Seattle was colder than San Francisco.

It looked mysterious from above, cloudy after a sudden shower. It wasn't all that different from San Francisco, yet to Emilia, it was a completely new world that she wasn't prepared for.

"Why did you choose to come during the coldest time of the year?" complained Emilia as she shivered, following Pollux off the bus that dropped them off at a hotel a block away from the University of Washington.

"You're from the Bay!" said Pollux. "You should be used to this."

"We've been living in New York, where everything is nice and sunny." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Camp did not prepare me for a brittle cold worse than SF. I'm not made for this."

He side-eyed her. "You kinda are, child of the Underworld and all."

"It's not like that makes us not feel cold! At least, I didn't get blessed with that. I can't have a shadow sweater all the time, it drains me."

"Then you need to get better at packing." He passed her suitcase to her. "Come on, we still have to check in before the tour."

"Why would you schedule the tour after a flight and a bus ride?" she complained yet again. "Not even a day of rest?!"

Pollux grinned. "No rest for the wicked. Come on, you've got your quest-survival badge now, that's more than I have."

"You fought in a literal war."

"Yeah, but I got injured really quickly. Percy had to tell me to keep an eye on things elsewhere. It makes sense, I guess, I would've had to fight with my non sword arm, but still..."

"I wonder what he's doing right now," mused Emilia, lugging the suitcase behind her. "I wonder if the Romans accepted him or... I don't know."

Pollux blew air out of his mouth, a tiny cloud of hot steam curling between his lips. He looked pensive, worried even. "I don't know either. But he's strong. He's a leader, like Jason. I don't know Jason well enough, I acknowledge it, yet somehow I still think Percy is... capable of fitting in there just fine."

They checked in at the hotel and got to organizing their things. Pollux immediately claimed the bed with the better view, leaving Emilia to take up most of the closet beside her bed. They had brunch downstairs before making their way to the university.

It was a beautiful campus, with tall ornate buildings and towering trees that made Emilia feel like an intellectual. It had a very different feel from the only other university she'd ever visited, but she wasn't sure Berkeley could be compared to this– its buildings didn't seem to follow a certain pattern and its environment was nothing like the University of Washington.

Some part of her still longed to go to Berkeley, even more so now that Daniel was a student there, too. But she didn't want to completely disregard this campus. It was beautiful. Pollux would fit right in here. He was sociable, he knew how to adapt to formal and informal situations, and he dressed like he was smart. Emilia liked her new wardrobe but felt that she still didn't follow a specific style. Her abnormality had felt like it had a place at Berkeley. Here... she stood out.

She was tired about five minutes into the tour, but tried to keep a good expression on for Pollux's sake. He asked way too many questions (though the tour guide seemed to like that, flashing him several smiles and even blushing at one point when Pollux stopped her from running into a lamppost) and wanted way too many pictures in front of every building. Emilia was forced to get good at using a Polaroid.

They ended the tour back where they started, and walked to have their lunch at the Drumheller Fountain, which Pollux wanted another picture with. "This campus feels so alive," he said, inhaling deep as he sat back down. "I wish I could make those cherry blossoms bloom all-year-round. But maybe conjuring up some strawberries under it would be nice..."

"Pollux, don't," Emilia warned as he looked at a distant tree, concentrating on the ground at the base of the trunk. Vines and leaves began to sprout at the bottom, berries growing rapidly. "Are you crazy? Someone's going to notice that."

"I'll shrink it back in a bit," promised Pollux, smiling as the berries bloomed. "Don't worry."

She covered her face, sighing heavily and looking around at the other students and tourists who were all on their phones or having conversations, blissfully unaware of the cherry blossom's new little friend.

"What are you doing?" came a girl's voice behind them.

Pollux immediately let the berries sink back into the ground. "What?" he asked innocently, smiling up at their tour guide. "Having lunch. You guys should put a bit more into these sandwiches..." He wiggled the flimsy chicken sandwich at her. "It has nothing in it."

She made a face at him. "I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about your little trick with the blossoms. Demigods on campus aren't supposed to use their abilities anywhere that a mortal might see."

Emilia narrowed her eyes briefly, but couldn't sense any ill intentions. The girl really just seemed annoyed that they weren't being covert. She asked slowly, "You have... demigods on campus?"

"Yes." She looked around before reaching into her jacket pocket and withdrawing a small flier. Pollux stared at it blankly for a moment, then offered it to Emilia. The announcement was in Latin. "There's a mixer tonight if you want to meet some of the others. I'm Krista, daughter of Mercury. You?"

"Pollux," he replied, gesturing to himself. "Son of... Bacchus. And this is–"

"Emilia," she introduced herself. "Daughter of..." There was no way around it; she didn't want to say Pluto and cause a problem. "Discordia."

"Cool!" said Krista. "Did you guys go to Camp?"

"Er– no," said Emilia awkwardly. What could she say? Their parents weren't up for leaving them to the wolves? The wolves never arrived on their doorstep? How did it work for normal Roman demigods?

This didn't seem to surprise Krista. "Nice! You're like me, then. I was recruited by the Amazons when I was pretty young, they taught me everything I know. I assume you two can defend yourselves if you're touring a college here?"

Pollux offered, "Yeah, um, my dad did all our training."

Krista blinked. "So you two are... related?"

Pollux and Emilia shared a look. They looked absolutely nothing alike, but Emilia supposed they could have been cousins. Her aunt had much fairer skin than her father even though they shared the exact same parents. If she'd married someone with a European complexion (or, gods forbid, had a child with Dionysus/Bacchus), technically, she and Pollux could be cousins.

"Yeah," decided Emilia. "Cousins. You said something about the Amazons? What's that?"

Krista immediately took a seat beside the fountain. "Surely you've heard of the Hunters of Artemis."

"We have."

"The Amazons are better than that..." She made a gesture toward the sky as if to say she meant no offense. "Not because we dislike Artemis, but because Amazons do not have to vow to remain maidens. It's a super cool group, a matriarchy that worships gods like Ares/Mars, Athena/Minerva, Artemis/Diana, or Bellona..." She whispered softly, "In both Greek and Roman forms. We're not picky. What the gods don't know won't hurt them, as long as we all keep the peace."

"Wait," said Pollux, "so Amazons don't have to remain maidens but they're still... a matriarchy? So shouldn't you not be talking to me then? At least not this respectfully? The Hunters of Artemis look at men like they're... well, men. Pretty bad scum."

Krista blushed. "Well, we do have a rule that males don't speak without permission in our territory– even being there is punishable by death for anyone. I'm a bit more open-minded than some of my friends. Not all of you are so terrible but women are better as a whole. We control our territory very precisely."

"Territory?" asked Emilia. "Where is that?"

"Amazon, of course!"

The way she said it didn't imply the region. Emilia furrowed her brows. "Amazon... singular? Like the company that sells things on the internet?"

"Yeah! Our main campus is the warehouse here in Seattle. But we have members at all other locations, too. We're still working on expanding. You're totally welcome to join."

"Really?" asked Pollux. "Even me?"

Krista gave him a sympathetic smirk. "Well, if you'd like. A lot of the girls have boyfriends there or just accept attention from the men– mortal and demigod alike– who choose to serve us. They handle our front for the mortals. They're usually in orange jumpsuits and iron collars but I swear they're not slaves. Kinzie likes to say they just know their place."

Pollux's face turned red "Isn't that... nice."

"Right! We like men when they know who's in charge. The mortals are becoming pretty dependent on us so we need all the help we can get. We're trying to make a more harmonious society, one run by women." She offered Emilia her hand for a high-five. "Am I right?"

Emilia awkwardly tapped her hand with Krista's. "Right. I like the sound of that. So all of you, you're just allowed to be here? In college... living normal lives? I thought that was really difficult."

"Well, I'm safe in Seattle. Most of the demigods that'll be at the mixer are associated with the Amazons in one form or another. The few males we know are sons of gods and goddesses without a very strong magical scent and they come to Seattle specifically for our protection. It's one of the few campuses that tailors to demigods. You couldn't manage this in more monster-infested cities of California and especially not the east, it's all unsafe over there."

Okay, maybe going here would be a little safer than going to Berkeley. Pollux certainly seemed to like the idea of it. "So basically," finished Krista, "we have such a big group that while it usually attracts monsters, it doesn't happen often because they know what we're capable of. They've learned to steer clear of Seattle. The mixer is very close to our warehouse, maybe Kinzie and Queen Hylla will come in to see the new faces that might like to join us. I really hope you can make it!"

"We'll be there," promised Pollux. As soon as Krista was out of earshot, he whispered, "Would it be completely pathetic to join the Amazons just so I can see her everyday?"

Emilia snickered, "Did you not hear her say 'orange jumpsuits and iron collars?'"

Pollux winked. "I did, but orange looks good on me."

They returned to the hotel room to shower and get ready for the mixer. Based on the invitation, it was fairly casual, but Pollux insisted they wear their best clothes. He'd chosen a black button-up (unbuttoned near the top) with dark slacks and shiny dress shoes, messing his hair up then slicking it back at certain points. He'd had Emilia form a whirl of shadows to spread his cologne around evenly, not too strong but enough to draw a person in. Clearly, he was trying to make the best impression on Krista.

Emilia had chosen a black satin crop top with her cleanest black cargo pants and boots. Pollux braided two strands down the side of her head while she did her makeup, making sure to add more glitter to her eyelid and a bit on her collarbones.

She wasn't sure what she was expected to do at the mixer. She'd yet to go to an actual party involving drinking and dancing. Pollux insisted nobody was going to care how they danced; everyone was going to be focusing on their little groups and there was no sense in feeling awkward.

Music blared all around them as soon as they entered a smaller Amazon warehouse, specifically for the party. It'd been cleared of shelves, boxes, and forklifts and lights were strung up high above, illuminating a large space where all sorts of people were dancing– definitely not all demigods but surely people in-the-know. There was a large bar by the door, and Pollux wasted no time in ordering two water cups, wiggling his eyebrows at Emilia as he turned it into wine.

"You're not funny," she teased, slowly taking a sip. "Wow... but this is delicious."

"Definitely better than all the church wine you've ever had," said Pollux. "Have you ever had tequila? Or beer? I feel like we should've had this conversation by now."

"You never exactly drank in my presence before, it wouldn't have come up. Of course I've had tequila and beer, I'm Mexican! My aunt let me drink from her Corona as a six-year-old because I thought it was apple juice and she didn't correct me. And tequila, please, I must have taken my first shot at the age of ten."

Pollux grinned. "Okay, then, so we have to see who holds their alcohol better today."

"Absolutely not. I refuse to get wasted here. Anything could happen and you don't have a weapon."

"Let's not expect anything. Come on, it's the end of January in Seattle of all places. Krista was nice, wasn't she?"

"She was," admitted Emilia. "I sensed nothing sinister. But still, we never know."

There was a shriek behind them. "Hey!" cried Krista, wiggling her way up to them. "You made it. Wow..." She glanced at Pollux, smiling. "You both clean up well."

"We have class," said Pollux with a wink. "You're glowing, yourself."

Krista's shirt did make her seem like she was glowing, a glittery tank top over low-waisted jeans. "Thanks," she said. "Come on, grab something to drink and let's dance!"

Emilia tried not to think of the people watching, just as Pollux had advised. He'd gotten comfortable with Krista right away, the two leaving absolutely no space for any deities. She started to let loose a bit more once some Latin dance music began to play– songs that she sort of knew how to move to and at least could enjoy by singing along.

She was dancing to a song she'd never heard called Danza Kuduro when she sensed a presence behind her. When she turned, she saw a girl maybe a year or two older than her. She was athletic and lean, dressed in a sleek black leather jumpsuit with a strange gold-linked belt around her waist. Her hair was loose– a beautiful glossy and long black mane that seemed to shimmer.

"Enjoying the song?" the girl asked, a small tight-lipped smile on her face. It reminded Emilia of her own difficulties with smiling. Either the girl was cruel and about to make fun of her, or she wasn't the best at showing emotions.

"Yeah," said Emilia, trying to shout over the music. "I've never heard this one before."

"One of our girls works with the artist, she got a special recording just for this. The preview won't be released until July and the music video... well, maybe in August. I'm Hylla. Who are you?"

Emilia's mind immediately went blank. "Wait... um... Hylla? As in... the Queen of the Amazons?"

She raised her eyebrows. "You know about me?"

"Krista mentioned you. She's um..." She turned and saw that Krista and Pollux were still enjoying the music, though they'd been pushed a bit further away by the crowd of demigods. "She saw us at the university."

Hylla's lip twitched as if this wasn't news to her. Maybe Krista had a habit of saying more than she should. "Well, I suppose she had the sense to invite you to join us?"

"She did," Emilia assured her. "I have to um... consider my options. I'm not sure if I'm going to go to college next school year or..." How to explain she might have to drop everything to save the world? "Anyway, I just came with my friend."

"The boy Krista is dancing with," observed Hylla. "Is that... a cup of wine in his hand?"

"Diet Coke," lied Emilia. Hylla clearly didn't believe her and she amended her statement, "He's a son of Bacchus but he doesn't really drink, though, it's just the party setting..."

"Neither of you look old enough to be doing that."

Emilia huffed. Why did she care so much? "We're twenty-one! I just had my birthday, thank you very much."

"There's no way he had any birthday like that. I can tell you're lying. You're not a very good liar."

"I'm usually an amazing liar," said Emilia curtly. "It's just not that easy to lie when I'm trying to be more sociable. I'd have to lower this–" She gestured over her face, "enthusiastic front and act like a serial killer to be more manipulative and I don't feel like doing that at a party. Look, can't we just... enjoy the night? We're not going to cause any trouble." She tried to smile at her hopefully but she worried Hylla would think her attempt at puppy eyes would resemble a crying Earthborn more than it would a sweet dog.

Surprisingly, Hylla smiled. "A serial killer? You look too sweet for that."

This was probably one of the higher compliments in life. "Then that's a great improvement from where I was last January. Trust me, I would not have been dancing to this song in any setting like this."

"Well, then," said Hylla, "do I get to know your serial killer name or–?"

"Oh!" She hadn't introduced herself. "I'm Emilia, daughter of Discordia."

Hylla eyed her closely. "Discordia. I've never heard of her having a demigod child."

"A rarity," said Emilia. "I'd rather not get into it."

"I'll let that pass only because you were telling the truth when you said you're not going to cause trouble. But eventually... I'll expect an explanation."

Emilia raised a brow and teased, "What, you expect to be seeing me again? I already said I'm not sure if I'm even going to college and I'm not from Seattle."

"Oh, I know I'll be seeing you again," said Hylla confidently. "But until that time comes and that conversation can be had... I suppose that there's no harm in having a bit of fun."

As the song changed, Hylla began to sway her hips, blending right into the youthful looking crowd. Just a moment before she'd been all serious and regal, evaluating Emilia carefully. Now she was like any other young adult.

Emilia deduced she spoke fairly fluent Spanish when she heard her singing along to La Vida Es Un Carnaval by Celia Cruz– at the top of her lungs, actually. She remained across from Hylla, focusing on her own movements, though she made sure to take note of what Hylla did (she was moving much more on-beat than Emilia) to sort-of copy the motions and get more comfortable with the dance.

"You speak Spanish?" asked Emilia as the song became La Quebradora by Banda El Recodo. Pollux was on the side making motions explaining the dance to Krista, who wasn't understanding.

"Yes," said Hylla. "My full name is Hylla Ramírez-Arellano. I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. You?"

"Emilia Gonzalez," she corrected. "My father and aunt are from Ixtlán del Río, Nayarit, and my stepmother is from Comala, Colima in México."

Hylla smirked. "Tunc etiam facilior nobis fuit copiose Latine loqui." (T: Then it was even easier for us to speak Latin fluently.)

"Cualquier lengua romance," Emilia replied. "También hablo italiano y griego." (T: Any Romance language. I also speak Italian and Greek.)

"Impressive," replied Hylla. "Greek... not a common language to be spoken."

"I wanted to read myths in their original language," said Emilia carefully, despite Krista having said that the Amazons didn't discriminate between the Greek and Roman. Hylla seemed more calculating than her. "It was easy to pick up as a child."

"You're intelligent. The Amazons could use someone like you. I tell you what... come back here tomorrow and we'll see how well you do against my guards. What weapon do you fight with?"

"A spear. But Pollux has been helping me improve my skills with a sword. You?"

"Anything. The dagger and sword are my favorites. I'm a child of Bellona– I understand how to use weapons faster than most other demigods and I can even exert a certain magical hold over them. And my belt... as long as I wear it, my physical strength and prowess are magnified. I can adapt to any situation." Her expression darkened slightly. "I've had to, in the past."

"Me, too," said Emilia, trying her hardest to sound sympathetic. "Becoming Queen of the Amazons can't have been easy. I don't need to know your story to know that you must've triumphed over a lot. It's admirable."

She reached her hand out to Hylla as Suavemente by Elvis Crespo began to play. The Queen was stunned, perhaps not having expected to dance with any partners at the party. Emilia figured it couldn't hurt, and it felt like the right thing to do seeing Hylla thinking back to a darker time. She had butterflies leaping in her stomach– what if Hylla simply didn't like that? What if she had no interest in Emilia beyond recruiting her? Had Emilia misread the entire situation.

But Hylla accepted, the two beginning to dance. At first, Emilia had to pretend to look over her shoulder, as if to copy other couples who had started to do the same thing. Krista was spinning Pollux around as if he were a top, but he didn't seem to mind.

She felt a hand drift up her shoulder and turned back to Hylla, who seemed to be eyeing her with the intention of willing her to look her way. As difficult as eye contact was, Emilia tried to look at her, offering a weak smile. Hylla could interpret that however she wanted.

The more she looked at her, the more she noticed. Hylla didn't just seem regal– she radiated power all around. Maybe it was just the Belt of Hippolyta magnifying her presence, or maybe it was simply the way she stood. She was in a comfortable place, she knew her worth. Her eyes were incredibly dark, even when light flashed into them. They carried sorrow, and Emilia could barely sense a flurry of discord swirling within her– maybe a side-effect of Hylla having thought of whatever her past was.

She might've gone as far as to think that Hylla was checking her out, too. That intense gaze seemed much softer now, though maybe she was still evaluating Emilia and assessing whether she was or wasn't a danger to the Amazons. It became exponentially harder to keep looking at her and assessing her as the chorus rang again, the singer asking for more soft kisses, but neither of them wanted to be the first to look away. Neither of them wanted to be perceived as weak.

Emilia could've sworn that Hylla turned her gaze elsewhere for a split second, maybe, just maybe, flickering toward Emilia's lips. Emilia was shocked to think that she might actually want Hylla to kiss her. Why did people suddenly become more appealing with dark lighting and sensual songs playing in the background?

Hylla drew away almost as soon as the song ended. Emilia pretended it didn't bother her, and glanced at Pollux (who was thankfully looking her way and completely butchering the words to Gasolina by Daddy Yankee). She managed a smile and feigned dancing with him from a distance.

"You had fun," said Pollux as they walked back to the hotel. "Krista said you were talking to the Queen of the Amazons. New career in the making?"

"No," said Emilia, shaking her head. "We just talked a bit, really, it was nothing."

"You two were dancing together to that one really romantic song."

"Just two Latinas enjoying a dance. Nothing."

"Doesn't sound like it's nothing. She's pretty. You should get her number."

"I can't have a phone," said Emilia. "Numbers don't work. And I'm leaving for a quest soon."

Pollux gave her a significant look. "Soon? There are still four full months until June. And Leo isn't entirely sure the ship will even be ready by the summer solstice. We're still gonna be in Seattle another day. Krista invited to a more personalized tour of the campus–"

Emilia wiggled her eyebrows, "Does that include her dorm?"

He blushed and couldn't respond for a moment. "No, just, actually going into the buildings I'd have classes in..."

"Sure."

"Shut up! I just meant that I'll be busy tomorrow so you should go and talk to Hylla again. No harm in that, right? Invite her out to dinner. Say the fighting isn't what's going to draw you into the Amazons– you want to see what the people are like."

She scoffed. "That sounds terrible!"

Pollux flicked the back of her head. "Then you come up with something, Berkeley Brain. Trust me, that girl likes you. You better make an impression. You have a day to make it or break it."

Somehow that was more terrifying than Gaea.