Outlaws △ Luke Castellan

03.

It sounded like a matter of life and death.

"I'll hold you to that."

"I know you will." Luke studied her. "How are you feeling now?"

"Better. A little."

"Up to meeting Annabeth?"

Kaia smiled. "Of course."

The world would have to be ending for her to refuse a chance to meet Annabeth Chase.

Despite her protests, Luke picked up her bag. They walked shoulder-to-shoulder through camp. The world looked a little brighter now, Kaia thought. She was reunited with the people who meant the most to her. Somehow, everything would balance itself, and she'd find some illusion of peace.

Well, as peaceful as things could be, when weapon practice occurred every day.

Annabeth was training with her knife in the arena. The knife, Kaia knew, had been a gift from Luke. Despite all the other weapon choices available, Annabeth refused to let the knife go, and was becoming one of the best fighters at camp with it. A few more years, and Annabeth would be a force to be reckoned with.

"Annabeth!" Luke called.

Beforehand, Annabeth had been the dictionary definition of seriousness: pursed lips, furrowed brow, locked jaw and steely grey eyes. That all melted when she heard Luke's voice. She gasped and whirled around, hair sticking to her forehead, and waved frantically.

"Luke!" The blonde did a double-take when she spotted Kaia. "Kaia?"

Kaia waved. "Heya, 'Beth. I'm a year rounder now."

Annabeth ran up to them. She must have been training for a long time before Kaia arrived: her orange shirt was drenched in sweat, and her cheeks were rosy. Her breath came in short pants.

"Are you okay?"

Kaia shrugged. "Family issues. I don't belong anywhere but here now."

She tried to appear strong, but her façade must have flickered like bad television reception. Annabeth noticed instantly.

"I understand that," she said sadly. She jumped forward and wrapped her arms around Kaia's midsection. "But we'll be your new family now."

"Agreed." Luke hugged them both, so they were huddled together. He stared at Kaia, utterly solemn. "Right now, Kaia, I solemnly vow to be your extended family. I won't let you down like our parents have."

"Me too!" Annabeth input, bouncing a little on her feet.

Kaia could have started crying again. So few people in her life were permanent. But right now... She could imagine them, thick as thieves, forever.

"You guys..." She rested her head against Luke's, and smiled down at Annabeth. "Thank you."

She didn't need much else, Kaia thought, as long as she had these two in her life.

Maybe she could find a home at Camp Half-Blood, after all.

+++

Kaia had settled right back into her cabin.

She and Annabeth were the only kids from the Athena cabin staying year-long, an arrangement that worked perfectly for Kaia. She unloaded her meagre possessions and spent most of the afternoon catching up with her close friend. She'd get stuck back into the activities of Camp tomorrow.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Kaia was unused to it being so quiet, to the point she was restless. Being so silent, she had nothing to distract her from thoughts of what had happened in the mortal world, which dampened her attitude significantly.

Luke and Annabeth were by her side when dinner finished, but Kaia excused herself, stating she needed time alone. Luke and Annabeth had backed off at once. They'd had their own tough pasts, and understood the need to be alone and collect one's thoughts better than most.

Kaia ambled through Camp. Her thoughts lingered on Ellie, on the hurt cutting through her veins at the constant biting words that came from her father's mouth. Words, Kaia decided, were the most deadly type of weapon. Most wounds could heal. But there was no cure for the inner scars that came from enduring so much trouble at the hands of someone's words.

Kaia found herself coming to a standstill in front of the fire. A girl tended to the flames, which soared high tonight. Kaia frowned. She'd seen this girl around before, always by the campfire. She appeared to be eight years of age, and Kaia had never seen her anywhere else.

Her curiosity was aroused, a hunger that couldn't be satisfied. Kaia traipsed toward the girl, who was focused on the flames. She didn't even look up when Kaia stood just in front of her.

"The flames are bright tonight," Kaia noted.

"New family was found today." The girl looked up and smiled. "Hello, Kaia Wolfhart. I have been expecting you."

Kaia blanched. Normally, when people knew her full name before she told them, it was a sure sign to run in the other direction.

But this was Camp Half-Blood. No monster could enter unless invited – and Kaia couldn't exactly see how an eight-year-old girl could be a monster.

"You... have?" she squeaked.

The girl nodded. "I am Hestia, goddess of the hearth. I have been wanting to talk to you for some time."

Kaia's head spun. Any more shock surprises, and she was sure she'd faint. She began fidgeting with her hands. The more anxious she was, the more hyperactive she became.

"About what, Lady Hestia?" she asked. A pit settled in her stomach. Normally, when a god or goddess wished to speak with you, it wasn't just because they wanted to enjoy your company.

Hestia smiled and gestured forward. "Please, sit."

Kaia bit her lip, but nonetheless stepped closer to the goddess, treading so cautiously she might as well have been stepping on glass. She sat down and stared at the flames, leaping into the air, as active as her body.

"You have a strange family," the goddess mused. "Luke Castellan and Annabeth Chase, am I right?"

"Yes, My Lady."

"Your personal bonds and attachments are only going to grow. But there will come a time when your family is splintered."

Kaia recoiled.

"No," she said hollowly. "They'd never leave me. They both promised."

She shook her head. Luke and Annabeth... splintered? Never. They'd vowed only that afternoon never to leave each other. They were family, a tie thicker and stronger than blood. The idea of leaving one of them was as foreign as alien lifeforms. It simply couldn't be. It went against the laws and physics of the world.

Hestia looked at her sadly. "An oath neither of them would break intentionally. But one day... Your path is your choice, Kaia. Your bonds and loyalty will be tested. But which ties will prove strongest?"

Kaia's lips were dry. Her knee bounced up and down, and her hands couldn't remain still. Hestia was making her want to run away – far, far away.

"I'm afraid I do not understand."

"And you won't, for some yet. I just wished to warn you." Hestia sighed and stared at the merry flames. "Not many care for family these days. People like you are rare, Kaia. You might not know it, but a family is what you've been subconsciously seeking all this time – and will continue to search for. It's why you feel so hurt when your siblings misunderstand you, why ending things with Ellie hurts so much, and why you want to cling to these bonds with your new friends. But your family is going to break, and you will have to decide which ties are strongest."

Kaia licked her lips. The goddess's words spelt and foretold a great tragedy, she could deduce that much. And Kaia had the feeling she was a lynchpin, an integral part of the unravelling plot.

What scared her most was that she couldn't make out which side she was on in this scenario.

"Why did you tell me this?" she managed to choke out.

Hestia smiled sorrowfully.

"When the time comes, I think you'll understand."