[nolens]

-Three Years Later-

Thunder rattled the skies above New York City as the mugger hit the wall, crying out in shock. He tried to bolt away, wincing as he took a step forward and tested his shoulder, but immediately was pressed back against the bricks. The girl grabbed the lapels of his trenchcoat, bashing him to the wall. Her eyes were electric, like the arcs of lightning shooting across the sky above them.

"Wanna try that again?" She hissed, tightening her grip on his collar.

The man shook his head, his skin paling. "N-no! I'm sorry, lady! I didn't mean to!"

"Y'see," The girl started, nodding her head. "That's what they all say, and then I run into them on the streets again. The thing about you muggers is that you're not very slick."

"Got any tips?" The man tried at a weak laugh, but the look in his eyes faded as she slammed him back against the wall, thunder shaking the alley wall. "Bad joke, sorry."

"Here's what you're going to do, buddy," She said. "When I let you go, you're going to scurry on back to wherever it is you call home, and then you're going to think about your life choices and then you're going to stray from your life of crime. Understood?"

The man nodded so hard that she was surprised his head didn't fall off. "I understand!"

The girl took a moment, mulling her options over. However, that was her mistake. In the split second that she'd looked away, the man brought his knee up to hit her in the stomach. The girl was taken off guard, and she staggered back, eyes furious. The man came at her one more time, swinging his fist.

The girl reached up, stopping his fist in its path. Her grip was iron, and the man cried out from under the pressure.

"I'm wounded," The girl deadpanned. Lightning illuminated the sky, igniting her turquoise eyes. "I really thought we were having a moment there."

The man grit his teeth, but the girl shoved him away. Before he could run off, she swung her knee up, hitting him between the legs. As she released her grip and the man keeled over, she brought her elbow into his head, then executed one well-gathered punch to his nose. Blood spurted from his nostrils, and he fell to the ground, moaning in pain.

The storm above the city burst as Tessa Brennan leant down to pick up her purse dangling from the mugger's hands, turning on her heels and stalking out of the alley. Bruised knuckles and a wild look in her eyes, but a force to be reckoned with all the same.

--

Even an hour later, Tessa couldn't shake the nerves still coiled in her muscles. As soon as she'd gotten home to her apartment, she'd peeled off her wet clothes and changed into a fluffy sweater and leggings, feeling like she'd been electrocuted. She placed an order for Chinese takeout, turned on the latest episode of The Bachelor, then padded over to her kitchen to snatch an ice pack from the freezer. Her knuckles were bloody and bruised, but the chill of the ice helped numb the pain.

Tessa sighed, tearing her gaze from the rose ceremony to the skyline of New York City outside her windows. The view was amazing no matter what time of day it was, but there was something about the city at night that enthralled Tessa. Keeping an eye on the lights and the mist and the bridge in the distance was enough to shake her anxiety's grip on her, if only for a moment. But now, the view only made her heart pang with remorse. Rain streaked the windowpanes and lightning lit up the sky, and Tessa couldn't help but wonder if the gods were mad. But at what, she didn't know.

It'd been three years since Tessa had walked away from her life as a demigod, but when nights like tonight happened, it felt like longer. Her removal from the world of mythology had been a cleansing one, and she hadn't stepped foot in either camp since. She missed her home, her friends, but after the war, she couldn't bear to keep her morale up. She'd crumbled into a pit of post-traumatic stress and anxiety that no one could bring her out from. Not even Kaden.

Tessa inhaled sharply, forcing away the thought of him. If she wanted to move on, if she really wanted to heal, she needed to stop thinking about him. And that meant no lingering over his emerald eyes, his windswept hair, or his dazzling smile...The pain was too great. The split hadn't been called for, but both Tessa and Kaden were broken after the war. They needed time to heal individually, despite their undying love for one another. And so now, nearly a year and a half later, Tessa felt like a different person. She was no longer the revered daughter of Poseidon. Now, she was an independent journalist trying to make a living with a degree from a college that no mortal had ever heard of.

A flare of pain burned at Tessa's knuckles and she hissed. What, was that mugger's face made of steel or something? She muttered a curse under her breath and got to her feet, padding over to the bathroom where she kept her medical supplies. As she was tying the gauze around her hand, a knock sounded at her door.

"Coming!" Tessa called, emerging the bathroom with a huff. She snatched her wallet off the kitchen counter, ready to pay the delivery guy outside her door. With a bit of a swing in her step, she pulled the door open and then froze in her tracks.

It wasn't the delivery guy.

He was as handsome as she remembered. His chestnut hair was tousled from the New York wind, the ends curling from the rain. His glittering eyes, like raw emeralds, widened at the sight of her, like he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. With his hands stuffed in the pockets of his leather jacket, Kaden Gray looked as familiar as home to Tessa Brennan since she'd last seen him.

"Tessa," Kaden breathed, the sound of her name on his tongue sending a familiar skip through her heart. "May I come in?"

~~

In some alternate world, Tessa and Kaden would have greeted one another with a smile and a loving kiss. They would have embraced one another tightly, had their hands linked together, would have been the epitome of a happy couple. But now, the image shattered into a thousand sparkling pieces as Tessa stepped aside as if she were in a daze, watching Kaden shuffle into her apartment as she shut the door behind him.

Kaden glanced around Tessa's apartment, the ghost of a smile on his lips. "Nice place."

Tessa shook herself out of her reverie, clearing her throat. "Thank you."

There was a beat of uncomfortable silence, something that they had never endured before.

"How have you been?" Tessa asked, moving to the kitchen. "Can I grab you something to drink?"

"I've been doing well," Kaden managed, his voice tight, like the words were forced. "And no, thank you. This is a quick visit, unfortunately."

Tessa dropped the hand she'd stretched towards the pitcher of water, drumming her fingers along the countertop. She met Kaden's gaze, filled with intensity as it normally was. "Is everything all right?"

Kaden opened his mouth like he was going to speak, but clamped his lips shut and shook his head. "I'm afraid some things are happening back in New Rome. Things I thought I wouldn't have to deal with for a while."

An image of Kaden back in New Rome, donning his praetor's cape on his throne came to the forefront of Tessa's memory.

"You're still praetor, right?" Tessa's tone was light as she averted her gaze, pouring herself a glass of water.

"Not for much longer," Kaden chimed. "We're in the middle of an election season. Besides, I'm nearly complete with my time in the legion. Ten years pass by quickly, don't they?"

Tessa's grip tightened around her crystal glass. "They do," She spoke, her voice hardly above a whisper. She looked back up at Kaden, smiling. "So, what's the issue?"

Kaden chewed on his lip. His gaze drifted over to the end table in the hall, filled with pictures from a life that Tessa had long since left. He padded over to it, picking up one from a campfire. Tessa, Dale, and Kaden were smiling at the camera, while Reese was caught mid-blink and Mark had a too-hot marshmallow on his tongue. Tessa's heart constricted as Kaden set the picture back down, turning to look at her.

"I—we need you to come back, Tess," Kaden spoke, and Tessa felt every nerve in her body go tense.

A ragged breath escaped Tessa's lips. "No. No, I can't."

"Tessa, I know that you moved on from the demigod life a long time ago, but trust me when I say we need you back. What's happening now can't be put on the shoulders of our newer recruits." Kaden tried as Tessa stormed out of the kitchen, pacing the floors.

"No!" Tessa whirled around, pointing a finger at him. "Why not? We were sixteen when we had to become soldiers, Kaden. Why do we still have to carry the world on our shoulders?"

Kaden looked at her beseechingly. "What's going on is connected to us, not them. They wouldn't understand."

Tessa braced her fingers on the back of her couch, inhaling deeply. "Get Reese, or Dale, or Mark to deal with it. They were there, too." She managed, pushing off the couch. "I left that life behind, Kaden, I'm not going back. I'm finally starting to get off my feet. I have a job. I have a house. I don't have to worry about dying every time I wake up. I don't have to worry about my home going up in flames. For once in my life, I am one hundred percent safe." She exhaled shakily. "I'd like to keep it that way."

"I know you would, Tessa," Kaden spoke, his voice feather soft. "I want to be safe like that too."

Tessa shook her head, facing him. "Then that's why I can't go back. I need to keep you and everyone else safe. If I come back..." She trailed off, biting her tongue.

"If you come back, what?" Kaden hedged, taking a step closer to her, so as not to spook her like a cornered animal.

Tessa forced herself to meet his steady gaze. "If I come back, whatever sense of normalcy or peace both camps have returned to will be gone. I'm a weapon, Kaden. I only bring destruction and death wherever I go."

"That's not true," Kaden spoke fiercely. "And you know it?"

"How many people died in that earthquake, Kaden? How many in the War against the Regiment? We lost Flynn, we lost Reese, we lost Mark and Alex and Lucillia and countless others. And all those battles, all of those deaths and losses and wounds could have been averted if I didn't come traipsing into everyone's life." Tessa felt tears fill her eyes and she turned away. Try as she might, crying in front of others was something she never liked to do.

She'd become an island these past three years. She lived in solitude, with little contact to those she once lived her life with each day, for that was what helped her heal. This isolation was her cure to the nightmares, to the panic attacks, to the days she couldn't get out of bed and to the nights she went without sleep, feeling like the ghosts of those she'd had influence in killing were watching, waiting to lure her into the Underworld where she belonged.

"I'm not coming back," Tessa whispered to herself, like the words would help wake her up from this dream she'd had too many times. But now, they only sounded like a lie. "I'm safe here."

"Tessa," Kaden's voice was gentle, but there was desperation laced in it, enough that Tessa turned to face him. "No matter what you tell yourself, this is one part of you that you can't ignore. You will always be the daughter of Poseidon that I know and love."

Tessa flinched. Kaden inhaled sharply. Tension flooded the room like a tidal wave was washing away this false sense of reality Tessa had tricked herself into living.

"I'm sorry," Kaden spoke at last. "I'll...I'll show myself out. Take care, Tessa."

Tessa's eyes were braced shut, each of Kaden's echoing footsteps reverberating through her head. What was wrong with her? She loved Kaden, more than she'd ever loved anyone, and she was just letting him go. Besides, everything around her screamed being prepared to go back into the mythological world: her apartment was only a few blocks from the Empire State Building, her job was arranged in case she ever had to go back to being a demigod, she kept drachmas in her wallet and channeled her godly rage into taking out muggers. She was a short drive away from Camp Half-Blood, and a text away from a portal taking her back to New Rome. She was so, so close in all senses of the word but one.

Tessa turned and caught glimpse of a file on the counter. Kaden must have put it there as he left, because it sure hadn't been there before. She padded over to it tentatively, then flipped through the contents. Photographs, maps, notes; Tessa was looking at a case file for whatever was happening back at camp. Something awakened inside of Tessa that she long since wanted to put to sleep and she slammed the file shut.

Blood leeched from the bandage around Tessa's knuckles as she looked up, heart racing, and darted to the door. Maybe she could catch Kaden, maybe he was waiting for her, the girl he loved—

But when she swung open the door, she was faced with an empty hallway echoing with the memories of a life she'd once led and promises she'd once intended to keep.

--

Spring was coming to New York City, and the subtle splashes of color helped soothe Tessa's mind. The next morning, Tessa tore herself from her fruitless slumber and dragged herself outside for a run. Even with puddles of rain from the storm the night before, Tessa was a blur as she ran through her course. Everyone and everything was on obstacle she had to get around, the beat of her heart the only sense of time she was keeping.

Tessa veered around a corner in Central Park, swerving around mothers with strollers and kids with dogs. Small buds of leaves were growing on the slick tree branches, a promise that the days of cold were almost gone. Still there, but almost gone, like Tessa's link to her past life. She shook her head, forcing the thought out of her head and continued running.

Eventually, Tessa reached the Reservoir and despite herself, stopped in her tracks. The large pond always brought back memories, whether Tessa wanted them to or not. She saw traces of herself walking the perimeter with her friends, sharing a kiss with Kaden on the shore, chasing a boy she'd thought was Mark in the days she'd thought he was dead. But like smoke, those memories dissolved into nothing.

The sound of children's laughter shook Tessa out of her reverie. Two kids ran past her, giggling and shouting, with the wind on their heels. A ghost of a smile traced her lips, as she watched them go, her gaze caught on something lurking behind a tree. A smoky figure of a man, tendrils of shadows radiating around him.

Tessa's nerves constricted. It wasn't the first time she'd seen a mythological figure since she'd come back to New York, nor would it be the last. Being a demigod meant you could see what mortals couldn't, and it wasn't a gift that could be taken from you. However, Tessa hoped that she'd learn to ignore the spirits and monsters and nymphs that called her name, waiting to lure her back to the world she belonged to.

This, unfortunately, wasn't that time.

"From the depths, a half-blood shall rise and become the key to the ancient ones' demise..." The figure, like it truly was made of smoke, floated through the trees, towards her. Tessa grasped for her sword, an instinct she couldn't fight, but didn't dare turn the pin into its actual form.

"What are you?" Tessa demanded. "Reveal yourself."

"Thalassa Brennan..." The figure hissed. "Your fate begins soon."

The figure was five feet away from her now, its body like a black hole. Its face was hazy, and Tessa got the feeling that if she stared directly at it, she wouldn't like what she'd see.

"The reckoning approaches. Eyes of blue and silver. The Hunter's revenge. Return of the sea and its sorrow." The figure laughed, a voice like storm clouds hitting a warm front. "Yes, yes, this will be...enticing."

A coil of ice laced around Tessa's heart and even though every grain of will in her body urged her to walk away, her instinct overpowered her. She tapped the gem on Tempest, turning it into a sword with a flash of bronze light. She swung the bronze blade through the smoky spirit before her, blood rushing with adrenaline, and watched as it dissolved.

Tempest clattered to the ground as Tessa's nerves unraveled, her breathing getting heavier. Even if the spirit had been dispelled, she could still hear its words echoing around her head, whispering through the air, as if it and each one of its ilk was watching and waiting to see what she'd do next.

Once upon a time ago, Tessa would have basked in the glory of defeating a monster. She would flaunt it, she would look for more, she would feel that buzz in her veins that made her feel like she belonged. But she was no longer that girl who felt as if she belonged, and most of all, she was no longer the hero they all expected her to be.

She was supposed to be free. So why did she feel like she was still in chains?