The knock on the door was sharp and far too early not to be urgent.
Reyna tried to come in without waiting for an answer, like she always did when something happened. Unfortunately for her, the door was locked.
"She's here," she said from the other side, not bothering to wait for me to get up and open it.
She didn't need to say who. I knew instantly. I got dressed quickly, still half-asleep, and followed her through the quiet hallways of the cabin. The rest of the girls were still moving lazily—some stepping out of their rooms, others hastily tying up their hair.
Despite the early hour, the cabin held its usual warmth. The walls were made of light wood, decorated with fur blankets and banners in earthy tones and silver. There were bows hanging, arrows, hunting gear. And everything smelled like fire, forest, and leather.
We gathered in the common area, in front of the stone fireplace that was always lit. Some sat on the chairs or cushions near the fire. I preferred to stay standing, next to Reyna.
And there she was.
Artemis.
She wore her usual uniform, bow slung over her back. Arms crossed, standing straight, with that look that usually commanded respect. But I could feel it—something was off.
She waited until we were all present. Once the silence settled, she took a deep breath.
"I don't really know where to begin," she said, without moving from where she stood.
I felt Reyna tense beside me. We exchanged a glance, both carrying the same mix of nerves and anticipation.
Artemis told us the basics. About the winter solstice, the meeting the day before, the shift in the air. She mentioned Zeus and Apollo. She said a new way had been voted to choose the next king—or queen—of Olympus. That it wouldn't be by judgment or combat, but through a set of games. And that each god could enter the competition, but would need to be represented by a demigod.
When she finished, no one said a word. The silence was strange, long, and heavy.
And then I laughed.
It wasn't loud, or mocking. It was the kind of laugh that escapes when you just don't know how else to react. When your brain refuses to believe what it's hearing.
Everyone turned to me.
"Sorry," I said, taking a deep breath, letting my lungs fill with the air I'd been missing for the last 24 hours. "It's just... I wasn't expecting a joke."
"A joke?" Artemis asked, frowning.
"Isn't it?" I shrugged, still half smiling. "You just told us that Apollo—Apollo—not only challenged Zeus, but also set up a scheme to dethrone him... by organizing a tournament? Come on, that's hilarious. You don't expect us to just swallow that, do you?"
I heard a couple Hunters chuckle, and even caught a smirk or two. For a moment, I felt validated—like maybe we were all thinking the same thing.
But Artemis wasn't laughing.
She slowly lowered her arms and brought a hand to her forehead. Her eyes were filled with a sadness that knocked the breath out of me.
And just like that, it stopped being funny. I swallowed hard.
It felt like all the warmth had vanished from the room. I crossed my arms, uncomfortable. I didn't want to look at her—but I couldn't look away. And that's when I started to wonder if it was true.
Because yes, Apollo could be a loudmouth, a showoff, a textbook narcissist, and way too impulsive—but he wasn't stupid. Something must have happened for him to go this far. Something serious.
And Zeus... well, he wasn't exactly the poster god for good leadership. Or fatherhood. Or, let's be honest, marriage. Or brotherhood, either.
Let's just say our father's a bastard.
I started to doubt. I remembered her expression when she came back from the meeting, the tension in the air, and Artemis's silence since the night before.
No. It wasn't a joke. I knew it the moment I looked again at my lady, my half-sister, the one who had guided me since I left the mortal world behind.
And no, she wasn't pretending.
I felt stupid. I felt guilty. And above all, I felt scared.
Because if Apollo was ready to defy Zeus—and Artemis didn't know what to do—then whatever was coming... was a lot bigger than we thought.
And it hadn't even started yet.
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"What?" I muttered under my breath, incredulous.
A few days had passed since Artemis gathered us to talk about Olympus. Since then, everything in the cabin had felt... off. Not on the surface—everything was where it always was: the fur blankets, the bows on the walls, the earthy-silver banners. But underneath all that familiarity, there was a tension that wouldn't go away.
And now Artemis had pulled me aside to talk in private. We were alone. And even though I'd always respected her authority, this kind of conversation made me uneasy. Our relationship was never close. She's my lady, I'm her lieutenant. That's it. No confidences. Just orders, duty, and loyalty.
"What exactly is your 'what' about?" she asked, serious, arms crossed. Not a crack in her voice, not a hint of doubt.
I hesitated.
"I mean... that tournament. To choose the next king or queen of Olympus. I didn't expect you... to want me to participate."
I looked at her, searching for an explanation. Because it didn't make sense—not with what I knew of her.
"You want to be queen?" I asked, more surprised than anything else.
Artemis took a moment to answer. She lowered her gaze slightly, as if choosing her words carefully.
"Not exactly," she said at last. "But I also don't want any of our half-brothers to win. Can you imagine if Ares takes the title as king? Or—gods forbid—Aphrodite?"
Said like that, it sounded logical. Even necessary. And still, something inside me resisted. Something I didn't fully understand.
"Why me?" I asked, folding my arms. "Why do you want me to represent you?"
"Because you're my lieutenant," she said without hesitation.
But that answer wasn't enough.
"And it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm Zeus's daughter?"
She didn't need to say it. I already knew. Ever since I stopped being a tree and returned to the world, people haven't stopped seeing me as "Zeus's daughter." At Camp, they made me a leader just because of that. They wanted me on quests because I was one of the Big Three. And when I joined the Hunt, they named me lieutenant before I had a chance to prove anything—when there were other Hunters way older, wiser, and more experienced.
And even if Artemis never said it out loud, I knew that fact weighed on her decision too.
She didn't respond. She just looked at me, as if waiting for me to process it all on my own. And I did—or I tried to.
Four years ago, if she had asked me something like this, I would've been excited. Proud, even thrilled.
Now? All I felt was a knot in my stomach. A discomfort I couldn't quite name. It wasn't fear. It wasn't rejection either. It was like... a part of me was already too tired.
The silence dragged on.
"We'll see," Artemis said finally, in that tone that didn't allow for disagreement. "For now, I just need you to represent me in the games."
I nodded. Not because I was convinced—but because I didn't have a choice.
Fate, once again, was pushing me into a role I hadn't asked for. And even though I felt completely alone in that decision, I knew I couldn't ignore it—or run from it—like I did with the Great Prophecy.
Thinking about the Great Prophecy made me think of Percy. It's been a long time since I last saw him.
I wonder if he's going to get dragged into this mess too.
I'm almost sure he will.
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it's comiiiiiiing! :)