Sun kissed - Apollo.

26: Percy fights our cousin.

A Coast Guard boat picked us up, but they were too busy to keep us for long, or to wonder how four kids in street clothes had gotten out into the middle of the bay. There was a disaster to mop up. Their radios were jammed with distress calls.

They dropped us off at the Santa Monica Pier with towels around our shoulders and water bottles that said I'M A JUNIOR COAST GUARD! and sped off to save more people.

Our clothes were sopping wet, even mine and Percy's. When the Coast Guard boat had appeared, I'd silently prayed they wouldn't pick me out of the water and find me perfectly dry, which might've raised some eyebrows. So I'd willed myself to get soaked.

Sure enough, my usual waterproof magic had abandoned me. Percy was also barefoot, because he'd given his shoes to Grover. Better the Coast Guard wonder why one of us was barefoot than wonder why one of us had hooves.

I was immediately recognised as the missing kid from the news, they had separated me from the others and steered me to the captain to sit in the captain's room. I had wanted to stay with my brother but making a fuss about it wouldn't do us anything good.

After reaching dry land, we stumbled down the beach, watching the city burn against a beautiful sunrise. I felt as if I'd just come back from the dead-which I had. Percy's backpack looked heavy with Zeus's master bolt. My heart was even heavier from seeing my mother.

Percy had a death grip on my hand as if i were to get swallowed up by the ground and taken back to Hades. I not sure why, because Hades doesn't want to see me. He doesn't want me in his domain.

"I don't believe it," Annabeth said. "We went all that way-"

"It was a trick," Percy said. "A strategy worthy of Athena."

"Hey," she warned.

"You get it, don't you?"

She dropped her eyes, her anger fading. "Yeah. I get it."

"Well, I don't!" Grover complained. "Would somebody-"

"Percy ...Daphne ..." Annabeth said. "I'm sorry about your mother. I'm so sorry...."

I pretended not to hear her. If I talked about my mother, I was going to start crying like a little kid. Even though i was twelve and i had every right to cry right now.

"The prophecy was right," I said. "You shall go west and face the god who has turned.' But it wasn't Hades. Hades didn't want war among the Big Three. Someone else pulled off the theft. Someone stole Zeus's master bolt, and Hades's helm, and framed Percy because he's Poseidon's kid. Poseidon will get blamed by both sides. By sundown today, there will be a three-way war. And we'll have caused it." I say pointing to myself and Percy.

Grover shook his head, mystified. "But who would be that sneaky? Who would want war that bad?"

I wanted to say 'Kronos', but i didn't.

I stopped in my tracks, looking down the beach. "Gee, let me think." Percy muttered.

There he was, waiting for us, in his black leather duster and his sunglasses, an aluminum baseball bat propped on his shoulder. His motorcycle rumbled beside him, its headlight turning the sand red.

"Hey, kid," Ares said, seeming genuinely pleased to see us. "You were supposed to die." Before he turns his gaze on myself. "I see you kept your promise, Daphne."

"You tricked me," Percy said. "You stole the helm and the master bolt."

Ares grinned. "Well, now, I didn't steal them personally. Gods taking each other's symbols of power-that's a big no-no. But you're not the only hero in the world who can run errands."