chapter one
001. the minotaur

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      "CLAIRE! HURRY UP!"

      "I'm coming!"

      I pulled at the laces of my boots, curling the white string around my wrists. Around me, Cabin Seven was chaos. Everyone was struggling to prepare themselves for the early morning. Discarded clothes were everywhere, the bathroom sinks were littered with toiletries, multiple siblings fought for the middle position and best view of the mirror, and I think there was a brewing pillow fight on the other side of the cabin. Lee Fletcher, the cabin counsellor, was making a feeble attempt to ready everyone for breakfast, and like always, we were running late. ADHD and running on time don't exactly mix. There are two options. Either we arrive way too early or too late, but never on time (both fashionable entrances, however▬which, in the end, is what we truly strive for). Once I finished tying my shoelaces, I jumped to my feet from the end of my bed. From the chest on the end of my bed, I grabbed my dagger, slipped it into the sheath wrapped around my right calf, and threw on a windbreaker over my orange camp shirt. I rushed to snatch my bow and quiver of arrows before racing towards an exasperated Lee Fletcher.

      Different is a word I liked to define myself by. It's a word everyone who is at this camp is accustomed to or at least has heard at some point in their lives so far. At Camp Half-Blood, everything is different. We are different from the majority of the everyday person on Earth. Everyone was an individual▬unique to the person who stood next to them. But at Camp Half-Blood, the individuality was tuned up to a far greater scale. 

    (Before I tell you who we are, I want to state this right now. If you recognise yourself in these pages at any time, if you feel your gut twist and your breath catch, if you feel something deep and indescribable stir inside you, my advice to you is: Close the tab on this book right now, find a weapon, and come to the address on the business card hidden in the pages of this book▬if you are one of us, you will find it. And then, once you know that, it is only a matter of time before they figure it out, too, and once they do, they'll come and find you. 

    Don't say I didn't warn you...).

    Because we aren't just the average person trying to live a normal life. We are all the children of Greek Gods. Yes, those Greek Gods. We are Demigods: Half-human, half-god. And the life we live is not one for the faint of heart.

     My half-siblings and I are the children of Apollo: The god of music, poetry, medicine, plague, prophecies, light ... you get it.

      I've been at this camp since I was seven. It's longer than most (if most are lucky to make it in the first place). Even before then, I spent a year and a half on the streets with three of my closest friends Luke, Thalia and Annabeth, on the run from monsters wherever we went. Different is all I've known to the point where it has become my normal. My life before everything changed sometimes felt like more of a dream rather than a reality, and sometimes I'm not too sure whether what I remember actually happened or was simply composed from my imagination to try and make it easier for a six-year-old's mind to understand. Those years easily merge into a blur of events in my mind until we were found by Grover, a satyr (half-goat, half-human). He led us here to Camp Half-Blood for our safety. 

     Not all of us made it. On Half-blood Hill, we were attacked by the Furies, Hades' torturers and Thalia sacrificed herself so that we could get through. As she died, her father, Zeus, turned her into a pine tree, which kept a magical barrier around the camp so we all could be safe.

      (Trust me, a Demigod is the last thing you want to be).

     Lee Fletcher has almost been at Camp Half-Blood as long as I have. Though not the oldest nor the longest returner at Camp in the Apollo Cabin, he was certainly the most responsible. We voted him counsellor with faith in his responsible nature (when it mattered, at least) to keep one of the largest cabins in line▬a feat no one should take lightly. A godly parent with so many diverse talents resulted in an equally diverse set of children, and it was like trying to control a Kindergarten class full of four-year-olds with sugar highs, attention and inattentive problems with a magnet for trouble. Except those four-year-olds could also curse anyone they didn't like to talk in rhymes for a week, have donkey ears if they were particularly ambitious, have access to key medical items in the infirmary with a sneaky talent to ensure it took an extra week for a burn to heal (and suspiciously have it hurt a little more than usual), and with an uncanny aim when it came to darts, or arrows, or even the flyaway dagger when someone stole someone else's belongings. 

     I didn't have Lee's patience. I don't know how he manages to keep us all as one large and unruly family with all our fights, our differences and our tendency for having a vain nature. But he does. And he does it with an understanding smile, a good sense of humour, responsibility and the slightest breath of mischief with every ruffle of his sunkissed blonde hair he makes with his hand. He was my big brother▬the big brother to most of us, and he was the best big brother any of us could ask for. 

     The moment Lee arrived at Camp and saw an eight-year-old girl with maturity far greater than most her age, ambition, stubbornness, determination (and maybe some anger issues), he took me under his wing. For the first time since Luke, there was someone else who seemed to understand me with unconditional care. From that moment on, I haven't been able to get rid of Lee and his overprotective nature, hair ruffles and ability to ground me to The Corner when I smacked Michael Yew a little too hard.

    (No one liked The Corner. It was the perfect form of punishment with a twist worthy of Apollo. Lee had cursed one of his old baseball caps, so whenever one of us wore it and had to stand in the corner of the cabin, we were cursed to speak in terrible Limericks for three hours. It deterred us from causing trouble more than even stable duty).

      I caught up with a few of my siblings outside on the front porch of the Apollo Cabin. Lee, Michael Yew (who was my age), Will Solace (a new boy who was a few years younger than myself), and finally Ji Sung, or 'Jay' as he liked us to call him (he moved from South Korea at a young age) outside our cabin. Usually, there were a few more. Jenna and Kylie, who I knew the most, are identical twins. But they spent winter at home, going to school and such. Many demigods who weren't as powerful as others were not as easily detected by monsters, which meant that they could leave Camp Half-Blood in the winter and live normal lives (well, as normal as their lives could get). Quite a few children of Apollo fell into this category, and between winter and summer, our cabin went from around ten children to nearing fifteen with every bunk full. I tried not to be envious of demigods who could come and go annually, but it was hard▬because that was all I wanted. 

    The only time I ever got close enough to that▬to actually believe that maybe I'd have a chance at experiencing a normal life; a life where I could go to school, and movie theatres, and to have a childhood like every other mortal was Hannah Kirk. Hannah Kirk was the most amazing demigod ever. After about a few years after I came to Camp, an older camper visited as per Chiron's request. Hannah Kirk was a daughter of Hermes, and when we met, we clicked. She got so close to me that she asked whether I wanted to live with her during the winter▬she would enroll me into school, let me take drama and singing lessons, and always told me I could become a famous singer if I put my mind to it. She knew of my powers, and what happened to me, and wanted to give me a childhood. She talked to Chiron, and he had agreed. That winter, I went home with her and attended school in third grade. For a short while, it had been perfect. Until a nasty monster attack at school music rehearsal set fire to the school and almost killed me, and I had to return to Camp Half-Blood all year around. I've been too scared to go back▬because it made me realise that I was a danger to her and her mortal boyfriend. If I went back, they could get killed. Just like Thalia. 

      "Are you ready now, Claire?" said Lee, his brows raised. 

      I scoffed and nodded, rolling my eyes. "Raring to go, Lee," subtle sarcasm slipped off my tongue with ease as I fixed my windbreaker. 

      "All right then, let's get to breakfast."

      We started to walk down the hill towards the pavilion.

      "Who's checking the cabins today?" muttered Jay from beside me, and I winced when I remembered.

      "Aphrodite."

      Jay groaned. "Oh, you got to be kidding me."

      As we walked, I looked around the Camp. The sun glared in the sky, shimmering against the golden Apollo cabin, making it glint so brightly it was almost blinding. All the cabins surrounded the big bonfire in a 'U' shape. Zeus and Hera's cabins were the largest, standing tall at the top of the hill. Each cabin was unique to resemble each God on Olympus. For example, the Ares cabin was painted red and had barbed wire around it, and the Aphrodite cabin was like a Barbie dollhouse. Whoever designed these cabins wasn't exactly the most original creative thinker, but each cabin, no matter their evident stereotypes, had a certain charm that couldn't be replaced.

      A lot of campers didn't know who their godly parent was. The only way to know who your godly mother or father was was to be claimed by them. I was lucky to know who my father was before I came to camp, thanks to Thalia and Luke, and as soon as I stepped through the boundary, I was claimed. For those unlucky ones, who are 'undetermined'▬still waiting to be claimed. Or those who are children of minor gods and goddesses▬stay in the Hermes cabin with Luke and his siblings.

       When we reached the pavilion, nearly every table was filled. Much like our cabins, we were all separated and grouped by our godly parents whenever we trained, competed in games and even when we ate. We weren't allowed to cross the floor to another cabin's table. I wasn't exactly sure if that was a real rule, but perhaps it was more of an unspoken one. As soon as you were claimed (or not claimed), you were given a place to belong, and you stayed there until certain activities called for the chance to mix between cabins. The empty ones were Zeus and Poseidon, since they had no children at camp, and Artemis, who was a maiden goddess▬though whenever her Huntresses visit, her cabin and table were reserved for them. I wasn't that hungry. But I took the small plate of grapes the nymph offered me and made my way to the hearth (mostly because I was afraid Lee might just curse me for not having breakfast▬"The most important meal of the day!" he said like some fretful grandmother), throwing half my food into the fire. It was an offering to the Gods.

      "I hope you like the smell of grapes, Dad," I muttered, deciding to chuck one more singular grape in. "Maybe an extra one might make you help me. I bet not."

       The word 'Different' meant something else entirely to me, even among a whole Camp filled with the children of Greek gods and goddesses. Even among my siblings. I've heard people use the word 'special' or 'gifted' to define me▬a 'Chosen' child gifted a power no other child of Apollo has ever had before, or at least in a good millennia. Everyone wanted what they couldn't have. But while everyone couldn't stop trying to single me out, deep down, none of them wanted to carry the burden of being picked by the Gods to be so powerful, monsters and even the Olympians and minor deities would give anything to try and kill. It was a death sentence disguised by the promise of glory▬and I knew it was a death sentence the moment I saw the Camp Activities Director, Chiron's face fall when I showed him the way I could control light around me, as if he had arrived early at my funeral. No six-year-old would ever be able to forget that. 

      It's a curse. A heavyweight on my shoulders I can never get rid of, and what made me even angrier was the fact that when Apollo gave me these powers in that alleyway, he just left afterwards, with no help or advice▬he left me to my own devices. A six-year-old. But to the gods, all we meant to them was simply another pawn on their chessboard and nothing more.

      The day was the usual routine. Nothing really special happened unless you counted Connor and Travis Stoll of the Hermes cabin pranking a few Athena kids with fake spiders and the Athena kids chasing them around the camp with swords and daggers. But that was often a weekly occurrence.

      It was free time, and I sat watching my brothers and sisters shoot hoops. No matter how much I wanted to experience a normal life between summers like so many campers I knew, Camp Half-Blood wasn't a half-bad place to call home. It was beautiful. I grew up here. Located amongst the thick forests on Long Island, surrounded by hills and tall tree tops, it was like stepping into a hidden paradise every time. A secret garden, a mythical hideaway, a wondrous sanctuary filled with memories close to my heart. Like smores and sing-alongs at the amphitheatre with embers from the campfire floating up towards the night sky surrounded by dark spruce trees, wasting time in the strawberry fields near the Big House, and late nights sneaking out towards the Arts and Crafts building with my siblings. Demigods filled the training fields with life, learning to swordfight in the arena, shoot a bow and arrow at the range, practicing their balancing skills at the Lava Wall or even taking the pegasuses for a ride overhead. The lake's water was clearer than any other, with water nymphs that cheekily splashed you if you got too close, and volleyball courts were satyrs who competed against the children of Apollo (and lost every time). It was always an adventure, a secret cove frozen forever in summer that was protected from rain and snow where the grass was so soft it was like lying on clouds. Past the forests was the beach, where on the Fourth of July, the night sky was lit up with fireworks, and the long stretch of sand was where you could take a break from the daily chaos, breathe in the ocean air and feel at peace. 

     Boots crunched grass underfoot beside me, and I looked away from the intense game in front of me to glance upwards. I smiled when I saw Annabeth Chase. Despite her soft princess curly blonde hair that was often a signature for children of Athena, she was no soft princess. Her grey eyes glinted like sharpened steel in the afternoon sky, and her mind was even sharper. 

      "You're not joining in?" She asked, nodding at the rest of the Apollo cabin. I shook my head.

      "Nah, I don't feel like it," I said. "Any more luck with what Chiron said?"

      Annabeth huffed a frustrated sigh and sat down beside me. She hugged her knees to her chest, frowning up at the storm that was brewing towards the ocean outside the camp barrier. "Whoever this special kid is, I don't think he'll be coming anytime soon." She grumbled, placing her chin on the palm of her hand. "I just want a quest so bad. To prove myself."

    I pursed my lips. Annabeth has wanted a quest since▬well▬forever. She was eager to prove herself worthy to her mother, Athena, the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. Every demigod wanted glory attached to their name, to be noticed by our parents. But Annabeth desired it more than most. The problem was, however, that there's never been another quest since Luke's. Since he barely managed to return alive, Chiron prohibited any more quests▬they were way too dangerous. But when you faced danger at every point in your life and trained to survive every day you wake up, there was a restless determination and need to use what you learnt out in the unknown, no matter if it could get you killed or not. In some sick way, that made the urge even greater. 

      "I dunno about Chiron and Mr. D," I decided to say, nudging Annabeth with my elbow. "But you sure proved yourself to me when you scared Travis and Connor out of their wits with your dagger."

      Chiron and Mr. D are our Camp directors. One was a centaur, the other, the God of wine and grapevines.

      The child of Athena chuckled. "Well, they had it coming."

       Annabeth and I have been as thick as thieves ever since Luke, Thalia, and I found her alone at seven▬in such a circumstance so similar to mine; there was no way two seven-year-olds didn't become the closest of friends. We grew up together. She was like a sister to me, and I was to her.

      When the night continued to get closer, I gave my hand a tiny flick. A small ball of light appeared, floating in the air. Annabeth and I stared at it thoughtfully, and I had a feeling we were both thinking the same thing.

      "My dream is still happening, yes," I answered her question, and she frowned.

      "I didn't ask you anything▬"

      "You didn't need to."

      For a few weeks, I've been having a dream. Most people would dismiss dreams as nothing, but when a demigod had a dream, it was never a good omen. It usually was an insight into the future or the gods attempting to communicate with us▬and that often meant that something big was going to happen.

       In my dream, a boy with a Minotaur horn comes to camp. The Minotaur is a ruthless monster. For a demigod to not just arrive in my dreams but to have somehow slain the Minotaur, which was a chance many of us have begged the gods to be given, it had to be important. There was only one reason I would be dreaming about him▬and it excited me. Coincidences never existed in our world▬everything was connected. Someone with my powers seeing a boy who had slain one of the most dangerous, most infamous beasts of mythology in my dreams was a sign. The first sign I've had since forever. This boy, whoever he was, had to know the answer to the question I've been asking for years: the reason why I was given them. I was sure of it▬or maybe I was eager to believe it. Annabeth believes that the boy in my dream and the boy Chiron told her about were the same person, and so we were both waiting for him to rock to camp and help us. Every new camper that has arrived in the past few weeks, I had begged and pleaded and prayed to the gods for it to be the boy with the Minotaur Horn. I watched them until I was sure▬and every time, I was disappointed.

     Because it was more than that. If he was the same person Annabeth believed him to be▬the boy from the prophecy we heard as children, a child of the Big Three, the first forbidden child since Thalia, then the nightmares we've shared ever since would start to become a reality.

      Absentmindedly, my hand started to fiddle with my camp necklace. Each bead represented how long I've been at camp.

      "How long do you think we'll have to wait?" I asked quietly, glancing at Annabeth beside me. Her frown softened to see a rare fractured vulnerability in my eyes.

      She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know, Claire. I don't know."

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      THE NEXT DAY, I woke to a pillow hitting my face. I grumbled, annoyed.

      "Jay!" I smacked the pillow away from my face. It landed near Will, who was tending to the yellow flowers by the window sill. They were from Delos, our father's sacred island, and could only grow in this cabin. Will jumped when the pillow landed at his feet, almost dropping the watering can. He sent a short glare in my direction.

      "You weren't waking up! Breakfast is in a few minutes," Jay's head dropped down from his top bunk above mine. He was dressed in his usual attire▬an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt and khaki shorts.

      I grumbled and resisted the urge to grab my pillow, climb up to the top bunk and smack Jay with it. I had another dream last night▬and it felt clearer than ever. Annabeth was starting to lose hope▬that he would never come. But I hadn't. I couldn't give up hope. I needed him to show up sooner rather than later. The sight of The Corner in my peripheral made my urge for pillow-violence soften, and I pulled my blankets back. I sat up in bed. "Who's on infirmary?"

      "You and Kylie. She and Jenna arrived last night," said Will▬annoyingly chirpy this early in the morning. He plopped the watering can down on the windowsill and threw back my pillow. I caught it before I'd get smacked in the face for the second time. "The Hermes cabin has Lava Climbing today; we all know how that's going to end."

      I sighed, grabbing my brush from my bedside table and running it through my blonde hair. "Travis and Connor should be banned from that."

      "Oh, I'm not too sure," Jenna's voice made me jump and glance over her shoulder. A short, curly-haired brunette walked out of the girls' bathroom door with a small dreamy smile on her face. "Luke does his fair share of mischief, too."

      "Oh, here we go again," from the other side of the room, an identical voice muttered from her bed. The only way to tell the difference between Jenna and Kylie was the length of their hair. Kylie's was much longer than Jenna's, and she often liked to dye strands with different colours in the girls' bathroom sink. Jenna narrowed her eyes at her sister, not appreciating her teasing comment.

       Luke Castellan was the head of the Hermes Cabin. Tall, nineteen with sandy blond hair and a mischievous, lop-sided grin▬He was the perfect dream-boy of many of the older campers and the perfect role model for the younger campers. His charisma made him popular, his skills formidable, and he was one of the few demigods at Camp Half-Blood who earned the glory he was praised for. The only thing that wasn't perfect about Luke was the long, jagged scar across his face he got a while back on a quest. Annabeth idolised him, and I didn't blame her. Luke was funny, he was kind, he was loyal▬more importantly, he was the first real family I've ever had in my life. He looked after me, he protected me. Out on those streets with Thalia, Luke helped raise me▬he taught me everything I knew, from math problems to how to read and write and even fight. Luke wasn't just a friend, a mentor, or someone I idolised; he was family in a way stronger than the same water of our mothers and the golden ichor of our fathers. Just like he promised he would be the moment we first met. 

      Jay leapt down from the top bunk. "Better get ready, Claire. Otherwise, Lee's gonna put you in The Corner▬" he said this menacingly with waggling fingers in my face. 

     (It was a fate of embarrassment worse than the Fields of Punishment none of us wanted). 

      I forced myself to wake up, grabbing a pair of denim shorts and my camp shirt and headed to the bathroom.

     First up on our timetable was archery▬an activity most of us excelled at. Usually, we had Chiron teaching us, but he was at a school in Manhattan with Grover for a top-secret demigod mission. So, instead, Lee and Michael stood up to the role▬both of them were amazing shooters. While all of us could at least shoot an arrow straight, archery wasn't the only thing Apollo was known for▬and every one of us was just as unique and diverse as our father's talents. For example, Will and Kylie were really well known for their healing abilities; Jenna and Jay loved music and could play almost any instrument they picked up; and Hailey Maddison, Erin Pitt and Sebastian June were poets at heart, and when their heart was a little wicked, they could make you speak in rhymes for weeks. But even if someone wasn't naturally gifted at these things, Apollo's children were great at learning a new talent, too. I knew this better than anyone. 

     When I first came to camp, I wasn't good at archery. I couldn't write a single poem. I couldn't draw, was a terrible healer, missed every volleyball shot and had no musical bone in my body. All I had was my powers, and I hated it. I didn't feel like I fit in with my siblings, so I practiced. I kept practicing, training, and learning▬I had so much time on my hands that I tried to pick up every talent I could. Maybe it was a desperate attempt to be liked, to be noticed, to have nothing about me that could give someone the reason to ... to leave me, again, I guess. 

     (Everyone had to like you if you had no faults, right? No one would abandon me if I was perfect ... right?)

      Slowly, I pulled the string back on my bow. The butt end of the arrow sat just behind my ear. I narrowed my eyes and focused on the target.

      "Everyone ready?" called out Lee, and everyone around me all replied with a loud "Yep" or "Yes." "Okay then, fire!"

      I let the arrow loose. The shaft whizzed through the air and landed on the side of the bullseye mark. I sighed, dropping my bow to my side.

      "Good one," said Jay from beside me, and I shrugged.

      "It didn't hit the middle."

      "Mine wasn't anywhere near, so stop whining," said Kylie loudly from my other side. I glanced over at her.

      I remembered all the times Kylie whined about all the hymns she had to remember for healing. "You literally whine all the time!"

      "Touché," replied Kylie.

      "Claire!"

      We all turned around to see Silena Beauregard from the Aphrodite cabin run towards us. Her beautiful black hair flew behind her. The Aphrodite cabin always amazed me how they could wear a simple orange shirt and denim shorts and make it look like it belongs to America's Next Top Model. Everyone often liked to underestimate the children of the goddess of love▬that was their mistake. The Aphrodite cabin was just as mischievous as the Hermes cabin, especially when it came to trying to win at Capture the Flag.

      "Claire!" She said again, and I tilted my head.

      "What?"

      She stopped running. "Chiron's back, he wants to see you."

      "Chiron's back?" asked Will.

      "It's the day before the summer holidays, of course, he's back." The daughter of Aphrodite replied smartly, and Will threw his hands up in surrender.

      "Why does he want to see me?" I asked.

      Silena shrugged. "Something about the secret mission, dreaming ... Mr. D was yelling at his arcade game so I couldn't hear much."

      "No, it's okay," I passed my bow to Jay. "I'll see you guys at lunch?"

      They all nodded, and I started to make my way to the Big House.

      The Big House was a large, old blue Victorian building with a wraparound porch that always creaked underfoot. It had three stories with an attic where the Oracle of Delphi and a bunch of trophies heroes have collected over the many years called home. The infirmary was also located in the side wing of the Big House, and further inside on the second floor were Chiron's and Mr. D's living quarters. On the ground floor, near a cozy fireplace, was an awesome sitting room with a live leopard head on the wall and a bunch of arcade games. Cabin counsellor meetings were also held in the game room of the Big House▬though the shenanigans that went down in those meetings were a mystery to me.  

      I walked inside and was greeted by Chiron and Annabeth already sitting on the lounge and chairs. Annabeth was softly munching on an Oreo.

      "Claire," Chiron smiled. His horse legs were hidden in his magical wheelchair, and a pair of fake human legs covered in a quilt blanket replaced them. "Come and sit. Have a cookie."

      Slowly, I took the seat beside Annabeth, taking a small chocolate chip cookie from the plate on the coffee table. Annabeth and I were close with Chiron. After being at Camp for so long, and through the winter as well, I suppose somewhere along the line, we managed to find some comfort in Chiron's company and advice. Not that I knew what it was like to have a father, but ... I guess if I could describe it, I immediately thought of Chiron.

      "I asked you and Annabeth here to discuss your dreams." He then said, his hands in his lap. "I believe they have gotten more vivid over the past few days?"

      I nodded. "Yeah, they have. But something different happened last night." I said, and Chiron leaned forward in interest. "They mention something that was stolen and that it can only be returned by the Summer Solstice."

      "Hmm," murmured the old Centaur. "That's surely important. Summer Solstice ... how long does that give us?"

      "A few weeks," answered Annabeth.

      Chiron's eyes seemed to grow darker before he sighed and shifted his position in his wheelchair. The centaur was thousands of years old, and at this moment, he suddenly looked his age. "You two should get back to your classes. I'll have a chat with Mr D before anything gets serious."

      "But what does it mean?" I asked him. I knew he knew more about what was stolen and what my dream meant, but he refused to say anything.

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      IT WAS LATE AT NIGHT, and everyone was asleep except for me. I found myself cleaning up around the infirmary, stacking vails of Nectar and boxes of Ambrosia (food of the Gods, small proportions help us heal) neatly, and making sure patients were sleeping well. There were only two in at the moment. Mason, an "unclaimed" Hermes boy who fell from the Lava Wall, and Xavier, an Ares boy who was shot by a stray arrow in the leg.

      I let out a yawn, rubbing my eyes. I would have gone back ages ago, but being alone in a place like an infirmary helps me think. Chiron knew I did this, and he allowed it as long as I didn't stay too late. He always stayed up late himself, and I knew he did it to keep an eye on me from his study. 

      It was about ten at night. The infirmary was quiet▬peaceful and cozy▬but it was also comforting. I didn't know how to explain it, and I felt stupid saying it out loud to anyone else, but being in the infirmary made me feel closer to Apollo. My dad rarely spoke to me▬if ever. But being here where his power hovered and lingered like the dust on the cupboard shelves made me feel like he was here, too. I could brood over my thoughts and come back out with a clearer head like my Dad was somehow listening, even though I knew he wasn't.

     I refilled the last box of Ambrosia and stood up onto the stool to push it back onto the shelf, my mind swimming with troubling thoughts over the Summer Solstice and my dreams. 

     When the infirmary suddenly lit up with blinding white light at the harsh crack of lightning. I jumped. I spun around, frowning out of the windows to stare at the night sky that growled and rumbled with thunder rolling over the clouds. The night sky turned to day once again when fork lightning danced across the sky overhead, and the craziest thing happened: Rain started to pour. 

     Rain pelted against the windows. The wind howled, and thunder crashed. I was shocked to silence, staring with my jaw slack and my breath hitched. It never rained at Camp, and it never snowed. Every storm and every grey cloud passed around us like we were locked in a globe▬just like we were protected from monsters, we were protected from the weather caused by the wrath of the gods. 

     Until now.

    I heard the yelling. At first, I thought it was the wind, but then it returned▬a desperate cry through the trees and over the hills in the pitch black night. Frowning, I ran to the window and looked out. Lightning cracked like a gunshot and I could see them as clearly as day. There at the edge of the wood were two figures. One was a boy, his jet black hair flat to his face. The other was a satyr, and I could tell it was Grover.

      "Chiron!" I shouted out, but he was already there, making his way out of his study.

      "I heard yelling." He said, and I pointed to the window.

      "Two people, one's Grover. The other's a boy."

      Chiron frowned, and both of us made our way quickly outside to the front deck. I skidded to a stop at the edge of the wrap-around porch, frowning out through the vicious, horrible storm. I felt rain pelt at me sideways, drenching my clothes, but I didn't move. The boy continued to get closer▬he was dragging Grover at his side, struggling with his unconscious dead weight, his knees starting to buckle, and his voice growing weary with exhaustion. He couldn't be any older than me. Something twisted deep in the pit of my stomach▬it made my heart skip a beat with anticipation.

      He finally made his way to the deck, dragging Grover along with him. The boy collapsed at the porch steps. I rushed to his side, crouching down and turning him over. He was still conscious▬but barely. I locked his dazed stare and saw eyes so sea-green; it was like I was staring into the deepest depths of the ocean. I glanced down, and my heart leapt in my chest. I thought I was dreaming.

     There, gripped tightly in his hands, was the Minotaur horn.

      "He's the one," I whispered, unable to believe it. My heart pounded, and I looked up at Chiron, eyes bright. "He must be!"

     "Silence, Claire," Chiron said, and I held my breath. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."

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    a/n (2024): i tried to keep the same simple easy read charm you have with the pjo books with my own style and imagery, but it was hard lol cos it's been agesssss since i've written in first person heh. it was also hard to keep the same bones of this chapter and improve it because 13 year old me just wasn't good at dialogue and descriptions lol. 

    god, percy and claire are so young here i'm a little emotional. they were twelve once guys, where did all that time go? i can't believe it. claire's grown so much as a character. 

    i tried to flesh out some of the context i washed over in this chapter, which is why it's a lot longer now that i know where the story goes etc. it's still very tell and not showing rn because that was just the nature of this book at the start, and when you're doing context in first person, you are telling the reader what is happening, your character's story etc because its as if the character themselves is retelling the narrative to the reader. the pjo books are like this, too. i hope that there is an improvement within this chapter despite all of this tho. 

     i can't break the fourth wall with my foreshadowing and imagery as easily as i can with third person than in first person and i am frustration. 

    (i can't watch the tv show without thinking of claire. simoultaneously i'm seeing the og series come to life, and my first ever fic on here come to life as well <3). 

     (this is edited, but i'm actually hopeless and adhd so there are still going to be mistakes i'm sorry).