[hoc est bellum]

There was once a moment in Tessa's life where she recognized the true calm that her father's terrain could influence. It'd been after she was claimed, and she found herself sitting at the bottom of the sea upon testing out her underwater abilities. She'd felt each one of her senses come alive upon submerging, like dormant volcanoes were erupting beneath her skin. She could detect every current, hear the voices of the animals, and the tide sweeping in over her head fell in sync with her heartbeat.

Then it disappeared when she reached the bottom of Long Island Sound, and a sort of calm fell upon her as she settled on the sandy sea floor. The world had fallen quiet as Tessa felt her power radiate through the waves...and then silence itself in quiet harmony with the serenity at the bottom of the sea.

And as Tessa stared down the General amid the snow and lights of her neighborhood, she felt that same piece of herself click into place. Her power hummed beneath her skins, the darkness within her silent at last.

The rage in her heart, however, roared to be let loose.

"Like hell you do," Tessa spat, her lips twisting back into a snarl. She snatched Tempest out of her hair, the bronze flash of light a comforting sight as her sword elongated in her hand.

The General only looked bored. Tessa almost fumbled her sword arm as the realization dawned on her. This was her. She was standing face to face with herself from another dimension. For so long, she'd thought of the General as an alternate being, a monster wearing her face like a mask. It wasn't until now that Tessa realized that she couldn't be farther from the truth.

"Like I said before," The General mused. "I come in peace. I have no interest in fighting with you, Tessa." She said the name softly, mulling it over.

"That makes one of us," Tessa started forward, but Kaden wrapped a hand around hers, halting her warpath. She glanced at him incredulously, but read the message in his eyes as clear as day. Careful.

When Tessa looked back at the General, she was smirking. Her arms were folded across her chest, the labyrinthine belt around her waist glinting in the moonlight. "Nice to see you again, Kaden."

"That's funny, the feeling isn't mutual," Kaden fired back with a dazzling smile.

The General chuckled and Tessa's stomach twisted as the thought weighed down in her soul like an anchor. This was her, this was her, this was her. Same face, same laugh, same chilling grin.

"While I would love nothing more than to run you both through with my own Tempest right about now, I'm willing to observe a mourning period," The General inclined her head, her voice low.

"For who?" Tessa's heart skipped a beat as her mind trailed to Reese, trapped on the other side for two months now.

The General locked her gaze with Tessa's. Same sea-green eyes, Poseidon's eyes...

"A trusted friend and member of my circle," The General answered, a lick of sorrow lacing her words. "Flynn Hale, Medic to the Regiment."

As soon as the soft look in her eyes appeared, it was gone. A wry smile found its way onto the General's face. "Oh, that's right. Your Flynn Hale is back home, isn't he? How charming."

Tessa set her jaw. "How long is this mourning period?"

"Two weeks," The General retorted. "And after that...we mobilize."

The calm that had enveloped around Tessa shot outwards like an explosion, fading entirely. As if it were a tangible thing, the General flinched, grimacing.

Kaden's hand around Tessa's tensed, and in the split second that the General was decapacitated, they locked eyes. She'd done something.

She had a weakness.

"After the mourning period is up, my forces will invade this universe of yours to carry out the final phase of our plan," The General elaborated, fury lacing her words. "Cities will burn, figureheads will topple, and that Regiment you thought you quelled will only surface full force."

"You're wrong," Tessa taunted, shaking her head slightly. "If you think you stand the slightest chance about destroying western civilization on this universe, think again."

"Oh really?" The General mused, pursing her lips. Her sea-green eyes narrowed. "And why's that?"

"Because," Tessa slipped her hand out of Kaden's. "Your army'll have to get through me."

The General's serpentine smile returned, and fighting a shiver, Tessa wondered if that's what she looked like when facing an enemy. A beautiful face, a lithe body, entrancing eyes...all distractions from the wraith-like bloodlust lurking beneath. The General's bronze blade—Tempest—glinted with a sinister light.

"Someday," The General spoke. "Someday, we will have our showdown, Tessa Brennan. But that day is not today. I'm afraid you have your own issues to get back to."

"Like what?" Tessa responded. "Sounds to me like you're just afraid."

The General faltered, her turquoise eyes freezing over with rage. "Your forces will tear themselves apart before we arrive. You think you know how to defeat us, but the practice alone will diminish your strengths. You are divided, grieving, stressed. Even your own mother isn't on your side."

"She's your mother too," Tessa began.

"I have no mother," The level of intensity in the General's voice silenced Tessa. "And clearly, the Sera Brennan on this earth is as secretive as she was on mine."

Tessa felt a pang shake her heart. "What do you mean by that?"

"Tessa, don't—" Kaden started, a warning look in his emerald eyes.

The General smirked. "Ask her about the name Jared Knight. See what she says, or better, what she doesn't say."

"That's enough!" Kaden exclaimed, a forceful look in his eyes. He stepped to Tessa's side protectively, a hand gripping the hilt of his Imperial gold sword. "You've said your part, now get the hell off of our universe."

"Ooh, you're aggressive on this universe too," The General smirked, and the look in her eyes as she scanned Kaden from head to toe made Tessa want to run her through with Tempest. "I like that."

The General snapped her fingers and a portal of her own making erupted into existence a few paces away. She sauntered towards it. "See you in two weeks."

And just like that, disappeared.

~~

Tessa had been the bearer of bad news before, but nothing topped the cake of those experiences than when she and Kaden returned to her house after the General's warning. Their visages alone were enough to send the party into a standstill. Christmas music played softly throughout the house, but as silence fell upon the room, it sounded like a funeral march.

One look from Tessa and Kaden took the initiative. He explained what had just happened on their walk through the neighborhood, the General's warning, as well as the moment she'd faltered when Tessa tensed. All the while, Tessa couldn't stop herself from thinking of the General's last words to her, about a man named Jared Knight.

She could practically feel her look-a-like beaming at Tessa's deterioration.

"We have two weeks to mobilize," Kaden finished, looking across the room. "We need as many forces within Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter as soon as possible. Do we have any word on the quest to find Vinny?"

Madi shook her head, but dug out a drachma. "I'll contact Lukas, see if they have any updates." She hurried down the hallway and disappeared.

"Are there any other demigods on quests? We need to call them back in, we'll need as many boots on the ground as we can," Tessa asked, looking up at Kaden.

"Mallory's on a quest right now," Alexia chimed. "I'll see if I can get in touch with her."

Kaden nodded, and Alexia dug out her cell phone, walking into the next room. The son of Venus ran a hand through his hair, looking at the others in the room. "Mark, get in contact with Adhara. As soon as we get back to New Rome, we need to start training."

"I'm not sure she's on speaking terms with me just yet," Mark tried.

"Do it." Kaden and Tessa both commanded. The son of Iris jumped at the combined power in their voices, dug out his phone, and hurried from the room.

"As for the rest of you," Tessa began, smiling weakly. "Try to enjoy the rest of the night."

She'd practically given them a death sentence for how lethargically her friends went back to their prior activities. Dale was tapping away on her tablet, her brow furrowed as she scrolled through different security monitors with one hand and drank apple cider with the other. Ben and Sophia continued their game, and when Mark got off the phone, he joined again, a dark look on his face. Alexia and Madi were still enthralled with their calls, and Kaden excused himself to make one to Kassie, when Imogen walked up to Tessa.

"You know what I'm going to ask," The daughter of Cupid spoke, her voice soft. Her jade eyes were bloodshot, like she hadn't slept in the two months that Reese Hale had been trapped on the other side. Despite the festive velvet dress she wore and the elegant makeup painted on her face, Imogen still carried herself like she was either about to break into tears or go on a rampage. Whatever it took to get Reese back.

Tessa pressed her lips into a thin line, shaking her head. "She didn't mention anything about Reese."

Imogen nodded, but Tessa saw her tense.

"Which is a good thing," Tessa continued. "We're banking on the fact that Reese would have manipulated his way into staying alive. If the General doesn't have anything to say to us about him, then he's okay."

"Or he's already dead," Imogen muttered. "And the General didn't think that we'd be deserving of a mourning period too."

Tessa opened her mouth to speak, but Imogen only drifted back into the living room, a wraithlike tension following in her wake. Tessa would have followed, but she couldn't shake the General's words out of her head.

"Hey, have any of you seen my mom?" Tessa asked the group.

"She went upstairs to change," Alexia noted, emerging from the office area. "Kitchen mishap."

Tessa bid a thank-you to the daughter of Pluto before darting down the hall and up the stairs. The door to her mother's room was ajar, and Tessa knocked on it gently. "Mom?"

"Come in, Tessa!" Her mom called. "I'll be out in a minute."

Tessa entered the room slowly, recounting in the familiarity of her mom's room. How many times had she fled to this room when she was younger, plagued by bad dreams and the fear of monsters under her bed? How many times had she poked around her mom's dresser, stealing socks when she lost her own, grabbing the ironed laundry from the table in the corner? All memories of a distant life, a mortal life, she felt as if she could no longer call her own.

Tessa walked over to her mother's large mahogany dresser, staring at the photographs lining the platform. Amid stray strands of jewelry and change, were photos of Tessa and Sera over the years: on Tessa's fifth birthday, when she'd gone to the zoo for the first time and wore an elephant hat on her head of chocolate hair; at Tessa's first choir concert in sixth grade; on the day before Tessa's life changed, when they'd come back from a trip to the lake.

Smiling, Tessa reached for a different picture—a Halloween photo where she'd dressed up as Batgirl—when a small piece of cardstock fell out from behind the frame. It fluttered to the countertop, letters scrawled on the back.

Tessa frowned, setting down the frame and reaching for the paper. It was photo paper, torn from what must have been a series of photo booth pictures. In the picture was a girl that looked a lot like Tessa, with bright hazel eyes rather than sea-green--Sera. She was mid-laugh, looking at the boy who sat at her side. He beamed right back at her, a mop of blond hair on his head. The letters on the back were numbers—December 1995.

"Tessa?" Her mother's voice chimed, and Tessa, swift as lightning, stuffed the picture into her back pocket.

She turned around, a nonchalant smile on her face. "Hey."

Sera gave her daughter a silly smile, readjusting the hem of the blouse she'd pulled on. "Sorry for missing the party. The soup decided to explode in my face."

Tessa laughed weakly. "Don't blame me for that. I don't think I can control soup."

Sera beamed at Tessa—the smile so much like the one she'd given the boy in the picture—that she looked away.

"Something wrong?" Her mother asked.

Tessa wanted to pretend like nothing was wrong, but she knew that if she didn't dissipate her worries of the General's taunt, they'd eat her alive. "Well...a name came up in our mission. One that I've been told you might know something about, given your ties to the world of mythology."

That Hunter's precision returned to her mother's gaze, and Sera Brennan nodded. "It's been a while, but I'll see what I can do."

Tessa could feel herself teetering on the edge of this decision, and even when she could walk back to safety, she jumped. "Does the name Jared Knight mean anything to you?"

Her mother's face paled. Sera's hazel eyes trailed to some non-existent point on the horizon, and Tessa felt that coil of ice twist around her heart.

"What could he possibly have to do with your mission?" Her mother asked, her voice abnormally light.

"That, I wasn't told." Tessa managed. "But you know him?"

"I did," Sera spoke like she was dreaming. "A long, long time ago."

The haze disappeared from her gaze, and Sera's hazel gaze sharpened like that of the wolves she'd once trained. "Jared Knight is a mortal, and as little a threat as any mortal could be to the world of mythology. You must have gotten the wrong name, because while I do recognize it, there is nothing he could do to jeopardize your mission."

Tessa felt the frustration begin to well up inside of her, but before she could ask anymore questions, she heard Kaden call her from downstairs. Tessa sighed and marched out of the room, leaving her mother staring off into the distance, her gaze fixating on the now fallen picture frame.

~~

"What's the problem?" Tessa asked as she met with Kaden at the bottom of the stairs. He looked frantic, his phone in his hand as he stared at his call records.

"Eli just called from New Rome," Her boyfriend spoke, his hands shaking. "He was watching over Kiara and Flynn, and I told him to call me if something went wrong, and—"

"And?" Tessa asked, her heart twisting.

Kaden took a shaky breath. "Eli doesn't know what's wrong but Flynn just started to seize. Eli said...Eli said it looked like he was dying."

~~

[Alternate Dimension]

Reese wasn't sure how he'd managed to last this long, but he thanked his lucky stars—and his Achilles curse.

After he'd killed his dark look-a-like, a new surge of power swept over him like a tidal wave. The tension he once felt disappeared, and he felt rejuvenated. Just in time, given the stampede of Regiment soldiers that entered his chambers. It had taken a lot of explaining, but Reese continued to play the part of that of the General's inner circle.

However, Reese could feel his luck running out. Regiment soldiers trailed him everywhere he went, cameras were installed around his chambers but not inside of it, and he seemed to always be in sight of the General. He hadn't been able to check on Matthew in the dungeons, but with the message sent, he hoped that his friends could stop worrying.

The son of Apollo sauntered down the central hallway of the Palace, assuming the stone-cold demeanor of his look-a-like, when he neared the main meeting room. The large obsidian doors were open, and Reese could make out voices. He slowed in his tracks, stopping just out of sight from the nearest camera and closest to the door.

"You are to obey my orders, understand?" The first voice—The General—asserted. Ever since she'd come back from the other universe, she'd been on edge, issuing more and more commands.

"I follow no one's orders but my own," The second voice boomed, and then instantly, a roar of agony filled the room.

"That's what I thought," The General deadpanned. "You were defeated once on your own universe, and until you prove yourself, you will answer to me, and me only. Do I make myself clear?"

"I was defeated," The second voice spat. "By a girl who looked exactly like you. I'm not exactly afraid."

Reese couldn't pinpoint the voice, but he could feel the tremors of fear in his bones. He could practically feel the General's sinister smile, imagining how she was looking down on her latest recruit, sword in hand.

"You should be," She continued.

Reese glanced within the crack in the door, and felt his heart twist as the General met his gaze.

Reese turned and ran, his heart stopping in his chest as he did. He couldn't risk his hide again while he was over here, but boy, was he good at doing exactly that.

However, as Reese ran to the only place he could go to for help—the dungeons—he released a shaky breath. The tremors of fear, the familiar rumbling voice...his suspicions had been confirmed with his peek inside the room.

The General's newest recruit? Deimos, the escaped god of panic from Reese's own universe.