The air at Camp Half-Blood feels charged with something I can't quite name - part excitement, part unease. Three days since I arrived, and I've already managed to alienate the Athena cabin leader, confuse a goddess, and get labeled a troublemaker by the camp director. Not exactly the fresh start Mom would have wanted for me.

The Hermes cabin is chaos personified - bodies packed like sardines, half-finished pranks scattered everywhere, and the distinct feeling that no one here truly belongs. I've claimed a corner for myself, but it doesn't feel like mine. Nothing does yet.

"Rhea! You coming to dinner or what?" Travis Stoll's voice cuts through the noise. He and his twin Connor have taken it upon themselves to be my unofficial guides, though 'harassers' might be more accurate.

I consider saying no. I've skipped the mandatory god sacrifices twice already, and Chiron's stares are growing colder. But the thought of being alone with my thoughts is even less appealing.

As we walk toward the dining pavilion, Connor elbows me. "You see that over there?" He nods toward a group of campers clustered near the forges - Hephaestus cabin, if the soot stains are any indication. "That's Antony. Bet he could bench press a cyclops."

My eyes lock with a boy with dark wavy hair tied back in a braided bun, amber eyes like molten metal. Something inside me twists - not unpleasantly, but unexpectedly - and I quickly look away.

"Creepy," I mutter, though my heart is suddenly racing.

"Right? Total weirdo." Travis grins, but there's something knowing in his expression. "C'mon, before they run out of blue Jell-O."

We reach the pavilion, and I automatically head for the unclaimed section. But as I pass the Hephaestus table, a voice stops me cold.

"Perseus Jackson." It's Antony, standing beside the table, eyes fixed on mine. "We need to talk."

The pavilion seems to go silent around us. I can feel every eye on me - the curiosity, the judgment, the faint hope that I'll do something entertaining. My hands clench at my sides.

This is a bad idea. I can feel it in my bones. But something in his gaze - intense, unwavering, almost... searching - makes it impossible to walk away.