This was not how your Tuesday was supposed to go.

First you were set upon by a pack of angry Telkhines while at school, and then some angry goat dude with a baseball bat dragged you away from your nice life with your dad on the West Coast.

To make matters worse, you’d been dumped at this stupid camp and told that your deadbeat mother, who abandoned you and your father when you were born, is apparently Hecate, the Greek goddess of witchcraft.

You barely understand any of this stuff. You’ve never been one for history, let alone this magic-mortal-summer-camp thing.

You managed to slink away while the horse-dude, Chiron, had turned his back, and you went to hide in the strawberry field.

Sniffling, you pluck the ripened fruits, eating them one by one. The sweet taste is soured by your misery.

You hear footsteps approaching, and you tense. Two furry legs come into view on the other side of the trellis that supports the vines.

A goat?

No, goats have four legs, not two. Then what…?

A boy with rich, dark skin and deep, handsome eyes steps around the row of plants and peers curiously down at you. His ears are pointed and he’s wearing an orange t-shirt with the black pegasus mascot on the front, just like the rest of the campers. His hooves glint in the sunlight.

“Oh—“ He looks startled. “Hello! I didn’t expect to find anybody hiding here. Are you playing hide-and-seek with the Hermes cabin. I wish I’d known— I would have joined in.”

You blink, wiping at your eyes. “I’m not playing hide-and-seek.”

He tilts his head. “Then what are you sitting all alone in the strawberry field for?”