Archive of Our Own

𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 Aurora Marr's icy resolve is tested when a boy of fire crashes into her world, and they're forced to face a destiny neither is prepared for.

OR

𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 the ice-wielding outcast and the fire-forged wildcard are chosen to save the gods and maybe rewrite their own stories while they're at it.












! TROPES !

Black cat x Golden retriever 

Slow burn

He fell first she fell harder

Grumpy x sunshine

opposites attract (obviously)

loyal x non-committal 

etc

DISCLAIMERS

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CC LISCENSE

Copyright © | All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without prior permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

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DISCLAIMER

I do not own Percy Jackson, or the plot and any characters used. All rights belong to Rick Riordan. This is a work of fiction. Celebrities, businesses, companies, franchises, songs, places, and movies mentioned are/will be used fictitiously and I do not own any of them.

However, any plot changes or characters such as Aurora I do own.

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WARNING

There will be mentions of death, childhood trauma, violence, foul language (They're teenagers), angst, and other mature topics. Maybe (probably) some dirty jokes or comments.

|{ACT ONE}|

The Lost Hero

I || 𝑭𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 || Piper

❆

Piper hated field trips. Especially ones that involved long bumpy roads with no destination in sight in the middle of a desert with zero air conditioning. There were some bonuses though, such as the cute guy's hand she was holding as he slept.

Her best friend sat in the seat in front of her, his long nimble fingers were unable to stop moving - drumming on the seat, sweeping his curly black hair behind his ears, fiddling with the buttons of his army fatigue jacket. Either he was naturally hyper or he was hopped up on enough sugar and caffeine to give a heart attack to a water buffalo, Piper could never tell.

Piper secretly thought Leo looked like a Latino Santa's elf because of his pointy ears, cheerful babyish face and mischievous smile. He had that look that instantly told you that he should not be trusted near sharp objects or matches.

Jason stirred next to piper, his grip on her hand loosening. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to think. He observed their surroundings.

A few dozen kids sat were sprawled in the seats in front of them, listening to music, talking or sleeping. They were all roughly in the same age group as the trio, around fifteen and sixteen.

Piper squeezed his hand, seeming worried. "Jason, you okay?"

Jason turned to look at her. She wore faded jeans, hiking boots and a fleece snowboarding jacket. Her chocolate-brown hair was cut choppy and uneven, with thin strands braided down the sides. She wore no makeup, trying not to draw attention to herself. Her eyes were like a kaleidoscope, constantly changing color.

Jason let go of her hand. "Um, I don't -"

In the front of the bus Coach Hedge shouted, "All right, cupcakes, listen up!"

The teacher had a baseball cap pulled low over his curly hair so you could just see his beady eyes. He had a wispy goatee and sour face, like he'd eaten something moldy. His buff arms and chest pushed against a bright orange polo shirt. His nylon workout pants and Nikes were so spotless and white they were blinding. A whistle hung from his neck, and a megaphone was clipped to his belt. Piper thought he looked scary but the fact he was five-foot zero kind of ruined the horror factor.

When he stood up in the isle a student called, "Stand up, Coach Hedge!" which earned multiple snickers from Piper's peers.

"I heard that!" The coach scanned the bus for the offender, his eyes landed on Jason. Piper could have sworn she saw his scowl deepen. However, the coach looked away and cleared his throat before she could be certain. "We'll arrive in five minutes! Stay with your partner. Don't lose your worksheet. And if any of you precious little cupcakes causes any trouble on this trip, I will personally send you back to campus the hard way."

He picked up a baseball bat and made like he was hitting a homer.

Piper rolled her eyes and slumped back in the seat, picking at her nails. Jason looked at her next to him. "Can he talk to us that way?"

She shrugged. "Always does this is the Wilderness School. 'Where kids are the animals.'" She said it like the joke that they would always say, usually earning a groan or snort. Instead, Jason did something she didn't expect.

"This is some kind of mistake. I'm not supposed to be here." His bright blue eyes were focused on hers.

Leo turned around and laughed before she could answer. "Yeah, right, Jason. We've all been framed! I didn't run away six times. Piper didn't steal a BMW."

Piper blushed, slightly embarrassed that he would bring that up. "I didn't steal that car, Leo!"

"Oh, I forgot, Piper. What was your story? You 'talked' the dealer into lending it to you?" He raised his eyebrows at Jason, sending him a not-so-subtle look that said, "Can you believe her?"

Piper groaned and propped her feet up on the back of Leo's seat.

"Anyway, I hope you've got your worksheet, 'cause I used mine for spit wads days ago. Why are you looking at me like that? Somebody draw on my face again?" Leo brought a hand to his face, rubbing it over his cheeks trying to find and clean off the non-existent marker.

"I don't know you." Jason said. Piper's worry grew in the pit of her stomach. Unfortunately, Leo did not share the feeling. He gave Jason a crocodile grin, a warning of a bad joke. "Sure. I'm not your best friend. I'm his evil clone."

"Leo Valdez!" Coach Hedge yelled from the front. "Problem back there?"

Leo gave them both a cheeky wink and whispered, "Watch this." He turned around to face the coach. "Sorry, Coach! I was having trouble hearing you. Could you use your megaphone, please?"

Coach Hedge grunted as if pleased to have an excuse to use it. Piper didn't know what Leo had done but she did know that they were about to be on trash pickup after lunch. He unclipped the megaphone from his belt and continued giving directions, but his voice came out like Darth Vader's. The kids cracked up. The coach tried again, but this time the megaphone blared: "The cow says moo!"

The kids howled, and the coach slammed down the megaphone. "Valdez!"

Piper had to stifle her laugh. "My god, Leo. How did you do that?"

Leo slipped a tiny screwdriver from his sleeve with a proud grin. "I'm a special boy."

"Guys, seriously," Jason pleaded. "What am I doing here? Where are we going?"

Piper knitted her eyebrows. "Jason, are you joking?

"No! I have no idea-"

"Aw, yeah, he's joking," Leo intercepted. "He's trying to get me back for that shaving cream on the Jell-O thing, aren't you?"

Jason stared at Leo blankly. Piper studied his face, her worry gnawing at her insides. "No, I think he's serious." Piper tried to take Jason's hand again, trying to provide comfort. However, he pulled it away.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't- I can't-" Jason stumbled over his words, unable to give a straight answer.

"Thats it!" Coach Hedge yelled from the front. "The back row has just volunteered to clean up after lunch."

The rest of the kids cheered. Either Piper was psychic or was so used to getting dragged into Leo and Jason's punishments. "Thats a shocker," Leo muttered. Piper kept her eyes on Jason, unsure whether to be hurt or worried. "Did you hit your head or something? You really don't know who we are?"

Jason shrugged helplessly. "It's worse than that. I don't know who I am."

II || 𝑱𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒎𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒂 || Leo

❆

"Okay crash course for the amnesic," Leo said in a helpful tone, clearly not going to be helpful for Jason. "We go to the 'Wilderness School'" - Leo made air quotes with his fingers. "Which means we're 'bad kids'. Your family, or the court, or whoever, decided you were too much trouble, so they shipped you off to this lovely prison- sorry, 'boarding school' - in Armpit, Nevada, where you learn valuable nature skills like running ten miles a day through the cacti and weaving daisies into hats! And for a special treat we go on 'educational' field trips with Coach Hedge, who keeps order with a baseball bat. Is it all coming back to you now?"

"No." Jason glanced at their peers, there were twenty guys and half as many girls. None of them looked like troubled kids which seemed to confuse Jason even more.

Leo rolled his eyes, still not entirely believing Jason's amnesic act. "You're really going to play this out, huh? Okay, so the three of us started here together this semester. We're totally tight. You do everything I say and give me your dessert and do my chores -"

"Leo!" Piper snapped. Leo huffed and grumbled for her ruining his chances at extra chocolate mousse and a clean room.

"Fine. Ignore that last part. But we are friends. Well, Piper's a little more than your friend, the last few weeks-"

"Leo, stop it!" Leo bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from grinning smugly at her red face. Jason turned his head, but Leo could have sworn he saw the faint blush creeping onto the blonde's face.

"He's got amnesia or something," Piper said. "We've got to tell somebody."

Leo couldn't help but scoff. He looked at the coach at the front of the group barking orders and blowing his whistle obnoxiously. Leo must have been hallucinating because the coach seemed to glance at Jason wearily every now and then and scowl. Which was weird considering Leo was the one who always had the honor of that scowl.

"Who, Coach Hedge? He'd try to fix Jason by whacking him upside the head."

"Leo, Jason needs help." Piper insisted. "He's got a concussion or -"

"Yo, Piper." Dylan dropped back to join them as they were walking inside the museum. Yay. He wedged himself between Jason and Piper, knocking Leo down in the process. "Don't talk to these bottom-feeders. You're my partner, remember?"

Dylan was one of those annoying good-looking guys that you could find literally anywhere. Dark hair cut Superman-style, a deep tan and teeth so white they should come with a warning label: DO NOT STARE DIRECTLY AT TEETH. PERMANENT BLINDNESS MAY OCCUR. He wore a Dallas Cowboys jersey, Western jeans and boots, and he smiled like he was God's gift to juvenile delinquent girls everywhere. Talk about generic. Leo glared at him from the ground, propping himself up on one elbow.

"Go away, Dylan," Piper grumbled. "I didn't ask to work with you."

"Ah, that's no way to be. This is your lucky day!" Dylan hooked his arm through hers, ignoring the fake gagging sound she made, and dragged her through the museum entrance. Piper shot one last look at Jason like, 911.

Leo got up and brushed himself off. "I hate that guy." He mockingly offered Jason his arm, like they should go skipping inside together. "I'm Dylan. I'm so cool, I want to date myself, but I can't figure out how! You want to date me instead? You're so lucky!" Leo mimicked Dylans voice with an overly dramatic tone.

Jason didn't take Leo's arm for obvious reasons, instead he looked him dead in the eye with such seriousness Leo thought he looked like a middle-aged man. "Leo," he said, "you're weird."

Leo grinned, dropping his arm. "Yeah, you tell me that a lot. But if you don't remember me, that means I can reuse all my old jokes. Come on!" Leo jogged ahead, waving an arm, beckoning Jason to follow.

❆

They walked through the dull building, stopping here and there for Coach Hedge to lecture them with his megaphone, which alternately made him sound like a Sith Lord or blared out random comments like, "The pig says oink." Each time Coach Hedge would shoot Leo a look and mutter under his breath. Leo was already bored, a common occurrence. He seemed to have ADHD times a thousand. He kept pulling out nuts, bolts and pipe cleaners from the pockets of his army jacket and putting them together. It was a habit; it was like he had to keep his hands busy at all times.

Leo only heard snippets of things, like the exhibits were about the Grand Canyon and the Hualapai tribe which owned the museum. The bootleg mean girls kept looking at Piper and Dylan while snickering. They were just like Dylan in the sense of basicness. They were obviously the popular clique, anyone could see that. They wore matching jeans and pink tops and enough makeup for a Halloween party. Not that they needed makeup to look scary, if anything it actually helped. Bit easier on the eyes in Leo's opinion.

One of them, Lacey, said, "Hey, Piper, does your tribe run this place? Do you get in for free if you do a rain dance?" They other girls laughed. God what brainless idiots. Even Piper's so-called partner Dyan suppressed a smile. Piper's snowboarding jacket sleeves hid her hands, seconds away from beating Lacey to a pulp. Which Leo would have loved to watch. Lacey and her sidekicks had been terrorizing any kid at school that wasn't apart of their clique. Leo was itching for her cakey face to have a fist in it.

"My dad's Cherokee," she said through gritted teeth. "Not Hualapai. Course, you'd need a few brain cells to know the difference." Lacey widened her eyes in mock surprise. She looked like an owl with a serious makeup addiction. "Oh, sorry! Was your mum in this tribe? Oh, that's right. You never knew her."

Piper charged her, but before a fight could start Coach Hedge barked, "Enough back there! Set a good example or I'll break out my baseball bat!"

The group continued on, Walmart Regina George and her goons kept making comments at Piper who was admiralty ignoring them somehow.

"Dads probably too drunk to work," said one with fake sympathy. "Thats why she turned klepto."

Jason looked ready to punch the girls for Piper, even with his amnesia. Leo caught his arm as Jason stepped forwards. "Be cool. Piper doesn't like us fighting her battles. Besides, if those girls found out the truth about her dad, they'd all be bowing down to her and screaming, 'We're not worthy!'"

"Why? What about her dad?"

Leo laughed in disbelief, finally starting to believe the whole amnesia thing. "You're not kidding? You really don't remember that your girlfriend's dad -"

"Look, I wish I did, but I don't even remember her, much less her dad."

Leo whistled. "Whatever. We have to talk when we get back to the dorm."

They reached the far end of the exhibit hall, where some big glass doors led out to a terrace.

"All right, cupcakes," Coach Hedge announced. "You are about to see the Grand Canyon. Try not to break it. The skywalk can hold the weight of seventy jumbo jets, so you featherweights should be safe out there. If possible, try to avoid pushing each other over the edge, as that woud cause me extra paperwork." Leo rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and followed the crowd.

The coach opened the doors, and they all stepped outside. The Grand Canyon spread before them, live and in person. Extending over the edge was a horseshoe-shaped walkway made of glass, so you could see right through it. The canyon was bigger and wider than you could appreciate from a picture. They were up so high that birds circled below their feet. Five hundred feet down, a river snaked along the canyon floor. Banks of storm clouds had moved overhead while they'd been inside, casting shadows like angry faces across the cliffs. As far as the eye could see in any direction, red and grey ravines cut through the desert like some crazy god took a knife to it.

Jason made an expression like Harry Potter when he first saw Professor Snape. His eyes shut tight in a grimace as if he were in intense pain. The dude was either the world's greatest actor or was actually in agony of being a complete airhead.

"You alright?" Leo asked, genuine concern etched across his face. "You're not going to throw up over the side, are you? 'Cause I should've brought my camera." Jason was sweaty and shivering, and it didn't seem like because of the heights.

"I'm fine." Jason managed. "Just a headache."

Thunder rumbled overhead. A cold wind almost knocked them sideways.

"This can't be safe." Leo squinted at the clouds. "Storm's right over us, but it's clear all the way around. Weird, huh?" A dark circle of clouds had parked themselves over the skywalk, but the rest of the sky in every direction was perfectly free of clouds.

"All right, cupcakes!" Coach Hedge yelled. He frowned at the clouds like it bothered him too. "We may have to cut this short, so get to work! Remember, complete sentences!" Leo looked boredly over the edge. That was until a flash of light caught his eye. Jason had pulled out a gold coin from his pocket, it was the size of a half-dollar, but thicker and more uneven. One side was stamped with a picture of a battle axe, the other had some dudes face in what looked like a Christmas door wreath. There was an inscription said something like IVLIVS.

"Dang, is that gold?" Leo asked in awe. "You been holding out on me!"

Jason slipped the coin back into his pocket before Leo could get a closer look. Maybe in fear of Leo slipping it into his own pocket.

"It's nothing. Just a coin"

Leo shrugged. His mind moving as much as his hands. "Come on," he said. "Dare you to spit over the edge."

III|| 𝑫𝒚𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒅 ||Leo

❆

They didn't try very hard on the worksheet. Correction. Jason didn't try very hard on the worksheet. Leo was too busy building a helicopter out of pipe cleaners.

"Check it out." Leo launched the copter. Somehow the pipe-cleaner blades spun. The thing made it halfway across the canyon before it lost momentum and spiraled into the void.

"How'd you do that?" Jason asked.

Leo shrugged. "Would've been cooler if I had some rubber bands."

"Seriously," Jason said, "are we friends?"

"Last I checked."

"You sure? What was the first day we met? What did we talk about?"

Leo thought for a second. "It was..." He frowned. "I don't recall exactly. I'm ADHD, man. You can't expect me to remember details."

"But I don't remember you at all. I don't remember anyone here. What if -"

"You're right and everything else is wrong?" Leo asked. "You think you just appeared here this morning, and we've all got fake memories of you?" It sounded absurd, even for Leo. Which was saying a lot.

"Take the worksheet." Jason practically shoved the dam thing into Leo's hands. "I'll be right back."

He didn't even give Leo a chance to protest before walking away. Their school group had the place to themselves. Maybe it was too early in the day for tourists, or maybe the weird weather scared them off. Most were joking around or talking. Some of the guys were dropping pennies over the side. Leo glanced around; Piper was trying to fill out her worksheet, but her stupid partner, Dylan, was hitting on her, putting his hand on her shoulder and giving her that blinding white smile. She kept pushing him away, and when she spotted Jason, she gave him a look that probably said something like, Throttle this guy for me.

Jason motioned for her to hang on and then continued to Coach Hedge who was leaning on his baseball bat, studying the storm clouds. Leo returned to the railing and leaned on it. His hands fiddled mindlessly

Lightning crackled overhead. The wind picked up with a vengeance. Worksheets flew into the Grand Canyon, and the entire bridge shuddered. Kids screamed, stumbling and grabbing the rails.

Coach bellowed into his megaphone: "Everyone inside! The cow says moo! Off the skywalk!"

Leo couldn't move. He held the railing so tightly his knuckles turned white. The storm churned into a miniature hurricane. Funnel clouds snaked towards the skywalk like the tendrils of a monster jellyfish.

Even more screaming erupted from the kids who ran for the building. The wind snatched away their notebooks, jackets, hats and backpacks. Leo saw Jason skid across the slick floor towards him. Leo lost his balance and almost toppled over the railing, but Jason grabbed his Jacket and pulled him back.

"Thanks, man!" Leo yelled.

"Go, go, go!" said Coach Hedge.

Piper and Dylan were holding the doors open, herding the other kids inside. Piper's snowboarding jacket was flapping wildly, her dark hair all in her face. She looked calm and confident despite the harsh winds. She was telling the others that it would be okay, encouraging them to keep moving. Jason, Leo and Coach Hedge ran towards them, but it was like running through quicksand. The wind seemed to fight them, pushing them back.

Dylan and Piper managed to push one more kid inside, then lost their grip on the doors. They slammed shut, closing off the skywalk.

Piper tugged at the handles. Inside, the kids pounded on the glass, but the doors seemed to be stuck.

"Dylan, help!" Piper shouted.

Dylan just stood there with an idiotic grin, his Cowboys jersey rippling the wind, like he was suddenly enjoying the storm. Man. Leo wished someone could hurry up and slap this guy already.

"Sorry, Piper," he said. "I'm done helping."

He flicked his wrist and Piper flew backwards, slamming into the doors and sliding to the skywalk deck.

"Piper!" Jason tried to charge forward, but the wind was against him, and Coach Hedge pushed him back.

"Coach," Jason said, "let me go!"

Coach ignored him. "Jason, Leo, stay behind me," the coach ordered. "This is my fight. I should've known that was our monster."

"What?" Leo demanded. A rouge worksheet slapped him in the face, but he swatted it away. "What monster?"

The coach's cap blew off, and sticking up above his curly hair were two bumps - like the knots cartoon characters get when they're bonked on the head. Coach Hedge lifted his baseball bat - but it wasn't a regular bat anymore. Somehow it had changed into a crudely shaped tree-branch club, with twigs and leaves still attached.

Dylan gave him that psycho happy smile that made Leo want to vomit. "Oh, come on, coach. Let the boy attack me! After all, you're getting too old for this. Isn't that why they retired you to this stupid school? I've been on your team the entire season and you didn't even know. You're losing your nose, grandpa."

The coach made a sound like an angry animal bleating.

"That's it, cupcake. You're going down."

"You think you can protect three half-bloods at once, old man?" Dylan laughed. "Good luck."

He pointed at Leo, and a funnel cloud materialized around him. Leo flew off the skywalk like he'd been tossed. Somehow, he managed to twist midair and slammed sideways into the canyon wall. He skidded, clawing furiously for any handhold. Finally, he grabbed a thin ledge about fifty feet below the skywalk and hung there by his fingertips. If he survived this, he was never complaining about a boring school trip again.

"Help!" he yelled up at them. "Rope, please? Bungee cord? Something?"

The next thing Leo saw was Coach Hedge jumping over the railing. He sailed towards the canyon wall and hit feet- wait no, hooves first. Hooves? Leo must be hallucinating. He bounded down the cliff with impossible agility, finding footholds no bigger than postage stamps, dodging whirlwinds that tried to attack him as he picked his way towards Leo.

Leo was struggling to keep hold. Above him the skywalk shuddered. Hairline fractures appeared in the glass. A lightning sound crackled. Leo looked up to see Jason flat on his back. His clothes - a purple shirt and jeans - were smoking. What. The. Hell. Is happening.

Coach Hedge had reached Leo and threw him onto his back, he started climbing the cliff. Leo saw Piper swinging the coach's club at clouds, with Dylan nowhere to be found. Jason seemed to be holding a golden sword.

"Impossible! Who are you, half-blood?" came Dylan's voice from a storm cloud. No. He was the storm cloud. He had the same face, same stupid smile, but his whole form was a swirling black vapor, his eyes like electrical sparks. He had black smoky wings to top it all off.

The coach leaped back onto the skywalk and dumped Leo like a sack of flour.

"Spirits, fear me!" Hedge bellowed, flexing his short arms. Then he looked around and only saw Dylan.

"Curse it, boy!" he snapped at Jason. "Didn't you leave some for me? I like a challenge."

Leo got to his feet, breathing hard. He hoped he didn't look as humiliated as he felt, his hands were bleeding from clawing at the rocks.

"Yo, Coach Supergoat, whatever you are - I just fell down the freaking Grand Canyon! Stop asking for challenges!"

Dylan hissed at them. "You have no idea how many enemies you've awakened, half-bloods. My mistress will destroy all demigods. This war you cannot win."

Above them, the storm exploded into a full-force gale. Cracks expanded in the skywalk. Sheets of rain poured down, Leo saw Jason crouch to keep his balance. A hole opened in the clouds - a swirling vortex of black and silver.

"The mistress calls me back!" Dylan shouted with gee. "And you, demigod, will come with me!"

He lunged at Jason, but Piper tackled the monster from behind. Even though he was made of smoke, Piper somehow managed to connect. Both of them went sprawling. Leo, Jason and the coach surged forward to help, but the spirit screamed with rage. He let loose a torrent that knocked them all backwards. Jason and Coach Hedge landed on their butts. Leo wasn't so lucky. He hit the back of his head and curled on his side, dazed and groaning. He couldn't see Piper, but he could hear her screaming as she dangled off the skywalk.

"I'll settle for this one!" Dylan screamed. Leo felt himself rise, a hand grasping his arm tightly. He was losing consciousness. He felt the storm spin faster, pulling the upwards like a giant vacuum cleaner.

He heard Piper screaming some more. Leo felt a massive mass collide into him. He got knocked free and fell back down to the floor.

Leo was curled over in pain, completely soaked from the rain. His curly hair was glittered gold from something, to top it all off, everything hurt. He must have been like that for minutes. After what felt like an eternity he felt hands roll him over.

"Stupid... ugly... goat," he muttered.

"Where did he go?" Piper asked.

Leo pointed straight up. "Never came down. Please tell me he didn't actually save my life."

"Twice," Jason said.

Leo groaned even louder. "What happened? The tornado guy, the gold sword... I hit my head. That's it, right? I'm hallucinating?"

Jason walked over to the sword, which was forgotten. He picked it up and flipped it. Midspin, the sword shrank back into a coin and landed in his palm.

"Yep," Leo said. "Definitely hallucinating."

He lay on his back staring into the sky. Piper and Jason exchanged a conversation about Venti whatever that meant. Leo didn't try to listen very hard. The Wilderness School kids were staring out of the glass doors in horror. Security guards were working on the locks now, but they didn't seem to be having any luck.

"Coach Hedge said he had to protect three people," Jason stated. "I think he meant us."

"And that thing Dylan turned into..." Piper shuddered. "God, I can't believe it was hitting on me. He called us... what, demigods?"

Leo wasn't anxious to get up from his spot. "Don't know what demi means," he said. "But I'm not feeling too godly. You guys feeling godly?"

There was a brittle sound like dry twigs snapping, and the cracks in the skywalk began to widen.

"We need to get off this thing," Jason said. "Maybe if we -"

"Ohhh-kay," Leo interrupted. "Look up there and tell me if those are flying horses."

IV|| 𝑹𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒔 || Leo

❆

A dark shape was descending from the east - too slow for a plane, too large for a bird. As it got closer, he could see a pair of winged animals - grey, four-legged, exactly like horses - except each one had a twenty-foot wingspan. And they were pulling a brightly painted box with two wheels: a chariot.

"Reinforcements," Jason stated. "Hedge told me an extraction squad was coming for us."

"Extraction squad?" Leo struggled to his feet. "That sounds painful."

"And where are they extracting us to?" Piper asked.

They watched as the chariot landed on the far end of the skywalk. The flying horse tucked in their wings and cantered nervously across the glass, as if they sensed it was near breaking. Two teenagers stood in the chariot - a tall blonde girl maybe a little older than Jason, and a bulky dude with a shaved head and a face like a pile of bricks. They both wore jeans and orange T-shirts, with shields tossed over their backs. The girl leaped off before the chariot had even finished moving. She pulled a knife out of nowhere and ran towards Jason's group while the bulky dude was reining in the horses.

"Where is he?" The girl demanded. Her eyes were grey and fierce. Leo knew instantly he did NOT want to get on her bad side.

"Where's who?" Jason asked.

She frowned like his answer was unacceptable. Then unfortunately, her startling eyes turned to Leo and Piper. "What about Gleeson? Where is your protector, Gleeson Hedge?"

The coach's name was Gleeson? Leo might have laughed if he wasn't in pain. Or intimidated by the scary girl in front of him. Gleeson Hedge: football coach, supergoat, protector of demigods. Sure. Why not?

Leo cleared his throat, instantly regretting it as the girl studied him. "He got taken by some... tornado things."

"Venti," Jason said, earning her eye. "Storm spirits."

The blonde girl arched an eyebrow. "You mean anemoi thuella? Thats the Greek term. Who are you, and what happened?"

Jason did his best to explain, which made Leo's head throb even more. He couldn't believe he missed such a cool fight. About halfway through the story, the other guy from the chariot came over. He stood there glaring at them, his arms crossed. He had a tattoo of a rainbow on his biceps, which seemed a little unusual.

When Jason finished his story, the girl didn't look satisfied. "No, no, no! She told me he would be here. She told me if I came here, I'd find the answer!"

"Annabeth," the bad guy grunted. "Check it out." He pointed at Jason's feet. Jason's left shoe was missing, his foot looked like a lump of coal for some reason.

"The guy with one shoe," said rainbow tattoo guy. "He's the answer."

"No, Butch," Annabeth insisted. "He can't be. I was tricked."

She glared at the sky as if it had done something wrong.

"What do you want from me?" She screamed. "What have you done with him?"

The skywalk shuddered, and the horse whined urgently.

"Annabeth," said Butch the bald dude. "We gotta leave. Let's get these three to camp and figure it out there. Those storm spirits might come back."

The scary blonde girl fumed for a moment. "Fine." She fixed her on Jason with a resentful look so powerful Leo thought Jason was about to combust into flames. "We'll settle this later."

She turned her head and marched towards the chariot. Piper shook her head. "What's her problem? What's going on?"

"Seriously," Leo agreed.

"We have to get you out of here," Butch said. "I'll explain on the way."

"I'm not going anywhere with her." Jason gestured towards the blonde who was looking at some sort of bronze devise and muttering. "She looks like she wants to kill me."

Butch glanced at Annabeth and hesitated. "Annabeth's okay. You gotta cut her some slack. She had a vision telling her to come here, to find a guy with one shoe. That was supposed to be the answer to her problem."

"What problem?" Piper asked.

"She's been looking for one of our campers, who's been missing for three days," Butch said. "She's going out of her mind with worry. She hoped he'd be here."

"Who?" Jason asked.

"Her boyfriend," Butch said. "A guy named Percy Jackson."

❆

They stood in the back of the chariot while the blonde girl and bald dude stood in front. Annabeth adjusted a bronze navigation device that Leo was itching to see up close and Butch handled the reigns. They rose over the Grand Canyon and headed east, icy wind ripped at them. Behind them more storm clouds were gathering.

The chariot lurched and bumped

It had no seatbelts and the back was wide open. Piper studied Jason with something Leo didn't care to place.

"This is so cool!" He spat a pegasus feather out of his mouth. "Where are we going?"

"A safe place," Annabeth said, not looking back. "The only safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."

"Half-Blood?" Leo saw Piper's guard go up instantly. He knew that she hated that word as it was used as a racial slur against her - half Cherokee, half white.

"Is that some kind of bad joke?"

"She means we're demigods," Jason explained. "Half god, half mortal."

Annabeth looked back; her grey eyes studied Jason strategically. "You seem to know a lot, Jason. But, yes, demigods. My mum is Athena, goddess of wisdom. Butch here is the son of Iris, the rainbow goddess."

Leo choked. How could Mr Tough Guy be the son of such a cheerful goddess? "Your mum is a rainbow goddess?"

"Got a problem with that?" Butch said.

"No, no," Leo said. "Rainbows. Very macho."

"Butch is our best equestrian," Annabeth explained. "He gets along great with the pegasi."

"Rainbows, ponies," Leo muttered, earning a look from Butch.

"I'm going to toss you off this chariot," Butch warned.

"Demigods," Piper said. "You mean you think you're... you think we're-"

Lightning flashed. The chariot shuddered, and Jason yelled, "left wheel's on fire!"

Leo looked down at his hands, thankfully they didn't have anything to do with the fire. White flames lapped up the side of the chariot as harsh winds howled behind them, a signal of more storm spirits chasing after the flying group. Only thing is these spirits looked more like horses than angels.

Piper started to say, "Why are they-"

"Anemoi come in different shapes," Annbeth said, turning back to look at them. "Sometimes human, sometimes stallions, depending on how chaotic they are. Hold on. This is going to get rough."

Butch flicked the reins. The pegasi put on a burst of speed, and the chariot blurred. Leo felt his stomach climb into his throat, his vision went black. When it came back, they were in a totally different place.

There was an ocean to the left which definitely was not there before. There was snow everywhere, on fields, roads, forests, all spread to the right. Directly below was a green valley with random buildings that looked like they were from a completely different century.

There was a big blue mansion, ball courts, a lake and a climbing wall that seemed to be on fire. But, before he could really process all he was seeing, their wheels came off and the chariot dropped out of the sky.

The last thing Leo heard as Annabeth and Butch tried to keep control was, "The lake! Aim for the lake!"

V || 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆 || Aurora

❆

Aurora Marr wasn't welcome anywhere. Not since the war. So, when she showed up at camp again-the day that the golden boy Percy Jackson disappeared, everyone pointed fingers at her. She was exiled from camp, not by the director, Chiron, but by herself. It was a routine of sorts; she'd stick around for a bit then leave.

However, two mornings after fish lips Jackson disappeared, Chiron cornered her in the Hermes cabin shoving belongings into a small pack.

"Where are you going this time? Perhaps Toronto? I heard the weather is quite to your liking up there." The old centaur lent against the doorframe, watching her from behind. His old wise eyes always creeped her out, she felt like he could read her as easy as a book.

"I'm not telling you anything you old stupid horse. I told you to stop trying. They hate me, nobody wants me here."

"They don't hate you child, they are grieving."

She turned around abruptly; her piercing blue eyes were red and puffy. She could have been confused with a Disney princess, with long light blond hair that cascaded down her back in loose curls, a splash of freckles sprawled across her nose and cheeks, and an innocent face that could have fooled anyone.

"I caused that grief. Just face it, you're the only one that wants me here. He made them promise, I owe him. I'm trying but all they see- a monster. A frozen heart. Even after that stupid oath of recognizing the children of minor gods, I'm stuck here in this stupid cabin!"

Chiron kept his composure which fueled her frustration even more, she was crying in front of him like a weak idiot and he just stood there, nodding like he understood her.

"So, you're just going to leave? You cannot continue this pattern of running. I know you're angry, but you're also afraid. A combination of such strong emotions is unsafe for a demigod of your heritage. I cannot force you to stay, however you know that I will send a satyr to watch over you, wherever you go."

"I'm not- I don't- You don't know anything!" she collapsed on the bunk, sitting on the edge with her face in her hands. She hated that he was right. She didn't have anywhere to go, not for years, not until Luke. Then he went and died, and she had no one and nowhere once again. "Why do you even care about me..."

"I care about all my campers, whether they attend or not. You will always have place. I have kept my promise in keeping your parentage a secret, so now you must keep yours- to stay, to try."

She thought for a moment before letting out an exasperated sigh. Her head snapped up at the sound of yelling from the campers as a swarm of them ran towards the beach. Chiron followed suit, leaving her with a choice.

She tucked her knees under her chin and studied the room. It used to be completely full, with sleeping bags on the floor for all the unclaimed campers. Aurora remembered the day she arrived at camp, clutching her older brother's hand tightly as a boy with beachy blond hair showed them around. They weren't claimed so they had to stay in the Hermes cabin, where the blond boy whose name she learnt to be Luke, helped them.

Wynter, was close in age to Luke, about a year younger. The two clicked instantly, leaving Aurora to follow them around. She was severely younger, about six when she first arrived. The Aphrodite cabin constantly fussed over her in her early years as she drifted from her brother, they weren't exactly friends, but they always looked out for her.

Aurora looked at her bag, it was less than nothing. Years of use caused the fabric to tare and fade. Inside held small rations that she managed to steal from the camp store along with a few changes of clothes. Then there was the photo.

Wynter held his arm around his best friend and little sister. In the photo Aurora had a toothy grin that had several missing teeth, and her blonde hair braided around her face. She stood in the middle with her tiny arms around their shoulders, making them bend over to her height as they pose.

Nostolgia washed over her, making her think about Chiron's words.

Try.

"How about you try being glue. Stupid old man."

She got up and ran, the tears burning her eyes as they threatened to fall, to expose her. She couldn't show weakness. The campers were hyenas that thrived on seeing her pain. Chiron was wrong, it didn't help seeing her hurt, it made it worse. They enjoyed seeing her feel the same pain she had caused.

Running felt freeing. She ran the day her father hit the floor, clutching his chest as his tears stained his blue sweater. She ran the day Luke told her that Wynter didn't return from the quest, the one that earned him that jagged scar down his eye. She ran from every home the mortal system tried to place her in. Every time the satyrs dragged her back to camp, she ran. For Aurora Marr was a coward, no matter how much she denied it, she lied.

Her feet followed the same path as the night five years ago, down to the beach at the edge of the forest. She witnessed Luke attack Percy that night with a scorpion, yet she did nothing. She followed Luke that night, not daring to look back. After Wynter passed, the only thing people looked at her with was pity and she hated it with her very being.

❆

Aurora ended up at the hill overlooking the beach, a hundred meters away from the crowd that surrounded a crash. She felt anticipation building inside her core. If the mission had been successful then maybe, just maybe, Percy Jackson, the camp Saviour would be standing on the beach with his arm around Annabeth explaining to the crowd that he disappeared to fight some monster holding a hostage or some dumb heroic shit. And maybe, just maybe, the camp would hate her a little less.

Wistful thinking was for poets and fools. Aurora was neither.

Aurora was only six when she arrived at camp with Wynter. Wynter was only fourteen when they arrived, a year younger than Luke. Everything was perfect when they got to camp, she was there for four years before Perfect Percy came and ruined everything.

Instead of Percy, a tall blonde guy, a beautiful native girl, and a shortish scrawny boy with tight brown curls, stood on the beach looking like lost puppies. Everyone's attention was on the tall guy who had regal features like a roman statue, he stood with such poise you knew he was a born leader. However, Aurora's attention was on the other boy.

The mob was bombarding Annabeth and Butch with questions.

"Where's Percy?"

"Who are they?"

"Is it lunch yet?"

A curly blond boy, two years younger than Aurora with a bow and quiver on his back, pushed through the people as the river naiads tossed the chariot wreck onto the wet sand. "Annabeth!" He exclaimed, "I said you could borrow the chariot, not destroy it!"

"Will, I'm sorry," Annabeth sighed. "I'll get it fixed, I promise."

Will scowled at his broken chariot before drawing his attention to the others. "These are the ones? Way older than thirteen. Why haven't they been claimed yet?"

"Claimed?" The curly brown asked.

Before Annabeth could explain, Will kept going. "Any sign of Percy?"

Annabeth grimaced before admitting, "no."

Aurora approached cautiously, as she got closer her gaze fixed onto the blond boy. His hair was a light blond like his, with similar blue eyes. The campers didn't notice her presence, too focused on Drew, a tall Asian from the Aphrodite cabin that always seemed to be perfect, as she stepped forward to judge the newbies.

Drew looked the blond up and down, sizing him up like a piece of meat.

"What is she doing here?" A camper muttered as Aurora reached the crowd, catching the attention of everyone. The crowd instantly split with mumbles and hisses, trying to get away from Aurora as fast as possible.

She continued to walk forwards uncertainly as the eyes of her peers burned into her, she wanted to reach out and touch him, to make sure he was real, and she wasn't hallucinating.

"Wynter?"

VI || 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒛𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕|| Jason

❆

"Wynter?" The blond girl stood in front of him hesitantly, she looked fragile, but Jason could tell from the reactions of the other campers that she was bad news. Her light blond hair and pale complexion gave her that small animal beauty like a baby deer or rabbit. Her eyes were the most unsettling, big round saucers of the purest blue that could be sucking your soul away and you wouldn't notice.

Her hand reached towards him from her side. Jason noticed she wasn't in the camp's uniform-an orange T-shirt and jeans- instead she wore baggy grey sweatpants, a boy's hoodie and a pearl necklace.

"I'm sorry I'm not- I don't-"

"Aurora Marr." Annabeth spat, moving in between them and breaking the trance the other girl seemed to be in. "Why are you still here?"

The new girl, Aurora, ignored her question and refocused on Annabeth. "No luck with Mr. Manhattan?" she asked, crossing her arms and shifting into a cocky mean girl stance. "Such a shame, really got your hopes up there."

"I know you're connected to this. Play dumb all you want, we all know what you really are." Even with her voice crack Annabeth managed to appear intimidating.

"So, you go on a little adventure planning to bring back Percy. Instead, you bring a knock off Wynter, a 'I'm not like other girls' girl, and a gaping elf. You really out did yourself this time."

Jason watched as Aurora gestured to each of them, lingering on Leo who was staring at her with mouth opened slightly. He quickly shook his head and coughed awkwardly trying to appear as if he wasn't gawking at her.

The Asian girl with long black hair cleared her throat angerly, clearly bothered of the lack of attention.

"Well, I hope they're worth the trouble."

Leo snorted, earning a sneaky intrigued glance (or glare, Jason couldn't tell) from Aurora that only Jason seemed to notice. "Gee, thanks. What are we, your new pets?"

"No kidding," Jason said, stepping forward slightly. "How about some answers before you start judging us - like, what is this place, why are we here, how long do we have to stay, and who is Wynter?"

"Wynter is my brother." Aurora hissed, her eyes narrowing with such intensity Jason felt compelled to step back.

"Was your brother." The Raveonette corrected with a snicker, nobody laughed with her. Either because it wasn't funny or because they were scared of Aurora.

The blond girl turned to her, the atmosphere seemed to drop ten degrees making campers hug themselves and shiver. "Say his name. I dare you, Drew."

"Oh no! I'm soo scared of you! Please don't hurt me!" She exclaimed with mock fear, she sneered, her glossy lips curling up into a cruel smirk. "Wynter. Wynter, Wynter. What are you going to do? Drown me with your tears?"

Aurora scoffed; her hands clenched tightly in fists. She lunged at Drew, tackling her to the ground and straddling her hips with her legs, preventing the older girl from getting up. Aurora's hands went to Drew's neck. Everyone screamed, some in joy others in fear.

"AURORA!" Annbeth yelled, "Butch! Take her to Chiron!" Beefy arms wrapped around Aurora's waist, pinning her arms to her side and forcing her to free Drew. Butch picked up the small girl and walked to a big blue house, Aurora screamed and cursed words that did not suit her appearance.

"Keep my brother's name out of your fucking mouth you bitch! He rejected you for a reason!" She screamed at the dark hair girl who was back on her feet, somehow still looking glamourous after being half strangled.

"That," Leo declared to Jason quietly, "was hot."

Annabeth sighed and rubbed her temples. "Jason, I promise we'll answer your questions. And Drew-" She frowned at the other girl, not caring about what just happened. "All demigods are worth saving. But I'll admit the trip didn't accomplish what I hoped."

"Hey," Piper said, "we didn't ask to be brought here."

Drew sniffed. "And nobody wants you, hon. Does your hair always look like a dead badger?"

Piper stepped forward, ready to recreate Aurora's move and fight her, but Annabeth stopped her.

"We need to make our new arrivals feel welcome," Annabeth said, with another pointed look at Drew. "We'll assign them each a guide, give them a tour of camp. Hopefully by the campfire tonight they'll be claimed."

"Or maybe they won't! Aurora isn't claimed, she's been here for nine years and still doesn't have a godly parent." Someone called out, causing mean snickers to erupt from the crowd.

"That's because they don't want her!" One added.

"Can't blame them, if SHE was my daughter I would stay silent too!" Another commented.

They all laughed and continued adding more insults. Jason felt pity for this girl, she was clearly struggling, and they were adding insult to injury.

"Would somebody tell me what claimed means?" Piper asked, drawing attention back to the subject.

Suddenly there was a collective gasp. The campers backed away once more. At first Jason thought that the strange angry girl had come back to continue fighting Drew. Then he realized they had a strange red glow illuminating their faces in the daylight. He turned his head to see a fiery hammer floating over Leo's head.

"That," Annabeth said, "is claiming."

VII|| 𝑺𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕?! ||Jason

❆

"What'd I do?" Leo backed towards the lake, oblivious to the fiery holograph floating above his head. He then looked up and realized with a yelp.

"Is my hair on fire?" He ducked, but the symbol followed his every move, bobbing and weaving so it looked like he was trying to write something in flames with his head.

"This can't be good," Will muttered. "The curse-"

"Will, shut up," Annabeth said, watching the scene with hint of amusement. "Leo, you've just been claimed-"

"By a god," Jason interrupted. "That's the symbol of Vulcan, isn't it?"

Every set of eyes fell on him, their gaze burning his skin making his forearm tingle.

"Jason," Annabeth said carefully, "how did you know that?"

"I'm not sure."

'Vulcan?" Leo demanded. "I don't even LIKE Star Trek. What are you talking about?"

"Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus," Annabeth said, "the god of blacksmiths and fire."

Even after the hammer faded, Leo continued to swat the air like he was afraid it was following him. "The god of what? Who?"

Annabeth turned back to Will, not before giving Jason another calculating glance. "Will, would you take Leo, give him a tour? Introduce him to his bunkmates in Cabin Nine."

"Sure, Annabeth."

"What's Cabin Nine?" Leo asked. "And I'm not a Vulcan!"

"Come on, Mr. Spock, I'll explain everything." Will put his arm around Leo's shoulder and steered him into the directions of a clump of buildings that Jason could only assume were the cabins.

Annabeth turned back to Jason; her eyes fixed on the inside of his right forearm. Jason felt slighting self-conscious under her gaze, he felt like a broken machine, and she had taken him apart completely to know exactly the problem. From Jason's side Piper's eyes widened as she looked at his arm too.

"Hold out your arm." Annabeth instructed.

He did as he was told, lifting his arm to reveal a tattoo. It was darkly etched with a dozen straight lines like a barcode, and over that an eagle withe the letters SPQR.

"I've never seen marks like this," Annabeth said. "Where did you get them?"

Jason shook his head, holding back an eye roll. "I'm getting really tired of saying this, but I don't know."

The campers pushed forward, trying to get a better look. The ones closest became unsettled, as if the tattoo made them uncomfortable. Which would have been understandable however some of them had tattoos of their own.

"They look burned into your skin." Annabeth noticed. As she said that, the tingling feeling returned. This time the feeling was a hot flash of pain, causing him to wince.

"They were," Jason said. "I mean... I think so. I don't remember."

Jason waited for someone to say something, even one of the cruel bullies from earlier that had mocked Aurora as she got dragged away. No one did. They waited for Annabeth, it was clear they saw her as the leader and were waiting for her verdict.

"He needs to go straight to Chiron," Annabeth decided. "Drew, would you-"

"Absolutely." Drew laced her arm through Jason's. "This way, sweetie. I'll introduce you to our director. He's... an interesting guy." She flashed a smug smile towards Piper before dragging him towards the big blue house that Aurora had been taken to.

❆

The house gave Jason a bad feeling. His gut was telling him he was in the wrong place and to run as fast as he can into the opposite direction. Like an idiot he decided not to listen.

"Here we are!" Drew said cheerfully. "The Big House, camp headquarters.

It didn't look threatening, just a four-storey manor painted baby blue with white trim. The wraparound porch had lounge chairs, a card table and an empty wheelchair.

"I am not supposed to be here," he said.

Drew circled her arm through his, locking them together. "Oh, please. You're perfect here, sweetie. Believe me, I've seen a lot of heroes."

Jason slipped his arm out of hers as gently as he could.

He heard voices inside, a girl seemed to be yelling at someone with the occasional crash of an object being thrown and shattered. The other voice belonged to a man who seemed to be trying to reason with her.

"Ugh Aurora is such a brat. If I had her looks, I would not be as ungrateful as she is." Drew scoffed.

"You said Wynter was her brother, what happened to him?"

Drew's smile stiffened and Jason got the hint to not push any further. Her eyes trailed to the top of his head.

"You're waiting for a sign," he guessed. "Like what popped over Leo's head."

"What? No! Well... yes. I mean, from what I heard you're pretty powerful, right? You're going to be important at camp, so I figure your parent will claim you right away. And I'd love to see that. I wanna be with you every step of the way! So, is your dad or mom the god?"

Thankfully he didn't have to answer. Footsteps approached on the front porch. No- not footsteps- hooves.

"Chiron!" Drew called. "This is Jason. He's totally awesome!"

Jason backed up so fast he almost tripped. A man on horseback came from around the corner. Except he wasn't on horseback- he was part of the horse.

From the waist up he was human, with curly brown hair and a well trimmed beard. He wore a T-shirt that said World's Best Centaur, and had a quiver and bow strapped to his back. His head was so high he had to duck to avoid the porch lights.

From the waist down however, he was a white stallion. Chiron started to smile at Jason. Then the colour drained from his face.

"You..." He said. "You should be dead."

VIII|| 𝑺𝒍𝒊𝒑 𝒖𝒑 ||Aurora

❆

Aurora was raiding the infirmary supplies for her pack after yet another infuriating interaction with Chiron. Once again after she yelled and threw things all he did was nod try to ease her with comforting words.

She didn't understand how he wasn't mad at her for attacking Drew, or even disappointed. He was the only one who didn't treat her as she deserved, he treated her as if she was a broken teapot that could be put back together with enough glue and time.

Voices came from the living room. Aurora normally wouldn't be welcome in there as the other director, Dionysus, never let her anywhere near him. A boy, presumably the boy from the beach was telling Chiron his story.

She should've continued her borrowing, instead she stood up and tiptoed over to the entrance to the living room.

Inside, Chiron sat in his wheelchair, fake legs hung out from under a blanket that made him look like a regular disabled middle-aged man.

The entire room was covered in grapevines, curving up the walls and ceiling. Normally plants like that wouldn't grow in the winter or even inside. Leather couches faced a lit stone fireplace.

In one corner, an old Pac-Man machine bleeped and blinked as if a ghost was playing it. Mounted on the fireplace was Seymour the stuffed Leopard head.

On a couch sat the blonde boy, what was his name? Jaxon? Jacob?

Aurora walked in, ignoring the look Chiron gave her and plopped down on the furthest couch, taking a glass of lemonade. It was room temperature which disgusting for any drink. She clasped the cup in both her hands.

The familiar sting, like frost biting at your nose in the snow, came to her fingertips. The temperature of the drink cooled to match her body's.

Jack watched her intently as she stirred the yellow liquid with a metal straw.

The old horse cleared his throat, "Aurora."

"Yes?" She feigned innocent, testing Chiron was slowly becoming her favorite game.

"This is a private matter that does not concern you." His tone was calm, but Aurora could see a twitch of annoyance in his soul-reading eyes.

The two shared a silent conversation, she dared him to try and make her leave.

Jason looked in between them nervously. "Uh, it's okay. She can stay."

Chiron sighed and sat back in his wheelchair. He tried for a smile though it was clearly forced.

"So, what'd I miss?" Aurora said, ignoring the sideway glances from the blonde.

The old mentor just rubbed his temples, his usual patience (which was literally infinite) seemed to be running short.

Jason quickly filled in Aurora on everything vaguely, torn between trusting her and being cautious.

Chiron listened with interest, stroking his beard. "I see," he said at last as Jason finished his story. "And you must have questions for me."

"Only one," Jason admitted, sending Aurora another glance who was now deeply interested in her drink. "What did you mean I should be dead?"

The old man studied the boy with concern, now ignoring Aurora's intruding presence. "My boy, do you know what those marks on your arm mean? The colour of your shirt? Do you remember anything?"

Aurora looked at Jason's forearm, twelve straight lines under the letters SPQR and an eagle.

"No," he said. "Nothing."

"Do you know where you are?" Chiron asked, "do you understand what this place is, and who I am?"

"I'm guessing you're Chiron the centaur," Jason said. "The same one from the old stories, who used to train the Greek heroes like Heracles. This is a camp for demigods, children of the Olympian gods."

"So, you believe those gods still exist?"

"Yes," Jason said immediately. "I mean I don't think we should worship them or sacrifice chickens to them or anything-"

"You got that right..." Aurora muttered under her breath before taking a long sip of her drink.

"-But they're still around because they're a powerful part of civilization. They move from country to country as the center of power shifts-like they moved from Ancient Greece to Rome."

Suddenly Chiron switched languages, which was weird enough until Jason joined in.

Seymor snarled. Nobody moved, it took a moment for Jason to realize what happened. Aurora's eyes darted between the two with caution, her fingers twitched towards her waist where her blade used to be, before drawing back.

"Quis erat-" Jason faltered, correcting himself back into English. "What was that?"

"Latin. You two just spoke Latin."

"Most demigods recognize a few phrases, of course. It's in their blood, but not as much as Ancient Greek. None can speak Latin fluently without practice."

Jason shifted in his seat as Chiron studied him intently, the fire dancing in his old eyes making them look like pools of honey.

"I taught your namesake, you know, the original Jason. He had a hard path. I've seen many heroes come and go. Occasionally they have happy endings. Mostly, they don't. It breaks my heart, like losing a child each time one of my pupils die."

Aurora couldn't help but scoff, her grip on the glass tightening so her knuckles turned white. "It is losing a child every time they die. People like us don't live past eighteen."

Chiron gave her his famous pointed look. One that was a combination of pity, and can this wait until later? He cleared his throat and continued, "But you - you are not like any pupil I've ever taught. Your presence could be a disaster."

"Thanks," Jason said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Aurora studied him, he looked familiar now that she could study him properly. Less like Wynter and more like someone she had met once on that dreaded mountain. "You must be an inspiring teacher."

"I am sorry, my boy. But it's true. I had hoped that after Percy's success-"

Aurora's stomach churned at the mention of him and the war. "Percy Jackson, you mean. Annabeth's boyfriend, the one who's missing." Jason interrupted, accidently glancing at Aurora whose expression darkened and shot daggers in response.

Chiron nodded. "I hoped that after he succeeded in the Titan War and saved Mount Olympus, we might have some peace."

"Peace? Bullshit! There is no peace after war. And Mr. PJ didn't do shit. He's just a godly nepo baby who got lucky with a sword. There are so many people that don't get credit for their part in the war. Ethan sacrificed himself for kids of the minor gods. Luke sacrificed himself to save Olympus. But no, you credit the guy who stood there and watched Luke drive that dagger into himself."

Aurora stood up, dropping the glass on the ground that shattered at her feet. The lemonade soaked through her socks and made her legs sticky, but she didn't care.

"That's enough. You've imposed long enough. Return to your cabin-"

"My cabin? I don't have a cabin! It's Hermes. How many kids have to die before we start getting recognition?"

"Aurora! We have recognized some minor gods! There are hundreds of minor gods, we simply cannot provide a cabin for each one."

"SOME? This is why you lost so many demigods to the Titans. This is why so many easily turned."

She stormed out before Chiron could respond. Jason stared after her with an unreadable expression. Her nerves were on high alert; she had returned to the state of mind she tried so hard to escape. She returned to the infirmary to continue her raid, already planning to run away again in the middle of the night.

IX|| 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒓𝒅 || Leo

❆

Leo could get used to this place. It had everything! A climbing wall that shot real lava, Arts-and-crafts where you could make your own sculptures with blowtorches and chain saws. And the sweetest thing? The camp was overflowing with good looking girls.

Will took him around the camp, introducing him to his brothers and sisters, showing him his cabin, it was awesome to say the least.

After his siblings left for dinner, leaving him alone in the forge, he held out his hand and studied his fingers. They weren't like the callused ones that the other Hephaestus kids had, his were long and thin.

Very rare, he thought. And always dangerous.

Nyssa, his sister, had told him about Hephaestus children who had control over fire. That if one was born it meant something bad- no scratch that, something catastrophic was bound to happen.

Leo was never the biggest or strongest kid. He survived using his wits. He was the class clown because he learnt early on that if you cracked jokes and pretended you weren't scared, you usually stayed on everyone's good side.

Even the meanest kids would tolerate you, keep you around for laughs. Plus, humor was a good way to hide the pain. And if that didn't work there was always Plan B. Run away. Over and over.

He looked around, making sure he was alone. Leo didn't know why but he felt the urge to try it now. The thing he hadn't done since the accident, since his mum's death.

He extended his fingers and felt them tingle like they had pins and needles. Then the flames flicked to life, curls of red-hot fire dancing across his palm.

For a moment he was mesmerized by the flames, watching them sway in his hand. That was until a crash sounded behind him. He clenched his hand shut, extinguishing the fire and shoved his fist in his jacket's pocket.

Leo spun around to see the blonde girl from earlier rummaging through some inventions.

"Uhhh... Hi?"

Her head snapped to the sound of his voice. Her eyes startled Leo. They were light blue with an outer ring of royal blue that made them look like icebergs in deep oceans. She stepped closer and inspected him.

She was shorter than him by a couple inches, which normally wouldn't be intimidating except for the fact her gaze was cold and calculating. He felt that if she looked at him long enough, she would know everything about him.

"You're meant to be at dinner. Everyone is. Why are you here?" She stopped in front of him at an arm's length.

"I was just... uhm... inspecting these maps! Yeah- that's what I was doing. Thinking about that dragon and it's demolishing habits, y'know?" Leo scratched his neck nervously, he hoped she believed his excuse.

The silence was heavy as Aurora considered about his excuse. Finally, she scoffed and stepped back. She leant on a workbench and crossed her arms. "I wasn't here. Got it?"

He let out a silent breath of relief as he nodded. "Okay, sounds good. So... Dinner? If everyone is meant to be there, why aren't you?"

"None of your business."

"Does that mean you're not going?" He asked.

"None of your business." She repeated.

Man, what is up with this chick?

Aurora gave him one last look before turning around and walking out. On her way she grabbed a handful of bolts and other junk - and shoved them into her pocket. "Wait! Where are you going? Wait for me!"

He jogged after her as she disappeared out the door. When he joined her side, she didn't run or give him a second look. Aurora just kept walking straight.

"Cool, cool, cool. We don't need to talk. That's fine. Silence. I can totally do that." Leo fidgeted with random pieces in his pocket, he clearly could not deal with silence.

"Shut up."

❆

They walked for several minutes before stopping just before the pavilion.

"There. Dinner." Aurora turned to face him, Leo realized how close they were, practically touching shoulders.

"Thanks, are you coming?" he asked.

"No." She continued walking, back up a path towards the cabins.

Leo watched her leave, dumbfounded by her actions. She had walked him to the pavilion even though she clearly didn't like him, so why go to the trouble?

Girls are weird. He determined before walking over to Nyssa who was waving him over at the Hephaestus table.

"What are you doing with Aurora Marr?" She asked as he sat down on the end, a beefy tween passed him a plate of food and a goblet.

"She uhh..." He remembered her words, I wasn't here. "She was helping me, I got lost."

The table went dead silent; a fork clattered against a plate as someone dropped it. The tension broke as another person snorted. "Yeah right. Aurora doesn't help anyone unless it benefits herself."

"I heard she broke her teacher's nose at her last school." One guy added. Leo thought the guy was exaggerating but more people kept jumping in with other rumors.

Nyssa nodded, her expression softened slightly. "Be careful around that one Leo, she's bad news. She's done unforgiveable things. You can't let your guard down around her for a second. She can't be trusted."

Leo pondered Nyssa's words as he ate. The food was delicious, way better than any meal he had in the wilderness school. Bonus, the goblet could be magically filled with any non-alcoholic drink. He definitely could get used to this place.

After dinner Leo sat with Nyssa at the campfire in the amphitheater. Kids sat around a bonfire under their respected banner. Which meant Leo couldn't sit with his friends, Jason who was sitting nearby in the front row with Annabeth, and Piper who was walking over with a redhead girl.

The amphitheater steps were carved into the side of a hill, facing the stone-lined fire pit. A group of campers stood in front of the fire, dancing and singing while playing old-fashioned harps.

Everyone was singing along to the song which was about a grandma getting dressed for war. It was corny but in the dark with everyone participating, it was fun.

As the energy levels rose, so did the flames. The fire grew bigger and changed colour to match the campers' mood. From red to orange to gold.

The song ended in a rowdy applause and whistles. Nobody seemed to notice Aurora in the shadows. She sat on the far end of the steps, isolated, alone, with her knees to her chest, staring into the flames.

X|| 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒄𝒚 || Piper

❆

A guy on a horse trotted up. At least Piper thought it was guy on a horse. Then she realized it was centaur. He brandished a spear impaled with toasted marshmallows.

"Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first-"

"What about capture the flag?" Somebody yelled. grumbling broke out in the group of kids under a red banner with the emblem of a boar's head.

"Yes," Chiron said. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."

"And kill people!" one of them shouted.

"However," the centaur continued. "Until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"

All attention went to Leo's group. Leo winked at Piper and shot her with a finger gun. The girl next to him stood uncomfortably. Piper could tell this wasn't the first time she had to do this.

She wore an army jacket like Leo's and her hair was covered in a red bandanna. "We're working on it."

"How, Nyssa?" an Ares kid demanded.

"Really hard," the girl said.

She sat down as yelling and complaints started, making the fire sputter chaotically. Chiron stamped his hoof against the fire pit stones. Bang, bang, bang. The campers fell silent.

"We will have to be patient," Chiron said. "In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss."

"Percy?" Someone asked. The fire dimmed drastically. Annabeth's missing boyfriend was obviously a sensitive topic, he must've been a big deal to have such an effect on the campers.

"I didn't find Percy," Annabeth announced as she stood to address the crowd. Her voice caught on his name.

"He wasn't at the Grand Canyon like I thought. But we're not giving up. We've got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis- everyone's out looking. We will find him. Chiron's talking about something different. A new quest."

"It's the great prophecy, isn't it?" a girl called out.

Everyone turned to the voice that came from a group in the back. They sat under a rose-coloured banner with a dove emblem. They had been chatting among themselves until their leader, Drew, stood up.

Everyone looked surprised. "Drew?" Annabeth said. "What do you mean?"

"Well, come on." Drew spread her hands like the truth was obvious. "Olympus closed, Percy missing, Hera sent you a vision and you come back with three new demigods in one day. I mean, something weird is going on. The Great Prophecy has started, right?"

"The Great Prophecy? What's she talking about?" Piper whispered to Rachel.

All eyes fell on Rachel. "Well?" Drew called down. "You're the Oracle. Has it stared or not?"

Rachel looked scary in the firelight. Her hair was the same colour as the flames and just as free and her eyes shone like emerald gems.

"Yes," she said. "The great prophecy has begun."

Pandemonium broke out.

Piper caught Jason's eye. He mouthed, you all right? She managed a smile and nodded. She looked away, it was painful seeing him and not being with him.

When the talking died down, Rachel stepped forwards and fifty-plus demigods leaned away from her, as if one skinny redheaded mortal was more intimidating than all of them put together.

"For those who have not heard it," Rachel said, "the Great Prophecy was my first prediction. It arrived in August. It goes like this:

Eight half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall-"

Jason jumped up. His eyes looked wild like he had been tasered. Even Rachel seemed caught off guard. "J-Jason?" She asked. "What's-"

"Ut cum spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus," He chanted. "Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem."

The group fell back into uneasy silence. Piper could see that several of them were trying to translate the lines. She could tell it was Latin, but she wasn't sure why her- Jason. Why Jason was chanting like a priest.

"You just... finished the prophecy," Rachel stammered.

"- An oath to keep with a final breath/And foes bear arms to the doors to the Doors of Death. How did you-"

"I know those lines." Jason winced. "I don't know how, but I know that prophecy."

"In Latin, no less," Drew called out. "Handsome and smart."

There was some giggling from the Aphrodite cabin. The campfire was burning a chaotic, nervous shade of green.

Jason sat down, looking embarrassed. "Well," Rachel said, trying to regain her composure. So, yeah, that's the Great Prophecy. We hoped it might not happen for years, but I fear it's starting now. I can't provide proof, but I have a feeling."

Piper saw a flash of gold in the corner of her eye, Aurora stood quietly and started to sneak away. "And, like Drew said, some weird stuff is happening. The eight demigods, whoever they are, have not been gathered yet. I get the feeling that some are here tonight."

Murmurs and whispers began, the campers looked at each other nervously.

"I'm here! Oh... were you calling roll?" A drowsy voice called out.

"Go back to sleep Clovis!" Someone yelled, causing a lot of people to laugh.

"Anyway, we don't know what the prophecy means, or the first challenge the demigods will face. What we do know," Rachel said, "is that the first phase has begun. A major problem has arisen, and we need a quest to solve it. Hera, the queen of the gods, has been taken."

Shocked silence. Then everyone turned to Aurora who froze in her tracks.

"Are you kidding me? I didn't take that cow mother! That's not even possible! Besides, a cage would have to be the size of a mountain to fit her big head in it!"

Chiron rubbed his temples and beckoned Aurora to join his side. She huffed but complied.

Rachel cleared her throat and recounted the story for everyone, including Piper passing out in Hera's cabin.

Piper zoned out, thinking about what happened in her vision.

Bow to his will, and their king shall rise, dooming us all.

XI ||𝑱𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏'𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕|| Piper

❆

Hera knew about the giant's threat. What confused Piper is why she hadn't warned Jason about her.

"Jason," Rachel said, bringing Piper back to the moment. "Um... do you remember your last name?"

He shook his hand, still looking self-conscious.

"We'll just call you Jason, then," Rachel decided. "It's clear Hera herself has issued you a quest."

The ginger haired girl paused, as if giving him a chance to protest. If Piper was in his shoes she defiantly would have buckled. Jason just set his jaw with a determined look and nodded. "I accept."

Rachel continued. "You must save Hera to prevent a great evil, some sort of king from rising. For reasons we don't understand yet, it must happen by the winter solstice, only four days from now."

"That's the council day of the gods," Annabeth said. "If the gods don't already know Hera's gone, they will definitely notice her absence by then. They'll probably break out fighting, accusing each other of taking her. That's what they usually do."

"The winter solstice," Chiron spoke up, done with his silent conversation between him and Aurora who was now standing beside him with her arms crossed and back turned.

"It's also the time of greatest darkness. The gods gather that day, as mortals always have, because there is strength in numbers. The solstice is a day when evil magic is strong. Ancient magic, older than the gods. It is a day when things... stir."

Aurora held out her hands and inspected them in the low lighting. She had an unreadable expression, but Piper could see a hint of fear in her eyes.

"Okay," Annabeth said, glaring at the centaur. "Thank you, Captain Sunshine. Whatever's going on, I agree with Rachel. Jason has been chosen to lead this quest, so-"

"Why hasn't he been claimed?" somebody yelled from the Ares cabin. "If he's so important-"

"He has been claimed," Chiron announced. "Long ago. Jason, give them a demonstration."

Jason stepped forward nervously. He glanced at Piper who nodded encouragingly. She mimicked flipping a coin.

Jason reached into his pocket. His coin flashed in the air and when he caught it, he was holding a lance-a rod of gold about seven feet long, with a spear tip at one end. A collection of gasps escaped the other demigods. Rachel and Annabeth stepped back to avoid the point.

"Wasn't that..." Annabeth hesitated. "I thought you had a sword."

"Um, it came up tails, I think. Same coin, long-range weapon form."

"Dude, I want one!" yelled someone from the Ares cabin.

"Better than Clarisse's electric spear, Lamer!" One of his brothers agreed.

"Electric," Jason murmured. Aurora was the first to realize what was about to happen and took a couple steps back towards the steps. "Back away."

Annabeth and Rachel got the message. Jason raised his javelin, and thunder broke open the sky. Lightning arced down through the golden spear point and hit the campfire with the force of an artillery shell.

After the smoke cleared, and the ringing in Piper's ears stopped, the entire camp was frozen in shock. A burning long had impaled itself next to Clovis, who hadn't even stirred.

Jason lowered his lance. "Um... sorry."

Chiron grimaced and brushed some ashes out of his beard. "A little overkill, perhaps, but you've made your point. And I believe we know who your father is."

"Jupiter," Jason said. "I mean Zeus. Lord of the Sky."

The rest of the camp wasn't so sure, breaking into chaos as a cacophony of questions was yelled out.

"The important thing," Rachel said, calming the overpowering voices. is that Jason's here now. He has a quest to fulfil, which means he will need his own prophecy."

She closed her eyes and swooned. This must have happened a lot because two campers caught her while a third grabbed a three-legged stool. The group eased Rachel onto the stool in front of the ruined hearth.

Green mist started swirling at Rachel's feet. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing. Emerald smoke spewed from her mouth. The voice that came out was ancient sounding.

'Child of lighting, beware the earth, The giants' revenge the eight shall birth, Heart of ice be set ablaze, Child of snow to change her ways, The forge and dove shall break the cage, And death unleash through Hera's rage.'

On the last word, Rachel collapsed. Her helpers carried her away and laid her in the corner to rest.

Piper looked at the faces she could recognize. Annabeth and Chiron were talking amongst themselves, Leo looked like he was scheming something, Jason appeared to be dep in thought, and Aurora looked deathly pale- a change from her sickly pale from earlier.

"Is that normal?" Piper asked. Then she realized she'd broken the silence, and everyone was looking at her. "I mean... does she spew green smoke a lot?"

"Gods, you're dense!" Drew sneered, snapping Aurora out of her trance. "She just issued a prophecy- Jason's prophecy to save Hera! Why don't you just-"

"Drew," Annabeth snapped. "Piper asked a fair question. Something about that prophecy definitely isn't normal. If breaking Hera's cage unleashes her rage and causes a bunch of death... why should we free her? It might be a trap, or- or maybe Hera will turn on her rescuers. She's never been kind to heroes."

Jason rose. "I don't have much of a choice. Hera stole my memory. I need it back. Besides, we can't just not help the queen of the heavens if she's in trouble."

"Yes, we can. It's easy as hell. Don't do it." Aurora stated, now recovered from the shock of the prophecy.

Annabeth took a deep breath. "It's Jason's quest," she announced, "so it's Jason's choice. Obviously, he's the child of lightning. According to tradition, he may choose any two companions."

Jason agreed. "The forge and dove shall break the cage. The forge is the symbol of Vul- Hephaestus."

Nyssa's shoulders slumped. "If you have to beware the earth," she said. "You should avoid travelling overland. You'll need air transport."

Piper was going to mention Jason's flying abilities but thought better of it.

"The flying chariot's broken, and the pegasi, we're using to search for Percy. But maybe the Hephaestus cabin can figure something out. With Jake incapacitated, I'm senior camper. I can volunteer for the quest."

She didn't sound enthusiastic.

Then Leo stood up. "It's me," he said.

His cabinmates tried to pull him back to his seat but Leo resisted. "No, it's me. I know it is. I've got an idea for the transportation problem. Let me try. I can fix this!"

Jason studied Leo for a minute before smiling. "We started this together, Leo. Seems only right you come along. You find us a ride, you're in."

"Yes!" Leo pumped his fist.

"It'll be dangerous," Nyssa warned him. "Hardship, monsters, terrible suffering. Possibly none of you will come back alive."

"Oh." Suddenly Leo didn't look so excited. Then he remembered everyone was watching. "I mean... Oh, cool! Suffering? I love suffering! Let's do this."

Annabeth nodded. "Then, Jason you only need to choose the third quest member. The dove-

Chiron cleared his throat. "Actually, it seems this quest requires a fourth."

Confusion flowed through the campers, as more questions bubbled up.

"Four?"

"Who could that possibly be?"

"Child of snow... Do we even know someone like that?"

"Heart of ice. We all know who that is."

Chiron nodded. "The fourth member is Aurora."

XI|| 𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒐𝒖𝒕 || Aurora

❆

The camp erupted into protests; Aurora was a part of the complaints.

"I'm not busting my ass off for some snobby goddess. Especially her! I'm not going!" Chiron didn't say anything, he waited for the campers to finish.

"Aurora, a moment please."

She walked back over to Chiron, feeling everyone's eyes burning into the back of her head. Leo and Jason exchanged a look, clearly uncertain about taking her with them.

"I'm not going." Aurora whisper-shouted, trying to maintain a determined demeanor and cautious of the eavesdropping crowd.

"I cannot force you child, but the prophecy is clear. You must go."

"That's very confusing, talk clearer." She crossed her arms and glared up at the towering centaur.

"You still owe Percy child, I know you hate debts. Go on this quest and you will have repaid him. I will stop sending satyrs to watch over you when you return and if you choose to leave and live on your own, I will allow it." Chiron reasoned.

Aurora huffed and considered it. "You're insufferable. I will only go if the other's want me too. Speaking of which- who is the third. You completely skipped over them."

She turned around to see Drew standing up and talking to the crowd, convincing them that she was the one to go on the quest.

"She's doing that charmspeak bullshit again. Drew! Shut up! You can't magic your way onto a quest!"

Drew forced a smile, her eyes flashing with dangerous anger. "Oh hon, I would never! I'm simply stating the obvious. The dove is Aphrodite, I am senior councilor plus I am very persuasive. I can help a lot. I am the best choice."

Aurora saw Piper clenching her fists. She was starting to like this girl.

"I had the vision of Hera; not you. I have to do this."

Drew rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Dumpster girl. Back off. Anyone can have a vision, you were just in the right place at the right time."

Drew turned to Jason, looking at Leo with disdain. "Look fighting is fine, I suppose. And people who build things... Well, I suppose someone has to get their hands dirty. But you need charm on your side."

Everyone started murmuring in agreement, even Chiron was scratching his beard like it made sense to him.

"Well..." Annabeth said. "Given the wording of the prophecy-"

"No!" Piper insisted, her voice sounded different, stronger. Charmspeak.

Aurora knew instantly what was about to happen. And she was relishing in it.

"I'm the one that's supposed to go." Everyone started nodding and muttering that Piper should go.

Drew looked around, incredulous. Even some of her siblings were nodding.

"Get over it!" Drew snapped. "What can Piper do?"

Piper hesitated; Aurora shoved the feeling of needing to intervene down knowing that it would end with her jumping Drew again.

"Well," Drew said smugly, "I guess that settles it."

Suddenly there was a collective gasp. And for a good reason.

Piper had a reddish glow around her, she was wearing a beautiful sleeveless dress that went to her ankles, with a V-neck so low Aurora cringed in embarrassment. Delicate gold armbands circled her biceps. An intricate necklace of amber, coral, and gold flowers glittered on her chest.

To top it off she had makeup on, and her hair was perfect: lush and long, braided with gold ribbons down one side so it fell across her shoulder.

"What?" she demanded. Piper looked down and realized what she was wearing. She covered her chest with her arms.

"Oh, god," she said. "What's happened?"

Annabeth pointed at Piper's dagger hanging on her side on a golden cord. Piper drew it and looked at her reflection.

"Beautiful," Jason exclaimed. "Piper, you... you're a knockout."

Drew's face turned into horror and revulsion which almost made Aurora smile. "No!" she cried. "Not possible!"

Chiron folded his front legs into a bow, all the campers followed his example.

"I- don't understand." Piper protested.

"Hail Piper McLean," Chiron announced.

"I understand." Aurora said, the only one left standing. "You just got claimed by Aphrodite."

❆

Aurora returned to the Hermes cabin; she didn't want to stick around. She only agreed to go on the quest because it gave her a chance to run. Aurora finished packing her bag, in the front pocket she kept a pouch.

Inside were pieces of her soul. Not literally. They were items that she had gotten from every important person in her life. She dug the pouch out and dumped the contents onto her lap.

The Polaroid of her, Wynter, and Luke, her father's handwritten letter he had left her, Silena's silver bracelet from the war, and there was that necklace.

Aurora absolutely adored silver jewelry. She wasn't materialistic in anyway. And she certainly wasn't going to admit to being sentimental. The necklace had a thinnish chain with a single snowflake pendent with diamonds imbedded into the small intricate piece.

"I miss you, Ethie..." She put the necklace on, switching it with her pearls.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a flash of light from the woods, then followed by more flashes. She got up to investigate, walking towards the woods.

If a monster came out and killed her, no one would notice that she went missing. If they did, they would assume she ran away again. Or find her body and celebrate. Either way, she felt so welcome at camp.

She walked for what felt like hours. The light flashes eventually stopped so she had to walk in the darkness in the direction she thought they came in.

Aurora finally got frustrated with the lack of light and held out her hand. She hated doing this. It was a reminder of her connection, and her past.

A small blue glow emitted from her hand. It expanded, giving the effect of sunlight shining through thick ice at dawn.

Dawn. Her father had named her after the roman goddess of dawn. She was always confused why he would choose a roman goddess for a Greek child. Then again everything he did made her confused.

Finally, Aurora found the source of the light. She immediately turned off her little light trick as she watched the scrawny mechanic from the forge talk to the dragon. Wait what? How has he not been killed?

She thought back to earlier when she walked him to dinner. She didn't mean to. But for some stupid reason that she couldn't figure out she did.

Then something stranger happened. Leo climbed onto the dragon's back and the thing bounded off into the woods.

Aurora groaned and considered turning around. She could see the faint light of the dragon's eyes acting like headlights that would soon be swallowed by the trees if she didn't make up her mind soon.

"Oh, fuck it."

XII|| 𝑭𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒔 ||Aurora

❆

Aurora gave up on trying to keep track of time. The bronze dragon ran through the woods until the canopy of leaves blocked out the stars and the trees were like skyscrapers. Thankfully she didn't have to use her powers again, the glowing red eyes of the metal reptile lit the way.

Aurora was quick on her feet, growing up in the Hermes cabin meant she had to be fast to keep up with the other kids. Then the war meant she had to have a steady stamina to be able to run for miles if needed.

Despite that, keeping up with Leo was difficult. Finally, they came to a stop. She almost ran straight into them but managed to grab a branch to stop herself and hide behind a tree. The dragon had crossed a stream, leaving them at a dead end.

A limestone cliff about a hundred feet tall stretched in front of them. Aurora watched suspiciously, confused why the supposedly aggressive dragon had led this strange boy to a dead end extremely deep in the woods. She crept closer, staying in the shadows.

She watched as the reptile lifted its front leg like a dog pointing. Leo slid off the dragon's back onto the ground. "What is it, Festus?" He asked.

Festus? Leo had named the dragon... Festus...?

Leo walked up to the cliff; it was solid rock. The dragon, Festus, kept pointing.

"It's not going to move out of your way," Leo informed him.

A loose wire in Festus's neck sparked but he stayed still, frozen.

Aurora watched as Leo put his hand on the cliff. His fingers started smoldering, lines of fire spread from his fingertips.

Aurora saw explosions and burning cars, she watched as the events of the war play before her eyes like a movie. She didn't realize she had gasped before Leo snapped his head to her, waking her from the trance.

"What are you doing here? Did you follow me?"

She took a second to regain her composure. "Yeah, I did. Not every day you see Festus the dragon kidnap the new kid."

Leo's cheeks gained a pale shade of pink at the mention of his dragon's name.

Aurora stepped closer so that she was in the faint light. Festus had smoke coming out of his nostrils, clearly not excited about her presence. "Woah..."

Leo and Aurora watched as the burning lines raced across the cliff until they outlined a massive glowing red door. Leo seemed to have gotten over Aurora's appearance, she took that as a good sign and stayed.

He removed his hand from the wall and stepped back, right onto Aurora's foot.

"Ow!" She exclaimed, jerking away.

Leo froze and instantly started apologizing. "Sorry, I didn't realize you were that close- are you good? I swear I didn't mean to-"

Aurora rolled her eyes and put a hand over his mouth to shut him up, which only made his cheeks pinker. "Do you ever stop talking?"

He shook his head sheepishly; she drew her hand back with a sigh. Festus unfroze and marched inside the now open door. The two hadn't even noticed the giant slab of rock swing open.

"That's not creepy at all."

Leo stepped through. Without meaning to, he took Aurora's hand and guided her inside. "Perfectly balanced," he muttered. "That's some first-rate engineering."

As soon as they were inside, the door began to close. Lights flickered on, a truly horrid combination of unflattering fluorescents and wall-mounted torches.

Aurora snatched her hand back. She didn't want to give into the warmth. Into his warmth. Despite her body's protest.

"Never grab a girl's hand without asking." She snapped, trying to keep her cold demeanor. Aurora couldn't understand why she acted differently around him. She hadn't been like this since...

"Festus," he said, either not hearing her or completely unfazed. "What is this place?"

The dragon stomped to the center of the room and curled up on a large circular platform. The cave was an ADHD mechanic's dream, with endless worktables and storage cages, rows of garage-sized doors along either wall.

There were staircases that led up to a network of catwalks high above. Hazard suits, welding torches, weapons, armor, shields, and a bunch of other stuff that Aurora couldn't be bothered to list. The war supplies seemed to be half finished projects.

Hanging about Festus was an old, tattered banner that said something. Aurora wouldn't have been able to read it if it was brand new, let alone faded into practically nothing.

"Do the other kids know...?" Leo said at last; she couldn't tell if he was talking to himself, her, or Festus.

"No, look at the dust patterns and cobwebs. This place hasn't been used in... well in a long time." She answered, stepping forwards to look at the pieces on the bench.

Aurora picked up an iron blade and wiped the dust off with her sleeve. It was a throwing knife, small but extremely sharp. It felt perfectly balanced to her; the leather hilt was dyed a dark blue which only appealed to her more.

She glanced at Leo over her shoulder; he was looking at a map on the wall. Aurora slipped the knife under her shirt, placing it in her waistband.

"Looks like you, Festus," he murmured. "That's creepy."

Aurora joined his side, leaning in to see what he was looking at. Leo jumped when their shoulders brushed against each other but tried to cover it with a cough.

There was a blueprint for a warship with faint scribbles that could have been words. The masthead was a head of a dragon. The very dragon that was behind them.

Leo reached out and touched the blueprint, but the paper crackled at his touch. Aurora slowly lowered his arm as she studied the bulletin board, there were multiple blueprints and sketches of different projects along with notes on each different one.

Festus snorted behind them, gaining Leo's attention. Aurora blinked and turned around; the dragon seemed to be reminding them about something. Oh right. The quest. They were supposed to leave in the morning. They only had a few hours and one big problem.

Festus didn't have wings.

The dragon nudged something towards Leo--a leather tool belt that had been left next to his construction pad. Aurora watched as Festus turned his glowing red eye on and pointed it at the ceiling.

"Are those...?" Aurora whispered.

"Aurora," he said in a small voice. "I hope you're okay with getting your hands dirty. We've got work to do."

XIII || 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇 || Aurora

❆

Aurora tried to help, she really did. But somehow, she ended up drifting off. Her conscious slowly faded into black, leaving Leo and the workshop behind.

Her dream started in the woods of that night. The night that changed everything. Her footsteps uncertain as she walked down the hill. Moonlight warped through the trees in thick tendrils, the sounds of celebration after Percy returned from his first quest faded behind her with each step.

Aurora's body was exactly the same as when she was ten. She just wanted a stroll away from the loudness, to stop her racing heart that was fueled with envy and anger. Percy Jackson, claimed almost instantly, defeated the minotaur with his bare hands with no training, and a quest within his first week. Envy. Then there was anger.

Anger at the gods for ignoring her, anger at herself for not protesting more when Wynter wanted to go on the quest, anger at the camp for shoving her aside because she wasn't claimed. Aurora fiddled with her ring to distract her trembling hands.

Then she heard the voices.

"Sixty seconds, Percy."

She stood behind a tree and watched as Percy stumbled, looking at his hand with wide eyes. Betrayal, confusion, shock, hurt, a million different emotions hit Percy with the force of a tidal wave. His face contorted in pain because of a deadly scorpion sting.

Luke walked off, leaving Percy to die. She surged forward and caught Percy as he collapsed.

Aurora sunk under his weight. Her eyes frantically searched their surroundings for anything that could help. She spotted a tree nymph, then two, then more melted out of their respected trees.

"Help!" She pleaded. "He's hurt!"

They took him from her arms and carried him away to help.

Aurora curled up against a tree, a similar reaction to Percy's threatened to escape her.

"Aurora? How much- what did you see?"

She looked up to see Luke standing above her, his blue eyes and jagged scar made him look like something from an eighty's horror movie in the moonlight.

"Please don't hurt me too..."

Luke crouched in front of her, gently peeling her hands away from her tear-stained face. His hands that were warm and comforting, were also distant and dangerous. This wasn't the Luke she knew.

"I won't, I promise. I didn't want to hurt him, Rory. It was necessary, I'm going to change the world. For the better, for us. And for everyone else like us. Come with me, we can do it together."

He stood with an outstretched hand to her. She hesitantly reached for it, her own hand tiny compared to his. Luke gently pulled her up and they walked deeper into the woods, further and further from camp.

The dream morphed into a nightmare; the familiar suffocating walls of the labyrinth seemed to be closing in on her. Gravel crunched under her feet as she ran from a hellhound. Its barks and snarls echoed through the never-ending maze.

Aurora had no sense of time, only one thing was on her mind. Survive. If she did, if she managed to find the way to camp, then Luke would be proud of her.

The beast's maw managed to snap around her arm, blazing agony surged through her body. Her mind blurred and the next thing Aurora saw was the over-sized dog yelping in pain, its haughty size shrinking into itself as its skin turned blue. White frost covered its once black fur, turning it a pale grey.

"What...?" Her own voice startled her; it was hoarse from days...? weeks...? Whatever. A long time without use.

She looked around but saw no one else. Aurora was in a room of mirrors, the floor, walls, ceiling, were made of mirrors. She rushed forward to the nearest wall.

Her clothes were torn with deep gashes that didn't look like they were healing. She could see her ribs in sickening definition; her pale skin stretched over her bones like a vacuum sealed bag. Her eyes were sunken and exhausted.

But that wasn't what scared her. Aurora's hair had changed from her natural dirty blond into a platinum one. Her eyes seemed sharper, a strange blue glow emitted from her. Suddenly, snowflakes fell around her like she was a living snow globe. She had been claimed.

"Impressive." Called a voice from behind her, as she turned to see who said it, the room changed into a cave.

An Asian boy with silky black hair and an ominous black eyepatch that covered his left eye. He wore a dark purple top and black armor that loosely fitted his thin frame. The boy was familiar to Aurora, though she couldn't place where.

"Didn't think I'd find your hoity toity ass down here." He said, his mouth twitching into a casual smirk.

"Wait... Ethan Nakamura?"

He stepped forward, studying her appearance. She felt insecure under his gaze, wrapping her arms around herself as if an attempt to hide from his single eye.

"The one and only. I'm surprised you remember me."

Aurora jolted awake to Leo's frantic shaking.

"Aurora? Wake up. It's morning, we gotta go!" He said, his face was smeared with grease. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes. Leo hovered in front of her, his face inches from hers so she could smell his breath, which smelt suspiciously like tabaco sauce.

Aurora groaned and shoved his face away, her tired limbs tingled as they woke up.

"Gods, what time is it?" She rubbed her eyes and instantly regretted it as oil smeared across her face, making her appear like a raccoon.

"No clue, but the sun's up which means we're up. C'mon, I finished getting Festus's wings on."

Sure enough, Festus stood in the early morning sun, the rays of light made him look like a golden statue.

Leo got on first, sitting in front. Aurora stood on the ground, the quest now feeling a little too real.

"You coming?" He asked, holding out his hand to help her up. For a moment Luke flashed before her eyes, but when she blinked, he disappeared, and Leo returned.

"What? Oh, yeah..." Aurora took his hand and climbed up.

There were no seatbelts, Leo showed her where to put her feet as she adjusted in her seat behind him.

"Okay, now... hold on tight. I don't exactly know how to fly this thing."

"That's reassuring... Wait what-"

Before she could finish her sentence Festus shot into the air, her arms wrapped around Leo's waist instantly to prevent from falling off.

The dragon flew straight up, Aurora held on tighter, practically flush against Leo as she clung to him. She scrunched her eyes shut, her breathing rapidly increasing.

He cursed under his breath, Aurora felt him moving, then the speed dialed back, and Festus leveled out.

"Yeah, baby!" Leo whooped, pumping his fist in the air.

She cautiously opened her eyes, they were flying above the clouds steadily.

"Woah..."

Aurora loosened her grip on Leo, still not one hundred percent certain that she wasn't going to fall off.

Within minutes they reached camp, circling a spot above the panicking campers. Aurora could see many kids in their pajamas and hastily put on armor. Many were yelling, a crowd gathered beneath them.

"Uhhh... Leo?"

They spotted Jason and Piper in the crowd, completely dumbfounded by the sight.

"Let's do this thing." Leo said in response. Aurora could practically taste the shit eating grin he was presumably wearing.

XIV || 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅 || Jason

❆

"Leo!" Piper yelled. Their friend was sitting atop a giant bronze dragon wearing a lunatic grin with Aurora sitting behind him, her eyes scrunched shut. A conch horn blew, and all the satyrs started screaming.

Half the group were in a mixture pajamas and armor, while the other hid behind their cabin doors, watching the scene from a safe distance. The metal monster set down in the middle of the field.

"It's cool! Don't shoot!" Leo yelled, the archers hesitantly lowered their bows. The other warriors backed away but kept their weapons- spears and swords- ready.

The campers made a loose wide ring around the dragon. It was huge. It glistened in the morning sun like a living penny sculpture with different shades of copper and bronze. It was sixty feet long with steel talons, drill-bit teeth and glowing ruby eyes.

It had bat-shaped wings twice its length that unfurled like metallic sails which sounded like a waterfall of coins every time they flapped.

"It's beautiful," Piper murmured which Jason couldn't help but agree.

The bronze reptile reared its head and shot a column of fire into the sky. Campers scrambled away, tripping over each other as they hefted their weapons. Leo whispered something in Aurora's ear before calmly sliding off the dragon's back.

Leo offered his hand to Aurora who smacked it away and slid off next to him. He turned back to the gathered campers and raised his hands like he was surrendering but Leo still had that crazy grin on his face.

"People of Earth, we come in peace!" He shouted. Leo looked like he had a wrestling match with a campfire and lost. His army coat and face was smeared with soot and his hands were grease-stained. He had a new toolbelt around his waist that looked empty and had bloodshot eyes.

His hair was so oily it stuck up like porcupine quills, however that didn't change how absolutely delighted he looked.

Aurora wasn't much better. She wore navy converse that had black stains and smears covering them like cheetah print. Her flared jeans were faded and had random splotches that looked like she had wiped her hands on them.

Aurora had a white tank top underneath a light grey flannel tied in a knot at the front. Her hair was in loose braided pigtails that sat on her shoulders. She looked cleaner than Leo but still had tired eyes like his.

"Festus is just saying hello!"

An Ares girl brandished her spear while shouting. "That thing is dangerous!" She yelled. "Kill it now!"

Jason pushed through the crowd with Annabeth and Nyssa following. "Stand down!" He ordered.

Jason approached the dragon in amazement. "Leo, what have you done?"

"Found a ride!" Leo beamed. "You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!"

"It- has wings," Nyssa stammered. Her jaw was dropped and looked like it was about to fall off her face.

"Yeah! I found them an reattached them." Leo said proudly, patting the dragon's leg.

"But it never had wings. Where did you find them?"

Leo hesitated, Aurora quickly jumped in. "In the woods. We found them deep in the forest."

He looked at Aurora who glared at him and cleared her throat which Leo took the hint. "Yeah! Repaired his circuits too, mostly, so no more problems with him going haywire."

"Mostly?" Nyssa asked. Festus twitched then tilted its head to one side, a stream of black goop poured all over Leo out of its ear.

Aurora stepped back, scrunching her nose. "Just a few kinks to work out."

"But how did you survive...? I mean, the fire breath..." Nyssa looked between her brother and the dragon in awe.

"I'm quick," Leo said. "And lucky. Now, am I on this quest or what?"

Jason scratched his head, confused about Leo's naming skills. "You named him Festus? You that in Latin, 'festus' means 'happy'? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?"

The dragon twitched and shuddered and flapped its wings.

"That's a yes, bro!" Leo said, clearly getting impatient. "Now, um, I'd really suggest we get going, guys. I already picked up some supplies in the-" He glanced at Aurora who made a vague expression only Leo seemed to catch. "In the woods. And all these people with weapons is making Festus nervous."

Jason frowned, he didn't usually like going in headfirst without a plan. Then again, he didn't know what he usually like. "But we haven't planned anything yet. We can't just-"

"Go," Annabeth said. She looked sad and wistful like this reminded her of better times; she was the only one who didn't look nervous. "Jason, you've only got three days until the solstice now, and you should never keep a nervous dragon waiting. This is certainly a good omen. Go!"

Jason nodded then turned to Piper. He smiled, "you ready, partner?"

Piper looked up at the dragon, its scales shining against the sky. "You bet."

They all got on except for Aurora who stood awkwardly on the ground. She shifted her weight as she looked up at them.

"You coming?" Leo asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.

Aurora fiddled with her necklace, scanning the three's faces. "Only if you want me to- all of you."

Jason exchanged a look with Piper. She nodded.

"Yeah, we do." He said. Aurora sighed though Jason could hear the shaky exhale hidden behind it.

Leo offered his hand once more and she took it, swinging her leg over Festus's back as she climbed up.

"Wait!" A voice called from the crowd. Jason watched as a boy with curly brown hair and a mischievous face pushed through the crowd. "You forgot this."

Aurora looked between the boy and the bag he held up to her in shock. She hesitantly took it with a ghost of a smile. "Thank you... Connor."

❆

The air was freezing cold, but the dragon's metal hide generated so much heat it felt like a protective bubble. The grooves in Festus's back were designed like high-tech saddles, which were surprisingly comfortable. Leo showed them how to hook their feet in the chinks of the armor and use the cleverly concealed leather safety harnesses.

They sat single file: Leo in front, then Aurora, then Piper, then Jason.

Leo used the reins to steer the dragon into the sky like he'd been doing it his whole life. They shot over Connecticut and climbed into the grey winter clouds.

Jason brought out the photo of Thalia. He studied her, trying to imprint her face in his lack of memories, her piercing blue eyes and dark hair.

Leo grinned back at them. "Cool, right?"

Aurora looked like she completely disagreed, clutching her bag like it was her lifeline with her eyes closed.

"What is we get spotted?" Piper asked.

"The Mist," Jason said. "It keeps mortals from seeing magic things. If they spot us, they'll probably mistake us for a small plane or something."

Piper turned around to face him. "You sure about that?"

"No," he admitted. Piper glanced at the photo then gave him a quizzical look; he blushed and put the photo in his pocket. "We're making good time. Probably get there by tonight."

Piper turned back around and the four rode in silence for a moment. "Where are we heading?" Piper asked.

"To find the god of the North Wind," Jason replied. "And chase some storm spirits."

XV|| 𝑰𝒄𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 || Aurora

❆

"I've got you. It's okay... I'm here..."

"Shut up, me." Leo said, interrupting Aurora's flashback.

"What?" Piper asked.

"Nothing," he replied. "Long night. I think I'm hallucinating. It's cool."

Aurora's stomach churned, she already hated flying. Adding a sleepless, hallucinating dragon driver on top of that? Forget it.

Leo cleared his throat, sensing the silence from the others had thought the same as her. "Just joking." He said, trying to change the subject. "So what's the plan, bro? You said something about catching wind, or breaking wind, or something?"

New England passed below them as Jason laid out the plan. First, find Boreas and get information-

"His name is Boreas?" Leo asked. Aurora froze at the mention of him, then forced herself to shift as her fingertips turned blue.

"What is he, the God of Boring?"

"He's the God of the north wind. Also known as 'Winter Bringer.' or 'The North Wind." Aurora answered. She felt a sense of dread, already predicting that she was going to be the one they ask as she was technically the most experienced on the quest.

Aurora sat up straighter, she wasn't a big fan of the seating arrangement. Smack bang in the middle, right behind the human furnace. She couldn't move without accidently touching either Leo or Piper.

Second, Jason continued, they had to find something called venti.

"Can we just call them storm spirits?" Leo asked. "Venti makes them sound like evil espresso drinks."

Aurora resisted the urge to slap him for continuously interrupting.

And third, Jason finished, they had to find out who the storm spirits worked for, so they could find Hera and free her.

"So you want to look for Dylan, the nasty storm dude, on purpose," Leo said. "The guy who threw me off the skywalk and sucked Coach Hedge into the clouds."

"Was it really that personal?" Aurora asked, rubbing her temples.

Leo snorted, a hint of snarky sarcasm was evident in his tone. "I'd say. He threw me into the Grand Canyon for Pete's sake!"

"That's about it," Jason summed up. "Well... there may be a wolf involved, too. But I think she's friendly. She probably won't eat us, unless we show weakness."

A shiver ran down Aurora's spine, like a skeletal hand was taunting her mortal-ness, her weakness. It felt like a thousand bugs crawling on her skin as goosebumps rose. If the other's noticed they probably assumed it was from the cold.

Jason told them about his dream - the big nasty mother wolf and a burnt-out house with stone spires growing out of the swimming pool.

"Uh-huh," Leo said. "But you don't know where this place is."

"Nope," Jason admitted.

Aurora couldn't help but groan. They were on a quest with a three-day countdown until doomsday and he didn't know where it was? She wished she never agreed to this.

"There are also giants," Piper added. "The prophecy said the giants' revenge."

"Hold on," Leo said. "Giants- like more than one? Why can't it just be one giant who wants revenge."

"I don't think so," Piper said. "I remember in some of the old Greek stories; there was something about an army of giants."

Not again... Aurora thought, already knew where this was going.

"Great," Leo muttered. "Of course, with our luck, it's an army. So you know anything else about these giants? Didn't you do a bunch of myth research for that movie with your dad?"

"Your dad's an actor?" Jason asked.

Leo laughed. "I keep forgetting about your amnesia. Heh. Forgetting about amnesia. That's funny. But, yeah, he dad's Tristan McLean."

Aurora bit her cheek, stopping the smile that threatened to tug at her lips. She would never admit that the joke was funny. If she knew anything, inflating boys' egos were never a good idea.

"Uh- Sorry, what was he in?"

"It doesn't matter," Piper said quickly.

"After the titans lost the first titan war, Gaia was pissed at the gods for overthrowing her children and punishing them or whatever, so she had a whole new litter of uglies called the giants, each one was born to oppose one of the twelve Olympian gods." Aurora answered, finally opening her eyes.

Piper continued. "They could throw mountains, huge, and practically impossible to kill. If they're rising..."

"Chiron said it was happening again," Jason remembered. "The last chapter. That's what he meant. No wonder he didn't want us to know all the details."

Aurora scoffed. "Yeah, he has a habit of that." She muttered, bitterness filling her tone.

Leo whistled, trying to lighten the mood. "So... giants who can throw mountains. Friendly wolves that will eat us if we show weakness. Evil espresso drinks. Gotcha. Maybe this isn't the best time to bring up my psycho babysitter."

"Is that another joke?" Aurora asked.

Leo told them about Hera who had taken up a persona called Tía Callida and how she'd appeared to him at camp. He didn't tell them about his abilities, which Aurora respected considering she was doing the same. Nobody can know.

He also told them about the night his mum died, saying the machine shop collapsed on her. She could tell he wasn't telling the full story, again she respected his decision. She knew she would have to tell them about her past, they would know soon enough anyway- unless they already did...

Leo also told them about the strange woman in the earthen robes who seemed to be asleep and also seemed to know the future.

"It can't be..." Aurora muttered, causing a nervous silence as the others looked at her, apart from Leo who kept his eyes on the road- path? Sky?

"Can't be what?" Piper asked, narrowing her eyes at Aurora.

Aurora stiffened at her slip. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

Piper went to say something, but Jason interrupted her. "Aurora, do you know who Leo's talking about? We're all on the same side here, we deserve to know."

Don't trust anyone. The voice inside her head said. Never let your guard down.

"Just a guess. Probably not true. Like I said- don't worry about it." She replied firmly.

"That's... disturbing," Piper said after Leo finished talking.

"Bout sums it up," Leo agreed. "Thing is, everybody says don't trust Hera. She hates demigods. And the prophecy said we'd cause death if we unleash her rage. So I'm wondering... why are we doing this?"

"Because gods always make demigods do their dirty work." Aurora muttered bitterly.

None of them seemed to hear her as Jason answered. "She chose us. All four of us. We're the first of the eight who have to gather for the Great Prophecy. This quest is the beginning of something much bigger."

War. Said a little voice inside. Death. It whispered with an unsettling eagerness. Images of bodies littering the streets of Manhattan flashed in Aurora's mind.

"Besides," Jason continued, "helping Hera is the only way I can get back my memory. And that dark spire in my dream seemed to be feeding on Hera's energy. If that thing unleashes a king of the giants by destroying Hera-"

"Not a good trade-off," Piper concluded. "At least Hera is on our side-"

"Mostly..."

"-Losing her would throw the gods into chaos. She's the main one who keeps peace in the family. And a war with the giants could be even more destructive than the Titan War." Piper finished, sending a weary glance that burned into Aurora's back.

Jason nodded. "Chiron also talked about worse forces stirring on the solstice, with it being a good time for dark magic and all- something that could awaken if Hera were sacrificed on that day. And this mistress who's controlling the storm spirits, the one who wants to kill all the demigods-"

"Might be that weird sleeping lady," Leo finished. "Dirt Woman fully awake? Not something I want to see."

"But who is she?" Jason asked, hardly hiding how the question was directed at Aurora. "And what does she have to do with giants.

She glared at him over her shoulder; he met her gaze with a mixed expression. They flew in silence.

Leo cleared his throat. "So, uh... I heard you broke a teacher's nose." He said, clearing trying to break the tension.

"One he wasn't a teacher; he was a student teacher. Two he deserved it."

"Woah, what? You broke someone's nose? Why?" Jason asked.

Aurora clenched her fists that were hidden in her hoodie's pockets. "Does it matter?"

She thought about the prophecy. Heart of ice be set ablaze. Child of snow to change her ways. Did it mean her heart had to be set on fire? You could never tell if the prophecy lines were literal or metaphorical. She might literally be set of fire by Hera, surprisingly a likely outcome.

And the other line? It was obviously about her habits and choices, probably attitude too. But she didn't want to change. No matter how many problems it caused her. Change was scary. Things changed when Wynter and her went into the system. Things changed when Wynter died. And things kept changing the second Luke listened to Kronos.

"Why don't you guys get some sleep?" Piper said in their ears. "You were up all night. And it shows."

Aurora wanted to protest, she was used to a messed-up sleep schedule but for once her body disagreed.

"You won't let me fall off?" Leo asked.

Piper patted his shoulder. "Trust me, Valdez. Beautiful people never lie."

If only that were true.

"Right," he muttered, eyes already drooping from drowsiness. Leo leaned forward against the dragon's neck and closed his eyes. His breathing steadied into soft snores.

Aurora had two choices. A) Lean on Piper. B) Lean on Leo.

She picked option A.

❆

When Piper shook them, awake daylight was already fading. Multiple soft tones melted into the sky, pink and orange swayed together against the blue and purple in perfect harmony. Sunset was always her favorite time of day, despite her namesake.

"We're here." Piper said.

Below them a city sat on a cliff overlooking a river. The plains around were dusted with snow, but the city itself glowed warmly in the winter sunset. The buildings looked mediaeval, in the center was an actual castle. Well old castle converted into a hotel in modern times. It had massive red brick walls and a square tower with a peaked, green gabled roof.

"Tell me that's Quebec City and not Santa's workshop," Leo said.

"Yeah, Quebec City," Piper confirmed. "One of the oldest cities in North America. Founded around sixteen hundred or so?"

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Your dad do a movie about that, too?"

Aurora smacked his arm while Piper made a face at him.

"I read sometimes, okay? Just because Aphrodite claimed me doesn't mean I have to be an airhead."

Aurora thought about Silena, she would have loved Piper. Bittersweet nostalgia washed over her. She forced it down low, hiding it beneath her darkness.

"Feisty!" Leo said with a laugh. "Since you know so much, what's that castle."

"A hotel, I think."

Leo laughed again. "No way."

"It is a hotel, converted. Some rich people like to buy abandoned or just old castles, renovate them and turn them into hotels. That one also happens to be the home of Boreas. And his children." Aurora answered.

"Who are his kids?" Jason asked.

"You'll see..."

XVI|| 𝑲𝒉𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆 || Aurora

❆

As they got closer, Aurora could see the familiar grand entrance that was bustling with doormen, valets, and porters taking bags. Sleek black luxury cars idled in the drive. People in elegant suits and winter cloaks hurried to get out of the cold.

"The North Wind is staying in a hotel?" Leo said. "That can't be-"

"Heads ups, guys," Jason interrupted. Thankfully. "We've got company!"

Aurora looked down, rising from the top of the tower were two-winged figures--angry angels, with nasty-looking swords.

"Oh, come on... Get ready. Here comes Tweedle dee and Tweedle dopey."

"I don't think that's the name-- woah... Steady, boy," Leo muttered as Festus swooped to a halt in midair, wings beating and talons bared, and made a rumbling sound in his throat that Leo seemed to recognize.

"I don't like this," Jason said. "They look like storm spirits."

As the angels got closer, it was clear they were more solid than storm spirits. They could've passed as teenagers if it wasn't for their icy white hair and feathery purple wings. Their bronze swords were jagged, like icicles. Aurora used to have one similar, as did Wynter. Their faces looked similar enough that they might've been brothers, but definitely not twins.

Overall, they could not pass as regular teenagers.

One was the size of an ox, with a bright red hockey jersey, baggy sweatpants, and black leather cleats. The guy clearly had been in too many fights, because both his eyes were black, and when he bared his teeth, several were missing.

The other guy looked like something straight out of the 1980s. His hair was long and feathered into a disgusting mullet. He wore pointy-toed leather shoes, designer pants that were way too tight and revealed everything that shouldn't be, and a god-awful silk shirt with the top three buttons undone.

He probably thought he looked like a groovy love god but in reality, he looked like every fifteen-year-old boy at their first formal, with a bad case of acne and he couldn't have weighed more than ninety pounds.

The angels pulled up in front of the dragon and hovered there, swords at the ready.

Hockey ox grunted. "No clearance."

"'Scuse me?" Leo said.

"You have no flight plan on file," the groovy loon explained. On top of all his other problems, he had a French accent, so bad it was surely fake. "This is restricted airspace."

Aurora made eye contact with the love god. Panic rose through her as his eyes widened slightly in recognition.

"Garde ta bouche fermée. Fais semblant de ne pas me connaître." She hissed.

(Keep your mouth shut. Pretend you don’t know me.)

Leo looked at her over his shoulder. "You know French? What'd you just--"

"Destroy them?" The ox asked, clearly not as bright as his brother. He showed off his gap-toothed grin.

The dragon began to hiss steam, and Jason summoned his golden sword. Before anything could happen, Leo cried, "Hold on! Let's have some manners here, boys. Can I at least find out who has the honor of destroying me?"

Thankfully Zethes played along with Aurora, and additionally Cal was too stupid to even know what was happening.

"I am Cal!" the ox grunted. He looked very proud of himself like he'd taken a long time to memorize the sentence.

"That's short for Calais," the love god said. "Sadly, my brother cannot say words with more than two syllables-"

"Pizza! Hockey! Destroy!" Cal offered.

"-which includes his own name," the love god finished.

"I am Cal," Cal repeated. "And this is Zethes! My brother!"

"Wow," Leo said. "That was almost three sentences, man! Way to go." Aurora smacked his arm.

Cal grunted once more, obviously pleased with himself despite Leo's obvious sarcasm.

"Stupid buffoon," Zethes grumbled. "They make fun of you. But no matter. I am Zethes, which is short for Zethes. And the lady there-" He winked at Piper, although it looked more like a facial seizure. "She can call me anything she likes. Perhaps she would like to have dinner with a famous demigod before we must destroy you."

Piper made an exaggerated gagging sound as if she was choking on a cough drop. "That's... a truly horrifying offer."

In another life Aurora could see herself being extremely close friends with Piper, though she doubted it would happen in this one.

"It is no problem." Zethes wiggled his eyebrows. "We are very romantic people, we Boreads."

"Boreads?" Jason cut in.

"Sons of Boreas." Aurora answered.

"Ah, so you've heard of us!" Zethes looked pleased. "We are our father's gatekeepers. So, you understand, we cannot have unauthorized people flying in his airspace on creaky dragons, scaring the silly mortal peoples."

He pointed below at the mortals who were starting to take notice. Several were pointing up- not with alarm, yet- more with confusion and annoyance, like the dragon was a traffic helicopter that was flying too low.

"Which is sadly why, unless this is an emergency landing," Zethes said, brushing his greasy mop of hair out of his acne-covered face, "we will have to destroy you painfully."

"Destroy!" Cal agreed, with a little more enthusiasm than what was necessary.

At this point Aurora wished they did destroy them already instead of just promising to.

"Wait!" Piper said. "This is an emergency landing."

"Awww!" Cal looked so disappointed, Aurora would have sympathized with the guy if he wasn't so eager to destroy her.

Zethes studied Piper more intently than before. "How does the pretty girl decide this is an emergency, then?"

"We have to see Boreas. It's totally urgent! Please?" She forced a smile, which might've been killing her, but she still had the Aphrodite blessing and still looked annoyingly perfect. Her voice was extra sweet, Aurora could see the boys nodding as if they believed it too. Thank gods for charmspeak.

Zethes picked at his silk shirt, making sure it was still open wide enough. "Well... I hate to disappoint a lovely lady, but you see, my sister, she would have an avalanche if we allowed you-”

"And our dragon is malfunctioning!" Aurora jumped in, shooting Zethes a pointed look. "It could crash any minute!"

Festus shuddered helpfully, then turned his head and spilled gunk out of his ear, splattering a black Mercedes in the parking lot below.

"No destroy?" Cal whimpered.

Zethes seemed to ponder the problem. Then he gave Piper another spasmodic wink. "Well, you are pretty. I mean, you're right. A malfunctioning dragon--this could be an emergency."

"Destroy them later?" Cal offered, which was probably as close to friendly as he ever got.

"It will take some explaining," Zethes decided. "Father has not been kind to visitors lately. Especially after your last--" he caught himself.

"But, yes. Come, faulty dragon people. Follow us."

The Boreads sheathed their swords and pulled smaller weapons from their belts- or at least they looked like weapons. The Boreads switched them on, and Aurora realized they were flashlights with orange cones, like the ones traffic controller guys use on a runway.

Cal and Zethes turned and swooped toward the hotel's tower.

Leo turned to his friends. "I love these guys. Follow them?"

"I guess," Jason said, he seemed uneager to follow them. "We're here now. But I wonder why Boreas hasn't been kind to visitors."

"Pfft, he just hasn't met us." Leo whistled. "Festus, after those flashlights!"

They landed in a penthouse suite. The gabled roof had a section slide open; the entrance was lined from top to bottom with icicles like jagged teeth. As the dragon's feet hit the floor, the roof closed back up as if they had been swallowed by the building.

The suite seemed to be hit by a flash freeze. The entry hall had vaulted ceilings forty feet high, huge draped windows, and lush oriental carpets. A staircase at the back of the room led up to another equally massive hall, and more corridors branched off to the left and right.

Home sweet home.

Leo slid off the dragon's back and onto the carpet which crunched under his feet. Aurora slid down next to him, once again refusing his help.

A fine layer of frost covered everything, even the curtains which didn't budge because they were frozen solid, and the ice-coated windows let in weird watery light from the sunset. The room reminded Aurora of her 'room' on the Princess Andromeda.

The ceiling was furry with icicles and the stairs looked like if anyone would try to use them, they would slip and break their neck.

"Guys," Leo said, "fix the thermostat in here, and I would totally move in."

"Not me." Jason looked uneasily at the staircase. "Something feels wrong. Something up there..."

Aurora could feel her presence from where she stood, despite everything she felt drawn to it, like a moth to a flame that was guaranteed to get burned.

Festus shuddered and snorted flames as frost started to form on his scales. Aurora glanced at her fingertips that were starting to turn the faintest shade of blue with a fine layer of frost forming. She quickly hid her hands and willed her anxiety down; she pictured it as a snowstorm that was uncontrolled, each breath she took she made it shrink.

"No, no, no." Zethes marched over, despite the shoes that should have been impossible to walk in. "The dragon must be deactivated. We can't have fire in here. The heat ruins my hair."

"Clearly."

Zethes glared at her. "Watch yourself girl. Ta mère sait que tu es ici."

(Your mother knows you’re here.)

Leo looked between them with curiosity while Piper and Jason exchanged looks of suspicion.

Festus growled and spun his drill-bit teeth. Aurora really owed the dragon some oil.

"'S'okay, boy." Leo turned to Zethes. "The dragon's a little touchy about the whole deactivation concept. But I've got a better solution."

"Destroy?" Cal suggested.

"No, man. You gotta stop with the destroy talk. Just wait."

"Leo," Piper said nervously, "what are you-"

"Watch and learn, beauty queen. When I was repairing Festus last night, I found all kinds of buttons. Some, you do not want to know what they do. But others... Ah, here we go."

Leo hooked his fingers under the dragon's left foreleg. He pulled a switch and the dragon shuddered. Everyone backed away as Festus started folding like origami. His bronze plating somehow stacked together as his neck and tail contracted into his body. His wings collapsed and his trunk compacted until he was a rectangular metal wedge the size of a suitcase.

Aurora watched as Leo attempted to lift it, failing miserably. He scratched his neck in embarrassment. "Um... yeah. Hold on. I think--aha."

He pushed another button, and a handle flipped up the top with wheels clicking out on the bottom.

"Ta-da!" He announced. "The world's heaviest carry-on bag!"

"That's impossible," Jason said. "Something that big couldn't-"

Aurora sighed. "We live in a world with gods and angels that have purple wings and bad hair days 24/7 and you're concerned about how the dragon transformed into a suitcase?"

"Stop!" Zethes ordered. He and Cal both drew their swords and glared at Leo.

Leo raised his hands. "Okay... What'd I do? Stay calm, guys. If it bothers you that much, I don't have to take the dragon as a carry-on--"

"Who are you?" Zethes shoved the point of his sword against Leo's chest. "A child of the South Wind, spying on us?"

Oh shit.

"What? No!" Leo said. "Son of Hephaestus. Friendly blacksmith, no harm to anyone!"

Cal growled and put his face up to Leo's, inches apart. "Smell fire," he said. "Fire is bad."

Aurora tensed at the mention. She had completely forgotten that Leo would be in danger being a fire user.

"Oh." Leo said. "Yeah, well... my clothes are kind of singed, and I've been working with oil, and-”

"No!" Zethes pushed Leo back at sword point. "We can smell fire, demigod. We assumed it was from the creaky dragon, but now the dragon is a suitcase. And I still smell fire... on you."

"Hey... look... I don't know--" Leo glanced at his friends and then Aurora desperately. "Guys, a little help?"

Jason stepped forward, coin in hand and eyes on Zethes. "Look, there's been a mistake. Leo isn't a fire guy. Tell them, Leo. Tell them you're not a fire guy."

"Um..."

"Zethes?" Piper tried for a dazzling smile though the cold and nervousness kind of ruined the wow factor. "We're all friends here. Put down your swords and let's talk."

"The girl is pretty," Zethes admitted, "and of course she cannot help being attracted to my amazingness; but sadly, I cannot romance her at this time."

He poked his sword point further into Leo's chest, Aurora could see the familiar frost spread across his shirt, no doubt turning his skin numb. Her hands felt heavy and cold, like they were frozen in blocks of ice. No, stay in the moment.

"Destroy him now?" Cal asked his brother.

Zethes nodded. "Sadly, I think--"

"No." Aurora finally stepped forward, her tone insisting.

"Leo's just a son of Hephaestus. He's no threat. Piper here is a daughter of Aphrodite. I'm the son of Zeus. And Aurora is..." Jason started, his voice was calm, but his demeanor said he was seconds away from flipping his coin and going full gladiator mode.

"Unclaimed." She spat.

"Uhh yeah... She's unclaimed. We're on a peaceful..." Jason's voice faltered as both boreads turned to him.

"What did you say?" Zethes demanded. "You are the son of Zeus?"

"Um... Yeah," Jason said. "That's a good thing, right? My name is Jason."

Cal looked so surprised he almost dropped his sword. "Can't be Jason. Doesn't look the same."

Zethes stepped forward and squinted at Jason's face. "No, he is not our Jason. Our Jason was more stylish. Not as much as me- but stylish. Besides, our Jason died millennia ago."

"Wait," Jason said. "Your Jason... You mean the original Jason? The Golden Fleece guy?"

"They were his crewmates on the Argo in the old times when they were mortals. Then they accepted immortality to serve their father."

Zethes shot Aurora a look that she recipocated with an eye roll.

"Yes, we did accept immortality to serve our family, so I could look this good for all time, and my silly brother could enjoy pizza and hockey."

"Hockey!" Cal agreed.

"But Jason--our Jason--he died a mortal death." Zethes said. "You can't be him."

"I'm not," Jason agreed.

"So, destroy?" Cal asked. His brain seemed to only comprehend five percent of what had just happened.

"No," Zethes said regretfully. "If he is a son of Zeus, he could be the one we've been watching for."

"Watching for?" Leo asked, drawing attention back to himself. "You mean like in a good way: you'll shower him with fabulous prizes? Or watching for like in a bad way: he's in trouble."

Aurora pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

Then her voice said, "That depends on my father's will."

Everyone turned to the staircase. At the top stood a girl in a white silk dress. Her skin was just like Aurora's, unnaturally pale, the colour of snow. Her other features were completely opposite to Aurora's with a lush mane of black hair, and her eyes were coffee brown.

Aurora groaned and turned away, out of the corner of her eye she saw Leo staring at Khione, completely starstruck.

"Aurora Marr." Said the girl, "I've been expecting you."

XVII||𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒍||Leo

❆

Leo was in love.

The girl at the top of the stairs? Definition of gorgeous.

When she addressed Aurora, Leo could see something in the blonde girl click. The walls Leo had somehow managed to peek over doubled their height and width, creating an impenetrable fortress of a heart. He could sense there was some sort of story between the two girls but was too star struck to care.

The girl focused on Leo with no expression, no smile, no friendliness, and just for a moment she looked exactly like Aurora on the beach. It didn't matter. Leo had found his future prom date. She was the most dazzling girl he had ever seen.

She looked over at Jason and Piper, instantly understanding the situation. "Father will want to see the one called Jason," the girl said.

"Then it is him?" Zethes asked excitedly.

"We'll see," the girl replied. "Zethes, bring our guests."

Aurora made no effort to move, staring at the girl with an unreadable expression. Leo on the other hand grabbed the handle of his dragon suitcase. He didn't know how'd he'd lug it up the stairs, but he had to talk to her. Maybe get an email or phone number.

Before he could take a step, the girl froze him with a look. Not literally froze, but she might as well have.

"Not you, Leo Valdez," she said.

Leo felt crushed. He probably sounded like a whiny kindergartner, but he couldn't help it. "Why not?"

"You cannot be in the presence of my father," the girl said. She looked at Aurora with an expression that probably had some hidden meaning. "Fire and ice- it would not be wise."

"We're going together," Jason insisted, putting his hand on Leo's shoulder, "or not at all."

The girl brought her attention back to them and tilted her head, like she wasn't used to people refusing her orders. "He will not be harmed, Jason Grace, unless you make trouble. Calais, keep Leo Valdez here. Guard him, but do not kill him."

Aurora's expression hardened impossibly further at the mention of Jason's last name.

Cal pouted. "Just a little?"

"No," the pale girl insisted. "And take care of his interesting suitcase, until Father passes judgment."

Jason and Piper looked at Leo, their expressions said something along the lines of: how do you want to play this?

Leo felt a surge of gratitude as he saw their faces. They were ready to fight for him; well Jason and Piper were at least. They didn't want to leave him with hockey ox Cal. Part of him wanted to go for it, bust out his new tool belt and see what his supposed demigod instincts could do, maybe even summon a fire ball or two. But the Boreads scared him. And the gorgeous girl (despite wanting her number) scared him even more. What scared him the most though was Aurora's demeanor shift.

"It's fine, guys," he said. "No sense causing trouble if we don't have to. You go ahead."

"Listen to your friend," the pale girl said. "Leo Valdez will be perfectly safe. I wish I could say the same for you, son of Zeus. Now come, King Boreas is waiting."

Jason and Piper started ascending the stairs, Zethes following behind with his blade drawn. Jason paused on the fifth step, nearly getting impaled by Zethes, he looked over his shoulder at Aurora with confusion embedded on his face. "Aren't you coming?"

Aurora scoffed and shook her head. Jason furrowed his brow and looked like he was about to question further but was pulled along by Piper after a specifically stern look from the gorgeous girl.

Leo watched his friends until they reached the top, Jason and Piper who had been holding hands suddenly dropped the other's as if they were in pain. They disappeared down a long hallway. As soon as they were out of sight Leo turned to Aurora.

"Soooo, what now?"

Aurora glared at him and turned on her heel, she stormed down a hallway full of frozen tapestries. Leo looked at Cal who simply shrugged and followed her.

"Well, I guess that's what." He followed after Cal down the long corridor. Leo noticed that the frost in the air seemed to follow Aurora instead of Cal despite him being the son of the north wind.

They went down a series of multiple different hallways, Aurora seemed to know the way to wherever she was going. If Leo even tried navigating this place, he would've gotten lost within seconds.

At last, the came to a large set of doors, about ten feet tall with snowflakes carved into the blue wood. Aurora pushed them open to reveal a large room.

Directly in front of them was a massive expensive looking canopy bed covered in pillows and silk bedsheets. Windows filled majority of the surrounding walls, sheer curtains allowed light to filter into the room. Directly to the left of Leo was a door that presumably led to a bathroom, to his right was a wooden wardrobe that looked like it hadn't been touched in years, in fact the entire room looked preserved as if someone had lived here long before just for the room to be sealed off.

Aurora started rummaging through the wardrobe while Leo took the opportunity to poke his head in the bathroom door, Cal sauntered in and plopped down on a Victorian-looking love seat that sat in a window bay that overlooked the city.

The bathroom was somehow even grander than the bedroom. A massive stained-glass window had a design of a girl whose face was hidden by a hood and flurries of ice erupting from her person. Underneath was a claw foot tub on a platform. There were the standard bathroom appliances like a toilet, mirror, and sink on opposite sides of the room. The floor was tiled with light blue snowflake patterns on every third tile.

Leo figured he didn't have time to draw a bath, so he settled for a French bath, using hand soap and a little bit of water to clean off the grease from his clothes and body. Through the window the sunset faded into night, the only light coming from the aurora borealis overhead, washing everything in red and blue. The origin of the name fascinated Leo. Aurora, for sunrise and Boreas for the Northwind (obviously). Leo grinned at the thought of the meaning of Aurora's name because she was nothing like a sunrise.

When he finally emerged from the bathroom, he was (somewhat) clean. Leo walked back into the bedroom straightening his clothes and fixing his hair. He looked up to see Aurora standing next to Cal, looking out the window with her back turned to him. She too had cleaned up (Where, Leo had no idea) but had changed into fresh clothes, baggy grey jeans and a navy hoodie. She had her hair in two Dutch braids, when she heard footsteps approaching, she tensed.

"How do you know so much about this place?" Leo asked, taking in the grandiosity of the room.

Aurora didn't give him an answer, so Cal spoke for her. "Rora used to live here long time ago."

"Wait you did? Does that mean you know that girl's name?"

Aurora scoffed and turned around. "Khione. Don't even try, she'll freeze your heart solid and shatter it for fun."

"She just hasn't met me yet; the Leo effect can warm anyone up."

Cal giggled from his spot. "Sister is cold. Ice cold. No warmth in her." He laughed harder as if his words were a funny joke.

Aurora rolled her eyes and exited the room, she paused at the door. "They're done." With that she continued down the labyrinth of hallways back to the others.

"Follow?" Cal asked.

Leo shrugged and started to follow her, Cal trudging behind muttering about pizza, hockey, and destroying. Wise words of Calais the dimmer Boread brother.

Back in the entry hall Leo got Cal's permission to un-suitcasify Festus who unfolded back into his dragon form that occasionally snorted fire to keep himself defrosted. Night had made the room colder, Aurora looked completely unbothered by the temperature like she was even getting hot in her hoodie, Leo on the other hand was freezing.

Khione led Jason, Piper and Zethes back down the stairs soon after. Leo watched Khione descend the stairs, every movement fluid with grace, though for some reason she appeared mad. Gods he hoped whatever happened in there didn't affect his chances. He combed his hair back, trying to look as presentable as possible.

At the bottom step, Khione turned to Piper. "You have fooled my father, girl. But you have not fooled me. We are not done. And you, Jason Grace, I will see you as a statue in the throne room soon enough."

"Boreas is right," Jason said. "You're a spoiled kid. See you around, ice princess."

Khione's eyes flashed pure white. She turned to Aurora who shrunk under the intense gaze. "And you... You will learn your rightful place soon enough. Remember my words child. All of them."

"After what you did? I'll never consider that. As long as I'm concerned, you don't exist." Aurora snapped. Leo really needed to teach them how to be wingmen, they were crushing his chance with the gorgeous girl.

Khione looked at a loss for words. She stormed back up the stairs--literally. Halfway up, she turned into a blizzard and siappeared.

"Be careful," Zethes warned Jason. "She never forgets an insult."

Cal grunted in agreement. "Bad sister."

"She's the goddess of snow," Jason said. "What's the worst she going to do, throw snowballs at us?"

"Worse. Much, much worse." Aurora stated, her blue eyes dangerous in the sharp lighting. "Do not underestimate my- Khione."

Leo felt devastated. "What happened up there? You made her mad? Is she mad at me too? Guys, that was my prom date!"

"That was my mum." Aurora grumbled, barley audible, disgusted at the thought of Leo and Khione.

XVIII||𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒆||Piper

❆

"We'll explain later--" Piper promised before processing Aurora's words. "Wait- your mum is Khione? I thought you were unclaimed."

Aurora looked up. "I was and then she claimed me. Simple as that." She crossed her arms defiantly. The tension grew between the two girls as they studied each other suspiciously. Jason stepped in with his hands raised in a show of peace.

"Aurora, why didn't you tell us you were claimed?" He asked cautiously.

She turned to him; her blue eyes seemed to glow in the lighting. Piper wanted to step in front of Jason, to block him from the girl's gaze. "Because it's none of your business. Nobody knew and I certainly wasn't going to tell a bunch of strangers." She countered.

Jason sighed and rubbed his temples. "Aurora," he started, trying to keep his voice calm despite his growing frustration. "We are on a quest together. We have to trust each other, and we can't do that if you keep secrets from us."

"You're one to talk." She sneered.

Piper paused, she and Jason exchanged a confused look. "What do you mean by that? I lost my memory." He took a step closer to Aurora who stood up taller.

"No kidding. I would've thought you'd recognize me from Mount Tam... Guess not." She stepped closer too, seeming to enjoy her power of knowledge over them.

"Wait... Mount Tam? You know me?" Jason's demeaner shifted into a mix of desperation and curiosity at the reveal.

Aurora nodded then looked out the window. "We're wasting time. We need to go."

"Wait! What about telling what happened up there?" Leo protested.

Jason looked away. "Yeah," he agreed with Piper's earlier promise. "We'll explain later."

"Be careful, pretty girl," Zethes said. "The winds between here and Chicago are bad-tempered. Many other evil things are stirring. I am sorry you will not be staying. You would make a lovely ice statue, in which I could check my reflection."

Aurora scoffed. "Try a mirror, might be a little more accurate." Zethes hissed at her and tried for a smirk at Piper.

"Thanks," she said. "But I'd sooner play hockey with Cal."

"Hockey?" Cal's eyes lit up.

"Joking," Piper said. "And the storm winds aren't our worst problem, are they?"

"Oh, no," Zethes agreed. "Something else. Something worse."

"Worse," Cal echoed.

"Can you tell me?" Piper gave them a smile.

This time, the charm didn't work. The Boreads shook their heads in unison. The hangar doors opened to a freezing starry night, and the dragon stomped his feet.

"Ask Aeolus what is worse," Zethes said darkly. "He knows. Good luck."

Zethes almost sounded like he cared, despite what had happened moments ago with his request to make her an ice sculpture.

Cal patted Leo on the shoulder. "Don't get destroyed," he said, probably the longest sentence he had ever attempted. "Next time--hockey. Pizza."

Calais then turned to Aurora and hugged her; she remained stiff and didn't return it. "Good luck. Game night next time. Promise."

She sighed and stepped away with a nod.

"Come on, guys." Jason stared out at the dark. Piper could see he was as anxious as she was to get out of the cold. "Let's go to Chicago and try not to get destroyed."

They got onto the dragon in the same positions as before and took off.

❆

Piper didn't relax until the glow of Quebec City faded behind them.

"You were amazing," Jason told her.

A compliment like that would've made her day. It should've. But all Piper could think about was the trouble ahead.

She told Jason in french: "If you knew the truth about me, you wouldn't think I was so amazing."

Aurora turned to Piper with a calculating gaze. Both girls seemed to forget the other could speak the language. Piper paled slightly, scared that Aurora would reveal her. However, Aurora didn't, instead she smiled softly, the tension in her shoulders decreased slightly.

"What'd you say?" He asked.

"I said I only talked to Boreas. It wasn't so amazing." She didn't turn to look, but she could imagine him smiling.

"Hey," he said, "you saved me from joining Khione's subzero hero collection. I owe you one."

Aurora snorted in front of her.

That was the easy part, Piper thought. There was no way she was letting that snow witch keep Jason. What bothered Piper was the way Boreas had changed form. It had something to do with Jason's past and the tattoos on his arm. Boreas assumed Jason was some sort of Roman, and that Romans didn't mix with Greeks. What had also bothered her was Aurora knowing stuff about Jason's past.

Until now, Piper had been able to dismiss Jason's feelings about not belonging at camp. He was a demigod. Of course he belonged. But now... What if he was something else? What if he really was an enemy? And then there was Aurora...

Leo passed them sandwiches from his pack, which Aurora refused and pulled something out of her own pack. A photograph.

Piper saw a little girl, presumably Aurora, in between two boys. The one on the left looked similar to Jason and the other had messy beach-colored hair that fell in his blue eyes. The one on the right had a mischievous smile and pointed ears. He was handsome, there was no doubt about it, but he looked like bad news.

Leo was quiet ever since they had left. He and Aurora had both been silent since Jason and Piper explained what had happened in the throne room. "I still can't believe Khione," he said. "She looked so nice."

Aurora shoved her photo back into her pack with a scoff.

"Trust me, man," Jason said. "Snow may be pretty, but up close it's cold and nasty. We'll find you a better prom date."

Aurora rolled her eyes. "Can we not talk about my mum as his prom date? It's disgusting. And also. Rude? You're not wrong but damn."

"You say that, but how do we actually know she's your mum and that you're not lying." Piper asked, slightly amused at the younger girl's attitude.

"Gods don't usually sign the birth certificates, you know? Fine."

Aurora held out her hand and twisted it in a movement that remind Piper of a swan dancing in a pond, elegant and mesmerizing. A flurry of snowflakes appeared in a small sphere around her hand, and they danced around her fingers in a swirl.

She crunched them in her fist and shoved her hands back into her pockets, Piper could see her finger tips an unnatural shade of blue. "That's... actually kind of cool. But it still doesn't explain why you didn't tell anyone." Piper said, staring at the spot the magic once was.

"Yeah, well Khione isn't exactly a good goddess, being her kid is an instant declined stamp for trust or just anything. Besides, it wouldn't have done you any good back there."

Piper could see her reasoning, but she couldn't help but feel slightly frustrated like there was more to the story than that.

"You mentioned Mount Tam," Jason said slowly. "Recognizing me."

"That's correct." Aurora didn't move.

Jason pressed further. "Can you explain what you meant...?"

Aurora stiffened again. "No. Things happened there. Bad things... You'll learn when Hera wants you too."

Everything the girl said and did confused Piper even further. She didn't understand Aurora Marr and she doubted she ever would.

XIX||𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈||Piper

❆

Leo's silence felt unnatural.

The boy who usually couldn't sit still without making lame jokes every few seconds was now sitting with every muscle tensed. He hadn't said much about his time in the palace or why the Boreads singled him out for smelling like fire.

Piper got the feeling he was hiding something. Whatever it was, his mood seemed to be affecting Festus who grumbled and steamed in an attempt to keep himself warm in the cold.

Happy the dragon was not so happy.

As they flew, they ate their sandwiches. Piper had no idea how Leo had stocked up on supplies, but he'd even remembered to bring veggie rations for her.

Nobody talked. Whatever was awaiting in Chicago, they knew they were only let go because Boreas figured they were on a suicide mission.

The moon climbed the sky, and the stars turned overhead. Aurora watched with what Piper thought was a wistful expression but could also have possibly been her 'How do I kill these people and make it look like an accident' face. Though based on what Piper had heard and how the girl acted, she very well believed that Aurora already knew how.

Piper's eyes started to droop. The encounter with the North Wind and his children had scared her more than she wanted to admit (and having his grandchild sitting in the seat in front of her wasn't exactly comforting either).

Now that her stomach was full, the adrenaline was fading.

Suck it up, cupcake! Coach Hedge would've yelled at her. Don't be a wimp!

The coach had been on her mind ever since Boreas mentioned that he was still alive. She'd never liked Hedge, but he'd leaped off a cliff to save Leo, and he'd sacrificed himself to protect them on the skywalk.

She now realized that the old goat man was trying to help her (even if it was irritating), he had been trying to prepare her for a life as a demigod.

All the times he had pushed her at school, yelled at her to go faster or do more push-ups, or even turning his back so she could fight her own battles with the mean girls.

She thought about the storm spirit, Dylan, and what he said about the coach: how he'd been retired to the Wilderness School because he was getting too old, like it was some sort of punishment.

Piper wondered what it meant, and if it explained why the goat was such a grump. Whatever the truth, now that Piper knew Hedge was alive, she had a strong compulsion to save him.

Don't get ahead of yourself, she chided. You've got bigger problems. This trip won't have a happy ending.

Piper thought back to when Aurora smiled at her after Piper's French comment. The smile was knowing, like she could relate (which was definitely true, that girl was hiding something) but it was also sad. It was only on the girl's face for a second, it wasn't even technically a smile, more a mere tug at her lips. Piper could tell that even that was a rare occurrence, she doubted a real smile was even physically possible for the girl.

Back at camp Drew had mentioned Aurora's brother and that he had died. Piper felt curious about him, though it was clear Aurora had her guard up at all times, only letting people know what she wanted them to know (if the stuff was even true).

Which in all honesty scared the shit out of Piper.

Piper stopped her brain from trailing too far, she couldn't risk feeling empathy for the girl as it would only make the giant's deal worse, it was only a matter of time before her friends found out that she was a traitor. "Just like Silena Beauregard." she murmured, the words rolled off her tongue before she could even stop herself.

Aurora's head snapped towards her with such intensity Piper thought her neck would snap.

"What did you just say?" Aurora hissed. The blonde's jaw was clenched and there was a flicker of something Piper couldn't quite interpret in her eyes.

Piper's eyes widened at the glimpse of Aurora's fury before Aurora caught herself.

"Nothing! Just- uh... rambling!" The words scrambled together and sounded more like a squeak than a sentence. "Adrenaline wore off, mind's broken, I'm gonna shut up now."

"You said 'Just like Silena Beauregard. Why? How do you know her." Aurora narrowed her eyes, Piper noticed, like her own, that the colors in her iris changed, however Aurora's only changed the shade of blue. When they first met, they had been a pale blue with a ring of dark blue, now they were a very dark royal blue that only made her intense gaze far more intimidating.

Piper took a breath; she felt Jason's hand squeeze her own in a comforting manner but also a silent way of asking is she wanted him to step in. "Drew told me about her before we left. She said that Silena was a traitor."

"A traitor?" Aurora's voice was now a dangerous quiet, Piper felt the girl already knew the information. "Silena wasn't a traitor. She was fourteen when she got involved, because of a boy no less. You don't know anything."

"Drew said-"

"Anything." The girl's eye flicked to where Jason hand twitched towards his pocket where his gold coin was. She scoffed and Piper felt that the girl would be able to take Jason in a fight, maybe even defeat him. "I wouldn't do that Grace. I'm not here to pick fights, we're on a quest together, remember? You like to remind me every time your hand moves to your weapon. Just in case, right?"

Aurora rolled her eyes and turned back around before continuing

"Silena was a hero, they all were. No matter which side they fought. You're a fool if you believe otherwise. Every fallen soldier is a hero because guess what, they're kids who were forced to be soldiers by their shitty parents who can't even be fucked enough to claim them like some piece of lost property. It wasn't selfish to want to be wanted, they wanted to matter, they wanted to be more than pawns that get sacrificed after the gods get what they want."

"You seem to know a lot." Jason said at last, while Leo remained frustratingly quiet.

"I'm a kid of a minor goddess, had to live in the Hermes cabin since I got to camp, every person on the other side of the war, I knew. Because at one point they too had lived in the Hermes cabin, even if they were claimed. Go ahead, be suspicious, I don't care. You want to trust me? You want to know what I think and what I know? Good luck. There isn't a good side and a bad side of a war. The winner writes history, paints themselves as the good guys. Believe whatever Chiron has told you about the war or what Drew has said about Silena. They're lies."

Aurora's words sat heavy in the air. The girl's shoulders rose with each heaving breath and Piper could see her fidgeting with her necklace's charm.

Piper looked up at the stars and thought about a night long ago when she and her dad had camped in front of Grandpa Tom's house.

Grandpa Tom had already passed a few years before, but Dad had kept the house in Oklahoma because it was where he had grown up.

They were staying for a few days with the purpose of fixing it up to sell, who would buy a run-down cabin with shutters instead of windows and two tiny rooms that smelled like cigars.

The first night had been so hot and with no air conditioning that Dad had suggested to move outside.

They spread their sleeping bags and listened to cicadas buzzing in the trees. Piper pointed out constellations she had been reading about—Hercules, Apollo's lyre, Sagittarius the centaur.

Her dad crossed his arms behind his head. "Your grandpa would say those Greek patterns are a bunch of bull. He told me the stars were creatures with glowing fur, like magic hedgehogs. Once, long ago, some hunters even captured a few in the forest. They didn't know what they'd done until nighttime, when the star creatures began to glow. Golden sparks flew from their fur, so the Cherokee released them back into the sky."

"You believe in magic hedgehogs?" Piper asked.

Her dad laughed. "I think Grandpa Tom was full of bull, too, just like the Greeks. But it's big sky. I suppose there's room for Hercules and hedgehogs."

Piper thought about every role her father had played. A Latino teacher in a tough L.A. school, a dashing Israeli spy in an action-adventure blockbuster, even a Syrian terrorist in a James Bond movie. And, of course, he would always be known as the King of Sparta. But if the part was Native American—it didn't matter what kind of role it was—Dad turned it down.

So, Piper got up the nerve and asked about the question that had been bugging her. "Dad, why don't you ever play Native American parts?"

He winked at her. "Too close to home, Pipes. Easier to pretend I'm something I'm not."

"Doesn't that get old? Aren't you ever tempted, like, if you found the perfect part that could change people's opinions?"

"If there's a part like that, Pipes," he said sadly, "I haven't found it."

Piper's eyes returned to the sky. She tried to imagine them as glowing hedgehogs. All she saw were the stick figures she knew. Dad was probably right. The Greeks and the Cherokee were equally crazy. The stars were just balls of fire.

As she blinked, she shook out of the memory. It became apparent that she had been falling asleep on the dragon's back. How could her dad pretend to be so many things he wasn't? She was trying to do that now, and it was tearing her apart.

Maybe she could pretend a little while longer.

She leaned back against Jason's warm chest. He didn't complain. As soon as she closed her eyes, she drifted off to sleep.

❆

She was back on the horrid mountaintop. The ghostly purple bonfire cast eerie shadows across the trees. Piper's eyes stung from smoke, and the ground was so warm, the soles of her boots felt sticky.

A voice rumbled from the darkness. "You forget your duty."

She couldn't see him, but it was definitely him. Enceladus. Her least favorite giant.

Piper looked around for any signs of her father, but not even the pole where he had been chained was no longer there.

"Where is he?" She demanded. "What've you done with him?"

The giant's laugh was like lava hissing down a volcano. "His body is safe enough, though I fear the poor man's mind can't take much more of my company. For some reason he finds me—disturbing. You must hurry, girl, or I fear there will be little left of him to save."

"Let him go!" She screamed. "Take me instead. He's just a mortal!"

"But, my dear," the giant rumbled, "we must prove our love for our parents. That's what I'm doing. Show me you value your father's life by doing what I ask. Who's more important—your father, or a deceitful goddess who used you, toyed with your emotions, manipulated your memories, eh? What is Hera to you?"

Piper began to tremble from the amount of fear and anger that boiled inside her, she could hardly talk. "You're asking me to betray my friends."

"Sadly, my dear, your friends are destined to die. Their quest is impossible. Even if you succeeded, you heard the prophecy: unleashing Hera's rage would mean your destruction. The only question now—will you die with your friends, or live with your father?"

The bonfire roared. Piper tried to step back which she realized to being the doing of the ground attempting to swallow her feet. It clung to her boats like wet sand. When she looked up, a shower of purple sparks had spread across the sky, and the sun was rising in the east. A patchwork of cities glowed in the valley below, and far to the west, over a line of rolling hills, she saw a familiar landmark rising from the fog.

"Why are you showing me this?" Piper asked. "You're revealing where you are."

"Yes, you know this place," the giant said. "Lead your friends here instead of their true destination, and I will deal with them. Or even better, arrange their deaths before you arrive. I don't care which. Just be at the summit by noon on the solstice, and you may collect your father and go in peace."

"I can't," Piper said. "You can't ask me—"

"To betray that foolish boy Valdez, who always irritated you and is now hiding secrets from you? To lose a girl is as deserving of your trust as her mother? To give up a boyfriend you never really had? Is that more important than your own father?"

"I'll find a way to defeat you," Piper said. "I'll save my father and my friends. All of them."

Would she even consider Aurora a friend? Well, she did now, what better way to bond than leading the girl to certain death.

The giant growled in the shadows. "I was once proud too. I thought the gods could never defeat me. Then they hurled a mountain on top of me, crushed me into the ground, where I struggled for eons, half-conscious in pain. That taught me not to act rashly. Now I've clawed my way back with the help of the waking earth. I am only the first. My brethren will follow. We will not be denied our vengeance—not this time. And you, Piper McLean, need a lesson in humility. I'll show you how easily your rebellious spirit can be brought to earth."

The dream dissolved. And Piper woke up screaming, free-falling through the air.

XX ||𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕|| Aurora

❆

You know that weird feeling when you ride a roller coaster and you suddenly turn upside down and drop? The very moment your stomach decides to be an acrobat and tries to jump out of your throat? That was what Aurora was feeling right now, except the feeling was multiplied by a thousand and mixed with her fear of heights it was safe to say she was scared shitless.

In the early dawn, city lights glimmered beneath them. A few yards away the limp body of the bronze dragon was spinning uncontrollably while fire flicked in its mouth like a badly wired lightbulb.

A body shot past her and for a second, she thought it was Ethan. She tucked her arms in and dove towards him.

"Not coooooool!" Leo screamed, frantically grabbing at the clouds.

The body she was aiming for wasn't Ethan, it wasn't dead, it was Leo.

Of course it's Leo, Ethan is dead. All because of you.

She wanted to stop her attempt of saving him, but it was too late. Her body collided into Leo's who was still cursing and wriggling. Aurora groaned at his body temperature that was uncomfortably warm. Gods was he always this hot?

"Leo!" She was so tempted to slap him.

He was too focused on Festus free falling through the air to stop. Above them she heard Jason say something to Piper, however the air ripped at his words. Thankfully Piper seemed to hear him.

Aurora looked up to see Jason wrapping his arms around Piper's waist while Piper spread-eagle like a skydiver.

Aurora pinned Leo's arms to his side and used her legs to pin his, koala bear style. There weren't any near clouds that she could use.

"Hold still!" She commanded, it was either ignored, or he didn't hear here over the wind.

Leo squirmed in her grip. "I have to get Festus!"

Aurora gritted her teeth; a swirl of icy wind slowly formed under them. Too slow.

Thump! Two more warm bodies slammed into them which only made Leo's wriggling worse, Aurora lost her control over the wind, and they started falling faster once more.

"My dragon!" Leo yelled. "You gotta save Festus!"

Jason was already struggling to keep them aloft while Aurora fought him for control of the wind. There was no way to save a fifty-ton metal dragon.

Piper opened her mouth to reason with him but the only thing that left her lips was a scream as a fireball rolled into the sky from behind a warehouse complex, and Leo sobbed, "Festus!"

Jason's face was red with strain as he tried to maintain an air cushion beneath them, but intermittent slow-downs were the best he could achieve with Aurora creating winds that fought against his. So instead of free falling it felt like they were bouncing down a giant staircase, a hundred feet at a time.

As they wobbled and zigzagged, the details of the factory complex came into view, warehouses, smokestacks, barbed-wire fences, and parking lots lined with snow-covered vehicles.

Then Jason groaned, "I can't—"

And they dropped like stones.

Aurora's winds blew them in different directions as she tried to control the fall.

Red hot pain flared through Aurora's side. She probably should have put her dagger into her pack instead of leaving strapped to her side.

She was lying on top of a car in the snow, blood seeped through her hoodie and tainted the ice below.

Inside Aurora could hear Jason frantically calling out, his voice echoing throughout the building. "Piper! Where's Piper?"

"Ow, bro!" Leo groaned. "That's my back! I'm not a sofa! Piper where'd you go? Hey, wait, where's Aurora?"

Aurora coughed, the crash landing had knocked all the wind out of her lungs. She lifted her hands, pure white with a blue tint.

There are consequences for true power child, this is yours. Do not disappoint me. Her mother's words had engraved themselves into every crevice of Aurora's brain, haunting her from every angle of her existence. No matter what she did, or who she became, her mother was always there.

"Rory!" A familiar voice called out. "Where are you squirt?"

He's dead. It's a trap.

"Rory!" The voice called out again, despite everything Aurora forced herself to sit up, she took off her hoodie and wrapped her blade in it. She grimaced at the sight of her cut that was deep and jagged. Like Luke's scar... The scar that had gotten Wynter... No. No. Not now.

She slid down the car and stumbled inside, clutching her side while ignoring the voice that was obviously trying to lure her away.

Aurora watched as Leo and Jason climbed stairs to a metal catwalk that ringed the warehouse's interior.

The boys had landed on the ground level and Piper had presumably landed on the catwalk. They had made a hole in the roof that looked like a ragged starburst twenty feet above. Aurora breathed a sigh of relief as she realized her wind tricked worked to keep them from splattering.

Despite not trusting them, she (for some annoying reason) couldn't keep herself from blabbering away, it was obvious that they didn't know whether to be suspicious of the girl or trust her which only made her feelings about them more conflicted.

Gods what the hell is wrong with me? Where's the badass silent killer?

Aurora leaned heavily against the wall for support.

You're so weak, can't even handle a little cut anymore. You've gone soft.

"I'm here too! Sorry to disappoint." She groaned, straightening up and walking over to the stairs, doing her best not to wince with every step. Leo's head popped out over the railing, his eyes flicked to how she was holding her jumper against her side like a baby bundle.

"You good?" He was directly above her.

She rolled her eyes. "Peachy."

The thought of climbing the stairs made her sick, she knew she had to find her pack and patch up quickly without them knowing. The one thing she knew, never show weakness.

"I'm going to scout around, make sure its secure."

Before he could say anything, she walked back outside. The wind picked up and followed her, snowflakes fluttered all around that seemed to mock her with every swirl.

She shouldn't have revealed her parentage to them. She didn't even know them.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. Leo hid behind his jokes because of his insecurities, Piper was being manipulated into betraying them (sounds familiar), and Jason? Aurora can still see his face as the fought on that horrid mountain three years prior.

"Where is that stupid lizard..." She huffed. Aurora stopped walking and closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, everything was blue. A massive heat signature was on the ground on the opposite side of the building, inside there were three little ones for the others, however there were three more, slightly smaller than the dragon's but still a giant size.

Aurora dumped her hoodie on the ground and drew her blade. She crept along the wall, now relying on her instincts and training which thankfully kicked in. Her vision remained thermal as she crept up on the smaller of the three signatures. Aurora blinked and her surroundings materialized once more, in front of her was a nasty looking monster with its back turned to her, beside her was a faded logo painted on the steel wall. Monocle Motors with a single red eye.

"Oh, for fucks sake."

The monster turned to face her with a disturbing smile. "There you are Squirt." It said in Wynter's voice. "It's dinner time."

Aurora lunged forward and swiped at its legs with her blade, drawing that sweet golden monster dust. Her movements were sluggish due to her injury, she wanted to use her powers, but she couldn't, not after what happened last time. Not after the last time she used them in a fight.

The giant grunted and swiped at her with its hand which she dodged with fluid ease. Aurora lept to stab the thing in its ugly eye and finish it but she got thrown off by the sound of Leo and Piper's combined yell from inside.

Did the other cyclopes get to them? Were they hurt? Why do I even care? "Oh, shit that's a hand... fuck!" Aurora got knocked into the wall, her knife clattered away. The creature kneeled down with an unsettling sneer.

"Feisty. You will make a great meal." Was the last thing she heard before her vision faded to black from the intense pain.

XXI||𝑩𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒚 𝑸𝒖𝒆𝒆𝒏||Leo

❆

A hiss of pain escaped his lips as Piper punched (apparently as hard as she could) his arm after Jason set her foot. Their screams might as well of harmonized with how intense the pain was.

"Mother f-" Leo started, rubbing his arm. Did the godly healing stuff help with an Aphrodite girl's wrath? What was that stuff called? Rambo food?

Piper sat completely still with labored breathing, when it eventually went back to normal and she opened her eyes, the first thing she said was, "ow."

"Jeez, beauty queen! Glad my face wasn't there."

"Sorry," she said. "And don't call me 'beauty queen,' or I'll punch you again."

"You both did great." Jason the mediator said, handing Piper a canteen of water he had found in her pack.

Leo watched as snowflakes fluttered through the hole in the roof which reminded him that Aurora still hadn't returned.

When she had walked in, she didn't look as okay as she acted. In fact, she looked like she was about to pass out from the effort of walking such a short distance.

The thought of Aurora also made him think of Khione. Leo had a habit of complicating situations, especially when it came to his crushes like when he liked a cheerleader who was VERY happy with her girlfriend... (Long story, no comment...)

But Aurora and Khione...? That wasn't just ordinary complicated. That was a type of complicated that deserved jail time. Yikes.

Not that he liked Aurora or anything. His first impression was that she was hot (which she had proven to be the complete opposite, metaphorically speaking of course) and that didn't mean anything!

And he was pretty sure that if she kept the threats up, she would either follow through with them or get kebabafied by Jason.

"What happened to the dragon?" Piper asked, interrupting Leo's thoughts. "Where are we?"

Leo's expression turned sullen. "I don't know with Festus. He just jerked sideways like he hit an invisible wall and started to fall."

Piper looked pale, though Leo couldn't tell whether it was to do with the pain, the cold, or something else entirely.

"As far as where we are..." Leo pointed at the logo on the wall. It was hard to see through the graffiti but under the spray paint was a large red eye and the stenciled words: monocle motors, assembly plant 1.

"Closed car plant," Leo said. "I'm guessing we crashed-landed in Detroit."

"How far is that Chicago?" Piper asked as Jason handed her the canteen. 

"Maybe three-fourths of the way from Quebec? The thing is, without the dragon, we're stuck traveling overland."

"No way," Leo said. "It isn't safe."

Piper's expression grew thoughtful; a hint of darkness sparked in her eyes. "He's right. Besides, I don't know if I can walk. And four people--Jason, you can't fly that many people across the country by yourself."

"No way," Jason said. "Leo, are you sure the dragon didn't malfunction? I mean, Festus is old, and--"

Leo interrupted him, a mix of hurt and anger swirling in a dangerous cocktail of emotions inside him. "And I might not have repaired him right?"

"I didn't say that," Jason protested. "It's just--maybe you could fix it."

Leo felt crestfallen, pulling out a few screws from his pockets and started fiddling with them. 'I don't know. I'd have to find where he landed, if he's even in one piece." 

Piper suddenly spoke up, her voice dripping with guilt. "It was my fault."

"Piper," Jason said gently, "you were asleep when Festus conked out. It couldn't be your fault."

"Yeah, you're just shaken up," Leo agreed, not wanting to joke at her expense which for some reason made her look even worse; sad, guilty, and a whole lot more in her own fucked up cocktail.

Leo stood, feeling like a third wheel. "Look, um, Jason, why don't you stay with her, bro? I'll scout around for Festus, see if Aurora's had any luck. I think he fell outside the warehouse somewhere. If I can find him, maybe I can figure out what happened and fix him."

"It's too dangerous," Jason said. "You shouldn't go by yourself."

"Ah, I got duct tape and breath mints. I'll be fine. Besides, I should find Aurora before she starts a fight with a hobo or something." Leo must've spoke too quickly because Piper gave him a look that suggested she know he was more shaken up than he was letting on. "You guys just don't run off without me."

He reached into his tool belt, pulled out a flashlight, and headed down the stairs, leaving the two alone. 

There was a trail of a dark substance that gave Leo a gnawing feeling that something bad had and was about to happen. But it was probably just oil. Definitely not blood. Nope. Oil.

The sound of a door slamming echoed around the factory yard. Probably just the snowstorm.

"Festus? Where'd you go?" Leo called out, wandering around trying not to read into every sound and occasional drop of oil.

"Aurora?" He yelled. There was no sight of the girl, and he was starting to wonder if she ran way or...

"Leo?"

He spun around, Aurora was slumped against the warehouse wall, clutching her side that was soaked completely red. "Holy shit--are you okay?"

"Peachy. What do you think dumbass?" She snarled. 

Leo rolled his eyes and walked over. "What happened?" he asked.

"None of your business. I found your dragon. Now help me get my pack." She ordered with a glare. 

"Jeez Elsa, fine." He supported her weight, one of her arms around his shoulder and his around her waist, avoiding the growing red spot. 

"Do not call me Elsa."

Leo smirked despite the situation.

"Elsa."