Chapter One

We go to Mount Olympus

Nothing exciting had happened at Camp Half-Blood lately. We stuck to our everyday routines and it was all madly monotonous. I almost jumped up and down like a little kid when Chiron told us we would be going on a field trip to Mount Olympus for the winter solstice.

I went around camp for a walk, hand-in-hand, with Luke. We went inside the woods and sat on our usual spot in front of the creek.

"I'm so glad we're going on a field trip," I told Luke. "It feels good to be out of here for a while."

"Yeah," he agreed. He wrapped his arm around me so I could rest my head on his shoulder. He leaned his head to the side and put it on top of mine. It was just perfect.

We just sat in silence for a while, enjoying the moment, the beautiful setting, the peaceful atmosphere. Regularly, we would do this, but I never got tired of it. Being here alone with Luke was something that never got boring. Not even slightly. I guess that when you are with someone that you love, nothing seems boring.

The nymphs and naiads watched us but continued doing whatever it was that they did. They smiled and I did too.

My name is Cassandra Lanter― Cassie for short. I am seventeen years old and I am a demigod. Apollo, the god of music, healing, prophecies, archery, light, truth and the sun, is my father.

When I came to Camp Half-Blood when I was twelve, I had been staying only for the summer. That all changed when Luke, who is two years older than me, and I decided to take our relationship to the next level. We have been together ever since I was thirteen and I had chosen to stay in the camp year-round to be with him.

I closed my eyes, feeling content.

"You know, this is really nice," I said. "Being here, just the two of us."

He squeezed me a little tighter. "Yeah, it's very nice," he agreed. His tone was different. His behavior had been a little odd since the past few weeks.

"Are you alright?" I finally asked. "I've been meaning to ask you. You've been a little weird lately."

He sighed and shook his head. "It's nothing, really," he assured. "I've got a bit of a headache. I haven't been sleeping well."

"You're still having trouble sleeping?"

"I keep having these dreams. But I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all." He had told me about that but he wouldn't tell me what the dreams were about.

"Luke," I turned so I could see his face. "That isn't good; you have to get some sleep. Why don't you tell Chiron? Maybe he―"

"No, it's okay. No need to make such a fuss over this," he cut me off.

"I'm just worried…"

He tilted my head up. His blue eyes stared right into mine.

"I'll be fine, okay? You don't need to worry about me, it creases up your pretty face," he said.

I flushed tomato red and he brought his lips to mine.

As always, that made me forget about everything. He knew it and that's why he had done it. He had such a devious mind.

"I can't believe I always fall for that," I said.

"Fall for what?" he said, smug.

"Your attempts at swooning me," I answered.

He chuckled. "Well, I don't know," he said. His tone was playful. "Tell me when you figure it out."

"I will."

And with a gasp, our lips met again.

That night, after I gave my burnt offering to my father, I went to sit with my brothers and sisters. We joked while we ate and talked about how excited we were for going to Mount Olympus.

Actually, the exciting part for us year-rounders was being able to get out of this place for a day. We had already been there a couple of times for previous Winter Solstices.

Occasionally, I would take a glance at the Hermes table and found Luke looking at me. I smiled and he did too and then continued to stare at me dreamily.

When dinner was over and every cabin was getting out of the dining pavilion, I went with Luke. Holding hands, we walked towards the cabins so he could take me to mine.

As we passed Luke's cabin, memories of when I had first come to camp and had to stay there, swept through me. Those had been nice days. I remembered sneaking out at night with Luke, trying not to get caught by Mr. D or Chiron, so we could go to the creek.

When we got to my cabin, we stopped in front of it. We turned and faced each other.

Luke had that tired look on his face. It really worried me that he wasn't getting any sleep. He smiled but I could see the weakness behind it, like he had forced it a little. The scar that ran under his eye glistened in the moonlight, making him seem almost evil.

"I'll be here first thing in the morning," he promised. "Sleep well."

"You too," I said.

He nodded and pressed his lips very gently against mine, knocking the breath out of me and leaving me still hyperventilating when I got inside.

The next morning I woke up early. When I went outside, Luke was already there waiting for me.

He gave me a faint smile, but he looked better than yesterday. I went towards him and threw my arms around his neck comfortingly.

I kissed him lightly and when I was going to part our lips, he brought them together again. Odd.

When we separated I asked, "You alright?"

He just nodded.

"Did you get some sleep?" I asked.

"Yeah, I slept better," he answered.

I smiled at him, relieved that he had at least slept. I gave him a hug and he wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing me carefully against his body.

"Ready?" he asked.

I nodded and we went for a morning walk while I waited for my siblings that were getting ready.

The field trip went well. I had seen my father, my grandfather, Zeus, and my aunt, Artemis. I still couldn't believe that I was related to such powerful beings.

The only weird thing was the weather afterwards. The sky had severely darkened and it had filled with dark clouds. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed. The wind blew strong and it looked like a storm was beginning to form.

It was like that for the next few months. Chiron even started leaving and came back to camp occasionally. I had this weird feeling that something was very wrong but nobody else had seemed to notice.

I was walking at the beach. Luke was with me and we walked around the shore holding hands. The sea was nice and calm but I could see a couple of gray clouds on the horizon: a storm drawing near.

The next thing I knew, the storm clouds had come close to the shore and it had started to rain. The wind made my wet hair stick to my face.

"Um, Luke," I pulled his arm, my gaze still fixed on the raging sea next to us. "We should get out of here."

He didn't say anything so I looked at him and found out that it wasn't Luke who held my hand. It was another boy. He was very handsome and had piercing blue eyes, ivory skin and black, shaggy hair that stuck, damp, to his pretty face.

There was no time for me to wonder who he was or where he had come from. We had to get out of there as soon as possible.

The wind blew harder now and the rain poured heavier than before, making it difficult for me to see.

He took a step forward and stood in front of me protectively, like if I was going to get hurt. My eyes scanned the area, searching.

In the distance, I caught a glimpse of a shadow. There was someone standing there, holding something that was glowing fiercely. The person raised an arm and a spark came in our direction. As it came closer and more visible, I realized it was lightning.

The boy in front of me raised his hands. I saw the water beginning to rise, making a huge wave the size of a skyscraper. With a movement of his hands, the water came toward us and created a wall that served as a shield. It blocked the lightning before it could hit us and the wall dropped.

The other person started to come closer. The guy in front of me made another wave and with a hand motion, directed it towards the other guy. The silhouette became clearer and I saw that he was a guy, too. He was forced to fall on the sand by the water.

When the water stopped pushing him, he coughed out water and stumbled to get on his feet.

"He will rise again. Join us and he will spare your lives," the guy with the glowing stick said. His voice sounded oddly familiar but I couldn't quite say from whom it was.

"You betrayed us," the boy in front of me answered. "There's no way we'll join you. Just give me the bolt back."

"I can't let you return it. That would ruin our plans," he raised his arm, aiming with the stick in our direction. "Besides, you've already taken something that belonged to me. Now we're even. You'll be punished. The gods will think you're the lightning thief."

Lightning struck, parting the sky, and the light that came from it made a large scar on the boy's face glisten. I felt his gaze on me but I couldn't see his face clearly.

"If you really are a son of the Big Three, you'll have a chance at stopping me," the scarred boy said and lightning came from the bolt in our direction.