Changing the Future

Chapter 11

For the next five years, I became Olympus' protégé, personal assistant, and punching bag. Not necessarily in that order.

The fourteen Olympians – including Hestia and Hades – trained me in every method of combat under the sun, and for the six eldest gods, they taught me how to use my powers. The only thing that I was forced to learn on my own was my time manipulation, and the majority of the time it was under Athena's guidance, who was determined to figure out how chronokinesis worked.

As for my missions, they usually consisted of bringing demigods who were either in danger or neglected by their mortal parent to their respective camp. Yes, the Olympians had entrusted me with the secret of the Romans, even though I already knew of its existence. But between you and me, there were way more Greek demigods than Roman.

Then there were the handful of times where all the gods were so busy that I got a few days to myself. That's when I'd catch up with Percy, who had recently been expelled from his fifth school in five years after blowing up a school bus, and hang out at camp for a bit, recounting stories with Chiron while some of the younger kids I saved clung onto my legs like iron shackles.

Salina had gone silent about two years ago, no longer sending me any messages in person or through my dreams. The same thing had happened with the Fates as they no longer sent me visions. I didn't know whether that had to do with my prolonged time on Olympus or if that had been their initial plan, but needless to say, I was extremely worried when I no longer felt those presences in my mind anymore.

Regardless of her absence, Salina continued providing me with my monthly allowance even though I no longer had use for the majority of the money. I typically ended up donating most of it to the treasuries of Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter while keeping only a hundred bucks a month in the off chance I needed to go into the mortal world.

And to my joy, today was one of those days.

I'd been spending this week with Aphrodite, who had been determined to teach me how to properly apply makeup, when I saw Ganymede, Zeus' cup bearer, give the love goddess a message. She had set down the eyeshadow palate she'd been trying to get me to use, her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion as she read the scroll.

"Oh, joy," Aphrodite had muttered, snapping her fingers to change her clothing. We had gotten close enough that she didn't care about looking perfect around me, usually lounging around in old t-shirts and sweatpants in the comfort of her own home. She was now in a flowy white chiton with a simply leather belt cinched around her waist. Simple, yet she was still absolutely stunning. "A council meeting."

"Do I have to attend?" I had asked, hoping that I had, so I could get out of this makeup session. Next up was eyeliner, and I already knew I was going to poke my eye the second I saw how pointy the pencil was.

Aphrodite shook her head, reaching up behind her to pull her hair out of its messy bun. Of course, it fell around her shoulders in perfect ringlets, like she'd hired someone to do her hair for her. "Zeus specifically indicated that you are not to come," she said as she bent down to lace up her sandals.

"Does that mean I have the day off?" I asked, hope seeping into my voice. By this point in time, I hadn't had a day to myself in over six months, literally having become Hermes 2.0 and constantly running errands and messages all over the country. Thankfully, Blackjack had been up to the task every time, and I always rewarded him in the end.

Aphrodite didn't need to look at me to know that I was smiling at the prospect of going back down to the mortal world, having a chance to act my age, even if it was only for a day. "Just go already," she told me happily, gesturing a perfectly manicured hand towards the front door. "Be back by midnight, though. I'd hate to see Zeus lose his temper over your curfew."