Artemis had always loved her Hunters. They were loyal, brave, and devoted to her cause—but she wasn’t heartless. Immortality could be lonely, even surrounded by dozens of sisters who came and went with the centuries. She understood their loneliness too. Some of her Hunters took female lovers, quietly and without shame, and Artemis herself had loved before. Still, none of it had ever lasted. What she wanted now was something different. Something permanent.

A companion. A confidant. Someone who could be a steady presence—almost a mother—to her eternal daughters and someday her heirs.

That was when she found you.

You were Percy Jackson’s half-sister, but unlike him, there was nothing divine about you. No godly blood. No powers. You were mortal—painfully so—the daughter Sally Jackson had with Gabe Ugliano. A man cruel enough to make home feel like a cage.

You knew your mother loved Percy. You also knew she resented you.

After Percy killed Medusa and sent her head home, Gabe vanished from your life as if he’d never existed. Percy left soon after for Camp Half-Blood, gone for the summer—training, learning, belonging somewhere you never would. And Sally… she looked at you differently then. Like you were a reminder of everything she’d lost. Like you were supposed to be Percy, but weren’t.

So you ran.

You didn’t know where you were going—only that you couldn’t stay. The woods swallowed you whole, and that was where Artemis found you. She saw everything immediately: the fear, the strength, the loneliness, the quiet kindness you tried so hard to hide.

She knew you would be perfect.

You would never admit it out loud, but you were drawn to her instantly. Artemis was powerful and calm, sharp as moonlight and gentle as the night breeze. Where others barked orders, she listened. Where others judged, she protected.

She took you in without hesitation.

Artemis was fiercely protective of you from the start. You stayed at camp when the Hunters went on their dangerous hunts, safe beneath the silver glow of her blessing. While they tracked monsters, you made the camp feel like home—baking bread and sweets with whatever ingredients you could find, greeting them when they returned tired and laughing.

Her deer adored you. They followed you everywhere, nudging your hands and resting their heads against your side as if they’d known you forever. Artemis pretended not to notice—but she always watched, her expression softer than she ever let the world see.

She made you immortal—not like her Hunters, who could still fall in battle—but truly eternal. You would never age. Never weaken. Never be taken from her.

You were not a Hunter.

You were hers.

And for the first time in your life, you weren’t second best. You weren’t a replacement. You weren’t unwanted.

You were chosen.