The nervousness of today can be felt in the very air. The shock of my being a daughter of Hades replaced with an electric worry surrounding the camp. Even the gigantic dragon guarding the golden fleece shuffles around anxiously. Meanwhile, I'm stuck practicing in the arena with the Aphrodite cabin, Ares cabin, and Hades cabin. (So, just me.)

WHAP! The flat of Endora's sword smacks against my side, stinging painfully.

"Keep your guard up." Endora insists, advancing again. I barely get my sword up in time to block her. "Stop getting distracted!"

I groan under the pressure, feeling my grip on the bulky sword slip a bit. "Why can't I use my knife?"

"Because knives are for very skilled, very clever fighters. You are only one of those. Plus, mastering a sword is useful! We'll work on your knife after a few more runs, okay?"

"Okay." I sigh. She backs off a little, swinging her sword around a few times before lowering herself into fighting stance again. She seems to be waiting for me to make the first move this time, so I risk trying to use that weird thing I had before, anticipating what she would do by reading her... energy, I guess.

The moment I call on it, it rushes to my command. Endora's fighting style is clear, the slight tilt of her left heel showing me she's about to advance. I jump back just in time to avoid the flat of her sword, ducking under as she tries again, lunging forward with my leg, swiping her feet out from under her. She falls on her back, and I try to get my sword above her neck, but she merely snaps her fingers. She disappears in a puff of green smoke. The back of my neck tingles, and I continue with my downward motion, doing an impromptu somersault and coming back up having just missed the flat of Endora's sword.

She whistles. "Wow, nice moves. You sensed me coming?"

"I guess so."

Her eyes narrow at something behind me. "Don't move, Ellie." Her voice sounds different, like she's trying to warn me about something. But it feels wrong, thicker, richer. Charmspeak! She lunges for me again, and I barely step back in time to avoid it. She laughs, attacking again and calling out different orders that I have to fight not to follow. I hear Sera shouting insults at both of us, but neither of us react. Finally, after about a minute of Endora pushing me, she pulls back and starts on defensive only, starting to chant a spell in Greek.

"Oh, no you don't." I mutter under my breath. Before I realize what I'm doing, I drop my sword on the ground, crossing my arms over my chest and throwing them out. A blast of ice bursts from my hands, going in a semi-circle away from me. Frost coats the ground, and everyone yells in shock as they all slip and slide while holding pointy weapons. Endora and I alone stay standing, a circle of dry ground around my feet, and green magic keeping her upright. She stops chanting to look at me in surprise.

The arena goes silent but for the squeaking of people's shoes and skin against the ice. I swallow back my nausea. What did I just do?

"My gods, you freak!" Drew shouts from her spot on the ground. "You---"

"Drew, shut up." Endora says with her charmspeak. Drew stops mid-sentence. "Well." Endora rests her sword on her shoulder. "You really are the best opponent I've ever gone up against. You keep surprising me, Ellie."

"No kidding." Sera calls, scooting over on her butt until she bumps into my legs. "You wanna get rid of this, Icy?"

"Don't call me that." I beg.

"Oh, too late for that. It's stuck." She says gleefully. She glances over at her cabin, and her eyes go wide. "AR! DO NOT LICK THE ICE!"

I laugh, and the ice melts away quickly. My laughter is replaced with shocked silence. I don't think I've ever melted any of my ice myself. It normally just goes away when I try to show it to someone else, or what I touch it. Arson sadly wipes dirt off his tongue, and everyone stands slowly, watching me. Endora smirks my way, then saunters over to the weapons area and grabs hold of my knife, walking over and holding it out to me. "I'd like to see what you can do with this, please."

I take it gingerly, unsheathing it and feeling a sense of satisfaction at the black metal gleaming back at me.

"Nuh-uh." Sera says, shoving Endora away from me. "I wanna fight her. I ain't gonna hold back, though, Icy, you good with that?"

"As long as you stop calling me Icy."

"Nope. Sucks for you." Sera, still unarmed, lunges for me. I barely have time to react before her fist slams into my wrist, effectively opening my palm and dropping my knife onto the ground.

"Pick it up!" Sera shouts, coming at me again. I stumble backward, feeling panic rising in my chest. She's the polar opposite of Endora's precise, wicked-fast, skillful fighting technique. Sera is brutal, angry, and slower. I'd gotten too used to Endora's more defensive style, while Sera is easily more offensive. Her fists come out of nowhere, and more than once I'm forced to jump up to avoid her feet from swiping mine out from under me.

"Pick. Up. Your. Knife!" Sera growls, narrowly missing my nose.

"Why should I?" I hiss back. She hesitates for just a moment, looking shocked that I talked back to her, but it's enough. I can see her energy now, clear as day. I ignore what my brain is thinking and listen to my instincts, instead. Using both my hands, I create a thin rope of perfect ice, and lash it around Sera before she knows what hit her. She strains against it, trying to break free, but it holds.

She looks up at me, impressed. "Huh. I kept expecting you to go for your knife."

"Didn't need it." I smile, exhausted, and the rope melts away. She stands, flexing her arms out and rubbing the thin mark my rope left on her skin.

"Sorry." I start, but she waves me away.

"S'okay. That was good! But next time, if I disarm you, the worst thing you can do is back further away from it. That gives your opponent a chance to pick it up. Not that they could, with that knife, since only kids of Hades can touch it unsheathed, bla-bla, but whatever."

I lean down and pick up my knife, sheathing it again and strapping it around my waist. "Are we done here?"

"For now." Endora says. "We'll continue later. You need to keep practicing. Not everything can be won by your senses, Ellie. Sometimes you won't have an opportunity to use them, and it'll be a split-second choice on what to do with your weapon, or your abilities."

I nod, and she sheathes her sword as well. Holding out her hand, she shakes mine and then turns on heel and leaves the arena. The Aphrodite cabin follows her, Drew glaring at me, and the Ares cabin is quick to follow to get to the showers.

Sera comes up and claps my shoulder. "Good job today. Most newbies'd drop dead by now if they had been sparring with Dori and I."

"Well, I'm not like most newbies, am I?" I ask, elbowing her in the gut. She scoffs, wrapping her arm around my neck in a friendly manner.

"No, yer not." Sera agrees. "You can be fun."

"High praise."

"Shut up, Icy." She laughs, then wrinkles her nose. "Yick. I need a shower. Smell!" She holds her hair out with one hand and fluffs it into my face. I shove her away, but we're both laughing. Who would've thought that one of my first friends ever would be the goofiest girl on the planet? Back home, I was basically the closest thing my school had to an emo. Here I'm different. I haven't had dreams for the past two nights, something that was so strange to me I barely even believe it myself. It's been years since I had a restful night, much less two! Here in this moment, I feel happy, at least a little bit accepted, and for once, I'm not afraid. I'm worried about what may be to come, sure. About what this curse means, what Gaea's presence means... but it doesn't scare me. Not right now.

Right now is too good to be ruined. 

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Sorry for long update time. I actually forgot about this book, lol. Also, the TIMELINE in this series is INSANE. I can't figure out what I'm going to do with it all.