orenda [leo valdez]

xxxiv. Warrior with a Golden Heart

"Me, too," Frank moaned. The big dude looked on the verge of tears.

Piper put her hand on Jason's back. "It's not your fault, either of you. You were trying to save the statue."

"She's right," Nico said. "Even if the pit hadn't been buried, you couldn't have flown into it without being pulled down. I'm the only one who has actually been into Tartarus. It's impossible to describe how powerful that place is. Once you get close, it sucks you in. I never stood a chance."

Frank sniffled. "Then they don't stand a chance either?"

Nico twisted his silver skull ring. "Percy is the most powerful demigod I've ever met. No offense to you guys, but it's true. If anybody can survive, he will, especially if he's got Annabeth and Kira at his side. They're going to find a way through Tartarus."

Jason turned. "To the Doors of Death, you mean. But you told us it's guarded by Gaea's most powerful forces. How could two demigods possibly—?"

"I don't know," Nico admitted. "But Percy told me to lead you guys to Epirus, to the mortal side of the doorway. He's planning on meeting us there. If we can survive the House of Hades, fight our way through Gaea's forces, then maybe we can work together with Percy, Kira, and Annabeth and seal the Doors of Death from both sides."

"And get Kira back safely?" Leo asked. "And Annabeth and Percy?"

"Maybe."

Nico took a deep breath. "I don't know how they'll manage it, but they'll will find a way. They'll journey through Tartarus and find the Doors of Death. When they do, we have to be ready."

"It won't be easy," Hazel said. "Gaea will throw everything she's got at us to keep us from reaching Epirus."

"What else is new?" Jason sighed.

Piper nodded. "We've got no choice. We have to seal the Doors of Death before we can stop the giants from raising Gaea. Otherwise her armies will never die. And we've got to hurry. The Romans are in New York. Soon, they'll be marching on Camp Half-Blood."

"We've got one month at best," Jason added. "Ephialtes said Gaea would awaken in exactly one month."

"The Archimedes sphere can upgrade the ship," Leo said, hoping he was right. "I'm going to study those ancient scrolls we got. There's got to be all kinds of new weapons I can make. We're going to hit Gaea's armies with a whole new arsenal of hurt."

At the prow of the ship, Festus creaked his jaw and blew fire defiantly.

Jason managed a smile. He clapped Leo on the shoulder.

"Sounds like a plan, Admiral. You want to set the course?"

Leo shrugged his hand off his shoulder, sniffling.

Everyone knew not to try to cheer him up.

Leo sulked back to his room, grabbing the stuffed bear and going back to sleep in Kira's bed.

He had to get her back. If he didn't...

Leo's sobs began again. He lost her. The girl who had always been his side.

She had come so far. She used to be the shy, quiet girl at the Wilderness School. Leo didn't even hear her go above a whisper for a few months.

She had turned into this badass, strong demigod. She was the daughter of Ares. In the beginning, Leo remembered how much she had hated it. But she accepted it, and had become the warrior with a golden heart.

Leo had loved Kira.

He had fallen in love with her so quick, but he waited and waited to tell her until he couldn't anymore.

He remembered when he had taken her to the beach and told her that he liked her, fully expecting to get rejected. How could a girl like her, love a boy like him?

He clutched the stuffed bear tightly.

He thought of all the times that he steered Argo II through the night that he could have been with her. And she hadn't even been mad. She understood him.

Kira had been there for him when no one else had. She kept him motivated to keep going.

The only thing that kept him going was gone, and she wasn't coming back.

And it was his fault.

A week came and went.

Jason and Piper had tried to cheer him up, but it only made him more miserable when the couple came in holding hands.

Leo was either in Kira's bed or steering the ship. He suppressed his emotions as much as he could, desperately clinging onto the fact that they could save her.

Everything reminded him of her.

Leo found himself at the wheel of Argo II nine days after his girlfriend tumbled down the hole to Tartarus.

They were being attacked by weird dark spheres, but it was everyday at this point. Leo sounded the alarm bells.

"Hard to port!" Nico yelled from the foremast of the flying ship.

Back at the helm, Leo yanked the wheel. The Argo II veered left, its aerial oars slashing through the clouds like rows of knives.

Hazel looked over the rail before yelping and hitting the deck. The huge rock passed so close overhead it blew her hair out of her face.

There was a huge crack, and the foremast collapsed.

The boulder, roughly the size of a pickup truck, tumbled off into the fog like it had important business elsewhere.

"Nico!" Hazel scrambled over to him as Leo brought the ship level.

"I'm fine," Nico muttered, kicking folds of canvas off his legs.

Leo couldn't help his thoughts from wondering that if Kira were here, she could fight the spheres easily.

4k?? You guys are awesome!! Thank you so much for reading :)) Here's a short chapter, I've been super busy, and I know usually the chapters are a lot longer, but the next one will be back to normal length.