Dreams in the Dark (Annabeth Chase)

Hwan Lee never asked to be a demigod-especially not the son of Hypnos, the god of sleep. What good is a father who never shows up? Who lets his son be locked away in an asylum for powers he couldn't control? Hwan learned long ago that the gods don't care. They sit high on Olympus, watching, judging, playing games with mortal lives. To them, demigods are just pawns-useful if powerful, disposable if broken.

So Hwan stopped trying to be useful. He hides behind lazy grins and sarcastic remarks, skips training, and naps under Thalia's tree where the nightmares can't reach him. He doesn't pray. He doesn't offer loyalty. He doesn't care about prophecies, divine wars, or the endless pride of the Olympians. The only thing he cares about is his family-the friends who stayed when no one else did. Annabeth. Luke. Grover. Percy. And the memory of Thalia, who gave everything to protect them.

They are his reason. His anchor. His choice.

And if they asked-if even one of them looked him in the eye and said, "We have to go against the gods"-he wouldn't hesitate. He'd burn Olympus to the ground with a tired smile and ash in his lungs. Not out of hatred. Not out of revenge. Just loyalty. Because to Hwan, family is everything. The gods had their chance.

But something is watching him. The golden eyes in his dreams-once whispers-are growing louder, clearer, more real. And while the gods bicker and posture, something ancient and unknowable waits in the dark, drawn to Hwan like a moth to flame. As the line between dream and reality begins to blur, Hwan must decide if he'll keep drifting through life... or finally rise and face the storm he's spent years running from.

In Dreams in the Dark, Hwan Lee isn't a hero. He's just a boy who refuses to be used-by gods, by monsters, or by fate. And sometimes, the quiet ones are the ones the gods should fear most.