Ren Light...

Hey there, I'm Ren Light,

14 years old, just cruising through my third year at Yancy Academy.

Look, I didn't sign up for this Half-Blood, demigod, or whatever you wanna call it gig. But if you're reading this, chances are you're in the same boat, or maybe you're just curious. My advice? Burn this book, pretend you never laid eyes on it. Save yourself the trouble of figuring out why life suddenly got complicated.

You could've just believed the classic tale your mom spun about your dad taking a 14-year milk run. Would've been easier, trust me.

Now, if you're still flipping these pages, well, I did warn you.

Being a Half-Blood is no picnic, especially in my case. I'm the offspring of a Titan Slayer and a primordial Aeon. It's a scary combo that can lead to all sorts of dangerous situations. Most days, it's a one-way ticket to getting someone killed – maybe even yourself – in some seriously unpleasant ways.

If you're a regular kid, or whatever you identify as, thinking this is all fiction, great, keep reading. I envy you for having the luxury to see it that way, to believe none of the crazy stuff I've been through ever happened.

But if you find yourself in these pages, sensing eyes on you everywhere you go or getting those ominous vibes, I'll say it again: stop reading, burn this book. You might be one of us, and it won't be long before they notice it too.

Let me be crystal clear – they'll come for you.

Never chase the unknown if you want to keep life simple.

So, am I a troubled kid?

Eh... I mean, it's kinda a toss-up, you know? Fifty-fifty-ish, if I'm being certain about it.

I'm not like my buddy Percy, who has this knack for turning everyday moments into accidents (Sorry, Perce, had to throw that in, lol). But getting back to it, you could say it's a maybe, or it depends on the situation.

Honestly, I feel like I don't even need to explain. Just listening to my friends gives you the gist of it.

Well, at least some of them aren't as bad as *ahem* nearly blowing up a plane *ahem*... you know how it goes.

But things really started going sideways when we had that field trip last May to Manhattan. Twenty-nine loony trouble-making teenagers, two teachers, crammed onto a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to stare at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.

Sounds like a nightmare, right? Well, at least for Percy.

But the one thing we all agree on...

Yancy field trips

Are always the absolute worst.

And it all started the day before that infamous field trip.