Of Blood and Darkness

The Truth

For a minute, Jason and Thalia faced each other, stunned. Then, Thalia rushed forward and hugged him.

"My gods! She told me you were dead!" She gripped Jason's face and seemed to be examining everything about it. "Thank Artemis, it is you. That little scar on your lip—you tried to eat a stapler when you were two!"

Leo laughed. "Seriously?"

Hedge nodded like he approved of Jason's taste. "Staplers—excellent source of iron."

"W-wait," Jason stammered. "Who told you I was dead? What happened?"

At the cave entrance, one of the white wolves barked. Thalia looked back at the wolf and nodded, but she kept her hands on Jason's face like she was afraid he might vanish. "My wolf is telling me I don't have much time, and she's right. But we have to talk. Let's sit."

Thalia tugged at a silver bracelet on her wrist. "Do you remember anything?" she asked.

Jason shook his head. "I woke up three days ago on a bus with Leo and Piper."

"Which wasn't our fault," Leo added hastily. "Hera stole his memories."

Thalia tensed. "Hera? How do you know that?"

Jason explained about their quest—the prophecy at camp, Hera getting imprisoned, the giant taking Piper's dad, and the winter solstice deadline. Leo chimed in to add how he'd fixed the bronze dragon, could throw fireballs, and made excellent tacos.

They explained how Valen had joined them in the Cyclops lair, and how they made their way to the mountain, almost crashing into it.

Thalia was a good listener. Nothing seemed to surprise her—the monsters, the prophecies, the dead rising. But when Jason mentioned King Midas, she cursed in Ancient Greek.

"I knew we should've burned down his mansion," she said. "That man's a menace. But we were so intent on following Lycaon—Well, I'm glad you got away. So Hera's been ... what, hiding you all these years?"

"I don't know." Jason brought out the photo from his pocket. "She left me just enough memory to recognize your face."

Thalia looked at the picture, and her expression softened. "I'd forgotten about that. I left it in Cabin One, didn't I?"

Jason nodded. "I think Hera wanted for us to meet. When we landed here, at this cave ... I had a feeling it was important. Like I knew you were close by. Is that crazy?"

"Nah." Leo assured him. "We were absolutely destined to meet your hot sister."

Thalia ignored him. Valen sighed, and patted Leo's back in pity.

"Jason," she said, "when you're dealing with the gods, nothing is too crazy. But you can't trust Hera, especially since we're children of Zeus. She hates all children of Zeus."

"But she said something about Zeus giving her my life as a peace offering. Does that make any sense?"

The color drained from Thalia's face. "Oh, gods. Mother wouldn't have... You don't remember—No, of course you don't."

"What?" Jason asked.

Thalia's features seemed to grow older in the firelight, like her immortality wasn't working so well. "Jason... I'm not sure how to say this. Our mom wasn't exactly stable. She caught Zeus's eye because she was a television actress, and she was beautiful, but she didn't handle the fame well.

She drank, pulled stupid stunts. She was always in the tabloids. She could never get enough attention. Even before you were born, she and I argued all the time. She...she knew Dad was Zeus, and I think that was too much for her to take. It was like the ultimate achievement for her to attract the lord of the sky, and she couldn't accept it when he left. The thing about the gods...well, they don't hang around."