Invictus

Eight

[ira furor brevis est]

Without another word, Madi swept into Tessa's bedroom, her bloodstained hands trembling. The hazel-eyed girl perched herself atop Tessa's desk, and despite the casual stance, Madi's irises kept darting around the room, as if she were expecting an attack.

Tessa shut the door, turning on her heel and facing her sister with urgency. "Madi, what has been going on with you?"

Madi sucked in a quick breath. "I was getting to that."

Tessa barked out a laugh, folding her arms across her chest. "Then please get to it." She beseeched her sister, pleading in her eyes.

Fidgeting with her fingers, Madi nodded. She glanced down at the floor, taking a sudden interest in the carpeting. "S-so you know I got to camp about a year ago, right?"

Tessa nodded, remembering the day she'd been cleared from the infirmary after coming back from her quest and discovering that Madi had arrived and been claimed in the time she was gone.

"Well," Madi drew out a breath, her tense frame relaxing ever so slightly. "I'd known I was a daughter of Poseidon for a while before that."

At that, Tessa's turquoise eyes widened. "What? How is that possible?"

Madi simply held up a hand, stopping her sister's words in their tracks. "Let me explain."

"I was raised in Washington state, in a tiny town on the outskirts of Olympic National Park. I've lived there my whole life, and was practically raised outside—my mom was a biologist, so she was always teaching me about the forest and the water and nature in general. Even as a kid, the woods never scared me; how could I be afraid of a place that was practically my second home? Regardless, life was pretty good for me up in Washington. My mom and I were super close, my three best friends and I had a lot of great times...everything was good. And of course, that was bound to change.

"Around spring of last year, I started to see strange things in the woods. I know now that they were monsters and spirits, but back then, I couldn't tell. I'd feel like someone was watching me, that I was about to die if I didn't get out, and just like that, my second home became one of my biggest fears. Not only that, but I started to develop abilities. I could breathe underwater, I could sense shifts in the earth...that's when my mom explained it to me. She said I was the daughter of Poseidon, and for some reason, that only angered me. I complained to my friends, who could see through the Mist, but they all told me to try and accept it. I didn't want to listen.

"I remember it all clearly. Night was falling, and I had an argument with my mom. I stormed out of the house and to the woods to clear my head, and while I was nervous about the darkness, I was in such a mood that I wasn't afraid. I knew something was wrong though. And that something was the man in the woods. He materialized out of nowhere, and every step he made caused me to feel an unexplained amount of anger. He kept bugging me about who my parent was, and that he'd leave me alone if I told him. So I did.

"The man disappeared, and out of the blue, I heard a voice in my head telling me to run back home, to get to safety. It sounded like a man's voice, as harmonic as the waves—Dad. Given the weirdness of the day, I listened to his advice and sprinted back home. But by then, it was too late."

Madi's voice broke, and tears began to well in her hazel eyes. Tessa listened in horror, her heart pounding in her chest.

"W-when I got home, the door was busted open. There were signs of a struggle, and I called my mom a few times but I didn't get a response. Then I made it to the backyard and...and I found her. The man was standing before her, and my friends were there too. They all were gagged and bound, and I could feel their panic." Madi paused, taking a breath. "The man was Menoetius, the Titan of violence and mortality. He explained to me that he was doing this because I was a godsborn, and that in due time, I'd understand why he did what he did. I tried to stop him but...b-but I wasn't fast enough.