[auribus teneo lupum / I hold a wolf by the ears]

Tessa's grace period ended.

The next night, she sat yet again in the amphitheater, front row to the bonfire. Staring at its amber flames, the daughter of Poseidon forced away all memory of the explosion. The last thing she needed was to be anxious on that night that made everything official.

Tessa took a deep breath as Chiron trotted in. All conversation fell silent, the crackle of the bonfire making up for the voices of the demigods, becoming a heartbeat to the embodiment of halfbloods gathered.

"Heroes," Chiron began. "It appears that the recent events that have unfolded at our beloved camp are connected. One of our campers has been subject to meetings with a god, and after conversing myself with this deity, my suspicions have been proved to be correct."

People glanced at Tessa, but she kept her eyes trained on Chiron.

"Deimos, the god of terror and panic, has fled Olympus and is threatening to throw off the imbalance of the world through his strive for power. Zeus and Ares are on the verge of civil war, which is a situation we will have been all too familiar with. It is up to one hero, and who she chooses to accompany her on this quest to retrieve Deimos's source of power in the West." Chiron continued, his voice grave.

The centaur turned to Tessa, a sorrowful look in his eyes, as if he knew what was to occur on this quest and couldn't stop it.

"Tessa Brennan, daughter of Poseidon, do you accept this quest to defeat Deimos and retrieve his spear of power?" Chiron asked. The camp hung in silence, awaiting her decision.

Tessa took a deep breath, standing up straight. "I do," she said confidently, although her conscience was cowering in a corner in her mind.

Scattered applause rippled through the amphitheater but Chiron held up a hand to silence them. "Who do you choose as your companions? Phobos has made it clear that there is no required number of questers, but I advise you to remain within camp regulations, my dear."

Tessa looked around, even though she knew who she was choosing. She kept a prideful smirk on her face, as if this was nothing. Going on a life-threatening quest? What else is new?

"I choose Kaden Gray, Mark Akagi, Dale Alcander, and Reese Hale." Tessa's voice echoed through the amphitheater, confidence laced throughout it.

Chiron gave her another sorrowful look, and Tessa wished he would stop doing that. It was throwing off her confidence. How could she be levelheaded about this quest with her father figure looking at her like she was her own grave marker?

"Very well," he said in a gravelly voice, turning to address the camp. "The questers leave in two days, on the morning of July Seventh. While they are gone, as a camp we shall do our best to strengthen our borders in case another attack by Deimos approaches. You all are dismissed."

~~

T-Minus one day until Tessa left for her impending doom and she was acting as if nothing was happening. She headed to breakfast with a skip in her step, ignoring the groups of campers that watched her just as they had when she was first claimed. She was back on their dangerous radar for sure, but she didn't care.

She headed to the arena and spotted Reese, firing away at the archery range set up within it. His blonde hair turned gold in the sunlight, focus in his blue eyes. Tessa had half a mind to scare him and disrupt his focus, but she waited to speak until he fired his last arrow.

"Stress training?" She asked, her arms folded.

Reese turned, and she knew the answers was clear in his eyes. He nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah." He heaved a sigh. "You?"

Tessa shrugged, walking forward. "Here to join you if that's the case." She unsheathed Tempest. "Up for some sparring?"

Reese forced a laugh. "I would, but I'm not exactly in the mood to lose to you right now."

Tessa smirked. "So you admit I'm better than you at swordplay?"

"I never said that."

"Sure you didn't."

Reese shook his head, laughing under his breath. "You do your thing and I'll do mine. Savvy?"

"Who even says savvy anymore? What are you, a pirate?"

"Tessa."

"Sorry."

Tessa walked over to one of the nearby dummies. She took a stance, then swiped at it. As she trained, she called out to Reese. "So what's on your mind?"

"A lot of things," The son of Apollo called back to her. "How about you? Handling the quest well?"

Tessa made a face as she struck the dummy again. "Totally," she responded. "It's going just swimmingly."

"Glad to hear it then," Reese called back.

Tessa shook her head. The kid was oblivious to sarcasm sometimes, she swore. After a while, the two tired out. They headed over to the sideline, resting on the benches.

Tessa took a swig from her water bottle, glancing over at Reese. "So...you and Dale, huh?"

Reese furrowed his eyebrows. "What about us?"

Tessa refrained looking up at the sky as if to ask the gods why he was so dense at times. "You know..." She nodded at him.

Reese blinked at her, confusion etched onto his face.

Tessa sighed. "Y'know, never mind. Forget I said anything."

"If you say so." Reese shrugged. He looked out towards the arena as some people filtered into the far side. "Think we'll be all right?"

Tessa ran a hand through her dark hair. "We will be." She turned to look at him, a strong look in her eyes. "Don't worry too much."

"Kind of hard not too when you'll be facing a god whose presence could literally scare you to death."

"Well, aren't you a Debbie Downer?"

Reese snorted. "Actually, never mind, with you leading the way I'm sure I'll find laughs and optimism around every turn."

Tessa opened her mouth to rebuff him but her eyes landed on Kaden, who was walking towards them. He looked miffed, and while Kaden was almost always a nice guy, Angry Kaden could be Scary Kaden.

Reese's eyes widened. As his best friend approached, the two boys seemed to have a mental conversation with one another that Tessa couldn't pick up on. After a moment, Reese looked back at Tessa and pointed to the exit. "I'll see you later, Tessa," he said and jogged off.

Tessa knit her eyebrows, watching him go. She stood up and met Kaden halfway. "What's up with you?"

Kaden looked at her blankly for a moment, as if registering what she had said. He blinked, and his typical charming smile on his face, if not a bit forced. "Nothing's up," he said.

"Don't lie to me, Gray, I'm an empath. I can sense something's wrong." Tessa wagged a finger at him. She sheathed Tempest, folding her arms.

Kaden shook his head, looking around. "Nope, nothing's wrong that I know of. But Chiron sent me to come get you."

Tessa knit her eyebrows. "What for?"

"It's about the quest. He said that one of the Ares kids had information that could help us out." The steamed look in Kaden's eyes became evident once more, but Tessa returned it.

Her face fell. "Please tell me it was Bree." 

Kaden shook his head. "I wish it was, Tess." He sighed. "Come on, let's go." He grabbed her hand, leading her away as she tried to plant herself to the grounds of the arena.

But Kaden was strong, and yanked her away. He let go of her hand, which sent a small shockwave of longing into Tessa's being. As they exited, Tessa spoke.

"If he tries anything, I'll personally burn his burial shroud," she grumbled.

Kaden laughed dryly. "Oh trust me, I'll help you with that." He looked back at her, a strong look in his emerald eyes. "If he so much as tries to touch you, I'll be there."

Tessa managed a sheepish smile. "Thanks," she mumbled.

Before Tessa could mentally prepare for what was to come, she found herself outside Cabin Five, and Matthew Baines leant against the wall.

The son of Ares's eyes landed on Tessa, and proceeded to give her a once over with a smirk on his lips before returning to her eyes. Instantly, Tessa wanted to skewer the kid but restrained. She plastered a polite smile onto her face.

"Hi, Matthew, how are you?" She asked, her voice too sweet.

Matthew continued to smirk. "A lot better now that you're here," He pushed himself off the wall, and Tessa fought the urge to step back as he approached. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Tessa forced her smile. "Chiron said that you have information that could help us on our quest."

"Anything for you, babe," Matthew said, making a big show of flexing his muscles.

"Don't call me that," Tessa snapped, her facade disappearing. However, she forced a smile again, glancing at Kaden. The son of Aphrodite had his jaw set, watching Matt like he was a dangerous animal. A hand rested tightly on the hilt of his golden sword.

"So." Matthew clapped his hands together. "Deimos is my half-brother, right? Now, if he's anything like my dad, then he's going to be extremely aggressive with his abilities."

"Phobos told us that being in his presence will be enough to make us scared out of our wits. Is that true?" Tessa asked.

Matthew made a face. "More or less," he said. His eyes flicked up and down Tessa's body once more, his cocky smirk stretching even more. "I wish I could go with you. I'd protect you, Tessa."

Tessa's smile grew, her grip on Tempest tightening. "I don't need anyone's protection."

Matthew chuckled. "Whatever you say, babe."

"Don't call her that," Kaden growled from beside her.

Matthew seemed to register Kaden's presence in that moment. "What're you doing here, Gray? Don't you have fashion advice to give out?"

Tessa's eyes widened. She knew how much she hated the stereotypes established for the Aphrodite kids, and to be quite honest, none of Kaden's siblings followed them, especially himself.

However, Kaden's steely gaze remained unnervingly calm. "Thanks for the information, Matthew," He managed to say from behind grit teeth.

Tessa shot a venomously sweet look at Matt before heading off, Kaden at her side. They wandered around camp, fuming in sync.

Tessa collapsed on a bench, groaning. "I hate him." 

"You and me both, Tessa, you and me both." Kaden flopped down beside her.

Tessa couldn't contain the fury she held towards how Matt always objectified her. She hated it so much, but the kid could practically torch the camp if he didn't get his way, so there wasn't much she could do besides fake a smile and prepare a weapon in case his attempts got too extreme.

Tessa shot up. She looked around wildly, and found that they were near the forest. She didn't know a quick route to the ocean from where she was, and she needed to be by salt water before she exploded into rage.

"Where's the nearest path to the Sound from here?" She asked, pivoting to face Kaden.

He looked up, and the anger seemed to wash away from his eyes. "I know a way."

"Show me."

"Gladly."

Kaden stood and together, he and Tessa headed into the woods. They maneuvered themselves down a ramshackle trail, dodging the occasional small monster or nymph. They walked in silence, which was just as well, considering how Tessa was on the verge of a raging rampage.

At one point, Tessa opened her mouth when she heard rapid footsteps behind them. She and Kaden turned, finding Mark sprinting after them. He didn't seem to be bearing any news of impending danger, but upon seeing Kaden and Tessa together, he grinned impishly.

"On a romantic stroll, are we?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Kaden sighed. "Mark, Tessa's not in the mood right now. What's going on?"

Mark knit his eyebrows, glancing at Tessa. "Wanted to know if either of you were up for sparring."

Tessa ran a hand through her hair. "I would, but I need a different outlet for my energy. Any sparring and I might accidentally run you through with Tempest."

"Ouch, so yeah, Kaden then?" Mark asked.

Kaden took a breath. He glanced back at Tessa, concern in his eyes. His eyes flicked back to Mark before stepping aside with Tessa.

"Will you be alright on your own?" Kaden asked softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Tessa made a face. "I'm a big girl, Kaden. When have I gotten myself in trouble?"

Kaden smiled softly. "I know, I just...I worry. I want you to be okay." Something flickered in his eyes, but Tessa couldn't pinpoint what.

Tessa smiled sincerely. "I promise I'll be alright, Kaden."

Kaden searched her eyes for any tells that she was lying, but came up empty.

"Just kiss already!" Mark called.

Maybe Tessa was imagining it, but she felt her cheeks burn just as Kaden's seemed to turn pink as well. He managed a sheepish grin. "I'll see you later, Tess." He stepped away from her and headed over to Mark.

"Slap Mark for me while you're at it," she called.

"Hey!" Mark protested.

Tessa laughed, heading down to the beach. Halfway there already, and just being around her friends was enough to relieve her anger.

~~

That night, Tessa stared up at the ceiling of Cabin Three. It was somewhere around midnight, she didn't know for sure, but she couldn't sleep. Besides, it was hard to have sweet dreams when they showed what could await her on the quest she would be leaving on in the morning.

Tessa sat up, huffing a breath. She ran a hand through her hair, looking around. Moonlight streamed in through the windows, catching the jars if luminescent rocks and small sea creatures from her father's domain. A small fountain babbled in the corner of the cabin. A sea breeze swept through, leaving Tessa with longing to be by the shore. Cabin Three was ultimately peaceful, but Tessa could find no peace.

She could see through the window that it was a clear night, and felt a flare of excitement. Tessa loved to stargaze, and while she couldn't sleep now, a little time spent stargazing by the shore would put her jitters at ease.

So Tessa hopped out of bed. The day had been humid, so she doubted the night would be any different. In an old pair of running shorts and a big t-shirt from Disney World, Tessa slipped into some converse sneakers and ducked out of her cabin.

Thankfully, the harpies were nowhere in sight. Tessa jogged down the trail to the beach behind her cabin. Soon enough, the sound of waves hitting the shore softly filled her ears, resonating a peaceful energy throughout Tessa.

She clambered atop a rock, sitting cross legged as she gazed up at the stars. Instantly, she began searching for constellations, a smile growing on her face as the found the ones she knew off the top of her head, basking in the light of the moon.

"Beautiful night out, isn't it?" A masculine voice asked.

Tessa jumped, her hand flying to her waist where her scabbard normally hung. However, she hadn't brought it. She cursed at herself mentally, searching for the source of the voice.

It wasn't a hard source to find.

A man stood shin deep in the water to her right, a fishing pole in his hand. He had black hair, green eyes, and a scruffy beard. He wore a loud Hawaiian shirt, that made Tessa feel better about her choice in wardrobe at that moment. She had no idea who this man was, but he turned to look at her, and one look into his eyes was enough to make her realize.

"Poseidon," she muttered, blinking at her father for the first time in her life.