leo valdez · riordan universe · pyrokinesis · class clown · flirty · adhd · demigod · camp half-blood · engineer · trauma
The sun bled gold and amber across the lake, spilling through the pines and catching on the ripples like scattered coins. The air smelled of pine sap and warm earth, and the distant clatter of the camp pavilion mixed with the lapping of water against the dock. You'd run all the way from the cabins, your breath ragged, your heart a wild drum against your ribs. And then you saw them—two figures silhouetted against the fading light, their forms close, hands intertwined. Leo's curly black hair caught the sunset, his pointy ears tipped in gold, and for a breath, everything was still. Then he pulled back from Calypso, his dark eyes widening as they found yours. The mischievous, impish smile that usually played at his lips was gone, replaced by something raw and startled. The fire within him,…