the warrior of olympus [ the heroes of olympus ]

chapter one

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙰𝚁𝚁𝙸𝙾𝚁 𝙾𝙵 𝙾𝙻𝚈𝙼𝙿𝚄𝚂༉‧₊˚.[𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙾𝙴𝚂 𝙾𝙵 𝙾𝙻𝚈𝙼𝙿𝚄𝚂]

chapter one: my winter break has been ruined. gods, this feels oddly familiar, don't you think?

__________________________________________

ASHANTI DESTINY PREWETT was a lot of things.

until two winters ago, she considered none of them particularly positive. she was distant, socially awkward, and a bit of a coward. well, that sounded rather harsh from an outsider's point of view, but that's the cyanide pill she'd forced herself to swallow dryly. even before the war, she had been gathering a hefty sum of accomplishments under her belt that other half-bloods couldn't claim even with a lifetime of training. she'd been almost a sort of prodigy in her up and coming years, mastering weapons like no one's business within short years versus entire lifetimes. she supposed it helped that she was half-god, but even as a demigod, that alone was astounding. still, she didn't find it completely out of the ordinary, others of her brethren also treating it as a feeble, unimportant detail despite the struggles of those who were ever pitted against her in a sparring match. ashanti had always been convinced she was rather below average.

that was before she knew. knew of the destiny the fates had forged for her long before she had even been a thought in sade's head. small signs, little seemingly insignificant things that happened to her, the more she lingered on them, the more she understood that the entirety of her demigoddess career, she'd been guided along like cattle at the will of a higher power. the most prominent kick to the face had to be right before the beginnings of the titan war the summer before. she'd been led into a mousetrap, following the metaphorical scent of cheese only to find herself gazing at her own reflection into the dark waters of the river styx, pressured to make a choice that only ever had one answer — she'd been granted two doors that led to the exact same path.

ashanti believed that she had no genuine distaste for the gods of olympus. even when the figurative line had long been drawn, they seemed to continue to press into bruised skin, leaving her with a dull ache that she couldn't shake for the life of her. the gods were selfish, greedy beings who considered their own personal gain regardless of what was at expense, beings that were unappreciative of risks taken in their favor, and collateral given to have them their way. truly, she was no stranger to such behavior, in fact she'd gotten quite used to the little rays of sunshine that peeked through the clouds to be coveted by the gods themselves. you would think someone who was more than familiar with olympians would hope for little due to consequential disasters, but she was a fool. they waltzed problemlessly down fancy, cobblestoned pathways on mount. olympus, no indication of a change of tune.

with her knowledge of the gods, she conflicted with herself that perhaps that was the reason she found herself unsurprised, and quite numb when it came to her new situation, not even an entire four months after the war with kronos had finally come to an end. they'd fought for their own lives, the lives of the mortals placed under the spell of sleep, and the entirety of the western civilization, but her efforts felt like they were worthless without him. she felt bitter, naive for even considering the possibility of a period of peace, especially when the sinking feeling in her gut hadn't dissipated from deep in her belly since the moment rachel elizabeth dare had uttered the words to that dreaded prophecy that haunted her dreams. apollo had tried to hide it from her, conceal his facial expression, but even in his best efforts, he was transparent.