Enjoy this final part, and thank you all for everything. I am so proud to have finished this project, and I gift it to all of my followers and reviewers. I couldn't have summoned the energy to complete it without knowing you guys wanted to read and liked it. Thank you all for your support, so much.

Chapter Twenty-Two

A Peaceful Life At Last?

Camp went late that summer. It lasted two more weeks, right up to the start of a new school year, and I have to admit they were the best two weeks of my life. When I wasn't revelling in the freedom of not having the Great Prophecy hanging over my head, I was planning my wedding with the help of the girls.

Luke had taken one look at the glint in Silena's eye and declared that he had faith in my judgement. We had settled on the autumn equinox as the date, and I had threatened the Stolls to ensure no thoughts of bachelor parties with strippers crossed their minds. Drunken stupidity was fine though. But if I got one word of them getting arrested, they'd be 'helping' me with sword practice for the next month at minimum.

Meanwhile, Grover had taken over the satyr seekers and was sending them out across the world to find unclaimed half-bloods. So far, the gods had kept their promise. New demigods were popping up all over the place—not just in America, but in a lot of other countries as well.

"We can hardly keep up," Grover admitted one afternoon as we were taking a break at the canoe lake. "We're going to need a bigger travel budget, and I could use about a hundred more satyrs."

"Yeah, but the satyrs you have are working super hard," I smiled (not that I did anything else these days). "I think they're scared of you."

Grover blushed. "That's silly. I'm not scary."

"You're a lord of the Wild. The chosen one of Pan. A member of the Council of—"

"Stop it!" Grover protested. "You're as bad as Juniper. I think she wants me to run for president next."

He chewed on a tin can as we stared across the pond at the line of new cabins under construction. I twisted my ring as I surveyed the area. It meant even more to me, knowing that Beckendorf had made it on Luke's request, and that it could change into a knife if I turned the pearl. Pretty and practical and perfect for me. And most importantly, a reminder of a dear friend and surrogate brother.

The U-shape would soon be a complete rectangle, and the demigods had really taken to the new task with gusto.

Nico had some undead builders working on the Hades cabin. Even though he was still the only kid in it, it was going to look pretty cool: solid obsidian walls with a skull over the door and torches that burned with green fire twenty-four hours a day. Next to that were the cabins of Iris, Nemesis, Hecate, and several others. They kept adding new ones to the blueprints every day. It was going so well, Chiron was talking about adding an entirely new wing of cabins just so they could have enough room.

As I'd said I wanted, Hermes had taken me with him to release the peaceful Titans, and Calypso had burst into tears when she heard the news. She was currently off seeing the world, and IMing me regularly to exclaim over one thing or ask for information about another. She was going to be one of my bridesmaids at the wedding.

The Hermes cabin was a lot less crowded now, because most of the unclaimed kids had received signs from their godly parents. It happened almost every night, and every night more demigods straggled over the property line with the satyr guides, usually with some nasty monsters pursuing them, but almost all of them made it through. We had guards stationed at the border round the clock, ready to run down and help any new arrivals get to safety or raise the alarm.

"It's going to be a lot different next summer," I commented. "Chiron's expecting we'll have twice as many campers. It's even gonna be busy at winter!"

"Yeah," Grover agreed, "but it'll be the same old place."

He sighed contentedly.

I watched as Tyson led a group of Cyclops builders. They were hoisting huge stones in place for the Hecate cabin under Lou Ellen's watchful eye, and I knew it was a delicate job. Each stone was engraved with magical writing, and if they dropped one, it would either explode or turn everyone within half a mile into a tree. I figured nobody but Grover would like that.

For one thing, the wedding dress Silena was designing for me would probably look terrible with that thick type of figure instead of my own hourglass one. I'd agreed to a silver and blue dress. It was in an Ancient Greek style, but the skirt was cleverly slashed to allow me better movement and I'd be able to re-wear it. And Nico had promised to summon Mom, so she could see me get married. I'd burst into tears and hugged him so hard, his rib had literally been cracked.

"I'll be traveling a lot," Grover warned, "between protecting nature and finding half-bloods. I may not see you as much."

"That won't change anything," I scoffed. "You're still my best friend."

He grinned. "Except for Luke."

"That's different."

"Yeah," he agreed. "It sure is."

"Just promise me that you won't miss the wedding."

"Titans couldn't keep me away," he promised earnestly, making me lean over to hug him tightly.

In the late afternoon, I was taking one last walk along the beach when a familiar voice said, "Good day for fishing."

Poseidon was standing knee-deep in the surf, wearing his typical Bermuda shorts, beat-up cap, and a real subtle pink-and-green Tommy Bahama shirt. He had a deep-sea fishing rod in his hands, and when he cast it the line went way out—like halfway across Long Island Sound.

"Hello, Father," I greeted him cautiously. Things had been going so well, I hoped with all my heart he wasn't here about some quest or anything similar. I'd end up tearing my hair out in frustration. "What brings you here?"

He winked. "Never really got to talk in private on Olympus. I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me? You came to the rescue."

"Yes, and I got my palace destroyed in the process, but you know—palaces can be rebuilt. I've gotten so many thank-you cards from the other gods. Even Ares wrote one, though I think Hera forced him to. It's rather gratifying. So, thank you. I suppose even the gods can learn new tricks."

The Sound began to boil. At the end of my dad's line, a huge green sea serpent erupted from the water. It thrashed and fought, but Poseidon just sighed. Holding his fishing pole with one hand, he whipped out his knife and cut the line. The monster sank below the surface.

"Not eating size," he complained. "I have to release the little ones or the game wardens will be all over me."

"Little ones?"

He grinned. "You're doing well with those new cabins, by the way. I suppose this means I can claim all those other sons and daughters of mine and send you some siblings next summer."

"Ha-ha."

Poseidon reeled in his empty line.

I shifted my feet. "Um, you were kidding, right?"

Poseidon gave me one of his inside-joke winks, and I still didn't know whether he was serious or not. "I'll see you at your wedding, Ana."

"You're coming?" I blinked in surprise.

"Of course I am," he grinned as if there had never been any doubt. "As your father, I'm expected to give you away, am I not? And remember, know which fish are big enough to land, eh?"

With that he dissolved in the sea breeze, leaving a fishing pole lying in the sand. I bit my lip, staring at the rod. I didn't know if he was really going to come or not, but, I realized with a faint pang of surprise, I wouldn't mind if he did come and give me away. And if he didn't, that was okay too. I didn't need my father to be part of my life, but I'd be pleased if he was.

That evening was the last night of camp—the bead ceremony. The Hephaestus cabin had designed the bead this year. It showed the Empire State Building, and etched in tiny Greek letters, spiralling around the image, were the names of all the heroes who had died defending Olympus. There were too many names, but I was proud to wear the bead. I put it on my camp necklace—four beads now. I felt old. I thought about the first campfire I'd ever attended, back when I was twelve, and how I'd felt so at home. That at least hadn't changed.

"Never forget this summer!" Chiron told us. He had healed remarkably well, but he still trotted in front of the fire with a slight limp. "We have discovered bravery and friendship and courage this summer. We have upheld the honour of the camp."

He smiled at me, and everybody cheered. As I looked at the fire, I saw a little girl in a brown dress tending the flames. She winked at me with red glowing eyes. No one else seemed to notice her, but I realized maybe she preferred it that way.

"And now," Chiron clapped, "early to bed! Remember, you must vacate your cabins by noon tomorrow unless you've made arrangements to stay the year with us. The cleaning harpies will eat any stragglers, and I'd hate to end the summer on a sour note!"

The next morning, Luke and I stood at the top of Half-Blood Hill. We watched the buses and vans pull away, taking most of the campers back to the real world. A few old-timers, including me, would be staying behind, and a few of the newcomers, but Luke, for the first time, was going home. As requested, his mother had been healed and they'd been talking via IM. She was coming to collect him and take him back to Connecticut.

"Good-bye," Rachel said to us as she shouldered her bag. She looked pretty nervous, but she was keeping a promise to her father and attending Clarion Academy in New Hampshire. It would be next summer before we got our Oracle back.

"You'll do great." I hugged her.

"Yeah," Luke agreed. "You're no idiot mortal Barbie doll. You'll knock 'em all dead." Now that Rachel had proven herself a dozen times over, they'd become decent friends.

Rachel bit her lip. "I hope you're right. I'm a little worried. What if somebody asks what's on the next math test and I start spouting a prophecy in the middle of geometry class? The Pythagorean theorem shall be problem two... Gods, that would be embarrassing."

We laughed, making her smile.

"Well," she said, "you two be good to each other. I'll see you at the wedding." With that, she wished us well and ran down the hill to catch her ride.

The guard dragon Peleus curled contentedly around the pine tree underneath the Golden Fleece and began to snore, blowing steam with every breath.

"You've been thinking about Rachel's prophecy?" I asked Luke.

He frowned. "How did you know?"

"Because so have I."

He wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Okay, so maybe I have been a bit curious and nervous about it. Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. I'm curious as to who they'll be. We're going to have so many new faces next summer."

"Yeah," I agreed. "And all that stuff about the world falling in storm or fire. Sounds like fun, no?"

He grimaced. "And foes at the Doors of Death. I don't know, Ana, but I don't like it. I thought . . . well, maybe we'd get some peace for a change. Be able to just live our lives."

"Wouldn't be our lives if they were peaceful," I scoffed.

"I guess you're right... Or maybe the prophecy won't happen for years."

"Could be a problem for another generation of demigods," I agreed. "Then we can kick back and enjoy ourselves."

He nodded, though he still seemed uneasy. I didn't blame him, but it was hard to feel too upset on a nice day, wrapped in his arms with the wind blowing the scent of the sea to me, knowing that I was free at last of everything save my love for him.

A blue Volkswagon pulled up, and a fair-haired woman climbed out. She looked up at us, and I recognized May Castellan from the single photo Luke had of her. She stood at the bottom of the hill, looking up at us hopefully as she fidgeted with a handbag strap. She looked clear and gentle, nothing like the madwoman that shook her son in the middle of a fit that Luke had described her to me as. Luke stiffened beside me, swallowing. I squeezed his hand comfortingly.

"Race you to the road?" I suggested with a soft grin.

"You are so going to lose." He took off down Half-Blood Hill and I sprinted after her.

For the first time, I didn't look back.