If you're reading this, then you're in trouble.

See, you're only supposed to find this book if you're the one the book wishes to find.

Naturally, the book seeks out people like you- children of the Muses. You might be wondering why the book has come to you now, at this exact moment. That's because you've just turned twelve, and one of the Midnights is currently tracking you down and- oh, sorry. I suppose it's hard to trust someone you don't know.

Hi, I'm Emilia Lee, Daughter of Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry. Did I mention that you're in trouble?

—

I must be quick. Who knows, you might be getting devoured by a Midnight right now! Just kidding. Midnights don't eat you or anything. They mostly suck all the power from you, though I don't know if that's worse.

Anyhoo, welcome to the world of the Muses. You better hurry. I'll be guiding you with this book, retelling my adventures so that you know how to survive an attack from a Midnight, and preferably use your power for the greater good. You just need to read, and you'll know what to do.

Of course, I make it sound simple.

As a Daughter of Calliope, I tend to love books and anything to do with literature. However, if you're the child of another Muse, you might not be as excited about reading. I knew we should've made a play for you children of Thalia! Ah well, we'll have to make do. My apologies.

Happy twelfth birthday, stranger. Let's hope I get to meet you someday.

—

Like you, I found out that I was the child of a muse at age twelve. Specifically, on the eighth of April.

"You look glum," my best friend, Alec, noted. He shoved his hands into his pockets. We walked past a few of my classmates in the corridor, but he mostly kept his eyes on the ground.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course I am. Like, today has been so boring."

Alec nodded. The both of us knew school was no place to have fun. "Happy birthday, anyway."

"Thanks, Alec," I said as we reached my locker. I went to grab a book I needed, when an unexpected envelope reached my fingers. I glanced inside my locker, found a letter. Alec hadn't spotted it, so, like everything was normal and a random letter hadn't been placed mysteriously in my locker, he told me, "I'll grab my stuff and come back here, okay?"

I nodded, before recovering the letter from the depths of the small metal box. I mean, seriously, my school couldn't afford any quality facilities. The voices around me slowly faded into background noise.

The envelope itself felt old and dry like any other piece of paper, except it was old old, and  I could swear the paper felt like it was about to turn into dust right then and there.

Curiosity peaked, I pressed my thumb onto the red wax seal, and it glowed and split into half, as if it approved my thumbprint. Wow. Was paper beginning to adapt to modern technology?

I slipped the letter out of its envelope and scanned the contents of it, afraid someone would notice the object in my hand and question why I was holding a piece of paper that seemed old enough to belong to my grandfather's collection of old, ancient things. The letter read: "Emilia Lee, meet me at your school's parking lot as soon as possible. Don't worry, it'll be safe. We just need to talk."

Then, in big bold letters: "COME ALONE!"

I frowned. Come alone? Surely it wouldn't matter if I brought Alec along, especially since I didn't even know who I would meet if I went to the parking lot.

That was a big if. I didn't know if I should go. There was time, though. Fifteen minutes till lessons started.

Then again, this person could actually be a stranger aiming to kidnap me, and the sensible and logical side of me screamed to avoid going to the parking lot at all cost.

But the curious and reckless part of me wanted to know where this would lead. After all, how bad could it be? Even if I went to the parking lot, I wouldn't be alone. I would still be in school grounds, and only teachers and students could enter. I decided that this whole thing was most likely a prank.

A prank I wanted to watch- even if it meant I was the one about to be duped.