note: very important question at end of chapter, pls answer!!!

*

Thalia leads us inside, and Jason takes it from there.

The house is shaped like a horseshoe. It kind of reminds me of the cabins back at CHB — before we added the newer cabins, anyway. Jason guides us, between the two wings to a courtyard with a reflecting pool. It might've been glorious in its heyday, but now the pavement is cracked and the reflecting pool is empty save for the two rock spires Jason had told us about. Within the taller of the two spires, maybe twenty feet high, is something that looks too close to a body to comfort. The body appears to be rising. That must be our buddy Porphyrion. 

Great.

Hera stands in the spire at the opposite end of the pool. The tendrils that make up the bars of her cage are so thick and close together that it's hard to see inside. I have to squint to spot Hera in between the bars. She doesn't look as regal as I remember. She looks like Leo had described his Tía Callida, shawl and all.

Speaking of Leo, he drops into the pool and greets Hera, "Hola, Tía. Little bit of trouble?"

She's not amused. She folds her arms over her chest and lets out an annoyed sigh. "Don't inspect me like I'm one of your machines, Leo Valdez. Get me out of here!"

"We tried everything we could think of, Leo," Thalia says, coming to stand beside him. She glowers at the cage. Or maybe at Hera? Or maybe both. I'm going to go with both, "but maybe my heart wasn't in it. If it was up to me, I'd just leave her in there."

"Ohh, Thalia Grace," Hera says. "When I get out of here, you'll be sorry you were ever born."

Thalia's eye twitches and she grits her teeth. "Save it! You've been nothing but a curse to every child of Zeus for ages. You sent a bunch of intestinally challenged cows after my friend Annabeth—"

I wince and look away while the two bicker. Now that we're in the courtyard, I can get a clearer look at the remains of the Wolf House. The fire did quite a bit of damage, but enough survived that I'm kind of tempted to go exploring. For some reason, my gaze is drawn to what must've been a chimney once upon a time.

It isn't until Thalia stomps off that I jolt back to reality. Piper's looking at me, a glimmer of concern in her eyes. I offer her as comforting a smile as I can possibly manage, but it doesn't seem to do much to convince her I'm actually okay.

"Intestinally challenged cows?" Leo asks Hera, looking almost impressed.

"Focus on the cage, Leo," she tells him. "And Jason — you are wiser than your sister. I chose my champion well."

Jason raises his chin. "I'm not your champion, lady. I'm only helping you because you stole my and Cordy's memories, and you're better than the alternative. Speaking of which, what's going on with that?"

He gestures to the other spire which has, unfortunately, grown taller since we've arrived. I grimace and shift closer to Jason.

Hera confirms my suspicions. "That, Jason, is the king of the giants being reborn."

"Gross," Piper mutters.

"Major ick," I agree, crinkling my nose. At least when Kronos was reforming, he had the decency to do it in a sarcophagus where we didn't have to see the process.

"Indeed," Hera says. "Porphyrion, the strongest of his kind. Gaea needed a great deal of power to raise him again — my power. For weeks I've grown weaker as my essence was used to grow him a new form."

"So you're like a heat lamp," Leo says. "Or fertilizer."

Hera's not amused. "Joke all you wish. But at sundown, it will be too late. The giant will awake. He will offer me a choice: marry him, or be consumed by the earth. And I cannot marry him. We will all be destroyed. And as we die, Gaea will awaken."

"Oh, wonderful," I deadpan. 

Leo eyes the giant's spire with a deep frown, hands on his hips as he tries to find a solution. "Can't we blow it up or something?"

"Without me, you do not have the power," Hera tells him. "You might as well try to destroy a mountain."

Jason shrugs. "Done that once today."

"Just hurry up and let me out!" Hera ordered, clearly done with our bullshit. Unfortunately for her, we're not done with our bullshit.

"Leo, can you do it?" Jason asks, scratching his head.

"I don't know," Leo admits. "Besides, if she's a goddess, why hasn't she busted herself out?"

My face lights up. Not literally, but close. "Ooo, ooo, I know this one! She can't bust herself out. A god's power is useless when they're trapped."

"Cordelia is correct," Hera says, though she doesn't stop her angry pacing. "Your own father trapped me once in a golden chair. It was humiliating! I had to beg — beg him for my freedom and apologize for throwing him off Olympus."

"Sounds fair," Leo says.

Hera scowls at him. "Use your brain, Leo Valdez. I picked you because you're intelligent. I've watched you since you were a child, son of Hephaestus, because I knew you could aid me at this moment. If anyone can find a way to destroy this abomination, it is you."

"But it's not a machine. It's like Gaea thrust her hand out of the ground and..." He trails off, running a hand through his curls. "Hold on. I do have an idea. Piper, I'm going to need your help. And we're going to need time."

Suddenly, the temperature plummets, cracking our lips and turning our breath into fog. It's so cold, it almost hurts to breathe — like little shards of ice scraping against my lungs. Frost crawls along the walls of the Wolf House, as quick and as deadly as venomous spiders. A new wave of Venti arrives in the form of horses, undeterred by the silver arrows lodged in their flanks. Red-eyed wolves and Earthborn are on their heels. Hooves? Whatever.

We ready ourselves for battle the best we can. Piper and I draw our blades. Jason's weaponless, so he settles for an ice-covered plank. I'm tempted to offer him my sword and just fight with my powers instead. Before I can open my mouth, one of the wolves breaks formation and walks toward us, dragging a human-size statue by the leg. The wolf drops the statue at the edge of the pool and I realize it's...

No. No, it can't be.

"Thalia!" Jason tries to run to her, but Piper and Leo hold him back.

Bile rises in my throat. Thalia has always been somewhat of an icon for me, almost more legend than girl. A super powerful badass who does what she wants and takes no prisoner. She's the daughter of Zeus, Artemis's lieutenant. She's a powerhouse, one of the strongest demigods of our generation. Even when an army of monsters followed her and her friends to Half-Blood Hill, she stood her ground, unflinching. To see her like that, trapped in ice, completely helpless...

It takes everything in me not to drop to my knees and fall apart.

"Who did this?" Jason yells, crackling with electricity. "I'll kill you myself!"

A laugh as chilling as ice itself rings out from behind the army of monsters. My heart drops as Khione emerges from the mist. So I was right. She's the "she" Lycaon mentioned, the source of this bizarre weather. Great. Love that for us.

Sometimes I really hate being right.

"Bonsoir, mes amis," Khione greets with an equally cold smile. "Alas, son of Hephaestus, you say you need time? I'm afraid time is one tool you do not have."

A dagger of ice forms in her hand, glittering like her dark eyes.

Jason's voice is shockingly steady. "What've you done?"

"Oh, so many things," Khione says, clearly quite pleased with herself. "Your sister's not dead, if that's what you mean. She and her Hunters will make fine toys for our wolves. I thought we'd defrost them one at a time and hunt them down for amusement. Let them be the prey for once."

The wolves seem to like that idea. They snarl, seemingly in agreement.

"Yes, my dears." Khione's gaze is locked on Jason. The look in her eyes makes my stomach turn. "Your sister almost killed their king, you know. Lycaon's off in a cave somewhere, no doubt licking his wounds, but his minions have joined us to take revenge for their master. And soon Porphyrion will arise, and we shall rule the world."

"Traitor!" Hera shouts, shaking her fist at Khione. "You meddlesome, D-list goddess! You aren't worthy to pour my wine, much less rule the world."

Khione just sighs, unperturbed. "Tiresome as ever, Queen Hera. I've been wanting to shut you up for millennia." She waves her hand and the ice claims Hera's prison, silencing the queen of the heavens. "That's better. Now, demigods, about your death—"

"You're the one who tricked Hera into coming here," Jason deduces. "You gave Zeus the idea of closing Olympus."

The wolves snarl at him and the storm spirits whinny. Clearly, they're not a fan of small talk.

Khione holds up her hand, and they settle. "Patience, my loves. If he wants to talk, what matter? The sun is setting, and time is on our side. Of course, Jason Grace. Like snow, my voice is quiet and gentle, and very cold. It's easy for me to whisper to the other gods, especially when I am only confirming their own deepest fears. I also whispered in Aeolus's ear that he should issue an order to kill demigods. It is a small service for Gaea, but I'm sure I will be well rewarded when her sons the giants come to power."

"You could've killed us in Quebec," Jason says. "Why let us live?"

I shift uncomfortably. No offense to my fellow questers, but what's with all of the chatting? Khione's right — time is on their side, not ours. We shouldn't be standing here, having a conversation with the bitch that's been making our lives miserable. We should be fighting, doing everything we can to save Hera and stop Porphyrion from rising.

Khione wrinkles her nose, seemingly unaware of my antsiness. Or maybe she just doesn't care. "Messy business, killing you in my father's house, especially when he insists on meeting all visitors. I did try, you remember. It would've been lovely if he'd agreed to turn you to ice. But once he'd given you a guarantee of safe passage, I couldn't openly disobey him. My father is an old fool. He lives in fear of Zeus and Aeolus, but he's still powerful. Soon enough, when my new masters have awakened, but not just yet. Besides, my father did have a point. Your quest was suicidal. I fully expected you to fail."

"And to help us with that," Leo says, narrowing his eyes, "you knocked our dragon out of the sky over Detroit. Those frozen wires in his head — that was your fault. You're gonna pay for that."

"You're also the one who kept Enceladus informed about us," Piper chimes in. "We've been plagued by snowstorms the whole trip."

Okay, am I missing something? Did we come up with a plan to save the day that for some reason includes recounting everything that's happened to us so far and I just wasn't paying attention? Because that's actually super plausible. I tend to miss things. My mind wanders and I just sort of stop listening or paying attention. So maybe that's what's happening here. Maybe I missed the planning portion of the evening and now I'm playing catch-up.

Or maybe the others are just living out their superhero/supervillain confrontation fantasies.

"Yes, I feel so close to all of you now!" Khione exclaims. "Once you made it past Omaha, I decided to ask Lycaon to track you down so Jason could die here, at the Wolf House." Her smile widens at the thought. "You see, Jason, your blood spilled on this sacred ground will taint it for generations. Your demigod brethren will be outraged, especially when they find the bodies of these three from Camp Half-Blood. They'll believe the Greeks have conspired with giants. It will be...delicious."

Jason and I exchange looks. It would appear we both remember enough to know just how devious Khione's plan truly is.

"You'll set demigods against demigods," Jason says.

"It's so easy!" Khione says. Gods, I want to slap that smug look off of her face. "As I told you, I only encourage what you would do anyway."

"But why?" Piper spreads her hands, straightening up slightly. "Khione, you'll tear the world apart. The giants will destroy everything. You don't want that. Call off your monsters."

Khione hesitates, and I feel a tiny glimmer of hope, and then she laughs and I feel like an idiot for letting myself believe this could end so easily.

"Your persuasive powers are improving, girl," Khione praises. "But I am a goddess. You can't charm-speak me. We wind gods are creatures of chaos! I'll overthrow Aeolus and let the storms run free. If we destroy the mortal world, all the better! They never honored me, even in Greek times. Humans and their talk of global warming. Pah! I'll cool them down quickly enough. When we retake the ancient places, I will cover the Acropolis in snow."

My free hand balls into a fist at my side. She's wrong. I honored her. Every day since I arrived at Camp Half-Blood, I've dedicated my meal offerings to the minor gods. To the gods who went overlooked, who time had forgotten. I read the old stories and learned their names and I took notes. I sat with the unclaimed campers and we went through everything I'd written down and tried to guess who their godly parents might be. I've done everything in my abilities to honor the gods that no one else would.

And yeah, maybe I was the only one. Maybe I'm one of three campers who have ever heard of Khione, Aristaeus, and Pheme. But don't I count for something? Don't I matter? 

I honored her. I felt for her. I thought if we ever met, we'd understand each other on some level. No one prays to the goddess of snow. No one looks for the daughter of Iris. No one pays us any attention or expects anything of us. I thought that...I don't know what I thought. Whatever it was, I was fooling myself. At the end of the day, Khione is a goddess, and I'm just some loser mortal whose name won't make it anywhere close to the history books.

But that doesn't mean I can't make the most of my piddly existence.

Leo's laughter shocks me back into the present, and I curse myself under my breath for letting my mind wander at a time like this.

"Yeah, join you," Leo scoffs. "Right. Until you get bored of me and turn me into a Leosicle? Lady, nobody messes with my dragon and gets away with it. I can't believe I thought you were hot."

Khione's face goes bright red. "Hot? You dare insult me? I am cold, Leo Valdez. Very, very cold."

She tries to blast us with sleet, but Leo holds up his hand, and a wall of fire rises in front of us. The snow melts away into a cloud of steam, completely harmless.

Leo grins. "See, lady, that's what happens to snow in Texas. It — freaking — melts."

"And hot isn't an insult," I chime in with a Cheshire Cat smile. "This is an insult — maybe someone would honor you if you weren't such a raging mega-cunt."

Khione hisses, her eyes flashing with rage. "Enough of this. Hera is failing. Porphyrion is rising. Kill the demigods. Let them be our king's first meal!"

I raise my sword and shift into a fighting stance. The monsters charge and for a split second, I'm standing in front of the Empire State Building. I can still feel Erin's hand going limp in my grasp, can still see the light leaving her eyes. Taylor and Miranda are on either side of me, their weapons raised, their armor caked in gold dust. We are surrounded by monsters and Titans and enemy demigods, and I make peace with the fact that this may very well be my last stand. I look at my friends for what might be the final time. I regret nothing.

I blink and I'm back at the Wolf House. Piper, Leo, and Jason are on either side of me, their weapons raised, clad in nothing but the clothes Aphrodite gifted us. We are being charged by storm spirits and wolves and Earthborn, and I refuse to let this be my final stand. I'm not done yet. I look at my friends, and I know they feel the same way. I have a few regrets, but I plan to rectify those when we get home.

And we will get home.

*

this might just be a bunch of nonsense but aren't all stories? everyone pls ignore how short this chapter is

also!!! the aforementioned very important question!!! for the sequel to this fic, should i keep it in first person or switch to third? i usually write in third but i wrote this in first for funsies and also to evoke the feeling of the og percy jackson books so should it stay in first person or would you guys prefer it in third person?

i really need an answer bc i can't start writing the sequel until a decision is made so pls pls pls tell me which you'd prefer!!!