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Arranged marriages are so 100 B.C.! You can’t be serious. C’mon, Apollo? Daddy?” Fear and shock were quickly turning to anger. I could feel the blood throbbing in my head.
    “Enough, Thalia,” said Daddy.
    “This isn’t even fathomable! What do you know of my feelings? Have you ever asked? Have you ever asked me, Apollo?” I cried, turning to my friend and trying to keep my hands from shaking.
    But Apollo didn’t look at me. He didn’t answer me. His face was unmoved outside of the slight flush of his cheeks and the quick dart of his eyes away, far away from me.
    “Apollo? Apollo!” I cried again.
    “You have no say in this matter, dear daughter. The engagement commences now. You will be married in a fortnight. End of discussion.”
    “It most certainly is not the end. I will not get married. Shall I count for you both the innumerable reasons? One, I am far too young. Two, while I amvery fond of you, Apollo, and enjoy hunting with you and lunching with you and shopping with you and flying with you, I do not think I love you like a wife. I don’t think so. No, I do not. Three, I am too young. Oh, I said that one already. I want to be a huntress and go on battles and never marry and—”
    “Silence. Thalia, the time has come for you to grow up.”
    And I could tell Daddy meant it. He didn’t say another word for a whole long minute. I looked at Apollo again, and he stood there stiff as a board, looking stunned, his mouth pressed into a thin, straight line. I think he was almost shaking like me, but he was fighting it something fierce. I felt a twinge of guilt—I didn’t want to hurt him. But get real. I was far too young for this.
    “I don’t think I need to marry to become a grown-up,” I spat. “I don’t think I have to listen to my father’s ludicrous ideas or stand here and feel sorry for a man whom I do not love.”
    Apollo winced.
    “Enough,” Daddy roared. “How dare you talk to me like that? This marriage will take place whether you like it or not.”
    “You cannot make me.”
    “You obviously have not been paying attention. I am Zeus. The great and powerful Zeus. I think this marriage is the best thing for you, and Hera thinksyou need to grow up, and therefore you will marry. Now, leave my chamber at once. You must begin preparations. Leave.”
    Apollo did not say a word. His breaths were low and shallow. His face hard. It broke my heart to see him as such, it really did, but sympathy is not a reason to get married. Still, what choice did I have?
    I knelt at my father’s feet. “Please,” I whispered. “Please, Father.”
    He just bellowed that awful word again. “Leave.”
    And so with that I left.

FOUR
    T hat first night on earth I dreamed about this stuff all night. And the very first thing I said to my sisters the next morning was a heartfelt “sorry.” I really meant it. It wasn’t just because of the nightmares I’d had. I’d had a minor epiphany sometime before dawn. My sisters were here because they’d supported me through the whole Apollo situation, even at a hefty cost to themselves. So I decided I had better start feeling some remorse. And besides, if we weren’t getting along, who was I going to talk into making me some food?
    Era rushed over and hugged me so tight, my back made a monstrously large cracking noise. Which, to my surprise, felt outrageously good. It was stiff from falling asleep at the table.
    Era is a sucker for an apology. She might have gone to sleep mad, but she can’t stay that way, especially when she hears the s word. And Polly, well, she simply doesn’t like conflict of any sort.
    “I suppose we have no other choice but to just barrel ahead and do this. Together,” said Polly with her trademark sweet smile. “It’s the only way we will ever live up to Daddy’s challenges, and besides, I do love you, Thalia, even when you’re a selfish little girl with only adventure on the brain.”
    Hmpf.
    “Well, I’m hungry,” said Era. And I