Chaeyoung ducked behind one of the pillars in the amphitheater, breathing heavily. How could things have gotten so out of hand so quickly? She peeked out over the edge of the toppled table and narrowly avoided getting hit in the face with what looked like a plate of mashed potatoes.

This was all Kim Yerim’s fault.

Chaeyoung really had wanted to introduce Jennie and Lisa to the world of demigods slowly, teaching them about their powers and about the recent events with Nyx. The two new demigods were a living testament to her first successful mission, and she’d be damned if she didn’t treat them right. Of course, the goddess of luck just had to interfere with her carefully crafted plan. Hell, she hadn’t even had the opportunity to tell Joohyun that she would be bringing by her brand-new sister after dinner.

What started as a completely typical evening dinner with everyone at the amphitheater had quickly devolved into one massive free-for-all food fight. Chaeyoung was fairly certain that Yeri had been behind the vaunted first strike but even if she had been, there was no proof.

The only reason the daughter of Hermes had even gotten away with this in the first place was because Director Kim had called for a meeting with all the head counselors and Seulgi. Which meant that Joohyun, Solar, Minho and the rest of the older campers would be unable to interfere. Some of the other campers had tried to restore some sense of order to the battlefield in front of them but their efforts were in vain. Everyone at camp might be battle-hardened warriors, sure. But they were all still teenagers. And with everything that had happened recently they all needed something like this to take the edge off.

Chaeyoung inwardly applauded Yeri’s chaotic plan, but she didn’t expect anything less from the daughter of Hermes. Of course, Chaeyoung would have preferred it if Yeri’s plan had taken another form. Someone had already thrown a plate of kimchi at her and stained her brand-new sweater.

She glanced around at her surroundings with wild eyes, trying to find something to defend herself with. Her eyes soon landed on a serving plate that was lying on the floor about ten feet to her left. There. That was her salvation.

Inhaling deeply she sunk into a ready stance and with her gaze set firmly on the serving plate she dashed out from behind the pillar to scoop it up. Her hands closed around cold metal and she smiled, feeling victorious in her mission. The feeling didn’t last long.

She pivoted around on one foot, bringing her makeshift shield up just in time to block an incoming hail of chicken wings. They bounced off the plate one by one to fall at her feet and Chaeyoung had to actively suppress the rising irritation in her chest. She wanted so badly to throw down the gauntlet and just let herself be taken in by the chaos but she forced herself to breathe through the instinct. She was a daughter of Aphrodite damn it. She was above all of this.

Lisa wasn’t, however.

“Take that!” Lisa yelled from her right, barreling past Chaeyoung and chucking a spoon at the demigod who had attacked her. He managed to dodge it at the last second but dropped his own plate of prepared food ammo in the process.

“LISA?”

Lisa turned and waved, clearly enjoying the entire fight as she casually ducked to avoid a well-aimed throw from Felix. The pie he had tossed at her impacted the pillar behind her with a solid thump and slid down, leaving a trail of raspberry filling behind. “Chaeyoung! I had to admit when you guys brought us here I was a little nervous but if this is what you guys consider fun I am so down with this demigod stuff.”

“Fun? This is sheer mad—” Chaeyoung never finished her sentence, as someone had taken advantage of her brief lack of awareness and thrown a loaf of bread at her face.

Lisa’s mouth dropped open in shock, immediately rushing over to the daughter of Aphrodite. “Are you okay?”

Chaeyoung saw red, but her anger fizzled out the moment Lisa grabbed her by the shoulders and looked at her with concern. The blow hadn’t hurt by any means, but Chaeyoung’s heart stuttered regardless. Man she needed to sort out these feelings sooner rather than later. Looks like I’ll have to talk to Sana…

“I-I’m fine, Lisa,” Chaeyoung replied, clutching her fingers tightly around the serving platter she was holding and trying to lean around Lisa to see who had hit her. “I’m sorry, this probably isn’t the best first impression. Usually we’re a lot more civilized.”

Lisa shrugged, picking up another spoon and holding it at the ready. “Honestly? My cabinmates gave me an abbreviated version of what went down a couple months ago and I’m surprised everyone lasted this long.”

“They told you about Nyx?”

“Mhm, she sounds like a horrible person—goddess. Whatever. I’m amazed Seulgi and her friends managed to beat her.”

Chaeyoung thought the same, honestly. They’d managed to pull off the impossible and beat back a primordial goddess. Not only that but no one had died. Well, no one had stayed dead. Hearing their exploits only made Chaeyoung more excited for the day she wou