"Atalanta!" A voice screamed, piercing through the night sky like a knife. The noise reverberated through my mind like a relentless drumbeat, each pulse sending shards of agony rippling through my consciousness. Its wail clawed at the fragile threads of my sanity, drowning out all other thoughts with its relentless cacophony.

I wanted to clutch my temples, but I took a deep breath. I needed to focus. Focus. I needed to—fuck I was so tired. Why was I so tired? Exertion burned through my chest like wildfire. My muscles ached and my body heaved. "Where is she?"

My vision was swimmy. The world twisted and churned like it was a top, shifting and gyrating through colors and angles.

I'd never been on LSD before, but I'd imagine it was something like this. I felt like if I waited in place long enough, I'd sink into the ground and turn into a kaleidoscope of colors, too.

"My lady!" A second voice said. A pale face broke into my vision—a young girl, no older than fourteen, was shaking in front of me. Her black hair was matted to her forehead, framing a round face that was splotched with sweat. Her lips trembled, "He—she—"

"Calm yourself," I wasn't sure if I was telling her or trying to reassure myself. My vision evened out a bit as the girl grabbed my arms. I exhaled and placed my palm on her head. "Everything is okay, Phoebe. I will return momentarily. Where is Atalanta?"

"She's down by the river," Phoebe mumbled, her eyes shifting downward. Her lips quivered, "Orion—"

"That's all, Phoebe," I said tightly. Phoebe's eyes widened, and her mouth opened, but I cut her off and surged forward. "Thank you. I will return momentarily."

Power hummed in my veins. The world righted itself and I blasted forward, tearing a hole through the world. I eviscerated past the funhouse of colors. Sparks of silver energy emerged around me like fireflies, and the ground beneath me ruptured and was forcefully excavated as I went shooting forward.

A lake bloomed into my vision.

The moon's silver glow danced upon the calm surface of the lake, casting ethereal ripples that shimmered like liquid diamonds. The gentle lapping of water against the shore created a soothing melody. A cool breeze carried the scent of wildflowers mingled with the earthy aroma of the surrounding forest.

"Orion," I said as two people swam into my vision. Gods, my head felt heavy. It felt like someone had attached a bowling ball to the back of my head.

One was the Orion I'd grown used to seeing in my dreams. He was dressed in all black, and he stood facing me, a wicked grin on his face. My head drooped backward. It felt like someone was tugging the bowling ball with all their might, but I forced myself to stay upright.

The other person was a small girl, no older than seven or eight. My vision blurred as I looked at her.

"Arty! So great of you to join us! Really, I was starting to think you weren't coming," Orion said, a frenetic energy oozing out of every word. He looked jittery. His words sounded half-baked, slurring together as he rattled them off. "Hah, who am I kidding? Of course you'd come! It's your precious hunter, after all! Look at that, you're even fighting that venom. It took a lot to convince the Hesperides to part with one of Ladon's glands, but it just proves how much you love these little shits, doesn't it? You always were so driven."

"Let the girl go," I tried to keep my composure, even as my vision did a backflip. A burning hole charred the middle of my vision, and my muscles flexed angrily. I felt my connection to the Moon flare, and I angled a column of moonlight behind Orion. I felt the power begin to build up. "Your quarrel is with me."

"No, see, that's the thing," Orion smiled. He made a tut-tut-tut noise and patted the top of Atalanta's head. "I don't think it is. See, I just want my friend back. You don't love me, sure, okay, fine, but...we still aren't spending time together. Isn't that a bit unfair?"

"Okay," I said gently, trying to calm my beating heart. Atalanta whimpered. Her cries cut through the haze of confusion, stirring something primal within me. With a surge of desperate determination, I clawed at the fog shrouding my mind, driven by the urgent need to break free and make sure she was safe. "I hear you. I know I've been busy lately, and I'm sorry. That's...that's not what a good friend does. I'm going to make more time for you from now on. I promise."

"See you say that," Orion exhaled. He wagged his finger at me. "And oh, I want to believe it. I want to believe that sweet little voice of yours so bad, Arty. But you've been just a bit unreliable—just a bit. I think I need insurance this time, you know? Just something to protect my little heart."

"Look, I...I do want to spend more time with you," I tried to buy some more time. My vision wasn't stable enough to see what was going on with Atalanta, but Orion was acting crazy enough for me to be nervous about the whole situation. "I care about you. We can make this work."

Orion's voice trembled. "Just the two of us?"

"Just the two of us," I promised, raising my hands. The power I'd been gathering began glowing. "Just like old times."

Orion was quiet for a few moments. "I don't believe you."

It didn't matter. The moonlight lanced forward in a beam of light, pincering toward Orion. The glowing light surged forward, and his face was illuminated by its glow. Atalanta's horrified look broke into a scream, but no sound came out. The light paused midair.

Silver eyes emerged from the moon. I glanced around. Time seemed suspended—the leaves in the trees stopped rustling and the ripples on the pond stood in place. A booming voice echoed from the moon, "Why are you here?"

For the first time in the dream, I felt like I had control. Artemis' voice floated through the air as I spoke, raw with emotion. Her throat felt scratchy. "I don't know."

The eyes disappeared from the moon. Its white light turned a curdling shade of dark red. It lingered on the horizon like a gigantic stop sign. "Hm."

"Hm?" A white-hot itch of anger lodged itself in my sternum. "Look, I feel bad for you. I get it, I saw half of your trauma firsthand. All of this has definitely left you the emotional equivalent of a scavenging sewer rat. You still blasted me out of your chariot, though. That hurt."

"I understand your anger."

I scoffed, "No, I don't think you do. You don't understand shit. I could've died—you didn't even check on me after. For all you knew, you thought you killed me and that was that. I have problems too. I had friends die too. You don't see me walking down the sidewalk and exploding the first random person to look at me funny."

The eyes in the moon glittered. "I need your help."

"Tough luck," I replied scathingly. Silver bangles tinkled on my wrist as I pointed at the moon. "You should've thought about that before trying to kill me. That's not how you gain friends. You see, usually, you help someone and then they'll help you back. Well, that's beside the point, since most of the time you should help people unconditionally and expect nothing in return—anyway, stuff a sock in it."

"Percy—"

"I said stuff a sock in it, Arty," I took some sort of cosmic pleasure in the fact that I used her own voice wrapped around Orion's pet name for her. I felt like I was taking the memories I'd seen and shoving them back in her face. "Good luck and don't ask for help again."

"I understand."

Ice crackled on the surface of the pond. A flurry of snowflakes appeared overhead like a piñata exploding. "Do you really?"

"Yes," Her voice was strained now. "I do. I apologize for…my actions."

"It's going to take a lot more than some half-assed apology in a dream of yours to make things alright between us," Despite the fact that I was still royally pissed off, a sliver of worry wormed its way into my chest. If she was being exerted, she might be in actual trouble. Ice crackled on my fingertips, and a rush of cold spiked through my system. "Uh, out of curiosity though—I don't care, just pure curiosity—where are you?"

"I'm a bit held up at the moment," Artemis' voice echoed around me. It was such a far cry from the emotional version I'd heard during the dream. "Are you alright?"

"Never better," The bitter cold gnawed at my skin like a hungry beast, its icy claws sinking deep into my flesh. A surge of frost swept over me, sending a shiver down my spine that rattled my very bones. My teeth chattered. "Are you doing this?"

"No," She replied. My fingers throbbed with a numbing ache as the chill tightened its grip. I watched in disbelief as they turned a shade of blue that matched the frigid sky above, each digit tingling with an eerie coldness that seemed to seep into my very soul. "Are you?"

"I don't think so," The air around me crackled with the sharp sting of frost, the bitter taste of winter lingering on my tongue with each breath. Every movement sent a jolt of pain through my frozen limbs as if the very air had turned to ice around me. The world began spinning again. "Wait! Artemis! Are you alright?"

"I'll send you a message!"

I jolted awake, blinking rapidly as my eyes adjusted to the low light of the morning. A burning pain flickered to life on my abdomen, grating like fingernails roving across my bare skin.

The sleepiness instantly exited out of my system and I sat up a bit on my bed. The covers fell.

Khione's unnaturally pale skin glowed in the flickers of sunlight that passed through the window. Her mane of black hair was fanned out on my chest, and her soft snores resulted in more and more ice forming on my skin.

I hissed as she shifted in her sleep, sending more ice crackling down my body. Steam rose from my boxers, and my legs began twitching and cramping.

The noise woke her up. Her coffee-brown eyes looked up at me, and the soft smile I'd seen at Westover Academy was back. She lifted off my chest a bit, and her fingernails carved into my skin. "Hello, Perseus."

"My lady," I winced. I thanked my lucky stars that she was wearing clothes—even if it was just a thin dress that gave me a front-row seat to everything underneath. "Great to see you. When, uh, did you get in my bed?"

"Hm," She turned her head and pressed back down on my chest, her cheek brushing against my solar plexus. "Well, I came in here at about five in the morning. I'd been in my palace, working on my ballroom, when I felt a wave of power emanating from the lower parts of this land. The kind I knew only you were capable of."

"Right…"

"So, naturally, I wanted to come and see if you were truly back," Khione continued. She waved her hand. "I entered your cabin and found you asleep."

"So…"

"You looked so comfortable, I thought I'd join you," Khione flashed me another smile. She placed her chin on my chest and trailed a finger on my bare skin, covering it with a sheet of ice that burned. "After your comments the other night, I didn't think you'd mind. Do you mind?"

My comments the other night? What was she—oh. Right. She was talking about when I'd flirted with her to sway her to our side. Kind of stupid, really, that all it took was some attention, but it wasn't all that surprising.

Take a book on Greek mythology, any book really, and flip to a random myth.

I'll bet you anything that one of the recurring themes you'll find is the insatiable craving for attention exhibited by the gods. It's kind of like they thrive on the adulation of mortals.

All gods, to some degree, are attention-seeking prima donnas. Greek mythology is basically one giant, long-running version of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Just with more killing and stuff.

That's a joke. Well, it's only half of a joke because the other half is true. You've probably heard of the flame before—the notion that The Olympians are intimately connected to Western Civilization as they are both its source and its embodiment.

A big part of that is, well, attention and worship.

You see, the gods aren't like us. They're beings of immense power and grandeur, immortal entities who dwell in a realm far removed from the mortal world.

Imagine for a moment what it must be like to exist for eternity, to watch as countless generations of mortals rise and fall like grains of sand in the hourglass of time.

For the gods, the worship of mortals isn't just a source of power, but a validation of their very existence. Aphrodite mentioned to me once before that gods couldn't feel emotions, not like us. Things like love didn't feel normal to them. They can't fathom it. The only time they feel it is through the mortals who worship them.

"Mind? I love it," I said, giving her a lopsided grin. [Gilded Tongue] popped up on my HUD again, and Khione's soft smile melted into a wider one.

Khione's need for attention is basically the Greek equivalent of a teenage daughter throwing a temper tantrum. It's just that instead of getting a tattoo and dyeing her hair pink, she's going to try to shack up with me.

I don't know how I feel about it.

On the one hand, my last ex died a fiery death and left psychological scars that are probably going to take some more years to fully heal. I don't think I'm anywhere near ready for a full, long-term relationship. I'd drive myself insane. Plus, there's the whole death-in-two-years thing that I still need to worry about.

On the other hand, Khione is hot as fuck.

"Excellent answer," Khione smirked, straddling my lap and stretching. She raised a hand, and the blanket around both of us blasted into the air. It slammed against the top of the cabin, and ice crackled at its edges, lodging it up there. "Come."

"What?" I rubbed my eyes. The harpies in the forest weren't even hollering yet. It couldn't be any later than six or seven in the morning. "Didn't you say you got in here at five? What time is it?"

Khione yawned, "Six."

"Six?" I repeated, shooting the goddess an incredulous look. "Where are we going to go at six?"

"Get coffee," Khione returned as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She jumped off my bunk, and a trail of snowflakes blazed to life behind her. They surrounded her for a moment, and her thin dress was replaced by a periwinkle sweater, some jeans, and moccasins. She flicked her wrist, and a pair of sweatpants zoomed out of my closet and smacked me in the face. "And then you're spending the whole day with me. You promised me some worship, and then you went and disappeared."

"Don't the people here worship you enough?" I questioned, pulling my head out of the pants and sliding into them. I ran through what she said, and asked, "And the whole day? Like, all of it? I wanted to train at some point and say hi to my friends, maybe catch a play—"

"That's fine," Khione waved her hand dismissively. Her pale face was practically glowing in the darkness. "I'll just do it with you."

I paused. "Do what…exactly?"

"Everything," Khione huffed. "And to answer your question, I don't want their worship. Well, I do…but I want yours more. Yours is stronger."

"I'm a strong worshipper. Good to, uh, know. You seem…different," I noted, pulling a hoodie on. "Not in a bad way, of course."

"I've been at this camp for quite some time," Khione reminded me. She leaned against the wall, and a wall of icicles formed behind her, not that she seemed to notice. "Interacting with some of the people here has given me a better understanding of the world as it is now. It's far greater and more complex than I ever could've imagined while I was siloed alongside my father and the rest of my idiot brethren. Calais didn't mention any of this besides that Neanderthal sport. The one with the small black oval."

"Hockey," I answered. A part of me was pleasantly surprised at how well she'd adjusted. I'd been expecting a rougher transition, but at the same time, it kind of made sense.

Living at camp was basically like exposure therapy. Unlike someone like Hera, who was taking in bits and pieces of the mortal world at a time, Khione was smack-dab in the middle of it.

She got to experience the good and bad parts of it, all at once. Hopefully more good than bad, though. I don't want to be responsible for half the camp turning into freeze-dried popsicles.

"You seem to be quite famous here," Khione noted as we stepped out of my cabin. "Everyone is always talking about you."

"Yeah, I don't get it sometimes," The gentle creak of the front porch steps echoed in the predawn silence as I stepped onto the wooden planks, the cool November air wrapping around me like a familiar embrace. It felt good to be home. "I'm just a guy."

"Just a guy," Khione chuckled. She opened her mouth, searching for the next thing to say, and the world seemed to hold its breath. The only sound was the soft rustle of fallen leaves dancing in the breeze. "Well, Perseus, everyone here seems to think otherwise."

The air carried the crisp scent of autumn, a heady mix of damp earth and fallen leaves, mingling with the faint hint of wood smoke from a distant chimney. Each breath filling my lungs was tinged with nostalgia.

Two years, now. I'd been staying at camp for two years. Where had all the time gone?

I craned my neck up.

Above, the sky was a canvas of muted colors, the darkness of night slowly giving way to the soft hues of dawn. A lone star twinkled in the fading darkness. As the first rays of sunlight began to peek over the distant hills, casting long shadows across the landscape, Khione grabbed my hand and tugged me along the dirt path. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" I asked her as she led me toward the Big House. "This is toward town, right? I think Medea told me that once. I don't remember there being a coffee shop here, though."

"You would be correct," Khione smiled. "It came to be a few days after I arrived. It remains open throughout the day and night. They make delicious beverages."

"Does coffee even do anything for you? You're a goddess. Surely, a little bit of bean juice doesn't completely change your day?"

"You'll see," Khione said cryptically.

We finished the rest of the walk in silence. The last time I'd been to town, I'd been reminded of the time I went to a farmer's market as a kid. Bustling, active, and oddly smelly.

In the early morning, though, the place was a ghost town. The stands stood abandoned, and most of the shops were closed, shutters covering their windows and locks on their doors. The burrito shop Thalia and I went to was closed, too. Not that I'd get a burrito this early and risk having to make an emergency stop at a bathroom halfway through the day, anyway.

The fountain in the center of town splashed silently, its water sparkling in the low light. We stopped near it.

As I gazed into its depths, I saw myself staring back, my image distorted by the gentle ripples that danced across the water's surface. The cool marble of the fountain's edge pressed against my palms, sending a shiver down my spine as I leaned in closer.

Jets of water began pooling out of the water, arcing toward me like fingers splayed outward. The sound of trickling water filled the air, a soothing melody that seemed to echo the rhythm of my heartbeat.

In the reflection, I saw the lines of fatigue etched into my face. The weariness of my trip through the multiverse was still written in the furrow of my brow, no thanks to Khione. But still, beneath the surface, there was a fire burning bright, a spark of determination that refused to be extinguished.

Khione stepped next to me, her hair falling close to the edge of the water. A few droplets hung from the ends of her hair, and she smiled. "The water loves you."

I raised my hand and touched the jets of water gently. A rush of energy surged through my body. They fell back into the fountain. "I love it too."

"There," Khione placed her hand on my neck, pulling me away from the fountain and toward a small building beside the Big House. It was almost invisible in its shadow—I would've missed it if it wasn't for the sole lantern dangling in the front. "My favorite place in all of camp."

"What about your palace?"

"Well, of course, I meant behind that," Khione rolled her eyes, her hand still on my neck. She slowly trailed it down my shoulder and encircled her fingers around my bicep, melding into the side of my body. "You're so warm."

"Uh, thanks?"

As we approached the coffee shop, I figured it was no wonder I'd missed it at first. The shop's weathered exterior seemed to blend seamlessly with the surrounding landscape, its wooden facade disappearing in the muted colors of fall.

A neon sign flickered above the doorway—Harvest Haven coffee. There was an animatronic of an old-timey Greek warrior slamming a tankard underneath.

The railing of the stairs felt rough against my palm as I stepped up.

A flicker of light caught my eye, drawing my gaze to the righthand side of the building, where an entire portion of the wall was home to carved messages.

I read a few.

Conor and Helena. J + A. Clarisse and Chris.

"What a foolish concept," Khione intoned from beside me, her cold breath shooting past my nose. "They'll fade away with time."

"At least they'll be here for some time," I replied, turning to face the goddess. "A little while is better than no time at all, right?"

"Perhaps," Khione muttered. Her eyes flicked up, and I followed her look. Vines climbed up its walls, their tendrils weaving a tapestry of life against the backdrop of weathered paint. She tugged on my hand. "Come. You've wasted enough time dillydallying."

"Lead the way, princess," I grinned. I caught a glimpse of her pale complexion flushing a flattering shade of red as she pushed the door open.

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the air, mingling with the scent of damp earth and fallen leaves. A small wrought iron sign swung lazily in the breeze, creaking softly as we stepped in.

It was a silhouette of a woman that kind of looked like...Demeter?

The walls were lined with shelves filled with books and trinkets. Rustic wooden tables and mismatched chairs were scattered throughout the space. The inside of the store was bathed in the soft glow of flickering candles and vintage lamps.

Behind the counter, baristas bustled about. One of them, a girl around Piper's age stopped, and nearly dropped a cup as she saw Khione. "My lady!"

As we made our way to the counter, the aroma of freshly baked pastries floated out from behind the glass. My stomach grumbled a bit.

Khione straightened and disentangled from my side. She raised her chin, and I could practically feel the haughtiness as she said, "Hello. I've brought a friend."

"Hey," I raised a lazy hand. "I'm—"

"Percy!" The girl smiled. "Percy Jackson. I know. The owner loves you. Well, and the whole city, but that's a given."

I blinked, "Oh. Who's the owner?"

"Katie!"

Katie? Oh, right! I wasn't super close with her, but we'd had a few conversations in passing. The last time I'd spoken to her was when I'd played Capture The Flag and incinerated her wall of leaves.

At least it seemed like she didn't take it too personally. I was pretty sure I hadn't done anything specific to particularly make her like me, but apparently being nice and cracking a few jokes at dinnertime was enough.

"Katie Gardener, right?" I leaned across the counter, letting my eyes rove over the menu. I turned my attention back to the barista behind the counter. "She owns the place?"

"Well none of us really own it. Our mom owns it," The barista gestured toward the iron sign near the door. So, my prediction from earlier had been correct. "We just work here. She works here the most, though, so some of us call her the owner."

"That makes sense. So, is there anything special about the beans, then?" I asked, looking at one of the coffee grinders. "Do coffee beans fall under your sphere of power?"

"Well, actually—"

"Ahem," Khione cleared her throat, and the barista immediately turned back to her, the smiling wiping off her face. "My usual."

"Right," The barista nodded. She turned around."Come right away, my lady."

"Hey, I was in the middle of talking to her," I complained.

"Your conversation was incredibly dull," Khione waved her hand. She peered over the counter as the barista began pouring coffee into a cup and barked out, "Make one of those designs I like."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I waved my hands. A little bit of my power leaked out, and the barista froze as the tip jar rattled loudly. "Get a please in there."

"I most certainly will not," Khione huffed, glaring at me.

"Fine, then," My fingers twitched, and the coffee froze midair. Khione's glare deepened, and I grinned. "Say please, and I'll let it go back."

Khione's face flushed with exertion, and I felt the coffee vibrate a little bit. Spiderweb designs of frost began forming on the outside of the machine, but the liquid didn't budge. Eventually, she relented, and with a sour face, said, "Please."

"Better," I let the liquid run down again. I flicked her on the forehead, and she yelped, "Please and thank you go a long way. You might be drop-dead gorgeous, but that's no excuse to treat people like that."

She blushed prettily and rubbed her forehead. "Whatever."

I glanced at the bakery glass. A few pastries jumped out at me, specifically this Boston creme donut that looked like the best thing I'd ever seen. I was sure a bit of it would make me feel like I'd just fallen in love. "What's your name, kid?"

"Stephanie," Stephanie introduced herself, gathering a carton of milk and gently pouring some out into a metal cup. She gently shook the cup. "Want to see something cool?"

"Sure. Are you going to make some art?" I asked, mimicking some of the movements I'd seen baristas do before. "I've seen some baristas do it online. You pour some milk and there and kind of go ham, right?"

Stephanie frowned. "Yeah, but making latte art is a lot more than just pouring milk in coffee and waving your arms around like one of those inflatable tube guys are car dealerships. If it was that easy, you could pick someone random off the street and they'd be able to do it."

"Sorry," I raised my hands. Stephanie jabbed the cup into a machine that began whirring loudly. "Didn't mean to, uh, insult you."

"I'll forgive you this once," Stephanie grinned. She leaned across the counter as the machine plugged away in the background. "Microfoam is what's behind great latte art, and it's a difficult thing to achieve. It's shiny and has very tiny, uniform bubbles. It's silky smooth and has a sweet flavor that makes just the right espresso drink."

"Interesting. So, how do you know if you've done it right? Is it timed?"

"Well, kind of. I've just been winging it," Stephanie shrugged. I took a quick peek at her stats to make sure her loyalty wasn't wonky. I'd never thought about being this vigilant before, but the idea that there could be more spies in camp without me knowing wasn't sitting right with me. "There's a balance to it. If you can't achieve just the right texture and the right amount of bubbles, it's impossible to make latte art. Steam your milk too much, and it'll disappear in your coffee. Don't steam it enough, and it's going to sit at the top like a cloud."

"Huh," I said, pleasantly surprised. I had no idea that much went into it. "I guess with that logic, even that tulip latte art I've probably seen on Pinterest would take forever to make."

"Meh, maybe. It's definitely the kind of thing that took me months of practice to get down."

I shrugged and leaned across the countertop. "Well, hey. If you want to be great at something, you have to be good at it first. At least, that's what my mom always told me. And she's great at a lot of things."

"She's a smart woman," Stephanie complimented. She raised the cup to me, and true enough, there was a spinning white lotus inside of it. "Boom. For the goddess."

"It's about—" I gave Khione another look, and the coffee began bubbling. She stopped talking and settled for sipping her drink.

Stephanie looked like she was trying not to laugh. "What can I get you, Percy? On the house."

"Nah, none of that," I pulled out my wallet. "I'll take that donut."

"No coffee?"

"I'm staying off caffeine for now," I informed her. Caffeine didn't work well for me. And, at that point, if I wasn't getting the caffeine, I was going for the taste, and I hated the taste of coffee. "The art does look cool though."

Stephanie grabbed the donut I'd been eyeing and put it in a small, brown bag. "Oh, come on! How about a hot chocolate?"

"Fine, fine," I relented as she handed me the pastry. "How much is it in total? Add hers to mine, too."

"I don't usually charge her," Stephanie's eyes flitted to Khione, who was lost in her coffee. She looked up, a slight liquid mustache on her upper lip. "On account of her, ah, being a goddess and all."

"Nonsense," I pulled out a hundred. Money wasn't really much of an issue for me. The Game let me make money by killing monsters, so if I was ever running really low, I'd just go out and pulverize some hellhounds or something. "Keep the change."

"Oh, sick! Thanks, Percy!" Stephanie whooped. The machine from before made a high-pitched whirring, and I cringed. "No wonder everyone says you're the best!"

"I'm glad I live up to the hype," I laughed as Stephanie handed me a paper cup. "Thanks for the demo on art. I'm sure I'll be coming here more."

"Of course!" Stephanie nodded. "Please do!"

I gave her one last smile and turned to Khione. "So, why do you like this place so much? I mean, clearly, you're not here for the friendly banter."

She pulled her cup down and pointed at the milky flower, which was wilting in the warm liquid. Her tongue darted out and scooped a helping of it up. "It's the only flower I can touch. Well, without it instantly freezing and breaking, that is."

"Huh, you know, I can probably help with—"

The door slammed open. Demeter's iron sign went flinging back and forth as Zoe Nightshade stepped through. She looked around for a bit, before settling on me. "Percy Jackson?"

Bad timing. I'd just bitten into my donut, and I had a mouthful of cream. Some of the chocolate was smudged on my face. "Yeah?"

"My lady said I needed to find you," Zoe wrinkled her nose at me. "We need to talk."

AN: True to my word! We are back to cooking my friends! Got this one out before the two weeks were up, and I think I'll be able to do the same thing next week, too! A bit slower, still, but I like chill chapters like this. A bit smaller than usual, too, but again 6k-8k was always the norm before Prop spoiled y'all with those 10k behemoths.

This chapter had some Khione goodness! I didn't forget about her, nor did I forget about Artemis' dreams that Percy happens to be sitting in on. I'm sure you guys can start to see where it's heading.

Anyway!

FFN, again, has lost control of its email bot, so all I'm going to say is if you never want to miss an update again, follow this link to Discord and more.

Furthermore, I'm going to be doing live writing tallies there. Confused or curious about where the next TFOAC chapter is? You'll be able to see how much of it is written in REAL TIME. Also, I love talking to y'all about the story and getting your takes and whatnot. Plus, I run polls in there, let you guys decide how certain parts of the story unfold, show early chapter previews, and much more!

We just hit 300, and I'd love to get to 500!

A big part of it is, well, TFOAC is now (almost) the top 7th most followed fic of all time, so I figured it was about time I started building a legitimate community in there, so I would love it if you guys could join! There'll be some exciting updates in there, and since FFN won't tell you when the chapter is coming, you may as well hear it from me directly! Plus, if you're on me about updates, chances are you'll get them faster.

Yes, you read that correctly. I'm bribing you. After all, why would I focus on other stuff if there's ten people telling me TFOAC needs an update, ya know?

It's easier than ever, too, just take the spaces out of this:

Linktr . ee /maroooon

Peace out!

- Maroon