annais min had everything to prove and no time to do it. as one of the five children of the underworld destined to lead the seven on their journey of death and destruction, annais had the fate of the universe resting on her shoulders, holding her do...
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CHAPTER ONE: WHEN THE GODS SPEAK
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ANNAIS MIN KNEW FROM the moment she woke up on the way to the fucking Grand Canyon (Hades kill her now) that Jason Grace could not be trusted. The blonde boy, so boyish and innocent, certainly didn't look like a monster but Annais had seen enough monsters in her lifetime to know someone didn't have to look wicked to be wicked. Take Luke Castellan as an example. He was blonde haired and bright eyed with a pretty smile to match; yet underneath, he was housing Kronos in his body like some sort of dodgy air bnb -- yes, you heard her right, the frigging titan who ate his children whole and reigned terror down upon gods and mortals alike was living in Luke Castellan's body like an off-brand Lord Voldemort. This Jason Grace with his blonde hair and bright eyes and pretty smile was not going to fool Annais Min.
The Wilderness School wasn't her first choice on the list of places to celebrate defeating Kronos and his mighty men, but due to recent events, Annais would go anywhere as long as it kept her away from Camp Half-Blood. So when Chiron came to her two weeks after the battle to ask if she'd accompany Gleeson Hedge on a quest, Annais jumped at the chance. She didn't even ask for the details, the thought of escaping the suffocating clutches of Camp was far too appealing to pass up -- though, maybe, if she'd known her job was to befriend and protect Leo Valdez and Piper McLean at the school for troubled kids, she would've thought twice. Dealing with douchebag teenagers like Dylan (Annais almost pitied him, who names their kid Dylan?) for three months without running him through with her sword, not to mention pretending to be an ordinary mortal (bleh) it was almost painful for the daughter of death.
The excursion to the Grand Canyon happened to be one of those days that were particularly worse than the rest, though not for the reason Annais initially expected. They were woken at the ass crack of dawn by Gleeson Hedge patrolling the hallway outside the dormitories with a megaphone; then, they had to squash together on a small dingy bus to travel for hours on end just to look at some mountains and valleys (can you tell Annais doesn't get out much?) To top it off, Piper had the luck of the draw and got a seat to herself while Annais was stuck cramped beside an antsy Leo Valdez, her arm constantly jostled by his as he drummed his fingers against the cushioned seats, swept his curly black hair out of his eyes, fiddled with the buttons and loose strings of his army jacket. It wasn't his fault with his ADHD, but then he started deliberately chucking little bits of rolled up paper into her hair or flicking her ear whenever she tried to nap against the window.
"Would you quit it?" she hissed as one piece of paper missed her hair entirely and bounced off her forehead.
"You're getting brave, Valdez," Annais heard Piper chuckle from behind them but she didn't have a chance to turn and look at the girl, instead narrowing her eyes into a glare when Leo smiled innocently and pinched her right cheek between his fingers.
