After they explained everything and I changed into my chiton, the Ravi twins lead me to a mess hall. I counted about twenty kids as I got my food from a buffet.

One person caught my eye. They were the only one dressed in a black chiton, they were eating alone, and shadows gathered around them as if they were protecting them from everybody else.

"Who’s that?" I asked, pointing.

"Bec Nassar. They don't like people very much, we tried to befriend them but they told us if we ever sat near them again that they would summon a zombie. They're Hades’ only child. They have an older sister who is the daughter of Persephone named Kore and Bec’s only other friend is a daughter of Zeus named Mindy. Through it’s more like Kore just takes Bec with her and Mindy. Mindy is sort of like their older sister too." Josephine said, slight fear flickered across her face when she mentioned the zombies. Johanna just looked at Bec with a slight smile.

"Oh." I glanced at Bec one last time. They seemed almost dead.

"You know, it's okay if you think they're cute. The Gods aren't really related so none of us are related. They all are fifth dimensional and their DNA is different from humans. It changes and shit. So no relation. Johanna can explain it to you sometime," Josephine said. I was going to protest that I didn’t think they were cute, just interesting but I really didn't feel like doing that.

"Which is good because I have a list of cute people." Johanna smiled.

"I better be on that list, sunshine," someone said from behind me. I turned around to face a tall girl with lots of scars.

"You're on the top, my dear nutter." Johanna winked but something seemed off with how she said it. The tall girl rolled her eyes and then looked down at me.

"Hello newbie, I'm Lilo Lancaster, daughter of Nike. I’m plea-

"Or as I like to call her, currently doing that." Johanna interrupted her.

"Ignore her. She's as annoying as her father. Sometimes more annoying." Lilo snarled.

"But you love me." Johanna kissed Lilo's cheek. The action seemed forced like Johanna didn’t really like Lilo. Interesting.

"Come, meet our other friends." Josephine said.

She pulled me to a table where three people sat. One of which looked just like Lilo.

"That's Harley, Lilo's twin. Messy hair girl is Megara Kalos. She's your half-sister. And lastly that's Nina Weisel, daughter of Aphrodite." Josephine said.

"Hi, I'm Bobbie. Ze, zir pronouns." I waved. Harley and Nina smiled and said 'Hello' but Megara frowned at me. It was strange to think we were related, she was a pale Asian girl while I was black and Cherokee. And Demeter had been black when I met her. Could gods change races?

"How old are you?" She asked. Her voice sounded like a smoker's; rough and grainy.

"I'm sixteen." I answered her. I wondered who was older, me or her.

"When's your birthday?"

"May thirty-first." Was she sixteen too?

"You have a little more than twenty-three months then." Megara's frown seemed to turn into a smile for a second. But a cruel and sadistic one.

"Until what? I turn eighteen?" I stared at her in confusion.

"Until you die. I only have six months left myself." Megra said. Die? What did my eighteenth birthday have to do with my death? I was pretty sure I wasn’t dying anytime soon.

"Megara. Me and my father are working on finding a cure. We might be able to save you. And now Bobbie as well." Johanna said. They were all frowning now. Megara had tears in her eyes.

"Our older sister, Garnet turned eighteen only about a month ago. Five weeks. I found her choking on her own blood," Megara began, "all children of Demeter are to die when they turn eighteen." She started to have a coughing fit, I saw drops of blood land on her plate. I just sat down, trying to fully grasp at what she had just said. I was dying. I would be with Ellen in less than two years. I would see the woman who raised me. Who cared for me. Who nurtured me. This demigod crap wouldn’t matter than. I would be in the afterlife with my family.

I didn't eat that night and I didn't speak to anyone at that table anymore. They seemed to understand why without me telling them. I wondered how many of my biological siblings have died. It couldn’t be a very high number considering the oldest demigod isn’t even nineteen yet but still. Kids were dying and I doubted they were okay with it as I would be.

I followed Megara after dinner because she motioned for me to do so with her fray shaky hand. She lead me to a room with a sickle painted on it. A symbol of Demeter from what Ellen had taught me. Megara slipped into a nearby room with wheat painted on its door.

I opened the sickle door and saw it was a simple bedroom. Before I could fling myself on the bed and either fall asleep or cry, a hand landed on my shoulder. I turned to see Bec Nassar.

"You have to come with me. You are more than just a demigod." They said. Their eyes were full of desperation.

“I.. uh what?” I stammered.

“Come with me. Willing or not. It doesn't matter, I just need you to come.” Bec frowned.

“Okay?” I said. Bec grabbed my hand and led me down the hall. We passed doors with cornucopias, torches, bread, honey, acorns, lions, snakes, cranes, lizards, poppies, sunflowers, cypress, foxglove, daisies, columbines, ash and oak trees painted on them, all of those were symbols of Demeter.

At the end of the hall there was a big opened bay window.

“Get ready to jump,” Bec said. I looked at them like they were insane. They grabbed my arm tightly. Their touch stung a little like they was burning my skin.

They jumped out the window and pulled me out with them. I was too scared to scream, to pull away. I closed my eyes and prepared myself for death. To see Auntie Ellen again and to meet my other non goddess birth mother. But death did not come.

I opened my eyes and saw that I floating in midair- no, I was being held up by what looked like shadows. “Wow.” I gaped.

“Ghost are strongest at night and they like to help me. Now we need to go meet Persephone and Macaria.” They said as the ghosts started to lower us to the ground. We were standing in ghosts. What the fuck.

“Macaria?” I asked.

“Goddess of blessed death.”

“Whom?”

“She’s the ‘daughter’ of Hades and Persephone.”

“Still don’t know who she is but I’ll go by what you said.” I smiled sheepishly.

“Next you’re going to say you don’t know who Thanatos is.” Bec sighed. I did in fact not know who that was but I didn’t say anything to them.