EDEN HAD THOUGHT that all of the training she'd had in her life was preparing her for the Titan War.
She was wrong. It all prepared her for this moment.
"I'll kill you all if I have to!" Eden heard her girlfriend yell, and she couldn't have been more proud of her.
"The thing is," Eden called, smirking down. "Is that you don't have to, darling."
She hopped down from the cliff that she, Perfect Jason, Frank, and Hazel were standing on, and dropped down on the nearest giant's head, stabbing a javelin into the head.
So much happened at once that only an ADHD demigod could have kept track.
Perfect Jason had jumped along with her, and he fell on King Porphyrion with such force that the giant crumpled to his knees – blasted with lightning and stabbed in the neck with a golden gladius.
Frank unleashed a hail of arrows, driving back the giants nearest to Percy, who was on the ground somewhere.
The Argo II rose above the ruins and all the ballistae and catapults fired simultaneously. Leo must have programmed the weapons with surgical precision. A wall of Greek fire roared upward all around the Parthenon. It didn't touch the interior, but in a flash most of the smaller monsters around it were incinerated.
Leo's voice boomed over the loudspeaker: "SURRENDER! YOU ARE SURROUNDED BY ONE SPANKING HOT WAR MACHINE!"
The giant Enceladus howled in outrage. "Valdez!"
"WHAT'S UP, ENCHILADAS?" Leo's voice roared back. "NICE DAGGER IN YOUR FOREHEAD."
"GAH!" The giant pulled Katoptris out of his head. "Monsters: destroy that ship!"
The remaining forces tried their best. A flock of gryphons rose to attack. Festus the figurehead blew flames and chargrilled them out of the sky. A few Earthborn launched a volley of rocks, but from the sides of the hull a dozen spheres sprayed out, intercepting the boulders and blasting them to dust.
"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!" Buford ordered.
Hazel spurred Arion off the colonnade and they leaped into battle. The forty-foot fall would have broken any other horse's legs, but Arion hit the ground running. Hazel zipped from giant to giant, stinging them with the blade of her spatha.
With extremely bad timing, Kekrops and his snake people chose that moment to join the fight. In four or five places around the ruins, the ground turned to green goo and armed gemini burst forth, Kekrops himself in the lead.
"Kill the demigods!" he hissed. "Kill the tricksters!"
Before many of his warriors could follow, Hazel pointed her blade at the nearest tunnel. The ground rumbled. All the gooey membranes popped and the tunnels collapsed, billowing plumes of dust. Kekrops looked around at his army, now reduced to six guys.
"SLITHER AWAY!" he ordered.
Eden's gunshots cut them down as they tried to retreat.
The giantess Periboia had thawed with alarming speed. She tried to grab Annabeth, but, despite her bad leg as Eden could tell, Annabeth was holding her own. She stabbed at the giantess with her own hunting knife and led her in a deadly game of tag around the throne.
Percy's nose was bleeding. But he seemed to be standing his ground against an old giant.
Eden stood back to back with Piper, fighting every giant who dared to come close. For a moment she felt elated. They were actually winning! For once.
But too soon their element of surprise faded. The giants overcame their confusion.
Frank ran out of arrows. He changed into a rhinoceros and leaped into battle, but as fast as he could knock down the giants they got up again. Their wounds seemed to be healing faster.
Annabeth lost ground against Periboia. Hazel was knocked out of her saddle at sixty miles an hour. Perfect Jason summoned another lightning strike, but this time Porphyrion simply deflected it off the tip of his spear.
The giants were bigger, stronger and more numerous. They couldn't be killed without the help of the gods. And they didn't seem to be tiring.
The seven demigods were forced into a defensive ring.
Another volley of Earthborn rocks hit the Argo II. This time Leo couldn't return fire fast enough. Rows of oars were sheared off. The ship shuddered and tilted in the sky.
Then Enceladus threw his fiery spear. It pierced the ship's hull and exploded inside, sending spouts of fire through the oar openings. An ominous black cloud billowed from the deck. The Argo II began to sink.
"Leo!" Perfect Jason cried.
Porphyrion laughed. "You demigods have learned nothing. There are no gods to aid you. We need only one more thing from you to make our victory complete."
The giant king smiled expectantly. He seemed to be looking at Percy.
Eden glanced over. Percy's nose was still bleeding. He seemed unaware that a trickle of blood had made its way down his face to the end of his chin.
A single drop of blood fell from his chin. It hit the ground between his feet and sizzled like water on a frying pan.
The blood of Olympus watered the ancient stones.
The Acropolis groaned and shifted as the Earth Mother woke. Eden saw a sword that had gone for Piper.
And then Eden had snapped.
* * *
Honestly, whatever had happened was like a fever dream to Eden.
"Ah, fuck it," she'd muttered, taking out the sword she'd gotten from Hercules, barely even glancing at it before she'd gripped it tightly, willing the power to come to her.
And, boy, was it addicting.
Holy shit, she thought, as she was rising in the air.
And as the power flooded inside her, she felt almost as if it was always there. Something ancient and powerful and terrible, finally igniting after at least sixteen years. If not since Achilles had lived.
Eden heard Piper's voice, she heard something coming — or someone. But she didn't care about that. Eden couldn't feel anything but the rage that was burning within her, that was consuming her.
It was a fury more powerful than the supernova that was supposed to be inside her, the anger that burned hotter than Eden. The room seemed as if it trembled around her, the floor shaking, the whole world quaking with a gathering storm that was made from her with her newfound power.
God, it was so good.
"Not her," Eden had said. "Never her."
She'd moved with grace and precision that was godly. The powers that she'd gotten from Achilles had suddenly seemed amplified, and she was the most indestructible person there. It was almost as if she'd taken a bath in the River Styx, but better, because she was better. She'd ran toward a giant, lifting it up and smashing it against the wall, tossed another to the ceiling, kicking the head of a third while she stabbed her sword into the fourth, watching the dust crumble satisfyingly.
Maybe someone had told Eden to stop. Maybe someone had grabbed her arm. But she didn't know, and she didn't care. She weaved around the room, killing one giant after another. She didn't stop, but she couldn't stop. She couldn't think.
The last giant rushed at her — huge, overbearing, but yet nothing at all. An insignificant thing, mud that would scrap off the bottom of her shoe. A life force that wouldn't be missed. She effortlessly flew up, really tapping its legs, not really kicking them, and shattering his shins. He crumbled, shrieking . . .
And something flickered in her. She recognized this giant. One time, she'd almost defeated him. An immortal giant, almost beat by a sixteen year old girl. And she would've, if he'd stayed for longer.
This giant had lived for too long. He'd hurt Piper, which was unacceptable.
He was nothing.
She'd stated just that, and then stabbed him, and he'd crumpled into ash.
Eden stopped in the air, her eyes not looking around, but she could tell that nothing was live of the giants. Was that really it? Where was Gaia? She wanted to crush the useless bitch, like a fucking pop can.
"We should kill her," Eden heard someone say. "She's a liability to us—"
By process of elimination, Eden had deducted that they were talking about her. She turned and then wrapped her hand around something that seemed like a neck.
"Eden!" A voice yelled, and automatically she turned to the voice. How could she not? That voice was the only voice that she could ever succumb to. That she would always listen to.
"Eden," Piper stepped forward. "Let go of her. You've killed all of the giants."
Although she couldn't see them, she could feel the gazes on her.
Who are these lowlifes to look at her like that, to judge her? Tiny, little, fucking insignificant things. Droplets in her ocean. What are their lives, compared to Eden's pain? What are their screams, compared to her power?
They had no idea what she could do. They had no idea about her, this entire time. About the power that had always been inside her. What she could've became a long time ago, if she'd just had the power.
They looked at her with such fear, such distrust . . . like she was just some mortal. Like she was just a demigod. Like she wasn't a goddess made flesh.
"Death is temporary," Eden said quietly. "Pain is temporary. If you don't understand that, I'll show you."
Her hand went off the neck, and like clockwork, she pointed at a nearby cave, and then a creature stood up again, his eyes full of life. Life that Eden had given him. She swished her finger away and then it crumbled into ashes.
"Eden, this is unnatural," Piper's voice said to her, and it cut into her soul. Eden stared at her, and her eyes looked vulnerable, sincere — so scared and loving at the same time . . . "Let the power go, Eden. Please."
"I thought that you'd understand," Eden turned to her. "You know everything. About what I've been through, about what Achilles has gone through, all to prepare himself for me, his descendant. But have you known anything, Piper? Can't you see what I'm capable of?"
"Don't," was that a sob? Eden didn't know. "Eden, I know how your life's gone. We've spent sleepless nights talking under the stars, talking about it. I've seen first hand the effects of it. And, sure, I don't know all the emotions that you've felt. But I know that you're hurting, and I know how it feels to give into that hurt. When Khione blasted you in the sky, I thought you were dead, Eden." That was definitely a sob. "And I had gone mad, Eden, I defeated her, and then I'd killed everything in my path for the next five days, trying to get to you. Eden, please don't leave me. I can't lose you. I love you, j'taime. Come back to me."
Eden stared at her for a second. Piper outstretched a hand.
There were voices murmuring, but Eden didn't care. Because she would always go back to her angel.
She took Piper's hand, and suddenly she felt drowsy, and her vision was filled with Piper, only her. All thoughts of fire and anger and rage disappeared.
"Kaleidoscope?" Eden asked, quietly.
"You're back," Piper tackled her into a hug. Eden wrapped her arms around her, trying to ignore the tears that was staining her shirt, but she didn't care, if they were Piper's.
* * *
Nothing was left of the giants except heaps of ash, a few spears and some burning dreadlocks, so Eden figured that she'd done a pretty good job.
The Argo II was still aloft, barely, moored to the top of the Parthenon. Half the ship's oars were broken off or tangled. Smoke streamed from several large splits in the hull. The sails were peppered with burning holes.
The gods fanned out in a semicircle as the rest of the crew came to stand by where Eden and Piper were sitting against a column, Eden sipping on nectar.
"Brethren," Zeus said, "we are healed, thanks to the work of these demigods. The Athena Parthenos, which once stood in this temple, now stands at Camp Half-Blood. It has united our offspring, and thus our own essences."
"Lord Zeus," Piper spoke up, "is Reyna okay? Nico and Coach Hedge?"
Zeus knitted his cloud-coloured eyebrows. "They succeeded in their mission. As of this moment they are alive. Whether or not they are okay –"
"There is still work to be done," Queen Hera interrupted. She spread her arms like she wanted a group hug. "But my heroes . . . you have triumphed over the giants as I knew you would. My plan succeeded beautifully."
Zeus turned on his wife. Thunder shook the Acropolis. "Hera, do not dare take credit! You have caused at least as many problems as you've fixed!"
The queen of heaven blanched. "Husband, surely you see now – this was the only way."
"There is never only one way!" Zeus bellowed. "That is why there are three Fates, not one. Is this not so?"
By the ruins of the giant king's throne, the three old ladies silently bowed their heads in recognition. Eden noticed that the other gods stayed well away from the Fates and their gleaming brass clubs.
"Please, husband." Hera tried for a smile, but she was so clearly frightened that Eden felt smug about it. "I only did what I –"
"Silence!" Zeus snapped. "You disobeyed my orders. Nevertheless . . . I recognize that you acted with honest intentions. The valour of these eight heroes has proven that you were not entirely without wisdom."
Hera looked like she wanted to argue, but she kept her mouth shut.
"Apollo, however . . ." Zeus glared into the shadows where the twins were standing. "My son, come here."
Apollo inched forward like he was walking the plank. He looked so much like a teenage demigod it was unnerving – no more than seventeen, wearing jeans and a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, with a bow over his shoulder and a sword at his belt. With his tousled blond hair and blue eyes, he might've been Eden's brother, if his hair weren't so bright.
Eden wondered if Apollo had assumed this form to be inconspicuous, or to look pitiable to his father. The fear in Apollo's face certainly looked real, and also very human.
Good. They deserve to feel fear. Just like they apparently did when Eden was . . . powerful.
The Three Fates gathered around the god, circling him, their withered hands raised.
"Twice you have defied me," Zeus said.
Apollo moistened his lips. "My – my lord –"
"You neglected your duties. You succumbed to flattery and vanity. You encouraged your descendant Octavian to follow his dangerous path, and you prematurely revealed a prophecy that may yet destroy us all."
"But –"
"Enough!" Zeus boomed. "We will speak of your punishment later. For now, you will wait on Olympus."
Zeus flicked his hand, and Apollo turned into a cloud of glitter. The Fates swirled around him, dissolving into air, and the glittery whirlwind shot into the sky.
"What will happen to him?" Perfect Jason asked.
"It is not your concern," Zeus said. "We have other problems to address."
An uncomfortable silence settled over the Parthenon.
"Father," Perfect Jason said, "I made a vow to honor all the gods. I promised Kymopoleia that once this war is over none of the gods would be without shrines at the camps."
Zeus scowled. "That's fine. But . . . Kym who?"
Poseidon coughed into his fist. "She's one of mine."
"My point," Perfect Jason said, "is that blaming each other isn't going solve anything. That's how the Romans and Greeks got divided in the first place."
The air became dangerously ionized. Eden's scalp tingled.
Perfect Jason kept talking. "Apollo wasn't the problem. To punish him for Gaia waking is –" he caught himself before he'd say something that Eden would say – "unwise."
"Unwise." Zeus's voice was almost a whisper. "Before the assembled gods, you would call me unwise."
Someone had to say it, Eden thought.
Then Artemis stepped out of the shadows. "Father, this hero has fought long and hard for our cause. His nerves are frayed. We should take that into account."
Perfect Jason started to protest, but Artemis stopped him with a glance. God, what an icon.
"Surely, Father," the goddess continued, "we should attend to our more pressing problems, as you pointed out."
"Gaia," Annabeth chimed in, clearly anxious to change the topic. "She's awake, isn't she?"
Zeus turned towards her.
"That is correct," he said. "The blood of Olympus was spilled. She is fully conscious."
"Oh, come on!" Percy complained. "I get a little nosebleed and I wake up the entire earth? That's not fair!"
Athena shouldered her aegis. "Complaining of unfairness is like assigning blame, Percy Jackson. It does no one any good." She gave Perfect Jason an approving glance. "Now you must move quickly. Gaia rises to destroy your camp."
Poseidon leaned on his trident. Motherfucking bastard. "For once, Athena is right."
"For once?" Athena protested.
"Why would Gaia be back at camp?" Leo asked. "Percy's nosebleed was here."
"Dude," Percy said, "first off, you heard Athena – don't blame my nose. Second, Gaia's the earth. She can pop up anywhere she wants. Besides, she told us she was going to do this. She said the first thing on her to-do list was destroying our camp. Question is: how do we stop her?"
Frank looked at Zeus. "Um, sir, Your Majesty, can't you gods just pop over there with us? You've got the chariots and the magic powers and whatnot."
"Yes!" Hazel said. "We — uh, I mean Eden — defeated the giants together in two seconds. Let's all go –"
"No," Zeus said flatly.
"No?" Perfect Jason asked. "But, Father –"
Zeus's eyes sparked with power, and Eden fucking hated him.
"That's the problem with prophecies," Zeus growled. "When Apollo allowed the Prophecy of Eight to be spoken, and when Hera took it upon herself to interpret the words, the Fates wove the future in such a way that it had only so many possible outcomes, so many solutions. You eight, the demigods, are destined to defeat Gaia. We, the gods, cannot."
"I don't get it," Piper said. "What's the point of being gods if you have to rely on puny mortals to do your bidding?"
God, Eden loved her.
All the gods exchanged dark looks. Aphrodite, however, laughed gently and kissed her daughter. "My dear Piper, don't you think we've been asking ourselves that question for thousands of years? But it is what binds us together, keeps us eternal. We need you mortals as much as you need us. Annoying as that may be, it's the truth."
Frank shuffled uncomfortably, like he missed being an elephant. "So how can we possibly get to Camp Half-Blood in time to save it? It took us months to reach Greece."
"The winds," Perfect Jason said. "Father, can't you unleash the winds to send our ship back?"
Zeus glowered. "I could slap you back to Long Island."
"Um," Eden spoke up for once, making everyone stare at her. The fear was still in them. Good. "was that a joke, or a threat, or –"
"No," Zeus said, "I mean it quite literally. I could slap your ship back to Camp Half-Blood, but the force involved . . ."
Over by the ruined giant throne, Hephaestus shook his head. "My boy Leo built a good ship, but it won't sustain that kind of stress. It would break apart as soon as it arrived, maybe sooner."
Leo straightened his tool belt. "The Argo II can make it. It only has to stay in one piece long enough to get us back home. Once there, we can abandon ship."
"Dangerous," warned Hephaestus. "Perhaps fatal."
The goddess Nike twirled a laurel wreath on her finger. "Victory is always dangerous. And it often requires sacrifice. Leo Valdez and I have discussed this." She stared pointedly at Leo.
"Leo," Annabeth said, "what is Nike talking about?"
Leo waved off the question. "The usual. Victory. Sacrifice. Blah, blah, blah. Doesn't matter. We can do this, guys. We have to do this."
"Leo's right. All aboard for one last trip." Perfect Jason ordered.