I couldn't believe what I just knew.

I didn't know what to think of the things Ben told me at the hospital. For the first time, I felt entirely bewildered, and I knew it won't be the last time I would feel that way.

Finally, after a couple of hours riding the bus, I reached Olympian High's towering gates. I got off the bus and headed to the guard house for me to get permission to enter. As soon as I got there, the same guard from before looked up and asked my purpose of visit.

"Um, I'm a student here, and I want to get in," I told him. "I came to you with my friend last week to get out."

"Don't remember." He shrugged, then held out his hand. "Your slip."

"Excuse me?"

"Your excuse slip," he repeated, exasperated. "If you're a student here and just came from your break, you'll have to have an excuse slip, which a student from here would probably know."

I mentally groaned. Why do I feel like he's being sarcastic?

"Wait a sec." I took my pack from my back and searched its contents, but I couldn't find any piece of paper that looked like my excuse slip. I searched again, double-checking every pocket in my bag, but I still couldn't find the paper.

"Shoot. I must've lost it in the museum," I grumbled, then looked at the guard sheepishly. "I lost the slip, but I have my ID here. Is that fine?"

The guard shook his head. "No, miss. You have to present your slip for you to come in."

"What? Come on, please!" I pleaded. "I got into a terrible accident and I have to catch up with my classes!"

"Sorry, but I'm afraid that's not possible," he said. "It's against the rules of the school."

"Please, just let me in this once," I begged. "This won't happen again, I promise."

"No, I can't do that," he said, his tone firm. "No exceptions."

I groaned. This can't be happening! I have to find a way to go in, or I'll be stuck here outside for who knows what. I'll get behind my school works and tests, and I won't be able to know more about my necklace from Athena and the others!

Wait a minute. Athena. Maybe I could call her so she could tell the guard to let me in!

I took out my phone and searched for her number. When I saw it, I immediately dialed it and waited for a few seconds until it got answered.

"Who is this, and how did you get my number?" she started. "If this is another pran—"

"Athena, it's me, Amelia," I said. "I need your help."

"Amelia? You're awake?" she asked, pure surprise in her tone. "But how—"

"I'll tell you later, but right now I need to ask you a favor," I told her. "I lost my excuse slip and I can't get in the school. Could you please help me out?"

I heard her sigh. "I have class right now, but I'll tell Poseidon to fetch you. Just wait there."

"Thanks."

Pause. "Oh, and Amelia?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you're back."

After a few yet daunting minutes of uselessly standing outside the school gates, the smaller entrance of the school finally opened and an irritated but reluctant guard let me inside.

As soon as I stepped in the school grounds, Poseidon, who had his hands in his pockets, met my gaze and gave me a wide smile.

"Hello, Amelia," he said. "Welcome back. How are you feeling?"

"Thanks. I'm feeling great," I said. "Did I miss anything good?"

"No, not at all. Although we have a lot of things to talk about." He began walking on the cobblestone path.

I walked beside him. "Yeah, I figured that. So, where's your brother?"

"We're going to meet him in the school garden along with my sister," he replied. "She'll be joining us as soon as she could."

"Okay," I said. "So. . . I just remembered. You never got to tell me about why you got exhausted using your water powers."

"You mean that time in the museum?"

I nodded.

"Well, it's quite simple. There wasn't any water source nearby for me to use so I resorted to my internal source."

"The water in your body?" I asked, incredulous. He nodded in reply. "But that was dangerous to do, you know? You could've died."

"I know, but that's the kind of risk I'm willing to take just to obtain the Artifacts," he said, his tone serious.

"They're that important?" I raised a brow. "Like how?"

"When used properly, an Olympian Artifact or Item can make its wielder powerful," he said. "From their name, the Items were once owned and used by the Olympian gods. Aegis, Athena's shield, Argentum, Artemis's bow, just to name a few. But if used by the god himself or his Chosen, the Item's special ability can be unlocked, and it's more powerful than its normal functions."

"Like how Artemis single-handedly launch a hundred silver arrows at us?"

"Yes," he said, "Although, it's not that simple. You'll have to know the sacred incantation, which differs for every Artifact, in order to activate the spell or it won't work."

Flashbacks of Artemis muttering unintelligible words and silver arrows coming out of nowhere suddenly came into my head. I could remember how stupefied I was of the power of something I couldn't comprehend and almost died in the process.

"So, if an Item has a special spell, then why didn't we use Aegis' powers to defend ourselves from Artemis's attacks?"

He sighed. "We don't know the incantations. We suspect that the Rogues already have their hands on how to get it."

"The Rogues?"

"That's what Artemis, Apollo, and Hermes called themselves when we faced them for the first time." He shook his head in dismay. "We barely made it out alive when we were trying to get Aegis."

"Well, you got the shield so that's great, right?"

He crossed his arms. "Unfortunately, when we faced them the second time, they got Hermes's winged sandals even when we got to its location first."

We finally got to the school garden where we saw Zeus waiting near the benches. As soon as he saw us, he jogged to our direction.

"Hey, Zeus. What's up—"

He crushed me into a tight hug, which took me completely by surprise. For some reason, his sudden action didn't feel awkward by the least. The warmth of his embrace was oddly. . . comforting?

"Um, Zeus? Are you oka—"

I heard him sigh. "I thought we'd lost you, Ames."

"Um, well. . . I'm here now."

"That's not the point," he said, letting go of me. "That was reckless and stupid of you to almost kill yourself."

"Zeus, I. . . I'm not sure what I even did," I said. "But at least you didn't die."

"You nearly died, goddammit!" he suddenly shouted, which got me wide-eyed. "You were barely breathing when we got you to the hospital and when the doctor said you got into a coma, that made us worried. It made me worried sick!"

I was about to say something back when he started rubbing his temples.

"Just. . . Never mind. I'm only relieved that you're back."

I looked away, trying to hide the blush creeping to my cheeks. My heart began pounding hard in my chest as his words replayed in my mind. A tingling sensation crawled up to my chest, making me nervous in return.

My mind was thinking of reasons why I was feeling this way, but nothing came up.

We heard someone clear his throat. "I'm glad that's been resolved."

Zeus and I both turned to Poseidon, who was sitting on a bench looking at us with his eyebrows raised.

"Should we talk about more important issues other than this?" he asked.

Zeus coughed. "Yeah, sure. Let's, uh . . talk."

Zeus and I headed to Poseidon, who stood up from his seat and offered it to me. I gave him a small 'Thank you' before settling on the bench.

"So, what are we going to talk about exactly?" I looked at the two boys standing in front of me in anticipation.

"Well, while we're waiting for Athena. . ." Poseidon began, "Tell us about the talisman you're currently wearing, Amelia."

I unconsciously touched the necklace tucked under my shirt.

"You mean my necklace that Athena said to be magical?" I said. "What about it?"

"How did you kn—"

I shrugged casually. "I probably peeked into Ben's memories when I felt that he was hiding something from me, so yeah. . ."

Glancing at his brother, Poseidon shook his head. "Never mind, then. It seems that you don't know where your father got it as well."

"Are things like my 'talisman' even real?" I asked suspiciously.

"You still don't believe what I said was all real, do you?" I heard someone behind me say. "Typical."

I quickly turned behind to see Athena standing near a bush with arms crossed.

"Athena, you almost scared us," Zeus told her.

I narrowed my eyes. "How long were you listening?"

"Not long," she replied, her eyes glinting mysteriously. "As much as I'm into awkward reunions" —she glanced at me and Zeus— "we've got a lot of things to plan for our next mission."

Trying not to show my discomfort in being eavesdropped on, I looked at the three siblings in confusion.

"You mean you'll let me go with you?"

Athena nodded. "Of course. Our chance for success will increase if we outnumber the Rogues by four to three."

"Really?"

"Yes, your telepathic powers will come in handy whenever we want to know what our opponents are planning for us, for example."

"Whoa, just hold on right there." Zeus raised his hand. "We're just letting Ames go with us after what she's been through? Are you being serious now, sis?"

"I am serious, brother," Athena said calmly. "Amelia will be a great asset for our next mission. Do you want Nepal to happen again?"

Zeus looked away. "No. . ."

"Wait, what happened in Nepal?"

Poseidon sighed. "Hermes pushed Athena down a mountain cliff when we tried looking for Talaria, Hermes's sandals, in the Himalayas. Zeus and I were too busy fighting Apollo and Artemis to help her, but luckily, she had her climbing gear on and managed to climb back up safely."

"We could've avoided that amateur mistake if we had a fourth person to assist us," Athena told Zeus.

"But, it's still dangerous for her to come along!" Zeus argued. "She doesn't know a thing about fighting against skilled assassins like the Rogues!"

"Hey!" I punched Zeus by his arm, which made him wince. "If anything, I'm not a damsel in distress. I can defend myself just fine."

"That's not enough. You have to know what your enemy's next moves and their blind spots, and you have to be prepared for any possible situation," Zeus said. "Can you do that?"

"I'll try my best!" I nodded eagerly.

Zeus shook his head. "You have to be the best if you—"

"Zeus, just give her a break," Poseidon cut his brother off. "We could always train her how to fight."

Zeus turned to Poseidon. "Why aren't you siding with me, Sei? You definitely know the dangers of our missions and that teaching her a few tricks for a few days is not enough."

"Stop underestimating me!" I yelled, which made the three siblings, especially Zeus, freeze in their places. "Just let me come with you on your mission. I'll endure whatever training you'll give me, okay? Please, I want to help."

Other than helping them, I wanted to go with them to face off a certain someone who gave Ben the scars on his face that he have now. I want her to pay.

Zeus glanced at Athena and Poseidon, looking for an answer. Athena just shrugged while Poseidon gave him a subtle nod. He finally exhaled and looked at me in the eye.

"Fine, Amelia," Zeus said. "School gym, after class. Be there in time or I won't allow you to come with us."