Nina's Destiny

Camp Half-Blood

"What is it?" I asked, looking back and forth between Diane and Morgan.

"We're not exactly human," Diane said, drawing out the last room. She rubbed her arm awkwardly.

"No duh," I replied, rolling my eyes. "You guys are mages."

"No," Morgan said. "Well, yeah. We are, but we're something else too. Something more powerful." He paused and leaned against the tree next to him. "You know all those stories about the Greek gods?"

"Are you going to tell me they're real?" I asked. I put down Skittles' cage and ran my fingers through my hair. I really needed to cut it. "What? Are you guys like Hercules, or something?"

"No," Diane snapped, and I nearly jumped. Never had I heard her that angry, not even at Morgan. "We are nothing like that sexist hell-beast."

"We're his half-siblings," Morgan jumped in, ending Diane's tirade before it could truly begin. "Morgan and Diane aren't our real names. My real name is Apollo."

"Like the sun god," I said. I wanted to laugh, but the look in Morgan's eyes was too serious. I had never seen him this serious before, and I couldn't help but believe him.

"That's me," Morgan, or Apollo I suppose, grinned. He ruffled his hair with one of his hands. "And Di really is my twin sister, Artemis."

"Goddess of the hunt and moon," Diane, Artemis, clarified. "You believe all this?"

"You've never lied to me before," I said, shrugging. I suddenly felt uncomfortable. For the longest time, these two had been my best friends, the people I went to when I needed to get away, from school, from bullies, from Gabe. Now I find out they're gods? It was a little disconcerting.

"Why are you telling me all this?" I asked. "You've known me for three years. Why are you telling me now? Merlin, why are you guys even friends with me in the first place? I'm eleven. I must've been so annoying to you both. I mean, you're all powerful gods. And all the letters I sent you?"

I was rambling, but I couldn't stop. Apollo put his hand over my mouth.

"You want the honest answer?" he grinned. I nodded my head. "We were bored."

"You were bored," I repeated. Apollo shrugged his shoulders.

"We were bored, so we took a walk through New York. We saw you and decided to come talk to you."

"You're kidding," I said, snorting. Apollo just shook his head in the same way he always had, grinning. I smiled too. Some things never changed.

"As for why we're telling you," Artemis said, rolling her eyes at the two of us. "Your father is one of us, our uncle."

"My dad's a god?" I asked, baffled. That wasn't right. My dad was dead. And even if he was a god, why hadn't he come to visit like Apollo and Diane had.

"Yes," Artemis agreed. "Our uncle, Poseidon."

"So I'm like your cousin?" I asked.

That would be weird. I could feel the blush rising on my cheeks as I thought of what I had seen in that mirror over Christmas. It seemed so long ago I had almost forgotten about it. I could feel the blush rising on my cheeks as I thought about Apollo. Could I really think of him like that after him being my best friend for so long? Could a god even look at a little girl like me that way?

"Sort of," Apollo said awkwardly. It seemed the thought creeped him out just as much as me. "Blood doesn't really count for gods. I mean, our step-mother is also our aunt."

"Zeus and Hera," I mumbled under my breath. I looked at both Artemis and Apollo as I asked my next question. "What happens now?"

"Now you go down to the Big House and meet up with your brother." Artemis was the one to answer. "You'll meet Chiron there too. He's a centaur, so don't freak out." I had to smile at that. "Our father, Zeus, has had his symbol of power stolen from him. He blames your father, Poseidon, and, in turn, you and your brother."

"I wasn't even in America, though," I argued.

Apollo ruffled my hair. "We know, Sparkles," he said softly. "Our father can be rash." From the scowl on Apollo's face, I could tell he was thinking of much nastier words.

"There has been a quest issued," Artemis continued. "You, your brother, a satyr, and a daughter of Athena are to travel to the Underworld to find the Master Bolt."

"Right," I said. "So I'll see you guys around, right?"

Apollo pulled me into a tight hug. "Your stuck with me now, Sparkles," he said. He was grinning, but there was an air of sadness around him.

"We'll come visit," Artemis promised as she too pulled me into a hug.

I smiled at my friends before making my way down to the the Big House they had indicated before. Standing on the porch, sure enough, was my brother, a centaur and two others.

Apollo's POV

"She's grown up," Artemis said. "She's mature for her age."

I could only nod as I watched Nina run down to the Big House to greet her brother. It had never occurred to me that she was a demigod. And to find out she was a demigod? A daughter of Poseidon to top it all off. I wondered if that was the reason we were so close. Could that be the reason I had always felt connected to her before I even met her? I could still remember what my Oracle had told me back in the ancient days, before I had even truly joined my fellow Olympians.

"You are lonely, my Lord." I looked up at the Oracle as she sat next to me.

"I suppose I am," I replied shortly. "What do you suggest I do about it?"

"Nothing," she said. "There will come a day, many years in the future, when you shall find your happiness. The first-born daughter of Poseidon. To her your soul is bound, my Lord, and only to her. Only once you find her will you be truly happy."

"Apollo?" Artemis asked, nudging me with her shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "Just thinking."

Nina's POV

"Percy!" I shouted as I threw my arms around my brother. He laughed and hugged me back tightly to himself. "I missed you, fratellino."

"You too," Percy whispered in my ear. "Although I suppose we should change our nicknames to Greek now."

"I don't know Greek," I said, pulling back from Percy.

"Me neither," he said, grinning. I rolled my eyes at him.

"What's going on?" I asked quietly. "I was with Morgan and Diane up there, Percy. They said they're gods."

"Yeah," Percy said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He always did that when he was uncomfortable. "Apparently, we;re demigods."

"And Mom didn't mention this ever?" I asked. Percy immediately lost his cheerful demeanor. "Percy? Where's Mom? Is she okay?"

"She's dead," Percy mumbled, and I could feel myself break inside. No. My mom couldn't be dead. Percy went on to tell me about everything that had happened to him in the past few weeks. When he went over the part about Mom dying, I clung to him and cried.

"Percy? Antonina?" the centaur behind us asked. For the past few minutes as Percy and I talked, he and the other two had turned around so we could catch up. "Do you both understand your quest?"

"Yes," Percy and I said together. I looked up at the centaur who could only be Chiron. He smiled at me in the way a proud father would a child.

"Argus is waiting for you."

On the way to the road where Argus - the original Argus, I asked - was, I was introduced to both Annabeth and Grover. Annabeth seemed nice enough, and Grover was completely hilarious. Together, the four of us climbed into the back of the van. We started off on our first quest.