Chapter Text

(Prologue Pt 1)

 (GENNI) Prologue 

The Stewarts’ Apartment, The Bronx, New York, August 3rd, 2006, 9:36 PM

My life as a demigod began in its special way and it all started with a letter I found in my mother’s memorabilia box. It was the day of my birthday. I was turning thirteen. And even though you should expect nothing but happiness on your birthday, this had to be one of the worst birthdays ever. 

The one thing that made it better was after all the endless “family time” and board games, was that I was sitting in my room looking at the Bronx night sky trying to find inspiration for a new song I was working on, which was one of the only things that could calm me from what was going on at home. It was a song that maybe I could show my mother and tell her how she’s made me feel

“Ginevra—Harmony—Stewart!” I winced hearing my full name. Hearing Mom calling me by my full name was like that stinging feeling you get when you clean a cut. 

“Yes!” I croaked, slowly slipping my headphones down to my neck. I turned off my keyboard and set down my guitar next to me on the bed. 

“¡Ay Dios mío! Leave her alone!” My Tío Tomás called to my mother. I walked down the stairs and into the living room where my mother was sitting with my tío and my cousin. 

“Yeah, Mom?” I said, waiting patiently for what felt like a ticking time bomb. I watched as my mother pursed her lips. I glanced around the room anxiously. 

“What are you doing up there that could be more important than being with your–” she paused. “Being with your family?” I looked down at the floor trying not to look her in the eyes. What I really wanted to say to her, was I was writing. Y’know like you how you do the same thing to get away from me? However, I didn’t answer as snarky as I wished because I didn’t want her to hit me. She didn’t usually but I didn’t want to take any chances. 

“I called you down because I wanted to let you know I’m leaving for a concert tomorrow morning.” I crossed my arms. “You’ll be staying with Tío Tomás.” Mom has had a band since she was nineteen called Lyrical Odyssey and since I’ve been born she seems to be always putting in overtime…like…always. She’d missed school events, plays, talent shows, birthdays…

“Of course,” I said with a small scoff. “I know your music is your life.” I turn my eyes away from my mother and glance at my primo trying to smile. Sure I was thirteen but I know stereotypically the actions of a kid my age are shown to be mean and moody to children like Jencarlos but I loved the kid. We were more than cousins. He was like a little brother, a very gay little brother—but that’s not the point. Therefore, I hated making him see me heartbroken.  

“I’ll be gone for about a week,” Mom continued.
“That’s fine with me,” I shrugged.
“Are you sure, mi luz?” Tío Tomás asked as I nodded with a small smile. My mother grabbed some suitcase by the door and left.

***

 I stared at the front door for the next few hours, almost praying that Mom would walk through the door the next day, saying she was planning my surprise party or something stupid like that. But that didn’t happen. Tears filled my deep blue eyes. My Tío Tomás walked and sat next to me.  

“It's all right mi luz, she does love you. Just remember that okay.” Tío Tomás said. 

“Really then she has a really ‘great way’ of showing it. Like tonight for example what kind of mother walked out the day before her daughter’s birthday?! What kind of a mom does that?!” I looked away then ran upstairs. 

As I almost reached the door to my room, I saw that the door to my mother’s office was unlocked and opened. Usually the door would be locked and my mother wouldn't let anyone in there. But curiosity got the better of me and I walked in. There was a box on the desk with a bunch of things inside. Records, pictures, letters. I picked up a picture and examined it. It was a picture of my mother in the early 90s and a guy with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes just like mine. All of them were signed with Diane x Alexander on the back of each picture. I put them back in the box and grabbed an envelope that read.

To my wonderful muse and the most beautiful girl in the world. 

From Alexander Adamos

Who the heck is Alexander?! And why is this dated thirteen years ago? I thought to myself. I pulled the paper from the envelope as a necklace dropped onto the desk. I picked it up and held it in my hand. It was a lyre. A stringed musical instrument from Ancient Greece. Although my dyslexia made it very hard for me to read things; However, Alexander's handwriting was rather easy to read. 

Dear Diane, 

I know words cannot express how mad you are with me, so the first thing I’m going to tell you is that I love you so much more than you will ever know. I had to leave you and little Genni behind for your safety and hers. Because if I stayed it would have caused problems for all three of us and the last thing I want is to hurt you or our daughter. 

I stopped reading. Alexander is my dad?! Well it would help to know who Alexander is—but that’s not the point. I kept reading. 

Please give her this necklace when you think she’s ready to know the truth about herself and me. Treat her with all the love and happiness she deserves because just like you, she deserves the world. 

Take care our darling little girl until we can meet again

Forever yours my love, 

And the name at the bottom was blotched off from tear stains. I picked up the lyre necklace and put it on and placed it under my t-shirt. 

The Stewarts’ Apartment, The Bronx, New York, August 17th, 2006, 2:54 PM

Three weeks have passed since Mom’s been gone. My Tio Tomás sure did an amazing job taking care of Jencarlos and I. Especially since he had a lot of work to do. He had been working on a novel for the past four years, and now he finally got to go on a book tour for it. However, he didn't want to stop Jencarlos and I from a fun summer vacation so we stayed at home. Both of us spent our time singing, eating Ice cream, talking about boys, and I was forced to watch Jencarlos favorite thing in the world: dramatic telenovelas. Like the super dramatic ones that you always make fun of. 

And don't get me wrong, I had a good time with him. I only fell asleep from boredom from watching his telenovelas only twice…an episode. Even in the midst of the near end of my summer vacation, everything about Alexander and Mom just lingered in the back of my skull, but it all stopped when she came home. 

“Tomás! Tomás! I’m home!” Mom bursted through the front door all excited and happy. “So you and Jencarlos can head back to your small apartment now!” my mother yelled.

“Hi Titi,” Jencarlos answered. “How—how—how was your tour?” Jencarlos was a very confident kid (to the point where you could call him egoistic at times) But the one and only person that could ever make him feel like the scum of the Earth was my mother, so do with that information what you will. 

“Oh my tour was fine, Jencarlos.” Mom pushed past Jencarlos and got to me. “Where’s Tomás?”  

“He’s not here!” I responded with a rude tone. “He finally had his book tour. See you would have known that if you actually paid attention to anyone but yourself. “Tío Tomás didn't want Jencarlos and I to miss out on the end of summer break so we stayed here.”       

“Well Genni sweetheart, how have you been?!” Sweetheart? She never called me that before. This was my mother—the woman that yelled or thought I shouldn’t have ever been born—is trying to be nice. I looked at her with a sour look on my not wanting to make conversation with her in the slightest. She thought she could talk to me like nothing happened? Like she didn’t walk out on a big milestone in her own daughter's life! 

And the horrible thing keeping a secret of my DAD from me. He seemed like he really did care about my mother, and me. However, whenever I would try to ask about him, Mom would either yell at me for asking, or just completely change the subject. So yeah I didn’t want to talk to my mother.

“I’ve been fine, mother. We’ve just been—” Mom walked away before I could finish my answer to her question.  

***

My uncle Thomas picked up my cousin a few hours after Mom got home, and now it was just me and the she-devil that was my mother. And now you’re probably wondering “ Oh Genni do you and your mother ever spend some time together when she gets home?” and my answer to that is NO! Both of us spent the time just avoiding each other, well it was more like her avoiding me—but that’s not the point, the only time I would see or even get to speak to her was at dinner time, but even then we would sit at completely different ends of the kitchen table. However, one night I finally was done. I was sick of the silent treatment, and I was sick of her stupid excuses. I was going to get some answers out of her, and I know exactly the right switches to flick to make her talk. 

The lyre necklace.    

“Ginevra! Dinner! NOW!”

“Coming mother.” I took the lyre out of my shirt and ran down stairs. I tried not to smirk to myself as I imagined sweet justice for myself and answers about Dad. “Smells good, Mom.”

“That's because it's pizza. You think I feel like cooking after I just got back from my tour?! Are you crazy? I’d—” She pauses, staring at the lyre necklace around my neck. “Genni, where did you get that?” glared at me. “Ginevra, where did you get this?” Her brown eyes turned so dark you would think that they were black. However, this time my blue eyes didn’t wince; they were cold and confident.

“A letter, why is it a problem?”

“From what letter!” Mom's eyes darkened by the second.

“From Alexander dated thirteen years ago!” Mom’s face dropped in shock. She stared off to the side as if a million memories were flooding through her head. Then she got angry as she turned to me. However, her change didn’t scare me, not one bit. I got to snap and could finally see the spotlight of shame on her for once. “Why—why would you hide this from me? Mom this isn’t something you keep from your own child, your own daughter, Alexander loved us! Why, Mom why!” 

“He left us—he left me to raise a child on my own!” Mom yelled, pounding her fist against the counter. “He left because not even he would have dealt with the consequences of his actions. He left and I’m stuck with the mistake!” 

“MISTAKE! ” I burned bright with anger. “He did not think I wasn’t a mistake!” I grabbed the letter out of my pocket and started to read.   

“Please give her this necklace when you think she’s ready to know the truth about herself and me. Treat her with all the love and happiness she deserves because just like you, she deserves the world.”   

“STOP!” Mother yanked the paper out of my hands. “GINEVRA, THAT'S ENOUGH!” I half-expected her to just tear the paper in two and leave it at that. Instead, she pulled out a lighter from the kitchen cabinet. 

“NO MOM STOP PLEASE!” I screamed.
“Alexander is not your family. He was never here!” She sobbed, holding the lighter to the paper. “He was never here, I have been here.” 

“No you haven’t! You leave me behind any chance you get!” Mom glared at me, her eyes dark and hollow. Keeping eye contact with me, She lit the paper on fire and left it in the sink. I tried to get to the paper but she stopped me. 

“Go eat your dinner and then go to your room.” Mom turned away as I stared at the burning letter in the sink, tears filling my eyes. I was too late and the letter was gone. The last word of dad I had was gone. 

I didn’t even finish my dinner and ran to my room. My light was darkened from the rage I felt then. I started to cry the hardest I have ever cried before. I have never been alone. I stared at the posters on my walls, the sinking feeling came to my stomach. I had no way to get answers from Mom now. As far as I knew, Mom was burning the rest of the stuff from Alexander. Anything else I had on my father was gone. How was I going to find out about my dad now?

Suddenly an idea came to mind. If I couldn’t get Mom to tell me about my dad, I’d have to find my dad. Alexander Adamos. It shouldn’t be too hard to find. But there’s no way he’d be here in the Bronx. I’d have to go back to LA with just me, my guitar and a yellow backpack with food, clothes and money I took from my mother's safe and ran.

Everything about this entire trip was a blur. The next thing I remember from that night was running. I ran and ran and ran until my legs felt weak. However, thank the maker that I found a bus stop. People were speaking in different languages with luggages in their hands and backpacks over their shoulders. I slipped past the crowds and found the front desk where a young woman was selling bus tickets.

“Hi, can I have a bus ticket to Los Angeles please?” 

“Of course, that's a hundred ninety three.” 

“Will this cover it?” I asked, opening my backpack and pulling out a hand of cash.

The woman counted the bills under her breath as I rocked back and forth anxiously hoping that what I gave her was enough. After what seemed like an eternity, the man looked up at me and fixed his glasses with a smile.

“Sure, that’s good to get you out of town young lady,” The woman handed me a ticket for a bus that leaves at 8:15 pm. I stared a little longer, noticing the woman’s uniform. She looked like a Tomorrowland Speedway worker. Her neon vest had Star Wars pins and Harry Potter pins. 

I thanked her and walked over to a bench and sat down. I was out on my own. Out and away from the one person who was supposed to love me more than anything. I was finally out of her life. I was headed toward the life that Alexander  wanted for me. 

(Prologue Pt 2)

(ARIYANA) Prologue

The Huxleys’ Apartment, Manhattan New York, June 19th, 2006, 08:22

It was a miracle that I found out I was a half-blood so late. It was the morning of my birthday. My parents had all these fun activities planned. We tried to invite my childhood friend, Percy Jackson. But his mother said he was off at some sleepaway camp. Sure, I was a little disappointed, but my mom and dad said they’d make the most of it. 

I woke up to my dog Orion, jumping onto my bed, licking my face almost as if to say happy birthday in his own dog-like way. Orion was our family dog, and Mom’s therapy dog. He was a golden retriever/poodle mix and the most adorable dog in the world. 

“Orion, sit.” I demanded as Orion immediately jumped off the bed and landed on the floor to sit, wagging his tail eagerly. I scratched under his chin and then let him out of my room so that I could change.

As I fixed my white blouse and sky blue skirt, I stared out the window at the beautiful Manhattan skyline. Sure the city was crazy, loud, and rude, but it was my crazy, loud, rude city. And gosh if I didn’t take pride in it every now and again. 

I sprayed some perfume on my collar and I actually took the time to braid my crazy curly hair into a braid instead of a ponytail (good job me)  

When I finally walked out of my room, Dad was in the kitchen making his world-class chocolate waffles. I sat down at the kitchen island, kicking my legs eagerly. He laughs, handing me a plate. 

“Looks like someone’s excited to celebrate their birthday.” He sprayed some whipped cream onto my waffles as I cut a piece and shoved it into my mouth. 

“Of course!” I grinned, through a mouthful of food. “Who wouldn’t be excited for their thirteenth birthday?” Mom walks out of her room, holding a bag. She sets it in front of me with a smile.

“Happy Birthday, Ari!” She grins.  

“Thanks, Mom!” She plants a kiss on my forehead as I grin like a two-year-old. That’s when the phone rings. Mom goes to answer it with a smile, thinking it was a call from Tía Selene and my cousin Nox. Her smile drops as she shakes her head.
“No, no, no, no, you promised we’d wait two more years!” She whispered, covering her mouth as I looked down at my food. “She’s just a child! I-I mean she’s starting high school in a few months for crying out loud I—” She looks over at Dad, holding the phone out to him. “Jonathan, talk to your niece, I’m not having this conversation now.” She seemed very tired, like it was a conversation the two of them had numerous times but could never find an agreement on.

“Mom?” I asked, climbing down from the barstool and rushing over to her. “What’s going on? Who are they talking about? Is that Nox?” 

Mom smiles, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Nothing you have to worry about. You are safe and loved and no one will ever hurt you.” Mom squeezed me, shielding me in a hug. When she did this, she had a way of making me truly feel safe. The hugs that she and Dad gave me made me feel like no one could get to me. 

“Nox, listen, I know you survived in that kind of environment but Ariyana is—” Dad’s voice cracked as he covered his mouth. “She’s all I have, Nox. Her and Kimberly are everything I have.” Silence, I heard whispers over the phone. “Well I don’t want her to stay if it’ll only put her in more danger.” More silence. And suddenly, Dad started raising his voice at Nox, something I had never seen him do. “Sobrina, listen to me, and listen to me now. You are not going to take her to that camp, you hear me?! Because if she sends my little girl on a quest and my little girl doesn’t come back alive, I’ll—” Dad didn’t get to finish his sentence because Nox hung up. He put the phone back on the stand, muttering a curse as Orion seemed to howl in agreement. 

“Put me in danger? Camp? Quest? Come back alive? Dad, what are you talking about?” I rushed over to Dad who shook his head. He looked back at me with a loving, reassuring smile.

“Nothing is going to happen to you, okay?” He hugs me tightly as I nod. “Now come on, open your gifts.” 

Barnes and Noble, Manhattan, New York, June 19th, 2006, 09:45

I got a telescope, a few books and some stationery. But what I really wanted was to know what the call from Nox was about. As far as I knew at this point, Nox was traveling the country with no adult supervision whatsoever. So what camp was Dad talking about? And why were Mom and Dad making such a big deal about me not living like Nox lives? I wanted to know what Mom and Dad were so scared of.
Mom, Dad, and I were walking around the bookstore. Even though my dyslexia made it hard to read sometimes, I would usually buy an audiobook version as well so I could follow along. I got a few books and I walked over to the mythology section where Dad seemed to linger over to. It wasn’t strange of him; he was an ancient history professor and was always reading some myths. What was strange though, was that he had a book open in his hands. I shot up on my tiptoes just to see the page. He was staring at a picture of a statue. The woman was dressed in full Ancient Greek battle gear and looked like she was ready to kick butt and take names. There were Greek letters at the bottom of the page. My brain instantly rearranged them. Athena, goddess of wisdom. It read. 

Recently, I found out that even though I can’t read in English, my brain processes any other language and I can read it or speak it with no problem. It was strange, but helpful. 

Dad kept staring at the statue of Athena, a look of sadness on his face. Almost like he was remembering someone who had died. Normally when Dad would look through mythology books, he would analyze them carefully. He would squint at it, stare at it, and then get his reading glasses out of his pocket and scan every part of it, like he was looking for something in particular. This time, he just started like he was almost frozen.

After what seemed like an eternity, Dad slammed the book shut and turned to me with a small smile, setting the book back down. “Do you remember the stories I used to tell you as a kid? About the Greek gods?” I nodded with a smile. Dad glances down at the book, thinking about something. 

“Are you going to buy the book?” I asked, staring at the book in Dad’s hand. He brushes his thumb over it and sets it down. 

“No, probably not.” 

I picked up the book, grasping it tightly. “Then I’ll buy it! It looks interesting.” Dad’s face dropped as I walked with the book in my hand. He didn’t say anything but he looked like he wanted to. I didn’t know what was going on in his head but he looked like there was something he wanted to tell me, but he was fighting it back.

I was so caught up in my thoughts, that I didn’t notice that I had bumped into a woman with curly blonde hair. She had on a pair of glasses and didn’t seem to mind too much when I bumped into her.  

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” I blurted, rushing to pick up the books she had dropped. She smiled at me and helped me up.

“That’s quite alright, dear,” She answered. She titled my chin and stared into my eyes. Here we go, someone making a comment about my eye color. My cheeks flushed from embarrassment. The woman smiled, intrigued.

“My word, you have the prettiest eyes.” She said as I looked down at the floor. “They remind me of Athena, goddess of wisdom and war.” 

“Athena?” I asked, confused. “I remind you of Athena?” I glanced at this woman’s lanyard. She had an enamel pin of Medusa, and one of a black widow. I shuddered. I hate spiders. 

“Of course! And after all you’re reading about Greek mythology.” The woman pointed to the book in my hands as I shrugged. “If you want, I can interest you in some more Greek mythology books we have in the back.” 

“Well, I have to find my parents—” I looked and Mom and Dad were nowhere to be found. The air seemed to chill a little more as the woman held her hand out to me, waiting for a reply. 

“I guess…” The woman clapped excitedly as she took me to a room in the back of the Barnes and Nobles. Every wall was lined floor-to-ceiling with bookshelves. I smiled to myself, spinning around the room. Never have I seen so many books in my life. I was so caught up in my daydreaming that I didn’t notice the lock click. The air continued to chill, dropping lower and lower in temperature. 

“Daughter of the gods. It’s a shame that it has to end for you like this.” I turned and saw the woman who was no longer human. Her entire lower half was the eight creepy, crawly legs of a spider. To tell you that I was terrified would be the understatement of the millenia. 

“D-Daughter of the gods?” I managed to stammer out as the woman grinned evilly, crawling around the room. 

“You mean to tell me your father never told you about your true mother?” I tried to get to the door but it was locked and needed a key. And there was no way she was going to give me it.

“My-my mother is K-Kimberly Huxley.” 

The spider lady laughed. “Oh my dear, your father has deceived you.” She titled my chin as I shivered, partially from fear, partially from the cold. “You are a daughter of a Greek god.” I looked around the room for something I could use as a weapon. I found a broken metal bar, about the size of a dagger. I kept my eyes on it, while occasionally keeping my eyes on the spider lady.

“You’re a liar!” I exclaimed, rushing to grab the metal bar, pointing the sharp edge at the spider lady who laughed at my poor attempt at intimidation. She slams me against a wall, a smirk on her creepily human-like face. 

“Oh dear, it’s a shape you’re going to die not knowing the real truth.” She begins to wrap me in spider webs like a Christmas present. With my hands preoccupied, I did the only thing I could do: scream. 

So that’s what I did. I screamed a long and shrill scream as the spider lady seemed to cower back in fear. That’s when someone bursted through the window on the back of a wolf? A person sat, their medium-length hair blowing in the wind as they put five arrows in the bowstring of their bow and shot at the spider lady. 

They hopped off the wolf, walking over, “Ariyana, little cuz! Happy Birthday!” I’d recognize that voice anywhere. 

“Nox?” I exclaimed. “What–What are you doing here?” 

They smiled at me. “Saving you?” They materialized another bow, pulling an arrow out of their quiver and into the bowstring, calmly firing the arrow at the spider lady who crumpled to the ground and soon disappeared. 

The spider webs disintegrated as well and gravity took its hold on me. Nox slid under me, catching me. “I thought that part was pretty obvious.” They set me down, and I stood up quickly as Nox disintegrated the bow, looked at the broken glass window, and then looked back over at me. How did they do all that?! “Eh, that window was probably old and ugly. Should have been replaced eons ago.” 

I looked at the broken window. I wish no one knew about this whole scenario. As though nothing special had happened, like they hadn’t just killed a giant spider lady, Nox just calmly dusted themselves off, and walked over to the door. “Seriously? A lock? Why does everyone put a lock on the door? It doesn't do anything.” they mumbled, before stepping back, kicking down the whole door. 

They waved away some of the wood dust before strolling out of the room, hands in their pockets- turning around, “Well? Come on, we have places to be.” beckoning for me to follow them. I followed suit. 

“Where—Where are we going?!”
“A safe place.” 

Mom rushed towards me as soon as she saw me. “Where have you been?!” She exclaimed, absolutely frightened as I hugged her tightly, glad to see her too.

“She was with me the whole time.” Dad asked, walking out of an aisle, a few books in his hands. “It’s only been a few minutes.” 

“Jonathan, she was gone an hour and—” They both turned and finally acknowledged Nox who was standing there the whole time. “Nox? What are you doing here?”

“A monster attacked Ariyana. I was right, she’s not safe here.” Nox’s face had switched from its original carefree persona to one that made even me step back a bit. They stepped forward to be face to face with Dad. “She needs to come to camp with me now.”
“Nox, no. Absolutely not.” Dad said, his voice dark and threatening. I had never heard him speak like this. “She’s a child. She needs to live her life, she shouldn’t have to be running around fighting monsters, going on quests. Nox, she’s just a child! I–”
“She is a child that you have failed to protect,” Nox interrupted Dad. “Had I not been here, she would have been dead.” Nox snarled out, poking him in the chest to emphasize each word. “You are mortal. Nothing you do will ever be enough to protect Ariyana from the dangers that are after her.” They crossed their arms and glared at him, putting their foot down. Mom would normally have been livid if someone was talking to Dad like that, especially if Nox was yelling at him. Instead, Mom stayed quietly, her arms crossed, her calm, focused expression on her face.

“And besides, she won’t have a life to live if she stays here, she won't be running around because she’ll be stuck in a casket—assuming the monsters even leave enough of her body for a proper burial.” They gave an exasperated sigh, pinching the bridge of their nose.

“Tío, we both know that I’m only pretending to ask because I respect you. She’s going to camp. She has to, I’m taking her whether or not you like it. I’m at that camp, she’s safer with me than she is here- than she is out there . That camp is the only place where she’s safe.” 

“Nox, she’s all I have.”

“Then I hope you’re prepared to lose her out here, because a naive, untrained half-blood like her won’t last a minute in the outside world.” I watched Nox and Dad argue back and forth like you’d watch a tennis match. I didn’t want to interrupt but I had several questions. Half-blood? Camp? Quests? Monsters? I felt like everyone around me was talking in code and I was the only one who didn’t learn the secret.

“Jonathan,” Mom whispered. “Please.”

“Kimberly we would almost never see her again.” 

“Fine- FINE!” Nox said, clearly exasperated. “I’ll give you a middle ground. She can go to school in the human world- hell , I’ll even pose as a student so I can watch over her. Because heaven knows you can’t.” Nox said, a twinge of sarcasm at the end. “But during the summer, she will be staying at camp.” Human world? 

“But, I don’t want Ariyana to learn about… her.” Dad looked up at the ceiling as if he could see the endless sky beyond the barriers of the building. He shakes Nox’s hand and I walk away with Nox. 

***

Nox helps me hop onto the back of the large gray wolf they’d ridden on—-which I learned was named Sol—before taking off. I had to hold on tightly to Nox’s waist, the ride wasn’t exactly smooth- I was jostled and moved around- though Nox seemed just fine. My gaze turned to the smaller tawny toned wolf happily running alongside us- which Nox had mentioned in passing was named Lua. As much as I loved dogs I didn’t really care right now. My Manhattan is fading away into the midday summer sky. Tears filled my eyes and I was thankful to whoever that Nox was sitting in front of me and couldn’t see me crying. 

“Nox?” I spoke up. “Where are we going?” 

They turn to glance at me a bit before turning back, gently tapping Sol’s side like how you would a horse, directing him to go left on a grassy path towards the woods. “Somewhere you’ll be safe, a camp. You’ll learn to love it… eventually.” I couldn’t see their face, but I could hear the small smile in their tone. 

We bounded along the grass for a while, quickly growing closer and closer to the woods, and I held on tight to Nox until I almost lost balance—having to grab a lock of Sol’s fur for support—a sound of surprise leaving my mouth. We bounded along for a few more feet before Sol turned sideways to a more flat and sandy path; and Nox gently tapped Sol’s side with their right hand, reaching forward to mumble something that I couldn’t quite hear- causing the wolf to slow down to a trot, relieving me of the constant jostling as the ride became smoother. 

I had to turn around and take a look at the disappearing city skyline- choosing to break the silence. 

“A camp? What’s so safe about this camp?” 

I hear them pause, like they’re trying to think about how to explain “Ari you’re—” Nox hesitates, then speaks again. “This isn’t the place or time to discuss that. Just.. you’re different from the other kids—That's why the.. spider thing came after you.” 

Nox gives a dry chuckle, like they’re saying a joke that wasn’t really funny. “You have a special type of parentage, and they just happen to have some sort of ancestral beef with those parents—not Kimberly or Jonathan—And this camp will keep you safe—simple as that.” 

My emotions took over and buried my face into their jacket. Their jacket smelled heavily like pine, with the slightest touch of wet dog… which made sense considering the wolves. “Why is my life falling apart right now?” I whispered to myself. 

Nox doesn’t respond, or even turn around, but I can feel them take a deep breath and sigh. Their left hand untangles from Sol’s fur to reach back and squeeze mine. Almost like a silent “I know”.

The rest of the ride there was silent- only being broken by the occasional question from Nox if I needed to stop and readjust. Finally, we got to Camp Half-Blood. Letters on the sign were in Greek and just like the book at Barnes and Noble, the letters rearranged themselves to appear in English.

(Prologue Pt 3)

 (ARYO) Prologue

Camp Half-Blood December 16, 2005, 15:43

OK, ok, ok being a half-blood isn’t an easy thing if you haven’t found that out. I got pushed into a lake. That got your attention, didn’t it? However, before I get to that, let's start from the beginning. I was just sitting at the dock as the sun shined on top of the frosted lake. I want more time to myself for the last few weeks. I've been at this camp. I've been staying in the Hermes cabin, which is filled with demigods–sorry I mean half-bloods, it’s pretty hard to keep yourself sane. 

Camp Half-Blood October 21, 2005, 22:14

I can still remember my first night in the cabin like it was yesterday. It was a chilly October day, and I just finished a place to sleep, even though it turned out to be at the very back of the cabin. I lay down after a long day with the news of me by a half-blood running through my brain. But before I could even close my eyes and swim into the sea of my dreams, the two cabin counselors stood over me as if they were examining a dead body. 

“Hey new kid,” the first boy said, “Welcome to the rejected cabin.” He held out his hand to me as I lazily shook it.

“Ah, Aryo, my name is…”

“Come on, Connor, don't scare the kid away,” the other boy said, as I watched Connor and his twin brother look at one another with matching grins. I sat up, a little bit uneasy now. “I’m sorry. I’m Travis Stoll and this is my brother Connor. We’re going to be your counselors.”

“Okay.” I tried to go back to sleep but I felt something slip out of my back pocket. I sat up quickly and saw a young dark-haired girl about seven years old with my wallet in her hands. 

I quickly snatched it back. “Did you just steal my wallet?!” I exclaimed, a little ticked off. I just wanted to sleep…with both eyes closed, thank you. 

“Oh, don’t mind her.” Travis said, dismissing her as she went back to her bed. “Most of us Hermes kids are kleptomaniacs…or pranksters.” He grinned like it was a normal thing. 

Keep an eye on your stuff and don’t trust anyone in the Hermes cabin. “Duly noted,” I said with a slightly sour tone, lying back down. It was a long tiring day finding out I was a half-blood and I really wasn’t in the mood for prankster twins or a kleptomaniac seven-year-old.

“Oh, come on!” Travis said, kneeling down next to one side of my bed while Connor knelt by the other side. “Usually us Hermes kids can steal things without people noticing.”

“Like this!” Connor said with a huge grin, holding up my military dog tag as I snatched it from him unamused, and slightly more angry. 

“Give that back!” I put the dog tag back on with a sigh as I clutched it. “It was a gift from my mom.” I turned to both Travis and Connor.

“That sucks.” Connor shrugged as Travis elbowed him.

“Sorry, we’ll do our best to keep out of your stuff,” Travis said with a small smile. “Although, like I said, Hermes kids can’t really control what they do and don’t wanna steal, they just—do it.” 

I nod, trying my best to fall asleep.

Camp Half-Blood December 16, 2005, 15:43 

And that’s how it went for a little less than two months. The only person I could trust with my stuff was a kid of Artemis named Nox, and a blonde child of Athena named Annabeth.

So, I’m sure you’re dying to know why I got pushed into a lake. Well, you see, these kids from the Ares cabin had some problems with me since I beat their counselor in Capture the Flag. And they thought it would be funny to push me in the canoe lake…In the middle of December. 

I didn’t even notice I got pushed until I heard a splash and suddenly, I was in the water. I heard laughter, and I looked up and saw Clarisse La Rue standing over the edge of the dock. She had a few of the Ares kids behind her, all laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world. Well, it wouldn’t be funny if I died from hypothermia…or something, I don’t know.

I swam deeper into the water as it seemed to warm up a little bit, and then as I got to the entrance of a cave, the water was almost room temperature. What made things better was that I didn’t seem to need to come up for air. I came up from the water and there were bioluminescent plants and mushrooms. Colorful crystals were stuck in the rocks, some as small as a fruit, some bigger and taller than me. 

Then, (I kid you not) I saw a pink dolphin come up to the edge of the water. It was an Amazon river dolphin. But what was an Amazon river dolphin doing in the canoe lake at Camp Half-Blood?

“Hi girl.” I said softly to the dolphin. The dolphin chittered in disgust as I stepped back a little. I sighed, slowly sitting down next to them. “Okay, not a fan of that.” I stared down at him. “So what’s your name?”

The dolphin paused. Then chittered again.
I turned my head. “Huh?” 

The dolphin made a long chitter and then three short ones. I might be dyslexic, but Morse Code was a lot easier for me to understand that it was for me to read English. “B…” I began slowly as the dolphin continued. 

Two short chitters and a long one.

“...U…”

A long chitter and then three short ones.

“...B…”

A long chitter and then three short ones.

“...B…”

A short chitter, a long chitter, two short ones.
“...L…”

A short chitter. 

“...E…”

Three short chitters.

“...S…” The dolphin nodded. “Bubbles? That’s your name?” The dolphin chittered happily and splashed around as I laughed. “Nice to meet you Bubbles, I’m Aryo.” Bubbles used their tail fin to give me a high-five.

Camp Half-Blood, December 16, 2005, 21:26

I couldn’t tell you how many hours I stayed in that cavern talking to Bubbles. But when I climbed onto the dock I was in a much better mood. I saw Annabeth’s shoes as I climbed up. 

“Oh! Annabeth! You won’t believe what I found in the canoe lake! There’s a cavern, and a river dolphin named Bubbles and—” I stood up, finally noticing Annabeth’s worried expression, Chiron standing next to her…And all of camp standing behind them. “Wha–What’s going on?” I turned to Chiron.

“Ah, Aryo…” Chiron stroked his beard. “Do you know how long you’ve been in the canoe lake?” 

“Just like a few min–woah.” I looked up at the sky and saw that it was nighttime. I looked at the rest of the camp who looked concerned for me.
“You’ve been in the canoe lake for six hours, idiot!” Clarisse exclaimed. 

“We might be jerks sometimes but we’d never try to kill a camper,” A blonde Ares kid, who wasn’t there when I got pushed in the water, spoke up. “I mean except for Clarisse–but besides that!” 

Someone pointed above my head. “Look!” They exclaimed. A shimmer of light and a trident glowed over my head. Everyone bowed for some reason. Some muttered, “I thought Achira was the only one…” That’s when it hit me like a tsunami. 

I was a son of Poseidon. 

Achira Allaband was a daughter of Poseidon who showed me around the camp before and I knew who she was. I didn’t mind being siblings with her.

People began to go back to their cabins, but the blonde Ares kid stayed behind. I noticed he had a military dog tag too. He seemed like a pretty cool guy. He had a face full of freckles and a red leather jacket that smelled a lot like Axe body spray. Which was—slightly irritating but if he was an Ares kid and he hasn’t tried to beat me up yet, then he can be trusted right? 

I had seen him around camp once or twice. A lot of girls (especially from the Aphrodite cabin) had a crush on him but he always said he had a girlfriend. Some girl named Ariyana Huxley.
His commanding voice brought me back to reality. “Sorry about Clarisse and her crew.” He chuckles, holding his hand out. “I’m Azazel Treacher.”

I shook his hand. “I’m Aryo Alexander, uh, son of Poseidon.” It had a nice ring to it but it was certainly gonna take some getting used to. 

Azazel chuckles as he points to the sky. “I noticed.” I chuckled sheepishly.

“Do you need help moving in?” Azazel asked. “It might be a long night, y’know, getting used to all of this.”

I nod. “That’d be nice.”

Camp Half-Blood August 20th, 2006, 10:09

Months passed, and I was getting used to being a son of Poseidon. I was also getting used to not being an only child for once. Achira and I got along really well. Achira taught me how to play tennis while I taught her sword fighting. We’d also have long conversations on the roof of the Poseidon cabin. 

Achira grew up in France with her aunt. But even though she was an ocean away from Western Civilization, she still somehow attracted monsters. Mostly ones that traveled by water or by air. Many of them traumatized her as a little girl. I couldn’t say I didn’t relate to that. I got attacked by a giant spider when I was two years old and have been terrified of spiders ever since. Snakes were also traumatizing. I hate snakes.

On a lighter note, being a child of Poseidon means getting cool water powers so that’s always fun. I was also growing to like camp a lot more. The Hermes cabin stopped stealing my stuff and picking on me. They were really nice cabin mates—but having to keep an eye on your stuff 24/7 can get very old, very quickly. Aside from that, Camp Half-Blood was starting to feel like a home. A home I would have to leave soon to start school in September.

I was walking back to my cabin when I noticed the new girl walking through the cabin circle. Her hair was a short dark brown bob and she looked like she meant business. I had seen her around before. She got here just a few days ago and all I knew is that she got claimed as a daughter of Apollo at the campfire almost immediately, she had a good singing voice, and she was friends with Ariyana, Azazel’s girlfriend. I must have been staring for too long because she came over to me. I half-expected her to yell at me for it. Instead, she says,

“Hey, you’re Aryo, right? Achira told me you’d help me pick out a weapon?” She holds her hand out with a grin. “Genni Stewart, recently-claimed daughter of Apollo.”

“Aryo Alexander, son of Poseidon, nice to meet you, Genni.” When I took her hand to shake it, a small but powerful spark seemed to jolt through me. I found myself staring into her ocean blue eyes. Her eyes were like looking into the South Pacific, a clear blue color that felt…calming. I never understood the phrase “eyes are windows to the soul” until I met Genni. I don’t know what I felt entirely but when I looked through Genni’s eyes, something felt…almost familiar about her.

Get a grip, Aryo! I come back to reality and notice that Genni seemed to be zoning back in. “Ah, um, sorry,” She grinned nervously. “I’m still trying to get used to camp and stuff.”

“It’s fine,” I chuckled. “So, you said something about needing weapons?” Genni nods. “Here, let me show you to the forge.” It was almost silent as we walked to the forge, but I needed to help Genni somehow. So I said,

“What kind of weapon are you looking for?” 

“Projectile weapon,” She says almost immediately. “Apparently, children of Apollo are good with projectile weapons so I should be able to use it perfectly—Clay’s word’s not mine.” Clay Kaiser was a child of Apollo (and madly in love with Achira).
“Projectile weapons…” I thought to myself. “So would a spear or a javelin be something you’re interested in?” 

Genni shook her head instantly. “Nope. I keep having these dreams where I’m standing in between the sea and sky with a bow and arrow in my hand.” Genni scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Sounds stupid, right? That I’m choosing a weapon based on a dream.” 

“It’s not stupid,” I said quickly, feeling my face getting warm. “It usually means something if you keep having this dream pretty frequently,” I said as we reached the forge. “You should look into it.” Genni nods as I make a beeline to the bow and arrows. “Take a look around. Pick which one calls out to you the most.” Genni looked carefully. Her ocean blue eyes scanned each bow. I watched her face, she didn’t seem interested in any of the bows available, until she picked up a bow made of a purple-ish wood. 

“Am I allowed to carve my bow?” She asked quickly.
“Ah, I think so…Why do you–” Genni cut me off as she took a knife off the table, hopped on the counter and started carving in the wood. I watched as she carved each swirl and design. I looked at the paper left underneath the bow. It was written in Greek so us half-bloods could read it.
“It’s violetwood.”

“Huh?” Genni looked up, snapping out of her flurry of creativity. 

“The bow, you’re carving. It was made out of violetwood. It has protection, success, and defense qualities. It has positive and creative energy.” 

“Huh.” Genni thought to herself as she kept carving her bow. When she finished, the bow turned into a bow-and-arrow necklace.
“Woah.” We turned to each other.

“How did you do that?” I asked her. 

“I don’t know,” She answers truthfully. She turned to me with a huge grin. I gave a small smile. Something in me stirred. Almost like it was…destined in the stars. Like we were a part of something bigger. But I don’t think we’re the only ones.