“Thalia blushed. "Hi, Lord Apollo."Zeus's girl, yes? Makes you my half sister. Used to be a tree, didn't you? Glad you're back. I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees. Man, I remember one time—”

“And now, sis. Transportation for the Hunters, you say? Good timing. I was just about ready to roll."These demigods will also need a ride," Artemis said, pointing to us. "Some of Chiron's campers."No problem!" Apollo checked us out. "Let's see... Thalia, right? I've heard all about you.".Thalia blushed. "Hi, Lord Apollo."Zues's girl. yes? Makes you my half sister. Used to be a tree didn't you? Glad your back. I hate it when pretty girls get turned into trees. Man, I remeber one time-”

“Thalia's shoulders relaxed. "I owe you one.""Two.""One and a half," Thalia said.She smiled, and for a second, I remembered that I actually liked her when she wasn't yelling at me.”

“I looked at Thalia. "You're afraid of heights."Now that we were safely down the mountain, her eyes had their usual angry look. "Don't be stupid."That explains why you freaked out on Apollo's bus. Why you didn't want to talk about it."She took a deep breath. Then she brushed the pine needles out of her hair. "If you tell anyone, I swear—"No, no," I said. "That's cool. It's just… the daughter of Zeus, the Lord of the Sky, afraid of heights?”

“Hi, this is Ganymede, cup-bearer to Zeus, and when I'm out buying wine for the Lord of the Skies, I always buckle up!”

“Hera: Ohh, Thalia Grace, when I get out of here, you'll be sorry you were ever born.Thalia: Save it! You've been nothing but a curse to every child of Zeus for ages. You sent a bunch of intestinally challenged cows after my friend AnnabethHera: She was disrespectful!Thalia: You dropped a statue on my legs.Hera: It was an accident!Thalia: AND you took my brother”

“Thalia had been turned into a pine tree when she was 12. Me... well, i was doing my best not to follow her example. I had nightmares about what Poseidon might turn me into if i were ever in the verge of death—plankton, maybe. Or a floating patch of kelp.”