"My....sister?" I stuttered. I had a sister?
"Are you going to listen?" My mom fixed her glare on me. I raised my hands in defeat. "Alright. Your sister..."
"Her name was Jayde. She liked to be called Jay. She had long black hair. Blacker then one could think was possible. It seemed to absorb the light whenever a ray happened to fall on it. It was darker than Hade's Helm itself...
"Her eyes were as green as the grass. The brightest eyes I've ever seen. When she would get mad, you could see flecks of blue throughout them. She had the most amazing laugh. And her smile. Oh, her smile. It was as white as the clouds in the sky. She was so full of energy. I could never keep her in one place for more than a minute. And of course you weren't any different..." My mom dragged off again. She was looking at the wall with a blank stare.
She shook her head and continued. "The two of you were inseparable. Our neighbors always told me how adorable they thought you were. If Jay was around, Jules wouldn't be far behind. You got into so much trouble together."
My mind was churning. Why didn't I remember any of this? I couldn't just forget a sister!
"We moved around a lot. It didn't matter. Wherever we went, you and Jay always managed to label yourselves as troublemakers. I know I should have expected as much from twins."
"Twins?!" I couldn't stop my outburst this time.
"Yes. Twins." My mom said this almost as if she was in a trance. She went on, and I kept my curiosity at bay as best I could. "Twins of the god Neptune. Jayde and Julian. Both with green eyes, yours purer than Jay's. I knew that I couldn't keep two half bloods for too long. When you got older, I gave Jay to Lupa. I knew she was better equipped than you. A few weeks passed and I found out that Jay had set out for Camp Jupiter. She never made it. No one knows what happened. She just disappeared. I know in my heart that she isn't dead. She can't be. But I still lost her.
"I couldn't bear to lose you too so we moved again, this time to New Jersey. I picked a semi secluded house on the ocean front. I knew we needed to get away but I couldn't bear to part you from the ocean. I contacted the Greek gods, Hera and Hecate. They erased your memory of Jay and created fake ones to fill the space. I knew that if Jay hadn't survived, you wouldn't either. So I begged Hera to let me send you to Camp Half-Blood. She agreed rather quickly, saying that as long as the monsters weren't an issue, I could keep you until your were sixteen. I was a little bit suspicious. It wasn't until after it was set in stone that I found out what the gods wanted with you.
"They originally wanted to use Jay. But after she disappeared they chose you. Why, they wouldn't tell me. The twelve Greek Gods of Olympus chose a Roman demigod to be their savior from the evil that is coming."
"Mom. I don't understand." I rubbed my temple. None of this made any sense!
My mom smiled. A sad smile. "The gods have chosen you, Julian. You are to defeat the threat against Olympus. They needed someone powerful, someone who could beat any Titan or Giant in battle. Someone with the power of all twelve gods, granted to that person willingly by the gods themselves."
I stood in silence. I was shocked. This was too much for me. I sat down against the wall and put my head in my hands. I didn't want this. I didn't understand this.
"Jules." I looked up into my mom's eyes. "I know it's a lot. It wasn't right of me to keep this from you. But I though I could protect you. I thought I could stop this from happening."
"Stop what?" My voice was barely a whisper.
"Stop the gods from using you. Stop the Titans from rising again. I realized too late that I could have done nothing to stop it."
I sighed and rubbed my eyes with my hands. A shout from outside drew both of our attention to the closed door. As the shouts grew louder I could hear two names. Percy and Jason. I scrambled to my feet and moved toward the door. I paused when I reached it and glanced back at my mom.
"Thank you." I let my eyes rest on her one final time before opening the door and stepping into the chaos of the Roman Camp.
Above is Jayde!