♡ Asteria was tired.
She thought she had gotten used to losing the people closest to her but the truth was that it would always hurt. Even now, multiple millennia after the death of her family, their deaths still haunt her.
She saw her brother in every childlike smile. Her father in every kind male and her cousin and his lover in every tragic hero.
And now she would look up to the sky and see Zoe in every star.
They circled over midtown Manhattan, making one complete orbit around Mount Olympus. Asteria had been multiple times over the course of her lifetime and yet it still amazed her every time.
Under Eos's light, torches and fires made the mountainside palaces glow twenty different colours, from blood red to indigo. No one ever slept on Olympus. The twisting streets were full of demigods, nature spirits, and minor godlings bustling about, riding chariots or sedan chairs carried by Cyclopes. Winter didn't seem to exist here.
She caught the scent of the gardens in full bloom—jasmine, roses, and even sweeter things she could name off by heart. Music drifted up from many windows—the soft sounds of lyres and reed pipes.
Towering at the peak of the mountain was the greatest palace of all, the glowing white hall of the gods.
Her pegasus, Mene, set her down behind the trip in front of her, just beyond the outer courtyard, in front of huge silver gates. The gates opened by themselves.
Asteria walked up to stand beside Percy.
Good luck, boss, Blackjack said.
"Yeah." Percy didn't know why, but he had a sense of doom. He'd never seen all the gods together. He knew any one of them could blast them to dust, and a few of them would like to.
Hey, if ya don't come back, can I have your cabin for my stable?
Percy looked at the pegasus and then at Asteria, who had snorted at the comment. He didn't know she could speak to horses as well. But, to be honest, what couldn't she do?
Just a thought, he said. Sorry.
Blackjack and his friends flew off, leaving Thalia, Annabeth, Asteria, and Percy alone.
For a minute, they stood there regarding the palace. The way they'd stood together in front of Westover Hall seemed like a million years ago.
"What are you three doing," Asteria said. She was already several paces in front of them. "The council has begun. Do you want to keep the gods waiting?"
Probably not a good idea.
Together, they all walked into the throne room.
༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶
Twelve enormous thrones made a U around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp. The ceiling above glittered with constellations—even the newest one, Zoë the Huntress, making her way across the heavens with her bow drawn.
All of the seats were occupied. Each god and goddess was about five metres tall, and their eyes snapped to them as they entered.
Okay wow, that wasn't scary.
"Welcome, heroes," Artemis said.
"Mooo!"
"Impatient cow," Asteria muttered.
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¹Mσɳ Aɱσɳ Cαɾα I ᴘᴇʀᴄʏ ᴊᴀᴄᴋꜱᴏɴ
Fanfiction❝You're in the wind, I'm in the water.❞ ❝Why? Fate. How cruel.❞ ୨୧ Asteria Callisto was the daughter of the moon and a huntress of Artemis. She knew of the world of the gods. The fates had always favoured her bloodline, not even the gods know why. S...
