The Tyrant's Tomb

and the Stooges, a band older than she was by several generations. “We
came as fast as we could, but still…I had some time to cry and scream and
throw things.”
I remained very still. I had vivid memories of Iggy Pop throwing peanut
butter, ice cubes, watermelons, and other dangerous objects at his fans
during his concerts. I found Thalia more intimidating than him by far.
“It seems so cruel,” she continued. “We lose someone and finally get
them back, only to lose them again.”
I wondered why she used the word we. She seemed to be saying that she
and I shared this experience—the loss of an only sibling. But she had
suffered so much worse. My sister couldn’t die. I couldn’t lose her
permanently.
Then, after a moment of disorientation, like I’d been flipped upside
down, I realized she wasn’t talking about me losing someone. She was
talking about Artemis—Diana.
Was she suggesting that my sister missed me, even grieved for me as
Thalia grieved for Jason?
Thalia must have read my expression. “The goddess has been beside
herself,” she said. “I mean that literally. Sometimes she gets so worried she
splits into two forms, Roman and Greek, right in front of me. She’ll probably
get mad at me for telling you this, but she loves you more than anyone else
in the world.”
A marble seemed to have lodged in my throat. I couldn’t speak, so I just
nodded.
“Diana didn’t want to leave camp so suddenly like that,” Thalia
continued. “But you know how it is. Gods can’t stick around. Once the
danger to New Rome had passed, she couldn’t risk overstaying her
summons. Jupiter…Dad wouldn’t approve.”
I shivered. How easy it was to forget that this young woman was also my
sister. And Jason was my brother. At one time, I would have discounted that
connection. They’re just demigods, I would have said. Not really family.
Now I found the idea hard to accept for a different reason. I didn’t feel
worthy of that family. Or Thalia’s forgiveness.
Gradually, the funeral picnic began to break up. Romans drifted off in
twos and threes, heading for New Rome, where a special nighttime meeting
was being held at the Senate House. Sadly, the valley’s population was so