[ chapter forty-two: jason ]
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Jason waited alone in cabin one. Annabeth, Rachel and Helena were due any minute for the head counselors' meeting, and Jason needed time to think.
His dreams the night before had been worse than he'd wanted to share-even with Hermia. His memory was still foggy, but bits and pieces were coming back. The night Lupa had tested him at the Wolf House, to decide if he would be a pup or food. Then the long trip south to... he couldn't remember, but he had flashes of his old life. The day he'd gotten his tattoo. The day he learned about a girl who gave up everything for love. Which just so happened to be Mia. The day he'd been raised on a shield and proclaimed a praetor. His friends' faces: Dakota, Gwendolyn, Hazel, Bobby. And Reyna.
Definitely there'd been a girl named Reyna. He wasn't sure what she'd meant to him, but the memory made him question what he felt about Hermia-and wonder if he was doing something wrong. The problem was, he liked Hermia a lot. So much so that it worried him that she might not be able to move on from her past.
Jason moved his stuff to the corner alcove where his sister had once slept. He put Thalia's photograph back on the wall so he didn't feel alone. He stared up at the frowning statue of Zeus, mighty and proud, but the statue didn't scare him anymore. It just made him feel sad.
"I know you can hear me," Jason said to the statue. The statue said nothing. Its painted eyes seemed to stare at him.
"I wish I could talk with you in person," Jason continued, "but I understand you can't do that. The Roman gods don't like to interact with mortals so much, and-well, you're the king. You've got to set an example."
More silence. Jason had hoped for something-a bigger than usual rumble of thunder, a bright light, a smile. No, never mind. A smile would've been creepy.
"I remember some things," he said. The more he talked, the less self-conscious he felt. "I remember that it's hard being a son of Jupiter. Everyone is always looking at me to be a leader, but I always feel alone. I guess you feel the same way up on Olympus. The other gods challenge your decisions. Sometimes you've got to make hard choices, and the others criticize you. And you can't come to my aid like other gods might. You've got to keep me at a distance so it doesn't look like you're playing favorites. I guess I just wanted to say..."
Jason took a deep breath. "I understand all that. It's okay. I'm going to try to do my best. I'll try to make you proud. But I could really use some guidance, Dad. If there's anything you can do-help me so I can help my friends. I'm afraid I'll get them killed. I don't know how to protect them."
The back of his neck tingled. He realized someone was standing behind him. He turned and found a woman in a black hooded robe, with a goatskin cloak over her shoulders and a sheathed Roman sword-a gladius-in her hands.
"Hera," he said.
She pushed back her hood. "To you, I have always been Juno. And your father has already sent you guidance, Jason. He sent you Piper and Leo. He even sent you Hermia, even if it was Gaea who woke her first. They're not just your responsibility. They are also your friends. Listen to them, and you will do well."
Jason's heart stared pounding when he heard Hermia's name. But than he cleared his throat, he really needed to learn how to control his emotions when someone mentioned Mia. "Did Jupiter send you here to tell me that?"
"No one sends me anywhere, hero," she said. "I am not a messenger."
"But you got me into this. Why did you send me to this camp?"
"I think you know," Juno said. "An exchange of leaders was necessary. Being known for a sacrifice like Hermia has been, was also necessary. It was the only way to bridge to gap."
"I didn't agree to it and I'm sure as hell Hermia didn't agree."
"No. But Zeus gave your life to me, and Hermia sealed her destiny when she saved that mortal boy. I for one am helping you fulfill your destiny."
Jason tried to control his anger. He looked down at his orange camp shirt and the tattoos on his arm, and he knew these things should not go together. He had become a contradiction-a mixture as dangerous as anything Medea could cook up.
"You're not giving me all my memories," he said. "Even though you promised."
"Most will return in time," Juno said. "But you must find your own way back. You need these next months with your new friends, with Hermia, your new home. You're gaining their trust. By the time you sail in your ship, you will be a leader at this camp. And you and Hermia will be ready to be the peacemakers between two great powers."
"What does Hermia have to do with all this?" He couldn't help but ask. "She isn't Roman, she's Greek. How is it that I knew of her before I even meet her?"
For a moment Juno didn't meet his gaze. "I'm sure by now you remember some new information about her, right?" He nodded. "Hermia Waverly King, as you know is very powerful. She saved that mortal boy from death, and even transferred some of her magic powers to him. She risked everything for love, a sacrifice like that couldn't just die with her when she went missing."
Jason stared at the goddess and desperately tried not to think about Hermia's sacrifice for love. "Are you saying the gods passed her story on, even after she was asleep in the labyrinth?"
Juno nodded. "No one knew what kind of demigod she was, but than again no one asked. They were always so fascinated over her sacrifice to pay attention to anything else. You had to learn about Hermia to be able to form a connection to her."
"Why?" Jason couldn't understand why Hermia's story had to be past down through the centuries. Or why he had to know about it.
"Because you two are part of the same destiny. Without one, the other won't survive. I'm not going to lie, you and Hermia will have to go through a lot in the next couple months, but you two need to stay connected. Stay together because in the end, you are the only one who can save her and she is the only one who can save you."
Jason honestly didn't know what to believe. There was so much thoughts running through his head. Like How could he and Mia be part of the same destiny? What the hell did that mean? Was one of them in serious danger? Were they both in serious danger? Why did Juno say he would be the only one to save Hermia and why was Mia the only one to save him?
"What if you're not telling the truth?" he ask. "What if you're doing this to cause another civil war? What if Hermia and I aren't part of the same destiny?"
Juno's expression was impossible to read-amusement? Disdain? Affection? Possibly all three. As much as she appeared human, Jason knew she was not. He could still see that blinding light-the true form of the goddess that had seared itself into his brain. She was Juno and Hera. She existed in many places at once. Her reasons for doing something were never simple.
"You might not see it now, but you and Hermia are connected. And I am the goddess of family," she said. "My family has been divided for too long."
"Maybe I am connected to her, maybe I'm not. But they divided us so we don't kill each other," Jason said. "That seems like a pretty good reason."
"The prophecy demands that we change. The giants will rise. Each can only be killed by a god and demigod working together. Those demigods must be the eight greatest of the age. As it stands, they are divided between two places. If we remain divided, we cannot win. Gaea is counting on this. You must unite the heroes of Olympus and sail together to meet the giants on the ancient battlegrounds of Greece. Only then will the gods be convinced to join you. It will be the most dangerous quest, the most important voyage, ever attempted by the children of the gods."
Jason looked up again at the glowering statue of his father. "It's not fair," Jason said. "I could ruin everything."
"You could," Juno agreed. "But gods need heroes. We always have."
"Even you? I thought you hated heroes."
The goddess gave him a dry smile. "I have that reputation. But if you want the truth, Jason, I often envy other gods their mortal children. You demigods can span both worlds. I think this helps your godly parents-even Jupiter, curse him-to understand the mortal world better than I."
Juno sighed so unhappily that despite his anger, Jason almost felt sorry for her.
"I am the goddess of marriage," she said. "It is not in my nature to be faithless. I have only two godly children-Ares and Hephaestus-both of whom are disappointments. I have no mortal heroes to do my bidding, which is why I am so often bitter toward demigods-Heracles, Aeneas, all of them. But it is also why I favored the first Jason, a pure mortal, who had no godly parent to guide him. And why I am glad Zeus gave you to me. You will be my champion, Jason. You will be the greatest of heroes, and bring unity to the demigods, and thus to Olympus."
Her words settled over him, as heavy as sandbags. Two days ago, he'd been terrified by the idea of leading demigods into a Great Prophecy, sailing off to battle the giants and save the world.
He was still terrified, but something had changed. He no longer felt alone. He had friends now, he had Hermia, and a home to fight for. He even had a patron goddess looking out for him, which had to count for something, even if she seemed a little untrustworthy.
Jason had to stand up and accept his destiny, just as he had done when he faced Porphyrion with his bare hands. Sure, it seemed impossible. He might die. But his friends-his Mia- were counting on him.
"And if I fail?" he asked.
"Great victory requires great risk," she admitted. "Fail, and there will be bloodshed like we have never seen. Demigods will destroy one another. The giants will overrun Olympus. Gaea will take Hermia's blood and once she does, she will wake. The earth will shake off everything we have built over five millennia. It will be the end of us all."
Jason's heart stopped when he heard what Gaea had planned for Mia. He's heard this before, but he never understood why Hermia's blood was so important.
"Why does Gaea want Hermia's blood?"
Juno glanced at the boy and noticed how worried he looked. "Hermia decided to betray Gaea and in doing so made Gaea want to take her blood for revenge."
Jason sighed. There was so much to worry about, so much to do, but what worried him the most was Hermia. In this moment he promised himself to do everything he could to protect her.
"Great. Just great."
Suddenly someone pounded on the cabin doors.
Juno pulled her hood back over her face. Then she handed Jason the sheathed gladius. "Take this for the weapon you lost. We will speak again. Like it or not, Jason, I am your sponsor, and your link to Olympus. We need each other."
The goddess vanished as the doors creaked open, and Hermia and Piper walked in.
"The girls are here," Mia said as she watched him closely. "It's time, Superman. Chiron has summoned the council."
I'm so emotional! I can't believe I only have one chapter left in this book :'( but I'm also very excited to continue on to book 2!
Get ready to meet my other original characters Helena, Diana and Aaron in the next chapter! For those of you who didn't know or didn't put the pieces together yet Helena is Percy's girlfriend in this series.
One chapter to go! Which I'll probably update tomorrow.
Thank you for reading!
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