Absent. Heroes of Olympus

20. Jason does a Jesus

"Now ..." Piper faced Thalia and Hera. "Hera—Your Majesty—we couldn't have rescued you without the Hunters. And Thalia, you never would've seen Jason again—if it weren't for Hera. You two make nice, because we've got bigger problems."

They both glared at her, and for three long seconds, I was worried one of them was going to kill Piper.

Finally, Thalia grunted. "You've got spirit, Piper." She pulled a silver card from her parka and tucked it into the pocket of Piper's snowboarding jacket. "You ever want to be a Hunter, call me. We could use you."

Hera crossed her arms. "Fortunately for this Hunter, you have a point, daughter of Aphrodite." She assessed Piper, as if seeing her clearly for the time. "You wondered, Piper, why I chose you for this quest, why I didn't reveal your secret in the beginning, even when I knew Enceladus was using you. I must admit, until this moment I was not sure. Something told me you would be vital to the quest. Now I see I was right. You're even stronger than I realized. And you are correct about the dangers to come. We must work together."

"Yeah," Leo said, "I don't suppose that Porphyrion guy just melted and died, huh?"

"Knowing our luck.. hmm.. no." I said patting Leo's shoulder.

"No," Hera agreed. "By saving me, and saving this place, you prevented Gaea from waking. You have bought us some time. But Porphyrion has risen. He simply knew better than to stay here, especially since he has not yet regained his full power. Giants can only be killed by a combination of god and demigod, working together. Once you freed me—"

"He ran away," Jason said. "But to where?"

Hera didn't answer, but a sense of dread washed over me. I remembered what Porphyrion had said about killing the Olympians by pulling up their roots. Greece. Thalia had a grim expression, and I guessed the Hunter had come to the same conclusion.

"I need to find Annabeth," Thalia said. "She has to know what's happened here."

"Does she have to know?" I glared but Thalia just smiled.

"Thalia..." Jason gripped her hand. "We never got to talk about this place, or—"

"I know." Her expression softened. "I lost you here once. I don't want to leave you again. But we'll meet soon. I'll rendezvous with you back at Camp Half-Blood." She glanced at Hera. "You'll see them there safely? It's the least you can do."

"It's not your place to tell me—"

"Queen Hera," Piper interceded.

The goddess sighed. "Fine. Yes. Just off with you, Hunter!"

Thalia gave Jason a hug and said her good-byes. She pulled me away slightly. I couldn't help but to notice that Thalia was still holding my hands causing me to inwardly squeal. "Luke would be proud of you Delilah. Take care of Jason for me."

I smiled slightly. "Don't call me Delilah."

Thalia chuckled then she was gone.

"Your sister is so cool." I muttered to Jason who just huffed.

"Will you stop obsessing over my sister for two seconds?" I rolled my eyes and shook my head no.

When the Hunters were gone, the courtyard seemed strangely quiet. The dry reflecting pool showed no sign of the earthen tendrils that had brought back the giant king or imprisoned Hera.

"What happened to you guys here?" she asked. "I mean—I know your mom abandoned you here. But you said it was sacred ground for demigods. Why? What happened after you were on your own? What about you? Did your mom leave you here too?"

Jason shook his head uneasily. "It's still murky. The wolves ..."

I smiled slightly. "I was kidnapped by wolves when I was eight."

"You were given a destiny," Hera said. "You were given into my service."

Jason scowled. "Because you forced my mom to do that. You couldn't stand knowing Zeus had two children with my mom. Knowing that he'd fallen for her twice. I was the price you demanded for leaving the rest of my family alone. "

"It was the right choice for you as well, Jason," Hera insisted. "The second time your mother managed to snare Zeus's affections, it was because she imagined him in a different aspect—the aspect of Jupiter. Never before had this happened—two children, Greek and Roman, born into the same family. You had to be separated from Thalia, just like Delilah had to be separated from Luke. This is where all demigods of your kind start their journey."

"Of there kind?" Piper asked.

"She means Roman," Jason said, I nodded."Demigods are left here. We meet the she-wolf goddess, Lupa, the same immortal wolf that raised Romulus and Remus."

"Scary." I muttered.

Hera nodded. "And if you are strong enough, you live."

"But..." Leo looked mystified. "What happened after that? I mean, they never made it to camp."

"Not to Camp Half-Blood, no," Hera agreed.

"You went somewhere else. That's where you've been all these years. Somewhere else for demigods—but where?"

"Purple." It was all I could recall and Jason nodded.

Jason turned to the goddess. "The memories are coming back, but not the location. You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"No," Hera said. "That is part of your destiny, Jason. You both must find your own way back. But when you do ... you will unite two great powers. You will give us hope against the giants, and more importantly—against Gaea herself."

"You want us to help you," Jason said, "but you're holding back information."

"Giving you answers would make those answers invalid," Hera said. "That is the way of the Fates. You must forge your own path for it to mean anything. Already, you four have surprised me. I would not have thought it possible ..."

The goddess shook her head. "Suffice to say, you have performed well, demigods. But this is only the beginning. Now you must return to Camp Half-Blood, where you will begin planning for the next phase."

"Which you won't tell us about," Jason grumped. "And I suppose you destroyed my nice storm spirit horse, so we'll have to walk home?"

"I'm not walking," I crossed my arms and looked pointedly at the goddess.

A/N

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