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CHAPTER FIVE
a whole new world
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DOROTHY HAD NO idea how beautiful the Earth could look from up high, if she wasn't afraid of it flying away from her, she would have pulled out the book Lou Ellen lent her to get started on practicing the magic she's learned to have. For now, she's settling with forming a small purple ball of glowing mist in her hand. The use of her power felt odd like there was a ripple running through her forearms to her hands and fingers. When she began using her powers, she nearly jumped out of her seat due to how odd it felt. After that, the feeling was pushed to the back of her mind. She was too determined to try and recreate what she did in her room that morning.

"Shut up, me," Leo said aloud, breaking Dorothy's concentration. The purple ball dissipated in the wind, her arms became still.

"What?" Piper asked.

"Nothing," he said. "Long night. I think I'm hallucinating. It's cool."

Dorothy raised an eyebrow and looked back at Jason who shared a look of concern with her, she didn't like the idea of the guy steering the flying dragon if he was hallucinating. As if Leo could feel his passengers unease, he spoke up again.

"Just joking." He said, though from his tone, Dorothy didn't believe him, she narrowed her eyes as Leo glanced back at Jason. "So what's the plan, bro? You said something about catching wind, or breaking wind, or something?"

As they flew over another unrecognizable state, Jason explained his plan: First, find some guy named Boreas and interrogate him—

"His name is Boreas?" Leo had to ask. "What is he, the God of Boring?"

Second, Jason continued, they had to find those venti that had attacked them at the Grand Canyon-

"Can we just call them storm spirits?" Leo asked. "Venti makes them sound like evil espresso drinks."

Dorothy held back the urge to ask what kind of drink that was, she could sense Jason's tone getting irritated with each interruption, and she figured a question like that could be asked once Hera was free and they didn't have to worry about the Earth being destroyed anymore.

And third, Jason finished, they had to find out who the storm spirits worked for, so they could find Hera and free her.

"So you want to look for Dylan, the nasty storm dude, on purpose," Leo said. "The guy who threw me off the skywalk and sucked Coach Hedge into the clouds."

"That's about it." Jason said. "Well... there may be a wolf involved, too. But I think she's friendly. She probably won't eat us, unless we show weakness."

"I don't know, Jason," Dorothy spoke up, shaking her head, "I've personally never met a wolf that hasn't wanted to eat me, visible weakness or not."

Jason gave her a look and shook his head. He told them about his dream the big, stern, mother wolf and a burned-out house with stone spires growing out of the swimming pool.

"Uh-huh," Leo said. "But you don't know where this place is."

"Nope," Jason admitted.

"There's also giants," Piper added. "The prophecy said the giant's revenge."

"Hold on," Leo said. "Giants like more than one? Why can't it be just one giant who wants revenge?"

"I don't think so," Piper said. "I remember in some of the old Greek stories, there was something about an army of giants."

"Great," Leo muttered. "Of course, with our luck, it's an army. So you know anything else about these giants? Didn't you do a bunch of myth research for that movie with your dad?"

"Your dad's an actor?" Jason asked.

Dorothy is still processing the idea that moving pictures have advanced beyond drawings. Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought about the intense advancement of technology. It was starting to give her a headache, so she decided to pretend that Piper's father performed plays on stages, not in moving pictures.

Leo laughed.

"I keep forgetting about your amnesia— Heh—Forgetting about amnesia. That's funny. But yeah, her dad's Tristan McLean."

"Uh, Sorry, what was he in?"

"It doesn't matter," Piper said quickly. "The giants— well, there were lots of giants in Greek mythology. But if I'm thinking of the right ones, they were bad news. Huge, almost impossible to kill. They could throw mountains and stuff. I think they were related to the Titans. They rose from the earth after Kronos lost the war— I mean the first Titan war, thousands of years ago and they tried to destroy Olympus. If we're talking about the same giants."

"Chiron said it was happening again," Jason remembered. "The last chapter. That's what he meant. No wonder he didn't want us to know all the details."

Leo whistled.

"So... giants who can throw mountains. Friendly wolves that will eat us if we show weakness. Evil espresso drinks. Gotcha. Maybe this isn't the time to bring up my psycho babysitter."

"Is that another joke?" Piper asked

Leo told them about the woman who watched after him, Tia Callida, who was Hera, and how she'd appeared to him at camp. He told them about how his mother's machine shop collapsed. Dorothy held back on asking what machines she built. Leo avoided their gaze and seemed to get choked up about the whole ordeal, so she knew that asking a question like that wouldn't do anything but earn a glare.

And he told them about the strange woman in earthen robes who seemed to be asleep and seemed to know the future.

It was silent for a long time as the rest of the group processed his story. Leo was so young when this happened, to be on his own for so long...

Dorothy's heart ached and she reached across Piper, giving the boys arm a sympathetic squeeze.

"That's... disturbing," Piper said

"Bout sums it up." Leo agreed. "Thing is, everybody says don't trust Hera. She hates demigods. And the prophecy said we'd cause death if we unleashed her rage. So I'm wondering... why are we doing this?"

"She chose us," Jason said. "All four of us. We're the first half of the eight who have to gather for the Great Prophecy. This quest is the beginning of something much bigger."

"Maybe we should take the future into consideration here too," Dorothy shrugged, "maybe I'm being extremely optimistic here, but if we make up half of the prophesied eight here, then when we complete this mission, I'm guessing that she'll spare us, though..."

She stopped shamefully as the thought crossed her mind. Dorothy frowned as she scolded herself for thinking that way.

"Though, what?" Piper asked, glancing over her shoulder confused. Dorothy locked eyes with Piper before looking back at Jason. His eyebrows pinched together in confusion.

"Jason, you're a bastard child of her husband," Dorothy watched as his face seemed to turn a little grim at the realization, "maybe, if the fight allows you the chance, you should clear out ahead of us when she's released so whatever rage-fueled thing she does— doesn't affect you too."

Jason nodded.

"Knowing how things have been so far, I don't think that'll work, but it's nice to think of that," Jason shrugged.

"Besides," he continued. "helping Hera is the only way I can get back my memories. And that dark spire in my dream seemed to be feeding on Hera's energy. If that thing unleashes a king of the giants by destroying Hera—"

"Not a good trade-off." Piper agreed. "At least Hera is on our side mostly. Losing her would throw the gods into chaos. She's the main one who keeps peace in the family. And a war with the giants could be even more destructive than the Titan War."

Jason nodded. "Chiron also talked about worse forces stirring on the solstice, with it being a good time for dark magic, and all— something that could awaken if Hera were sacrificed on that day. And this mistress who's controlling the storm spirits. The one who wants to kill all the demigods—"

"Might be that weird sleeping lady," Leo finished. "Dirt Woman fully awake? Not something I want to see."

"But who is she?" Jason asked. "And what does she have to do with giants?"

Dorothy didn't have the answer, she remembered bits and pieces of a story Uncle Arthur told her a long time ago about the giants and their creation, and even though she's got her memories back, she was still far too young to remember everything about the giants.

Piper and Dorothy could see Leo struggle to stay awake and although Festus seemed to know what he was doing, Dorothy's seen men die on their horses after falling asleep on them. The two girls shared a look before Piper leaned forward into Leo's ear.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Piper said. "You were up all night."

Dorothy wasn't even the one Piper was talking to but even her eyes were starting to droop. She furrowed her brows in confusion as she looked back at Jason who seemed to be facing a similar issue.

"You won't let me fall off?" Leo asked.

Piper patted his shoulder.

"Trust me. Valdez. Beautiful people never lie."

"Right," he muttered. He leaned forward against the bronze of the dragon's neck and closed his eyes.

A few hours had gone by, and Dorothy only guessed that based on the sun's position. She reached into her satchel, unsure of how to pull her watch out considering how much stuff she had in there. Though that problem solved itself when she felt the familiar cool metal in her hand.

She pulled out her watch, frowning at the time. It needed to be adjusted. Again. And she was sure that if they were going further west, she was only going to have to adjust the time even more. Dorothy groaned, shoving the watch back into her satchel and closing it.

"Everything okay?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, just frustrated about this whole time thing," Dorothy sighed, "I feel bad for saying this but honestly I wonder if I would've been better off staying in that saloon."

"Saloon? They brought you and that horse out of a casino," Jason frowned, confusion etched onto his face, "Leo thought you won the horse by gambling."

"Oh, no that run-down town was not going to afford a casino, it was a saloon when I entered it in 1862," Dorothy explained, "They had a stable for Prudence to rest in, I was only going in to steal back the money that my father's gang robbed from a train."

Jason blinked back his surprise after that, he opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when Piper leaned forward and shook Leo's shoulder. Dorothy finally started to pay attention to her surroundings, noting the strange buildings that were on their way to becoming covered in snow.

"We're here," Piper said.

Leo sat up straight, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Below them, Dorothy could see a city sitting on a cliff overlooking a river. The plains around it were dusted with snow, but the city itself glowed warmly in the winter sunset.

Buildings crowded together inside high walls like a medieval town, they seemed to be as old as Dorothy. In the center was a building that Dorothy could only compare a castle to. With massive red brick walls and a square tower with a peaked, green gabled roof, Dorothy would assume a royal family loved that, maybe one does.

"Tell me that's Quebec and not Santa's workshop," Leo said. Dorothy furrowed her eyebrows.

"You think Santa's real?" She asked. "Leo..."

"Yeah, Quebec City," Piper confirmed. "One of the oldest cities in North America. Founded around sixteen hundred or so?"

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Your dad do a movie about that too?"

"I read sometimes, okay? Just because Aphrodite claimed me, doesn't mean I have to be an airhead."

"Feisty!" Leo said. "So you know so much, what's that castle?"

"A hotel, I think."

Leo laughed. "No way."

"I have never seen a hotel this fancy," Dorothy leaned further out to see everything below her.

Dorothy saw that she was right. The grand entrance was bustling with doormen, valets, and porters taking bags. Sleek black machines sat in rows in front of the buildings. People in elegant suits and winter cloaks hurried to get out of the cold.

"The North Wind is staying in a hotel?" Leo said. "That can't be-

"Heads up, guys," Jason interrupted. "We got company!"

Dorothy looked up above the hotel and saw what Jason meant. Rising from the top of the tower were two winged figures angry angels, with nasty-looking swords.

She could tell that Festus didn't like the angel guys. He swooped to a halt in midair, wings beating and talons bared, and made a rumbling sound in his throat that sent a chill down Dorothy's spine, she doesn't know much about dragons let alone mechanical ones, but this noise was unmistakable. He was getting ready to blow fire.

"Steady, boy." Leo muttered. It was a good thing he did, Dorothy figured it wouldn't be helpful to their job if the angels got charred.

"I don't like this," Jason said. "They look like storm spirits."

Dorothy seriously wondered what these storm spirits looked like, she felt like she missed out on a crazy fight. These flying creatures looked more like strange humans as they got closer. They looked like regular teenagers except for their snow-white hair and feathery purple wings. Their bronze swords were jagged, like icicles. Dorothy noted that the two of them were definitely related, but couldn't possibly be twins.

One was the size of an ox, with a bright red loose shirt, dotted with tiny holes, an animal was printed on his shirt with a number on the front, was this a sports uniform? This large brut of an Angel-teenager wore cloth pants and black leather cleats. The guy clearly had been in a fight recently or played a particularly rough game of whatever sport was associated with his shirt, and when he bared his teeth, Dorothy noted that a number of them were missing. Josephine could have him fixed up with a snap of her fingers.

Maybe, if it gets the four of them in the angel's good graces, Dorothy could find a spell in her book to fix this large teenager's face.

The other guy looked completely insane to Dorothy. She'd seen some ridiculous clothes since she had gotten out of the Lotus Saloon, but this guy topped it all. His ice-white hair was cut oddly, it seemed to be shorter in the front, and the back of his head didn't get the same treatment, it was long in the back. He wore pointy-toed leather shoes, strange pants that were way too tight, and a godawful silk shirt with the top three buttons open. He may think that this is the peak of looking good, but Dorothy couldn't help her face when looking at him. He looked underfed; like he wouldn't survive a winter from her time, and he had a bad case of acne.

The angels pulled up in front of the dragon and hovered there, swords at the ready.

The bigger Angel grunted. "No clearance."

"'Scuse me?" Leo said.

"You have no flight plan on file," explained the sickly Angel. Dorothy could barely understand this one, his French accent was so odd. "This is restricted airspace."

"Destroy them?" The big guy showed off his gap-toothed grin.

The dragon began to hiss steam, ready to defend them. Jason summoned his golden sword at the same time Dorothy reached for her holstered guns, but Leo cried, "Hold on! Let's have some manners here, boys. Can I at least find out who has the honor of destroying me?"

"Am Cal," the big guy grunted. He looked very proud of himself, like he'd taken a long time to memorize that sentence.

"That's short for Calais," the smaller one said. "Sadly, my brother cannot say words with more than two syllables-"

"Pizza! Hockey! Destroy!" Cal offered. Dorothy only knew what that last word was. She really wished she had gotten a chance to catch up with the world before being thrown into this mission.

"Which includes his own name," the love god finished.

Dorothy squinted as she looked at Calais, she had met only a handful of people like him in her life. People who were born and unfortunately didn't seem to develop enough in their mother's womb. Those were the type of people who could somehow grow to be an adult but never truly be one, they lived at the whims of their family until that family grew tired of it or they passed. Dorothy was grateful to have a mind developed enough to take care of itself.

"I am Cal," Cal repeated. "And this is Zethes! My brother!"

"Wow," Leo said. "That was almost three sentences, man! Way to go."

Cal grunted, obviously pleased with himself. Dorothy glared at Leo for the lack of empathy but the glare was short-lived, these are people that are planning on killing them, after all.

"Stupid buffoon," his brother grumbled. "They make fun of you. But no matter. I am Zethes, which is short for Zethes. And the lady there-" He winked at Piper, but the wink was more like a facial seizure. "She can call me anything she likes. Perhaps she would like to have dinner with a famous demigod before we must destroy you?"

Piper made a sound like gagging on a cough drop. "That's... a truly horrifying offer."

Dorothy cringed from behind Piper, looking Zethes over again. She had never heard of him before in her life, not even in any of the stories she'd heard from her father's gang members.

"It is no problem." Zethes wiggled his eyebrows. "We are a very romantic people, we Boreads."

"Boreads?" Jason cut in. "Do you mean, like, the sons of Boreas?"

"Ah, so you've heard of us!" Zethes looked pleased. "We are our father's gatekeepers. So you understand, we cannot have unauthorized people in his airspace on creaky dragons. scaring the silly mortal peoples."

He pointed below, and Dorothy looked over and saw that people were starting to take notice. Several were pointing up not with alarm, but more with confusion and annoyance. Dorothy wondered what the mist could be showing them. If she saw anything in the sky that wasn't a bird, she'd be alarmed.

"Which is sadly why. unless this is an emergency landing." Zethes said, brushing his hair out of his acne-covered face, "we will have to destroy you painfully."

"Destroy!" Cal agreed. with a little more enthusiasm than Leo thought necessary

"Wait!" Piper said. "This is an emergency landing."

"Aww." Cal looked so disappointed. Dorothy curled her lip in disgust at how quick he was to kill, though she caught herself, she had become a little trigger-happy in her past couple of months, though she liked to think she demonstrated a little more restraint than this feller.

Zethes studied Piper. Which of course he'd already been doing. "How does the pretty girl decide this is an emergency then?"

"We have to see Boreas. It's totally urgent! Please?" She forced a smile, Dorothy didn't know much about Piper since both girls seemed to alternate in who would be conscious at any given time, but she could tell that the girl in front of her didn't enjoy having to smile for this ratbag, but she seemed to know that her looks are a toll when working this guy over, and Dorothy is grateful that Piper was quick enough to realize that. There was something about her voice too. Dorothy was believing every word. In the corner of her eye, Jason was nodding, looking absolutely convinced.

Zethes picked at his silk shirt, probably making sure it was still open wide enough. Dorothy had to force her fingers away from her triggers and fight her hands from drawing her new guns.

"Well... hate to disappoint a lovely lady, but you see, my sister she would have an avalanche if we allowed you."

"And our dragon is malfunctioning!" Piper added. "it could crash any minute!"

Festus shuddered helpfully, then turned his head and spilled gunk out of his ear, splattering a black machine in the lot below.

"No destroy?" Cal whimpered.

Zethes pondered the problem. Then he gave Piper another spasmodic wink.

"Well, you are pretty. I mean, you're right. A malfunctioning dragon, this could be an emergency."

"Destroy them later?" Cal offered. Which was probably as close to friendly as he ever got.

"It will take some explaining," Zethes decided.

"Father has not been kind to visitors lately. But, yes. Come, faulty dragon people. Follow us."

The Boreads sheathed their swords and pulled smaller weapons from their belts, Dorothy's fingers twitched at their movements until she got a good gander at what they actually held. When the Boreads pressed something on the handles, Dorothy realized they were strange lanterns with orange cones. Cal and Zethes turned and swooped towards the hotel tower.

Leo turned to them, a strange smile on his face. "I love these guys. Follow them?"

Jason and Piper didn't look eager, Dorothy had a mirrored look of disappointment as she eyed the Boreads retreating features. It didn't look like they had a choice. Boreas was in there and they needed to be diplomatic about this.

"I guess." Jason decided. "We're here now. But I wonder why Boreas hasn't been kind to visitors."

"Pfft. he just hasn't met us " Leo whistled. "Festus, after those flashlights!"

Dorothy looked back at Jason, her eyebrows pinched together in confusion.

"The objects they held, they're basically advanced— uh—" Jason seemed to try and remember what the word is.

"Lanterns?" She asked.

"Yeah, they don't burn oil."

"Interesting." Dorothy is going to have to get a new journal and write everything that she's learning down.

As they got closer, Dorothy nervously eyed the tower. If she knew anything about the new land here, she probably should have asked to fly Festus herself, how different could he be from a horse? The Boreads made right for the green gabled beak and didn't slow down. Then a section of the slanted roof slid open, revealing an entrance easily wide enough for Festus. The top and bottom were lined with icicles like they were flying into the mouth of an ice monster.

"This cannot be good," Jason muttered, but Leo spurred the dragon downward, and they swooped in after the Boreads. Dorothy was now grateful for the fact that she wasn't steering the dragon, giving her the ability to duck behind Piper's back and squeeze her eyes shut.

They landed in what must have been the penthouse suite, but the place had been hit by a flash freeze. The entry hall had vaulted ceilings forty feet high, huge draped windows, and lush oriental carpets. A staircase at the back of the room led up to anoter equally massive hall, and more corridors branched off to the left and right.

But the ice made the room's beauty a little haunting. Dorothy was startled by the carpet crunching under her boots when she slid off of Festus with the rest of the group. The curtains didn't budge because they were frozen solid and the ice-coated windows let in weird watery light from the sunset. Even the ceiling looked to leer down on them icicles, Dorothy was afraid that one wrong move and they would somehow be impaled with them. As for the stairs, Dorothy was surprised how anyone could walk on them.

"Guys," Leo said, "fix the thermostat in here, and I would totally move in."

"Not me." Jason looked uneasily at the staircase. "Something feels wrong. Something up there..."

Festus shuddered and snorted flames. Frost started to form on his scales. Could this mechanical beast feel cold? Dorothy spared a glance to Leo as she turned her whole body to face Festus, she saw a spell in her book that let her read the minds of whatever she focused on.

Raising her hands, Dorothy recited the spell in her mind, focusing her power on the beast. All she could hear in her mind from the dragon was a series of whirs and clicks. Clicks and whirs, the pattern so familiar, she tilted her head. An unspoken language that is only communicated through sounds, a language her uncle taught her and made her use periodically to keep her mind sharp.

"You're freezing cold, huh?" Dorothy asked, lowering her hands as Festus looked down on her.

"You know Morse— never mind, of course you do," Leo said. The conversation was cut short from there.

"No, no, no." Zethes marched over, his pointy leather shoes looked very uncomfortable to Dorothy, "The dragon must be deactivated. We can't have fire in here. The heat ruins my hair."

Festus growled and spun his drill-bit teeth. From what Dorothy heard, he wanted to set Zethes hair on fire for the deactivation command. Dorothy was really starting to like this dragon.

"S'okay, boy." Leo turned to Zethes. "The dragon's a little touchy about the whole deactivation concept. But I've got a better solution."

"Destroy?" Cal suggested.

"No, man. You gotta stop with the destroy talk. Just wait."

"Leo." Piper said nervously "What are you—"

"Watch and learn, beauty queen. When I was repairing Festus last night, I found all kinds of buttons. Some, you do not want to know what they do. But others... Ah. here we go."

Leo hooked his fingers behind the dragon's left foreleg. He pulled a switch, and the dragon shuddered from head to toe. Everyone backed away as Festus folded like origami. His bronze plating stacked together. His neck and tail contracted into his body. His wings collapsed and his trunk compacted until was a rectangular metal wedge the size of a suitcase.

Leo tried to lift it, but from the strained look on his face, it seemed that the dragon's weight didn't change with its size.

"Um... yeah. Hold on. I think— aha."

He pushed another button. A handle flipped up on the top and wheels clicked out on the bottom

"Ta-da!" he announced. "The world's heaviest carry-on bag

"That's impossible," Jason said. "Something that big couldn't-"

"Stop!" Zethes ordered. He and Cal both drew their swords and glared at Leo. Dorothy instinctively drew her guns one aimed for each head. She slowly drew closer to Leo, trying to block their path.

Leo raised his hands. "Okay... what'd I do? Stay calm, guys. If it bothers you that much, I don't have to take the dragon as a carry-on."

"Who are you?" Zethes shoved the point of his sword against Leo's chest, Dorothy loaded the bullet into the chamber, earning a glare from Zethes as he backed up an inch, "A child of the South Wind. spying on us?"

"What? No!" Leo said. "Son of Hephaestus. Friendly blacksmith. No harm to anyone!"

Cal growled. He went to put his face up to Leo's, but received the same sound from Dorothy's other gun. He wasn't any prettier when he was a hair closer, with his bruised eyes and bashed-in mouth.

"Smell fire," he said, his nose wrinkling in disgust as he took in Leo, "Fire is bad."

"Oh." Leo sounded nervous like he did this morning in camp before he left, Dorothy took note of that. "Yeah, well... my clothes are kind of singed. And I've been working with oil, and-"

"No!" Zethes pushed Leo back at sword point. "We can smell fire, demigod. We assumed it was from the creaky dragon, but now the dragon is a suitcase. And still smell fire... on you."

If it hadn't been like three degrees in the penthouse, Leo would've started sweating.

"Hey... look... I don't know-" Dorothy could see Leo looking over at Jason and Piper, "Guys, a little help?"

Dorothy looked over at Jason, she didn't want to shoot these guys, not when they were so close to Boreas and the group still needed information. Jason seemed to read her perfectly as he looked back at Cal and Zethe.

"Look, there's been a mistake. Leo isn't a fire guy. Tell them, Leo. Tell them you're not a fire guy."

"Um..." Dorothy was ready to grab Leo by the ear and get some information out of him.

"Zethes?" Piper tried her dazzling smile again, though she looked a little too nervous and cold to pull it off. "We're all friends here. Put down your weapons and let's talk."

"The girl is pretty," Zethes admitted, "and of course, she cannot help being attracted to my amazingness; but sadly, I cannot romance her at this time."

Dorothy's guns iced over her hands, her fingers frozen over the triggers, but unable to pull. Val's sword poked into her side and a bitter cold seeped into her body, the rest of it turning as numb as her hands. Panic swirled in her chest as she mentally went through the spells she's already read, nothing for melting ice came to mind.

Zethe poked his sword point farther into Leo's chest, and Dorothy could see the same thing happening to Leo that happened to her.

Dorothy wished that Festus was here to set this guys hair on fire.

"Destroy them now?" Cal asked his brother.

Zethes nodded. "Sadly, I think-"

"No," Jason insisted. His calm tone was nothing but a mask, Dorothy could see the rage in his eyes as he saw her hands and iced clothes. He was about two seconds away from flipping that coin and showing the brothers the night of Zeus. "Leo's just a son of Hephaestus. He's no threat. Piper here is a daughter of Aphrodite. Dorothy's the daughter of Hecate. I'm the son of Zeus. We're on a peaceful—"

Jason's voice faltered because both Boreads had suddenly turned on him.

"What did you say?" Zethes demanded. "You are the son of Zeus?"

"Um... yeah," Jason said. "That's a good thing, right? My name is Jason."

Cal looked so surprised, he almost dropped his sword, but he only pulled it away from Dorothy, the ice over her frozen hands beginning to melt away.

"Can't be Jason," he said. "Doesn't look the same."

Zethes stepped forward and squinted at Jason's face.

"No, he is not our Jason. Our Jason was more stylish. Not as much as me but stylish. Besides, our Jason died millennia ago."

"Wait," Jason said. "Your Jason... you mean the original Jason? The Golden Fleece guy?"

"Of course," Zethes said. "We were his crewmates aboard his ship, the Argo, in the old times, when we were mortal demigods. Then we accepted immortality to serve our father, so I could look this good for all time, and my silly brother could enjoy pizza and hockey."

"Hockey!" Cal agreed.

"But Jason, our Jason, he died a mortal death," Zethes said. "You can't be him."

"I'm not," Jason agreed.

"So, destroy?" Cal asked. The conversation was giving his two brain cells a serious workout.

"No," Zethes said regretfully. "If he is a son of Zeus, he could be the one we've been watching for."

"Watching for?" Leo asked. "You mean like in a good way: you'll shower him with fabulous prizes? Or watching for like in a bad way: he's in trouble?"

A girl's voice said, "That depends on my father's will."

Dorothy's attention snapped to the staircase. At the top stood a girl who looked to be around her age in a white silk dress. Her skin was unnaturally pale, the color of snow, but her hair was an inky black, and her eyes were coffee brown. She focused on Leo with no expression, no smile, no friendliness. When Dorothy looked back at Leo, her eyes rolled at the sight of him being completely smitten with the girl.

Then the pale girl looked at Jason and Piper and seemed to understand the situation immediately.

"Father will want to see the one called Jason," the girl said.

"Then it is him?" Zethes asked excitedly.

"We'll see," the girl said. "Zethes, bring our guests."

Leo grabbed the handle of his bronze dragon suitcase. Dorothy watched his skinny arms strain with the handle and she knew that he wasn't getting it up the stairs.

Before he could take a step, his actions halted as if he were frozen. His eyes hadn't left the girl since she made her presence known. Her cold, calculated stare froze Dorothy out, leaving her unable to get a read on what the girl was thinking.

"Not you, Leo Valdez," she said.

Dorothy furrowed her eyebrows at the fact that this girl knew Leo, but it was clear that Leo was seeing her for the first time today. The way that this girl composed herself, it was of someone years older than Dorothy. She narrowed her eyes, this had to be another goddess.

"Why not?" Leo sounded like a child who was just told no to candy.

"You cannot be in the presence of my father," the girl said. "Fire and ice— it would not be wise."

"We're going together," Jason insisted, putting his hand on Leo's shoulder, "or not at all."

Dorothy was regaining feeling in her hands again, and as soon as she felt the cool wet of her palms, she begrudgingly holstered her guns. Her fingers were still stiff from the cold.

The girl tilted her head like she wasn't used to people refusing her orders. "He will not be harmed, Jason Grace, unless you make trouble. Calais, keep Leo Valdez here. Guard him, but do not kill him."

Cal pouted. "Just a little?"

"No." the girl insisted. "And take care of his interesting suitcase, until Father passes judgment."

Jason, Dorothy, and Piper looked at Leo, their expressions asking him a silent question: How do you want to play this?

A look of appreciation passed over Leo's face. He now seemed to be contemplating his options as he sized up the Boreads and the girl he seemed to be falling for very quickly.

"It's fine, guys," he said. "No sense causing trouble if we don't have to. You go ahead."

"Listen to your friend," the pale girl said. "Leo Valdez will be perfectly safe. I wish I could say the same for you, son of Zeus. Now come, King Boreas is waiting."

As they climbed the icy staircase, Zethes stayed behind them, his blade drawn. Dorothy just started to regain the ability to flex her hands, her fingers were a purplish blue. She lifted her hands to her mouth, exhaling all the air into her lungs to bring the heat back to her hands, rubbing them together as if that would push the hot air into her skin.

Then there was the ice princess. Every once in a while she'd turn and give Jason a smile. Dorothy didn't like the iciness that never left her eyes. She certainly didn't like the way the ice girl regarded him, like he was an object for her to obtain. Piper seemed to notice it too and the girls made the conscious effort to stick to both sides of Jason like he was a stagecoach that hired protection.

Jason may have the most open face Dorothy's ever seen, it was almost like she could read his thoughts behind his worried expression. They were all flung into a world of gods and monsters, and she could tell that he was worried about the rest of the group. Dorothy was worried that this also might become a trap, but she pushed the thought away when he grabbed her hand.

He flinched at the temperature of her hands but he didn't let go, he only squeezed. Dorothy raised her eyebrows, a hint of a smile creeping up her face to meet her warming cheeks, but she didn't let go.

"We'll be alright," she promised, though she didn't know truly if it would be, "Just a talk, right?"

At the top of the stairs, the ice princess looked back and noticed them holding hands. Her smile faded. Suddenly, Dorothy and Jason's hands turned ice cold-burning cold. He let go, and his fingers were smoking with frost. So were Dorothy's. A sharp glare was shot at the princess, her burning gaze was met with a furling ice storm.

"Warmth is not a good idea here," the princess advised with a sharp tone, "especially when I am your best chance of staying alive. Please, this way."

Piper gave the two of them a nervous frown like, What was that about?

Dorothy shrugged as she hugged her shivering body tightly. Zethes poked Jason in the back with his icicle sword, and they followed the princess down a massive hallway decked in frosty tapestries. Dorothy restrained from using her newfound magic on the weirdly dressed.. man.

Dorothy began to get lost in her thoughts as they made their way down the hallway, she thought back on the gang, and her father, what would he think of the world now? She lightly grazed the handles of her guns with her fingertips, as if it would somehow connect her to her father. In her years with him, she had never seen these guns. Or maybe she never chose to see them, maybe her mind blocked it, refusing to acknowledge her mother's side of the family and the beasts that come with it.

"Hey." Piper touched Jason's arm, bringing both of their attention to her, "You guys still with me?"

"Yeah... yeah, sorry."

Dorothy only nodded in agreement as she took in Piper's changing appearance.

She had started losing the Aphrodite blessing. The makeup was fading. Her hair was slowly going back to its old choppy style with the little braids down the sides. It made her look more... mortal. Dorothy appreciated this look a lot more than what Aphrodite gave her.

At the end of the hallway, they found themselves in front of a set of oaken doors carved with a map of the world. In each corner was a man's bearded face, blowing wind. Dorothy would have liked to stop and admire the intricate wood carvings but they didn't have time.

The princess turned. Her brown eyes glittered, and Dorothy didn't like the gaze that was set upon Jason, judging by the look on his face, he didn't like it either.

"This is the throne room," the girl said. "Be on your best behavior, Jason Grace. My father can be... chilly. I will translate for you, and try to encourage him to hear you out. I do hope he spares you. We could have such fun."

Dorothy didn't want to know what this girl's idea of fun was.

"Um, okay." he managed. "But really, we're just here for a little talk. We'll be leaving right afterward."

The girl smiled. "I love heroes. So blissfully ignorant."

Piper rested her hand on her dagger.

"Well, how about you enlighten us? You say you're going to translate for us, and we don't even know who you are. What's your name?"

The girl sniffed with distaste.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you don't recognize me. Even in the ancient times, the Greeks did not know me well. Their island homes were too warm, too far from my domain. I am Khione, daughter of Boreas, goddess of snow."

She stirred the air with her finger, and a miniature blizzard swirled around her— big, fluffy flakes as soft as cotton.

"Now, come," Khione said. The oaken doors blew open, and cold blue light spilled out of the room. "Hopefully you will survive your little talk."

Dorothy only knew this type of cold from a brief few weeks in the mountains when they were on the run from Pinkertons. Her breath turned to a heavy mist that hung in the air. She noticed Jason how shivered, and when he released a breath it puffed out in a little white cloud in front of him. Along the walls, purple tapestries showed scenes of snowy forests, snow-capped, lifeless mountains, and glaciers.

High above, pulsing strings of lights that snaked along the ceiling, would occasionally bend and turn into different shades of green, purple, and blue, this was something Dorothy wasn't sure she'd ever seen before, but she had heard that if you went up north far enough, you would see it. A layer of snow covered the floor, so the trio had to step carefully. All around the room stood life-size ice sculpture warriors— some in Greek armor, some medieval, some in strangely printed clothes, but all were frozen in various attack positions, swords raised, guns locked and loaded.

The more that Dorothy inspected them, the more she reckoned that they weren't sculptures. Then Jason tried to step between two Greek spearmen, and they moved with surprising speed, their joints cracking and spraying ice crystals as they crossed their javelins to block Jason's path. Dorothy jumped back, startled by the spray of ice on her face. The urge to shoot their arms off was tempting, but they were so close to getting what they needed.

From the far end of the hall, a man's voice rang out in a language that sounded like French. The room was so long and misty, Dorothy had to squint to see the other end; but whatever the man said, the ice guards uncrossed their javelins.

"It's fine." Khione said. "My father has ordered them not to kill you just yet."

"Super," Jason deadpanned, Dorothy felt that same unenthusiastic sentiment.

Zethes prodded him in the back with his sword.

"Keep moving, Jason Junior."

"Please don't call me that."

"My father is not a patient man," Zethes warned, "and the beautiful Piper, sadly, is losing her magic hairdo very fast. Later, perhaps, I can lend her something from my wide assortment of hair products."

"Thanks," Piper grumbled.

They kept walking, and the mist parted to reveal a man on an ice throne. He had a solid build, dressed in a stylish white suit that looked like it was made from snow, with dark purple wings that spread out to either side. His long hair and shaggy beard were encrusted with icicles. Dorothy reckoned that his hair was white underneath the ice. His arched eyebrows made him look angry, but his eyes shined with a layer of warmth that was better than his daughter's as if he might have a kinder soul underneath everything.

"Bienvenu." the king said. "Je suis Boreas le Roi. Et vous?"

Khione opened her mouth to speak, but Piper stepped forward and curtsied.

"Vote Majesté," she said, "je suis Piper McLean. Et voici Dorothy, fille d'Hecate. Et c'est Jason, fils de Zeus."

The king smiled with pleasant surprise. Dorothy felt a bit of relief at the nice demeanor of the god, though that sense of overall distrust was embedded in her, another glance at Khione and her icy glare helped with that.

"Vous parlez français? Très bien!"

"Piper, you speak French?" Jason asked.

Piper frowned.

"No. Why?"

"You just spoke French, darlin'," Dorothy spoke up from the other side of Jason, a proud smile on her face.

Piper blinked. "I did?"

The king said something else, and Piper nodded. "Oui. Votre Majesté."

The king laughed and clapped his hands, obviously delighted. He said a few more sentences then swept his hand toward his daughter, dismissing her, hopefully from the room. Khione looked miffed. Dorothy delighted in that fact.

"The king says-"

"He says I'm a daughter of Aphrodite." Piper interrupted, "So naturally I can speak French, which is the language of love. I had no idea. His Majesty says Khione won't have to translate now."

Behind them, Zethes snorted, and Khione shot him a murderous look. She bowed stiffly to her father and took a step back.

The king sized up Jason who bowed before the god. Dorothy bowed as well, though it wasn't as fluid as Jason made his look.

"Your Majesty, I'm Jason Grace. Thank you for, um, not killing us. May I ask... why does a Greek god speak French?"

Piper had another exchange with the king.

"He speaks the language of his host country." Piper translated. "He says all gods do this. Most Greek gods speak English, as they now reside in the United States, but Boreas was never welcomed in their realm. His domain was always far to the north. These days he likes Quebec, so he speaks French."

The king said something else, and Piper turned pale.

"The king says ..." She faltered. "He says-"

"Oh, allow me," Khione said. "My father says he has orders to kill you. Did I not mention that earlier?"

Jason tensed. Dorothy sent her deadliest glare yet to Khione, she knew that the girl couldn't be trusted, gods and goddesses, it seemed, so nothing but cause everyone trouble. The king was still smiling pleasantly like he didn't just reveal that horrible fact.

"Kill us?" Jason said. "Why?"

"Because," the king said, in heavily accented English, "my lord Aeolus has commanded it."

Boreas rose. He stepped down from his throne and furled his wings against his back. As he approached, Khione and Zethes bowed. Jason , Dorothy, and Piper followed their example.

"I shall deign to speak your language," Boreas said, "as Piper McLean has honored me in mine. Toujours, I have had a fondness for the children of Aphrodite. As for you, Jason Grace, my master Aeolus would not expect me to kill a son of Lord Zeus... without first hearing you out."

Dorothy's eyes scanned the room to see if anyone was hiding in the shadows of the misty air, it was like her hands felt a pull to her holstered guns, ready to aim and fire at a moment's notice if things went wrong. She would shoot Khione first.

"Aeolus is the master of the winds, right?" Jason asked. "Why would he want us dead?"

"You are demigods." Boreas said, as if this explained everything. "Aeolus's job is to contain the winds, and demigods have always caused him many headaches. They ask him for favors. They unleash winds and cause chaos. But the final insult was the battle with Typhon last summer..."

Boreas waved his hand, and a sheet of ice appeared in the air. Images of a battle flickered across the surface— a giant wrapped in storm clouds, wading across a river toward the Manhattan skyline. Tiny, glowing figures-the gods, Jason guessed-swarmed around him like angry wasps, pounding the monster with lightning and fire. Finally the river erupted in a massive whirlpool, and the smoky form sank beneath the waves and disappeared.

"The storm giant, Typhon," Boreas explained. "The first time the gods defeated him, eons ago, he did not die quietly. His death released a host of storm spirits wild winds that answered to no one. It was Aeolus's job to track them all down and imprison them in his fortress. The other gods- they did not help. They did not even apologize for the inconvenience. It took Aeolus centuries to track down all the storm spirits, and naturally this irritated him. Then, last summer, Typhon was defeated again"

"And his death released another wave of venti," Jason guessed. "Which made Aeolus even angrier."

"C'est vrai, "Boreas agreed.

"But, Your Majesty," Piper said, "the gods had no choice but to battle Typhon. He was going to destroy Olympus! Besides, why punish demigods for that?"

The king shrugged.

"Aeolus cannot take out his anger on the gods. They are his bosses, and very powerful. So he gets even with the demigods who helped them in the war. He issued orders to us: demigods who come to us for aid are no longer to be tolerated. We are to crush your little mortal faces."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"That sounds ... extreme," Jason ventured. "But you're not going to crush our faces yet, right? You're going to listen to us first, 'cause once you hear about our quest—"

"Yes, yes," the king agreed. "You see, Aeolus also said that a son of Zeus might seek my aid, and if this happened, I should listen to you before destroying you, as you might— how did he put it?— make all our lives very interesting. I am only obligated to listen, however. After that, I am free to pass judgment as I see fit. But I will listen first. Khione wishes this also. It may be that we will not kill you."

A small wave of relief rolled through Dorothy, she felt her shoulder sag the tiniest bit, her muscles relaxing only a fraction.

"Great. Thanks."

"Do not thank me." Boreas smiled. "There are many ways you could make our lives interesting. Sometimes we keep demigods for our amusement, as you can see."

He gestured around the room to the various ice statues. Dorothy's heart stopped as she took a better look, the expressions on their faces were frozen in horror or anger. It was like ice shot down her spine, sending goose flesh across her skin. She wasn't sure if it was the room or the realization.

Piper made a strangled noise.

"You mean they're all demigods? Frozen demigods? They're alive?"

"An interesting question." Boreas conceded as if it had never occurred to him before. "They do not move unless they are obeying my orders. The rest of the time, they are merely frozen. Unless they were to melt, I suppose, which would be very messy."

Khione stepped behind Jason and put her fingers on his neck. Something washed over Dorothy, anger probably, as she watched Khione. Jason shot Dorothy a look, did he want her to stand down?

"My father gives me such lovely presents," she murmured in his ear. "Join our court. Perhaps I'll let your friends go."

"What?" Zethes broke in. "If Khione gets this one, then I deserve the girl. Khione always gets more presents!"

"Now, children," Boreas said sternly. "Our guests will think you are spoiled! Besides, you moved too fast. We have not even heard the demigod's story yet. Then we will decide what to do with them. Please, Jason Grace, entertain us."

Jason didn't look at Piper or Dorothy, his wide-eyed gaze was fully stuck on Boreas. Dorothy furrowed her eyebrows at his expression, she really wished she could understand this one.

Khione purred and stroked his neck. Dorothy planned on disregarding Jason's order, but electricity sparked along his skin. There was loud pop, and Khione flew backward, skidding across the floor. Zethes laughed. Dorothy stifled a snicker of her own.

"That is good! I'm glad you did that, even though I have to kill you now."

For a moment, Khione was too stunned to react. Then the air around her began to swirl with a micro-blizzard.

"You dare-"

"Stop," Jason ordered, in a forceful authoritative tone, Dorothy wondered who he was before Hera wiped his memories. "You're not going to kill us. And you're not going to keep us. We're on a quest for the queen of the gods herself, so unless you want Hera busting down your doors, you're going to let us go."

He sounded a lot more confident, but noting the small flicker on his face, Dorothy could recognize a mask, she's used plenty in her life. Khione's blizzard swirled to a stop. Zethes lowered his sword. They both looked uncertainly at their father.

"Hmm," Boreas said. His eyes twinkled, Dorothy spent her spare thoughts trying to decipher if it was a good twinkle or a bad one. "A son of Zeus, favored by Hera? This is definitely a first. Tell us your story."

Jason opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He was choked up, not from emotions, but maybe from the question itself. He didn't have his memories back, his story was severed from him except for what his dreams gave him.

"Your Majesty." Piper curtsied again with incredible poise, considering her life was on the line. She told Boreas the whole story, from the Grand Canyon where she, Jason, and Leo were picked up at first, to when they rescued Dorothy and Prudence, and to the prophecy, much better and faster than what Dorothy imagined that she could have done.

"All we ask for is guidance," Piper concluded. "These storm spirits attacked us, and they're working for some evil mistress. If we find them, maybe we can find Hera."

The king stroked the icicles in his beard. Out the windows, night had fallen, and the only light came from the strings and ribbons of light overhead, casting everything in colors of red and blue.

"I know of these storm spirits," Boreas said. "I know where they are kept, and of the prisoner they took."

"You mean Coach Hedge?" Jason asked. "He's alive?"

Boreas waved aside the question. Dorothy felt her impatience crawling up her neck, screaming at her to demand answers from the god, maybe he could sense that in her. He gave her another unreadable look before directing attention back onto Jason.

"For now. But the one who controls these storm winds... It would be madness to oppose her. You would be better staying here as frozen statues."

"Somehow I doubt that," Dorothy frowned as she spared a glance at Zethes and Khione's predatory stares. Jason shot a look at Dorothy that warned her to keep quiet.

"Hera's in trouble," Jason said. "In three days she's going to be— I don't know— consumed, destroyed, something. And a giant is going to rise."

"Yes." Boreas agreed. Dorothy couldn't help her smile when she saw that he shot Khione an angry look, "Many horrible things are waking. Even my children do not tell me all the news they should. The Great Stirring of Monsters that began with Kronos— your father Zeus foolishly believed it would end when the Titans were defeated. But just as it was before, so it is now. The final battle is yet to come, and the one who will wake is more terrible than any Titan. Storm spirits— these are only beginning. The earth has many more horrors to yield up. When monsters no longer stay in Tartarus, and souls are no longer confined to Hades... Olympus has good reason to fear."

Dorothy probably should feel worried. She's found herself stepping into something seriously larger than herself, and she didn't particularly like the way Khione was smiling like this was her definition of fun.

"So you'll help us?" Jason asked. The king
Boreas scowled.

"I did not say that."

"Please. Your Majesty." Piper said.

Everyone's eyes turned toward her. She had to be scared out of her mind. She fully looked like herself again, she was wearing her traveling clothes, her choppy hair with a few extra long strands in small braids were back— Dorothy honestly liked Piper's hair like that— and no makeup, already beautiful, maybe even more so. "If you tell us where the storm spirits are, we can capture them and bring them to Aeolus. You'd look good in front of your boss. Aeolus might pardon us and the other demigods. We could even rescue Gleeson Hedge. Everyone wins."

"She's pretty." Zethes mumbled. "I mean. she's right."

"Father, don't listen to her," Khione said. "She's a child of Aphrodite. She dares to charmspeak a god? Freeze her now!"

Boreas considered this. Jason slipped his hand in his pocket, no doubt reaching for that enchanted coin of his. Dorothy's fingers trailed along the handles of her guns, eyeing up Khione, who she definitely would be shooting first.

Charmspeak? Is that what had Dorothy going back and forth on the decision of either Drew or Piper joining this quest?

Jason's movement caught Boreas's eye. "What is that on your forearm, demigod?"

Dorothy looked down at Jason's arm, the edge of his jacket was pushed up, revealing the edge of a tattoo. Reluctantly, Jason showed Boreas his marks. The god's eyes widened. Khione actually hissed and stepped away.

Then Boreas did something that had Dorothy doing a double take from shock. He laughed so loudly, an icicle cracked from the ceiling and crashed next to his throne. Dorothy jumped from the noise, she nervously looked up, hoping that was the only one to fall. The god's form began to shift. His beard disappeared. He grew taller and thinner, and his clothes changed into a Roman toga, lined with purple. His head was crowned with a frosty laurel wreath, and a sword hung at his side. If Dorothy thought he was stern before, this would blow it out of the water, the authoritative aura he had made her avoid his eyes for a moment, though she didn't know why.

"Aquilon," Jason said, reminding Dorothy that he called her mom Trivia, which was apparently Roman. The god inclined his head. "You recognize me better in this form, yes? And yet you said you came from Camp Half-Blood?" Jason shifted his feet. "Uh... yes, Your Majesty."

"And Hera sent you there..." The winter god's eyes were full of mirth. "I understand now. Oh, she plays a dangerous game. Bold, but dangerous! No wonder Olympus is closed. They must be trembling at the gamble she has taken."

"Jason," Piper said nervously, "why did Boreas change shape? The toga, the wreath. What's going on?"

"It's his Roman form," Jason said. "But what's going on I don't know."

The god laughed. "No, I'm sure you don't. This should be very interesting to watch."

"Does that mean you'll let us go?" Piper asked.

"My dear," Boreas said, "there is no reason for me to kill you. If Hera's plan fails, which I think it will, you will tear each other apart. Aeolus will never have to worry about demigods again."

Gooseflesh ran over Jason's skin, the look on his face as if he felt something was confirmed inside him, whatever it was, she hoped that he shared it when they got the hell out of there. Something settled within him when he looked back up at Boreas/Aquilon or whatever the fuck his name was now.

"I don't suppose you could explain?" Jason asked.

"Oh, perish the thought! It is not for me to interfere in Hera's plan. No wonder she took your memory." Boreas chuckled, apparently still amused by what he said earlier. "You know, I have a reputation as a helpful wind god. Unlike my brethren, I've been known to fall in love with mortals. Why, my sons Zethes and Calais started as demigods-"

"Which explains why they are idiots," Khione growled.

"Stop it!" Zethes snapped back. "Just because you were born a full goddess—"

"Both of you, freeze," Boreas ordered. When the two went still, Dorothy wondered if they actually chose to do so or if that specific word had some power to it with them.

"Now, as I was saying, I have a good reputation, but it is rare that Boreas plays an important role in the affairs of gods. I sit here in my palace, at the edge of civilization, and so rarely have amusements. Why, even that fool Notus, the South Wind, gets spring break in Cancún. What do I get? A winter festival with naked Québécois rolling around in the snow!"

"I like the winter festival," Zethes muttered, so the order was something they had a choice in following.

"My point," Boreas snapped, "is that I now have a chance to be the center. Oh, yes, I will let you go on this quest. You will find your storm spirits in the windy city, of course. Chicago—"

"Father!" Khione protested.

Boreas didn't even spare his daughter a glance, a sense of satisfaction hit Dorothy in a petty way. "If you can capture the winds, you may be able to gain safe entrance to the court of Aeolus. If by some miracle you succeed, be sure to tell him you captured the winds on my orders."

"Okay, sure," Jason said. "So Chicago is where we'll find this lady who's controlling the winds? She's the one who's trapped Hera?"

"Ah." Boreas grinned. "Those are two different questions, son of Jupiter."

Jupiter, Dorothy tilted her head, remembering the differences in the gods that Annabeth described, for some reason, Jason being a son of Jupiter just made more sense, but she couldn't figure out why she felt that way.

"The one who controls the winds," Boreas continued, "yes, you will find her in Chicago. But she is only a servant— a servant who is very likely to destroy you. If you succeed against her and take the winds, then you may go to Aeolus. Only he has knowledge of all the winds on the earth. All secrets come to his fortress eventually. If anyone can tell you where Hera is imprisoned, it is Aeolus. As for who you will meet when you finally find Hera's cage— truly, if I told you that, you would beg me to freeze you."

"Father," Khione protested she sounded similar to how Leo did earlier when he was told to stay put, "You can't simply let them—"

"I can do what I like," he said, his voice hardening, there was that authoritative tone that matched the aura he now gave off, "I am still master here, am I not?"

The way Boreas glared at his daughter, it was obvious they had some ongoing argument. Khione's eyes flashed with anger, but she clenched her teeth.

"As you wish, Father."

"Now go, demigods," Boreas said, "before I change my mind. Zethes, escort them out safely."

They all bowed, and the god of the North Wind dissolved into mist.

Back in the entry hall, Cal and Leo were waiting for them, the two seemed to be getting on a bit nicer than how the trip left them. Leo looked cold but unharmed. He'd even gotten cleaned up, and his clothes looked newly washed, Dorothy wondered how he got his clothes properly washed and dried in a place as freezing as this, but she was sure he would let her in on the trick. Festus was thankfully back in his usual form, breathing out small fire over his scales to keep himself defrosted.

As Khione led them down the stairs, Dorothy noted how Leo couldn't keep his eyes off of her, the goddess was pretty, sure, but her ugly personality couldn't help but mar Dorothy's view of her. Leo started combing his hair back with his hands.

Dorothy felt the urge to march up to the kid and flick his forehead in annoyance, but her hands never left her guns as she kept her eyes on Khione, making sure to be prepared if Khione decided to not follow her father's orders.

At the bottom step, Khione turned to Piper.

"You have fooled my father, girl. But you have not fooled me. We are not done. And you, Jason Grace, I will see you as a statue in the throne room soon enough."

Khione looked to Dorothy, eyeing up her tense figure, noting the hands over her guns. Khione only rolled her eyes.

"Boreas is right," Jason said. "You're a spoiled kid. See you around, ice princess."

Khione's eyes flared pure white. For once, she seemed at a loss for words. She stormed back up the stairs and startled Dorothy. Halfway up, she turned into a blizzard and disappeared.

"Be careful." Zethes warned. "She never forgets an insult."

"Well it's a good thing we don't plan on coming back anytime soon," Dorothy frowned as Jason placed a hand on her back, guiding her away from the weirdly dressed god.

Cal grunted in agreement. "Bad sister."

"She's the goddess of snow," Jason said. "What's she going to do, throw snowballs at us?"

Dorothy smiled at that, nudging Jason's side. Leo looked devastated.

"What happened up there? You made her mad? Is she mad at me too? Guys, that was my prom date!"

"We'll explain later," Piper promised, she spared a glance at Jason and it was clear that she wanted him to explain. Dorothy felt the same way, she was still wrapping her mind around everything that happened in the throne room.

Jason spared a glance at the two girls, as if he had no idea where to start. Dorothy reckoned that with a lack of Jason's memories, he wouldn't know much of anything either. That bothered Dorothy. She was lucky to not have wiped memories, just ones that are buried, things come back to her now, slowly, but they come back. But Jason...

Jason looked away from them, failing at trying not to show how unnerved he was.

"Yeah," he agreed, "we'll explain later."

"Be careful, pretty girl," Zethes said. "The winds between here and Chicago are bad-tempered. Many other evil things are stirring. I am sorry you will not be staying. You would make a lovely ice statue, in which I could check my reflection."

Dorothy really wanted to shoot this feller.

"Thanks," Piper deadpanned. "But I'd sooner play hockey with Cal."

So Hockey was a game... a sport as well, Dorothy realized as she observed Cal's shirt again.

"Hockey?" Cal's eyes lit up.

"Joking," Piper said. "And the storm winds aren't our worst problem, are they?"

"Oh, no," Zethes agreed. "Something else. Something worse."

"Worse." Cal echoed.

"Can you tell me?" Piper smiled at them.

This time, the charm didn't work. The purple-winged Boreads shook their heads in unison. The hangar doors opened onto a freezing starry night, and Festus the dragon stomped his feet, anxious to fly.

"Ask Aeolus what is worse," Zethes said darkly. "He knows. Good luck."

He almost sounded like he cared what happened to them, even though a few minutes ago he'd wanted to make Piper into an ice sculpture. Cal patted Leo on the shoulder.

"Don't get destroyed," he said, which was probably the longest sentence he'd ever attempted. "Next time- hockey. Pizza."

"Come on, guys." Jason stared out at thhad e dark. He seemed anxious and another swirling expression of dread, this wasn't going to be the first encounter with this world of gods and monsters, and they wouldn't be as welcoming as Boreas and his weird children. "Let's go to Chicago and try not to get destroyed."

*.·:·.⟐.·:·.*

11.3k words

Holy HELL y'all I'm so sorry that this took forever. I got some more inspo and found myself grinding this chapter out over the past few days but it's been hard for me since I've been balls deep in the ACOTAR series.

Hopefully we'll be seeing more chapters for this book, I love this series so much and I'm so excited to show y'all what I have in store!!

— greta!