chapter three: injuries and romance

I ducked and whirled to find out that James was the one who struck. I drew my twin daggers and parried another strike, then I slashed up and he moved backward. He lunged at me and then I tripped him, I aimed to send him off the platform but he held his ground. He got up and his whole body sparked with electricity. Then he said with a surprised smirk "no one has managed to flip me off this platform before, well almost you weren't quite there yet".

"Quite a smug talk for a man who is about to have his ass handed to him", I countered with a smile.

That's when he sent out a bolt of lightning, and I somehow managed to block it with a shield of moonlight.

"Whoa, what the hell was that," he said.

I honestly didn't know I could do that myself, but I wasn't gonna tell him that. "As you can see it is a shield made of moonlight", I said with a smug smile.

"Perks of being the daughter of the moon goddess having powers that rival even mine must be fun". He said

Well chit-chatting was fun while it lasted, now let's get back to me handing your ass to you", I said with a drawl.

He started laughing "I would like to see you try".

So I taped into my godly side and I shifted into a Bengal tiger, I lunged and swiped at him. He swore and jumped back, I went back to my demigod form, rallied all my power, and focused it into a ball of energy. I saw his body start to spark with electricity. When I unleashed my moon blast, he released the electricity and the collision was like an atomic bomb. It blew both of us away. I hit a wall and I heard a crack in my ribs.

Before I woke up I felt a stabbing pain in my ribs. When I opened my eyes I found myself in the camp infirmary. The black-haired boy I shot in the shoulder sitting next to me. I tried to get up and cursed. "I am half-god and a badass, but somehow I am bedridden because of a broken rib". I say to the handsome stranger dramatically.

He laughed and then said, "That was a great display of power and you are lucky that it didn't kill you."

"The only reason why anyone got injured was that Jason decided to counter it. My moon blast doesn't affect me and I can make it so it doesn't affect him either." I said

"Well, my name is Ethan Anderson, what is yours". He said

"Olympia Divine-Simpson, nice to meet you. Sorry to be rude but what do you do here". I asked

"I am a praetor, which is the co-leader of this camp", he said

" You said co-leader so there's another praetor, who is it," I said

"Her name is Aria Lane and she is the daughter of Venus". He said.

"You know that I am Diana's child right?". I said with a questioning tone.

"Yeah, so why does that matter". He said.

"Remember my mother completely swearing off love for over four millennia. Well her mother is the goddess of love and desire and mine is a maiden goddess who recruits women who swear of all romantic connections heterosexual and lesbian." I said matter of factly.

I saw Ethan pause for a second and wondered what he was thinking. Then he spoke, "Well that is some information I didn't know and that would explain your lunar-kinetic abilities, and now I'm wondering what else you can do, would you be willing to show me."

"Depends is it night time", I said,

"Yes it is nighttime, can you stand".

"I… I think so but I might need help."

As soon as he went to get up and help me stand Aria walked in with Jason in tow. Then she spoke.

"How is she doing?". She said with mock sympathy.

"Fine as soon as I get her outside". He countered.

When we exited the infirmary, I could feel the moonlight hitting my skin and I immediately started feeling better. The pain in my ribs was completely gone. I turned to Ethan and then asked,

"Is the wound in your shoulder still there or have you seen a healer, '' I said.

"You still haven't apologized to me for shooting me in the arm", he countered.

"Excuse me, you were the one who shot an arrow into my leg". I said, "But I will apologize, so I am sorry for shooting an arrow into your arm", I said sarcastically.

He smiled and then said, "Thanks, and I haven't seen a healer"

"May you take off your shirt so then I can heal your wound", I asked slightly blushing.

When he took off his shirt I was honestly surprised. My eyes drifted down his body taking in every square inch of muscle from his broad shoulders to his sculpted pecs and his chiseled abs. I finally realized that I had been staring when he said

"Are you gonna heal me or are you gonna sit there and drool the entire time".

I laughed and said, " you wish and now I am gonna heal your shoulder so turn around". I started to draw the moon's energy into myself, soon I had enough. Then I focused it on my hand and put it on his shoulder. When my hands started glowing he tensed.

"Did your mother teach you that"? He asked.

"Yes, she was the one who taught me how to use my powers as a demigod".I said nostalgically.

"Well my father is Mars the god of war, and learned how to use my powers here",He said

That was a normal thing with most demigods; their godly parents aren't in their lives. Since I am my mothers first and only child she was able to skirt around Jupiters rules and see me. I understand how they feel to have an absentee parent even though I had my mother,her and never really got along and she was always having me train I never really got to have friends. " Even though I got to have my godly parent in my life she was always sending me off, so I felt like she didn't want me around."

He just looked at me like he was processing what I just said to him.

"Well at least you know that you're not alone now, and that you have the people here who care about you here for however long you are here". He finally said. The weight of what he said hung in the air and I thought about my response. "I think that your shoulder is healed now I should go back.