through the mist ➵ camren au [discontinued]

V. Love 'n' Lava

"Oh, young love. So fresh and pure," a sweet voice cooed.

The voice entranced Camila, forcing her to open her eyes. What she saw truly surprised her.

She was on the porch of a beach house. The gigantic home overlooked the ocean, the water crystal blue. A soft breeze blew by and Camila's eyes fluttered shut as she inhaled deeply. The familiar scent of salt water and sand made her chest tight.

She was in Miami. Or she thought she was.

The Latina sat up on the white wooden chair, clutching the armrests. Her bare feet pressed against the polished floor. Her eyes wandered around and she fell in love with the recognizable sight. It made her mind whirl and her heart hurt. It was too close to home to bear.

Is this all real?

"Unfortunately, young one, it is not," the same voice answered.

Camila turned her head so fast she thought she got whiplash. Her neck protested at the sudden movement and she cringed at the twinge of pain throbbing below her left ear.

To her right was a tall, young woman. She was absolutely gorgeous with shoulder-length hair, perfect features, and an amazing figure obscured by a loosely tied lace robe. Camila suspected that the woman wore a bikini underneath it as they were at the beach. She herself had an orange camp tank top and black short shorts on.

The woman walked into her direct vision, leaning against one of the white columns on the porch. She faced Camila and beauty just radiated off of her. The longer Camila stared at her, the more beautiful the woman became, as if her image were trying to fit the definition of beauty in her own mind.

With a start, Camila realized who she was and it unnerved her. "Lady Aphrodite," she breathed. The godly mother of her friend Normani.

The goddess smiled warmly. "Karla, darling, it's so great to meet you."

Camila blinked at the usage of her actual name but soon understood that this was a goddess she was talking to. No one but her family and Dinah knew her full name. "Where am I?"

Aphrodite motioned to the paradise behind her. "Why, it's one of the dream houses you wanted when you were thirteen. You saw it in a hotel brochure and you've wanted it since. I have to admit, your taste is impeccable. The view is to die for."

"Not to be rude or anything but why am I here, and how?" Camila inquired. She had various questions to ask but they were all jumbled together in her head.

The goddess clapped her hands together in excitement. "I'm glad you asked, dear. I'm communicating to you through a dream, and we're here to talk about you and your love life."

Camila's eyes bulged. "My love life?" she spluttered. She was not expecting a goddess to contact her in a dream to talk about her love life. It was unimaginable.

"Or lack thereof," Aphrodite corrected.

Her eyes zeroed in on the brunette and Camila gulped uneasily when she saw piercing green eyes staring back at her. "So it is true," the goddess mused, tapping her chin. "You have feelings for the daughter of Poseidon."

"Lauren? No, I just - her eyes are great," Camila blatantly lied before she mentally facepalmed. You couldn't hide your emotions from the goddess of love. It was impossible.

The goddess grinned knowingly. "Denial isn't just a river in Egypt, honey. By the gods, you're as clueless as Percy was when he was growing up, and he's still as perplexed by love."

Camila's cheeks burned. She knew it was pointless to fight a love goddess about the topic of love.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of! You know that I care not of gender when it comes to love. In fact, homophobia was only created because of a mistranslation in the Bible. Humans, thinking they're so perfect, only to end up affecting the next two millennia of their existence. Such a waste of love, I say."