TALIA'S POV

Oh my greeks, ang ganda talaga rito!

Kailan ba ako huling nakapunta rito? Two years ago?

I poked the girl beside me. "Hm, who do you think is behind the disappearance of the missing mortals, my love?" I asked with a bright smile.

She stopped walking for awhile and looked at the sky. "I don't know..." The sun's light hit her face, illuminating her beautiful features. She faced me with a small smirk etched on her lips. "But that's why we're here, right? Aalamin natin para wala nang mawala."

I clapped my hands in glee. "Tama ka diyan, Soleia! Don't you agree, Callie?"

Callie rolled her eyes. I don't know if it's because she's rude, or if she just feels like vomiting again.

When we got here, Demeter's daughter, feeling car sick, immediately threw up on the ground in front of a crowd of a hundred locals in Greece. Quite the welcome, huh?

"Sorry to interrupt but uhm- where are we again?" Bigla kong narinig ang pagtatanong ni Cole sa ibang Elysian.

Napasimangot ako bago ko siya binatukan. "Are you even paying attention for Apollo's sake?! We're in Athens!"

Amari rolled her eyes, ignoring our banter. "We're in my mother's land, the capital of Greece. We're going to stay at Apollo's hotel nearby. I think it's just around the corner."

My eyes widened as I shook Tazyn who stood beside me. "Did you hear that, my love?! May hotel pala si papshie rito!"

Nahihiya siyang ngumiti sa'kin bago tumingin-tingin sa paligid. "Talia... nakatingin silang lahat sa'tin..." Humina ang boses niya. "Nakakahiya ka."

I frowned, trying to hide my disappointment. "I'm sorry, my love. I'll make sure to be more quiet next time." I acted like I was zipping my lips.

Amari and Raven were walking ahead, leading the way. Nasa pinakalikod naman sina Soleia, Haze, at Callie.

"Are you sure we're going in the right direction, genius?"

"Don't you trust me? I'm not Athena's daughter for nothing. I'm sure the hotel is just around the corner."

"It's obviously not. We've been walking around in circles."

Sa bawat misyon namin, hindi talaga nawawala ang pagbabangayan nina Raven at Amari.

Both of them are competitive and prideful, which means this banter would likely continue for several minutes unless someone steps in to break it up.

"I think it's because you're holding the map wrong, son of Zeus." Ramdam ko na ang gigil ni Amari. Biglang nag-ilaw ang mata niya.

Hephep, ito na yata 'yung pinakamagandang oras para pigilan ang dalawang 'to! Kung hindi, baka masunog ang buong Athens at kapag nangyari 'yun, lagot kami kay Athena.

Before I could even speak, Tazyn intervened. "Uhm... ito na yata 'yung hotel." Her gentle voice stopped the tension.

Hays, mabuti naman-

My mouth went agape as I stared at the twenty-storey building in front of us.

"This is it?" gulat kong tanong. "For Apollo's sake- it's massive!"

Sabay-sabay kaming napatigil bago tingnan ang malaking building na nasa harapan namin.

"Sunshine Stay? Why is the hotel's name so corny?" Mavi commented.

Sunshine Stay? 'Yun 'yung pangalan ng hotel? Hindi talaga creative si Apollo.

"I told you. We were going in the right direction," Amari said, rolling her eyes.

I could suddenly hear thunder rumbling from afar. "We weren't," Raven fired back before following Amari who entered the hotel.

Without wasting any time, I happily skipped inside, flashing smiles to the other guests who visited the hotel.

Holy Apollo. This hotel looks so fancy! I love it!

I spent time admiring my surroundings because it's not every day that I get to stay at a hotel as big as this!

"Tazyn, my love, it's so pretty, noh?" I asked, gently poking her in excitement. She nodded, staring mindlessly at the expensive furniture.

I came back to my senses when an irritated woman started walking towards us, each step holding authority. "We have the last floor all to ourselves. Come on, let's get this over with," saad niya.

Remind me not to piss off Amari.

"So, where do we start asking first, Haze?" pangungulit ni Callie habang naglalakad. "Sigurado ba tayong sa Athens natin makikita 'yung mga nawawalang diyos? Teka nga-" Napatigil siya. "Sino ba ang mga nawawala?!"

Aha! Sabi ko na nga ba eh! Hindi siya nakikinig nung nagmeeting kami!

Haze stared at her for a few seconds before clicking his tongue. "Hermes and Iris. Headmistress Adhira told me that the gods were last seen here."

Silang dalawa na naman.

Palagi talagang pahamak ang dalawang diyos na 'yun. Tandang-tanda ko pa 'yung isang misyon namin na sinabotahe nilang dalawa.

Our mission was to go to Hephaestus' shack and ask his helpers to sharpen our weapons. To our surprise, Hermes and Iris appeared, catching the helpers off guard. Because of their shock, one of the helpers spilled some sort of chemical, which led to a massive fire breaking out.

Tapos ngayon, nawawala pa sila!

"Well, why don't we start asking the nymphs, centaurs, and aurai working in the hotel?" I suggested while twirling my hair. "They might know something."

Biglang pumalakpak si Callie sa tuwa. "Hala, tumatalino ka na, Talia! I'm so proud of you, best friend!" I rolled my eyes as a reply.

"Duh, matagal na kaya akong smart."

"Mavi and Tazyn, I'll leave that job to you." biglang singit ni Haze. Tumango ang dalawa.

Madalas, silang dalawa ang pinipili ni Haze dahil sila ang pinakamagaling sa pakikipag-usap. Mavi knows how to charm anyone, and Tazyn, though she may appear shy, captivates everyone's attention with her sweet personality.

Sa mga misyon, ang mga katangiang ito ay may malaking tulong sa pagkuha ng mga impormasyong kailangan namin.

Haze's light brown eyes stared down at us. "Amari and Raven, start investigating outside. The rest of you, follow me. We're going to put these bags upstairs," utos niya muli.

He rolled down the sleeves of his white polo before effortlessly grabbing two heavy suitcases as if they weighed nothing. As he began to walk, we followed him, trying to keep up with his long strides.

Oh my greeks, ang pogi talaga ni Haze! Nung una, naging crush ko siya pero napagtanto kong masyado siyang masungit eh. Pakiramdam ko ay hindi niya rin naman ako magugustuhan kaya hindi ko na siya crush ngayon.

May mahahanap din naman siyang mas bagay sa kanya kaysa sa'kin.

Sumulyap ako sa babaeng nakatayo sa likod ko. Tahimik niyang tinititigan ang paligid namin habang naglalakad. Katabi niya naman ang lalakeng kanina pang dumadaldal.

"Ganda, noh? Pero parang mas malaki pa rin ang hotel ni Mira, 'di ba?" tanong ni Cole.

Mira... pangalan 'yun nung guardian ni Soleia nung nakatira pa siya rito, sa mortal realm.

Soleia smirked mischievously. "Yeah. Much bigger actually."

When I first met them in the mortal realm, it was immediately clear that they were not human. Aside from their ability to move during a time stop, they radiated a powerful presence.

Although I may not have the ability to see auras, it would take a fool not to notice how radiant their souls were.

The purity of their essence was blinding.

Bahagya akong natawa nang samaan ng tingin ni Soleia si Cole. "Stop touching my hair."

Soleia... her soul was exceptionally bright.

Though I'd only known her for a few days, I could see so much potential within her.

Gusto kong maging katulad niya, isip ko.

The world could be harsh, yet she always looked so carefree that it made the world seem a little less daunting.

Even as a demigod born from darkness, I could never understand why her soul shone as brightly as her mysterious eyes.

But perhaps, I didn't need to figure it out...

Nang mapatingin ako kay Soleia ay agad akong napangiti.

Because I'm certain the answer would come to me one day.