Look I didn't lose my boyfriend...he just happened to disappear.
But I think it would be better if I started from the beginning...
My name is Eliana Corbyn. I'm seventeen years old, and a hero of Olympus. Last summer I helped defeat Gaea and fought against the giants. I am dating the current praetor of the twelfth legion, Jasper Herman.
My brother Will, had finally started dating Nico di Angelo. Which was honestly a highlight of the year for me. But that seemed like one of the only good things that has happened since last summer.
Because my father, Apollo, according to Zeus he had to be punished for disobeying him. I still held a grudge against the king of the gods for casting my father out of Olympus to be a mortal.
But long story short, my father had to go on this giant quest to regain his godhood. There was a battle between Roman emperors, and demigods died. A lot of Roman demigods had died that Jasper knew but the one everyone knew was Jason Grace.
He died saving Piper and Apollo's life. It had happened just as I had seen in my vision a year ago. I tried my best to change his fate but I've learned by now deaths can rarely be prevented. After his death, Apollo fought with Python and defeated him once again. The power of prophecy was restored and my visions returned.
I had honestly forgotten what it felt like to have a vision because it had been nearly a year since they'd stopped but I was glad for power returning.
Most of my visions had been boring after Apollo returned to Olympus. Stuff like: who'd win capture the flag, where the Stoll brothers planned to poor paint on me, when Clarisse would challenge me to a sword fight.
I had thought for once I might have a normal year. I'd joined the volleyball team at my new school and with my gift of proficient aim I never missed a ball. I somehow managed to get all A's in school (with little to no cheating this time). I even lined up a high school to go near the University of Long Island so I could be near Jasper and Camp.
I had spent most of my school year catching up with my dad and telling him different stories about my summer on the Argo II. Jasper had come for Christmas and it had been a white Christmas. Jasper had lived in Berkeley California in New Rome nearly his whole life so he'd never really experienced snow. So it was really special to take him sledding and teach him to build a proper snowman.
I had arrived at Camp Half-Blood at the start of the summer term. I was already one week in and I thought: Hey! No prophecy, no big quest! This summer will be totally normal!
I should've immediately been suspicious when Rachel didn't spew green smoke the first night.
After I led the camp in a sing along at the campfire. I rushed back to my camp to Iris message Jasper. I had tried to message him yesterday but he hadn't answered. I just assumed he was probably really busy as praetor since it was the start of summer. But he didn't answer tonight either, which I found odd. He normally also answered, and last time we talked he had told me when he was free to talk to me so we could talk about the start of summer.
I hadn't seen him physically since spring and I really missed him. I was hoping that at some point during the summer I could go visit him but now I was getting worried about him. I took a deep breath and told myself I was over reacting. He was probably just busy with leading the legion. I'll message him again tomorrow morning.
When I went to sleep that night I had a vision.
I was in a dark room. The walls were limestone and they reminded me of the necropolis in Rome. I shuddered at the thought of that place. There was absolutely no light in here, except for the flames of two torches on the wall. This place made me feel very uncomfortable. I hated being out of the sun and this place reeked of death and darkness.
"Eliana!" A voice called my name.
I turned around expecting to see someone. But I saw nothing but darkness. I heard the voice call out again from a tunnel. The tunnel creeped me out but I decided to follow the voice.
As I walked through the tunnel, I saw thousands of skeletons and decaying bodies.
Nico would love this place, I thought.
Finally the tunnel opened out to a room. The room was very dark. In the center there was a person. He was chained up and his face was bloodied. He looked like he'd just fought with a god.
"Eliana." He said tiredly, out of breath. "Please, I'm begging any god who is listening. I need to tell her..."
There was a rumbling, and the person stopped talking. I was at a far distance and I couldn't tell who it was until I got closer.
"Jasper!" I gasped, running towards him and kneeling besides him. "What happened? Who's doing this?" I asked frantically.
This was a vision of a future event so he couldn't hear me and didn't even know I was there.
"Eliana," He said. "If you're listening you have to know that he's coming! Please you have to find me quickly and stop what he's doing! You have to stop him before -"
The ground shook and a deep voice cut through my dream, as Jasper faded away.
We shall meet again, Eliana Corbyn
I jolted awake, gasping for air, in a cold sweat.
That voice. I knew that voice. I'd heard it before, fought it before, and hated what it had done. I glanced over at Will who slept peacefully in his bunk across from mine.
The voice belonged to Eros.
I had fought his Roman counterpart - Cupid last summer with Jason and Nico. He had forced Nico to confess his crush and he'd forced me and Jason to talk about our past relationship. I had despised the love god since. What he did to Nico was unforgivable.
But the real question was why did he have Jasper? And how far in the future was this event? It had to be within a few months because Jasper looked the same as he had when I'd last seen him.
I quietly took the blankets off me and put my shoes on. I grabbed my jacket and a drachma from my backpack before sneaking out of my cabin. By now I had already memorized the rotation of the harpies and knew how to avoid them.
It wasn't hard to sneak out the cabin area and down the trail to the docks. I needed water and I was hoping that the harpies wouldn't hear me talking over the sounds of the ocean.
I walked along the wooden dock and sat on the edge dangling my feet. I took a scoop of water in my hand and summoned a small amount of sunlight to heat the water up creating a small mist. I then tossed the golden drachma into the mist.
"Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering." I whispered. "Show me Jasper's room."
The mist changed into the familiar scene of his room. Normally he would be lying in his bed or sharpening his spear. But his room was once again empty.
I wanted to shout in frustration as I aggressively swiped my hand through the message ending it.
If Jasper wasn't answering my message then that either meant he didn't want to talk to me or Eros had already taken him. I was going to go with my second thoughts. I racked my brain for where Eros could be keeping him. Last time I'd met Eros it was in Diocletian's Palace. But from what the vision looked like it wasn't Diocletian's Palace. I really hoped it wasn't somewhere in the ancient lands, because that would make finding him much harder.
Eros is the god of carnal love and pleasure. But where would a god like that be? I didn't know too much about him so I decided I'd do some research tomorrow morning about him. But for now I couldn't do anything.
I decided to head back to my cabin and try to get more sleep. When I walked in I nearly tripped and died because Austin had left his bow and quiver on the ground.
If that boy doesn't learn to pick up his stuff – !
I grumbled to myself as I took my shoes off and my jacket, and climbed back into bed.
***
I woke to my siblings blaring Hamilton.
It has long been a tradition in the Apollo cabin that every week a camper would choose a music theme for the week. This week was Broadway. Every waking moment in the cabin, Broadway music played.
Will was already up and dressed and opened the curtains and sunlight shine in the room. Which seemed to wake most people up. I yawned but as the sunlight touched me I already felt ten times more awake.
I kicked the bottom of the bunk above me to wake Austin up. He was always the last to get up and normally made us late to breakfast.
"Wale up, Saxophone man!" I said. "And pick up your quiver! It nearly killed me last night!"
Austin groaned and began to stir.
"Will?" He grumbled.
"What's up Austin?" Will said looking up at his brother from his bunk.
"I'm scared." He replied hiding beneath his covers.
"Why...?" Will furrowed his brows. His blonde curly hair looked wild and he had a serious case of bedhead. But somehow he made it look good and stylish.
"There's a monster under my bed."
"Screw off!" I grabbed his blankets from above me and yanked them down towards me. He tumbled out of his bed swearing and fell onto the ground.
"Eliana attacked me!" Austin complained pointing at me.
"You called me a ugly monster!" I shot back.
"Knock it off you two." Kayla said. "If you make us late one more time. You're both on trash duty and have to teach Percy during archery class."
We both shuddered. Percy Jackson with a bow and arrow. I shook my head from those disturbing thoughts.
After some arguing and swearing with Austin. We both got changed and made our beds. I was wearing ripped jeans with my regular mustard yellow converse. I wore my camp half blood shirt and had my hair in a half up half down style with a cream ribbon, holding my hair back.
Finally we were ready to head to breakfast. Most of our siblings had left already which just left Austin, Kayla, Will and me.
"Never thought I'd see the day when we were late because of Will Solace." Kayla said in disbelief as we watched Will searching his bunk.
"What are you even looking for?" I asked.
"The schedule." He explained. "I can't remember who's on infirmary duty."
"Did you lose it or did you just leave it in Nico's cabin?" I smirked.
"Shut up Corbyn."
I held in a laugh as he tried to glare at me but he was more like an angry puppy dog face. "Come on, you don't need the schedule. It's my shift today."
We headed to breakfast together. Will and Nico sat together at one end of the table. While I sat next to Austin.
"Why are you eating M'M's for breakfast?" I asked Austin as he separated them into colors.
"I'm not." He said. "I'm separating the green ones from the rest of them because Kayla really likes them."
"Oh, that's nice of you." I said.
"What? No, I plan to eat them right in front of her face."
"You're a menace you know that, right?" Austin flashed me a charming smile and winked. I rolled my eyes with a smile and gently flicked his forehead.
"Behave." I told him. "And don't curse the Ares kids! I don't want a war with Clarisse before the second week of camp!"
"No promises!" Austin shouted after me as I headed towards the infirmary. It was only the first week of camp so injuries were normally minor in the morning but it got busy after lunch when all the new kids try to sword fight for the first time.
So far the most I had to do was pop a shoulder back in place because a Demeter kid fell out of a tree trying to talk to a dryad.
Which gave me plenty of time to research Eros. I wanted to ask Annabeth about it but it was still the first week and I didn't want her to start her summer with my weird vision and missing boyfriend. She'd dealt with enough of that already.
I had grabbed a book about him and had started reading. According to the book he was a primeval god, son of Chaos, the original primeval emptiness of the universe, but later tradition made him the son of Aphrodite and Ares.
No wonder he was so scary and powerful. He was a very ancient god with an ancient power. That was about as far as I got with reading because Will burst into the infirmary.
"What's wrong?" I asked concerned because of how serious Will looked. "Did Austin start a war with Ares cabin again?"
"Someone's here to see you." He said. "And she doesn't seem happy."
I placed my book away on the shelf and followed Will to the big house. Inside I saw Chiron, Rachel, Nico and...Arabelle?
What was she doing here?
She looked a lot older from the last time I saw her. She'd grown taller and looked more mature. She was in full golden armor and her spear and sword glistened next to it. She wore her dark brown hair in a braid down her back and her deep blue eyes stared me down. She sneered at me and reached for her sword.
"Hey! Wait let's just calm down - " Rachel said quickly as she pointed it at my face.
"Where is he?" She demanded. I swallowed unsure what to say.
I assumed she was talking about her brother Jasper but I didn't have an answer to the question.
"I don't know." I said honestly.
"Yes, you do!" She shouted at me. "They said you would know!"
"W-Who?" I was genuinely scared. Arabelle was one of the strongest warriors I'd ever met and I did not like being on the opposite end of her sword.
"The voices in my dreams." She said in a deadly tone.
"Arabelle, I know you're angry but Eliana-" Will tried to reason with her but she shot him a glare and he shut up immediately. He faltered under her gaze and inched away from me towards Nico.
I gave him a look that said: Thanks for the support bro.
"My brother is missing!" She said, anger in her eyes. "They said you know where he is. Tell me before I kill you!"
"I don't know where he is." I said truthfully. "I only know who took him."
"Eliana, what are you talking about?" Chiron asked, his face looked very serious.
"Last night I had a vision of Jasper. He was kidnapped by a god." I explained to them what I saw. "I managed to figure out who took him but I don't know why, how or even where he is."
Arabelle sheathed her sword pondering over what I had said.
"Who took him?" She asked.
"Eros." I said.
Her brows furrowed. "Cupid? Why?"
I felt Nico glance my way at his name.
"I'm not sure. But last time I met him it wasn't a pleasant experience." I said.
"Rachel," Chiron said. "Have you seen anything? Heard any voices that could be a prophecy?"
Rachel shook her head. "I've been having some weird dreams about daytime but nothing about Eros or a new prophecy."
"Well, I don't need a stupid prophecy to go get my brother." Arabelle said. "Just tell me where Cupid is and I will go retrieve him."
"I don't think it's that simple." Nico said. "Cupid is very powerful and he..." Nico's voice died away.
"He's not someone you just go find at the local coffee shop." I said. "It won't be that easy."
"It might not be easy for you." She corrected. "Just give me a general location and I will fight him and bring Jasper back to the legion."
I bit the inside of my cheek from arguing. I could tell it wouldn't get me anywhere. She must be really concerned if she flew her Pegasus all the way out here just to force me to tell her where he was.
"How long has he been missing?" I asked.
"Three days." She said. "We've convinced the legion that he's on a diplomatic trip to cover his absence. Only the Centurions know what's really going on. While he's gone Frank is covering for him as stand in Praetor."
She took a few steps closer to me and looked me dead in the eyes. "I can see you thinking. Do you know where Cupid is?"
I shook my head. "I don't know where Cupid is but I have a plan to find out."
"Eliana!" Will said. "You can't go on another quest! You've risked your life enough I can't let you -" Nico placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Tell me your plan." Arabelle said.
"I'm going to go talk to his mom and convince her to tell me where he is." I said. "Eros is her lieutenant and was already by her side in the stories. If anyone knows where he is it's her."
"And how do you plan to find her?"
"I plan to go to the last place I talked to her." I said. "I'm going to Charleston, and I'm going to force Aphrodite to tell me where Eros is."
"If your going then I'm going too!" Will said.
"Will you can't." Nico said. "You're a Head Counselor and we need you here."
"There is no need for anyone to join us." Arabelle said. "I dislike it but I will join Eliana on her journey to Charleston. There is no need for anyone else to risk their life as well."
I nodded agreeing.
Chiron's face was grave. "We haven't had peace for years. I was hoping this year would be it. But without a prophecy it's not a que-"
He didn't get to finish that thought because Rachel fell to the ground and began to spew green smoke.
Ironic timing.
Rachel's eyes glowed green and an aura surrounded her. Her voice tripled as if multiple people were talking.
Two half-bloods will journey west
Together foes will put love to rest
The Day will rise from the depths
Only with child of Rome will she take her final breaths
"Great timing." I said, recounting all the words Rachel had just said.
Chiron gave us a grave look.
"It's official then." He said. "Eliana and Arabelle will go on a quest to rescue Jasper Herman from the love god."
"We leave in an hour." Arabelle said before pushing past me out of the room.