Treya
The door opened to reveal the most brightly dressed person Treya had ever seen. And she’d met the sun god Apollo.
They were wearing bright green corduroy pants, hot pink sneakers, and a rain jacket that faded from pink to blue over a purple t-shirt. Somehow the outfit worked. Their hair was the most exciting part, and she stared at it.
“How is your hair green?” She asked without thinking. It was in fact bright green at the ends, and brown at the roots.
The person gave Treya a weird look. “I dyed it?”
“Absolutely not,” Castiel interrupted Treya’s next question.
“Oh, fabulous, my favorite sibling. Hello to you too Cas.”
“Don’t call me that,” Castiel hissed.
Magnus took a deep breath. “Guys, this is Alex. Castiel, I know you don’t like him, but you don’t really like anyone here.”
“Anyone but him. Literally, anybody else.”
Alex crossed his arms. “Honey, nobody else has as much experience as us at quests. Besides, I’ve met Percy and Annabeth before.”
“I am not doing this,” Cas threatened. “You arrogant little prick-”
“Stop it, Cas.” Alexis put her hand on Castiel’s shoulder. “It’s just one meeting. You’ll live.” Castiel looked at Alexis’ hand, a murderous glint in their eyes.
“So. Should we, uh, go?” Carter asked awkwardly. Magnus nodded and led the way back to the elevator, Alex walking close behind him, passing Castiel with a glare.
It was an awkward ride in the elevator. Carter pulled out his map from that morning and studied it. Sadie picked at a hole in her ripped jeans. Sam talked quietly with Magnus about his healing magic. Alexis kept an eye on Castiel, who was glaring at the floor. Quinn looked extremely out of his depth, and he stood directly next to Hazel.
Treya looked at Alex again. “So, what do you mean, you dyed it?”
Alex looked at her warily. “Are you making fun of me?”
“What? No, I just- I’ve never heard of that. Is it a relatively new thing?”
Alex stared at Treya. “Not really. Been around for years. I’m sorry,” they put their hands on their hips, “are you not a teenager? Because you look like a teenager to me.”
“Technically yeah, I am, but I haven’t been part of the world for the last 150 years.” Treya tugged at her own hair, thinking. “So, people dye their hair strange colours now? Can anybody do it?”
Alex laughed. “Yeah. Why, do you want to try it?”
Treya shrugged. “Maybe. It looks cool.”
“Treya, you realise I have dyed hair, right?” Sadie frowned. Treya turned to Sadie and nodded.
“I know, it’s just - I don’t know, I thought maybe it was a magic thing.”
“A magic thing?” Sadie snorted. “Like, if I summon too many birds I’ll grow feathers?”
Treya frowned. “Scryers used to end up with white scars near their eyes. And I had a friend whose blood ran blue when she was using water magic. It’s not that crazy.”
Sadie’s eyes widened, and Alex grinned at Treya as the elevator opened again. Magnus led them back through the lobby and toward the front desk. Helgi sat behind it, shuffling through a stack of papers that was taller than Treya. A second man with a mop stood to the side of the desk, watching the group approach.
Two ravens sat perched behind Helgi on a small sill. They turned their heads as the group walked past.
In a flurry of feathers, one of the ravens flapped over to Alexis. She squawked as it landed on her shoulder.
“Excuse me?! Hello, bird, I’m not a tree!” She poked it worriedly with a finger.
“Girl! Do not touch the ravens of Odin!” Helgi rushed out from behind his desk, the stack of papers tilting dangerously in his absence. “Those birds are sacred! That he has chosen to bless you…”
The man with the mop stared at Alexis. “Odin’s blood. She is descended from him.”
“That’s impossible!” Helgi spluttered.
“I hope it poops on you,” Castiel said, the beginning of a smile on their face.
“Awesome stuff, really. Can you get him off of me please?” She gave the bird a frightened look, and it hopped twice before taking off again, returning to its perch.
“So. Another thing to add to the list of things we don’t understand.” Cas frowned. “You’re related to yet another god.”
“That’s, like, three-halves god,” Treya said. “At this point, you’d think they’d bring you up to Olympus, or Asgard, or wherever the Roman gods live.”
Alexis giggled. “Aw, but then you’d miss me.” She looked at the rest of the group. “Well? What are we waiting for? This isn’t exactly out of the ordinary.” She led the unsettled group out of the hotel.
“So, bad news.” Carter folded his map. “There are no portals near here. The closest one is in Connecticut. Not sure how that’s possible, but apparently Boston has no Ancient Egyptian monuments.”
“Or you did the spell wrong,” Sadie suggested.
Carter sighed. “Either way, unless we want to wander around the city looking for Egyptian artifacts, we need another plan.”
“I have a horse. He runs really fast.” Hazel whistled and a moment later a tan horse appeared next to her, a cloud of dust trailing behind him. He tossed his head. “Meet Arion. If you are truly Poseidon’s son, Alexis, then this is your brother.”
“Gods. Don’t even. I have too many nonhuman siblings already.”
Sadie stared worriedly at Alexis. Before she could inquire further, Alex spoke up.
“I could carry two people,” he offered. “That just leaves-”
“I can also carry two people,” Cas challenged Alex with a glare.
Alex laughed. “You sure that's a good idea? You’ve shifted a grand total of three times.”
“Shut up,” Cas grumbled.
Alex rolled his eyes. Then he closed his eyes, and before Treya knew what was happening a golden stallion with a shimmering mane and feathery bronze wings was standing in Alex’s place. He tossed his head as if to say “I know, I’m beautiful.”
Castiel closed their eyes tight, fuming. A moment later, they had become a dark black pegasus. They stomped angrily. Treya had never seen Castiel transform before – they had always said it felt weird. It was a testament to their hatred of Alex that they had shifted so readily to show them up.
“We’re still short,” Treya pointed out.
“Oh! I can summon Freak.” Carter pulled out his wand.
“Who’s Freak?” Alexis asked.
“My griffin. He carries us around in a boat when our portal is on cooldown.”
Alexis frowned. “I don’t even know where to start with that. I think I’ll just forget I asked.”
Carter waved his wand and muttered a spell, and a moment later a massive creature appeared. It had short, bristly wings on a lion’s body, but with a bird’s head. Behind it, there was indeed a boat attached to a rope that wound around the griffin’s waist.
“He’ll take us to camp if you tell us where it is.” Carter patted the creature on its head. The griffin let out a shrill squawking sound that sounded suspiciously like the word ‘freak’.
Alexis recited the address for camp while everyone else walked to their various modes of transportation. Hazel and Quinn climbed up onto Arion, and Carter, Sadie and Sam piled into the boat behind Freak.
Treya waited while Alexis climbed up onto Castiel the pegasus. Castiel was skittering, and Treya couldn’t tell if they were anxious or angry. Either way, Alexis had barely made it onto their back before they took off into the sky. Alexis turned back to look at Treya for a second before grabbing Cas’ neck for dear life.
Treya watched them leave, stunned. Was Alex really this unsettling to Cas? What the hell happened between the two of them?
She turned around uncertainly and made eye contact with Magnus, who was climbing onto Alex’s golden back. Alex was clearly less bothered by the shapeshifting, as he was still patiently waiting.
“Alright if I join you?” Treya asked, gesturing vaguely to her departed friends.
“Sure thing.” Magnus held his hand down for Treya to grab. She jumped up and settled on Alex’s back just in front of him.
“Let’s be off, then. Don’t want them getting there too far ahead of us.” Sadie gave a mocking salute before the griffin lurched forward, disappearing into thin air and tugging the boat along with it.
“Run, Arion!” Hazel nudged Arion into motion. She was gone in a second.
Alex started into a run, wings beating furiously. In a few moments, they were up in the air.
“Oh, shit.” Treya used one of the words Sadie had taught her a few days ago.
“What?”
“I hate flying. Oh gods.” She couldn’t stop looking at the ground. It was getting further and further away. She threaded her hands into Alex’s mane, forgetting that it wasn’t a normal horse.
“Hey. Don’t look down. That’s a terrible idea.”
“I know that, but- gods of Olympus, I hate heights.”
She squeezed her eyes tight, trying to focus on anything but the feeling of the cold air around her and failing miserably. She might have fallen off if it weren’t for Magnus behind her and the fact that Alex seemed to sense her thoughts, shifting whenever she tilted one way or another.
As they soared along, she heard the sound of a second set of wingbeats ahead. “Open your eyes, Trey!” Alexis called out.
Treya ignored her. The flight couldn’t be over fast enough.
When they landed on the ground at the edge of camp, Treya tumbled off immediately. She lay on the ground with her eyes closed, thankful to be back on solid land. Alex shifted back behind her, and he and Magnus came over, watching her with concern.
“It’s fine. I’m fine.” She gave the ground a final, grateful pat before getting unsteadily to her feet. Now that she was back on the ground, she was feeling self-conscious.
“You alright there, Trey?” Alexis walked over.
“Fine,” she snapped. She was about to comment on Alexis’ teasing while they were flying, but then her attention shifted to the camp boundary.
Walking up the hill was a group of people. The two teens were unfamiliar to Treya: a girl with blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, and a boy with sea-green eyes and dark hair. They both watched the newcomers with hesitation.
The third person, however, Treya recognised with ease. He was a centaur, his face old and kindly looking, with grey hair and a bushy beard. His horse half was white. He reached the crest of the hill and paused nervously.
“Welcome-” He was cut off as Treya began talking.
“You bastard. Do you know what I had to go through? You separated me from the only people who accepted me. I lived for years in a place that didn’t want me. I had to learn a new language. And still, nobody trusted me, all because of the lies you told them, you monstrous, twisted-”
“Hey,” the girl on the hill spoke up. “That’s not fair-”
“Not fair?! Not fair?!” Treya turned on the girl. She was seething. The man in front of her was responsible for so much of the suffering she had been through. “What’s not fair is sending a literal child away from everything they know. What’s not fair is getting to walk away from it and act like it didn’t happen. Why does every single person try to defend you?” She directed her venomous comment at Chiron. “What did you do to make everybody love you so damn much?”
Chiron’s eyes were shining, but Treya couldn’t tell if it was sadness or fear. “Child, I understand-”
Treya scowled. “I’m not a child.” The air around her turned hot and dry, and she had to extinguish a flare of flame around her. Chiron scampered back a few steps. Treya hoped he was remembering why they’d locked her away in the first place.
“Control, Treya!” Sam’s voice from behind her.
Treya clenched and unclenched her hands in anger before turning around. Alexis and Castiel were both glaring at her. Hazel was saying something to Quinn and Sadie. Alexis started marching up the hill.
“Treya, we’ve already talked to Chiron. I get it, really I do. But violence isn’t going to solve anything.”
“Oh, I don’t know. It might solve something for me.” Treya snarled, turning back to Chiron. “I want him to understand that it was a mistake to make me an enemy.”
The ground around her was burning now. A trail of scorched earth was left behind her, and she could feel the fire snaking its way along the hilltop, toward a tall pine tree to her left. It took a significant amount of concentration to keep it contained, to keep from burning the whole valley down. Chiron’s horse half skittered nervously as he watched the flames creep across the grass, inch by inch. Even though his nervousness was immensely satisfying, an unbidden thought still flitted into her mind.
This is why they locked you up.
Treya advanced on the centaur, ignoring the voice in her head, the shouts coming from the camp below, and the centaur’s pleading gaze.
Chiron’s eyes flickered to something over her shoulder a moment before she was slammed down by a wall of water. She was lifted up, spun around, and then dropped on her back on the grass.
She coughed, her lungs heaving at the water she’d inhaled. Looking up, she saw Alexis staring her down. The ocean behind her was foaming and writhing.
“Treya, back off! This isn’t the way to do this. Take a deep breath.”
“You know what, Lex? Go to hell.” Treya was angry. She hated flying. She hated Chiron. She definitely hated getting blindsided by massive walls of water.
Alexis must have seen the fight in Treya’s eyes, because her face set in grim resignation. She rolled her shoulders and flicked her chin up. An invitation.
“You might want to back away,” Treya warned the others with a grin. Castiel stalked over to them and herded them toward the camp barrier and Chiron, practically growling with irritation.
Treya raised her arms and made a fiery shield, narrowly blocking Alexis’ second wave. Steam exploded from where their powers met. Alexis stood in a whirlpool of water, rising off the ground slowly.
“You know you can’t beat me,” Alexis called. “You could never beat me.”
“I never wanted to beat you,” Treya retorted through the growing fog. “Why would I?”
Alexis was stirring up the sky. The winds were tearing at each other as both she and Treya flew at each other. They traded blows of magic and fists back and forth. Treya ducked and twisted, furious that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t land a hit. Alexis seemed equally fed up. They'd grown up training together, and Treya knew Alexis' next move as well as she knew her own. Alexis sent a wave from the left and flew from the right, but Treya was already flinging up a wall of fire in both directions. As the air hissed and crackled around her, she flung a whip-like trail of fire through the air. Her feet were knocked out from under her momentarily, but as Alexis moved in to land a blow Treya was already rolling to her feet, blocking the attack with a wall of flames.
Treya found herself laughing. She and Alexis were right next to each other now, both on the sand. The ocean was a hot mess, churning and flying up behind Alexis, evaporating as it got near Treya. All around them, the sand on the beach turned to glass at Treya’s fire as she expanded the boundaries of her flames, keeping the water away and enclosing her and Alexis in a glowing circle.
They were fighting hand to hand now, the sea and her fire playing out their own game all around them as Alexis tried to break down Treya's barrier.
Finally, Treya caught the back of Alexis’ knee. At the same moment, Alexis caught Treya’s wrist. After a brief struggle, Treya and Alexis were at a standstill, both breathing heavily.
Treya stared at Alexis’ face. Alexis stared back. Then Alexis smiled.
“Draw?” She asked, her chest heaving.
Treya couldn’t help but smile back. “Another one? How many times is this?”
Alexis grinned now, releasing her hold on Treya’s arm. In turn, Treya held her hand out to help Alexis up. They didn’t hug – she and Alexis both disliked physical contact – but the sentiment was in the air around them.
“Listen to me, Treya.” Alexis’ smile faded. “I understand your feelings about Chiron. But killing him won’t fix anything. It would just turn the camp against us.”
Treya clenched her jaw in frustration. “I know. I still want to do it, though.”
Alexis sighed. “You and me both, Trey.”
They walked back up the beach. Most of the group had crossed the barrier, likely with the help of the two demigods on the hill. Castiel stood alone at the top of the hill, watching Treya and Alexis approach.
“You realise everybody was watching that, right?” They asked. Indeed, there was a large group of campers retreating back into the valley, frequently turning to glance back at Treya and Alexis.
“I don’t care,” Treya said hotly. “If they want to stare, let them.” She ignored the strange twisting feeling in her stomach.
When the three of them had first arrived at camp, Cress, their Satyr guide, had warned them about the other campers. People will be scared of your power,he’d said. And scared people can be dangerous. Treya had worked extra hard to make sure that the people around her never feared her. Even if that meant biting her tongue, or holding back during training exercises.
After all that she had been through, she knew now more than ever that power and fear were just tools. There were definitely moments when it was to her advantage to flaunt her power, either to gain respect or to instill fear, but more often it was better if people didn’t know how strong she was.
And as shocked as the campers were, she wondered if they were a little afraid, too.