JAWBREAKER

𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙞𝙭𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣

For a day, everything felt amazing. Warren should've known it was too good to last.

Grover had been granted a two month furlough from his quest and would be staying at camp for the remainder of the summer. Warren didn't even mind his terrible reed pipe playing...for the first few hours. But still, she was happy the satyr was back.

On a sadder note, Tyson had been summoned to the underwater Cyclopes forges by Poseidon. Warren wasn't very good at goodbyes, but she made sure Tyson knew that he could Iris message her and Percy any time he wanted.

That night, after all the farewells were said and done, Warren sat alone by the edge of the canoe lake. It was after curfew, but she didn't care. A warm summer breeze blew across the water and ruffled her hair. Moonlight shattered against the surface of the lake and reflected in a million silver fragments. She sighed.

"Beautiful night, don't you think?"

Warren nearly fell into the water out of surprise. A man suddenly appeared at her side. On instinct she jumped to her feet and recoiled her fist, ready to attack.

"Whoa, easy there," the man laughed. He held up his hands before Warren could deck him in the face. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to shoot the messenger?"

She hesitated, finally getting a good look at him. The man was blonde and handsome, with familiar elfish features. Immediately her cheeks burned in embarrassment.

"Lord Hermes! I-I'm so sorry!" she bowed.

"No worries. I should've known better than to sneak up on one of Ares's kids."

Warren gave him an awkward, polite smile. "Um, is there anything I can do for you?"

"No," Hermes shook his head. "I'm here on business, I'm afraid."

"You have a message...for me?"

The god sat down on the wooden pier and patted the space beside him. Hesitantly, Warren sat.

"You're aware of the Great Prophecy, I presume?"

She nodded.

"Good. That should make things simpler to explain. You see, Warren...that prophecy has a sister. A twin."

"What?" she asked incredulously. "Is that even possible?"

"It's possible," he nodded. "Uncommon, but possible. The two prophecies work in tandem. A push and a pull, a yin and a yang, so to speak."

"Okay. But I don't understand, what does this have to do with me?"

"That's where things get tricky," Hermes sighed. "The future is never straight forward, and oftentimes the more we know, the more trouble it causes. Technically I'm not supposed to tell you this at all, but I owed Aphrodite a favor. As well as my own, selfish reasons, I must admit."