I paced the length of the Argo II thirty times over. Frank clapped a hand onto my shoulder on my thirty-first lap, forcing me to stop.
Tensions were high. Our nerves were frayed. My pacing did nothing to soothe the frantic energy simmering in the air. The tips of Leo's ears steamed. Jason's hands crackled and popped. Hazel's spatha threatened to bend out of shape while Arion whinnied. Frank's fingers thrummed along his quiver's strap.
Piper, Percy, and Annabeth had disappeared with King Kekrops and the other gemini a few minutes ago, but it felt like an eternity had passed. I'd wanted to tag along to be there the moment things went south; I knew better than to go, though.
Enceladus had expected Percy and Annabeth, given the lingering energies of Poseidon and Athena embedded into the Athenian stones. Piper served as our wildcard, undetectable until she made a move. I would have blown their cover the second I stepped foot into the Athenian sewer system thanks to my godly aura.
It didn't help matters that I sensed my aura strengthening the closer we got to the Acropolis. Something about being here made my blood sing: this was Athens, one of the pinnacles of the Ancient Greek empire. Thousands of years' worth of prayers, beliefs, and influence all merged here.
No wonder Gaea chose to be reborn in this city.
A chill ran down my spine.
"Now!" I said, turning toward Leo. "Get us into position."
No one asked any questions.
I drew Epithymia and walked toward the railing.
We lowered through the clouds, revealing the amassed army overcrowding the Parthenon. Had the sky been blood red and the giants been replaced by silver doors, this scene would've been straight out of Tartarus.
Annabeth struggled to her feet. She retrieved Periboia's hunting knife, but she could barely stand upright, much less fight. Each time a drop of her blood hit the ground, it bubbled, turning from red to gold.
Percy tried to stand, but he was dazed. He wouldn't be able to defend himself. Thankfully, he had the mark of Achilles going for him, so it wouldn't be his blood waking Gaea.
Piper shouted, "Come on, then! I'll destroy you all myself if I have to!"
Jason leapt over the side the second Piper opened her mouth. I watched as charge built around him. The air reeked of ozone. I followed suit, summoning as much electricity from the sky and routing it through Jason as I soared.
Jason fell like an avenging angel, wreathed in lightning, before making contact with King Porphyrion.
I shifted trajectory and headed for Thoon, the destroyer of the Fates, who was in the process of trying to reattach his severed hand. I may have had my beef with my employers, but I recognized their importance in maintaining the fabric of reality. This guy had to go.
I didn't wait for any long-winded speeches or promises to tear us apart. The moment my feet settled on solid ground, I launched into battle.
Greek fire ran the length of Epithymia, slicing through the Earthborn who'd tried to buy Thoon time. I saw my friends in the corners of my vision and made a split-second decision to abandon the anti-Fates. Might as well leave some fun for Lachesis, Clotho, and Atropos.
Thanks for the consideration! they chorused.
Vines erupted from the ground and wrapped around the legs of nearby Laistrygonians, pulling them away from their onagers while also clearing a path for Arion. I forced the vines to climb higher, wrapping around their throats and choking the life out of them. Fires erupted from a pack of cynocephali that threatened to tear out Jason's throat while his back was turned; they screamed as they turned to ash. Shadows clouded empousai's eyes, sending them into a frenzy as they trampled each other in an attempt to protect Pallas, the giant whom Athena had flayed for the hide of her aegis.
I did this while putting an arrow between Enceladus's eyes, right below Katoptris's sticking point. The wound wasn't enough to defeat him, but the demigod-god combo clearly bothered him more than he was willing to let on. He bellowed in anger and made an angry swipe with his spear, catching bear-Frank on his side.
Frank, now in human form, slammed into a column. Blood bloomed along the length of his hairline. I snapped my fingers and washed his blood away before a drop could hit the dirt. It was bad enough that Gaea had Annabeth's blood. I would keep the boys' blood in their bodies and off the ground as long as I could.
Porphyrion's gaze settled on me. His mouth twisted into a cruel sneer.
"You dare keep us from waking the Earth Mother?!" he shouted.
"Yup!"
"KILL HER!"
"If I had a dollar for every time I heard that," I muttered, driving Epithymia through a gryphon that had gotten too close.
The Olympians could join whenever they thought it was convenient, but I refused to hold back a second longer.
I used an onager as a springboard and vaulted over a pack of hellhounds, driving Epithymia into the back of Hippolytus's knee. The anti-Hermes roared as his leg buckled. The monsters that were hot on my tail surged forward with unstoppable momentum, swarming the toppled giant.
Hazel and Arion appeared in a flash. Hazel raised her hand into the air before closing it into a tight fist. In a matter of seconds, silver spikes sprouted from the ground, skewering everything in their path. Monsters crumpled to dust left and right, but Hippolytus remained, eyes glowing with pure rage.
Ichor poured from his wounds. Hazel's spires had sliced through his ankles, his left hip, and his palms. One particularly long spike threatened to pierce his right eye. His blood sizzled and bubbled black as it hit the dirt – a clear sign of rejection from Gaea. It confirmed what we already knew: Gaea required mortal blood to rise.
I didn't hesitate to notch an explosive arrow and aim for his crotch.
The arrow flew true.
Celestial bronze and Imperial gold shrapnel ripped through his flesh. Nearby male monsters visibly cringed in agony. Hippolytus swore as he instinctively jerked his head downward, skewering his throat as he did.
By my estimate, he must've hit his carotid as ichor burst from the side of his neck with the same pressure as an open fire hydrant. He had enough time to free one hand from the ground and clamp it to his neck before promptly disintegrating into dust.
I fixed my attention on Periboia next.
Piper had turned her into a block of ice by landing a hit with Zethes's sword. Might as well clear her from the board.
My body dissolved into mist and reappeared fifteen feet above the frozen giantess. I drove my spear from tip to tail through her sternum, listening to the crunch of the bones as I reached her heart.
Despite being frozen, she managed a mangled gargle, a final cry of pain. I stomped on the end of the spear, driving it deeper. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She, too, began to crumble until all that remained was my ichor-spattered spear.
Porphyrion's voice droned in the background, most likely describing the hundreds of ways he planned to kill me. Instead of paying him any attention, I summoned a thirty-foot wall of fire between him and Annabeth, giving her a chance to regroup.
The gash on the back of her thigh had bled through Piper's makeshift bandage. Like I'd done for Frank, I sealed the wound with a snap of my fingers.
Annabeth shot me a grateful nod. She then whirled around and plunged her knife into an empousa's chest.
The sound of blaring trumpets ground the fighting to a screeching halt. Giants and demigods alike craned their sights toward the sky, watching the clouds part like a curtain.
Instead of blue skies, I saw black space spangled with stars, the palaces of Mount Olympus gleaming silver and gold in the background. And an army of gods charged down from on high.
There was supersized Zeus riding into battle in a golden chariot, a lightning bolt the size of a telephone pole crackling in one hand. Pulling his chariot were four horses made of wind, each constantly shifting from equine to human form, trying to break free. For a split second, one took on the icy visage of Boreas. Another wore Notus's swirling crown of fire and steam. A third flashed the smug, lazy smile of Zephyrus. Zeus had bound and harnessed the four wind gods themselves.
On the underbelly of the Argo II, the glass bay doors split open. The goddess Nike tumbled out, free from her golden net. She spread her glittering wings and soared to Zeus's side, taking her rightful place as his charioteer.
"MY MIND IS RESTORED!" she roared. "VICTORY TO THE GODS!"
At Zeus's left flank rode Hera, her chariot pulled by enormous peacocks, their rainbow-colored plumage so bright it threatened to give me a migraine.
Ares bellowed with glee as he thundered down on the back of a fire-breathing horse. His spear glistened red.
Artemis, Athena, and Apollo rode in on their respective chariots, shining like supernovas. Bows and spears in hand, the children of Zeus followed his lead.
In the last second, before the gods reached the Parthenon, they seemed to displace themselves, like they'd jumped through hyperspace. The chariots disappeared. Suddenly, we were surrounded by the Olympians, now human-sized, tiny next to the giants, but glowing with power.
Dionysus appeared at my side with a distinctive POP! filling the air with the scent of freshly pressed grapes. He yawned and twirled his thyrsus like he wasn't in the middle of an active warzone. He raised a single eyebrow in my direction.
"Isn't the whole point of you so that we don't have to do this?" he asked.
"Not helpful," I said through gritted teeth.
I stepped back as the ground opened a seam, swallowing a nearby giant whole. A quick glance to my left revealed Hades, who acknowledged my presence with a brief nod before he mounted his Helm of Darkness in place. He trailed behind Hazel, scattering the monsters in droves as terror gripped their heart.
"Well, since my great-grandmother has yet to grace us with her presence, it seems like you're doing something right, Angie."
Famous last words.
"Jason, your nose!" cried Piper.
You know, once the Fates were done having their go at Thoon, I might seriously bash each of them upside the head with their clubs. They just had to interfere now.
My arms hung uselessly at my sides while I witnessed another goddamn bloody nose cause the end of the world.
Jason's blood boiled as it hit the ground.
An earthquake that not even Hades or Poseidon could hope to create tore through the Acropolis. Columns and scaffolding toppled, indiscriminately crushing friends and foes. Piper's quick reflexes kept her from being caught by falling debris. A well-placed shot from above – thanks, Leo and Hephaestus! – prevented a marble arch from separating Percy and Poseidon from the rest of the fight.
"AWAKE!" Gaea laughed. The ground trembled with every inhale. The lava wall at Camp Half-Blood had not prepared me for this. "AWAKE AT LAST!"
Pure panic gripped my heart. So much for keeping her asleep in this timeline.
I abandoned Dionysus in favor of killing any stragglers. The gods and my friends were doing just fine on their own; many giants had met their eternal fates, returning to the cold embrace of their monstrous father.
Demeter cut down anyone entrapped in my vines with her three-foot-long scythe. Dionysus, who eventually decided to participate, put flaming fools out of their misery. Hermes swooped down and blasted enemies to ashes with George and Martha's laser mode. I opened rifts in the marble flooring, burying enemies to their waists. I summoned my hunting knives and left a trail of severed heads and limbs in my wake.
I didn't stop until a massive lightning bolt overlooking modern-day Athens rattled the Acropolis.
My chest heaved, though I wasn't tired at all. I don't know if it was adrenaline or simply being in Athens, but it felt like I could do this three times over without breaking a sweat. This, I decided, is what being a goddess should feel like. Powerful. Unstoppable. Inexhaustible.
I walked in a stupor to the center of the Parthenon, joining the Seven and the Olympians. I looked down at my hands. They were bathed in ichor and dirt, none of it mine. It was like being in Tartarus again, but this time, my friends were witnesses to my ruthlessness.
I clenched my hands into fists and lifted my head high. This fight was not yet over. I had to keep my cool until Gaea was nothing more than confetti.
Zeus trailed in last with Jason at his side. The gods fanned out in a semicircle as Zeus approached. None of them seemed particularly joyful about their victory here.
Jason kept glancing at his father like he was trying to convince himself that this was really happening. To be fair, the sentiment seemed to be shared by most of the demigods, taking a few precious seconds to commit their parents' visages to memory.
How long had it been since they had a chance to speak to their parents face to face? When had the gods last looked upon their children with pride and had a chance to express it, if only by smiling at them?
Once again, the existence of the Ancient Laws pissed me off.
Apollo and Artemis stood together in the shadow of a column, as if trying to hide. Hera and Poseidon were having an intense discussion with Demeter. Nike tried to put a golden laurel wreath on Hecate's head, but the goddess of magic swatted it away. Hermes sneaked close to Athena, attempting to put his arm around her. Athena turned her aegis his way, and Hermes scuffled off.
The only Olympian who seemed in a good mood was Ares. He laughed and pantomimed gutting an enemy while Frank listened, his expression polite but queasy.
"Brethren," Zeus said, "we are healed, thanks to the work of these demigods. The Athena Parthenos, which once stood in this temple, now stands at Camp Half-Blood. It has united our offspring, and thus our essences."
"Lord Zeus," Piper spoke up, "is Reyna okay? Nico and Coach Hedge?"
Zeus knitted his cloud-colored eyebrows. "They succeeded in their mission. As of this moment, they are alive. Whether or not they are okay–"
"There is still work to be done," Hera interrupted. She spread her arms like she wanted a group hug. "But my heroes … you have triumphed over the giants as I knew you would. My plan succeeded beautifully."
Zeus turned on his wife. Thunder shook the Acropolis. "Hera, do not dare take credit! You have caused at least as many problems as you've fixed!"
The queen of heaven blanched. "Husband, surely you see now – this was the only way."
"There is never only one way!" Zeus bellowed. "That is why there are three Fates, not one. Is this not so?"
By the ruins of the giant king's throne, the three old ladies silently bowed their heads in recognition. I noticed that the other gods stayed well away from the Fates and their gleaming brass clubs.
"Be that as it may," I began, earning the full weight of my brother's intense gaze, "it was the only plan guaranteed to work after certain decisions were made. You know as well as I that had there been another path, one that had less pain and bloodshed, I would've spearheaded the cause. Take that into consideration before making any more hasty decisions."
The scent of ozone flared around Zeus. I'd hit a nerve, but he couldn't admit that I was right. I had warned him months before any of these events had come to pass.
Jason took a half-step away from his father.
"Please, husband." Hera tried for a smile, but she was so clearly frightened that I almost felt sorry for her. "I only did what I –"
"Silence!" Zeus snapped. "You disobeyed my orders. Nevertheless…I recognize that you acted with honest intentions. The valor of these seven heroes and Andromeda has proven that you were not entirely without wisdom."
Hera looked like she wanted to argue, but she kept her mouth shut.
"Apollo, however," Zeus glared into the shadows where the twins were standing. "My son, come here."
Apollo inched forward like he was walking toward his execution. He looked so much like a camp counselor, it was unnerving – no more than twenty-five, wearing jeans and a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, with a bow over his shoulder and a sword at his belt. With his tousled blond hair and blue eyes, he might've been Jason's brother on the mortal side as well as the godly side. The fear on Apollo's face certainly looked real and also very human.
The Three Fates gathered around the god, circling him, their withered hands raised.
I gave my bosses a hard glare. They shrank under my look of disgust.
We're sorry, they echoed in my mind. It must be done.
"Twice you have defied me," Zeus said.
Apollo moistened his lips. "My–my lord–"
"You neglected your duties. You succumbed to flattery and vanity. You encouraged your descendant Octavian to follow his dangerous path, and you prematurely revealed a prophecy that may yet destroy us all. And worst of all, you tried to vaporize Andy, Olympus's sworn protector."
"But –"
"Enough!" Zeus boomed. "We will speak of your punishment later. For now, you will wait on Olympus."
"Wait, stop!" Apollo pleaded, grasping Zeus's wrist.
If looks could kill, Apollo would've died twenty times over.
Zeus didn't have a chance to react.
Apollo crossed the semicircle of those assembled. He stopped in front of me, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
He gently cupped my face in his hands and pressed his lips to mine.
I came to my senses a few milliseconds later. I tilted my head slightly, giving him a better angle while my hand buried into his blond locks, pulling him closer. Zeus's Master Bolt wouldn't have been as electric as this moment. My heart pounded in my ears, drowning out the world around me.
We broke apart when someone sneezed.
My chest heaved like I'd run a marathon. My face was on fire, I was sure of it.
Gaea could've been right behind me, about to cleave my head from my body, and I'd be none the wiser.
Apollo kept his forehead pressed to mine, both of us struggling to catch our breaths.
"Do you remember the promise you made me?" he whispered.
"Of course."
"I need you to keep it."
"Apollo, it's not fair. Don't–"
"Please."
I bit the inside of my lip hard enough to draw blood.
"You have my word," I said at last.
"Remember that promise. Whatever you do, remember."
Apollo pressed a final chaste kiss to my forehead and walked toward Zeus. There, he curled in on himself and bowed his head.
Zeus flicked his hand, and Apollo turned into a cloud of glitter. The Fates swirled around him, dissolving into air, and the glittery whirlwind shot into the sky.
"What will happen to him?" Jason asked.
The gods stared at him like he'd grown a second head.
"It is not your concern," Zeus said. "We have other problems to address."
"You and I will be continuing this conversation, brother," I hissed. "That is a promise."
An uncomfortable silence settled over the Parthenon.
Imagine my surprise when I caught Artemis covertly wiping away a single tear. She then schooled her expression into something more neutral and tuned into the ongoing conversation.
"Father," Jason said, "I made a vow to honor all the gods. I promised Kymopoleia that once this war is over, none of the gods would be without shrines at the camps."
Zeus scowled. "That's fine. But…Kym, who?"
Poseidon coughed into his fist. "She's one of mine."
"My point," Jason said, "is that blaming each other isn't going to solve anything. That's how the Romans and Greeks got divided in the first place."
The air became dangerously ionized. My fingers crackled with the sudden burst of energy. The thought of giving Zeus a taste of his own medicine burned in my chest. But I'd made a promise, and like it or not, I planned on keeping it.
Jason kept talking. "Apollo wasn't the problem. To punish him for Gaea waking is unwise."
"Unwise." Zeus's voice was almost a whisper. "Before the assembled gods, you would call me unwise."
Yes, I said internally. You are unwise and an arrogant fool.
Then Artemis stepped out of the shadows. "Father, this hero has fought long and hard for our cause. His nerves are frayed. We should take that into account."
Jason started to protest, but Artemis stopped him with a glance. Her expression sent a message so clear she might have been speaking in his mind. Knowing her, she probably was.
"Surely, Father," the goddess continued, "we should attend to our more pressing problems, as you pointed out."
"Gaea," Annabeth chimed in, clearly anxious to change the topic. "She's awake, isn't she?"
Zeus turned towards her.
"That is correct," Zeus said. "The blood of Olympus was spilled. She is fully conscious."
Jason's fingers ghosted the end of his nose, touching the dried blood there. "I didn't mean for a nosebleed to wake up the entire Earth."
The conversation turned to static in my ears.
I needed to step away from Zeus. I hadn't realized how hard it would be to witness Apollo's imprisonment on Olympus or how furious it made me. I wanted to deck him in the face. I wanted to rip the Master Bolt from his waist and zap him across the Atlantic.
Small arcs of lightning crisscrossed my forearms and the back of my hands.
Without saying another word, I turned my back and marched toward the Argo II. Let them discuss the matters at hand in peace. I'd patiently wait until Zeus slapped our spanking hot war machine to Long Island. I'd maintain our ship in one piece until we made it safely.
"Andromeda, I have not dismissed you from this conversation."
"Well, this isn't the dinner table, Zeus!" I snapped. "I already told you to put a pin in it. We're wasting precious time – time that is better used saving the lives of our friends back home. So for once in your life, set your stubbornness aside and listen to the advice others have to share!"
"You have the nerve–!"
"Get onto the Argo II, my friends. I'll get us there safely."
The seven demigods pulled away from their parents. Some – cough, Percy, cough – gave Zeus the stink eye. Hades and Poseidon looked downright amused at the vein threatening to burst in their youngest brother's forehead.
"That won't be necessary," Zeus said through clenched teeth. "Do as Andromeda said. I'll provide the necessary force to reach Camp Half-Blood."
We rushed to the Argo II. The boat was currently held together by sheer luck and spite. I pressed my palms to the deck and filled in the gaps with a network of grape vines. They knitted together, serving as a makeshift bandage for the battered lower decks.
Leo strapped himself to the control panel. Jason and Piper used Leo's twenty-point safety harness to secure themselves to the mast. Hazel, Frank, Annabeth, and Percy hunkered down in the mess hall and used the full-body seatbelts I'd just installed.
As for me, I stood beside Leo and planted my feet. Grape vines wrapped around my ankles and wound around the control panel's base in a series of intricate knots.
Piper gasped as the Argo II rose into the air. Zeus held us by the prow as he grew to a hundred feet tall.
Modern-day Athens quickly turned into a blur of blue and white the higher we went. The Acropolis looked like someone had dropped a cargo plane's worth of gold glitter onto it. This would be nothing compared to the carnage we had waiting for us on the other side of the world.
Thankfully, my brother found enough kindness within him to warn us that he was ready. "HOLD ON!" he boomed.
Then he tossed the ship up and spiked it overhand like a volleyball.
My stomach got left behind somewhere over the Ionian Sea. My eyes watered as the wind howled across the deck. The air got ripped out of my lungs, so I could only imagine how miserable Jason, Leo, and Piper felt.
Two seconds later, the Argo II pitched downward at a perfect forty-five-degree angle, slicing through the clouds with a sonic boom clapping behind us. My heart climbed into my throat while my fingers flew across the control panel to stabilize the ship. Leo's knuckles had turned white on the steering wheel as he tried to level our descent.
The sails were on fire. Festus creaked in alarm. A catapult peeled away and lifted into the air. Centrifugal force sent the shields flying off the railings like metal Frisbees.
Then the hatch burst open. Frank and Hazel stumbled through, pulling on the guide rope they'd attached to the mast. Annabeth and Percy followed, all of them looking disoriented.
"Go!" Leo yelled. "Go, go, go!"
For once, Leo's tone was deadly serious.
They'd talked through their evacuation plan, but that slap across the world had made my head spin. Judging from the others' expressions, they weren't in much better shape.
Buford the table saved them. He clattered across the deck with his holographic Hedge blaring, "LET'S GO! MOVE IT! CUT THAT OUT!"
Nothing like a wonder table to spur you into action.
Then his tabletop split into helicopter blades, and Buford buzzed away.
Frank changed form. Instead of a dazed demigod, he was now a dazed grey dragon. Hazel climbed onto his neck. Frank grabbed Percy and Annabeth in his front claws, then spread his wings and soared away.
Jason held Piper by the waist, ready to fly to safety. He turned to face us and frowned.
"Leo, you won't make it, even with Andy here!" Jason shouted. "Come with us!"
"No! Get out of here!" Leo replied.
"Leo!" Piper tried. "Please–"
"Save your charmspeak, Pipes! I told you, I've got a plan. Now shoo!"
Jason took a last look at the splintering ship. A second later, he and Piper shot into the sky.
Leo and I had discussed our plan via charm chat while everyone strapped themselves to the ship. I pressed a series of buttons, shedding layers of the burning Argo II. Leo ensured that all the pieces had reconnected as the storage area gave way, followed by the infirmary, sleeping quarters, mess hall, and finally the upper deck.
We undid our restraints holding us to the control panel. The last of the floorboards peeled apart underfoot. For a few terrifying seconds, we fell into an uncontrolled spiral, clinging onto each other's hands for dear life.
Festus swooped underneath us, catching us on his plated back. My fingers dug into the grooves. Leo had done the same and had already swung his leg over in proper riding position. He spurred Festus downward, looking for one person in particular.
My whole body trembled with anticipation.
Gaea would fall within the hour.
I'd ensure it.