[contra spem spero]

Sera watched, frozen, as Menoetious's sword flew through Daphne's heart. Sera screamed, but it sounded distant, like she was ten feet underwater. Daphne staggered to her knees, blood dribbling from her mouth. She looked up at Sera, eyes wide with horror, and gave her the subtlest of nods before collapsing to the sandy cavern floor.

A blur of blond rushed to Daphne's side. Jared. He waved his hand at Sera. "Go! I'll help her!" And dug into his pack.

A wave of absolute anger washed over Sera and she tightened her grip around her bow. She drew an arrow, wrath pumping through her veins. She was no longer a mortal, no longer Huntress, but something entirely different, entirely more powerful altogether. She was a goddess of war, a figment of vengeance to wreak hell upon the world.

"No need to get so fussy," Menoetious shrugged, a malicious glint in his eyes. "Your time will come."

Sera fired an arrow, narrowly missing the Titan's head. He ducked out of the way, and Sera shot at him again. He was dodging her attacks left and right, and was coming up on her side. She cursed and dropped her bow, grabbing her hunting knife from its sheath at her side.

"Join me, Sera, if you don't want to die," Menoetious managed as he lunged. "I can find a place for you in the New Age."

"Fat chance of that," Sera spat. She swiped with her knife, drawing ichor on the Titan's forearm. He took a step back to recover, and malice filled his gaze.

"You have no idea what's coming, filthy mortal," Menoetious panted. He looked like a madman escaped from prison, hellbent on revenge. "When my plan is complete, the world of mythology will be filled with traitors, monsters, murderers. Friends will turn against one another for the slightest of reasons. Figures from mythology will seek out the vengeance they deserve from eons past. The world will be remade by us, in the wake of Typhon's path."

Sera took a heavy breath. "You won't win."

"I won't?" Menoetious smiled maliciously. "I believe I already have."

Sera leapt out of the way as the Titan struck again. He was faster than her with thousands of years of experience, but Sera was lithe and agile. The key to fighting a bigger opponent was to wear them down, but could Titans be worn down?

"Your friend has minutes to live," Menoetious called. "But don't worry, you'll join her in the afterlife."

Sera dove for her bow, reaching for an arrow as soon as she felt the cold silver in her hands. However, Menoetious managed to swipe a hidden blade at her left arm. Sera cried out, the pain a thousand times stronger than what it should have been. She tried to kick out at him, but he hit her down.

"Pathetic," Menoetious scoffed. "You call yourself a Huntress? You can't even withstand a fight." He cocked his head to the side, a sly smirk on his face. "But you're weaker. You've lost your immortality, haven't you?"

Sera's eyes widened, despite the haze of pain. "What? N-no, that isn't possible."

Menoetious knelt down, and Sera scurried out of the way. "Those mental blocks? The crippling moments of weakness you've been feeling? All symptoms of mortality, love."

"How did you—"

"Know about that?" Menoetious chuckled. "I know more about you and your line than you'd be comfortable with, Sera. One day, you'll see me again and you'll blame yourself for not attempting to get rid of me now. Because here's the thing, Sera: you mortals are smudges on the board of eternity, but as a Titan, I will never fade as long as violence and malice reign."

Sera tried to clear her head. He'd done this to her. He'd taken her immortality, he'd weakened her so she couldn't protect Daphne, couldn't protect herself. Rage filled her once more, but she couldn't act. She was dead, yet still breathing. For now.

Menoetious got to his feet and sauntered back to the shield on the opposite wall. Hurriedly, Sera bit through the pain and reached out for her bow. "Phobos does love his shield, doesn't he? If only you knew what it meant..."

He reached out to stroke the rim of the shield, and Sera's fingers closed around the bow. She drew an arrow, nocked it, and prayed to Artemis for one last hit, one last victory.

The arrow flew true just as the Titan reached out to graze the gilded lion in the center. The silver shaft pierced his hand, and Menoetious staggered back, roaring loud enough to shake the mountainside.

Sera got to her feet, shaking as blood streamed from her wound. She drew another arrow, her fingers sticky with blood.

"Sera, what the hell are you doing?" Jared asked incredulously. He was pouring nectar into Daphne's mouth; the daughter of Aphrodite looked pale and weak.

With trembling fingers, Sera didn't turn to look at Jared as she drew back the bowstring. "Ending this once and for all."

The arrow flew and pierced Menoetious' shoulder. He hit the wall behind him, and Sera saw his irises flare red like blood.

"FOOL!" He bellowed. "You have no idea what you're up against!"

Sera fired another arrow. It flew through his other shoulder.

"You'll never see the end of me," Menoetious babbled. "I place a curse on the Brennan name for all eternity! Your name means sorrow and because of you, Sera Brennan, sorrow shall never give you solace. You all will burn!"

"Shut up," Sera drew another arrow, and aimed it right at his heart. She heard rapid footsteps behind her, and just as she drew back the bowstring, a voice cried out from the corridor.

"Sera, don't!"

Lady Artemis.

Sera turned around to face her, but that was her mistake. In the moment she'd looked away, Menoetious grabbed the arrow from the string and drove it into Sera's abdomen.

Muffled screams, blurred visions, Sera couldn't dwell on any of them as she staggered to the ground. Something was...off. Her eyelids fluttered as she looked into Menoetious' wrathful gaze, and in the bloody haze, she saw images from a future she'd never see: an Oceanside, a house in the suburbs, a Christmas party filled with warmth and people and laughter. Fleeting, ever fleeting, until the rest of the world faded to black.

~~

When Sera opened her eyes, she recognized the silvery canopy of the Hunters' camp. A scent like lavender hung in the air, and spots of light danced before her eyes. At first, she thought she was in Elysium, but there was something to tangential about the scene around her that told her she was still alive.

"She's awake!" A voice called. A blurry figure focused into Sera's gaze: Emily.

"Emily?" Sera croaked, her throat like sandpaper.

"In the flesh," The dark-skinned girl grinned. "You gave us one hell of a heart attack, Sera."

Through the tent's opening, three figures filed in. Sera saw that it was Grace, solemn and quiet as always, Eira, beautiful and brooding, and Lady Artemis, radiant as ever. They all wore identical expressions of mixed relief and worry.

"Sera," Lady Artemis breathed, kneeling at her bedside. "Do you feel alright? Can you sit up?"

Sera nodded, and despite the pain in her gut, she managed into a sitting position. "What...what happened? Where're Jared and Daphne?"

Emily and Grace locked eyes. Eira straightened her posture, looking at the ground. Lady Artemis only took Sera's hand.

"The boy is back in New York City, safe and sound. Daphne Danvers..." She sucked in a breath. "I'm afraid she's passed on, Sera."

Sera felt like she'd been hit in between the eyes. "What?"

Eira took it upon herself to explain what had happened. She told Sera that after she'd passed out, Menoetious had issued an admonition before disappearing. Daphne was on the brink of death, and as she died, Artemis had blessed her spirit into protecting Phobos' shield. A few Hunters had taken the shield back to Camp Half-Blood, where it would be safe and sound in the attic of the Big House.

Sera felt like she was going to vomit. "Why would...what?" She was out of breath, she could hardly fathom what she was hearing.

"Menoetious warned that should anyone seek out the shield of fear again, his spirit would be awoken. He's hiding somewhere, but no one is sure where. He seems sure enough that he won't come back onto the official playing field until someone tries to summon the shield," Emily explained, fiddling with the ends of her curly hair.

Sera knit her eyebrows. "So...Daphne's spirit is protecting the shield?"

Lady Artemis nodded. "Should anyone try to summon the shield, Daphne's spirit will do anything in her power to get them to let go. If they withstand that curse, then..."

"Bad news," Sera extrapolated.

Lady Artemis nodded curtly. "Bad news indeed." She sighed. "And on that note, I'm afraid there's more. Sera, Menoetious was right about one thing. Your immortality and status as a Hunter has dissolved."

Sera blinked. "But how is that possible?"

Lady Artemis shook her head. "I have no idea. In all my years, I've never seen anything like it. You haven't broken your vow, you haven't fallen in battle prior to the fight was Menoetious, yet by the time you stepped foot into the mountain, you were entirely mortal."

Sera looked down at her shoes. She felt like she'd been stripped bare of everything she could call her own, and despite the warmth of the tent, she felt like she was standing out in the cold. "Can I make the vow again? Surely, I can receive the blessing twice. Right?"

Eira shook her head, and Sera spotted sorrow in her electric eyes. "A maiden can only receive the blessing once. Should she break it, she's considered..." She cleared her throat. "She's considered an outsider until the end of time."

Sera bit down on her lip, trying to quell the tears. Here she was, homeless once more, without another goddess to make a pledge to for shelter.

"Sera, you were meant for more than this." Lady Artemis squeezed her hand. "I only hope I've prepared you for what is to come."

"And what is that?" Sera retorted, spite in her words.

Grace took a step forward from the shadows. "Menoetious is fated to rise again, and to bring Typhon with him on his path to seek vengeance on Olympus. However, this is not for many years. You, Sera, are fated to help the new hero, a daughter of the sea, defeat Menoetious and his followers when they do begin to rise."

Sera felt like she was grappling for some sense of reassurance, but was still coming up short. "How will I know who she is?"

Grace's eyes glinted mischieviously. "You'll know her when you see her. But I'm sorry, that's all I can tell you."

Sera nodded, biting her lip. "Thank you, Grace."

"Sera, is there anywhere we can take you?" Lady Artemis asked. "Camp Half-Blood? Back to Florida?"

Sitting back, Sera racked her brain. She had no family to go back to, aside from their empty graves back home. And yet, her mind went to the one person she had left, the one person who would always be there for her even when she was gone.

"There is," Sera decided, meeting Lady Artemis' gaze. "Take me to New York City."

And that was how Sera found herself standing outside the door to a dorm room, in a hallway that smelt like old cigarette smoke and air fresheners. She must have been quite a sight to see; a disheveled girl with ratty black hair and silvery clothing, the costume of a girl she used to be. But as she reached up and knocked on the door, she felt like she belonged.

Muffled footsteps sounded from behind the door, until it swung open and a bleary-eyed Jared looked back at her. The haze from his eyes disappeared at once. "Sera?"

Sera blinked, trying to think of what to say. But it was as if Daphne was with her once more, and in some alternate universe where they weren't hunters, where they didn't have pledges and vows to keep, she would egg Sera on to just go for it.

So she did.

Sera leapt into Jared's arms, taking his face into her hands and kissing him with all the pent up force she'd harbored since the fire. She was an ember, burning into existence with white knuckles and shut eyes, and she ignited when Jared's arms wrapped around her and he began to kiss back. And for the first time in a long time, Sera was home.

~~

[October 1996]

"Think he'll be as stubborn as you are someday?" Jared asked from behind Sera, reaching around her to dangle his finger before the baby in her arms.

Sera turned to look at him, a laugh in her eyes, but Jared only grinned. She turned her attention back to the baby boy in her arms, with a tuft of blond hair like his father and hazel eyes like his mother. Luke reached up to grab Jared's finger with his tiny hand, and Sera and Jared both laughed.

"Who would've thought?" Sera mused, smiling down at her son.

"I sure wouldn't have," A feminine voice chimed.

Sera turned and saw a girl leaning against the wall of their apartment. She wore silvery clothing, and her moon-yellow eyes were as prominent as ever.

"Lady Artemis," Sera breathed.

"Hello, Sera," Lady Artemis nodded. "Jared."

Jared, at Sera's side, suddenly found someplace else to be. He took baby Luke from Sera's arms, bouncing him in his arms. "I think he needs a snack. I'll leave you two ladies alone." And with that, he ducked out of the room.

Lady Artemis slinked out of the shadows, looking around the room. "Nice apartment. It's quaint, and from what I hear, is only a five-minute walk from the beach."

Sera blinked. "It is." She managed. "With all due respect, Lady Artemis, why are you here?"

The goddess sat down on the edge of the couch. "I'm here about you, Sera. I'm afraid I bring bad news."

"What is it?" Sera's stomach twisted.

Artemis pursed her lips. "The other Olympians and I have been deliberating on the Menoetious dilemma, and we've found some rather troubling details. When he stabbed you, he created a recessive trait of madness that, while not present in you, will unfortunately become tied to your son."

Sera's eyes widened. "No. No. That can't be."

"Luke has until he's five years old before Menoetious' curse rings true. I've instilled a blessing in him that will keep him from using these powers that the Titan has bestowed upon him. His eyes may be hazel, but whenever he uses his power, they'll turn silver and deplete his energy, returning Luke to the state he would be before." Artemis explained.

Sera braced herself against the wall. She found herself back in that dusty cavern, with Meneotious spitting a curse at her, in that anyone of her blood would find sorrow in their life.

"Given your impending fate, the Olympian Council has ruled that it is in yours and Luke's best interest to be removed from any affiliation with his mother," Artemis was silent as she spoke, a sliver of moonlight in the light of day. "I'm sorry."

Sera inhaled slowly. "Your Council suddenly decides to split up my family? You can't take my son away from me!"

Artemis' eyes flickered. "I can and I will. It's for the best, Sera. I've offered a blessing for the hero of the prophecy as well. I will do my best to help her when her time comes."

Sera exhaled raggedly. This couldn't be happening. "What about Jared? Am I just supposed to make up an excuse as to the disappearance of our son?"

The goddess shook her head. She dug something out of her pocket, and Sera saw it was a vial of cloudy water. "This is water from the River Lethe in the Underworld. For you, Jared, and Luke to be safe, you'll need to erase his memories of you and Luke, I'm afraid."

Sera laughed. "You're hysterical."

Artemis pinned Sera with a steely gaze. "I don't like it either. But in times of war, some things have to be done with the strength of the head over the bleeding of the heart." She set the vial down on the coffee table. "I'll leave you to act."

And with that, the goddess of the Hunt dissolved into moonlight leaving Sera alone with the weight of a poison and the babble of her son's laughter from the opposite room.