I moved into the Poseidon cabin immediately that night. Chiron allowed Hayden to help me move my things while everyone else got to finish their s'mores and sing a few more cheesy songs. I felt like I was being exiled while a million pairs of eyes were on me.

Hayden wasn't very talkative during the move, unlike me, who couldn't shut up when there's an elephant in the room. I chatted away about stupid, mundane things (like "The marshmallows tonight were extra gooey" and "Do you think that cute Aphrodite guy is a natural blonde?") in an attempt to ignore the problem.

I was not successful.

We finished loading up my stuff into my new trunk faster than I thought we would. I was putting the last of my camp shirts into the chest, yapping away about the ugly orthopedic clogs that the Aphrodite kids were wearing. Hayden was still quiet; I didn't know if she was listening or not.

"So," I said, closing the lid of my trunk. "Back there, at the campfire. That was… what was that, exactly?"

Hayden didn't respond directly. She traced her finger on the wave carvings on the hood of the chest.

"This isn't right," she mumbled.

I glared at her, feeling slightly defensive. "What do you mean 'this isn't right'?"

She was silent.

Then, I realized why she wasn't speaking to me. I fought to keep down the anger that was building in my throat. "You knew, didn't you? The other day when you had that vision, you saw that this would happened."

No response.

"You knew that Poseidon was my…" I couldn't say it. Didn't want to confront it.

"I don't know…" She faltered. "This is so messed up."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's complicated, Kaia. You wouldn't understand if I told you."

Wouldn't understand…? I felt the anger rise again, trying to explode out of me like a volcano. I wasn't just mad at Hayden, but at Poseidon and the whole messed up situation.

I pushed the anger down, and tried to control my voice. "Look, you should go. Before the harpies come out."

She looked hurt, and I felt a pang of guilt. Hayden didn't argue with me and left, closing the door softly behind her.

Maybe I was too harsh. I felt a little bad about kicking Hayden out, but I was mad at her, too, and I wasn't in the mood to apologize.

I didn't look around my new room very much, but I counted the six bunk beds and noted the abalone walls.

I climbed into the bunk across from a bed that had a backpack on it (obviously Percy's) and sat there, my back to the wall and my legs hanging over the sides. I always wanted to sleep on the top bunk, but now it didn't feel so great. With Chalk in my arms I remembered what it was like flying on an airplane, feeling small and scared. Felling like things were out of my control. I felt like a child.

My emotions felt jumbled up and all over the place. Anger, confusion, fear, and sadness all fought for dominance in my mind. It was giving me a headache.

All of a sudden things had spiraled out of control. I prayed for answers, and now that I got them I wanted to forget all about them. Burn them out of my mind. I wasn't prepared for the harsh truth.

Poseidon was my father. That had to be a cruel joke.

When my mom was young, practically my age, she had lost her mother and her boat home in a hurricane. She and my grandfather spent several years homeless; living in a tent and surviving off of nothing but fish most of the time because of that.

And now, knowing that somehow Poseidon had… my stomach churned in disgust.

Thinking about it now, I don't know how I couldn't have seen this coming. I mean, the talking llama, the cuddly shark. The fact that I liked to surf, for gods sake! How cliché was that? I was born a full day after Alana. Before, I never understood how that was possible, but now it made sense.

A week ago I didn't believe in gods, now I had accepted it with hesitation. Now that meant that I had to accept that my dad wasn't my dad.

Being claimed did the opposite of what I thought it would do. It cemented my place here at camp. As much as I've grown to love camp, I still miss my normal life; bickering with Alana, goofing with my classmates, seeing Axel and my friends.

How could I face my dad after this knowing that he wasn't my real father? I could never tell him that. All the years of people being surprised that my dad was my father were a thousand times more painful now.

I wanted to crying, but I held it back. I didn't want Percy to come in and see me blubbering like a baby.

I let out a deep sigh. My body shuddered. Against my will, a few tears trickled down my cheeks.

My eyelids grew heavy. I fell asleep, sitting upright against the wall, clutching my childhood toy.

That night, I dreamt of a hurricane.

The storm washed an entire city in a gray filter. Rain came down in heavy sheets, slanted by the force of the wind. Palm trees were bent almost near the breaking point. Violent waves rose three and four stories high, sweeping away cars and anyone unlucky enough to get caught. Lightning struck the sea and shore, sending salt water and sand flying into the chaos.

I spotted a boat in the middle of the rocky waters. On it, a girl struggled to stand without falling over when the wind suddenly slung her across the deck, her terror filled cries drowned out by the wind. Metal debris flew around her and hit her in the shoulder, knocking her over.

Another wave rose, towering over the small boat. I screamed, but there was nothing I could do. The boat capsized and went under. No one could have survived that.

The image faded to the same girl standing at the beach. Rubbish from destroyed homes and flattened cars cluttered around her. Her fist were clenched, eyes full of tears. She screamed, spewing words of hatred and disgust.

She let out a gut retching sob. A dark haired man walked up behind her and placed a hand on her wounded shoulder. He looked down at her with sympathy.

The girl didn't budge and continued to cry as if the man wasn't there at all.

The next day everyone who never gave me a second glance seemed to be interested in me, while a few of my friends seemed to avoid me. Everyone either treated being the child of Poseidon like a great honor or like a death sentence, and I couldn't figure out why.

Apparently the reason I got so much hype was because when Percy first came to camp at twelve, he managed to save his unconscious satyr friend, Grover, and kill the Minotaur. A frigging Minotaur! All I did was get poisoned, fall down, and nearly die. And I thought that that was a pretty impressive feat until then.

Great, I have an older brother for less than a day, and people are already comparing us.

One of the things that I liked about camp was that I could be judged by my own merits without being compared to a super-better, wonder sibling. And by the number of accomplishments people listed about Percy meant that I could kiss that perk a hardy farewell.

Don't get me wrong, I like Percy and all, but having an instant brother was too weird. I still couldn't wrap my brain around it.

Percy took the whole "suddenly… a sister!" news a lot better than I did, but it was obvious he was as uncertain as I was. He made polite conversation, but other than that we didn't talk much during breakfast or the other morning activities. I understood why Hayden and Nico seemed so awkward around each other at first.

I left lunch early, and wandered around camp by myself. Campers watched me as I walked by, mumbling little comments behind my back like I couldn't hear them.

"…can you believe it? Poseidon…"

"…no way that she's big three material."

"…wonder what will happen to her now that she's claimed."

"…kicked me right in the shin!"

For the most part, I didn't understand what they meant. Okay, I knew what that last one was about, but I didn't get the parts about Poseidon. What was so… taboo about him. He wasn't king-of-the-universe Zeus or unpopular-and-ostracized Hades. What made him so gossip worthy?

I found myself in the center of the camp where the hearth still blazed. A little girl who I've never seen before was tending to it when she looked up and smiled and me warmly. I was so surprised that I couldn't help but smile and wave back.

Before I could question it any further, I saw Annabeth in the Athena cabin on her laptop. I figured that Annabeth could help me out with understanding all of this. She couldn't tell me anything that would make me feel any worse about the situation.

You already know I was wrong.

I knocked on the door, even though it was open. I'm kind of weird that way.

Annabeth jumped. She seemed so engrossed on whatever was on her laptop screen that I felt a little bad for tearing her away from it. When she saw me her brow furrowed.

"Kaia. Hi."

I smiled sheepishly. "Can I come in?"

"Sure. Come in."

The inside of the Athena cabin was a school room and a workshop combo. Tables and were filled with maps, blue prints, and 3D models of towers and buildings. There was a library filled with enough books and scrolls that would take me three entire life times to get through. A wall of armor was proudly displayed of one wall, a wall of SMART boards on another. All the beds were pushed to one side, which was where I found Annabeth.

"I imagine you guys don't sleep much in here," I chuckled, trying to sound casual.

Annabeth smiled patted the spot on the bed next to her. "What's up?"

I sat down and took a deep breath. "You've been here a long time, Annabeth. You understand everything that goes on, right?"

"Yeah."

"So what's the deal with Poseidon? Is there something wrong about him? I don't get it."

Annabeth frowned at me. "No one told you?"

"Told me what?"

She looked genuinely shock. She sighed sadly, brushing the hair out of her face that I now noticed was gray, and closed her laptop. I noticed a Delta symbol on the top, but I couldn't think of a company with that logo.

"After World War II," Annabeth started, "the Oracle of Delphi predicted that Olympus and the world would either be destroyed or saved by a child of the Big Three. They didn't want to take the risk, so they all swore on the River Styx to never sire anymore demigod children."

"The River Styx?"

"It's the most serious oath you can make," Annabeth explained. "The penalty for breaking it if you're mortal is… well, let's just say it's worse than death. At least, if you're mortal."

I cringed, and made a mental note to not swear on the Styx the next time I promised to pay Alana back the dollar I borrowed for gum.

Annabeth continued, "But in the nineteen eighties, Zeus was the first to give in and sired my friend, Thalia. Poseidon had Percy, and then there's you."

"What about Nico?"

"Nico's a different story. He was born in the thirties, but he and his sister Bianca were put in this hotel that slows down time when—"

"Wait," I interrupted, pressing my finger and thumb to my temples. "I was following you fine until the time travel part…"

Annabeth smiled. "It's a long story."

"I think I got the gist of it. So basically…" I stared at my hands in my lap. "I'm not supposed to be alive?"

Annabeth put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't think about it in those terms. Believe me, it'll drive you nuts."

I smirked to feign confidence. "Hey, not thinking is my forte."

But Annabeth was too smart and saw right through me. "You have nothing to worry about," she reassured me. "The prophecy was already fulfilled—"

"Lemme guess, by Percy?"

She raised a brow. "How did you know that?"

"I've been hearing all sorts of wonderful things about Percy today." I hoped that I didn't sound too bitter.

Annabeth looked at me sympathetically, with a glint of pride. The pride part I knew was for Percy. How could you not be a bit prideful of your super-amazing-hero boyfriend? I didn't really blame her.

"Don't worry," Annabeth smiled at me. "The prophecy is in the past, and I highly doubt that the gods would want to kill you at this point."

Knowing my luck so far, I wouldn't bet on it. But I was grateful for Annabeth. I knew she was trying to cheer me up, and I appreciated that.

I stood up. "Thanks, Annabeth."

She smiled. "No problem."

As I headed for the door, Annabeth called behind me, "Oh, I heard what you did to Gus last night. Nice move."

I decided to go see if Hayden was in the Hades cabin. Construction of the Thetis cabin was nearly completed, but it still looked pretty impressive in its unfinished state. The outside walls were made of abalone and silver, which gave it the allusion of moving water. A fountain was placed on the side of the cabin; little mermaids decorated on the outside.

The Hades cabin was the opposite. The walls were pure obsidian. Green Greek fires burned twenty-four hours a day on torches, and it seemed to be stuck in a permanent shadow.

As I got closer, I notice the skull hanging over the doorway. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I stopped in the doorway and stared at it, wondering if it was real or not. Probably the former.

Suddenly, the air in front of me seemed to darken and shimmer. Nico di Angelo appeared from the shadows, and we were nose to nose.

I stared into Nico's dark eyes for a second too long. And I know I'll sound like a complete girly girl saying this, but I was a sucker for brown eyes.

I stumbled back, sure that my face was the color of a cherry. Nico didn't seem as phased as I was.

I tried to act casual. "H-hey, Nico."

"Hi, Kaia," he said. "Are you here to see Hayden?"

"Yeah. Is she in there?"

Nico nodded. "You can go in. I'm about to leave anyway."

"To see your dad?" I asked.

He furrowed his brow and frowned. "Huh?"

"That's what you said you were going to do, right? You're going to visit Hades."

I noticed that Nico's eyebrows shot up. Not too high, but it was noticeable. Nico was hiding something.

"Right," he said, shifting on his feet.

"So," I said, "What was…" I waved my hand in front of me. "What was that? You, appearing from fat air?"

It took him a moment to understand what I meant. "Oh. That was shadow travel."

"A Hades thing?"

Nico nodded but looked away.

My eyes softened. "Sensitive topic?"

He shrugged.

"Still, that's pretty cool, though."

Nico laughed bitterly. "I guess."

He sighed. "Being a child of one of the big three isn't as big of a perk as everyone makes it out to be. You can ask Percy."

"Percy… right."

I didn't mean to sound like I was applying anything. Nico looked down at his feet. Was he… blushing?

I winced. "Oh, Nico. I didn't mean anything by it."

He scowled at me. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Nico's scowl hurt, but it didn't scare me. He sounded bitter, and I knew it was about Percy. I felt so sorry for Nico. I thought of Axel from school, and I knew firsthand what it was like to like someone who didn't think about you in that way.

"No. What I mean is– I mean I… Nico. Thank you. And safe travels to you."

I held out my hand. Nico looked at me questionably, but then shook my hand.

I wanted to tell him that I understood, that it was okay, but I didn't want to embarrass him. It was his business, he didn't want to share, and that was fine.

As much as I wanted to help Nico, I knew I didn't know him all that well. But I still considered Nico as my friend. I didn't know what to do except to be there if he wanted me to be, and offer my hand.

Hayden sat on her bed, polishing the blade of her axe. Her long hair was in a high ponytail.

She looked surprised to see me. "Hey."

"Hey, Hayday."

I stood there awkwardly, rubbing my arm and looking around. The cabin was darkly lit and matched the doom and gloom of the outside. The bunks had green sheets that matched the Greek fire in the front.

Hayden motioned for me to sit on her bed, which helped me relax a bit. She slept on a bottom bunk. She had of few pictures taped to the wall. Two were of her and her dad, another of a beautiful auburn-haired woman in a sundress who must've been Thetis, and a few pictures of me and her. I noticed one of us from fifth grade from a Halloween party where we dressed up as Blues Brothers zombies, and another year when we dressed up as Men in Black zombies (we blew our costume money that year on junk food, comics, and CDs).

Two other pictures were from my last birthday we had on the beach. Since Alana was a day older, we celebrated our birthdays separately. Hayden was in mid-laugh, pieing me in the face with a slice of birthday cake. The other was of us haphazardly balancing on my surfboard on a pile of sand, Hayden sitting crisscrossed and hugging my leg, her eyes wide in fear.

I smiled at the memory.

"So," Hayden said, "what's up?"

"I was just passing by. I have archery after lunch."

"Getting any better?"

"I haven't shot any more stray satyrs."

She chuckled. "That's good."

"Yeah."

I swung my legs, feeling uncomfortable. I was terrible at apologies and didn't know where to start.

"I saw that the Thetis cabin is almost done," I said.

Hayden nodded, a spark lighting up in her eyes. "Yeah, it looks awesome."

"We should be moving your stuff out soon."

She paused her waxing and looked at me. "You're going to help me?"

I smirked. "Now what kind of friend would I be if I didn't help my best friend move into her new place?"

Hayden grinned back. I felt the anger from the other night melt away like an ice cube on a stove.

I leaned back on the bed. "I saw Nico when he was leaving. Did he tell you where he was gonna go?"

"Uh, yeah," she said. "Well, no. He just said that there were things he needed to handle."

"Oh." I wanted to ask what he meant by that. I had the feeling she knew. The two of them seemed close to each other. But I didn't want to seem like I was trying to pry secrets out of her.

We talked, neither of us mentioning last night. I was glad that while everyone treated me differently, Hayden treated me the same. She was my constant. Even with the world of monsters and gods suddenly thrown at me, she was there. I was lucky to have her as a friend.

"You think that camp celebrates Halloween?" Hayden asked when the topic of holidays came up.

"Nah," I said. "Nico told me that the camp doesn't really celebrate 'mortal holidays', whatever that means.

"Speaking of whom," a teasing smile played on her lips, "you didn't blush when you mentioned Nico that time. Does that mean you're over him?"

My cheeks warmed. "Over him? He was never under me to begin with!"

Hayden burst into hysterics. My face grew redder.

"Y-you know that's not what I meant!"

"But that-snort- was what you said!"

I hit her with a pillow. "Shut up!"

She ribbed me for a while, the two of us going back and forth like old times.

After an awkwardly quiet lunch with Percy, it was time for archery class. I missed having the class in the morning when I had the excuse of sleep grogginess when I couldn't hit the mark.

It didn't help that Percy was there, either. I wasn't sure whether I felt nervous because I thought he was watching me or if I just wanted to impress him. Maybe both. I doubt that I impressed very well when Will Solace (who, naturally, taught the class) had to desnag an arrow from his shirt. The snickers from the kids in the Aphrodite cabin who shared the class with us weren't very encouraging either.

Percy didn't do any better than I did. (Though he didn't hit any innocent satyrs). It made me a little happy to see that he wasn't all that great with the bow, and I felt like a little brat for felling that way.

Swordplay was next, and Percy taught that. As we shuffled into the arena I spotted something that almost gave me a heart attack.

There in the corner was a black mastiff the size of a truck. A Hellhound. It was sitting in the corner like it belonged there; chewing on a giant bronze shield like it was a toy. I froze dead in my tracks.

When I let out a small squeak, the other campers turned laughed. I frowned.

"Wh-what is that doing here?" I ask, but to no one in particular. "I-I—"

"That's Mrs. O'leary," Percy said casually. "She's friendly."

"Mrs. O— she's friendly?"

"Relax," was all he had to say about it. From somewhere in hammer space, he'd gotten an ultra plus size dog treat.

"But I've been here for a week," I said. "How come I never saw her before?"

Percy shrugged. "Sometimes she likes to play in the woods. You probably just missed her."

I had no idea how I could miss a giant black mastiff. It had to be my ADHD riddled brain messing with me.

Percy whistled. Mrs. O'leary's ears perked up. She bounded towards Percy excitedly, tongue slobbering. I was afraid that for a second that she would eat him instead of the treat. But she stopped right in front of him and sat obediently, her tail wagging in anticipation. When Percy offered up the treat, Ms. O'leary barked happily and snatched it up, taking it back to her corner to eat it.

I found that I was the only one watching the spectacle. Everyone else went to sit in the stadium seats. I decided to join them.

Percy taught three other cabins when he was here on the weekends; Hermes, Hecate, and the Hephaestus cabin. (Don't ask me about the H theme. I think it's just a coincidence.) Two members of the Ares cabin taught the other cabins, and switched out with each other durig the week; one of them taught on the weekends along with Percy.

I know, confusing, right? I wondered why the camp didn't just have older teachers to lead the activities. It made a lot more sense.

Percy paired everybody into groups of two to spar. I was paired up with a kid from the Hephaestus cabin, a girl named Nyssa. While she didn't look like the rest of her siblings, she shared their muscular build and burly hands.

Our swords met midair. She stabbed at me, and I jumped back, trying to maneuver to her blindside. My goal was to disarm her, but Nyssa saw through my plan and parried my strike. Every once in a while I would get close to her sword hand only for Nyssa to just barely be able to avoid me. She slashed, cutting my shirt sleeve and grazing the skin.

We continued fighting. Nyssa would strike; I would deflect, coming back at her swinging. It went in like that for a while. My sword was starting to become heavy in my hand.

The others were already finished and started to notice us. They stood around the two of us in a semicircle, reminding me of how kids would gather around a break dancer at the school dances.

I knew that eventually I would slow down enough and Nyssa would easily finish me. I lunged, my blade aimed for her sword hand. I twisted, trying to make her drop her sword…

Nyssa pushed against me with the force of a pro ball player. I stumbled back in surprise. She took the opportunity to counter my move, twisting her sword, making my hand go in an awkward position…

I dropped my sword. It skittered across the ground, too far away for me to make a dive for it in time.

Nyssa smirked, holding the sword point at my chest.

I laughed nervously. "Okay, okay. You got me."

Her look of triumph turned into a genuine smile. "Not bad, for being so new."

"Thanks."

We shook hands as everyone watching dispersed to get a cup of water from the cooler. Part of me was ticked at their reactions, like they expected me to be amazing or something. I was no better today than the day before.

I went to grab my sword from the floor but Percy beat me to it. I blinked in surprise.

"Here," he said, handing me my sword.

"Um, thank you." I was about to head to the cooler when Percy stopped me.

"Hold up, Kai." He looked me over, not sure what to make of me. "Listen…"

"Yeah?"

"After class, come see me. To talk, if that's all right?"

I was stunned. I figured that Percy wouldn't want anything to do with me, let alone talk to me. All I could to was nod and mumble that it was okay.

What does he want to talk about? I wondered. Was it serious? Was it about Poseidon?

Most of what I knew of Percy was hearsay. He's the son of Poseidon, the best sword fighter at camp, the most powerful Demigod of all time. It was obvious that everyone at camp respected and liked him. Even the Ares cabin (who, for some reason, seem to despise him for the most part) had a grudging respect for him.

Percy seemed like a laid back and fun dude, like a cool older high school guy. But I didn't know what was going through his mind or how he felt about me.

The thoughts and questions that I had bounced around in my head like a basketball refusing to slow down or stop until my curiosity was quenched.