PRINCE CHARMING HAD A LOT of fight in him. Jason's fighting style was really, really weird. As the commander of Kronos' forces, Aera had sacrificed a lot of beauty sleep to study a lot of boring war strategies and hand-to-hand battle techniques. This guy did not fit into anything she learned with designer eye bags. He was the one who charged Aera first but he wasn't taking the offense. He would come at her with a quick strike then back away just as fast.
The tension between them was palpable. White snow swirled around them in the powdery air, a direct contrast to the site of hard black marble rubble that surrounded them. As the two demigods circled each other warily, Aera couldn't see past the fact that he resembled Luke. His confident air. The shining blue eyes. When a blur of blond flashed past her peripheral vision the first time, Aera had almost mistaken him for her fallen ex-boyfriend, which was every femme fatale's worst nightmare.
Aera had just finished her business with the last poorly-dressed warrior when this golden boy came dropping out of the sky (literally, like a freaking giant bird) and almost scared the Chanel off her. Aera could put together that this flying weirdo was with those five even weirder demigods that had ambushed her barely ten minutes before.
Aera had been cornered against a large chunk of broken black marble near the old throne, or what was left of it. They each had hideous plumed helmets, purple shirts, and identical gold swords. Aera had seamlessly rolled and tumbled and slashed, breaking their stiff formation, choking them one by one as smoothly as a satin ribbon.
Before long, all five of them were on the ground, moaning in pain and groaning something about whooping her podex later. Aera didn't even know what a podex was, she just knew hers had to be gorgeous. The dead guy near the toppled iron throne of Kronos, though? Not so much.
Aera was not about to join that dude (she wasn't wearing the right jewelry to visit The Underworld). She twirled her celestial bronze dagger over in her hand, watching as Jason gripped a golden sword. Handsome, rich, and wanted her dead? Curse it. Aera was liking him more and more. Maybe she should re-evaluate who her enemies were.
No time.
Jason lunged forward, his weapon flashing in the sunlight. Aera met him head-on, their blades clashing with a metallic ring. His sword was longer and heavier than Aera's dagger, giving him an advantage in reach, but Aera was used to this. She had trained for cases where being faster and more agile was all it took to take the laurel crown (ugh, she looked so good in laurel).
Aera feinted left, then right, then went for a low strike that he barely blocked in time.
The pair broke off again.
As she faced off against her enemy/eye candy, Aera wondered why Jason kept holding back. It was crystal clear he was physically stronger than her. From the looks of it, he was around 8 inches taller and had an athletic build with well-muscled, tanned arms and legs. His every stride was walked with purpose, his posture perfect. His electric blue eyes were intense, and totally swoon-worthy. His blond hair was close-cropped in a scruffy golden retriever style. But his powerful aura didn't radiate cute puppy vibes. Jason had this sort of rugged edge to him that gave Aera the idea she could fix him.
Naturally, she hated him.
Why not just overwhelm Aera at once and be done with it? Was Jason going easy on her just because she was a girl? If so, ew. Boo. Tomato. Tomatoes.
"You don't fight like a Roman," he said, his chest rising and falling with ease. "Where are you from?"
Aera didn't like how his voice sounded. It was so deep and boom-y like a rumble of thunder before lightning, some kind of corny warning. The way he enunciated his words was all big and mighty, like he was supposed to be a hot shot (wrong, Aera was clearly the hottest shot).
"Roman..." Aera repeated, to test how that foreign word would feel on her tongue. It tasted as natural as pink food coloring. "Am I supposed to know what that is?"
"No?" Jason scoffed, as if she had just said something really offensive. "Let me show you."
Jason stormed her with insane speed. He stabbed first with brute force. When Aera dodged that, he then launched a flurry of attacks. His moves were much more calculated this time around. He seemed to locate exactly where Aera's blind spots were (they weren't many) and put pressure there. Aera parried his strikes with a little more effort. The slashes of wind from the force of his strikes alone were almost enough to knock Aera off her feet.
He adapted to my fighting style, Aera realized halfway. That's why he was slow on the offensive. He was analyzing me so he could finish it in one assault.
If that was the case, Aera was going to give him something as fresh as a Miss Universe answer.
Watching for an opening, Aera let him overwhelm her. He backed her up towards that same slab of blasted black marble where she had been ambushed. The icy ground slid under her heels as she deflected one hit after the other. The clash of their swords created a symphony of metal, the sound clanging in her ears through the field of snow-strewn rubble.
Jason was relentless but Aera kept her cool. She focused on his pulse, separating from the sounds of battle and concentrating on the sound of his heart to hone in on its presence.
Then when the right time came, Aera made eye contact with Jason, and power surged through her. She willed his heart to slow, watching as his eyelids began to droop. He tried to shake it off with a brief shake of his head but Aera wasn't going to give him that. She seized the moment he was distracted and twisted her wrist around his. With her other hand, she yanked back his sleeve and curled her fingers around his skin right over his artery.
Aera sent his heart into overdrive. Jason's blood began to work against him, rushing backwards. Webs of veins protruded from his wrist all the way to his neck. His body swayed. His breathing sharpened. In exactly three seconds, Jason was choking on his own blood.
"Out of wind already?" Aera taunted, as she clutched his pulsing wrist without letting go. The sword in his hand fell from his grip, landing in a bed of snow. She sensed he had already lost all feeling in his right arm. Too easy.
"And here I was," Aera said complacently, her voice hot and dangerous, "thinking we were just getting started."
Jason's eyes widened in realization. It was too late for that. Aera had him. As he fell at her feet, Aera found one thing different from Luke. Jason didn't have a long scar winding down his his face (that little white line on his lip was hardly a battle scar). She could carve him one, as a treat. It was the least she could do after they had ambushed her six on one.
Then just before his arteries burst from the pressure, Aera saw something else in his eyes, something she had never seen in a victim of hers—defiance.
"Graecus," he snarled. Aera didn't know what that word was but the way he spat it out couldn't have been a compliment on her expert swordsmanship.
At that moment, the pressure in the air dropped. Aera's ears popped. The sky got dark. An army of storm clouds overtook the sun, conquering the ruins of Kronos' iron throne with more shadows. The heavens rumbled with power. The change came so steeply, Aera was caught off guard. She broke eye contact with Jason for a split second.
Jason, that unfair giant, saw the opportunity. He picked up his sword and lunged again, aiming at Aera's pristine red leather jacket (people who didn't appreciate high fashion would call that area her chest instead). To save her precious baby from getting a giant gaping hole in it, Aera caught his blade on her dagger hilt. She cursed in Korean. Aera had almost missed it. He was two inches from stabbing that stupid sword through her heart.
"Yield," he ordered.
Aera gritted her teeth. She took back everything she thought about him being attractive.
"Gentlemen first," she said, stepping in closer for leverage.
Their swords were crossed, locked in place, as Jason pressed her with enough force to get her to do the last thing on earth she wanted: sweat. Every one of her pilates-trained muscles strained under his pressure as he put all his weight on her. Aera was always down for experimenting, but this was not a fun position. If Luke hadn't forced her to sharpen her swordsmanship those past three years by mercilessly pitting her against monsters, Aera would've had to kiss her life and her precious Chanel coat goodbye.
Jason's breath was hot against her face. His blue eyes bore down on her with an intimidating intensity, urging her to give up. Aera could feel the heat emanating from his body, making her skin flush with both anger and an interesting kind of excitement. It wasn't often she was under someone else.
"The sky..." Aera managed. "Is that you?"
Jason gave her a mild smile. It was a devilish thing, that smile, a visual gesture that said he was in total control. "Looks like you're not the only one with special powers."
Lightning lit up the sky, illuminating the ruins around them. Aera flinched at the burst of light and kicked blindly at his crotch. Jason narrowly dodged her shoe, lifting his weight off her. Aera recovered just in time to see him raise his sword towards the sky. The gold sword crackled with electricity, absorbing the particles in the air.
A bolt of lightning shot out of a crack in the sky. It came down straight at her. Aera could feel the beautiful hairs on the back of her neck stand up. This was so not going to be pretty...
Aera squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for impact.
"AERA!" Piper snapped her fingers in front of her face. The second Aera's eyelids fluttered open after a long blink, the image of the blinding light dissolved. In the clear were Piper's concerned kaleidoscope eyes.
Aera blinked again, adjusting back to her current surroundings. No lightning. No snow. They stood at a summit of Pikes Peak with their war-crazed barnyard companion, on the way to Aeolus' fortress. Jason, Thalia, and Leo were still steadily making their way up the thin ice bridge that connected the palace to the ground. Coach Bush had practically dragged both Aera and Piper up to the top first, barking at them about how they needed to do better in gym.
"Hey, you kind of zoned out there," Piper stated, accessing her face. "What were you thinking about?"
Aera replayed the images in her mind: the dead body, the black ruins, Jason's hostile smile, and wondered if Thalia and her Hunters had drugged her for fun in her sleep. They must've still been salty about Aera's victory in Capture the Flag all those summers ago with the pink glitter bombs. Those no-good, rotten, annoyingly hot celibates. Ugh, Aera was so going to give Thalia a piece of her Jimmy Choo's when she got up here.
Aera cleared her throat. "I was trying to remember where my red Chanel leather trench coat went."
Coach Bush narrowed his beady, little eyes at her. "That better be faux leather, cupcake."
"Duh," she said, offended he would even question her taste. "What do you think I am? A barbarian?"
Piper, who was a firm advocate in this kind of animal rights stuff, turned away from the conversation and peered down at the bridge. "What's taking them so long?"
Aera suspected Piper was still mad at her for whatever she was mad about (probably Aera's goddess-given beautiful, un-dead badger hair). However, Aera still (very unfortunately) had a heart. She could tell Piper was nervous about the fate of her father.
Aera scratched her wrist. She should say something to help Piper feel better, but her words were weapons, not painkillers. She would never be caught dead (or wearing stripes) saying it out loud, but a sliver of Aera worried she had said the wrong thing to Jason earlier when he was being all sad about his mom and Thalia.
Kronos had trained Aera to understand every vein and valve of someone's heart and then ravage it. She had never been taught to soothe one or heal one. She had learned the dead opposite. Ethan Nakamura used to say Kampê, the most fearsome and ferocious monster from Tartarus, was more relaxing to be around than Aera because at least Kampê wouldn't pour nail polish remover in your wounds and paint your nails while you screamed, she would just kill you. Comforting people was as foreign to Aera as fashion was to that shrimp-lover Annabeth.
Besides, Aera was confused why Jason was so worked up about Thalia being a Hunter in the first place. They couldn't even make out with wood nymphs for fun or wear clothing that wasn't part of Artemis' 1100 BCE Silver Huntress Collection. What an unfulfilling life.
Oh, well. It wasn't like Aera was the leader of the quest or anything. She would just make Jason say something to Piper later...right after she upbraided him for having a matching tattoo that was this itchy.
Aera rolled up the sleeve of the parka jacket. Why was the tattoo suddenly so irritated?
"You have feelings for him," Piper said out of the blue. Aera looked up with a retort on her tongue, but Piper wouldn't let her even start. "It's so obvious. You guys even got matching couple tattoos."
Aera frowned. Meddling in other people's business for no reason was supposed to be her job. Then she caught glimpse of the inside of her forearm and almost considered switching careers.
"Piper," she said slowly, "why do people get matching couple tattoos?"
Piper was not amused. "You tell me."
"Just answer the question."
"I don't know?" her sister responded with sarcasm dripping down her pristinely shaped chin. "To show that your love is forever? That it's permanent?"
Trying not to freak out (she was too young for stress wrinkles), Aera raised her arm under the pale daylight. The nine bars previously etched on her wrist were almost completely gone now, her skin growing back, gleaming and white, where the black marks used to be. Above it, the rose in its beak was already erased and only the wing of the dove remained.
Aera's tattoos weren't permanent. They—
"They're fading," Piper observed. Then she let out a loud snort. "So you tricked Jason into getting a permanent tattoo while yours is just a temp? Jeez. That's cold, Aera. Even for you."
"Open your eyes," Coach Bush put in darkly, resting on his club. Aera almost forgot he was there. "Those are scars, cupcake. Burn scars."
Piper's smile dropped. "Jason did that to you?"
"No," Aera said automatically, unaware of where that answer came from. "That's not what happened."
There was that weird tingly feeling in her brain again, like she was on the verge of remembering something important, besides her 11-step skincare routine. Then it came through.
"Jason and I didn't get these tattoos as a romantic statement," Aera realized with a chill. "I didn't dupe him. And he didn't force me either. Someone else put this tattoo on me. As a reminder."
"A reminder of what?" Piper asked. "Why would anyone do that?"
Aera tried to remember. She tried really, really hard even though thinking gave her a headache and she wasn't ugly Annabeth. One thing that bothered her was that those marks had been on Jason's arm in that vision but they hadn't been on hers. Her red coat was mid-sleeved, leaving her forearm out. There had been nothing there.
But Aera couldn't exactly trust that little hallucination either. Before she left camp, Chiron had this mortal therapist come and talk to her while she was locked up at the Big House. At least twenty times in their sessions she would tell Aera she was safe, from the monsters, from the gods, and from Kronos. Obviously, that was a lie. Every thing with a beating heart wanted to have her dead or tortured, preferably both.
The therapist said Aera and all the other survivors on Kronos' side had something called PTSD, which explained the vivid flashbacks she was having and why she was so jumpy all of the time. Most of them were images of Luke's lifeless, yet immortal golden eyes after he was possessed, Princess Andromeda getting blown up by Greek fire, and Silena's once beautiful face ruined by drakon poison, steaming and charred. Not so glamorous stuff.
Later when Aera started to get a little better at controlling her breathing and steadying her heart while waiting for those images to subside, she started seeing things that had never happened, like Luke jumping off a wide cliff or Silena covered head to toe in blood. The therapist noted that these visions were simply a distorted reflection of how guilty and unsafe she felt and that Aera should try to remind herself of all the things that were real, like her name, how old she was, how many designer handbags she had, etc, etc.
Mumbling to yourself sounded stupid so Aera obviously didn't do that. Now Aera was starting to believe she should have taken the advice because she was starting to imagine absurd things.
Jason would never try to hurt Aera, let alone hurl an entire lightning bolt at her. Jason was a good person. He was gentle, kind, and reasonable. Sometimes, a little too much. He saw all sides of a situation and never had any bias.
This and those visions Aera had while stranded in the snowstorm must have been figments of her imagination. As much as she hated it, Aera was a daughter of Aphrodite. It was in her nature to picture every possibility. Even the gruesome ones...
A crumbling sound cut Aera's lace of thoughts short. Below, the bridge where their friends stood was dissolving. Aera squinted and could barely make out three figures scrambling up the bridge as it melted behind them. Then someone got separated by a thirty-foot chasm. The two others got closer. Jason and Leo.
When they reached the floating island, Piper and Coach Bush pulled them aboard just as the last of the vapor bridge vanished. They sat on the ground, gasping for breath at the base of a stone stairway chiseled into the side of the cliff, leading up to the fortress.
"What happened?" Aera demanded, hands on her hips as she stood over them. "Where's Thalia?"
A wave of protectiveness surged through Aera. If Jason had to be separated from his sister one more time...
"I got a little heated," Leo gasped, breathing heavily and sweating grossly.
"On a bridge made of ice?" Aera resisted the urge to strangle him. "Seriously?"
Leo gazed guiltily at Jason. "Sorry, Jason. Honest. I didn't—"
Jason got up with a poker face.
"It's alright," he said coolly and Aera immediately knew it wasn't. "We've got less than twenty-four hours to rescue a goddess and Piper's dad. Let's go see the king of the winds."
Now Aera was really uncomfortable. And totally out of her element. How was Aera supposed to go on like this when Jason looked so defeated, like his favorite shopping mall had been burned to the ground?
"Waa, Leo Valdez, you really—" Aera scoffed angrily, wanting him to hit him with her most powerful makeup brush. She started cussing vigorously in Korean, something she did when she was really peeved.
"Aera, I'm fine," Jason said patiently. "You can stop cursing at Leo in Korean now."
Aera turned fervently to Coach Bush. "How did Jason know I was cussing at him? He speaks Latin and Korean, too? Was he a Catholic missionary in South Korea or what?"
"We could all tell you were cursing at him, cupcake," Coach Bush said.
"Whatever," Aera snapped. "Let's just go before Leo shoots another fireball out of his pants and unleashes a freaking ranch on us."
"You mean an avalanche?" Piper suggested.
"And it wasn't a fireball," Leo corrected. "My pants just got steamy 'cause I got excited—"
"TMI, Leo." Piper grimaced, waving her hands in front of her. "TMI."
"That's not what I—oh, wow. That does sound wrong."
Aera rolled her eyes at whatever badly budgeted sitcom they were trying to recreate, took Jason by the wrist, and stomped up the staircase with him in tow. They were all ticking her off.
Only Bush seemed to be in a decent mood, which was also aggravating because he kept bounding up the slippery staircase and trotting back down. "Come on, cupcakes! Only a few thousand more steps!"
Leo and Piper gave them space, but Aera could feel their needy eyes hooking onto their backs as they trekked up the mountain.
"How could Leo make a mistake like that?" Aera ranted to Jason as they left the rest of their group in the dust. "Like, really? Even I know fire and ice don't go together and I failed biology twice."
"Isn't it chemistry?" Jason wondered.
Aera sniffed. "Failed that class, too."
More steps.
Aera couldn't take the silence. "Okay, but like, what was Leo thinking? He could have gotten all of you killed and now Thalia's gone. We don't even know if she got back to the Hunters safely or not. What if that wannabe Alpha male guy comes back for revenge and Thalia, like, I don't know, runs out of arrows or something?" Aera gasped at a potential horror. "OMG, what if she lost her silver tiara while the bridge was melting? That accessory is the centerpiece of her outfit. It'd be such a shame..."
"If I didn't know any better," Jason muttered, "I would've thought Thalia was your sister."
"Well, you're her—" Then Aera realized something weird about Jason. "Why aren't you mad?"
Jason was staring straight up at the fortress. "It was an accident."
"That Leo caused."
"He didn't mean to."
"That doesn't mean it wasn't his fault."
"We're short on time, Aera," Jason reminded, pulling his hand away to rake his fingers through his hair. "It already happened. We have to keep moving. There are bigger things to worry about."
"Yeah," Aera conceded, "but that doesn't mean you can't be annoyed."
"I'm not annoyed."
"Not even a little?"
Jason shook his head. His pulse was calm; actually, it was one and a half beats slower than usual. Weird. Jason wasn't the slightest bit annoyed by what Leo had done? Why did that make Aera annoyed?
"There's a way we can save both Hera and Piper's dad," Jason said. "We have to find out where they're keeping Piper's dad first. After we rescue him, we meet Thalia at the Wolf House. That's where they're keeping Hera. I saw it in my dream. Leo thinks I'm supposed to be a bridge, some kind of exchange that Hera made. Maybe it has to do with Percy Jackson..."
Jason's voice was strong, unwavering, the same authoritative sound in her vision commanding her to yield, but now there was an edge of fatigue in it, too.
The whole time, the golden backpack of storm spirits had been strapped over his shoulders. The closer they got to Aeolus's palace, the more the winds seemed to struggle, rumbling and bumping around his back. Aera wondered if they were holding Jason down, making the world feel heavier on his shoulders.
His, or Thalia, or whoever's idea was totally impossible. Like, completely off the Rio rocker. There was no way they were going to pull it off, but Aera couldn't tell Jason that. To be honest, she couldn't say anything to him, as she listened to him string together another plan that was pretty much all based on luck and the basically nonexistent chance the gods would cooperate. Aera was so irritated that she had to go through with another goddess' scheme.
Mainly, Aera was worried about Jason. How much was he willing to risk for all this? How much would he have to sacrifice? Saving Piper's dad was one thing but being some kind of bridge for whatever stupid goal Hera had was another. Bridges got trampled on and they were dangled over some kind of vicious thing that was too dangerous to be crossed below.
Aera didn't like that. She didn't want Jason to be a bridge. She didn't want him to be an exchange. And she certainly didn't want him to be like Percy Jackson, that shark-faced volcano-surfer.
Maybe that was why Aera wanted to rip Aeolus a new face.
The master of winds looked like a microwaved Ken doll. Aera had seen tons of blotched people at her dad's practice, but this guy was even more tragic-looking than Oli London. He was in his sixties, with a shock of white hair, an unnecessary surplus of stage makeup, and a smooth plastic sheen settled on his face that could only come from too much cosmetic surgery. He wore a business suit that looked like the sky—blue mostly, but dappled with clouds that changed and darkened and moved across the fabric. Aera made a mental note to ask him who his designer was later. She would look so divine in cloud.
Unfortunately, Aeolus was as douche-y as he looked and Aera would not get the chance to ask him where his wardrobe came from or to kindly cease his facelift treatments for the good of humanity's eyesight because the god turned out to be less helpful than synthetic fragrance in skincare products.
"So, you brought me some rogue storm spirits," Aeolus said regarding them with the same amount of sincerity as a celebrity accepting a gift they didn't want from a fan. "I suppose...thanks! And did you want something else? I assume so. Demigods always do."
"Yes," Aera said before anyone else could speak up. She did not want to put herself through even another minute of Aeolus' inconsistent weather forecasting or his badgering Jason to ask Zeus for a promotion. "We want information."
"Because we hear you know everything," Piper amended, quick to layer the butter on thick.
Aeolus straightened his lapels and looked slightly mollified. "Well...that's true, of course. For instance, I know that this business here"—he waggled his fingers at the four of them—"this hare-brained scheme of Juno's to bring you all together is likely to end in bloodshed."
All four of their hearts seemed to skip a beat at the same time. That was totally not creepy and foreboding at all.
"As for you, Piper McLean," Aeolus continued, "I know your father is in serious trouble."
He held out his hand, and a scrap of paper fluttered into his grasp. It was a photo of Tristan McLean, the DILF.
Piper took it, hands shaking. "This—this is from his wallet."
"Yes," Aeolus agreed. "All things lost in the wind eventually find me. The photo blew away when the Earthborn captured him."
"The what?" Piper asked.
"Are you not going to tell us what those are?" Aera demanded.
Aeolus waved aside their questions and narrowed his eyes at Leo. "Now, you, son of Hephaestus...yes, I see your future."
Another paper fell into the wind god's hands—an old tattered drawing done in crayons. Leo took it as if it were a horrendous prom dress design. He staggered backward.
"Leo?" Jason asked in concern. "What is it?"
"Something I—I drew when I was a kid." Leo folded it quickly and put it in his coat. "It's...yeah, it's nothing."
Aeolus was entertained by their discomfort, which made Aera want to carve an arch in his artificial face. "Really? It's only the key to your success!" He laughed like a politician. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes, you wanted information. Are you sure about that? Sometimes information can be dangerous. Sometimes it can even cost you everything."
He smiled at Aera like he was issuing an official challenge. Behind him, Mellie, the beautiful aura with shampoo-commercial hair and the master of wind's assistant of 12 hours, shook her head in warning.
"We can afford it," Aera stated.
"Is that right, Aera Kim?" Aeolus said, creepy smile widening. "Matter of fact, I have a little something of yours, too."
The god brought his other hand out from behind his back like a magician. He unfurled his palm and in it sat a gleaming white saltwater pearl weaved into a delicate black hair clip—that stupid hair clip Aera had thrown off Mount Olympus after Luke died.
Fury ignited Aera's veins with boiling blood. How did Aeolus get this? Why did he have it? Aera had gotten rid of it for good.
Before Aera could get any of these questions out or command that ugly god's heart to stop, another hand reached forward and snatched the pearl.
"Where did you get this?" Jason demanded, his heart pounding at an uneven speed. Aera was stunned. She wasn't sure if he was speaking to her or the god of too much botox.
"Like I said, all things lost in the wind eventually come back to me," Aeolus said pompously. "The Ravager of Olympus is no exception—"
"Aera," Jason said, coming closer, close enough to hear the hitch in his voice when he asked, "who gave this to you?"
The harsh glimmer in Jason's eye locked her in place. Aera couldn't escape this time. Flashes of the battle came back to her in a blur. His voice echoed in Aera's head endlessly like it was screaming from the crypt: "You know that hair clip you wear everyday that you never take off? I gave you that pearl. When you thought the whole world was against you, I believed in you. That's how seriously I took you."
Aera was quick to take that memory and bury it back into the deepest grave of her conscience. "Who cares?"
She went to take the hair clip from him, but Jason pulled away. Aera couldn't believe him. Why was he acting this way?
"Yo, do you know what they're doing?" Aera heard Leo whisper to Piper. "Why isn't he giving it back?"
"That's the blade, isn't it?" Piper asked loudly, causing both Aera and Jason to snap their heads to her. "The cursed one you used to destroy Kronos."
"This is a knife?" Jason asked incredulously.
Aera rolled her eyes and stuck out her palm. After a reluctant moment, Jason placed it in her hand. Aera took the hair accessory into her palm and traced her finger around the hinge of the clip, where the switch was hidden. With a small click, the clip morphed into a 12-inch celestial bronze dagger. The polish was as shiny as Aera remembered, so shiny she could shoot beams of light if she angled it correctly.
"Nice." Leo whistled. "Even your weapons scream nepo baby."
"Happy?" Aera asked Jason irritably. "Now are you gonna tell me why you're so interested in this hair clip?"
"Um," Jason said, "it looked pretty."
Aera wanted to use the knife on him. "Um, it looked pretty?"
Jason paled. Why was he being so weird? Did he want to wear it in his hair but was too scared to ask or something? Aera wouldn't have judged him. Some of her male siblings had better fashion sense than her (don't ask, though, because she would never admit it).
"Whispering secrets in the wind, are we?" Aeolus said breezily and Aera wished he would shut up and go away already. "You'll be each other's mutual destruction if you keep your innermost fears under wraps. I'll tell you that much. That's how you each failed at your separate goals the first time. A lack of sincerity."
Aera turned on Aeolus. "And what are you trying to say now?"
Aeolus considered Aera with a detached amusement, like an audience member watching a tragic scene in telenovela unfold before his eyes from the comfort of his own home. Mellie gave another head shake as a warning.
"I'm only pointing out," Aeolus said, "that your efforts to dissemble Olympus were passable at best. What is that saying? Oh, yeah, your heart wasn't in it."
"You don't know anything about my heart." Aera clenched her fists. "I gave my everything to the Titan."
"And yet your sisters gave their lives," Aeolus countered. "The very sisters you looked down on for not having the same amount of freedom as you."
Aeolus waved his hand again and a floating TV glided over. The screen glitched out before it was replaced with a video of Manhattan. It was silent, which was unusual for New York. It was never silent, even at night. But in the streets, traffic had stopped. Pedestrians were lying on the sidewalks, or curled up in doorways. There was no sign of violence, no wrecks, nothing like that. It was as if all the people in New York had simply decided to stop whatever they were doing and pass out.
The only people moving were three demigods with black backpacks strapped to their bodies. Ice coated Aera's stomach. She could recognize those platinum blonde locks of hair anywhere. Jolina Kamarov. Aera watched with disarming horror as she dashed through the sleeping city with her two minions close behind her. They were rushing towards the Empire State Building. Towards Mount Olympus.
There was no hesitation in their strides, no fear in their eyes for what they were about to do, nothing. They had been completely compromised by the magic in her rose pen.
Ultimately, they reached the front doors of the Empire State Building and stormed into the lobby. The timers on the Greek fire bombs beeped with the last remaining seconds.
Three.
Two.
One—
Aera jerked her head the other way just as the TV screen was switched off. Aera clutched her chest. Her pulse was pounding in her ears like a prison break.
"It's okay," Piper whispered, rubbing Aera's back. "It's okay."
Leo was on the other side, staring at Aera warily, as though she was an explosive about to detonate.
Aeolus threw his hands up in protest. "What happened? We just got to the good part!"
"Enough with the television programs," Jason said, marching out from behind the dark screen. He looked reproachful, furious even. Nowhere near as nervous as before. "We need to find the lair of Enceladus."
Aeolus's smile melted off his already melted face. "The giant? Why would you want to go there? He's horrible! He doesn't even watch my program!"
For once, Aera wished Coach Bush was there to give him a few thwacks with his club. Sadly, Jason had sent him to attack the springtime in the pastures outside the fortress, so they were short one homicidial-rage-filled goat protector. The fact that this was being broadcasted for the gods to watch like some cheap reality survivor show made Aera feel sick to her bones.
"Aeolus, he's got my father," Piper reminded promptly, holding up the photo of her dad. "We need to rescue him and find out where Hera is being held captive."
"Now, that's impossible," Aeolus said. "Even I can't see that, and believe me, I've tried. There's a veil of magic over Hera's location—very strong, impossible to locate."
"She's at a place called the Wolf House," Jason put in.
"Hold on!" Aelous put a hand to his forehead and dramatically. closed his eyes. "I'm getting something! Yes, she's at a place called the Wolf House! Sadly, I don't know where that is."
"Enceladus does," Piper persisted, though Aera didn't know where she got the patience to. "If you help us find him, we could get the location of the goddess—"
"Yeah," Leo said, catching on. "And if we save her, she'd be really grateful to you—"
"And Zeus might promote you," Jason finished smartly.
Aeolus's eyebrows crept up. "A promotion—and all you want from me is the giant's location?"
Nausea crept up Aera's throat as a tight knot took root in her chest. She wanted to leave. It was getting harder to breathe in this room. Jason seemed to sense Aera's discomfort. He took her hand without even turning away or taking his eyes off Aeolus. It was crazy how fast Aera understood what he meant by the show of affection: hang in there, we're almost done.
"Well, if you could get us a safe ride there, too," Jason amended, "that would be great."
He moved to stand in front of Aera, which could easily be taken as an eye-rolling, savior complex gesture, but it was a gesture that Aera was totally grateful for. Aeolus wouldn't be able to see how disturbed she was from the video this way. Jason bought her a few moments to compose herself.
Mellie clapped her hands in excitement, something Aera would have found cute if she hadn't wanted to vomit all over Aeolus' cloud suit. "Oh, he could do that!" Mellie exclaimed. "He often sends helpful winds—"
"Mellie, quiet!" Aeolus snapped. "I have half a mind to fire you for letting these people in under false pretenses."
Her face paled. "Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."
Aera took a deep breath and stepped out from behind Jason.
"She was just doing her job," she defended, swallowing thickly. "Now are you going to help us or not?"
Aelous tilted his head as if thinking. Was he listening to voices in his earpiece?
"Well...Zeus approves," Aeolus muttered, which meant he was. "He says...he says it would be better if you could avoid saving her until after the weekend, because he has a big party planned—Ow! That's Aphrodite yelling at him, reminding him that the solstice starts at dawn. She says I should help you."
"Really?" Aera asked dubiously. All of her friends stared at her. She hadn't intended to vocalize that out loud.
"And so does Hephaestus," Aeolus hummed. "Yes...hmm. Very rare they agree on anything. Hold on..."
Jason slipped his hand back into Aera's and smiled at her. He was more invigorated now that they were finally having some good luck. Their godly parents were standing up for them.
"You're doing amazing," he murmured in her ear. "Just a little more. Then we'll get you out of here and you'll never have to see this clown or watch his bad programs ever again."
Despite Jason's happy mood and reassurance, the knot in Aera's chest tightened. Something wasn't right. Things were going too smoothly. Gods sticking up for their children? What was the catch? What did they want in return?
Back toward the entrance, Aera heard a loud belch. Coach Bush waddled in from the lobby, grass all over his face.
Mellie saw him coming across the makeshift floor and caught her breath. "Who is that?"
"Oh, you can't be serious." Aera peered at Bush then back at Mellie incredulously, her discomfort momentarily halted by whatever this was supposed to be. "I thought you would have better taste, Mellie."
Mellie looked so confused. Poor thing.
Jason stifled a cough at Aera's reaction. "She's only complimenting you, Mellie. Saying you deserve the best. As for that? That's just Coach Hedge. Uh, Gleeson Hedge. He's our..." Jason paused. "Our guide."
"He's so goatly," Mellie gushed.
Behind her, Piper poofed out her cheeks, pretending to throw up. Aera did the same.
"What's up, guys?" Bush trotted over. "Wow, nice place. Oh! Sod squares."
"Coach, you just ate," Jason said with an expression so baffled and miffed at the same time, Aera wanted to laugh. "And we're using the sod as a floor. This is, ah, Mellie—"
"An aura." Hedge smiled winningly, which was, like, totally disgusting. "Beautiful as a summer breeze."
Mellie blushed.
"And Aeolus here was just about to help us," Jason explained.
"Yes," the wind lord muttered, tuning back in. "It seems so. You'll find Enceladus on Mount Diablo."
"Devil Mountain?" Leo asked. "That doesn't sound good."
Aera's heart sank. "It's not."
"I remember that place!" Piper chirped. "I went there once with my dad. It's just east of San Francisco Bay."
"The Bay Area again?" The coach shook his head. "Not good. Not good at all." He casted a troubled glance at Aera, who already knew it wasn't good.
"Now..." Aeolus began to smile. "As to getting you there—"
Out of nowhere, his face went slack. He bent over and tapped his earpiece repeatedly, as if it were malfunctioning. When he straightened again, his eyes were wild. Despite the makeup and the endless fillers, he looked like an old man—an old, very frightened man.
"She hasn't spoke to me for centuries. I can't—yes, yes I understand." He swallowed, regarding them as if he had suddenly turned into a giant cockroach. "I'm sorry, demigods. New orders. You all have to die."
And there it was.
Aera shed her parka jacket and uncapped her lipstick tube to reveal her celestial bronze sword. She had been waiting for this.
"Hold on!" Mellie squeaked, eyes widening at Aera's blade. She turned to Aeolus pleadingly. "But—but, sir! Zeus said to help them. Aphrodite, Hephaestus—"
"Mellie!" Aeolus snapped. "Your job is already on the line. Besides, there are some orders that transcend even the wishes of the gods, especially when it comes to the forces of nature."
"Whose orders?" Jason demanded. "Zeus will fire you if you don't help us!"
"I doubt it." Aeolus flicked his wrist, and far below them, a cell door opened in the pit. Aera could hear storm spirits screaming out of it, spiraling up toward them, howling for blood.
Aera rolled her eyes again. "This is literally why you're never getting promoted."
"Zeus will understand," Aeolus said, which was a comfort to nobody but himself. "Even he understands the order of things. If she is waking—by all the gods—she cannot be denied. Good-bye, heroes. I'm terribly sorry, but I'll have to make this quick. I'm back on the air in four minutes."
Jason summoned his sword. Coach Hedge pulled out his club. Aera was prepared to die fighting their way out of this one. It wouldn't be the first time.
Then Mellie the aura yelled, "No!" She dove at their feet just as the storm spirits hit with hurricane force, blasting the floor to pieces, shredding the carpet samples and marble and linoleum into what should've been lethal projectiles, had Mellie's robes not spread out like a shield and absorbed the brunt of the impact.
The six of them fell into the pit as Aeolus screamed above them, "Mellie, you are so fired!"
Aera pushed her body forward and clung onto Jason's waist, eyes squeezed shut. She hadn't forgotten Jason's bizarre behavior earlier, but she was so over sky-diving.
"Quick!" Mellie yelled past them. "Son of Zeus, do you have any power over the air?"
"A little!"
"Then help me, or you're all dead!" Mellie grabbed his hand. Normally, Aera would have felt a little threatened because Mellie was, like, really pretty, but she understood what the aura was planning.
Aera took Piper's hand with her free one. "Group hug!"
They all tried to huddle together, hanging on to Jason and Mellie as they fell.
"This is NOT GOOD!" Leo yelled, which was so not helpful.
"Bring it on, gas bags!" Hedge yelled up at the storm spirits. "I'll pulverize you!"
"He's magnificent," Mellie sighed.
"Oh, my gods!" Aera shrieked. She was still into him?
"Concentrate?" Jason prompted.
"Right!" Mellie said.
Their fall became more of a tumble into the nearest open chute. Still, they slammed into the tunnel at painful speed and went rolling over each other down a steep vent that was not designed for people. There was no way they could stop. Mellie's robes billowed around her.
Aera and the others clung to her desperately, and they began to slow down, but the storm spirits were screaming into the tunnel behind them.
"Can't—hold—long," Mellie warned. "Stay together! When the winds hit—"
"You're doing great, Mellie," Hedge said. "My own mama was an aura, you know. She couldn't have done better herself."
"Iris-message me?" Mellie pleaded.
Hedge winked.
"I'll Iris-message you," Aera promised. "There are so many hair secrets I wanna swap with you."
"Could you guys plan your dates later?" Piper screamed. "Look!"
Behind them, the tunnel was turning dark. Aera could feel his ears pop as the pressure built.
"Can't hold them," Mellie warned. "But I'll try to shield you, do you one more favor."
"Thanks, Mellie," Jason said as he tightened his hold on Aera. "I hope you get a new job."
"Mellie, I LOVE YOU!" Aera screamed out of fear of dying and never seeing the beautiful aura again.
Mellie smiled, and then dissolved, wrapping them in a warm gentle breeze. Then the real winds hit, shooting them into the sky so fast, Aera blacked out.