seen Bianca fend off enough advances from elder classmates to instantly take a dislike to this guy, and I half wished for Thalia to slam her cool shield into his smug face.

She did not.

'Brother. You should get going.'

For the first time all day (or night), I was grateful for anything Artemis said. After brusquely acknowledging Percy's presence – that guy saved our lives, okay? Show him some respect! – Apollo invited us all to sit in the car.

The two-seated car.

'Cool car', I commented, which earned me a 'thanks, kid' from Apollo, 'but how will we all fit?'

'Oh, right.' He frowned. 'I hate to change out of sports-car mode, but I suppose…'

He pressed something on his keys, and the car lit up like a searchlight. Once we all stopped seeing colourful spots, a school bus stood were his roadster had stood just now.

'Everybody in!'

Zoë started bellowing commands in some language that was not English, but still weirdly familiar. The hunters started picking up their packs and stuffing them into the bus.

'Here, sweetheart', Apollo purred, 'let me get that.' He grabbed Zoë's own pack, but was called back promptly by Artemis.

'You do not help my hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my hunters. And you do not call them sweetheart.'

This Apollo guy was clearly not a gentleman, I decided. I remembered one time when mamma had lectured a stranger who had been very friendly with her and tried to follow us home. Afterwards she had sat me down and explained to me that there was such a thing as too friendly to someone who doesn't want you to, and that it's not right for a man to treat a strange girl like she's his wife when she isn't.

When I glanced over, I could tell Bianca was probably thinking the same thing. Nobody around us would have seen it, but I knew the way her face looked kind of different when she was distressed, and this was it.

'Just drop them off, Apollo', Artemis ordered. 'And no messing around!'

She ignored his protest and turned to us. Well, to her hunters, anyway.

'I will see you by winter solstice. Zoë, you are in charge of the hunters. Do well. Do as I would do.'

When I climbed into the van, I temporarily forgot about my unpleasant night. Bianca followed the rest of her new friends to the back, and I made sure to shoot them plenty of angry glares, but all that was temporarily forgotten when I saw the cockpit of the car.

'This is so cool', I exclaimed as I admired the steering wheel, the shifter, and the golden and orange accents all over the place. 'Is this really the sun?'

Drawing on my history lessons, and my cards, I added, 'I thought Helios and Selene were sun and moon; how come it's sometimes them and sometimes you and Artemis?'

'Downsizing', Apollo said, as if that answered anything. He launched into a long-winded explanation about temples and Greco-Roman culture, but my next question was already itching to be asked.

'But I thought the sun was a big fiery ball of gas!'

See, I had learned that half a year ago when Bianca had checked out a science book from the library for me, and at the time, I had felt like the smartest person around for knowing all these things about the planets.

'It depends on whether you're talking astronomy and philosophy', Apollo answered, and the next explanation was even more long-winded and boring, and I didn't really understand a word of it.

'Can I drive?'

'No. Too young.'

Disappointed, I climbed out of the driver's seat and sat down next to Percy and Grover. Eventually, Thalia was chosen to drive, against her wishes, and I felt my sister-protector instincts flare up as he talked her into it.

'Take it away! You're gonna be a natural.'

She was not.

By the time Apollo yelled 'there', I was fearing for my life, and so was the rest of the passengers. The hunters, Bianca had explained, were immortal unless killed in combat, and I was probably not the only person wondering if 'drove into a tree at 500 mp/h' counted as well.

'Long Island, dead ahead', Apollo announced. 'Let's slow down, dear. "Dead" is only an expression.'

Out the window, I could see a coast, and in a valley, a sort of little town, with some houses and such.

'Brake', Apollo said, and then, 'BRAKE!'

And then we hit the water. Once the glowing-hot bus had stopped turning everything into steam, I could make out a lake with a few boats in it and the town – well, camp, this had to be this 'Camp Half-Blood' – around it.

'Well', Apollo gleefully said, 'let's go see if we boiled anyone important, shall we?'

What an insufferable prick.