Born To Die

My mom admitted to being mom at the worst time

It had been about a month since we arrived at Camp Half-Blood, and Luke and I were still figuring everything out—both with camp life and with... us. Being thirteen and having all these new emotions wasn't easy, and trying to navigate them in a camp full of gods and monsters made it even harder. But we found our moments, like stolen seconds between training or after breakfast when we could just be together, away from the chaos.

That morning, after breakfast, Luke and I had slipped away from the dining pavilion. We found ourselves pressed against the back of Ares Cabin, hidden from most of camp. I couldn't stop smiling, even as we kissed, the adrenaline of sneaking around making everything feel more intense. His hands rested on my waist, and I was trying to focus on just this, on how it felt to be close to him, without thinking about all the things waiting to complicate it.

Then, out of nowhere, a bright light flared around us, and we broke apart, startled. I looked down at myself and realized that the light was coming from me—no, above me. There, floating above my head, was a glowing, shimmering symbol: a delicate dove surrounded by soft, pinkish light.

For a second, I was frozen. My heart pounded in my chest as realization hit. Aphrodite had claimed me.

"Oh gods..." I whispered, backing away from Luke, my hand instinctively going to my neck where the pendant Aphrodite had given me hung. My skin felt warm, like I was standing too close to a fire, and I could feel every eye in the camp turning toward us.

Luke blinked, his face a mix of surprise and something else—something like awe. "Isla... you're being claimed."

The light intensified for a moment, and then I heard her voice, soft and melodic, in my head. Finally, my daughter. You have your mother's spirit.

I felt a swirl of emotions—relief, confusion, and an underlying sense of frustration. After everything, now she decided to claim me? Now, when I'd spent years feeling like she didn't care? But there wasn't time to think about that. The camp had noticed.

The campers started gathering, whispering among themselves. I could hear murmurs of "Aphrodite" and "claimed" as they watched the light above me fade, leaving me standing there, exposed.

Luke stepped closer, putting a hand on my arm. "You okay?"

I forced a smile, still processing everything. "Yeah... just didn't expect it to happen while we were, you know..." I glanced around, feeling my face heat up. "Making out."

Luke chuckled softly, though his eyes were still wide. "Guess the gods have a sense of timing."

I sighed, looking at the spot where the glowing symbol had been. "I guess so." Then, with a touch of bitterness, I muttered, "About damn time, too."

But deep down, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning of something bigger, and being Aphrodite's daughter wasn't going to be as simple as a glowing claim above my head.