"I never thought I'd step foot into this place again."

Demetrius and I stood in front of Olympian High's principal office. Along with the rest of the campus, the two-storey building looked the same as I last saw it a week before getting taken to Kingston Mansion in England. For some reason, my father wanted to visit the school and look around.

Father. Hm. . . The word sounds weird in my head, but I should probably get used to calling him that from now on.

I shrugged. "Never say never, I guess. You never know what the future holds."

"Indeed," he said. "The future is quite unpredictable, even for me."

I nodded in agreement.

He sure didn't expect Rhea to come to get him only to be swallowed by the earth. I still can't believe what happened that day.

"Apparently, not a lot of things changed during. . . my absence." Demetrius roamed his gaze around. "With everything that we've been through, I expected Cybele to remove every trace of me in this place."

"Maybe she still liked something that you did?" I said. "Something about the school, I mean."

"Maybe," he said, contemplating. "By the way, where are your friends?"

"Um, I think I saw Athena and Zeus go to their classes earlier in the day," I replied. "And Poseidon. . . I don't know, he probably went somewhere."

He sighed. "He's still mad at me, isn't he?"

I remained silent.

"I. . . I'll talk to him when he's ready." Putting his hands in his pockets, he looked at me. "I've never asked, but how about you? A-Are you mad at me as well?"

My lips pressed into a thin line.

I'm not sure what to feel about it, to be honest. I still don't know a lot of things about Demetrius-I don't know what type of person he is and whatnot-so I don't think I'm the one to judge his decisions.

But what I do know is that I feel. . . confused. And that word doesn't even justify the feeling enough.

"It's alright if you don't answer my question, Amelia." He gave me a tight smile. "But for now, will you show me the way please?"

"Okay."

I went into the office first, and Demetrius followed. As we passed, Alyana, Rhea's secretary, looked up from her table. I gave her a nod of acknowledgment. She did the same before turning back to her work.

She doesn't know that the man walking behind me was Olympian High's-or rather, Kingston Academy's-old headmaster. She also doesn't know that he will be her new boss.

The moment we entered the elevator, I pressed the lowest button from the side. The doors closed and a little screen replaced the buttons. I pressed my thumb on the surface and a second later, a small ping resonated inside the elevator.

Soon, the elevator's doors opened, revealing the underground headquarters.

Turning to my father, I spread my arms wide. "Welcome to Olympus HQ."

"Impressive," he said as he strode around. "Perhaps I should also build an underground base when the mansion gets reconstructed."

"Good idea. Anyway, my friends recently gave me access to the place." I walked to the table at the center of the room. "I just hope they don't take it from me if they know that you came here."

Demetrius paused. "You didn't inform them that I was coming like I told you to? Why?"

"I'm sorry, but you don't know how the 'incident' affected them," I said, referring to what happened a week ago. "They're still shocked and confused and tired, especially Poseidon. You visiting the school might give them even more trouble than they want. No offense."

"None taken," Demetrius said. "I understand you intend on easing your friends' worries but this. . . this will make things difficult for me."

"Why is that?"

He put one hand on the side of the table. "Now that Cybele, or Rhea, as you may call her, is gone, there's no one to tend to the school as principal. Unfortunately, I can't take her place."

"Why not?" I blinked. "You founded and headed what used to be Kingston Academy. Why not do it again?"

He took a deep breath. "When I married Cybele a long time ago, I made her headmistress of the school alongside me. I did so because I thought she would help me manage the place-to lighten my load if you will."

"Let me guess. . . She did the opposite?"

"No, not at all." He shook his head. "In fact, she was a great help. She was resourceful and lived up to my expectations. But I didn't notice that she was deepening her mark in the institution. I failed to see that what she did was all a facade for her plan to take over when she thought she got rid of me."

As I let his words sink into my mind, I realized something. . .

Rhea was so clever and smart that she could fool anyone who didn't think she was a threat. Just like in the myths.

"So you can't be principal because. . . ?"

"Because people think I'm dead, Amelia," he said. "I know Cybele more than anyone. She probably announced to the whole school that I died and I gave her full control as headmistress. You and Benjamin thought I was dead too."

I nodded. "True."

"If I just appear all of a sudden and introduce myself as the former headmaster, what will you think?"

"Well, I'd think you're an imposter or someone crazy. . ." My voice trailed off.

"Exactly," he said. "That and because I have other things to focus on. Like finding the rest of the Artifacts."

I slowly nodded. "Okay, but who will be in charge? The school can't function on its own."

"This is why I wanted to talk to your friends, Amelia." He sighed. "You might have told them more about me, but they can't expect me to be principal again. They are still young, but they will be in charge since they are the closest people to Rhea. Or rather, one of them will be principal."

One of them? But they're still students and have studies to attend in school. I don't think they will appreciate having a huge responsibility over their shoulders.

What a nightmare it will be to be a teenage principal.

"But can you at least take the position temporarily?" I asked. "I-I know that you're dead to everyone else, but you can probably put in a disguise or something."

"I'm sorry, my lotus, but I'm afraid I can't do that. It's. . . not meant to be." Demetrius gazed at the wide TV screen in front of us which displayed the world map. "The three of them are Rhea's closest kin. Although. . ." He rubbed his chin. "Your female friend told you that she was adopted, right?"

I see-sawed my hand. "Yeah, well, Athena didn't exactly tell me."

"I see." He nodded in understanding. "She's still a candidate for the position regardless of this circumstance. As far as I'm concerned, the only child I had with Cybele was Poseidon."

I frowned. "But what about Zeus?"

He tilted his head. "What about him?"

"Well, I don't know. . ." I twiddled with my thumbs. "I was thinking that he was your son too. That means he's my other half-brother, even though it's a bit awkward now that I think about it."

"That's not possible." He narrowed his hazel eyes. "Cybele wasn't pregnant when I left her."

"Oh. . ." I swallowed. "So that means he's also adopted-"

"Or Cybele had an affair." Demetrius crossed his arms, his expression grim. "I won't be surprised if it was the latter. Either way, Zeus is not one of my own."

I guess Zeus and I aren't related then. That's a relief. I think.

On the other hand, someone has to break the news about this if Poseidon and Athena don't know yet. I just hope I'm not the one who will do that.

Demetrius flicked his hand. "Let's change the topic, shall we? This is not the primary reason why I came here."

I coughed. "Yes, please."

Putting a hand inside a pocket on his coat, he pulled out an old parchment paper. He laid it gently on the table, revealing the faded sketches of the Olympian Artifacts.

"Do you have the other one?" he asked.

I nodded, sliding the piece of wrinkled blank paper that was nearby. Demetrius and I slowly placed the two pieces so that their torn sides fit together like two jigsaw puzzle pieces.

The tear between the two papers suddenly disappeared, turning it into one piece.

I gaped. "H-How is that possible?"

He gazed at me mysteriously. "Amelia, you should know by now that nothing is impossible in our world."

All the twelve figures of the Artifacts glowed. Ancient words in golden script started to appear on the blank side of the papyrus, bathing the room with a warm light.