No matter how many times a snake shed its skin, it would always be a snake. No matter how hard Kit Dempsey tried to prove he was no longer a traitor, Camp Half-Blood would always view him as the boy who betrayed them for Kronos. But not Leo Valdez...
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CHAPTER ONE: KIT THE REPLACEABLE
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PLAYING TOUR GUIDE FOR the new kids at Camp Half-Blood was hardly the highlight of Kit Dempsey's day, not by a long shot. In fact, Kit hadn't even intended to speak to the two new demigods Gleeson Hedge had spent four months protecting by pretending to be a teacher (just the thought of Hedge in a classroom made Kit want to laugh) but Annabeth Chase had decided otherwise when she burst into the Ares cabin early that fateful morning.
"Get up," she demanded with a huff of impatience when she spotted Kit asleep in the corner. For the last four months, the boy in question had stayed out by the firepit or the lake until he was sure his siblings were asleep. Then, well past midnight, he'd creep back into their cabin and sleep long enough that he wouldn't catch them on their way out the next day. It was just easier to avoid them that way, no matter how troublesome it might've been for him or his sleep schedule. He couldn't stand the stares, the whispers about what he did. It was bad enough from the rest of camp, but his brothers and sisters? The betrayal stung just a bit more for them.
"What do you want?" he groaned into his pillow, eyes peeking open to glare at the blonde. She seemed unimpressed, eager to escape the suffocating confines of the Ares cabin and Kit's presence. He didn't blame her. The day someone wanted to be around him was the day that Kit Dempsey regained his faith in humanity, including his father.
"You're showing the new demigods around today," she declared, kicking the foot of the bed when he scoffed and turned away from her, blankets swamped around his waist. "I'm about to leave for the Grand Canyon with Butch, so be up and ready for when we get back. With them and Percy."
The mention of Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, had a scowl forming on Kit's face. The past few days had been nothing short of hectic due to the sudden absence of their supposed saviour. Disappearing out of nowhere in the middle of the night, he'd left behind his very worried girlfriend and an entire army of people all too willing to search for him. Kit, however, was sick of hearing his name. He huffed, bringing the blankets over his head to block out the sunlight and Annabeth. She sighed at the action, shaking her head and turning to leave the room.
However, just as she reached the entrance, she paused. Kit heard the door creak but not close, prompting him to bring the blankets down to his chin with a confused frown. There she stood, her jaw clenched with a flicker of sadness and anger in her silver eyes. The emotions crackled like lightning across a cloudy sky, a storm on the horizon. They made Kit bring the blanket up again, unable to stomach the glare. Not from her.
"Don't mess this up, Dempsey," she said with an audible sneer. "They don't know what you've done."
With that, the door slammed shut, and Kit knew she was gone. For a moment, he stayed hidden in the darkness, his arms curled around his torso in an almost comforting embrace. If he closed his eyes and thought hard enough, it was like someone was there holding him, protecting him from the weight of Annabeth's words and the truth behind them. But then reality came crashing back down so strong it knocked the breath out of him. Kit Dempsey was alone, and he had no one to blame but himself and the selfish desires of his heart.
