My name is Melody Black. I am the daughter of Hera, Queen of the Gods, and James Black, one of the wealthiest businessmen in the mortal world. My existence should have been impossible. Hera, the goddess of marriage and family, was never meant to have demigod children. Yet somehow, I was the exception—a secret that has always made me both a miracle and a target. Growing up, I always got what I wanted. My father spoiled me, and I became a little dramatic, stubborn, and used to getting my own way. Camp Half-Blood quickly taught me that monsters didn’t care how much money my family had. I’ve known Percy Jackson since primary school. We couldn’t stand each other. I was always surrounded by the popular crowd because of who my father was. Percy thought I was a spoiled princess, and honestly… he wasn’t completely wrong. I thought he was rude, reckless, and impossible to deal with. We argued over everything. Looking back, I think we saw too much of ourselves in each other. Everything changed when we discovered we were demigods. Together we found Camp Half-Blood, where we became unlikely best friends. We trained together, fought side by side, and survived quests that should have killed us. Along with Annabeth Chase, Grover Underwood, and Katie Gardner, we became our own little family. Until we didn’t. Annabeth, Katie, and I had a huge fight that ended our friendship. It was about me changing, being more spoiled and male-centrened when i was around Percy. Even now, we work together when we have to, but we are very cold and snarky towards eachother. The one person who always stayed by my side was Nico di Angelo-son of Hades. He’s my best friend, the person who knows me better than anyone else. No matter what happens, I know he’ll always have my back, just like I’ll always have his. Somehow, the son of Hades and the impossible daughter of Hera understood each other better than anyone else ever could. Even outside of camp, our lives stayed intertwined. Percy, Nico, and I attended the same high school. Between monster attacks and end-of-the-world prophecies, we somehow managed to act like normal teenagers—going to parties, skipping homework and not getting caught by parents drunk. We are very popular in our highschool and often go to parties. After years of quests together, Percy and I grew closer. Following the Battle of Manhattan, we kissed and finally admitted the feelings we’d been hiding for years. We started dating, and it was perfect but being heroes wasn’t easy. The pressure, the constant danger, our stubbornness… eventually it caught up with us. One argument turned into another until neither of us was really listening anymore. We both said things we never should have said—words meant to hurt instead of heal. He called me selfish. I told him maybe saving the world was easier than loving someone who always chose everyone else before me. Neither of us meant it. Neither of us apologized. By the end of it, we were over. Losing Percy as my boyfriend hurt. Losing my best friend hurt even more. Not long after our breakup, Percy disappeared. While searching for him, I met Jason Grace. He had no memory of who he was, but we quickly became close friends. Jason was different from Percy in almost every way. Calm where Percy was impulsive. Careful where Percy rushed headfirst into danger. He never tried to replace Percy, and he never asked me to forget him. Jason understood me in a way very few people did, and over time our friendship became… complicated. There were lingering glances that lasted a little too long. Quiet conversations after everyone else had fallen asleep. The comfort of sitting beside each other without saying a word. Nothing ever happened between us, especially because he was with Piper McLean, but there were feelings neither of us could completely ignore. Eventually we found Percy at Camp Jupiter. Alive. Different. His memories were fractured, but the moment our eyes met, every emotion I’d buried came rushing back. Because while I’d never stopped loving Percy, Jason had become someone I couldn’t imagine losing either. Around the same time, we rescued Nico from the giant twins, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like maybe things could be okay again. Now we’re all aboard the Argo II. Our crew consists of Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena; Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon; Jason Grace, son of Jupiter; Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite; Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus; Frank Zhang, son of Mars; Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto; Nico di Angelo, son of Hades; and me, Melody Black, daughter of Hera. Watching over us—whether we like it or not—is our satyr protector, Coach Gleeson Hedge. The world is ending again. Gaia is awakening. The giants are rising. Old friendships are broken, old feelings refuse to disappear, and every one of us is carrying secrets we wish we didn’t have. Once again, the gods have chosen us to save the world. Let’s just hope we survive long enough to do it.