The first thing Thalia noticed was that she was naked. The second thing? She was surrounded by wolves. The third thing? She didn't remember anything besides her own name.

She should have felt scared, but the gaze of the large she-wolf before her, with deep chocolate red fur and cloudy silver eyes, prevented her from feeling anything but surprised interest.

Thalia felt the urge to cover her nude form, bare underneath the glare of the enormous beasts, and the night chill brought shivers but she clenched her jaw against the cold, staring unrelentingly into the she-wolf's eyes.

Do you know where you are?

Thalia heard the words rasped into her mind, watching as the she-wolf's mouth curled as if she had spoken. Had she?

I am Lupa, the voice spoke again, and Thalia concluded as the she-wolf began pacing a short distance, back and forth, in front of her pack, that the wolf was actually speaking to her somehow. This is the Wolf House, demigod.

Thalia finally found her voice. It was deep and scratchy, like she hadn't ingested any water in thirteen years. "The Wolf House?"

Lupa seemed pleased by the sound of her response. Here, you will prove yourself in battle. If you are strong enough to survive the impending trials, you will make your way to Camp Jupiter and join the Twelfth Legion Fulminata.

Camp? Why did that sound familiar? Had she gone to a camp before?

She digressed.

"Trials?" Thalia repeated. She rolled her back, causing the bones to rattle and crack, and she felt the sure strength of her own impressive muscle. Even though she was bare, weary, and out in the middle of nowhere, her body felt ready for anything Lupa was going to throw her way.

Rest, little pup, for now. At nightfall, we hunt.

Hunt?

Thalia almost remembered something. Had she hunted before? She shook off her thoughts, watching as most of the wolves dispersed. Two wolves stayed behind, settling down in the corner of the room, although Thalia really doubted it could be considered a house. It was mostly torn down, and crumbled bricks littered the floors. Moss climbed the walls, and it towered pretty high but it didn't look very sturdy. There was hardly any roof at all, and it felt like a cave more than anything else. She supposed the wolves liked that.

It didn't take her but a second to realize why the wolves had stayed behind—they were to watch her. Not that she would run away anyway. Where would she go? It's not like she could call up the friends she didn't remember and sneak off to some wild high school party.

Thalia didn't think she would be able to sleep, not while naked and critically watched by two hungry wolves, but somehow her eyelids snapped shut, and she was sent spiraling into Morpheus' realm.

She dreamed of the Wolf House. But…it was different, not exactly as it was. Thalia appeared nine years younger, an even younger boy balancing easily on her hip. His tuft of blond hair tickled her prominent nose, and she felt herself nearly sneeze. The dream felt too tangible, too vividly realistic to seem like a figment of her imagination. This was a memory, reeling on like film.

A disheveled blonde stood off to her left. If it weren't for the bags under her eyes and her strangely pallid countenance, she would've looked like a magazine cover. Her mother. Thalia felt a painful twinge in the deepest recesses of her unconscious mind. There was something dark in this memory, something she even possibly repressed in her past.

The kid in her arms tinkered with the punk rock buttons on her leather jacket, babbling and nearly snapping a few of them off in the process. She gently clutched his little fist, unable to retain her smile when he glanced up curiously, sky blue eyes twinkling.

She had a brother? What were they all doing at the Wolf House?

Why wasn't her brother with her now?

"Alcaeus," her mother crooned. She seemed nervous, but it was hardly noticeable—a quick flex of her fingers, a millisecond shift of her pale blue eyes. Thalia apparently knew her enough to know the difference. "I forgot the picnic basket in the car."

Thalia flinched at the sound of her birthname, but she accepted the keys to her mother's Mercedes, snatching them away defensively before the chill of her fingers could freeze her.

"Give me Jason."

Thalia narrowed her eyes. "I can carry both. I'm strong."

Her mother smiled almost sadly, her eyes glistening the same way they did when she stared at Thalia's father. "I know you are." And the smile was gone, almost as if she never lapsed for a second. "Hand me my son."

Thalia wanted to scream, wanted to throw the keys back in her face and demand that she fetch her own picnic basket, but she felt the guilt of her recent actions weighing on her heavily. They were supposed to have a nice day for once, a day without her mother drinking herself into a coma, a day without Thalia breaking anything in anger or acting out just to spite her.

She kissed Jason on the top of his forehead, reluctantly surrendering him to her shaky mother.

"Lia!"

Thalia tried not to smile. "I'll be right back, J. Just stay with Mom."

Thalia clutched at her flat chest, jolting upright from her bundles of cloth on the grimy ground.

You're up early, pup, Lupa growled. Good. Rise, and you will start your first hunt. And…little pup?

Thalia cocked her head.

If you fail, you will become the hunted.

"Great," Thalia replied sarcastically, the smirk that adorned her lips even more wolfish than Lupa's. "No pressure."

Why wasn't she more surprised by the turn of events? She didn't remember her life from before, but she was pretty sure she didn't sleep naked with wolves on a regular basis.

Still, parts of this exchange felt familiar to her. She was accustomed to being tested, trained. Thalia saw flashes of gruesome creatures—all more threatening than the she-wolf before her. The idea of monsters, hunting, giant demigod-eating wolves seemed like home to her. She didn't even know how she instinctively knew what a demigod was.

If she was a demigod, that meant her father was a god. But who?

You have questions, Grecian, Lupa acknowledged.

Grecian? Of course. She was a Greek demigod. Her father was a Greek god.

"Who is my father?"

You will discover that soon enough, Thalia Grace, the wolf said. The way she said it—it sounded like Thalia was missing out on a hilarious joke. When your father claims you.

Thalia's nose flared at the sound of her last name. "I've been here before."

Lupa's head titled, seemingly surprised. Yes.

"Have we met before?"

Lupa snarled, and it was obvious to Thalia that share time was over.

Thalia grumbled curses to herself in a strange language, one that felt almost more natural to her than English. Ancient Greek. Lupa didn't look shocked, which told Thalia she was right.

"Can I at least get some clothes?"

You fight as you were born, as Romulus and Remus were brought to my cave.

"Seriously?"

Thalia knew it probably wasn't a good idea to roll her eyes at a giant wolf, but c'mon.

Is that insecurity?

Her nose flared. She sprung to her feet. "What are we hunting?"

Lupa raised her head. She already towered over Thalia by a foot. With Thalia's height, that was already impressive. Baring her fangs was mostly overkill.

Whatever you're quick enough to catch.

After catching various animals and monsters, wrestling wolves, surviving for a week in the woods by herself, doing so many pull-ups she could barely feel her arms, and challenging Lupa to a fight to a state of unconsciousness (which Thalia won, by the way), she finally had some clothes.

They were obviously a tad dirty, but they fit nicely; they were probably the clothes she had on before Lupa stripped her bare in the first place. The new additions featured a bronze bracelet, although it looked more like a bracer, emblazoned with gold snakes and Greek symbols, and a comfortable leather jacket.

She fingered the punk rock buttons, recognizing some of them from her dream. One stood out in particular—it was green with black, blockish letters that spelled: GREEN DAY. She almost felt something from that—but it flew out of her mind faster than she had ran the first time Lupa challenged her to a race.

Thalia's eyes blinked slowly, feeling a twinge in her head not unlike the beginning signs of a migraine.

You are ready, little pup, Lupa's expression almost looked proud. Follow your instincts. They will lead you to Camp Jupiter.

Thalia felt like she owed this she-wolf a lot, even though most of her battle skills had simply been there, not too far from the surface. She was obviously already built like a fighter, and perhaps like a long-distance runner, but Lupa had forced her to remember her abilities.

All she said was: "Thanks for not making me go to camp naked."

Lupa smirked. Goodbye, little pup. Bring great honor to Rome.

Rome?

"I thought I was Greek?"

Lupa seemed to find most of the things she said hilarious. You are the piece that unites them. Bring honor to Rome, and you will bring peace between your camps. You must be on your way. Time is running short, Thalia.

"Bye," Thalia muttered, hating how no words seemed to clear her confusion. What did Lupa mean?

It didn't take long for her to reach civilization, which she thought was pretty weird. She had been living naked in the woods for about two weeks, and she had seen no signs of human life. Now, glaring headlights blinded her as the driver honked her out of the way.

Thalia glared, and the honks ceased almost immediately, and the driver—a balding man in his forties—stared on as she worked her way across the street. She entered a quaint little travel stop, sneaking a tourist map into the inside pocket of her leather jacket. She eyed the cameras wearily, avoiding the lens as she picked up a few more crucial items—lip balm, snacks, a vanilla-scented car freshener—basically anything that would fit in her pockets. She thought the tree-shaped air freshener would be useful in masking her scent from monsters.

"Welcome to Glen Ellen," a voice startled her. Thalia turned to face a girl about half her height, smiling invitingly and handing her a complementary brochure. "Town of Jack London."

"I thought the Beatles were from England or something."

What were the Beatles? Why did she just say that?

The girl laughed awkwardly. "No, that's John Lennon." Her nametag caught the sun, bringing it to Thalia's attention. Lamia.

"Oh," Thalia managed a short, embarrassed laugh. "Well, I just stopped in to find out where I was. I have to hit the road now."

Lamia titled her head to the side, smiling almost cruelly. Her entire body language shifted. "You aren't going anywhere, demigod."

Sharp fangs glinted in the dimmed lighting. They were much dirtier than Lupa's had been, like Lamia had never owned a toothbrush. Thalia's eyes widened as she watched Lamia's face distort, eyebrows drawn together irregularly, and nose scrunched high. Lamia's skin was now a pasty gray and her gums were bleeding, bright red, from where her fangs had broken through.

Thalia didn't know why, but something whispered in her mind: Aegis!

"Aegis?" she repeated confused, and nearly lost her balance as the bracer on her arm spiraled out into a bronze shield.

Lamia retreated slightly at the sight of Medusa, emblazoned on the surface.

Thalia couldn't help her smirk. She loved this shield already.

She was shaken out of her admiration by Lamia clawing at her with her long talons. The lapse in attention had given the monster the opportunity she needed to knock Thalia to the ground.

Lamia climbed on top of her, hunching like a starving hyena, her fangs drooling and baring at the sight of Thalia's vulnerable neck.

"The Ichor flows strong in your veins, demigod," Lamia complimented. Well, Thalia thought it was a compliment, anyway. "Do you bleed gold, Thalia Grace? The power…"

CLANG!

Aegis met Lamia head on, shoving her off Thalia with surprising force. It was admittedly rude to cut her off in the middle of her sentence, but Thalia had a strange feeling that she had never been one for manners.

Thalia hurried to her feet and rushed through the small aisles in such of something, anything, to plunge through Lamia's head.

Ah-ha.

By the time Lamia charged again, Thalia was ready for her. The triple cut nail file bulged from her eye socket, angled upwards into her brain—where Thalia assumed her brain to be, as she didn't think she studied monster anatomy in her past life. The monster erupted into yellow dust in front of her tired eyes.

Thalia let out a long, relieved breath, placing her hands on her hips as she tried to steel her nerves. That was...unexpected. She glanced around. Well, at least now no one would be there to watch her steal a backpack.

"Please, try the Cheese 'n' Wieners!"

"I don't like cheese weenies!"

Thalia took the time to stop in her running, swiftly leaning down to the ground and chucking a sizable rock at one of those vile snake women.

She might have just made it angrier. She realized there was no place to go but—

Thalia froze. "Down?"

She swallowed, glancing down. It was a large hill, and a far, far way down. She wasn't sure if she could do this. She was going to die. Her body would be piled on top of rubble, bloody and completely appetizing to those damn Gorgons. Oh, gods, oh, gods, oh gods.

Her head felt like it had been beaten to a pulp. She grabbed at her skull, seeing rapid images flashing through her mind.

She saw a blonde girl, face etched in worry. They stood inside a spacious tree-house, overlooking a backyard. There was a swing-set, a deflated basketball on the porch steps in the distance, a bunch of little squirrels rummaging around for fallen acorns—the makings of the American dream backyard.

Only problem? There were no stairs to the tree-house. The ladder rested on the ground in a sad heap, seemingly broken in a few places.

"Look at me. Thalia, look at me." She grabbed Thalia's face, pulling until they were inches apart. "You're going to be fine. This is nothing, okay? We're gonna get you a big, warm cheeseburger after this, I promise."

"Annabeth," Thalia had stressed the name. "I'm going to need about thirteen after this."

Annabeth. Annabeth. Annabeth.

"Jump, Thalia. Take my hand."

She nodded to the girl in her memory, composing herself. She had wasted enough time already.

Thalia shook in place dramatically, shaking her hands out. She activated trusty Aegis, placing it on the grass with great care. "Okay, Thalia, it's just like a slip-and-slide."

Or possibly a slip-and-die, but she might die either way.

"Cheese 'n' Wieners!"

"No!" Thalia yelled back defiantly just as she plummeted off the hill.

She shot out on the wind, feeling the grass of the hill just barely brushing her skin. It might have been in her head, but it felt like the wind carried her down. Her landing wasn't so gentle. She glided over the highway completely and landed in a bunch of bushes just past it.

Thalia glanced up the hill to see Stheno and Euryale snarling at her, throwing possibly poisoned wieners. One hit Thalia in her forehead and she just barely kept from shouting curses.

"Stop throwing wieners at me!" she shouted, watching as the two sisters were fighting over the dish, obviously planning on sledding down on it.

Thalia was getting out of there before one of them won.

"Medusa killer! Medusa killer! Eat the wieners!"

Medusa killer? What were they talking about?

Remembering Aegis at the mention of their Gorgon sister, Thalia hefted Aegis back on her arm and started to edge further away. She felt the tugging in the back of her brain, pointing her in the right direction. She was close to Camp Jupiter, she just knew it.

Her eyes found it. On the outside, with the Mist, it looked like a normal maintenance tunnel, cut into a cliff that disturbed the busy highway. There was a metal door, making it look more like a war bunker to Thalia. As she squinted, she could make out two figures, both of them clad in a dreadful combination of armor and casual wear. They had weapons. Thalia felt a strange, violent chill. This was dangerous.

"You're right, of course."

At first, she thought one of the monsters had caught up to her and she cursed herself for her attention span. The sight that greeted her was not any prettier.

It was an old woman, that looked like she had worn that tie-dye dressed for twenty years without washing it once. Her hair was light brown and frizzy, like her hair was scared of her scalp. Her skin was speckled with age and her mouth was only occupied by three teeth and a thin, dark tongue. Thalia only knew that because of how wide the hippie woman smiled, like she wanted her to see every grotesque nook and cranny.

"Do I know you?" Thalia asked, probably a little too sarcastically. "Look, if you're just about to turn into one of those things, go ahead and save us both the trouble and get ready to turn into dust instead."

The hippie woman cackled. For some reason, it made Thalia feel annoyed rather than scared. "You do not scare me. And you do not have much time, Thalia Grace. Choose now."

"Choose what? Who are you?"

Something about this woman really unnerved her, and it had little to do with how rancid she smelled.

"Oh, you can call me June," she said, obviously amused by her alias. "It is June, isn't it? They named a month after me!"

"Look," Thalia cut off her egotistical rant. "If you're not a monster, you should get lost. Those Gorgons are after me, and it won't be pretty if they catch you."

"Oh, you are ever the strapping hero," June commented sarcastically, not at all phased by the threat of monsters. "But, child, that is part of your choice."

"My choice?" Thalia repeated, incredulous.

She glanced back up the hill. June was right. She didn't have much time. The Gorgons had shredded off their green super-mart vests and revealed their tiny bat-like wings, which were somehow mighty enough to support them in the air as they soared down the hill.

"You can leave me at the mercy of the Gorgons, and you can escape the hardships that lie ahead, but you will never get your memories back."

Thalia's fists clenched. So, this woman had something to do with her memory loss? "Option 2?"

June shrugged. "You carry me to camp."

Thalia glanced back at the Gorgons who were quickly approaching. She turned back to size June up. She looked a little on the heavy side, but nothing Thalia couldn't carry. But still…she had just traveled seventeen hours to find camp, without taking many breaks along the way. Exhaustion coursed through her bones and terrorized her muscles.

Thalia's eyes narrowed. "Why would I help you?"

"Even without your memories, you are ever so thoughtless," June huffed. "It is a kindness! And if you don't, the gods will die, the world we know will perish, and everyone from your old life will be destroyed. Of course, you wouldn't remember them, so I suppose it won't matter."

Everyone from her old life?

Annabeth, Jason, that's all she remembered. But that was enough.

"Suck it in, June," Thalia muttered, preparing her muscles as she hefted June into her arms. She wasn't sure if June was lighter than she expected or if Thalia just had more energy than she thought.

"Clever demigod!" Stheno cackled. "Found a goddess to carry, did you?"

A goddess? Thalia glanced down at June, practically tasting her sour breath. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. What was June a goddess of? The goddess of trash?

Euryale's voice followed, "Get them! Buy one get one free!"

They were almost there.

As Thalia came into view, one of the Roman legionnaires, a stocky guy, aimed his bow and shouted. She was getting ready to dodge when she heard an arrow whiz past her ear. It caught a Gorgon in the arm, causing it to wail in pain. The other legionnaire gestured wildly with her spear, urging Thalia to move faster. Yeah, easier said than done.

Thalia finally reached the door, letting out a sigh of relief as the boy got Stheno in the eye just as she was about to munch on her shoulder.

"Thanks," she remarked. "Nice shot."

"That should've killed her!" the archer protested.

"Frank!" the girl caught the archer's attention. "Get them inside. Now! Those are Gorgons."

Frank swallowed. "Gorgons? Will the door hold them?"

June cackled loudly, almost causing Thalia to drop her. "No! It won't! Onward, Thalia Grace! Through the tunnel and over the river!"

"Thalia Grace?" the dark-skinned girl repeated, like that should've meant something to her and Frank. "Definitely a demigod. But who's—"

"My grandma," Thalia answered.

"Never mind," the girl muttered. "Get inside, I'll hold them off!"

"Hazel," Frank said. "Don't be crazy."

"Go!" Hazel yelled.

Frank cursed in a language Thalia didn't recognize. It sounded old but…not Greek.

As they ran deeper into the hillside, it stopped looking like a typical maintenance tunnel and started looking more like Roman ruins. The cement floor changed to tiled mosaic and the lights turned to reed torches. Hundreds of yards ahead, Thalia could barely make out a yellow blob, which she decided must be daylight. A light at the end of the tunnel. That couldn't be a bad thing, right?

June got heavier with every step. It was like weight training. Every step, another weight was added to the bar. Was this some kind of test? Of strength, patience, resolve? She was pretty limited.

She wished she could get June to shut up and stop singing that Latin lullaby. Thalia only heard Hazel's warning yell before the entire tunnel shook and stones began to break away and crumble. Thalia dared to glance back. The back end of the tunnel was immersed in a cloud of dust.

Was Hazel okay?

"We're almost there," Frank assured.

"Almost to camp?"

"To Rome!" June said gleefully, throwing her arms in the air in celebration. Thalia got a whiff of her armpits and nearly puked. Even the tree-shaped car freshener she wore around her neck wasn't enough to ward off that smell. "All roads lead to Rome, darling."

They ran out into the sunlight and Thalia stopped in her tracks. Before her stood a bowl-shaped valley, miles and miles wide, dotted with smaller hills, forests, and patches of golden plain. There was a small, crystal clear river that cut in the middle of it all, stemming from a lake. Surrounding the lake were white marbled buildings, draped by red roofs. They all looked like national monuments. If they weren't so grand, Thalia might not have been able to tell what they were. Some places looked like palaces, fit for an emperor, and there was a replica of the Colosseum looming in the distance. It was like Thalia had taken one step out of Berkeley, California, and one step into Ancient Rome.

The cluster of blurs that were closest to her? Some sort of military encampment, but she really couldn't make out some of the details. The encampment felt familiar, but not right. Had she come from a camp like this?

"Camp Jupiter," Frank said what Thalia had already deduced herself. "We'll be safe once—"

Hazel emerged from the tunnel, covered in dust from head to toe and nearly hyperventilating. Thalia was impressed. She had killed the Gorgons about 43 times already, and it was no easy task.

"I slowed them down," Hazel panted. "But they'll be here any second." She glanced to Thalia warily. "They really don't like you."

Frank nodded his agreement. "I've never seen monsters angrier. They kept throwing weenies at you."

"I have to get across the river," Thalia interrupted, remembering her promise to June.

The old hippie clapped. "Oh, yes, please. I can't get my dress wet!"

Thalia wrinkled her nose. "It could stand to be washed."

"Hazel, escort Thalia across the river." It sounded more like a question. "Make sure the sentries don't shoot her."

Hazel nodded, ushering Thalia to the river bank. It wasn't a far distance to the other side, but Thalia didn't feel too comfortable with stepping in.

June noticed her hesitance.

"The water is not your friend," June remarked coyly. "But today, it will not be your enemy. This is the Little Tiber. It flows with the power of the original Tiber, river of the empire. This is your last chance to back out, darling. Artemis' blessing is a Greek blessing. The Tiber will wash away your immortality."

Artemis? Immortality?

She almost remembered something again.

Thalia was too tired to question it, but she understood it clearly enough. Some of her skills would vanish. What skills? That was the most important question, but she couldn't bring herself to ask it.

June smiled, but it wasn't entirely friendly. It looked almost forced. "So, what will it be? Safety, or a future of pain and possibility?"

Frank continued firing as many arrows as demigodly possible. Hazel was yelling at Thalia to hurry up and cross. Horns blew from the watchtowers, and Thalia eyed the legionnaires in interest as they began to organize, the sentries running to their mounted crossbows to begin their attack.

Thalia hefted June higher against her body, with her last bit of strength, and she stepped into the Little Tiber.

It chilled her instantly, like she was submerged in ice water, and she felt something drain out of her pores. It was instantly replaced with a new strength, though the water seemed to fight against her, becoming swifter like it was trying to rush her to the other side.

She got the hint.

Thalia stepped out of the river, allowing herself to drop June, and she nearly cried in relief as she felt her biceps throb. The gates to the encampment opened and dozens of armored legionnaires poured out, all headed towards her. She felt the short hairs on her head rise, felt the electricity crackle through her veins.

"Do not," June warned, looking very much like a scolding grandmother.

"I wasn't going to do anything," she muttered. "Just…they give me the creeps."

"That does not warrant electrocuting them."

"How did you know I could do that?" she asked. She had only done it once since she had woken up, when Lamia had somehow risen from ashes and attacked her a second time. Thalia had somehow summoned lightning and fried her into a shelf of toiletries.

June smiled like she was deciding whether or not to let Thalia in on some inside joke.

"Frank!"

Thalia turned at the sound of Hazel's scream.

Frank had been halfway through the river when the Gorgons caught him, stringing him up by his arms.

"Let him go!" Thalia shouted it, surprising even herself. "You want me so bad? Come and get me!"

Stheno and Euryale hissed, dropping Frank into the river below. She just hoped he crawled out before she did what she had to do.

Thalia held her hands out, feeling lightning crackle through her fingers, and she sent a blast of electric energy into the closest monster—Stheno. She disintegrated. Before her ashes could reform, Thalia sent another bolt of electricity, frying the grains of dust into the riverbed.

Thalia nearly collapsed from her use of power, but there was still one monster left. She couldn't give up. Not now.

June's pleased laugh was the last thing she heard before she sent a bolt through Euryale, frying her into nothing. The Little Tiber seemed to scatter their ashes, preventing them from reforming another time.

June's voice sounded different, but Thalia was too busy fighting unconsciousness to look at her. "That escort was lovely, dear. Thank you, Thalia Grace, for bringing me to Camp Jupiter."

"Thalia Grace?"

She managed to incline her head to see the boy who repeated her name in shock. She focused on him, as much as she could with her eyes drooping. He was a short kid, with shaggy black hair and beady black eyes. His skin was pale and ghostly, and he wore an outfit almost similar to hers—a brown leather aviator jacket draped over an all-black ensemble. His coal black eyes were large, surprised, trying to soak up her presence. He recognized her. She knew him, but from where?

Thalia finally turned to look at June, somehow able to turn away from the familiar kid. June was shining, beautiful, clean, about 7-feet-tall, and finally looked like a real goddess. She looked about as fierce as Lupa, and she held a staffed topped with a lotus flower.

If Thalia thought the campers had looked at her in awe, she was wrong. The way they looked at June…

"Juno," a dark-haired girl acknowledged, bending her knee and causing all the legionnaires behind her to fall to their knees.

Thalia didn't follow their example. Juno…like Hera?

"I passed your test," Thalia said, placing her hands on her hips and facing Juno defensively. "Do I get my memories back now?"

"In time. If you succeed here at camp. You've made it here in one piece, which is a good start. Perhaps your father was right and there is hope for you." Before Thalia could retort, Juno turned to face the demigods. "Romans, I present to you the Daughter of Jupiter. For months, she has been slumbering, but now she is awake. Her fate is in your hands. The Feast of Fortune comes quickly, and Death must be unleashed if you are to stand any hope in the battle. Do not fail me!"

Juno shimmered in a flash of gold and disappeared.

The dark-haired girl from earlier, who had been the first to acknowledge Juno, stepped forward. She was beautiful, built like a martial artist. She was thin but nimble, and she probably came up to Thalia's chin. Her eyes pierced Thalia, and they were a deep, fiery black, like the charred remains of a tree that had been destroyed by lightning. Her glossy black hair was bound into a single braid that swam down her back. Her skin was only a tad darker than Thalia's and her complexion was smooth, with the exceptions of a few battle scars here and there. Thalia thought she looked Hispanic, but she didn't have much time to wonder.

"So," the girl spoke for a second time. Her voice wasn't harsh, but it wasn't exactly friendly either. "A daughter of Jupiter, who comes to us with the blessing of Juno."

"I carried her for like a mile," Thalia interjected. "I should have more than her blessing. She could've at least bought me lunch."

The girl smirked, and it made Thalia feel pleased with herself, beyond reason. "I am Reyna, praetor of the Twelfth Legion."

Thalia smiled for the first time in about three weeks. "Thalia. I don't have any of my memories, so I can't tell you much else."

"Hazel," Reyna directed, "bring her inside. I want to question her at the principia. Then we'll send her to Octavian. We must consult the auguries before we decide what to do with her."

"What do you mean?" Thalia asked, smile tumbling from her face. "Decide what to do with me?"

Reyna's hand flexed on the hilt of her dagger. Thalia could tell she didn't much like being questioned, but neither did she. "Before we accept anyone into camp, we must interrogate them and read the auguries. Juno said your fate is in our hands. We have to know whether the goddess has brought us a new recruit…" Reyna studied her, staring with such intensity it almost caused Thalia to blush. "Or," Reyna continued, her lips almost quirking into a hopeful smile, "if she's brought us an enemy to kill."