I paced in front of the palace until I was sure that I'd flattened the cloud underfoot from a cumulus to a stratus. The wind whipped about me, sending loose strands of hair into my face, catching on the corner of my lips. Looks like I made the right decision in wearing jeans today.

My heart hammered in my chest.

I could count on one hand the number of times I'd visited this palace – always at Aphrodite's insistence. Though he and I were on neutral terms – maybe borderline good if I was being generous – I did my best to avoid his presence as much as possible. He enjoyed teasing me about my love life as much as his mother did, and I honestly don't know how I'll be able to handle him today if he so much as breathes a word about Luke.

It's not like I was here for him today, anyway.

I needed to talk to my friend, who just so happened to be his wife.

Steeling my nerves, I raised my hand to knock on the ornate door, only for it to give way right as my knuckles were about to make contact. Standing at the entryway was Zephyros, wearing a giddy expression on his face. His chiton and curly black hair were impeccable, as expected of an attendant of Eros.

In fact, he seemed perturbed by my appearance and shuffled me into the nearest changing room, chucking more traditional attire, a bottle of Aphrodite strength styling hair gel, and a hairbrush at me before slamming the door shut. Apparently a dressy blouse with a butterfly pattern and jeans weren't appropriate for being in Eros' palace.

After my little wardrobe change, Zephyros finally found me worthy of conversation.

"Business or pleasure, mademoiselle?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Really, Zephyros? Isn't that a little too on the nose?"

"You wouldn't be here otherwise. So, the prodigy of Olympus in the flesh," he said, his voice saccharine in a way that set me on edge. His eyes roamed over me a little too much for my liking. At least he had enough self-preservation to keep his hands to himself. I would've burned them off had he tried anything. "I've heard you're something of a hot shot among the gods. Is that true?"

"I've been trained by the Olympian council, yes," I said, unsure of what he wanted to hear. "I definitely wouldn't call myself a hot shot."

"But you hold more power than some of the gods combined, hmm? I think the term is fitting."

"If you say so."

"Say, the boss tells me you're favored by Apollo-"

"I'm going to stop you right there," I interrupted. "I am not a pawn you can use to get back at Apollo for what happened thousands of years ago. Apollo and I are friends, Zephyros."

"Liar."

I fought the urge to put my fist through the nearest column.

"Eros, I will personally pluck you like a chicken if you decide to play your games with me today. I am not in the mood."

"Touchy, touchy."

The love god appeared in front of me with a gentle woosh. Like his mother, Eros' form allegedly changed to become more and more attractive to the person looking at him. However, his appearance never changed for me in the same way that Aphrodite has always looked like Salina to me.

He wore a perfectly tailored cream colored suit with a light blue tie, accenting his tanned skin. A gold watch gleamed on his left wrist. His wings were pure white, currently folded against his back to prevent them from whacking Zephyros into the nearest column. His face reminded me of a statue, carefully crafted and chiseled to an unachievable beauty standard. His long, black hair reached down to his shoulders, perfectly combed despite the random breezes blowing through the palace. What truly unnerved me about Eros, however, were his eyes. They were ruby red irises that gazed at people with the intensity of a thousand suns should you be the object of his attention.

Currently, that gaze was focused on me.

I suppressed the urge to shiver, though out of disgust or fear, I'm not completely sure.

"You cannot lie to me, Andromeda," Eros crooned.

"But I'm not lying? Apollo is my friend."

Eros tilted his head to the side in contemplation. Then his lips split wide into a borderline feral grin, his expression one of pure elation. I subconsciously took a step back as his bow and quiver appeared slung across his chest. My hand reached for my bracelet, ready to summon my shield should he decide to make me his new plaything.

"Fascinating. Truly fascinating." He glanced down at his chest and lifted an eyebrow at his equipment. With the snap of his fingers, the bow and quiver vanished. "I apologize for that. Sometimes they appear when I am aroused."

I cringed. "TMI. Keep that talk confined to the bedroom."

"I meant curiosity," Eros corrected.

"Then just say that next time. Jeez, you're more flourishy than usual today." I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. "You're both wasting my time. Where is Psyche?"

"Talking about love is hardly a waste of time, my dear."

"It is when the fate of the world is at stake. Now, which one of you two are gonna point me in Psyche's direction, or am I going to have to do this myself?"

"Still the spitfire I remember."

"Eros, I will punch you again. Don't tempt me."

At this, the love god blanched.

While I'd lived on Olympus, Eros had stopped by during a joint training session I had with Ares and Aphrodite. After making some less than flattering comments about my appearance and lack of romantic love, I challenged him to a duel. Ares and Aphrodite had encouraged him to try his hand against me.

Let's just say that after three rounds, Eros tapped out with a broken nose, ruffled feathers, and severely wounded pride. And if he asked Ares for a personalized workout regime afterward, well, that was none of my business.

"She's in the atrium," Eros said at last.

"Probably reading under that willow tree," Zephyros added.

"Thank you, gentlemen. Now, behave yourselves."

"We will return to this conversation at a later date, Andromeda," Eros said with a level of certainty that filled me with dread. "You and your 'friend' are still firmly within my grasp."

I whirled around, glaring daggers at both gods. "Keep your arrows away from us," I seethed. "You will regret the day you messed with me if I ever find out you shot anyone I care about. Love is not a game, Eros. I thought you of all gods would know that."

"Oh, so that Luke boy-"

I saw red. I would've rushed forward to kick Eros in his nether regions if not for the debilitating migraine slamming into my temples, sending me to my knees. Green smoke curled around me. I took a backseat in my mind as the Oracle spoke previous prophecies through me. I came to thirty seconds later, on my hands and knees as my arms trembled to support my body weight. My vision swam. My throat burned. My mouth felt drier than the Sahara.

"Psyche," I rasped. "I won't ask again."

Eros and Zephyros shared a look.

Wordlessly, both gods helped me to my feet and walked by my side until we reached the atrium.

"Dearest, you have a visitor," Eros said, drawing Psyche's attention from her book.

She glanced up and gave me a warm smile.

"It's nice to see you again, Andy," she said.

"Likewise."

"Leave us, boys. I sense that Andy and I have much to discuss."

Blessedly, they listened to Psyche and left us alone.

Psyche patted the spot beside her on the marble bench. I toddled over with my arms extended on either side, looking like a baby taking its first steps. Despite my vertigo, I could at least acknowledge how gorgeous the atrium was.

The top of the ceiling was a dome of glass, allowing sunlight to fill the space. A ginormous willow tree sat in the center of the atrium with a circular reflecting pool around its base. Various vines and ivies curled around the marble columns along the perimeter. The stone slabs underfoot had been replaced with soft grass. By the other end of the atrium, I could see the mini waterfall, its stream flowing over staggered rocks and water lilies. Butterflies fluttered around the room, seemingly in tune with Psyche's emotions.

That checked out. Butterflies were her sacred animal.

Like everything else in this palace, Psyche was nothing if not beautiful. She had bronze, glowing hair and golden hair. Somehow, she wore her simple chiton as if it were a Vera Wang wedding dress. Her facial features were perfectly proportional, down to the spacing between her eyes and symmetry of her lips. Her dark brown eyes shone in the golden sunlight, shimmering like a precious stone.

Her beauty could rival Aphrodite's. I didn't dare say that aloud, though, knowing that Psyche's whole goddess thing resulted from too many of her subjects making that claim, leading to her hardships at Aphrodite's hands. The goddess of love begrudgingly moved past her history with Psyche in recent years, and I wasn't going to reopen that can of worms any time soon.

Thankfully, Psyche didn't comment on my less than graceful walking capabilities as I took the seat beside her. Instead, she pursed her lips and set her book aside.

"Things must be dire if you're asking for my help," she said, reaching out to brush my hair out of my face. Stupid west wind and his need to impress Eros. "You and my husband don't exactly have the best history."

"We're civil, and that's good enough for me."

"I suppose."

"Do you want me to spar with him again?"

An amused smile appeared on Psyche's face. "If he decides to do something dumb in the near future, I might have to take you up on that offer."

I smirked. "The offer always stands."

"Thank you, Andy, but something tells me you have another reason for this visit. Wanting to fight Eros isn't enough to bring you by."

"Right, down to business."

As I explained my extremely risky and borderline insane plan, Psyche's previously calm expression darkened. The butterflies began to swarm and clump together in response to Psyche's inner turmoil. A gust whipped around the atrium, causing waves in the reflecting pool and the willow's branches to sway at treacherous angles.

Psyche furrowed her eyebrows, opening then promptly closing her mouth like a fish. I'd managed to shock her into silence. That wasn't a good sign. She always had something to say.

Psyche glanced upward, as if praying for strength or patience. She studied me like a specimen under a microscope. Had I not been used to being so thoroughly scrutinized by Aphrodite, I might have felt self-conscious at this intense stare down.

"What you ask of me," Psyche began, hesitant, "it's possible. It's incredibly dangerous and could cause you irreparable harm but possible."

"Possible is all I need."

"Andy, are you certain that this…this drastic measure is really the best choice?"

I gave her a knowing look. "It's my only choice. If I'm to keep my friends, and the world, safe, I'll need your help."

"I don't like this," Psyche said, getting to her feet. She gestured for me to rise and follow her. "I don't like this at all. But if things are as dire as I've heard, we're going to need you, Andromeda Collins."

"So, that's a yes?"

"Yes, but I need time to prepare. This process will not be an easy one for either of us."

"How does two weeks sound?"

Psyche pursed her lips. "I can do that. Just don't do anything crazy before then."

Oh, boy. If only she knew about my upcoming nine-day-but-not-really-nine-day-fall by the end of this week.

"You and I both know I can't promise that," I said wryly.

"Fine, return here in one piece and we can call it even."

"Deal. I, for one, like having my limbs attached to my body."

At that, Psyche snorted, doing her best to hide the uncouth sound behind her hand yet failing miserably. I smiled, glad to see her loosening up some. Those therapy sessions to address her constant insecurity seemed to be doing wonders for her.

She walked me to the front door, talking about other things but unable to hide the worried undertone in her voice.

Psyche didn't have many friends on Olympus. Having had Aphrodite's ire directed at her for so long made many flee as fast as they could in the opposite direction. Not many people wanted to befriend someone who was such a risk to their own love life.

According to Psyche, she only had four true friends: Hebe, Hemera, Hecate, and me.

Yeah, I know, I broke the H train, whoops.

Unlike me, Psyche had never been great at hiding her feelings. I could tell she wanted to strap me down into the nearest chair and leave me there for eternity if it meant we didn't have to go through with my plan.

She caught my wrist as I went to leave, any pretense of calm fading and leaving behind pure, unadulterated terror.

"Be careful," she whispered, voice cracking. "Come back to me. We have so much to talk about and catch up on. I've missed your company."

I turned around and pulled the older goddess into a hug. She squeezed me with strength to rival Tyson's. Thankfully, gods don't have to breathe, so my ribs deforming under her grip would be a nonissue. Didn't make it any less uncomfortable, though.

"I'll be back, Psyche. Don't worry your pretty head about it."

"I hate when you tell me that," she huffed. "You always end up under Apollo's care afterward."

I suppressed the urge to flinch at Apollo's name and pulled away from her. We'd said it too many times for him not to be aware of our conversation. Honestly, I didn't want to know what he'd think of my excursion to Eros's palace.

"Whelp, not this time."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yup."

Psyche managed a weak chuckle. "Well, if that's the case, I should let you leave."

"Deep breaths, Psyche. Two weeks will pass before you know it."

"Off you go. There's a world to save."

I smiled at my friend and took a step back, allowing the shadows to swallow me whole.

My return to the Argo II wasn't a pleasant one.

You know, for being the goddess of time, I sure do lose track of it more often than not.

My trip to Psyche had taken three hours longer than I intended. That meant that instead of being here in time for the Skolopendra attack, I arrived after the fact. Leo, Frank, and Hazel were probably conversing with Aphros and Bythos at the moment, but of course, I couldn't say anything about that until they came back.

I got a mouthful from Annabeth and Piper. The majority of their arguments boiled down to: "Where have you been?" and "Why weren't you here?"

I had an unsuspecting savior in the form of Coach Hedge.

"For Pan's sakes, girls, lay off of Collins," Coach harrumphed, giving us a hard look from his place at the helm. "She probably had some urgent godly business she needed to attend to."

Piper's scowl softened. "You couldn't so much as leave us a note?"

"It was a spur of the moment thing," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "It needed to be taken care of before we got to Rome. There won't be any time after."

"I see." Annabeth didn't look convinced. That's what happens when you know someone for so long. Thankfully, she didn't push any further. "Well, I'm glad that whatever you had to do is taken care of. Do you have any clue where Frank, Hazel, and Leo might be? Percy hasn't had any luck finding them."

"There's lots of merpeople in these parts," I explained. "They're very…particular about newcomers. So long as those three tell the truth, they'll be fine."

"Really?"

I nodded. "I've met plenty of merfolk over the years and the one thing they value over all is honesty. We'll probably have our friends back by tomorrow at the latest."

Some tension bled out of Annabeth and Piper's shoulders. I know it's not the same thing as being a hundred percent certain that our friends are alright but having previous experience in these types of situations does wonders. Perhaps those grueling years on Olympus were more valuable than I ever realized.

"Do me a favor and get those boyfriends of yours to sleep. Something tells me they're burning the candle at both ends and are about to collapse."

"Oh, you have no idea," Annabeth said, grimacing.

"Overachievers," Piper agreed.

"I'll start working on repairs while you put those boys to bed. We can hold a meeting in the mess hall in a few hours."

With that being settled, I trekked downstairs to realign the oars for what felt like the millionth time.

Music blasted through my earbuds as I redid the rigging for the sails, cutting off the singed ends of ropes with a dagger. The process of redoing the knots while the salty breeze threatened to knock me off my post brought me back to open sea emergency training sessions I'd had with Poseidon. He and Triton hadn't gone easy on me. This felt like a cake walk in comparison.

Between the repetitive motions and my music, it was much too easy to sink into my thoughts.

It seemed like no matter how hard I tried to run from the recesses of my mind, it kept dragging me back into the deepest parts kicking and screaming. No amount of physical training could help me here.

Nico had roughly two and a half days left before he ran out of air. Luke had the same amount of time before his soul was lost forever. Then there was still that whole mess with the prophecy's line having changed to thieving angel. I'd love for the obvious answer to be the right answer in this case, but let's be realistic. When has the obvious answer ever worked out in our favor? More likely than not, there would be some convoluted curveball thrown our way thanks to my meddling of this world's timeline that would have us working until the last possible second to avoid some catastrophic disaster.

And while I tried to sort out our most immediate problems, I couldn't shake the weight of the Fates' warning and my plans with Psyche and my upcoming return to the worst place in existence and my mother's concerns and my fraying relationships with my friends and…

I harshly dug my fingers into the cut on my palm. The painful jolt brought me out of my head long enough to notice that I'd almost set the newly redone rigging on fire.

I forced myself to take a deep breath and moved onto the next sail.

Having been forced to hold the weight of the sky for almost a week, I can say with utmost confidence that this pressure feels ten times worse. At least with the sky, you find relief when someone takes your place or helps you share the load.

There is no sharing the load for me, not this time around.

Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" started playing and I just about threw my phone out to sea.

Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing song and the anthem for pretty much every brown eyed girl out there, but I had too many memories associated with it.

Apollo had taught me how to play the chorus on the guitar after he'd had a particularly bad night involving the Oracle of Delphi.

Luke had sang it to me when we went to a karaoke bar for one of our dates. He'd somehow convinced me to get on stage with him and we danced like no one was watching us.

Will loved to sing that song in the infirmary since his mom had included it in her set lists for as long as he could remember. Then, he introduced it to Nico, who sent it to Bianca over Iris-message until it became the song of the summer for the Hunters. I'd caught Artemis humming it to herself during a hunt once, which is unheard of for the usually quiet and stoic goddess.

Cleo played an amazing cover of the song on her lyre and would dedicate it to me, saying, "Until there's a brown eyed daughter of Apollo, this one's for you." She'd wear this smile, as if trying to tell me I know something you don't before weaseling out of my questions or quickly changing the topic. Now, I wish I had tried harder to figure out what she'd been thinking.

I yanked out my earbuds and shoved them into my bag.

I had a meeting to get to anyway.

Annabeth was already sat at the dining table by the time I made it to the mess hall. She'd been staring at the map she grabbed in Fort Sumter with such intensity that I half expected the parchment to spontaneously combust. She had her elbows propped on the table, head hung between her hands, eyes scrutinizing every inch of the page. Honestly, I don't think she sensed my presence until she blinked twice at the map and glanced up.

Right, the map only showed itself to those destined to follow the Mark of Athena. It must've gone blank in my presence.

"Where's Piper?" Annabeth asked, sounding slightly dazed and a hundred percent exhausted at the same time.

"Don't know," I said. "I'm sure she'll be here soon."

Annabeth gave a half-hearted nod as she carefully rolled the map and placed it by her side. She chewed on her bottom lip, clearly deep in thought before deeply exhaling through her nose.

"You know about the Mark of Athena," Annabeth said.

"I do. Your mother told me all about it."

Annabeth let her head drop to the table. "So, you know what I'm looking for, who's there guarding it?"

"I do."

Annabeth shuddered. "Do you…do you remember-"

The twenty-first night of September my intrusive thoughts unhelpfully added.

"-that night in the clearing? It was about two weeks after we first met."

"Of course I remember. The stars were beautiful that night."

"They were." Annabeth managed a weak smile. It faded as quickly as it had appeared. "I'd been dreaming about the night before I ran away from home. I'm sure you've heard this from other Athena kids, but those…those things attacked me for three nights straight, biting, crawling all over me until I couldn't distinguish them from my sheets. I screamed for my dad, but he never came. My stepmother thought I lied after the first night and refused to check on me, telling me to be quiet or I'd wake my brothers.

"The night I ran…" Annabeth trailed off, her eyes glazing over as she stared into the distance. "I think that's the loneliest I've ever felt. I was terrified that any spider within a hundred mile radius would be coming for me to finish the job. It's not like a hammer would do much against a swarm. But Athena guided me to Luke and Thalia, and eventually Grover and you.

"If she brought me to safety all those years ago, why would she do this to me now?" Annabeth asked, her voice cracking toward the end. "Haven't I done enough? Don't I deserve to be happy?"

I slid into the booth and gestured for the daughter of Athena to come closer. She practically melted into my side, violently trembling, as I hugged her tight. I ran a hand through her curls as she tried to steady her breathing.

"You deserve all the happiness in the world," I said quietly. "I'll do everything in my power to make sure all my friends get their happily ever after, and that includes you."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Who will give you your happily ever after, Andy?"

I gave Annabeth a soft smile. "Don't you worry about me, kiddo. I'll make my own happily ever after even if I have to rip it out of Queen Dirt Face's hands myself. Also, I've got one more thing that might help you with the Mark."

"Please tell me it's not another charm I have to keep track of," Annabeth pleaded. "My brain's so scattered right now that I sometimes forget my laptop password or to drink water."

"Okay, first things first, drink this." I grabbed a glass from the other end of the table and filled it with water, gently nudging it in front of Annabeth. She downed the glass in ten seconds flat. Guess she hadn't been lying about that last part. I refilled the glass. "I wanted to give you this – Hephaestus grade spider repellent. It's got all the works: peppermint, lavender, eucalyptus, and Hephaestus' and my personal concoction of chemicals that I can't say out loud for legal reasons."

"Legal reasons?"

"The less you know, the better."

"Sometimes I worry about you."

I shrugged. "Fair enough. Still, I'd feel better if you took that with you. Hephaestus and I spruced up the spraying mechanism, so you'll get some range from the spray bottle despite its size. Please make sure the nozzle is pointing away from you when you use it. Skin grafts are difficult and I'd rather you didn't get to that point."

Annabeth handled the small spray bottle with utmost caution, setting it aside as if it were a bomb. I mean, technically, it could be if exposed to enough heat. I told Hephaestus that nitroglycerin was overkill, but no, how could a spider repellent be effective if it was missing that explosive element?

Guys, gals, and nonbinary pals, I present to you the god of the forge and blacksmiths and the patron of craftsmen.

After taking a few more sips of her water, Annabeth pulled away. "Thank you, Andy, for everything. And I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. I was out of line."

I waved off her concern. "Don't feel bad, kiddo. I'd be pissed off if our roles were reversed. I'll try and do better about warning y'all about my comings and goings."

"Di immortales, I'm an idiot," Annabeth said, face palming. She reached for her Camp Half-Blood necklace and wrapped her hand around the cord. You literally gave us these charms for this reason, and I already forgot they existed. Did you forget about them, too?

"Uhhh, yes and no. I know you have the charms, but I forgot to use them in the moment. That's my bad. Let's leave it at my head hasn't been in the right place since Luke's death. I'm a bit of a walking disaster at the moment."

"Mood."

Before this conversation could get any more depressing, Piper strolled into the mess hall with Percy and Jason flagging behind her. Percy stifled a yawn behind his hand. Jason braced himself against the wall, gaze unfocused as he stumbled forward.

I got to my feet. "All right you two, back to bed."

"Believe me, I tried," Piper said, taking her seat. "They're as stubborn as their fathers."

"Sounds about right."

The boys protested for all of two seconds then fell silent.

"Can we stay if we promise not to exert ourselves?" Jason asked.

"Fine," I acquiesced. "But if I catch either of you trying to drink any type of caffeine to keep you awake, I'm shadow-traveling you back to your rooms before you know what hit you. The journey ahead won't be easy. You'll need your strength and energy."

"Yes, Mom," Percy said, wearing his signature troublemaker smirk.

The boys slid into the booths with their respective girlfriends while I took the seat at the head of the table. Based on my calculations, Hazel, Leo, and Frank wouldn't be back for another twelve hours. Thankfully, I'd gotten the majority of the repairs and cleaning done, so we'd be good to set sail the second they came back.

Taking a deep breath, I clasped my hands in front of me and began our meeting.

Consider this chapter in honor of the Percy Jackson show premiering today!

This will probably be my last update of the year, so happy holidays and a happy new year to everyone!