CONTENT WARNINGS:

Mention of past bullying; mention of homophobia; childhood trauma; familial abandonment; forced coming out; canon-typical violence

COMMENTS FROM THE AUTHOR:

In my drafts, this chapter was titled: "Drew vs Cupid Grand Slam Sibling Battle WWE".

Drew had no issues with the same sex; in fact, she was definitely the bisexual and lesbian awakening for more than enough girls and helped a lot of them understand the joys of womanly pleasure. Miranda Gardener could attest to that and Kayla Knowles; even if the latter didn't go too far because Apollo was such a protective father and a cockblock.

That said when she dreamed, it was usually about people that she was already sleeping with or was hoping to sleep with.

She was not trying to sleep with Reyna though she did think that the girl would look pretty on her knees.

However, she was pretty sure that Lilith had already called dibs on that if the way that her newly found half-sister reacted to Drew's information about the girl flying to meet them.

'Crossing the Atlantic is a hard journey, no doubt." said Lilith, nibbling on her bottom lip. "But I'd never bet against Reyna. If anyone can make it, she will.'

Drew wanted to comment on that, but she knew if she opened her mouth, then she might comment on the bags under the girl's eyes that she was hiding under a brilliant application of makeup. She would probably also comment on the fact that everyone was seemingly skipping out on the sleeping schedules that they applied.

Like Rue who was sitting in the corner of the room, shuffling aster's tarot cards over and over again. Rue wasn't making any pulls, but it was clear that gesture was more for comfort than anything else.

There was Travis who actually did sleep since he was on night shift, but he took to sleeping curled around Katie who had the morning shift no matter where she was. She had been forced into the kitchen and lower levels plenty of times to keep him comfortable enough so that it was easy for her to sneak off.

Gods do not get her started on Leo. Drew had half a mind that he was starting to become resistant to her charmspeak just like he was resistant to getting some fucking sleep! If she found out that he was skipping out on sleep again, she was going to charm him into a goddamn coma deeper than the one Nico was having!

Or maybe she'd punch him into one; either was fine as long as he went to fucking sleep.

"She'll be fine though," Lilith said as if she was reassuring herself. "You said she was expecting them to go to a certain place on the way to the House of Hades?" Drew nodded and Lilith allowed a small shy smile.

"And where is this place?" Drew asked, tilting her head to the side. Her fingers scratched at Leo's scalp, feeling his curls twirl about her fingers.

"A town called Split," Lilith replied. "But we should be getting close. Leo?"

The boy in her lap unfurled, and Drew gave her sister an exasperated look. She had infused relaxing and comforting emotions into him that would make him pliant enough to go to sleep.

Leo reached over to the intercom, and Drew let her hands fall to mess with the ripped threads of her jeans. She put on a pair of Street High Waist Slant Pocket Ripped Straight Leg Jean except the ripped thread was in pink. Because it was her color. Literally. For her fifteenth birthday, Apollo had bought that shade of pink and named it after her.

She was coming to terms that she saw the man as a Father instead of the replacement and better archer brother that he paraded himself as to her. She'd think more on that another day. Frankly speaking, she had too many fathers for a person that hated her biological father dead.

The pants were also a favorite of her and Leo, and she was hoping to use it to distract him into falling for her natural charm and going to sleep.

'How's it going up there, buddy?'

Festus creaked and steamed.

'He says maybe ten minutes to the harbour,' Leo reported, sitting back up. 'Though I still don't get why you want to go to Croatia, especially a town called Split. I mean, you name your city Split, you gotta figure it's a warning to, you know, split. Kind of like naming your city Get Out!'

'Wait,' Rue said. 'Why are we going to Croatia?'

Drew noticed that the others were reluctant to meet aster's eyes. Since ast trick with the Mist against Sciron the bandit, Rue had been meditating on and off as ast struggled to get aster's powers under control. None of the Romans had been surprised by aster's ability to kill with a touch, but they were surprised by the ability to resurrect someone over and over again until the only thing left was a white popular tree that was kicked into the mouth of a giant turtle. Rue's vitiligo patches hadn't stopped glowing as ast dangled on the bridge of life and death, seeing the "mysteries" of the world. Lou Ellen and Terrel were helping all that they could, especially since the speed lessons of learning magic seemed to work well for the child of Pluto.

And afterwards, according to Rue, Pluto himself had appeared. That was something Romans typically called a bad omen, but Rue called a typical family check in.

Pushing his chips and hot sauce aside, Leo said, "Well, technically we've been in Croatian territory for the past day or so. All that coastline we've been sailing past is it, but I guess back in the Roman times it was called ... What'd you say, Drew? Bodacious?'

'Dalmatia,' Cecil said, stepping forward with his eyes on Lilith.

'Croatia used to be Dalmatia,' Cecil said. 'A major Roman province. You want to visit Diocletian's Palace, don't you?'

Coach Hedge managed another heroic belch. 'Whose palace? And is Dalmatia where those Dalmatian dogs come from? That 101 Dalmatians movie – I still have nightmares.'

Frank scratched his head. 'Why would you have nightmares about that?'

Coach Hedge looked like he was about to launch into a major speech about the evils of cartoon Dalmatians, but Drew decided she didn't want to know.

'Cecil is right,' Lilith said. 'You'll need to go to Diocletian's Palace. It's where Reyna will go first, because she knows I would go there.'

"Why would she think that," Drew asked, tilting her head to the side. Her curls fell down like a curtain, distracting Leo as she knew that it would. "Because you've always had a mad fascination with Croatian culture?" She personally loved their outfits, and Ángela had been inspired to make clothes that were a blend of modern and traditional. In fact, Drew thought that she had something packed in her closet, but there were a lot of clothes based on the various Mediterranean cultures in there so she wasn't sure.

'Reyna and I used to talk about Diocletian,' Lilith admitted. "She and Jason kind of idolized the guy as a leader. They talked about how they'd like to visit Diocletian's Palace. Of course we knew that was impossible. No one could travel to the ancient lands, but when Jason was busy chasing behind Octavian, me and her talked about it too so we made this pact that if we ever did that's where we'd go.'

'Diocletian ...' Leo considered the name, then shook his head. 'I got nothing. Why was he so important?'

Frank looked offended. 'He was the last great pagan emperor!'

Leo rolled his eyes. 'Why am I not surprised you know that, Zhang?'

'Why wouldn't I? He was the last one who worshipped the Olympian gods, before Constantine came along and adopted Christianity.'

Rue nodded. "Tch. The nuns at my sister's old school used to say that Diocletian was a huge villain right along with Nero and Caligula." Ast sat back, crossing aster's arms behind ast's back. 'But I don't really give a shit what shitty racist old christians think so."

"He wasn't a total villain. Yeah, he persecuted Christians, but otherwise he was a good ruler. He worked his way up from nothing by joining the legion. His parents were former slaves ... or at least his mom was. Demigods know he was a son of Jupiter – the last demigod to rule Rome." Lilith smiled absently. "I personally never gave a damn about some stuffy old dead guy but Reyna was obsessed. She knew how he was the first emperor ever to retire, like, peacefully, and give up his power. He was from Dalmatia, so he moved back there and built a retirement palace. The town of Split grew up around ...'

She faltered when he looked at Leo, who was mimicking taking notes with an air pencil.

'Go on, Professor Star!' he said, wide-eyed. Drew whacked him upside the head. 'I wanna get an A on the test.'

'Shut up, Leo.'

Chelsea sipped another spoonful of soup. 'So why is Diocletian's Palace so special?'

Cecil leaned over and plucked a grape. 'It's said to be haunted by the ghost of Diocletian. Except his tomb was destroyed centuries ago."

"Reyna and I used to wonder if we could find Diocletian's ghost and ask where he was buried ... well, according to the legends, his sceptre was buried with him." Lilith admitted.

Rue gave a small smile, looking to the ceiling. "Ah ... that legend.'

'What legend?' Gracie asked.

Rue turned to the younger girl. 'Supposedly Diocletian's sceptre could summon the ghosts of the Roman legions, any of them who worshipped the old gods.'

Leo whistled. 'Okay, now I'm interested. Be nice to have a booty-kicking army of pagan zombies on our side when we enter the House of Hades.'

"Mmcht," Drew hmphed. "It's not the only house we need to worry about. This place isn't just Diocletian's old palace grounds."

"You know it too then," Lilith said with a smile.

"Yeah,' Drew reluctantly admitted. "This place also belongs to the Ghost of Asshole Siblings. The God of Hallmark and Lifetime Movie Network."

"Who...?" Cecil and Rue both asked.

"Cupid," Lilith answered when it was clear that Drew wasn't going to. "He's like the best older brother a girl can have."

Drew wanted to scoff because seriously, let's not tell lies.

"I've always wanted to visit," Lilith sighed, "But I swore an oath to him years ago that I wouldn't come without his explicit approval."

"So who's going to go then," Sherman asked. "I doubt Diocletian or Cupid is going to show up for someone not on the quest."

All eyes flickered to Drew and Rue.

"Yeah, no," Rue snickered. "I'm like this close to getting my powers under control, but it's still too risky to send me out. I might accidentally resurrect him completely or banish his soul to the Underworld or start a zombie apocalypse."

"For someone that likes to pretend that they were dead inside," Chelsea started, "you sure tend to avoid dealing with it."

Rue waved a hand. "I'll deal with the dead when I am dead."

"I just don't like him," Drew admitted. "We don't get along. At all."

In fact, she wanted to shove katropon right into that bastard's eyes.

'We don't have much time,' Sherman warned, and she didn't like the look of disappointment on her stepbrother's face. 'It's already July ninth. We have to get to Epirus, close the Doors of Death –'

'Which are guarded,' Rue murmured, "by a smoky giant and a sorceress who wants ..." Rue pursed ast's lips. 'Well, I'm not sure. But according to Father, she plans to 'rebuild her domain'. Whatever that means, it's bad enough that my dad felt like warning me personally.'

Frank grunted. 'And, if we survive all that, we still have to find out where the giants are waking Gaia and get there before the first of August. Besides, the longer the others are in Tartarus–'

Drew growled because dammit, she couldn't leave Apollo's fiancé in hell nor the others. She had a wedding to plan! There was no wedding without both the grooms. Jake missed his girlfriend. Alina was still crooning over losing her friend alongside Pranjal who apparently didn't have anyone to bully into taking care of their health. And Drew's own bed wasn't as warm as it could be without Jason despite the fact that Leo was a walking furnace.

And to top it all off, they were her friends and that was the most important reason to free them.

'I know,' Drew said, and she was pouting. "Fine. I'll go. I want it noted that I protest this though. Loudly."

"It'll be fine, Drew-drop."

"Don't call me that," she said automatically, swatting Leo on the shoulder. "Though you're right as long as I don't have to see the bastard. I might be in luck. He probably won't be home." He'd probably be off tormenting some other incredibly beautiful and certainly more talented younger sibling that'll shove a foot so far up his ass that it came out his left eardrum. "I'll leave a message for Reyna if you're sure she's going to go there. We can let her know the route that we take for Epirus."

Cecil nodded. 'The sceptre of Diocletian could make a huge difference. You'll need my help if Rue's not going. I'm the only one who can talk to his spirit unless you want to wake up one of the others.'

Drew shrugged. "Cool. I'm always down for a séance. Do I need to change clothes?" She knew that she had a day of the dead outfit but she could probably rig up a Séance-And-Assholes outfit.

"No," Cecil snorted.

The ship's bell sounded. Festus creaked and whirred over the loudspeaker.

'We've arrived,' Leo announced. 'Time to Split.'

Frank groaned. 'Can we leave Valdez in Croatia?'

Drew stood. "Frank and Rue, you're in charge of defending the ship. Leo, go to sleep. The rest of you, help out wherever you can. Cecil and I ghost to find."

The Argo II had anchored in the bay along with six or seven cruise ships. As usual, the mortals didn't pay the trireme any attention, but, just to be safe, Drew and Cecil hopped on a skiff from one of the tourist boats so they would look like part of the crowd when they came ashore.

At first glance, Split seemed like a cool place. Curving around the harbour was a long esplanade lined with palm trees. At the sidewalk cafés, European teenagers were hanging out, speaking a dozen different languages and enjoying the sunny afternoon. The air smelled of grilled meat and fresh-cut flowers.

Beyond the main boulevard, the city was a hodgepodge of mediaeval castle towers, Roman walls, limestone town houses with red-tiled roofs and modern office buildings all crammed together. In the distance, grey-green hills marched towards a mountain ridge, which made Drew a little nervous.

A part of her kept expecting the face of Gaia to appear in its shadows, but she pushed that thought behind her, and immediately began to do some haggling. If she had to suffer in Eros' territory while also looking for a ghost, then she was going to do some stress relief shopping.

It was as she was going to buy the younger boy some ice cream that she saw the fucker. At first, she thought it was Eros, and she was about to scream to the heavens because there went her mood, but no, the wings were the wrong color. These wings were made up of russet colors, like a bantam rooster or a lazy sunset. Eros' wings were somehow white; maybe because they provided a beautiful backdrop of blood for the evil bitch.

The vendor lady looked bored as she counted the guy's change. Tourists navigated around the dude's huge wings without a second glance.

Drew nudged Cecil. 'Are you seeing this?'

'Yeah,' Cecil agreed. 'Maybe we should buy some ice cream.'

As they made their way towards the street cart, Drew began to worry that this winged dude might be a son of Boreas, but she couldn't remember if he had more kids other than the twins and Princess Popsicle. At his side, the dude carried the same kind of jagged bronze sword the Boreads had, and Drew's last encounter with them hadn't gone so well.

This guy seemed more chill than chilly though his fashion taste was just as horrid. He wore a red tank top, Bermuda shorts and huarache sandals. He had a deep tan and black hair almost as curly as Leo's. If this was Diocletian's spirit, she was going to laugh about a christian prosecutor becoming an angel even if he wasn't biblically accurate.

'He's not a returned spirit,' Cecil murmured. 'Or a creature of the Underworld.'

'No,' Drew agreed. 'I doubt they would eat chocolate-covered ice-cream bars.'

'So what is he?' Cecil wondered.

They got within thirty feet, and the winged dude looked directly at them. He smiled, gestured over his shoulder with his ice-cream bar and dissolved into the air.

Drew couldn't exactly see him, but she had a sense of something, spiralling down the sidewalk and blowing postcards from the carousels in front of the tourist shops. The wind headed towards the end of the promenade, where a big fortress-like structure loomed.

Ugh, she wished Jason was there. He would have had a better chance of understanding whatever was going on.

'I'm betting that's the palace,' Drew said. 'Come on.'

Even after two millennia, Diocletian's Palace was still impressive. The outer wall was only a pink granite shell, with crumbling columns and arched windows open to the sky, but it was mostly intact, a quarter mile long and seventy or eighty feet tall, dwarfing the modern shops and houses that huddled beneath it. Drew imagined what the palace must have looked like when it was newly built, with Imperial guards walking the ramparts and the golden eagles of Rome glinting on the parapets.

The wind angel – or whatever he was – whisked in and out of the pink granite windows, then disappeared on the other side. Drew scanned the palace's facade for an entrance. The only one he saw was several blocks away, with tourists lined up to buy tickets. No time for that.

'We've got to catch him,' Drew said, summoning her bow and a grappling arrow from her necklace. 'Hold on.'

'But –'

Drew grabbed Cecil, shot her arrow, and the two of them went flying into the air. Cecil made a muffled sound of protest as they soared over the walls and into a courtyard where more tourists were milling around, taking pictures.

A little kid did a double take when they landed. Then his eyes glazed over and he shook his head, like he was dismissing a juice-box-induced hallucination.

No one else paid them any attention.

A little rude. Drew was used to being the center of attention, but she'd take what she can get. She pulled out her pocket mirror, fixing her hair and checking her makeup.

On the left side of the courtyard stood a line of columns holding up weathered grey arches. On the right side was a white marble building with rows of tall windows.

"The peristyle,' Cecil said. 'This was the entrance to Diocletian's private residence.'

"How do you know what this place is called?" Drew asked, and was promptly ignored.

Drew was not liking this at all.

Cecil scanned the atrium. He focused on some steps in the far corner, leading down. His eyes swept the windows above them. 'Roman dead are everywhere here ... Lares. Lemures. They're watching. They're angry.'

'At us?' Drew's hand went to her necklace while the other brushed where she had hidden katropon.

'At everything.' Cecil pointed to a small stone building on the west end of the courtyard. 'That used to be a temple to Jupiter. The Christians changed it to a baptistery. The Roman ghosts don't like that.'

"Don't blame them," said Drew as she stared at the dark doorway. "I'd be pissed too if someone came into my house and started redecorating."

'And over there ...' Cecil pointed east to a hexagonal building ringed with free standing columns. 'That was the mausoleum of the emperor.'

'But his tomb isn't there any more,' Drew guessed, but she was also inwardly wondering when did he have time to look at the blueprints for the place. Was he looking over a tourist guide when she wasn't looking?

'Not for centuries,' Cecil said. 'When the empire collapsed, the building was turned into a Christian cathedral.'

Drew swallowed. 'So if Diocletian's ghost is still around here –'

'He's probably not happy.'

The wind rustled, pushing leaves and food wrappers across the peristyle. In the corner of her eye, Drew caught a glimpse of movement – a blur of red and gold. When she turned, a single rust-coloured feather was settling on the steps that led down.

'That way.' Drew pointed. 'The winged guy. Where do you think those stairs lead?'

'Underground,' he said as he pulled out his sword. 'My favourite place.'

Underground was not Drew's favourite place nor was she wearing the proper clothes. And since she nearly drowned beneath Rome, fought Gigantica's ugly step brothers, and lost four of her dear friends to the depths of hell, well it was just easier to say that she was no fan of it.

They crept through a vast cellar with thick support columns holding up a vaulted ceiling. The limestone blocks were so old they had fused together from centuries of moisture, making the place look almost like a naturally formed cave.
None of the tourists had ventured down here. Obviously, they were smarter than demigods.

Drew fingered her bow, tapping at her necklace to ensure that she was ready to draw an arrow at any time. The two of them made their way under the low archways, their steps echoing on the stone floor. Barred windows lined the top of one wall, facing the street level, but that just made the cellar feel more claustrophobic. The shafts of sunlight looked like slanted prison bars, swirling with ancient dust.

Drew passed a support beam, looked to her left and almost had a heart attack. Staring right at her was a marble bust of Diocletian, his limestone face glowering with disapproval. Drew stuck her tongue out at it, placing the note that Lilith had written for Reyna between the bust and the pedestal, telling her of their route to Epirus.

Diocletian's marble eyes made Drew jumpy even as Cecil came to her side, inspecting the bust before casting his gaze around the room. She couldn't help thinking of Terminus, the talking statue-god back at New Rome. Very weird behavior, and she really hoped this one didn't talk. Hundreds of years in such a dusty place would be horrible, and she didn't want to know if statues had bad breath either.

'Hello!'

Before Drew could register that the voice had come from somewhere else, Cecil sliced off the emperor's head and Drew eeped, an arrow flying through the air before suddenly going off course. The bust toppled and shattered against the floor.

'That wasn't very nice,' said the voice behind them.

Drew turned. The winged man from the ice-cream stand was leaning against a nearby column, casually tossing a small bronze hoop in the air. At his feet sat a wicker picnic basket full of fruit.

'I mean,' the man said, 'what did Diokletianós ever do to you?'

The air swirled around their feet. The shards of marble gathered into a miniature tornado, spiralled back to the pedestal and reassembled into a complete bust, the note still tucked underneath.

'Uh –' Cecil lowered his sword. 'It was an accident."

'You startled him," Drew accused.

The winged dude chuckled. 'Drew Tanaka, the West Wind has been called many things ... warm, gentle, life-giving and devilishly handsome. But I have never been called startling. I leave that crass behaviour to my gusty brethren in the north.'

Cecil inched backwards. 'The West Wind? You mean you're—'

'Zephyrus,' Drew realized. 'God of the West Wind. Husband of her Lady Iris.'

Zephyrus smiled and bowed, obviously pleased to be recognized. Mmcht. Drew knew how much Apollo hated him and had actually rendered his service to getting him and Iris to divorce because according to her patron... no one should be stuck with this sad excuse for a man especially when the asshole was still crooning over Apollo's lost love. 'You can call me by my Roman name, Favonius, or Zéphuros, since you're Greek. I'm not hung up about it.'

Cecil looked pretty hung up about it. "Why aren't your Greek and Roman sides in conflict, like the other gods?"

'Oh, I have the occasional headache.' Zephyrus shrugged. 'Some mornings I'll wake up in a Greek chiton when I'm sure I went to sleep in my SPQR pyjamas. But mostly the war doesn't bother me. I'm a minor god, you know—never really been much in the limelight. The to-and-fro battles among you demigods don't affect me as greatly.'

"What are you doing here?' Drew demanded.

'Several things!' Zephyrus said. 'Hanging out with my basket of fruit. I always carry a basket of fruit. Would you like a pear?'

'No.'

'Let's see ... earlier I was eating ice cream. Right now I'm tossing this quoit ring.' Zephyrus spun the bronze hoop on his index finger.

"Why are you here," Drew snapped. "Why did you lead us to this cellar?'

'Oh!' Zephyrus nodded. 'The sarcophagus of Diokletianós. Yes. This was its final resting place. The Christians moved it out of the mausoleum. Then some barbarians destroyed the coffin. I just wanted to show you—' he spread his hands sadly—'that what you're looking for isn't here. My master has taken it.'

'Your master?' For a moment, Drew thought he was talking about Aeolus who had control over all the winds, but then she remembered where she was, who she was speaking with, and a nifty little piece of knowledge from Apollo. "Oh, wonderful. It's a family reunion."

"Drew?" Cecil asked.

'Eros, remember,' Drew's voice turned edgy. 'Cupid, in Latin. I personally call him a whiny bitch with mommy issues.'

Crazy when they have the same mother.

Zephyrus smiled. 'Very good, Drew Tanaka. I'm glad to see you again, by the way, Cecil. It's been a long time.'

Cecil knitted his eyebrows. 'I've never met you.'

"You've never seen me,' the god corrected. 'But I've been watching you. When you came here as a small boy, a family trip I believe it was. I knew eventually you would return to look upon my master's face."

Cecil turned, face pale and eyes darting around the cavernous room as if he was starting to feel trapped.

'Cecil?' Drew said. 'What's he talking about?'

'I don't know. Nothing.'

'Nothing?' Zephyrus cried. 'The one you care for most ... plunged into Tártara, and still you will not allow the truth?'

Drew raised a brow. Percy? Annabeth? Nico went too though she couldn't recall if he met the boy before the Titan War. Nico liked to keep to himself which was rather unfortunate. She would love to help him get rid of those bags under his eyes. She knew that the person that he cared for the most couldn't be Octavian because they had only just met, and she didn't think it was Jason, but what did she know.

Heck, did Cecil even like boys?

'We've only come for Diocletian's sceptre,' Cecil said, clearly anxious to change the subject.

'Where is it?'

'Ah ...' Zephyrus nodded sadly. 'You thought it would be as easy as facing Diokletianós' ghost? I'm afraid not, Cecil. Your trials will be much more difficult. You know, long before this was Diokletianós' Palace, it was the gateway to my master's court. I've dwelt here for aeons, bringing those who sought love into the presence of Cupid.'

Drew didn't like the mention of difficult trials, and she definitely didn't trust anyone that spoke about Eros so happily; Lilith notwithstanding, not everyone could be as perfect as Drew. However, she knew how this story went. 'Like Psyche, Eros' wife. You carried her to his palace.'

Zephyrus's eyes twinkled. 'Very good, Drew Tanaka. From this exact spot, I carried Psykhḗ on the winds and brought her to the chambers of my master. In fact, that is why Diokletianós built his palace here. This place has always been graced by the gentle West Wind.' He spread his arms. 'It is a spot of tranquility and love in a turbulent world. When Diokletianós' Palace was ransacked—"

'You took the sceptre,' Drew guessed.

'For safekeeping,' Zephyrus agreed. 'It is one of Cupid's many treasures, a reminder of better times. If you want it ...' Zephyrus turned to Cecil. 'You must face the god of love.'

Cecil stared at the sunlight coming through the windows, as if wishing he could escape through those narrow openings.

Drew wasn't sure what Zephyrus wanted, but if facing the god of love meant forcing Cecil into some sort of confession about which girl he liked, that didn't seem so bad. Unless it wasn't a girl...

Oh, if this was what she thought it was, she was going to stick an arrow so far up his ass that it came out like a unicorn's horn.

"Cecil, you don't have to do this,' Drew assured. "Believe me, I can handle my asshole sibling. That fucker isn't as scary as he likes to think. We'll get the sceptre."

Cecil didn't look convinced, but he squared his shoulders and nodded. 'You're right. I – I'm not afraid of a love god.'

Zephyrus beamed. 'Excellent! Would you like a snack before you go?' He plucked a green apple from his basket and frowned at it. 'Oh, bluster. I keep forgetting my symbol is a basket of unripe fruit. Why doesn't the spring wind get more credit? Summer has all the fun.'

'That's okay,' Cecil said quickly. 'Just take us to Cupid.'

Zephyrus spun the hoop on his finger, and Drew's body dissolved into air.

Drew had ridden the wind many times. It was a perk when one was sleeping with the child of Jupiter. She rode on pegasi throughout her life and flew through turbulent winds. There were the so-called training sessions that she had with Eros growing up.

Being the wind was not the same.

Love was supposed to be freeing, but Drew didn't want to be this free. She felt out of control, her thoughts scattered, no boundaries between her body and the rest of the world.

Drew could sense Cecil's presence nearby. The West Wind carried them into the sky above Split.

Together they raced over the hills, past Roman aqueducts, highways and vineyards. As they approached the mountains, Drew saw the ruins of a Roman town spread out in a valley below – crumbling walls, square foundations and cracked roads, all overgrown with grass – so it looked like a giant, mossy game board.

Zephyrus set them down in the middle of the ruins, next to a broken column the size of a redwood.

Drew's body reformed. For a moment it felt even worse than being the wind, like she'd suddenly been wrapped in a lead overcoat.

"Yes, mortal bodies are terribly bulky,' Zephyrus said, as if reading her thoughts. The wind god settled on a nearby wall with his basket of fruit and spread his russet wings in the sun. 'Honestly, I don't know how you stand it, day in and day out.'

"You do that shit again and I'll pluck your feathers off one by one and turn you into a filet you overgrown chicken," Drew snarled, baring her teeth.

Maybe she was a bit on edge with having to face one of her childhood tormentors, but really who could blame her?

Drew huffed, turning to scan her surroundings. The town must have been huge once. She could make out the shells of temples and bathhouses, a half-buried amphitheatre and empty pedestals that must have once held statues. Rows of columns marched off to nowhere. The old city walls weaved in and out of the hillside like stone thread through a green cloth.

Some areas looked like they'd been excavated, but most of the city just seemed abandoned, as if it had been left to the elements for the last two thousand years.

'Welcome to Salona,' Zephyrus said. 'Capital of Dalmatia! Birthplace of Diokletianós! But before that, long before that, it was the home of Cupid.'

The name echoed, as if voices were whispering it through the ruins. Something about this place seemed even creepier than the palace basement in Split.

Drew tried not to think about her asshole sibling. She had much better ones, but she couldn't deny that he lingered in some of her nightmares. She couldn't deny the pleasure that she had whenever Apollo told her about how he tormented the fucker.

It had taken long talks with Apollo to get over her fear of him anyhow. "If you wouldn't go to him or anyone else for advice, then don't take their criticism," Apollo had said, and it worked the best to get over that part of her childhood.

'Oh, he's not like that,' said Zephyrus.

Cecil flinched. 'You can read my mind?'

'I don't need to.' Zephyrus tossed his bronze hoop in the air. 'Everyone has the wrong impression of Cupid ... until they meet him.'

Cecil braced himself against a column, his legs trembling visibly. At Cecil's feet, the grass turned brown and wilted. The dead patch spread outwards, as if poison were seeping from the soles of his shoes.

'Ah ...' Zephyrus nodded sympathetically. 'I don't blame you for being nervous, Cecil Markowitz. Do you know how I ended up serving Cupid?'

'I don't serve anyone,' Cecil muttered. 'Especially not Cupid.'

Zephyrus continued as if he hadn't heard. 'I fell in love with a mortal named Huákinthos. He was quite extraordinary.'

"Eros struck you with his arrow, and you fell in love.' Drew huffed. "And he didn't want you."

Zephyrus snorted. 'You make it sound so simple. Alas, love is never simple. You see, the god Apóllōn also liked Huákinthos. He claimed they were just friends. I don't know. But one day I came across them together, playing a game of quoits—'

'Quoits?' repeated Cecil.

'A game with those hoops,' Drew explained dryly. 'Like horseshoes.'

'Sort of,' Zephyrus said. 'At any rate, I was jealous. Instead of confronting them and finding out the truth, I shifted the wind and sent a heavy metal ring right at Huákinthos' head and ... well." The wind god sighed. Drew wondered if it was petty of her to not mention that the man was roaming around in 'the plant gang', but then again, the asshole was working with Eros so he could eat shit for all she cared. "As Huákinthos died, Apóllōn turned him into a flower, the hyacinth. I'm sure Apóllōn would've taken horrible vengeance on me, but Cupid offered me his protection. I'd done a terrible thing, but I'd been driven mad by love, so he spared me, on the condition that I work for him forever.'

CUPID.

The name echoed through the ruins again.

'That would be my cue.' Zephyrus stood. 'Think long and hard about how you proceed, Cecil Markowitz. You cannot lie to Cupid. If you let your anger rule you ... well, your fate will be even sadder than mine.'

The wind god disappeared in a swirl of red and gold. The summer air suddenly felt oppressive. The ground shook, and Cecil drew his sword while Drew hefted her bow.

So.

The voice rushed past Drew's ear like a bullet. When she turned, no one was there.

Oh, you want to play those games, diaper boy.

You come to claim the sceptre.

'Eros,' Drew called as Cecil stood at her back, 'where are you?'

The voice laughed that same laugh that haunted her nightmares. Deep and rich but also threatening—like a tremor before a major earthquake.

Where you least expect me, Eros answered. As Love always is.

Something slammed into Drew, hurling her across the street where she toppled down a set of steps and sprawled on the floor of an excavated Roman basement.

I would think you'd know better, Tanaka Aeri. Eros' voice whirled around her. You've found true love, after all. Or do you still doubt yourself? Do you still deny yourself with claims of not being ready?

Cecil scrambled down the steps. 'You okay?'

Drew accepted his hand and got to her feet. 'Yeah. Just sucker punched.'

Oh, did you expect me to play fair? Eros laughed. I am the god of love. I am never fair.

Tuh, and she was Beyoncé.

"I'm so telling Mom," Drew grumbled. "And Apollo. I can't wait to see him kick your ass. Hopefully, this time he lets me help."

This time, Drew's senses were on high alert. She felt the air ripple just as an arrow materialized, racing towards Cecil's chest. Drew intercepted it with her own arrow, knocking it off course. The arrows exploded against the nearest wall, peppering them with limestone shrapnel.

They ran up the steps. Drew pulled Cecil to one side as another gust of wind toppled a column that would have crushed him flat.

'Are you Love or Death?' Drew growled. It's a question she used to ask herself every day. Funny how little things change.

Ask your friends, Eros said. Frank, Rue and Percy met my counterpart, Thánatos. We are not so different. Except Death is sometimes kinder.

'We just want the sceptre!' Cecil shouted. 'We're trying to stop Gaia. Are you on the gods' side or not?'

A second arrow hit the ground between Cecil's feet and glowed white-hot. Cecil stumbled back as the arrow burst into a geyser of flame.

Love is on every side, Eros said. And no one's side. Don't ask what Love can do for you.

"You know," Drew sneered. "A couple thousand years ago, Mother gave birth to the wrong thing."

There was movement behind her: Drew planted her left foot and spun around in a high kick. Her right foot connected with something solid, and she heard the crunch of bone and cartilage alongside a grunt. She brought her arrowhead up, but the coward was gone. On the paving stones, a trail of golden ichor shimmered—the blood of the gods.

Very good, little sister, Eros said. At least you can sense my presence. Even a glancing hit at true love is more than most heroes manage. Much better than when you were younger.

'So now I get the sceptre?' Drew asked.

Eros laughed. Unfortunately, you could not wield it. Only a child of the Underworld can summon the dead legions. And only an officer of Rome can lead them.

"We got about a dozen of those—" The third arrow zipped by Drew's shoulder. Unable to stop it in time, she watched as it sank into Cecil's sword arm. 'Cecil!'

The son of Hermes stumbled. The arrow dissolved, leaving no blood and no visible wound, but Cecil's face was tight with rage and pain.

'Enough games!' Cecil shouted. 'Show yourself!'

It is a costly thing, Eros said, looking on the true face of Love.

"You don't the first thing about love," Drew shot back.

The air shimmered with repressed anger.

Don't I? My wife Psykhḗ learned that lesson, Eros said. She was brought here aeons ago, when this was the site of my palace. We met only in the dark. She was warned never to look upon me, and yet she could not stand the mystery. She feared I was a monster. One night, she lit a candle, and beheld my face as I slept.

"A wondrous case of stockholm syndrome," mocked Drew, zeroing in on his voice—at the edge of the amphitheatre about twenty yards away—but she wanted to make sure. "No other way that she could truly love someone as ugly as you."

The god laughed. I was too handsome, I'm afraid. A mortal cannot gaze upon the true appearance of a god without suffering consequences.

"I wasn't talking about your looks, asshole," Drew sneered. "An ugly soul makes for an ugly person, birdbrain."

Eros snickered before ignoring her words. Yes, well, Mother, Aphrodítē, cursed Psykhḗ for her distrust. My poor lover was tormented, forced into exile, given horrible tasks to prove her worth. She was even sent to the Underworld on a quest to show her dedication. She earned her way back to my side, but she suffered greatly.

Now I've got you, Drew thought. She shot her arrow, watching as it weaved through the air before an explosion blasted a crater where the voice had been speaking.

Silence.

A good try, Eros said, before he knocked her to the ground and stepped down harshly on her bow, cracking it down the middle. But you're still too slow, little sister. What has Apóllōn been teaching you, hm? You know love cannot be pinned down so easily.

Drew stared at her broken weapon, tears welling in her eyes. She—Apollo gave her that. He—Eros was nothing more than a shitty jerk.

Next to her, a wall collapsed, and Cecil barely managed to pull her away though she choked on a sob as her weapon was buried beneath it.

'Stop it!' Cecil yelled. 'It's me you want. Leave her alone!'

Poor Cecil Markowitz. The god's voice was tinged with disappointment. Do you know what you want, much less what I want? My beloved Psykhḗ risked everything in the name of Love. It was the only way to atone for her lack of faith. And you – what have you risked in my name?

"I've seen the horrors of the dead since I was old enough to understand what I was seeing. I've been deep within the field of punishment and stood over the depths of hell itself. You don't scare me,' Cecil snarled.

Why the fuck was so many people getting close to hell? Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Nico, Octavian, and Jason. She was getting a bit worried that she would be next.

I scare you very, very much. Face me. Be honest.

Drew pulled herself up as all around her and Cecil, the ground shifted. The grass withered, and the stones cracked as if something was moving in the earth beneath, trying to push its way through. The air cooled like it did around all the Netherworld kids, and it gave Drew enough of a clear head to push her grief for her weapon back and let her rage come forth.

'Give us Diocletian's sceptre,' Cecil said. 'We don't have time for games.'

Games? Eros struck, slapping the boy sideways into a granite pedestal. Love is no game! It is no flowery softness! It is hard work – a quest that never ends. It demands everything from you—especially the truth. Only then does it yield rewards.

Drew retrieved Cecil's sword, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath. She let her mind drift, listening to the world around her. She was a huntress, and the world was her prey.

'Cecil,' she called, 'what does this jerk want from you?'

Tell her, Cecil Markowitz, Eros said. Tell her you are a coward, afraid of yourself and your feelings. Tell her why you search for love amongst the dead, and why you are always alone even with your family around you.

Cecil let loose a guttural scream. The ground at his feet split open and Drew slammed her eyes back shut when she saw all the ghosties crawling forth—dead Romans with missing hands and caved-in skulls, cracked ribs and jaws unhinged. Some were dressed in the remnants of togas. Others had glinting pieces of armour hanging off their chests.

None of them looked like the spirits she saw back at Camp Jupiter.

Will you hide among the dead, as you always do? Eros taunted.

"Sounds like you have a crush to me, big brother," Drew smirked darkly, waiting for her moment. "You're targeting him just like you used to target me."

Oh, but you made it so easy, little sister. Eros mocked. You make it easy now. Hiding behind a wall of unresolved tension because you're too scared about your past.

"Va te faire foutre aussi." she grumbled even as she tensed, but she didn't let it affect her like it would have even just a few days ago. Drew knew she had baggage that brought her down from her childhood and the resentment that she felt for her sperm donor and his wife, and even towards Silena and the other siblings that left her for Death's cool embrace, and the asshole right in front of her. Her heart was a precious jewel, and it was protected behind walls so thick that it was hard to imagine anything that could bring them down.

No, she wouldn't let him have that kind of power over her.

"My past belongs to me," she said instead. "But I know how much you love thinking about me. I'm here to tell you, Roro, that it's okay to be obsessed with me, you know. This is a safe place."

The air shifted just a bit, and a hand seized her throat. My sweet darling sister. You don't want to know how obsessive love can be.

"I know if you don't take your hands off of me," Drew replied evenly, not letting him bother her. "You won't have hands."

And then, she threw her head forehead. Pain blossomed on her forehead, but it did the same to him. She hoped that she broke his nose again.

Bitch.

Eros became visible—a lean, muscular young man with snowy white wings, straight black hair, a simple white frock and jeans. The bow and quiver slung over his shoulder were no toys—they were weapons of war. His eyes were as red as blood, as if every valentine in the world had been squeezed dry, distilled into one poisonous mixture. His face was handsome, but also harsh—as difficult to look at as a spotlight.

Drew smirked a bit cruelly. "I knew it smelt like an idiotic bitch in here." She made an exaggerated show off sniffing the air. "Mhm. Stupidity and fake prada."

He was snarling, those inhumanly perfect features wild and rabid, hair tumbling over his shoulders like shadows bleeding out the day; and Drew matched him. She felt more like a rabid animal than a human, but damn does this asshole bring it out of her.

I'm getting really tired of your shit, Aeri.

"You don't get to call me that, baby bottle b—"

Before Drew can finish her sentence, Eros drove a boot into Drew's jawline. Her teeth snapped together with a resounding clack, and the sword dropped out of her hand in shock and pain.

Drew reached a shaky hand to her jaw. "Bitch, if you bruise my face, I'll rip yours off!"

Drew crouched, flipping onto her hands and did a kicking spin. She felt more than she saw the connection before she was immediately back on her feet. Eros was thrown into the cavern walls; not that it did much to the asshole because the two of them were immediately meeting each other blow for blow in the middle.

"Drew!" Cecil shouts.

"Get away," she yelled back. "I'm going to kick this bird's ass."

Eros made an offended sound that reverberated through Drew as he had her in a headlock.

Bird? Really?! He huffed in irritation, but Drew didn't give him the chance to say more. Lifting her feet, she pushed her elbow back into his throat as she kicked off the wall. He dropped her, and she tucked herself into a ball as rolling with the movement. She came back up in a crouch, kicking her leg out at his legs that he neatly dodge.

You were never a match for me!

"Eat shit and die!" She lunged back towards him, kicking her foot into the meat of his chest and whipping katropon out. Asshole. Drew was never without a weapon even when she was a weapon. The celestial bronze sliced through the string of his bow, and the god gave a war cry at the damage of his weapon.

"Now we're even, you shitty chicken!"

He threw her off of him, but it wasn't enough to keep her down. He couldn't keep her down. Not anymore.

She just kept going back for more.

Eros was growling at her like a hellhound let loose, chest heaving like a bull and Drew was bringing her fists down over and over on his stupidly handsome face.

"You are the world's worst brother," Drew stated, fist clenching as prepared to say something that she knows would hurt because the idea of it hurts her and yet: "and I HATE YOU!"

And that hit Eros harder than anything else had in this fight, the wind knocked from his lungs despite the fact that Drew hadn't even touched him. He staggered back, wings fluttering like a bird that hasn't yet decided whether to leave the safety of its nest.

"Whaaa..." He trails off, features clouded in an emotion that he wasn't allowed to feel. The look on his irritable perfect face—like Drew plunged a knife into his chest and gouged it open. Yeah, at least he knew how she felt when she looked up to him as her darling older brother and got a monster instead. "You don't—That's not..."

"FUCK YOU!" Drew shouts. "You don't get to tell me how to feel!"

Lunging forward, Drew kicked her foot right into that soft spot of all males. Eros bent over in a high pitch squeal, and before he could fall to the ground, her fists cracked against his face.

Eros careened backwards, and Drew can tell that he hadn't realized that she had gotten so much stronger. She wasn't the brat that he threw helplessly in the air while he shot fucking arrows at her. No, this time she shot back.

She jumped and twirled midair, coming around and bashing her heels into his face. The sheer force knocked him back, spiraling into a tailspin, plummeting until he slammed into the ground.

By the time that he got his bearings, Drew's on him again. Beneath a barrage of stabs and punches, Drew was screaming and yelling, and the words were lost to her as fast they came, but she didn't stop.

"You tormented me all throughout childhood!"

Because you are weak! You've always been weak! Just as you are now! Give up or lose.

"I've grown, you bastard! The only Ls that I take are the ones that come with a V!"

How could you call yourself a child of love when you didn't even love yourself!

"How could I love myself when my own brother didn't?" Drew wanted to cry, but she had long stopped crying tears for this bastard.

"I HATE YOU!" and her voice boomed from the bottom of her diaphragm.

Eros growled, the look in his eyes borders on manic. Take it back. Take it back!

"No, fuck you," she screamed, and barely ducked under his punch. Her eyes slipped close, and she focused on her senses. She was a huntress, but if she let herself get distracted then she would become prey. There. She whirled around, katropon twisting in her hand and making contact with that ugly shirt. Ugh, how dare he call himself her brother and have no fashion sense?

His head ducked as her right leg soar through the air, missing him by mere centimeters. She twirled away as his hands sought to grasp her, spinning on her foot so that her back was never to him. His hand grabbed her wrist, and she braced herself, using the wall to push herself into the air, and land on top of his shoulders. She let her weight fall backwards and yanked on his air as she went. He cried out in pain and outrage, but he didn't have enough time to throw her off when they slammed into the ground.

"Don't you love to see the face of a bitch that thought shit was sweet," Drew smirked as her fists pummeled against his face, and if he was human, he would definitely be leaving with black eyes and knots on his face. Unfortunately, he was an immortal god, and he wrapped his hands around her waist to throw her off of him.

She rolled across the ground; dirt coated her arms and legs. Drew didn't let it stop her, jumping to her feet and charging right back at the god. Her arm wrapped around his leg locking him place while bringing her own leg up to kick. Eros dodged, forcing her to let go of him as she twisted through the air. Once she landed back on her feet, the two of them faced each other once more. His fist moved past her face as she narrowly dodged, but he was the one that had to take a step back once she sliced katropon through the air, almost cutting through his pretty eyes.

Love was blind after all.

Drew charged him once more, colliding with him like a raging bull. He aimed a punch at her jaw, but she ducked, tackling him to the ground. She plunged her dagger deep into his stomach. "Yield!"

I'd never yield to you.

Before he could do anything more however, the temperature plummeted abruptly to the point that she saw her breath when she breathed.

"Stop. Stop. STOP!" came the voice of Cecil, and the siblings blinked, breathing heavily as they remembered that he was there. Waves of darkness rolled off of him, and Drew had a moment to think that's not one of Hermes' powers before she was overwhelmed by the emotions within them.

Self-hatred: something that Drew understood sometimes. Not much. No one loved Drew more than Drew loved Drew, and she didn't love herself at times.

Shame: something that Drew knew well.

Fear; something that Drew tried not to feel.

And then the image overtook her mind, and she saw Camp Half-Blood, before Percy's wish. She saw the way that the Hunters were arriving at camp, crashing into the lake, and the look of awe on Nico's face as he took in the camp. He was the first person that made Cecil realize that boys could be attractive.

An insult to Drew's siblings if she ever heard it.

He spent days thinking about him; hiding behind his older sister, Hermia, as the boy made home in their cabin. He remembered watching him out of the corner of his eye as he settled somewhat into camp; the spirit of the woman that could only be his mother watching him lovingly outside of the boy's view. He had been horrified when he got close enough to sense that taste of death around him, thinking him to be another sibling, but the woman had assured that he wasn't. At least she did when she realized that Cecil could see her.

And then he left, and Cecil was borderline haunted by the memory of Nico in profile, a bright grin and ridiculously cheerful manner that was snatched away in a moment of death and grief.

Drew saw a dozen more scenes like this; mostly in the Underworld when the boy snuck down there and managed to catch sight of Nico. He found himself drawn more and more to this boy that willingly shrouded himself in darkness so similar to himself, but then—

Drew was a bit stunned, and a lot angry. Her Mother was the goddess of love; if anyone knew about sexual orientations then it was the Tenth Cabin so how the hell did she miss this?

Meanwhile, Cecil's spiritual friends became solid, surging forward and grappling with Eros' form. The god struggled, flinging the ghost aside, but they kept coming, pinning the god's arms.

Interesting! Eros said. Do you have the strength, after all?

Drew turned back towards him, ready to throw a punch at his nose again.

She was going to break that damn thing until he needed godly surgery!

"I don't..." Cecil began, cutting off and biting his lips. "I'm not..."

Still hiding, Cupid said, smashing another skeleton to pieces. You do not have the strength.

"Cecil,' Drew managed to say, 'it's okay. I get it.'

"No, you don't,' he said as he glanced over, pain and misery washing over his face, and a part of Drew felt insulted. Just because she was fucking Leo and Jason did not mean she did not have appreciation for the fairer sex. "There's no way you can understand."

And so, you run away again, Eros chided. From your friends, from your family, from yourself.

"I don't have friends!' Cecil yelled. 'My family kicked me out! I don't belong! I'll never belong!"

"I'm your friend," Drew protested. Cecil whirled around to stare at her, and she looked back at him evenly. "I'll be your best friend."

Crossing the room, she reached for his hand even when he stubbornly flinched away. "I'll be your family. We all will. I'm sure if you tell Travis right now, he'd abandon the quest and go kick your mortal family's ass." She tilted her chin haughtily. "And I'll help!"

Cecil looked at her in confusion. "What?"

"Yeah," Drew nodded decisively, turning her back on him and rolling up her sleeves. "I'll go kick the Markowitz family ass right after I finish beating this asshole." She threw herself back at her brother, knocking into him and the spirits dropped away. Ding dong, round three bitch.

"Wait, Drew!"

"You had no right," she yelled at Eros. "That's not what Love is about. You can't force anyone to come out! To do that means you're nothing more than a monster."

Love is the most savage monster of all.

"Yeah, and you've been one since I was a kid," Drew sneered. She brought katropon back down, his hand flinging out to grab her wrist when the darkness seemed to become darker. Except it wasn't darker because there seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel. When he found himself drowning in his own despair because his family knew that he liked a boy, and worse, said boy didn't even know he existed, he found a spark of light in a human embodiment of sunshine.

She saw the way he would purposely do dumb shit to get sent to the infirmary, and she made a mental note to talk about those self-destructive tendencies. He kept his eye out on the bright-eyed blond that seemingly lived in the infirmary more than his cabin, and he wasn't even hurt. He watched how he watched Nico the few times that the boy showed up around camp which wasn't a lot, but it was like the two of them just knew whenever he peeked in. He had to sit through the most awkward talk with his older brother, Connor, because the boy realized that he had a crush, and it was painful because the last brother he told made sure that he could never return home.

Drew wondered how Lee would feel to know that Luke's younger brother had feelings for his younger brother, and it was like Luke/Lee cold war all over again when they both had feelings for each other, but Luke was still mooning over Thalia and though he understood, Lee refused to be second place to a tree.

Lee hadn't known whether to laugh or cry when Thalia became a huntress, but Apollo had grumbled about his son's broken heart plenty of times. At least until Lee died, and saying his name became forbidden.

Will had been a bright spot; the yin to the yang that Cecil saw in Nico.

"I-I can't even choose between two people," Cecil grasped. "I'm greedy and..."

And Drew walked over to him and slapped him across the head. "You're not greedy," she assured the boy, cradling his face in her hands. "You just have a lot of love to give, and there's nothing wrong with that."

All the fight and denial seemed to go out of Cecil at once. The darkness subsided, and Eros watched Cecil with satisfaction, as if he'd identified the exact spot for his next arrow to make a clean kill.

"My family hates me," Cecil said. "And I hate myself."

"And you shouldn't," Drew ordered. "Your family is stupid, and their opinions don't matter. At all. They don't even deserve to have you call them family."

He shuddered falling into her embrace, and she tightened her hold on him.

"I-I'm in love with Will and Nico," the boy said with a shuddered breath. "I'm a fa—"

"No," she cut him off before he could even say the word. She ran her fingers through his hair before lowering them to the ground to sit. "You're in love. There's nothing wrong with being in love."

Are you trying to convince him or yourself?

"Shut up, asshole," Drew snapped before turning back to the boy in her arms. The kid really. They were all kids, especially in matters of the heart. "I like girls and boys and everything in between. I'm pansexual with a preference for males, but it wasn't always like that."

No, at one point, Drew hated the idea of a male. It had taken therapy sessions with Apollo and Hermes and Artemis during the few times she came around to get her comfortable enough to let them pat her head. They had been patient with her, especially her late brother, Anthony.

"At one point, I was only interested in girls. I guess you can say I was a lesbian, but bisexual was a more accurate term because I knew that I liked boys too. Finding out that I was pansexual came a bit later to be honest." She shook her head. "The kids at school used to try to make fun of me all the time. They tried to get me in trouble. Other girls didn't want to be in the bathroom when I went thinking that I was peeking under the stalls to look at them. They hated changing in the dressing rooms with me thinking that I was staring at their flat chests."

"That was..."

"A waste of my time," Drew groaned exaggeratedly. "I saw better boobs at camp. Hell, I've seen your dad's chest and his boobs? Those are perfection."

Cecil gave a wheezy laugh, pushing at her. "Gross."

"They're really soft too," she continued as if she didn't hear him. "You wouldn't think so because of his muscles, but his breasts are like squish balls."

"Stooop," Cecil laughed, trying to cover his ears.

"Soft like pillows," she sighed dreamily. "I remember after a training session that I just laid down right on top of him. He was taking up the entire couch, you know. Then I went to sleep and felt like I was sleeping on a cloud while he and Apollo talked about Hermes' boyfriend at the time."

Cecil immediately tensed.

"Cecil, I am currently sleeping with two guys." Three if they included Octavian but she was sure that was a one-time thing. "And if you think for a second that they aren't sleeping with each other, then I'm going to beat you up next."

"I—"

"Percy is dating Apollo. Octavian is in love with Jason. Jason is in love with him too." Because literally everyone could see it, even people that hadn't even met them. "Zeus made his secret boyfriend into his personal cupbearer. Hermes and Apollo both loved Krokus and Hyacinth so much that they created new flowers just so that their scents could live forever. Poseidon slept with his wife's brother. Dionysos promised to fuck this one guy after he left the underworld and when he came back and realized that he died, he changed him into a vine. Don't get me started on all the two-mans that Apollo told me that he and Hermes have had over the years. There is nothing wrong with being gay and nothing wrong with a polyamorous relationship."

Drew pulled away so that she could look him in the eye. "I won't tell anyone, and I'm not an asshole that'll force you to admit before you're ready."

I object to that.

"Eat shit," Drew snapped without turning away. "But I will be a listening ear if you need me to be. I have experience listening to pining idiots." Apollo wrote a book of poems about Percy and gave it to her for safe keeping. She was so going to read it at the wedding alongside playing the recordings of all his damn crooning! "Any other secrets you want to share on your own before I stomp his face in for being an asshole?"

"No," Cecil said, shaking his head. "I-I'm in love with Will and Nico. That's the truth. That's the big secret.' He glared at Eros, and Drew approved. That asshole didn't deserve happy looks. 'Happy now?'

For the first time, Eros' gaze seemed sympathetic. 'Oh, I wouldn't say Love always makes you happy.' His voice sounded smaller, much more human. Drew hated it. 'Sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you've faced it now. That's the only way to conquer me. I will see you soon, little sister.

He dissolved into the wind before she could throw her foot into his teeth.

On the ground where he'd stood lay an ivory staff three feet long, topped with a dark globe of polished marble about the size of a baseball, nestled on the backs of three gold Roman eagles. The sceptre of Diocletian.

Beside it was Drew's precious bow as if it had never been crushed.

She almost pushed Cecil through the walls as she rushed forward to grab it. She curled over it, sniffing lightly as she inspected it for any imperfections.

Cecil knelt, picking up the sceptre before looking at Drew with new eyes, as if waiting for an attack. Tuh, he wasn't Eros. 'If the others found out—'

'I already said that I wasn't going to say anything," she replied without turning away from her bow. There was a bit of fraying on the bowstrings, and the string wax practically gone. "And besides if the others found out,' Drew said, thumbing the small crack in the grip of the bow, 'you'd have that many more people to back you up and to unleash the fury of the gods on anybody who gives you trouble. Travis and I will lead the charge though I imagine he'd give Nico and Will a shovel talk so fierce that they'd brain themselves with the shovel.'

Cecil flushed, and Drew nodded her head at her weapon. She'd have to ask Leo for some supplies so that she can fix it. She then turned back to him. "And Cecil, I've seen a lot of brave things, but what you just did?" Confronting Eros. "That was easily one of the bravest."

Cecil looked up uncertainty. 'We should get back to the ship.'

"Definitely, and hey, let me know if you want me to kick Eros' ass for you later. I mean I'd do it for free, but it sounds more heroic doing it for a friend."

It made her smile when she saw him smile.

WORD COUNT: 11602

TRANSLATIONS:

1) va te faire foutre aussi! - fuck you too!

COMMENTS FROM THE AUTHOR:

1) As it had already been hinted in TLH arc, Drew has major beef with Éros so this scene was always going to be a bit different than canon.

1A) And I don't honestly think that I've could've gotten through the story without addressing that either.

2) Not sure if I mentioned it before or if anyone doesn't know, but Apóllōn is a god of the hunt.

2A) A lot of his and Ártemis domains mirror each other. The hunt is one of his minor domains in comparison to it being her major.

2B) Apóllōn is the god of a lot of things and he's also the god of moderation so he's never overworking himself to take care of them.

3) The experience that Drew went through with the bullying is something one of my old classmates went through.

4) I really dont give as shit what canon says, but Lee Fletcher was Apóllōn's favorite son, and Octavian is Apollō's favorite.