The New Demigod at Goode

The Deep End

I toss and turn all night. Just when I finally feel myself start to doze off, I hear a knocking at my door. I try to ignore it but it becomes insistent.

I finally swing my legs over and plod to the door. I swing it open to find Ophelia grinning at me.

"What are you doing?" She just shoves her way in. I close the door and flip down on the bed, burrowing back into the covers. "It's too early for this." I mumble.

Lia jumps on the bed, "We should go exploring!"

I smack her. "Go to sleep. We have been traveling on a boat cooped up for days. I am getting sick of you all."

She just lets out a laugh, and after a moment she flops down. "I don't know why but I feel wide awake." She is silent for a moment before she sighs. Then she whispers, "Celeste, do you miss your family?"

I roll over to look at her, "Yeah. All the time."

"They don't even know that I am traveling on a boat. They just think I am with you, looking at a potential summer camp."

"I mean we were."

She flicks my nose. "That is not the point. I was adopted and they are not religious. They would never believe or understand all this." She makes a wild gesture with her hands.

"Lia, many demigods I know haven't told their parents either. Or it is something unspoken." She makes a face. I give her a small smile. " Think of it like we are superheroes. We have a secret identity and we are saving the world. I mean, the world will end if we fail. Probably."

Lia blinks, "Wow. Good pep talk. Keep it up."

She talks through the night. I don't know when, but I manage to doze into a dreamless sleep.

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When I wake up, Lia drags me out and down the hall. We don't pass very many people and I am fine with that. They all have been glaring at us.

We arrived at the dining hall. It is lavishly decorated and Eurybia beconds us over. She motions to her servants to seat us and they do so begrudgingly. Piper and Jason are already seated and offer us a smile. I guess Will hasn't woken up yet.

"Good morning, you all need to eat up. You have a long day ahead of you. I won't have you passing out from fatigue." Eurybia claps her hands and then the servants twirl into action.

We eat in silence, our forks clanking against the dishes. I have absolutely no clue what I am eating, but it is definitely good. It is some sort of egg and meat mixture with veggies, all chopped up into a bowl. Once finished I look up and notice Eurybia. She stares at me with a fixed glare.

She stands up. "Celeste was it? Please, take a walk with me."

I blink but do as she says, no need to anger her. Her servants would be more than willing to kill as. We walk out to the garden in silence. She sits down at a fountain and pats the seat next to her.

"Celeste, is this your first quest?"

"No it is not."

"Your last quest had to do with Gaea, did it not?" She looks at me for a long moment. Finally, she takes my silence as an answer. "Her power is a fickle thing to contain. To control. She is a dastardly Goddess and is very good at convincing people to do her bidding. I wonder how much of her will rub off on you?"

I open my mouth to ask her what she means, to protest, to tell her she does not know what she is talking about; but nothing comes out. I sit there blubbering like a fish while panic settles into my stomach.