daughter of thunder

chapter one: the weight of the sky

The snow was falling sideways when we reached Westover Hall.

I didn't know why we were there. Thalia had gotten a distress signal from Grover – something about two powerful half-bloods who didn't know what they were. Percy had insisted on coming. Thalia had insisted on coming. And me? I was just there. Invisible. Watching.

My blue Converse were soaked. The static electricity in my hair had gone haywire – every snowflake that landed on me melted instantly. My broken lightning bolt pendant was cold against my chest.

Storm coming, I thought.

But the sky was clear.

Westover Hall was huge. Old. The kind of building that looked like it ate children for breakfast. The windows were dark. The doors were locked. Grover was waiting for us around the back, his furry legs shaking, his fake feet leaving weird prints in the snow.

"Thank the gods," he bleated. "They're inside. A boy and a girl. Brother and sister. Their parents are – well, they're not around. But the girl – she's strong. Really strong. And there's a monster."

"What kind of monster?" Percy asked.

"A big one."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Helpful."

We went inside.

The dance was in full swing.

Kids in cheap dresses and wrinkled suits. Streamers. Balloons. A DJ playing terrible music. And in the corner, two kids who didn't belong.

The boy was small – maybe ten. Dark hair. Dark eyes. He looked like he wanted to disappear. He was holding a Mythomagic figurine – Hades, I think. The god of death.

The girl was older. Fourteen, like me. She had the same dark hair, the same dark eyes. But there was something else. Something powerful. Something hidden.

Bianca and Nico di Angelo, I thought. The ones Grover found.

"Daphne," Percy whispered. "Stay close."

I nodded.

We moved through the crowd.

The monster came out of nowhere.

One second, the dance floor was full of teenagers. The next, a massive shape crashed through the gymnasium wall – a lion-like creature with a scorpion tail. Spines. Glowing red eyes.

Manticore.

"Get down!" Thalia shouted.

The manticore roared. Its tail whipped around. Spines flew like missiles. Kids screamed. The DJ stopped the music.

Percy uncapped Riptide. The bronze sword glowed in the dim light.

Thalia drew her bow. Her storm-gray eyes were furious.

And me? I raised my hand.

Lightning cracked. Not from the sky – from my palm. A bolt of white-hot electricity hit the manticore in the chest. The monster staggered. Its fur smoked.

But it didn't fall.

"Daphne, again!" Percy yelled.

I threw another bolt. Another. Another. Each one hit. Each one made the manticore angrier. My hands were burning. My vision was blurring. The static in my hair was so loud I couldn't hear anything else.

Then the manticore's tail whipped toward Bianca.

"No!" Nico screamed.

Thalia shot an arrow. It bounced off the manticore's hide.