It's impossible to forget the moment you know your twin brother is dead. That's one of the problems with being Tempest Jackson.
My name kind of contrasts my personality, not to mention that my personality also contrasts my brother's. Or, it did. Before he didn't make it back from our last quest in the Labyrinth.
We looked almost identical, with the same black hair and sea green eyes. My hair was cut longer, pretty much the only way you could tell I was the girl. We were so different in temperament, though; I was the always the calmer one, the quieter one. It took a lot to make me angry. And although I was named for a storm, I had the gentler power, too. Whereas Percy could manipulate the ocean currents, I controlled the sea winds. Any breeze that carried a hint of the ocean was mine to command.
That gift is probably the only reason Annabeth and I are alive right now. While the three of us were trying to escape the telekhines' forge, the mountain exploded. I didn't know what Percy was going to do, but I had enough faith in him to run when he told me to. Annabeth and I were halfway down the volcano when everything became fire. On some instinct I didn't know I had, I gathered enough of the sea breezes to catch Annabeth as she started to fall. I tried as hard as I could to grab Percy with them too, but he was too far away, and I wasn't good enough. The winds I sent couldn't reach. As we fell, I blacked out from the effort. I don't know what happened. All I know is that when I woke up, Percy was gone.
Now every day I wake up, and I feel lost. Every day, a part of me is missing. Every day for two weeks I've come down to the highest point of the beach near camp, because if my prayers are answered and he comes back, I will see him first. Annabeth waited with me sometimes. We tried so hard to believe he was alive, but it didn't work. The connection I used to feel had been snapped. He was gone. After a while, I think it was easier for her to be with her siblings. I had nowhere else to go, so day after day I sat there, only going back to camp to eat and sleep.
Even though I know somewhere inside of me that he's gone, I don't want to stop hoping. So I'm here, still waiting and watching instead of being at the funeral. I can't bring myself to be there. It's too final. It means we've given up.
I can hear what they're saying from my spot on the beach, though. Chiron and Annabeth are talking about how brave he was, how he died a hero. Suddenly, I can't listen anymore. I stir up the winds, whipping them into a frenzy, churning the ocean. I can't hear anything over the rushing now, the wind has become so powerful. Too powerful. I'm actually rising a few inches off the ground, caught in a cloud of swirling grey. I fight to calm the sea down, dispel the hurricane I'm creating, but I can't. It's feeding on my panic and pain. I've lost all control. I scream with sheer terror, and the sound is ripped away before I even hear it.
And then, suddenly, something is taking control back. Some force is calming the waves, shrinking the storm, the tempest I've made. I crash to the ground, gasping for breath. The someone that saved me holds out a hand and I take it, hauling myself off the sand. And then my eyes travel upward, taking in the messy black hair, the blue-green eyes, and the uncharacteristic look of concern. It's him.
"Oh my gods," I choke out. I'm shaking now. "Percy. You-you're alive."
"Yeah. I'm alive. What in Hades happened here, Tem?" He gestures to the now-calm water.
I'm caught off guard, not by the question, but the realization that's finally hitting me. He's really here. He really survived. "I...I lost control."
"Obviously." My obnoxious, ridiculous brother actually has the audacity to smirk at that. Now, I know I said I don't get mad a lot, but this time, I slap him in the face.
"What was that for?!" he protests.
"I thought you were dead for two whole weeks and you come back here and do that!" I calm my escalating voice, releasing the winds that had started to gather again with my anger. The tears start to fall, but this time they're tears of happiness, of the most beautiful relief. "I'm sorry. I'm so glad you're back. Never leave me like that. It almost killed me too." I wrap him in a hug.
"All right. I promise I won't almost-die again without letting you know." My face splits into a grin. For the first time in these horrible few weeks, I feel whole.
"Now go up there and see Annabeth. Just be careful. If you think I'm angry..."
But he's already running up the path to the camp. Laughing, I jog after him. He will never learn to be safe. But that's what you get when you have a brother like Percy Jackson.