Born To Die

Then there was her

A few months had passed, and somehow, despite his constant cocky remarks, Luke and I had fallen into a routine. We fought monsters, moved from town to town, and, in between all that chaos, we traded jabs and sarcastic comments like it was our second language. It was annoying, but in a weird way, it made things... easier. We'd gotten used to each other. We didn't always have to talk about the big stuff—the running, the monsters, the gods. The banter was our distraction from it all.

Luke still loved to remind me that he "saved my life" every chance he got, and I never missed the opportunity to tell him I would've figured it out, given a little more time. And honestly, part of me was starting to believe that maybe I could have—eventually. Maybe. But it didn't matter, because somehow, we were a team now.

I'd gotten better with the sword too. Luke pushed me, hard, and although he drove me crazy most days, I knew I was stronger because of it. We didn't talk about what would happen next; it was like we were both avoiding the inevitable, whatever that was.

But then she came into the picture.

We were just outside of some nowhere town when it happened. We'd been walking for hours, and I was about ready to complain about Luke's so-called "shortcut" that had somehow led us into the middle of nowhere. The forest was thick, and we were both on edge, sensing something was off. We hadn't encountered a monster in a few days, which was never a good sign.

I heard the sound of leaves crunching behind us, quick and purposeful, and before I could react, a blur of black shot past me, stopping right in front of Luke. I barely had time to register what was happening when I saw her.

She was tall, with stormy blue eyes and black hair streaked with electric blue. She held a spear in one hand, and her whole presence screamed confidence, maybe even more than Luke's. Her stare was intense, like she was sizing us both up, already deciding what we were worth.

"Well, well, well," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she gave Luke a once-over. "Look what we have here. Another cocky idiot who thinks he can survive out here."

I smirked, ready for Luke to shoot back, but for once, he seemed... caught off guard. His eyes flicked to me, then back to her. I could almost see the gears turning in his head.

"Luke Castellan," he said, straightening up. "And you are?"

She smirked, leaning on her spear like she had all the time in the world. "Thalia. Daughter of Zeus. And trust me, I'm probably cockier than both of you combined."

I raised an eyebrow. Daughter of Zeus? That was... big. I glanced at Luke, who was clearly trying to process the information too. This girl wasn't just another demigod. She was one of the big ones. And she knew it.

Luke recovered quickly, though. "Daughter of Zeus, huh? Well, no need to brag."

Thalia rolled her eyes, but her smirk never faltered. "I don't have to. It's pretty obvious just by looking at me."

I snorted, unable to hold back. "You're not wrong. The whole 'electric blue hair and spear' thing is a bit of a giveaway."

She glanced at me, sizing me up now, and I could tell she was deciding whether I was worth her time. "And you? You're just tagging along with Mr. Hero over here?"

I crossed my arms, matching her glare with my own. "I can handle myself, thanks. I've been fighting monsters for a year. So, no, I'm not just tagging along."

Thalia shrugged, clearly unimpressed, but there was a glint in her eye that said she was at least a little curious. "Well, good for you. But trust me, things are about to get a lot more dangerous. I've been fighting longer than either of you, and the monsters? They're getting stronger."