Thalia Grace

I debated doing things that would earn me a matching bracelet with Percy when Aphrodite said she wished to speak with me as everyone was getting into the limo.

After she finished touching up some makeup that I didn't even realize she had on, the goddess turned her attention to me as we sat in the back of the limo, separate from the rest of the group.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Thalia." She began with a tone that sounded nice enough that I wondered how real it was. "Seriously— it's not every day a demigod basically dies and comes back to life years later. Have they figured it out yet?"

"Figured... What out?"

"That you were poisoned in order to be brought back to life," the goddess said as if it were so obvious (and, if you knew who did it, I guess it was). "I mean, come on, talk about romantic."

"Romantic?"

She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Darling, you're the one dating the person who was responsible for the poisoning— though don't tell Chiron or Mr. D that." She said, causing me to freeze in shock because if she knows, who else does? But she seemed to be able to read me like a book. "oh, don't worry, darling, I'm sure I'm one of the only gods that have put the pieces together. And either way, it won't matter once the solstice has passed, correct? Now that Annabeth Chase knows that it was Luke's doing, she'll do what she's supposed to do and spread word of not just that, but I'm sure everything she learns over these next few days. Even if she never found out, you'd be leaving after the solstice to go with him, correct?"

"Lady Aphrodite, I—"

"Ah, ah, ah," the goddess of love cut me off and smiled softly. "There's no need to explain your actions to me, Thalia Grace. Your entire life you've acted out of love, and love is my specialty. You insist that it's because you hate— you hate your mother, your father, your upbringing. But in reality, it's because you love— your love for your younger brother, for Annabeth and Luke, for so many demigods that you will never even meet. If you can learn to love yourself, Thalia Grace, you will do wonderful things. You and Luke both. Among many others, I'm sure."

I looked down, carefully considering my next words.

How much does she know?

"Among others?" I decided to question the end of her statement. "What do you mean by that, Lady Aphrodite?"

She smiled again.

"It's not often my children take an interest in politics," the goddess told me, which sounded right. "They're often times written off as dramatic, idiotic, or self centered, and whether it be because it's true or because it's what they've been told their entire lives, most of my kids tend to lean into that by the time they've figured out how camp works. That usually means that they don't care about any battles or war or quests going on— so when one of my kids starts to care, so do I."
P
Aphrodite paused.

"I have to admit, Silena's frustrations are correctly placed— I've never been very involved in any of my children's lives, and ever since Zeus decided that we were to go no contact with our children, I hadn't thought much about ways I could bend that rule." She went on, messing with a ring that was on her ring finger— a ruby heart. "your lives are so short for us, such an insignificant amount of time, that it's hard for us to understand how important we are to your lives— even though most of you hate to admit it."

I rolled my eyes at her last comment.

"Either way, I understand why my daughter is so passionate about this cause that you and Luke are fighting for," Aphrodite told me. "For the last year and a half, Zeus has refused to speak of his father stirring in the depths of Tartarus, but after this quest, I don't think he'll be able to keep it to himself. News will have to spread."

"It will?"

She nodded.

"I know it will be hard, especially considering your relationship with Annabeth Chase, but I suggest you not attending the solstice meeting if you plan to remain by Luke Castellan's side." The goddess of love warned me, which was actually good to know. "my daughter can tell you all of what happens after the fact. But speaking on that matter: the current plan is for Luke to become the host of Kronos?"

Not a fan of the reminder, I nodded my head, still looking down.

"Do you have a plan?" Aphrodite asked. "to keep him with you while he hosts the Titan Lord?"

"Do I... Not really, no." I admitted. "I'm just... We're going to talk about it more. Why? You don't think he'll survive?"

She flashed me a saddened smile— one that reminded me of Luke.

"It's hard to know, dear, but I believe he's one of the only demigods that could handle it." The goddess assured me, though it didn't help much. She put her hand out— the left one, with the red ring on it. "you know, a few hundred years ago, Ares gifted me this ring— it's nothing too flashy, and I never knew how much it cost, but he insisted that the ring reminded him of us— the heart shape for me, the ruby red color for him."

"It's not a lot, and it's not the only thing he's bought me over the centuries." Aphrodite continued. "But when we go through spats or arguments or, gods forbid, one of us gets jealous over a mortal lover, it's this ring that reminds me of Ares' love for me, and my love for him."

I looked at the ring. It was a gorgeous ring, I'll admit. I never would've known it was hundreds of years old.

Then again, a god's sense of time is never good.

"I'm not saying it has to be a ring," Aphrodite summarized. "but if you want to keep Luke Castellsn, and I hope that you do, I'd suggest finding something to remind him of the two of you. Even if you don't get to see him all the time— even if it's not him that's facing that day, it will increase his chances of survival."

But one thing troubled me about this entire situation, as sincere as it seemed to be.

This meant that Aphrodite knew a lot of our plans.

"But Lady Aphrodite," I began, growing tired of the word Lady. "if you know so much, why tell me ways to keep him alive? Wouldn't you want him dead?"

"Why would I want to kill one of the most love-filled, passionate demigods of this time? And pre maturely end your two's story?" She asked in return. "like you, Luke is filled with so much love and equally so much anger. After all, it's hard for one to exist without the other— to have war, we must have love, and to love is often a war. Anger is but a brother of war, a cousin of passion, and both of you have so much of both that it would pain me to strike you down now— especially knowing that what you crave isn't power. If you and Luke sought to destroy Olympus and dethrone us, my reaction may be different, but I have watched and listened over the years, and I know better than that. Continue to love, Thalia, and remember to love yourself. You don't need to understand somebody in order to love them, and you don't need to understand yourself in order to love yourself. Clear?"

I nodded once again.

"It's been a pleasure talking with you, Thalia Grace." The goddess of love said with another smile. "Go join your friends and send Percy back here, will you? Him and I need to have a long conversation about self-worth."

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Baby chapter :)