𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙗 | 𝙥. 𝙟𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨𝙤𝙣

₁₃

Sometimes Astrid hated being right, which is most of the time because she's amazing like that. Though now wasn't the time for such thoughts.

The whole "the more powerful you are, the more monsters you attract" thing, was totally ruining her vibes. She thought of giving back whatever Aphrodite gifted her and go back to the life she had before everything if she could, but then she'd rather go through this than the potential guilt of hurting her mother's feelings.

She's been attacked more just these past few weeks than she had been her whole life combined since touching down back home.

Or maybe it was also because she didn't come alone.

After turning 17, her older brother and their cabin leader, Dimitri, made the choice of going to university and he had always talked about wanting to be a diplomat. But he was sick of the east coast and going west was out of the question.

Astrid had talked to her maman about it and Evelyn was more than happy to do her old friend a favour. Apparently, Dimitri's father was the retired figure skater Nikolai Plisetsky that once competed in the Olympics, him and her maman had been partners for a Crillon Ball many years back.

And without even a bend of the Mist, Evelyn, through her own connections, had managed to pull a few strings and got him a place at Paris Dauphine University.

But there was one thing she wouldn't budge on which is that Dimitri had to stay in one of her apartments, having housemates or not would be his choice, though they had to go through a very thorough screening. To which Dimitri happily agreed to. After spending his past summers in a cabin with kids much younger than himself, and the other part of the year hopping schools full of delinquents with less aesthetic sense than a suburban football chad, having a place all to himself in the heart of Paris was Elysium.

Evelyn wasn't a goddess but he'd happily sacrifice his food at a brazier for her.

Of course, it wasn't all a walk in the park. Even if Dimitri by himself had been low-risk, two demigods would be enough to attract a few monsters.

Luck still seemed to be on their side since Aster spotted them first than the other way around. Either they were freshly regenerated or it was their first round in this city, because there was no ignoring how badly they tried to blend into the crowd.

Three hulking forms in the baggiest charcoal grey business suits that even Echidna would struggle to fill lumbered a couple metres across them, going the opposite way of the flow of mortals but they paid each other no mind even as they bumped shoulders, the excess fabric of their suits flapping all over the place.

They moved at a slow pace with an awkward gait, like their limbs crawled along the ground rather than taking a step. From the cafe terrace where they sat, Astrid chanced peeking below the fedora of one of them. Two snake heads sprouted from the suit collar and gleaming slit eyes surveyed the top of everyone's heads, forked tongues out and probably sniffing the air for them. Amphisbaenae.