orenda [leo valdez]

xlvii. Tying the Goddess of Victory Up in a Horse Stall

"Quiet, Leo," Annabeth scolded. "Piper, do you think it was Sparta?"

"Maybe," Piper said. "Anyway...suddenly we're in this dark place like a cave. We're staring at this bronze warrior statue. In the vision I touch the statue's face and flames start swirling around us. That's all I saw."

"Flames." Frank scowled. "I don't like that vision."

"Me neither." Percy kept one eye on the red sea serpent, which was still slithering through the waves about a hundred yards to port. "If the statue engulfs people in fire, we should send Leo."

"I love you too, man." Leo said. Kira hid an amused smile.

"You know what I mean. You're immune. Or, heck, give me some of those nice water grenades and I'll go. Ares and I have tangled before."

Annabeth stared at the coastline of Pylos, now retreating in the distance. "If Piper saw the three of us going after the statue, then that's who should go. We'll be all right. There's always a way to survive."

"Not always," Hazel warned.

Kira grimaced. Since Hazel was the only one in the group who had actually died and come back to life, her observation sort of killed the mood.

Frank held out the vial of Pylosian mint. "What about this stuff? After the House of Hades, I kind of hoped we were done drinking poison."

"Store it securely in the hold," Annabeth said. "For now, that's all we can do. Once we figure out this chained god situation, we'll head to the island of Delos."

"The curse of Delos," Hazel remembered. "That sounds fun."

"Hopefully Apollo will be there," Annabeth said. "Delos was his home island. He's the god of medicine. He should be able to advise us."

Off the port bow, the cherry-flavoured sea serpent spewed steam.

"Yeah, it's definitely checking us out," Percy decided. "Maybe we should take to the air for a while."

"Airborne it is!" Leo said. "Festus, do the honors!"

The bronze dragon figurehead creaked and clacked. The ship's engine hummed. The oars lifted, expanding into aerial blades with a sound like ninety umbrellas opening at once, and the Argo II rose into the sky.

"We should reach Sparta by morning," Leo announced. "And remember to come by the mess hall tonight, folks, 'cause Chef Leo is making his famous three-alarm tofu tacos!"

Kira smiled adorably at the boy she had fallen in love with. His dark, curly hair, and his warm brown eyes. The way his cheeks crinkled when he smiled, or his blissful laugh. Everything he did made her fall for him more and more everyday.

The demigods trickled off of the deck, but Leo stayed beside Kira as if he was glued to her side.

They looked out to the water together, to what seemed like an endless sea.

As endless as it seemed, Kira knew that it came to an end at some point. Everything came to an end at some point.

Leo wrapped his arm around her loosely, and he smiled without even thinking.

"Hey, hermosa," Leo whispered in her ear, making butterflies flutter around in her stomach and a shiver  to go down her spine.

Kira sent him a warm smile.

"Do you want to hear about it?" She asked softly, yet there was a undertone to her voice. It wasn't harsh, but there was power in her words that had never been there before. She was tired of being scared, of letting her memories terrify her.

Leo turned to her, looking into her eyes, partly just to see her beautiful face, and partly because he wanted to make sure she was actually okay with it.

"I would love to," He told her, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

And she told him.

Words flowed out of her mouth before she could stop them. She blurted memories out that she had blocked out, and memories that were stained in her vision whenever she closed her eyes.

She told him how she fell into the river that made her want to die. She told him how the thought of him was the only thing that kept her going during the majority of the journey. She told him how she was on her own for a few days, killing monsters alone and secluded until she had finally found Percy and Annabeth. She told him how they met a Titan who lost his memory named Bob. They befriended a kitten named Small Bob, who in the end, both sacrificed themselves for the three demigods.

She told him about the arai, and how her mother and Cal had cursed her. She told him that Hestia had protected her. She told him about facing Tartarus in human form in front of the Doors of Death.

Kira felt like she talked forever, and the silence that came after it was deafening.

It wasn't until after she looked over and saw Leo's face. He looked incredibly guilty, a tear slipping down his tanned cheeks. Kira immediately turned to face him, wiping his tear with her thumb.

"Hey, stop, no," She fussed. "Don't cry, I'm sorry!"

Leo laughed a little, waving his hands. "Stop, Ki. I'm fine, I just feel horrible,"

"Don't!" Kira said, looking back out to the ocean. "I'm back here with you. I made it."

There was another moment of silence. Kira leaned her head on his shoulder, and his fingers became tangled in her hair.

"Ki," Leo said. "I'm so sorry you went through that."

"It's alright," Kira said with a stretched smile.

"Never again. I promise, I'm never leaving your side again."

He then wrapped her in a bone-crushing hug. Kira hugged him back gratefully.

What she said was true. She had had made it back to him. That was all that mattered.

The sky darkened, but Kira and Leo stayed on the deck, looking out into the sunset like a sappy romance movie. Except in a romance movie, it would be the ending scene. But for Kira and Leo, their story was far from over.

Leo was sitting lazily, sprawled out on the front deck, and Kira's head was placed in his lap, looking up to him.

"I'm proud of you," He told her. Kira laughed at it for a moment, it sounded like something Chiron or a chaperone would tell her.

But the more she thought about it, the more she appreciated his words. Leo's opinion of her was the only one that mattered to her, and he was proud of her. That thought brought a smile to her face.

Leo played with her hair absentmindedly, and Kira brushed her thumb along his hand that rested respectably on her chest.

"You're really pretty," Kira said tiredly. Her eyes kept closing, but she refused to fall asleep.

"No, you're pretty. I'm supposed to be handsome," Leo said, glancing down at her with a goofy smile.

To most, boys don't like to be called pretty. For Leo, from Kira, it was the greatest compliment he could have gotten. The compliment made butterflies swim in her chest and his cheeks to heat up.

"Okay, whatever you say, gorgeous,"

"Can it, Willows," But Leo was laughing. A full-on, hearty, laugh. Something the demigods sometimes forgot to do, to laugh and love. When Leo was with Kira, he never forgot.

"Sleep." He said after he caught his breath. He cut her off before she could argue. "I'll fight the bad dreams off if they come to get you."

Kira shot him a nervous look, but Leo only bent over and kissed her.

"Goodnight, love," Leo whispered.

"Goodnight, beautiful," Kira said with a smile.

She fell asleep and was greeted with a dreamless sleep.

I'm so proud of my babies, they have come so far🥺🥺

Fun drinking game! Take a shot every time Kira smiles. Actually don't, 'cause you'd be hammered after one chapter.