JASON
The council was nothing like Jason imagined. For one thing, it was in the Big House rec room, around a Ping-Pong table, and one of the satyrs was serving nachos and sodas. Somebody had brought Seymour the leopard head in from the living room and hung him on the wall. Every once in a while, a counselor would toss him a Snausage.
Jason looked around the room and tried to remember everyone's name. Thankfully, Kyra and Piper were sitting next to him with Leo on Kyra's other side—it was their first meeting as senior counselors and Kyra looked like she was going to cry.
She looked so stressed that Jason just wanted to give her a hug and tell her to go lay down and get some rest, but he thought better of it. One for her fear of touch: although that didn't seem to apply to Leo as much. And two, she deserved to be here. The girl had clearly been through hell and was apparently destined to go through some more, she deserved to at least be a part of the conversation for their next quest.
Clarisse, leader of the Ares cabin, had her boots on the table, but nobody seemed to care. Clovis from Hypnos cabin was snoring in the corner while Butch from Iris cabin was seeing how many pencils he could fit in Clovis's nostrils. Travis Stoll from Hermes was holding a lighter under a Ping-Pong ball to see if it would burn, and Will Solace from Apollo, the one who had helped heal Kyra, was absently wrapping and unwrapping an Ace bandage around his wrist. The counselor from Hecate cabin, Lou Ellen something-or-other, was playing "got-your-nose" with Miranda Gardiner from Demeter, except that Lou Ellen really had magically disconnected Miranda's nose, and Miranda was trying to get it back.
Jason watched as Kyra observed the interactions around them and seemed to shrink back in the chair she was sitting on. He saw Leo slowly offer her his hand underneath the table and watched with interest as she grabbed it quickly, her breathing seeming to slow and her eyes becoming slightly less panicked.
Jason found the dynamic the two had interesting. Kyra was clearly traumatized, it had seemed that she was even more fearful around guys, but Leo seemed to be the only one of them who could truly calm her down. Jason was more surprised than anyone when Leo grabbed her wrist as Kyra and Annabeth had gone to leave Bunker 9. He truly expected Kyra to run away or break down again, but she didn't. Jason expected her to at least have some sort of trauma response to being touched in a way that may have come across as threatening, yet she simply looked at Leo and waited for him to speak.
He wondered why Leo had done that. The group of demigods knew very well that Kyra had gone through some horrible, unspeakable things. Hell, Leo was even the one to rescue her from being chained to a wall by her wrists, Jason would have thought that Leo would have had the common sense not to grab her so suddenly. But when he asked Leo why he had done that, Leo couldn't answer him. Leo was the closest thing Jason had to a best friend here, he wished Leo would confide in him, but it seemed that whatever he was dealing with or whatever was going on between him and Kyra, if anything, was going to be kept private.
Jason had hoped Thalia would show. She'd promised, after all—but she was nowhere to be seen. Chiron had told him not to worry about it. Thalia often got sidetracked fighting monsters or running quests for Artemis, and she would probably arrive soon. But still, Jason worried. He figured that she would want to know that Artemis had a daughter, but he was fairly sure she already knew that once she had met Kyra. Something she had mentioned on the bridge to Aeolus' palace made him think that she had figured it out even before Kyra had herself.
Rachel Dare, the oracle, sat next to Chiron at the head of the table. She was wearing her Clarion Academy school uniform dress, which seemed odd, but she smiled at Jason. She regarded Kyra curiously, not unkindly, but her focus seemed to make Kyra nervous once more. Kyra returned her gaze to the table, avoiding the eyes of the redhead. The oracle frowned in thought before looking away from Kyra and Leo.
Annabeth didn't look so relaxed. She wore armor over her camp clothes, with her knife at her side and her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. As soon as Jason walked in, she fixed him with an expectant look, as if she were trying to extract information out of him by sheer willpower. Her gaze softened, however, as she met Kyra's eyes who had looked up from the table when Annabeth had re-entered the rec room. Kyra smiled weakly at her, her hair falling gently in front of her silver eyes as she raised her head.
Annabeth had given Kyra some clean clothes; she was now wearing slightly loose jeans and a camp half-blood shirt with a white long-sleeve shirt underneath that Jason assumed was to hide her scars from the unfamiliar group of demigods. She looked healthier already and Jason was relieved. She had looked so sick when they had rescued her and then even more so when she was lying unconscious in the infirmary. Jason felt protective of her as he was sure Leo and Piper had too. She had literally saved his life, almost killing herself to do so. He'd protect her with his life.
"Let's come to order," Chiron said. "Lou Ellen, please give Miranda her nose back. Travis, if you'd kindly extinguish the flaming Ping-Pong ball, and Butch, I think twenty pencils is really too many for any human nostril. Thank you. Now, as you can see, Jason, Piper, and Leo have returned successfully...more or less. Some of you have heard parts of their story, but I will let them fill you in. And for those of you who have not met her yet, this is Kyra. She was found by Leo, Jason, and Piper on their quest."
Kyra seemed to cringe at the mention of her name as the demigods in the room turned to look at her. She looked to Jason, Piper, Leo, Annabeth, and even Will for guidance. Jason felt bad for her. She was clearly overwhelmed and Chiron had clearly not been doing a great job of making her feel comfortable so far.
The room regarded her warily, her nervous energy seeming to feed their own. Jason watched as Clarisse, the Ares head counselor regarded her with interest. "Who's your godly parent?" she questioned bluntly. It seemed to Jason that she knew that Kyra had to be representing a different Cabin than any of the ones she already knew, Jason gave her credit for thinking of that.
Kyra met Jason's eyes, causing him to give a small nod in response. She could tell them, and if anyone gave her shit for who her mom was he, Leo, and Piper would have her back: that was for sure.
Kyra turned back to the group, looking up at Chiron before quickly looking away. "Um- my- my mom is Artemis," she said softly, immediately looking down at the ground. This wasn't right, Jason thought. She shouldn't have to tell such a large group of people at once, especially when she wasn't comfortable being in such a big group in the first place.
The group seemed to begin to speak all at once, Jason couldn't keep track of who said what.
"Wait, did she just say Artemis?"
"I thought Artemis couldn't have children."
"Why does she look so scared?" Jason clenched his jaw at that one, about to say something, but he didn't get the chance.
"That's enough," Will Solace spoke. "Stop asking her unnecessary questions, you're being rude. Athena is also a maiden goddess and I don't see you questioning Annabeth or her siblings about their heritage. So shut up and just be nice," he finished with a huff. It appeared Chiron had given Will the memo regarding keeping the truth of Kyra's existence a secret. Jason was glad that Will seemed to be standing up for Kyra. She needed all the support she could get.
The group was looking between Will and Kyra, who had drawn in on herself once more. Jason watched as she bit her lip anxiously and watched once more as Leo gave her hand a gentle squeeze, causing Jasont to smile ever so softly. He was glad that Leo was able to support her.
Jason cleared his throat to get the attention away from them. Everyone looked at Jason as he began the story. Piper and Leo chimed in from time to time, filling in the details he forgot. Kyra nodded at the parts involving her, looking completely exhausted from the events of the day. It only took a few minutes, but it seemed longer with everyone watching him. The silence was heavy, and for so many ADHD demigods to sit still listening for that long, Jason knew the story must have sounded pretty wild. He ended with Hera's visit right before the meeting.
"So Hera was here," Annabeth said. "Talking to you."
Jason nodded. "Look, I'm not saying I trust her—"
"That's smart," Annabeth said.
"—but she isn't making this up about another group of demigods. That's where I came from."
"Romans." Clarisse tossed Seymour a Snausage. "You expect us to believe there's another camp with demigods, but they follow the Roman forms of the gods. And we've never even heard of them."
Piper sat forward. "The gods have kept the two groups apart, because every time they see each other, they try to kill each other."
"I can respect that," Clarisse said. "Still, why haven't we ever run across each other on quests?"
"Oh, yes," Chiron said sadly. "You have; many times. It's always a tragedy, and always the gods do their best to wipe clean the memories of those involved. The rivalry goes all the way back to the Trojan War, Clarisse. The Greeks invaded Troy and burned it to the ground. The Trojan hero Aeneas escaped, and eventually made his way to Italy, where he founded the race that would someday become Rome. The Romans grew more and more powerful, worshipping the same gods but under different names, and with slightly different personalities."
"More warlike," Jason said. "More united. More about expansion, conquest, and discipline. "
"Yuck," Travis put in.
Several of the others looked equally uncomfortable, though Clarisse shrugged like it sounded okay to her.
Annabeth twirled her knife on the table. "And the Romans hated the Greeks. They took revenge when they conquered the Greek Isles and made them part of the Roman Empire."
"Not exactly hated them," Jason said. "The Romans admired Greek culture and were a little jealous. In return, the Greeks thought the Romans were barbarians, but they respected their military power. So during Roman times, demigods started to divide—either Greek or Roman."
"And it's been that way ever since," Annabeth guessed. "But this is crazy. Chiron, where were the Romans during the Titan War? Didn't they want to help?"
Chiron tugged at his beard. "They did help, Annabeth. While you and Percy were leading the battle to save Manhattan, who do you think conquered Mount Othrys, the Titans' base in California?"
"Hold on," Travis said. "You said Mount Othrys just crumbled when we beat Kronos.
"No," Jason said. He remembered flashes of the battle—a giant in starry armor and a helm mounted with ram's horns. He remembered his army of demigods scaling Mount Tam, fighting through hordes of snake monsters.
"It didn't just fall. We destroyed their palace. I defeated the Titan Krios myself."
Annabeth's eyes were as stormy as a Ventus. Jason could almost see her thoughts moving, putting the pieces together. "The Bay Area. We demigods were always told to stay away from it because Mount Othrys was there. But that wasn't the only reason, was it? The Roman camp—it's got to be somewhere near San Francisco. I bet it was put there to keep watch on the Titans' territory. Where is it?"
Chiron shifted in his wheelchair. "I cannot say. Honestly, even I have never been trusted with that information. My counterpart, Lupa, is not exactly the sharing type. Jason's memory, too, has been burned away."
"The camp's heavily veiled with magic," Jason said. "And heavily guarded. We could search for years and never find it."
Rachel Dare laced her fingers. Of all the people in the room, only she didn't seem nervous about the conversation. "But you'll try, won't you? You'll build Leo's boat, the Argo II. And before you make for Greece, you'll sail for the Roman camp. You'll need their help to confront the giants."
"Bad plan," Clarisse warned. "If those Romans see a warship coming, they'll assume we're attacking."
"You're probably right," Jason agreed. "But we have to try. I was sent here to learn about Camp Half-Blood, to try to convince you the two camps don't have to be enemies. A peace offering."
"Hmm," Rachel said. "Because Hera is convinced we need both camps to win the war with the giants. Eight heroes of Olympus—some Greek, some Roman."
Annabeth nodded. "Your Great Prophecy—what's the last line?"
"And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."
"Gaea has opened the Doors of Death," Annabeth said. "She's letting out the worst villains of the Underworld to fight us. Medea, Midas—there'll be more, I'm sure. Maybe the line means that the Roman and Greek demigods will unite, find the doors, and close them."
"Or it could mean they fight each other at the doors of death," Clarisse pointed out. "It doesn't say we'll cooperate."
There was silence as the campers let that happy thought sink in.
"I'm going," Annabeth said. "Jason, when you get this ship built, let me go with you."
"I was hoping you'd offer," Jason said. "You of all people—we'll need you."
"Wait." Leo frowned from his place beside Kyra, his hand not leaving hers from underneath the table. "I mean that's cool with me and all. But why Annabeth of all people?"
Annabeth and Jason studied one another, and Jason knew she had put it together. She saw the dangerous truth.
"Hera said my coming here was an exchange of leaders," Jason said. "A way for the two camps to learn of each other's existence."
"Yeah?" Leo said, causing Kyra to look over at him. "So?"
"An exchange goes two ways," Jason said. "When I got here, my memory was wiped. I didn't know who I was or where I belonged. Fortunately, you guys took me in and I found a new home. I know you're not my enemy. The Roman camp—they're not so friendly. You prove your worth quickly, or you don't survive. They may not be so nice to him, and if they learn where he comes from, he's going to be in serious trouble."
"Him?" Leo said. "Who are you talking about?"
"My boyfriend," Annabeth said grimly. "He disappeared around the same time Jason appeared. If Jason came to Camp Half-Blood—"
"Exactly," Jason agreed. "Percy Jackson is at the other camp, and he probably doesn't even remember who he is."
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
This is the end of The Lost Hero! Stay tuned for some additional chapters to Leo and Kyra's story and a preview of Kyra's second story: Learning to Fight.
As always, any and all feedback is appreciated. Let me know what you would like to see in the next story!