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It started with an envelope addressed to The Insolent Demigods of the Argo II.
Piper’s first thoughts were how the heck did anyone send mail to a flying airship and who the heck delivered it? Unfortunately, neither question got answered by the contents of the envelope, but fortunately, they were no longer a priority.
Because Piper had a new question.
What was Khione doing with Leo?
When Khione had swooped in and kidnapped Leo, the rest of the Seven had gone into a frenzy trying to get him back. They’d tried multiple different methods of tracking him, begging Camp Half-Blood for help (they would ask Camp Jupiter, but they didn’t think they would be very keen to bring the one who’d bombed their camp home safe and sound), but nothing worked. Each failed rescue attempt only served to fry their nerves and make them feel utterly hopeless.
They hadn’t heard anything from him for days. A part of Piper had to wonder if he was even still alive. Her only string of hope left came from Annabeth reasoning that Khione would have just killed Leo on the Argo II if she’d wanted to kill him, and that wasn’t the most reassuring in general. If she hadn’t wanted to kill him then, she must have wanted to do something worse.
Piper stared at the contents of the envelope. A letter she hadn’t mustered up the courage to read, and hair. Leo’s hair. She knew it was Leo’s hair, because who else’s could it be? The dark curls were so familiar to her, even detached from the head and face that she’d known for years.
With trembling fingers, Piper unfolded the letter, afraid of what harrowing news it would bear. To her dismay and relief alike, it didn’t bear any news at all. Just a time -- 7:00 tonight.
And a fingerprint burnt into the corner.
When seven o’clock came around, none of the Seven were prepared for what was going to happen. They didn’t have a clue what to expect -- should they prepare for an attack? If Khione wanted to attack them again, she probably wouldn’t tell them that. Should they land the ship? They knew Khione was working with Gaea, that would be foolish. They couldn’t think of anything to do to prepare themselves.
In the end, there was no way they could have ever been prepared for what they were about to witness.
Piper and the others were gathered in the mess hall, nervously chattering away. Then, out of the corner of her eye, Piper spotted the air wavering in a familiar way.
“An IM?” she said, drawing the attention of the others.
Sure enough, the wobbling air solidified into a picture. Piper stared, feeling an anxious knot grow and fester in her gut. Whatever this was couldn’t be good.
As the picture came into focus, her worries were vindicated -- Piper heard Hazel gasp as Leo came into view, chained up and shivering.
Leo didn’t shiver. In all the years Piper had known him, Leo Valdez did not shiver.
He sat, slumped against a wall of stone, hands and ankles bound by thick chains bolted to the very wall behind him. His skin was pale aside from his nose and cheeks, which were red, and visible puffs of air rose from his mouth with every breath he took.
And a couple locks of hair was missing from his head.
A threatening figure came into view beside Leo, flicking his forehead to make him look up.
“Come, now, do not ignore your friends. Say hello, Leo.”
With half-lidded eyes, Leo lifted his gaze to the IM, and immediately brightened, if only a little. “Guys?” he mumbled, teeth nearly chattering out of his mouth.
“We’re here, Leo, where are you?” Piper begged.
Before Leo could even open his mouth to reply, Khione grabbed his arm, and Piper watched in horror as his tattered shirt gained a layer of frost on the outside of the sleeve. She was freezing his arm solid. “Uh-uh, Valdez. Do not answer her, or I will end this right now.”
Luckily, it seemed Leo knew when to keep his mouth shut for once.
Khione turned to the rest of the Seven, an eerie grin on her face. “Please do not attempt to speak with Valdez. He is, at the moment, suffering from delirium, and is not making much sense.”
Piper ignored her. “Leo, what is she doing to you? How can we help you?”
“Silence!” Khione roared. “You will not speak to him! Or I will freeze him solid in front of your eyes!”
“Then let us speak to you,” Percy interjected. Khione didn’t seem explosively angry at the idea, so he continued. “What do you want, Khione?”
The terrifying grin returned to the snow goddess’ face. “I do not want anything from you pathetic mortals. I just want you to watch him suffer.”
With that, she turned to Leo, and blasted him with icy wind. Poor Leo shuddered and moaned, his lips turning even bluer than they already were. Frost gathered on his eyelashes and the tip of his nose, on his shirt and the curls of his hair.
She’s going to torture him and make us watch, Piper realized with a strike of horror.
As if she could read her mind, Khione laughed, low and dangerous. “Look at yourself, Valdez. Not so hot now, I imagine.”
Piper growled. “Don’t do this to him! Let him go!”
“Or what? You have failed to defeat me once already, and now I have collateral. You do not have the upper hand, McLean.”
Khione came closer to the IM, smiling menacingly. “And you will attend to every message I send, all of you, or the temperature drops lower than even the little fire-user can handle.”
Before anyone could utter another word, Khione shot a blast of snow at the IM, leaving them staring at the blank wall in horror.