PLAYING POKER ALONE sucked. As Kitty sat on the front porch of the Big House shuffling the same blue deck of cards over and over and over, she found herself actually wishing Mr. D would get back from Olympus faster. That was a thought she'd never expected to have.

But no, he was occupied with some stupid council for the Olympians. Chiron and Alex had said something about Zeus freaking out over demigods. There were talks of barring demigods access going forward. Kitty hoped that had more to down with Luke stealing the Master Bolt and less to do with her stealing a handful of candy on her way out after Apollo's attempt to restore her memory.

She still had gaps. Kitty couldn't remember much about their trip in the Underworld. She couldn't remember Baltimore, though according to Alex, she'd loved the Aquarium. Apparently they'd been to Disney? Honestly she was a little crushed that all she remembered of that was the fireworks.

Alex had told her what he could. But he was always busy these days. The new campers arriving every few days loved him. They didn't always love his once a week, early morning calisthenics though.

Kitty liked those more than struggling with painting pumpkins. Will Solace liked to host that in the mornings. It brought comfort to kids like Harley who were still prime trick or treating age. Most mortal kids would be off buying a new cool Halloween costume and pumpkin carving set this close to the end of October. The only shopping kids here could do was through Kitty.

One thing she hadn't forgotten how to do was disobey dumb rules. The most fun she had these days was sneaking out of camp right out from under the nose of the harpies and Peleus. She made runs back to the closest town sometimes. That's how the Big House now had a massive cauldron of Kit-Kats, Reese's Cups, and Twix.

Kitty looked down at the cards she'd just dealt herself. A royal flush of clubs. Sometimes Kitty wondered if this deck was rigged. She hadn't rigged it. But others knew better than to let her use it in poker matches.

In her mind, Kitty ran through people she could rope into a game. Chiron was out. He hadn't stopped galloping around, all stressed out, for the last week. Alex had his hands full. Travis and Connor had lost all their money to her a couple weeks ago and were still sulking. The Nike cabin had a new girl: Steph. Maybe she'd play?

Kitty sighed. She placed the deck of cards back together and into her pocket. Who was she kidding? Kitty didn't want to play with a thirteen year old Nike kid. Thirteen year olds were annoying on the best of days. A Nike thirteen year old? No thanks.

The sun began to set. Kitty stood as a cool breeze made its way across camp. Maybe she'd come up with some other cure to boredom back in her cabin.

She still had the cabin to herself. No other children of Tyche had been claimed. Sometimes she wondered if she was the only one out there. What about her father—a man she barely remembered except for the smell of booze—had been so special that a goddess slept with him? There had to be others.

Camp seemed relatively deserted. A few of the Hunters had stopped by last week but that had been the first exciting thing in weeks. She'd stolen one of their awesome grey camo shirts. Far as she could tell, Thalia hadn't noticed.

Maybe she'd leave camp again. Kitty was sure Alex and Chiron knew she was responsible for the random appearances of modern day amenities but they never stopped her. The only time she got a pointed stare from Alex was the time she'd smuggled an entire six person Unicorn floaty raft into the canoe lake. That had been hard to ignore.

By the time she got back to her cabin, night had fallen. She opened the door, sending a flood of light out onto the grass. Kitty smiled. The steady beat of dance music played at a comfortable hum in the background. E & E in the Evening had started. Euterpe and Erato, Kitty's two favorite muses, knew how to pick good songs.

The red, purple, and gold carpet could've been ripped straight from the Vegas Strip. She plopped down on the couch, feet up, and sipped one of her very illegal beers she'd pilfered last time she'd left. She had only the music of the muses to listen to and the sound of beer sloshing in her brown glass bottle.

Kitty hated this. She paused. Resting her beer on a faux-expensive side table, Kitty let out a long breath. She'd finally said it.

She hated this.

Kitty didn't remember much from the quest, but she did remember one place clearly: Washington, DC and the grand opulence of The Kennedy Center. Lush red carpets, towering ceilings, crystal chandeliers, men and women dressed to the nines with white gloves and bow ties.

That's what Kitty wanted. Not this. Not a mock up of a Vegas hotel where sweaty people coming in from the heat would plant themselves in front of slot machines for hours. Kitty didn't want the Las Vegas Eiffel Tower. Kitty wanted the real Eiffel Tower.

She remembered Quinn. His confidence, his bravado. She remembered what he'd said about demigods in DC: living there meant swimming with sharks. Bad monsters that only badass half-bloods could handle.

That's what she wanted. Not arts and crafts after lunch, not karaoke nights around the campfire. Kitty wanted more.

Annabeth had installed a misting fountain in every new cabin. Kitty walked over to hers. She turned the fountain on, pulled a drachma from the pouch on the shelf beside it, and tossed it inside.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering." Kitty plopped down on a chair. "Show me Thalia Grace."

A moment passed. Euterpe and Erato chatted with a guest on their radio show but Kitty turned it out. Finally the rainbow shimmered.

"You stole Ciara's shirt!"

Kitty smirked as Thalia, sitting in what appeared to be one of the Hunters's tents, glared back through the mist.

"Yep."

Thalia glared, her bright blue eyes positively electrified. But then she took a deep breath. "What do you want?"

"Remember that demigod you pointed us towards in DC? Quinn Coleman?"

"Yeah. What about him?"

Kitty leaned a little closer, one hand on her chin and elbow supported by her knee. "Think you could introduce me?"

"Mind telling me why?"

She sat up straight. With a deep breath, Kitty tried to figure out how to word it. She stuck her hand in her pocket, playing with her two coins from Tyche. She'd found them in her pocket when they'd left the Underworld.

"Camp is boring."

Thalia stared at her. "You need to give me more than that, Kitty. The offer to join the Hunters is still open."

"Me? A Hunter?" She laughed. "No thank you. No, I want to move to the city and live my own life away from summer camps. I want to move to DC."

"Now?"

"I don't know." She frowned. "Probably not. I turn eighteen in January. So after next summer, at the latest."

"You want to just pack up and move to Washington, DC?"

"Can you connect me with Quinn or not?" Kitty said. "I thought maybe he could help me find a job. I mean, I can go try to win the lottery or something to start out but I want a job for when that money runs out."

Thalia shook her head. Kitty could see another hunter move into the tent behind her. Thalia spared her a quick word before turning back.

"Yeah, sure. I'll talk to him." Thalia smirked. "Still think you should join the Hunters. Britomartis would love you."

"Sorry, but being immortal just isn't appealing. There's no thrill in doing dangerous things if you're probably not going to die."

"If I've learned anything from playing you in Capture the Flag, Kitty, it's that you'd find a way," Thalia said. "I'll let you know what Quinn says."

Kitty grinned. She buzzed with excitement, thanking Thalia before the message dissipated. One step closer to DC. One step closer to swimming with the best of the best in a shark infested city.

For the first time since she could remember, Kitty had a life goal. Someday, she would be one of those women in elegant evening gowns, strolling through The Kennedy Center and drinking champagne with the movers and shakers. Kitty downed the rest of her beer. No more hesitation.