I sat on the steps of the porch, my head in my hands, willing myself to keep the tears in. That dinner was a mess. Wasn't it supposed to be a fun, good time where I could meet new people? It was anything but.

Red isn't my real name, it's Aglæca. The Fagras aren't just family friends, they're my god parents.

This isn't what this dinner was supposed to be.

I jumped when I felt someone sit next to me, placing their hand on my shoulder. I glanced at the fingers and noting the darker skin, I immediately sighed.

"I'm so sorry," Yasmyne whispered.

I shook my head. "What's there to be sorry about? I just found out my name isn't my name and I have a whole new family. Nonna isn't my grandmother, werewolves exist, I'm a goddess, and..." I trailed off.

"I know it's not easy, and I'm sorry for that, but we're all here for you. Even if you weren't my...spiritual...sister, you'd still be my family." Yasmyne pulled me into her arms, rubbing my arm soothingly.

Before I could respond, another voice stepped in. "Hey Yasmyne, your parents need you."

I leaned away from Yasmyne, watching her look behind her, before standing up and walking past Casper, back into the house. I wrapped my arms around my legs as Casper sat down. We silently stared out at the field, watching the shadows move around.

"I know I was a dick to you, and I'm sorry." I looked over at Casper as he began to speak, but he was still looking out into the dark field. "I never really considered how all of this must be for you. I've always known what I was and what was going on in my life, but I never thought about what it must be like for someone who had no idea."

"It's okay, Casper, I understand."

"No, it's not okay. I thought you were supposed to be this big and powerful god that knew who they were and what they were supposed to do. When you showed up, this small, teenage girl, I didn't know what to think. I just...I don't know...I was expecting more."

I scoffed. "You were expecting a buff, burly man?"

The man noticeably gulped. "Well, yeah-"

"So you were expecting someone like you."

Casper didn't say anything after that. We were silent for a long while, just gazing into the field, watching some children run outside to play a game of hide and seek around the Oak.

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"I...I guess I was. I don't know, thinking about it now...I feel really selfish," Cap finally whispered.

"It's okay," I patted his shoulder comfortingly. "You wanted to be a hero, no one can blame you for that."

Cap was silent for a moment, before he suddenly turned to me, knocking my hand off his shoulder in the process. "I know so many secrets about your life that you didn't even know, I think it's fair that I tell you one of mine."

"Cap, you don't have to-"

"I want to."

I sucked at my teeth, pausing for a moment, before nodding for him to continue.

"Well, you know Levi's my brother and Sarai is my sister, but Bordeaux and Emery aren't actually my siblings. They're the kids of my oldest sister, Khina. Khina is actually my half-sister, her mother was my father's first wife and she died giving birth to her. Fifteen years later, my dad got remarried to my mom, and a year after that, she gave birth to me. Two years passed, then Levi, another two years, then Sarai. Khina would've been twenty at this point, and that was the year she met her boyfriend."

Casper paused, taking a deep breath. I gulped quickly, before scooting closer to him, gently grabbing his hand in mine. He looked up at me, shocked, but I simply motioned for him to continue.

If he's saying that Bordeaux and Emery aren't his siblings, I think I know how this is going to end up. These memories must be hard to bring back.

"Mom and dad never liked him, so when she told them she was pregnant with Bordeaux, they weren't happy. Honestly, neither was Fulton, her boyfriend, but he loved Khina and she wanted the baby, so he kept it. She was about twenty-six then. Ten years later, she gave birth to Emery, which was only a couple months ago, but, like her mom, she died giving birth to her. Fulton didn't want either of the children, so when Khina died, he left. My parents were gone as soon as soon as Khina first told them she was pregnant, but that was a coincidence, they left to fight with the Bathildes. They never returned, so Khina was taking care of us. When Markuco and Uvoca received word of our parents' death, they immediately took us in. When I turned eighteen, Khina moved us all back into our family house, and then two years later, earlier this year, she died. Levi and I didn't know what to do, we suddenly had our niece and nephew to take care of and we didn't want them going anywhere else, so we just claimed them as our siblings and went on from there. No one ever questioned it, so that's how that happened. Everyone just kind of...knew, until you."

I blinked. "I-I don't...geez, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I mean, it's nothing compared to being a normal high schooler and then suddenly being told your the goddess of life and death."

"Yeah, but...maybe if I had known, I could've done something-"

"No." Casper gripped my shoulders forcefully and turned me to face him. "Do not blame yourself for this. I've come to terms with their death, don't think you could've done anything."

"If I knew who I was, if I had control over what I could do, I could've saved them-"

"You can't save everyone, Red. I think that's what's going to be hardest for you, you have to accept that people die. You aren't the cause of it, so don't blame yourself, but...death has to happen, and you're just the one in charge of that. Your parents have been taking care of it until now, but now it's your turn."

I gulped, turning away from Cap and burying my head in my hands. "I can't do this."

"You can, don't doubt yourself. And if you struggle, you have me, Levi, Eiden and Akia, Yasmyne, and every single person who lives in those houses." Cap pulled me into his side, staring at me as I listened to his every word,

"We are your army, Aglæca, and we will fight for you until death."