Invictus

One

[aere perrenius]

It had been the Fourth of July when Tessa Brennan first arrived at Camp Half-Blood. She remembered it like it was yesterday, even if it was four years ago. The memory was crystalline in her head, reminiscent of the fireworks exploding above the indigo sky, the sound of her own rapid footsteps as she sped through the camp, and the stares that ensued when a glowing trident appeared above her head when she finally reached the masses.

That day was the day that Tessa buried her old self and became anew, a phoenix from the ashes of a life she could no longer lead. She wasn't Tessa Brennan anymore, a young girl with a fiery attitude. She was now Tessa Brennan, the daughter of Poseidon, god of the sea. She possessed power beyond any mere demigod's capacity, and could control the darkest depths of the sea to the earth beneath her feet. She now had a reputation to uphold, and while at first it became a mask, Tessa eventually learned to embrace her power and lineage.

However, what Tessa remembered most vividly of her first day at Camp Half-Blood, was seeing her new home—Cabin Three—for the very first time. The stone cabin radiated a sense of home that Tessa thought she'd never feel again, and when she stepped foot within it, it had been both empty and yet full of an energy that Tessa learned to embody. Over time, she'd made the cabin her own, filling it with her clothes and belongings and trinkets.

But now, Tessa stood in her cabin as empty as it had been when she first arrived. The two bunk beds occupied by herself and her half-sister, Madi, were now made instead of rumpled. The dressers and desks were empty. There were no clothes strewn across the floor, or books and belongings hidden under their beds. Cabin Three was no longer their permanent home, and with a pang of her heart, Tessa smiled wistfully.

It might have felt bittersweet in the moment, but Tessa knew that the feeling would fade. She was going to college in New Rome—a feat that not every demigod lived to accomplish—alongside her closest friends. She'd be reunited with the love of her life, Kaden Gray, after three long months since their last reunion. She stood on the precipice of her future, and it was close enough to touch, to taste, without feeling overwhelmed by the mysteries it held.

"Tessa," Madi's voice ripped Tessa out of her reverie. "You ready to go?"

Tessa turned, glancing at the doorway of their cabin. Sure enough, Madi McKinley stood there waiting, a knowing look in her hazel eyes. Her brown hair was tied up in a lazy bun, and the second half-blood daughter of Poseidon seemed just about ready to go.

"Yeah," Tessa spoke at last, casting one final look around the empty cabin. She turned back to her sister, smiling as she gripped the backpack over her shoulders. "Let's go."

Madi pushed herself away from the doorframe, and together, she and Tessa emerged into the central green. As the daughters of Poseidon made their way through camp, Tessa found herself lost in thought as she watched the other incoming students leave their cabins behind. Where she saw the younger kids learn to hold a sword for the first time, she saw herself wielding Tempest in its sword form for the first time. Any pod of campers became herself, Dale, Mark, Reese, and Kaden, as they laughed and chatted their way to various events and activities. Any young girl became Tessa when she'd first arrived in the world of mythology, unaware of the potential she had yet to tap into.

Tessa chuckled under her breath, forcing herself out of her memories. The past was eternal, but the future had yet to be born.

The Big House stood like a crowning jewel at the top of Half-Blood Hill, catching rays of the September sunlight and refracting it back through the windows. A twinkling violet portal—sustained by Amelie Winters and the other children of Hecate—sat nearby, and campers filed through it to the other side, where New Rome University was waiting. Everywhere Tessa looked, she saw luggage, campers saying goodbye to their younger siblings and the friends who had decided to stay behind.