↳ chapter fourteen ₊˚.༄
[# iana hates confrontation]
IANA WAS GETTING TIRED OF ALL THE TRAPS BY THIS POINT. OH LOOK, IT'S lasers on the second step, a motion activated trap door on the sidewalk, poisonous spikes that almost impaled Jason, and of course, you can't forget the exploding door bell.
The only reason they were still alive was Leo and Iana. It was like he could smell the traps, and he picked just the right tool out of his belt to disable them. The short haired girl also had a knack of sensing the poison and magic in all of the traps, so her friends were thankful for her warnings.
"You're amazing, man," Jason said.
Leo scowled as he examined the front door lock. "Yeah, amazing," he said. "Can't fix a dragon right, but I'm amazing."
"Hey, that wasn't your—"
"Front door's already unlocked," Leo announced.
Piper stared at the door in disbelief. "It is? All those traps, and the door's unlocked?"
"Whoever owns this mansion must've thought it'd be enough to hold back intruders." Iana muttered, staring at the pristine white door.
Leo turned the knob. The door swung open easily. He stepped inside without hesitation.
Before Jason could follow, Piper caught his arm. Iana didn't bother to eavesdrop, instead choosing to glance outside one more time. The cold nipped at the patches of her exposed skin, tiny specks of snow catching on the ends of her hair.
Piper brought her attention away from the scenery, slightly bumping against her still figure as she ducked inside the building. She sent Iana a look of apology before beckoning her to follow. Their conversation mustn't've gone well.
"Together," Jason was saying to himself. "Yeah, we're doing great with that."
"Hey," Iana scolded him. She may not know what he was referring to, but she wouldn't talk any bad talk about Piper from anyone. "Cut her some slack."
She brushed past him and stepped through the door.
The house was almost pitch black inside, the only light seeping in were from the yard lights outside. A faint glow peeked through the breaks in the thick velvet curtains, the windows almost ten feet tall. Spaced between them along the walls were life-size metal statues.
Their footsteps echoed louder than she'd expected, which only told her that the entry hall was enormous. Despite the darkness, Iana had better vision than she'd expected, being able to make out various shapes in the room; like the sofas arranged in a U at the center of the room, with a central coffee table and one large chair at the far end. Or the massive chandelier glinted overhead. Along the back wall stood a row of closed doors. All of it seemed to glitter gold.
"Where's the light switch?" Jason's voice echoed alarmingly through the room.
"Don't see one," Leo said.
"Fire?" Piper suggested.
Leo held out his hand, but nothing happened. "It's not working."
"Your fire is out? Why?" Piper asked.
"Well, if I knew that—"
"Can you cast a spell, Iana?" Jason turned to look at the shorter girl.
Iana muttered a spell under her breath, but all that came from her palm was a dim light that died down in seconds. She looked at her friends dejectedly and shook her head. "Can't do anything magic in here, either. It's like there's something holding it back."
"Okay, okay," Piper tried not to panic (keyword, tried). "What do we do— explore?"
Leo shook his head. "After all those traps outside? Bad idea."
"Leo's right," Jason agreed after a moment. "We're not separating again— not like in Detroit."
"Oh, thank you for reminding me of the Cyclopes." Piper's voice quavered. "I needed that."
"It's a few hours until dawn," he guessed. "Too cold to wait outside. Let's bring the cages in and make camp in this room. Wait for daylight; then we can decide what to do."
Nobody offered a better idea, so they rolled in the cages with Coach Hedge and the storm spirits, then settled in. Thankfully, Iana couldn't sense anymore dangerous magics that tickled the room, and Leo hadn't found any poison throw pillows or electric whoopee cushions on the sofas. He didn't seem in the mood to make more tacos. Besides, they had no fire, so they settled for cold rations.
Wordlessly, Piper took Iana's arm and walked her over to the other couch, away from the two boys. The daughter of Aphrodite patted the seat next to her, and Iana relished the feeling of the plush cushions.
The two girls sat in silence as they ate, the fatigue and intensity of their quest finally getting to both of them. She took slow bites of her cold dinner, hoping the illusion would make her stomach fuller. Iana studied their surroundings. On the coffee table sat a tea service and a stack of glossy brochures, the words talking about gold investments.
The statues around them looked like soldiers, Greek soldiers, or perhaps hero's. Iana didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. The big chair at the other end of the table looked like a throne. None of them dared to try and sit in it. The canary cages didn't make the place any less creepy. The storm spirits kept churning in their prison, hissing and spinning.
"Are you okay, E?"
Piper's voice brought her out of whatever trance her mind had trapped itself in. Her eyes looked tired, and her face looked like it was seconds away from revealing her broken heart. And yet she still asked if Iana was okay.
It took everything in her to not cradle Piper's figure right then and there, to resist the urge to cup her face in her hands and tell her everything would be okay. But then, she would be lying. To her best friend and herself.
"I'm alright, all things considered." was what Iana decided to say. "You?"
Piper sighed as she slouched against the sofa. She met her eyes with a knowing look. "I can't lie to you, can I?"
"Just like how I can't lie to you,"
Another sigh left her lips and unexpectedly, the younger girl rested her head on Iana's shoulder and began fiddling with the edges of her stained cardigan. "Do you think... things will work out for us?"
For a second there, Iana almost thought she was referring to just the two of them, like where they'd end up in the future. Before she realized Piper was most likely referring to the entire group and the fate of their quest. She'd also be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed with that truth.
"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure." she confessed, her eyes on anything but the girl beside her. "All I've been doing is hoping what I have now is enough to help us survive this."
The two fell into silence again. Near the other sofas, Leo and Jason were having their own conversation, though she couldn't hear any of the words exchanged between them. Perhaps they were worrying about time. If Iana was right, tomorrow would be the winter solstice.
The odds of them being able to get Aeolus' palace and save Piper's dad and Hera at the same time weren't looking too good.
That also made her worry about the choice she'd have to make. Every new enemy they came across kept implying one thing; that she'd have to make a choice. But she didn't even know what she would have to decide on. And that didn't even count with her lines of the prophecy. Daring the test of time was a far too general phrase.
What— no, which limits would she be pushing? Will it lead her astray? Would it help her friends come out of this quest alive? Or would it show her the negative repercussions her actions had caused?
Iana threw her head back, a long exhale leaving her lips. She felt a pair of eyes staring at her and looked down, catching Piper's worried look. Piper's eyes widened and her lips parted for a split second before she clamped them back shut, swallowing a lump in her throat.
Hesitantly, she asked. "You don't... hate me, right?"
Iana's face softened. "I could never do that, Pipes."
Another beat of silence, the two girls finding comfort in each other's presence.
"Hey, EJ?" Piper whispered.
Her brows rose. "Yeah?"
Piper's head left their place on her shoulder as she sat back up. "Do you know what Madea meant by giving me a chance to get my true memories returned?"
Iana tried to shrug the truth off, not wanting to face it so soon, especially in the dark. "I guess she just means you'll realize which memories were modified to fit Jason into your life,"
"But... there's more to it, isn't there?" Piper's tone was doubtful, and the short haired girl could sense the frown on her face. "There's something you're not telling me. You're the only person who didn't get fake memories about him."
Her voice came out shaky, Iana's eyes darting around the room for anything to distract her from Piper. "Look, I think it's better off if you realize it on your own."
"Well, from the way things are looking, I'm not gonna do that any time soon." Piper wasn't taking her silence for an answer, so she pushed. "Tell me why I can't look at you without feeling like I'm missing something."
Iana squeezed her eyes shut, afraid that all the things she'd been hiding for the sake of her and their friendship would be in vain. "I can't... Because you'll hate me. I'd rather us just be friends than nothing."
Neither of them bothered to tamper with the silence that consumed them, or the tension. Iana hated the feeling that settled in her chest as she turned away, laying her head on the arm rest.
Even in the dark, she could see her shadow friend. Although its face was pure darkness, she could sense the disappointment it was sending her. She rolled her eyes at the figure and closed them once more. A wave of comfort washed over her, and she sensed the shadow figure had moved right beside her, its translucent hand rubbing her shoulder.
As the tension in her body slowly left, she felt herself falling deeper and deeper into the welcoming arms of sleep.
author's note!
a short chapter for once, a break from all the high stake shit they go through
things for iana and piper will be very interesting soon *insert comical evil laugh* i hope you guys will like it >:)
anyways, thank you for reading guys, hope you have a nice day <333