Enchanted Forest (Before):

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

I rolled my eyes at my cousin, as we hid behind Zeus' alter. "Of course it's a good idea, Perseus. We need the statue's laurel wreath in order for Hera to leave us alone."

"Which one of us is going to get it?" The son of Zeus asked curiously.

"Do I look like I can fly?" I sassed the demigod, an incredulous look on my face.

"Good point." Perseus muttered, before approaching the enormous statue of his father. "Be right back."

Just as he flew up and went to grab the wreath, an alarming revelation dawned on me.

This is too easy.

"Percy stop—!" I shouted, only for my cousin to grab the wreath, a purple fog wrapping itself around Perseus' body.

Without warning the demigod started to fall, his body rapidly approaching the ground. I tried to stop his fall with my shadows, but my powers didn't work in Zeus' temple.

A loud crack echoed through the marble building as the son of Zeus hit the ground, blood quickly pooling around his motionless body.

"Perseus!" I screamed, rushing to my closest friend. Panic filling my body at what I just witnessed.

I prayed and prayed to the fates, to Hades, to anyone who came to mind to spare him.

He was only sixteen.

He was a child.

Rage flared within me, as I gazed upon the dead body of the mortal boy. "Hera! You heartless bitch! Stop hiding in the shadows and face me!"

"Now, Eurydice, there's no need for such language."

I shook in grief and fury as her velvety and smug voice echoed off the walls.

"There is every reason, Hera! You always do this! You condemn innocent children to death because your husband can't keep his dick to himself! I'm sick and tired of watching you murder children so you can punish Zeus!"

"You demigods and your unrelenting egos." Hera shook her head, feigning disappointment. "Why must you all challenge the gods that allow your existence?"

"You forget, Hera." I hiss, glaring at the queen of the gods. "I'm no demigod."

I dashed forward to attack, my shadows launching toward Hera. She shape-shifted into one of her sacred forms, the lion, and followed suit.

This was going to be messy.

Our World (Present):

"So, your little brother runs away to find his bio-mom and there's virtually no repercussions? Uh huh, sounds fake, but okay." Veronica sassed, after I told her of the 'stern talking to' that my brother received this morning, before we left for school.

"I think mom's just hyper fixated on the fact that Henry is alive and unharmed after last night's soap opera situation." I explained, trying to see things from my mom's perspective.

"How the hell did he even get to Boston? Every time someone tries to take the bus out of town it breaks down and Mr. Travers refuses to hire an actual mechanic to fix it." My best friend asked, genuinely curious.

"Maybe it was magic!" I gasped, feigning amazement. Veronica just rolled her eyes with a scoff.

"That might just be the case." She laughed, before further explaining. "Miss Blanchard is basically a Disney princess."

"Good one!" I snickered, as we approached my locker. My locker neighbor sending me a charming smile as he got his own textbooks.

"Hey, Calliope. Hey, Veronica." Scott Humbert greeted, causing me to wave politely.

Scott was the Sheriff's younger brother, he didn't really talk much besides what was required in class and the occasional small talk.

Veronica and I always try to involve him and not interrupt, no matter how excited we are about a subject. We both were pretty shy not too long ago so we know how it can feel to be left out and talked over.

"Hi, Scott."

"Wassup, Scotty?"

"Did you guys finish the homework for Mr. Antonov's class?" He asked, shutting his locker and waiting for Veronica and I to put away our backpacks.

"Yeah, now I have the Rasputin song stuck in my head, because that's the only thing I could think about while reading the chapter on the fall of the Romanov's." V groaned, causing Scott and I to laugh.

"Hey, that song kicks ass in Just Dance 2!" I chimed in, earning a nod from my friends.

"I dare you to do the whole dance right here in the middle of the hallway." The Zhang girl joked pointing to me.

Scott looked surprised but intrigued by the dare, possibly curious about just how far my shamelessness went.

"I will if you will, V." I challenged, calling her bluff.

"Please wait until lunch, I don't want to be late for Physics again." The Humbert boy chuckled, pointing in the direction of our unfortunate first period.

"Ugh, fine." Veronica sighed, feigning disappointment. "Friggin' killjoy."

"I try my best." Scott laughed, as the three of us walked to class.