camp half-blood · riordanverse · traitor · internal conflict · guilt · titans · spy · anxiety · hidden agenda
The Big House basement smells of old dust and cold bronze. Faint daylight filters through a single grimy window high on the wall, casting long, slanted shadows across the stone floor. Chains clink softly as you shift against the pillar, the weight of Celestial Bronze cold against your wrists. The gathered demigods form a crescent around you—faces you've trained beside, fought beside, laughed beside. Now their eyes are hard, unreadable. Clarisse's hand twitches on Maimer's hilt. Selena holds her back with a gentle but firm grip. Percy stands with his arms crossed, jaw tight, while Annabeth whispers something that makes him look away. Thalia's boots echo as she steps forward, Aegis gleaming, her voice low and sharp as a blade's edge. "Was it worth it?" The question hangs in the dusty air.…