Tempest

Six

[ad victoriam / to victory]

Tessa dashed to her cabin, her heart racing. As soon as her vision landed on the seastone building, she sped up, not even breaking a sweat. She ran on pure adrenaline, she finally had a lead.

She left the door wide open, not caring to close it as she bolted to her desk, where the books were sprawled. Instantly, she flipped through the pages, and the image of Phobos and Deimos, the twin sons of Ares and Aphrodite stared back up at her from the pages. How had she not registered it before?

She didn't know about Deimos, but Phobos, the god of fear, was often represented by a lion. When he had shown her his shield up in the attic, the lion must have been the one hint that he could give her as to his identity. The dream she had had that night must have been Zeus and Ares, Phobos' father, but why was she being shown that? And what was Phobos trying to get her to do?

Possibilities rammed into one another in her head, her brain becoming an accelerator for the particles of thoughts. Fusions and starbursts of queries resulted in a migraine for her. She groaned and sat down on her bed. Images began to flash through her head of the Olympian throne room, thunder rumbling as two gods shouted at one another.

"Tessa?"

Through the war waging on in her head, Tessa looked up at the door. Kaden stood in the doorway, concern etched onto his face. Of course he followed her, she had bolted off without a second glance.

"Are you alright? You just took off," he said, biting his lip.

Tessa managed a nod. "Yeah, it's just...I know who the shroud is. It's Phobos, the god of fear. Your half-brother, actually." 

Kaden frowned. "What's he doing at Camp Half-Blood then?" 

Tessa shrugged. She felt the headache begin to ebb, and she sighed in relief. "Not a clue," she said. "But considering the fact that I know who he is now, he'll have to turn up again."

Kaden nodded, his eyebrows knit together in thought.

Tessa's lips quirked up. She found it cute how he would squint his eyes slightly and stare off into the distance whenever he was working something out like a battle strategy or in this case, motives for a minor god to appear to a demigod.

He glanced up, meeting Tessa's gaze and smiling. "Well, if Phobos is connected to the shield, how does that explain the explosion?"

Tessa shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure yet. But once Phobos turns up again, I'll ask him."

Kaden smirked. "Can shrouds talk?"

Tessa made a face. "I don't see why they can't."

Kaden laughed. "Well, I guess I should head back to my cabin. I'm probably pushing my luck too far." He bit his lip. "Good night, Tessa."

Tessa smiled. "Good night, Kaden."

The son of Aphrodite gave her a final smile, pushing himself off the doorway and heading away from Tessa's cabin. Tessa watched him go, a melancholy smile on her face before shutting the door.

When she turned back, however, a new flame of determination sparked in her eyes. She stormed over to her desk, shutting the books. Phobos would appear to her, and she would get an answer out of him as to what was going on if it was the last thing to do. How hard could it be to get the attention of a god?