𝐛𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝! - jason grace

three

Cassia could tell Annabeth wanted to be anywhere but here. She knew her friend was just counting the seconds until she could be out searching for Percy again. And as much as Cassia felt the same way, it was just different. Percy was a part of Annabeth, as much as Ethan had been a part of her—was a part of her.

So, half-way through an explanation on monsters, Cassia took over. Annabeth's' swords were starting to blur into one another, as they always did when she was distracted.

"And Half-Blood hill is right over there," Cassia pointed a finger at the lush, seemingly ever expanding greenery ahead, "Camp looks less threatening from up there, I promise." She winked, noting the discomfort on Piper's face.

Piper's eyes continued to grow wider as Cassia explained more about their world. And while Piper may have seemed silly, her disbelief palpable, Cassia remembered how she must have looked on her first day.

She was practically in denial for a week before she started practicing her magic, or even training with a weapon—all of it was so impossible, it also shattered any possibility she had of ever retaining any sense of normalcy again.

But to be fair, Cassia couldn't remember the last time she ever considered herself to be living a life of normalcy. She scratched at the scars hidden under her sleeves.
~

After Piper's initial refusal to believe that pegasi were real, they finally made it to the top of Half-blood hill.

Cassia leaned against a nearby tree, absently twirling a knife around and around. She almost couldn't remember what it was like to not have the knives, a gift from her mother, hidden in various places around her body.

The knives were like a second skin of steel, and  consistently made her feel stronger than she felt. It was hard to remember what it was like to not have her protective layer. It was hard to remember things before her mother. Before the magic. Before the betrayal. Before fate was a real and tangible thing, not a silvery whisper of a nightmare.

Piper eyed her warily, as if they'd brought her up here for execution,

"I mean—how...How is this all here? How have I not seen it before?" Piper asked, head in her hands,

"The valley is protected by the mist, which makes it invisible to mortal eyes." Cassia answered, and smiled when the knife twirled twice.

"Yes, the Hecate children—,"

"You're welcome." Cassia grinned, Annabeth rolled her eyes,

"Well, they create this kind of barrier by manipulating the mist. The mist is everywhere, it's what keeps mortals from viewing anything that isn't...Real—to their standards at least."

Piper nodded and was silent for a few moments, then asked,

"So you can really do magic?"

A cheshire grin spread across Cassia's face, while Annabeth just shook her head and let out a long sigh. Okay, so magic had royally screwed up her life. But it had also indulged in her deepest desires, had fed the feathery breath of a creature inside that screamed for more, more, more.

Cassia unfurled her hand and flexed her fingers, then focused on her palm. A small, silver ball of light appeared and danced across her fingertips. Piper sucked in a breath and leaned in to watch.

She let the light fade out on it's own, then took out her knife again,

"Magic is an ambiguous term." She mumbled, more to herself than anyone. Piper nodded slowly, then picked carefully through her next words,

"So my mom...Who is she?" Cassia scoffed, her knife twirled faster,

"We should know by now, what are you—fifteen? Gods are supposed to claim you when you're thirteen. That was the deal."