I find Jason in the commons area.

He's sitting on a bench, head tilted back as he tries to catch his breath. Judging by the sweat glistening on his tan skin and the basketball by his feet, he's been working out. His orange tank top and shorts mean his muscled arms and legs are on full display. He looks fucking incredible, even just basking in the afternoon light. What an asshole. I have half a mind to break his nose, but knowing my luck, it'd only make him hotter.

When he sees me coming, he smiles softly. "Hey. Thought you were resting, Sleeping Beauty."

"No resting," I tell him, and I can't help but be impressed with myself for forming coherent sentences when he looks so devastatingly gorgeous. I take the seat next to him and pull my knees up to my chest. "Just crying, mostly."

"What's wrong?" he asks with a little frown, reaching over to tuck my hair back behind my ear. "Anything I can help with?"

My heart just about leaps out of my chest. Is he aware of how fucking perfect he is, or does it come so naturally to him that he doesn't even notice? I wrap my arms around my legs to keep my hands busy, or I might just grab him and kiss him until we run out of air. 

"Not really," I say after a moment. I let out a little sigh and shift closer to him, resting my head on his shoulder. He winds his arm around me almost instinctively. "I just...A lot of people I love are dead. Noelle, Erin, Silena...and I miss them. I miss them so much, but I know in my heart they're at peace, you know? Nico — he's a son of Hades — he told me Erin and Silena made to Elysium. I'm sure Noelle made it too. I mean, she might not have saved the world, but she saved me. That makes her a hero in my book."

"Mine too," Jason says, pulling me even closer. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Your memories...you got them back, right? All of them?"

I nod. "Yeah, pretty much. I mean, not everything-everything. My memory's not that impressive, but I remember most of it. Noelle, my dad, running away from foster care, meeting you..." I turn to look at him, brow furrowed. "Do you not remember?"

"No, I do," he says. "Kind of. It's still pretty foggy. What I do remember...isn't great, for the most part. But it's not all so bad."

I take his hand in mine and intertwine our fingers. "Tell me about some of the good ones."

"I remember my friends, kind of," he says. "Arden, Gwen, Dakota, Reyna, Hazel, and Bobby. I remember their faces, and a little bit about them, but not a lot."

"Hm." I twist my lips, rifling through my own memories. "Well, I don't remember you telling me about a Reyna, or a Hazel, or a Bobby. But Arden...you said she talks a lot. Like, a lot. And that annoys a lot of people, but you thought they just weren't listening to what she was actually saying, 'cause she's really clever. You said Gwen is really optimistic, always trying to get people to see the bright side. Dakota...what did you say about Dakota? Oh, you said he drinks a ton of Kool-Aid, and he's a really great friend."

Jason's looking at me with wide eyes, his expression something akin to amazement. "You remember all of that?"

I duck my head, cheeks warming. "Honestly? Those three weeks we traveled together...they're the sharpest memories I have."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

For a moment, neither of us speaks. We just sit there, holding hands. I can't bring myself to look at him.

"Hey, Dee-Dee?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you another question?"

"Only if I can ask you one first."

Jason's eyes widen a little, but he smiles and nods. "Seems fair."

"Before we fell out of the sky that last time with Festus," I start to say, and instantly red starts to creep up his neck. He looks so embarrassed that I almost back out, but I need to know. "You said...you said you thought something?"

"I guess I thought that..." He looks away, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I thought that maybe you didn't want to just be friends. That maybe you wanted to be more."

My heart is hammering in my chest. My mouth has gone weirdly dry. I want to take his face in my hands and press my lips to his. I want to cuddle on this bench and people-watch all day. I want to tell him everything he doesn't know about me and I want him to tell me everything I don't know about him. I want to spend the rest of my life holding his hand. 

I want him.

"Do you want to be more?" I ask, my voice shaky.

He looks at me with the softest expression on his very red face. "You have to ask?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, consent is important, and I'm not always the best at reading people so—"

He cuts me off with a kiss. My brain short-circuits and I freeze up. When he moves his free hand up to cup my cheek, my brain realizes what's going on and I melt into it — his kiss, his touch, him. He tastes like the lemonade he had at breakfast and a hint of mint toothpaste. The hand that's not holding his grabs him by the shirt and pulls him even closer, deepening the kiss. 

It's by no means perfect. Our teeth knock together a few times and I think I squeeze his hand too tightly, but by the time we're forced to separate due to lack of oxygen, I'm grinning like an idiot and Jason's got this sort of pleased dazed look on his somehow redder face. Mine is just as warm. I realize I'm glowing softly, but I don't care.

I just kissed Jason Grace. I could be hit by an asteroid right now and die smiling.

I let go of his shirt and move away a little bit, clearing my throat. "So, you wanted to ask me a question?"

He's openly staring at my lips. I poke him in the arm and he startles as if doused with cold water. "Huh? What? Did you say something?"

"You said you wanted to ask me a question," I remind him breathily, fussing with my hair.

"Oh, right, yeah," he says with a little laugh. He rubs his face, and when his hand comes away, he's no longer bright as a tomato. "Um, when we met, in the alley, you said you didn't believe in destiny, and I asked for a chance to change your mind. Did I?"

I raise my eyebrows at him as my glow fades completely. "You can't remember your friends but you remember that?"

And he's blushing again. "My sharpest memories...they're of you."

Oh. Oh.

I can't help it. I start beaming like a kid on Christmas morning who's gotten everything she's ever asked for. I feel lighter than I have in years, and it has nothing to do with how brightly I'm glowing. I came here to tell Jason something, but I don't think I have to. I think he already knows. I don't need him to say it either. I squeeze his hand, and he squeezes back. That's good enough for me. Still. I feel like I have to say something.

"You were right, Jay," I settle on. They're the easiest words to get out. "We were destined to meet."

He grins and nudges me playfully. He looks extra beautiful bathed in my rainbow light. "So you believe then?"

"It's easy to believe in destiny when I'm with you," I admit. And now we're both beaming.

Jason's about to say something else, but then he spots Piper walking over. He gives my hand another squeeze. "Can we talk more about this later?"

"I'd love to," I tell him. "I kind of need your help with something, anyway."

"Hey—" Piper cuts herself off as she stops short in front of us, her easy-going smile faltering at the sight of us sitting so close, holding hands, smiling so wide. Her eyes narrow suspiciously, the corners of her lips curling into a mischievous smirk. "Why are you glowing? Am I...interrupting something?"

"No, of course not," I say hastily, now making a conscious effort to dim myself. "You know you're the only one for me, babe."

Piper laughs and squeezes onto the bench next to me, forcing me even closer to Jason. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Cordy."

"So how did your thing with your dad go?" Jason asks, stroking the back of my hand with his thumb. It sends a little thrill through me. I drop my feet down and press them hard into the ground so I don't start giggling and kicking my legs like a schoolgirl.

"Fine," Piper says. "Better than fine, actually. Got almost a full minute out of him."

"Wow," I sing-song, poking her side. "Look at you go, McLean. Saving Jason's life, becoming cabin counselor, repairing your relationship with your dad...this is your world. We're just living in it."

Piper grins. "Damn fucking straight." She flips her hair over her shoulder overdramatically and we settle into a comfortable silence.

Miranda and one of her sisters, Darcy, are playing basketball with Erin's brothers Austin and Jerry, but the Demeter sisters are playing dirty, making Austin and Jerry trip by growing grass around their ankles. Miranda waves at me when she catches me looking, and I wave back. Chris, Cecil, and Alice are in charge of the camp store for the day. When I look over, I see them putting up a sign for used flying shoes, and my brow furrows. Those aren't the same ones Grover kicked into Tartarus, are they?

Taylor and some of her siblings, most of whom I don't know the names of, are replacing the barbed wire around Cabin 5 with a fresh batch. I catch her eye and she winks, then jerks her head, drawing my gaze to a group of Aphrodite kids hanging out nearby. They're pretending like they're not watching me, Jason, and Piper, but they totally are. They're even — oh my gods. Are they placing bets?

"Piper," I whisper, "are your siblings betting on us?"

"Oh, yeah," she says, nodding. "They think we're in a love triangle."

Jason scoffs. "They think you two are fighting over me?"

"No," Piper says with a Cheshire Cat grin. "They think we're fighting over Cordelia."

My eyes widen in faux shock. "You're not?"

"Hilarious," Piper drawls. 

Jason leans in close, voice low. "Do you want to tell them we kissed like, five minutes ago or should I break it to them?"

I look over at Piper and Lacy's siblings whose names I don't know, gossiping amongst themselves. They're laughing and smiling, swatting each other playfully. Looking at them, at everyone here at camp, you'd have no idea how close the world came to ending yesterday. I've always liked that about us demigods. Maybe it's because the world's already ended for us dozens of times and started again the next morning, or maybe it's just because we're tenacious folk by nature. No matter the reason, it's a beautiful sight, especially compared to all of the horror and chaos we witnessed just 24 hours ago. 

I wave my hand dismissively. "Nah. Let them have their fun."

Piper raises her eyebrows. "What are you two whispering about?"

"Noneya," I say because I'm an exceptionally mature individual. "As in none ya business."

"Whatever." She nudges my foot with hers. "You two get any sleep?"

"Not enough," I grumble, pouting. "My plan to hibernate for two weeks is a total bust. What about you, Jay? You get any sleep last night?"

Jason shakes his head. "Not much. Dreams."

Piper tilts her head curiously. "About your past?"

He nods and leaves it at that for now. Piper looks at me with a raised eyebrow, a question in her eyes, and I just give a little shake of my head. She gets the message. Don't push. She nods, and we wait in silence until Jason's ready to elaborate.

"It's not good news," he says at last, fiddling with a loose string on his tank top. "My memories aren't good for any of us."

"We'll figure it out," Piper assures him.

Her words do little to ease Jason's mind — I can tell by the look in his eyes — but he doesn't argue. He just says, "Annabeth and Rachel are coming in for the meeting tonight. I should probably wait until then to explain."

"Okay," Piper says. 

Jason and I exchange looks. I've never seen her this light and cheery. Maybe it's the residual high of a successful quest, or maybe it's finally getting one over Drew, or maybe it's the improvement of her relationship with her dad, or maybe it's a combination of the three. Come to think of it, she has a lot of reasons to be happy. Still. She's not usually this optimistic.

"You're in a good mood," Jason points out. "How can you be so sure things will work out?"

"Because whatever happens, we'll face it together," Piper says matter-of-factly. "And I think together, we can do just about anything."

"Aw," I coo, dropping Jason's hand to pull Piper into a hug. "That's so sweet! I personally think at least one of us is going to die but I like your outlook better."

Piper snorts. "You really need to work on your optimism."

"I'll put it on the to-do list," I say. 

Jason shakes his head and gets to his feet, brushing off his shorts. He holds out his hand. "Leo says he's got something to show us out in the woods. You guys coming?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Piper says, getting up.

I grin, tongue poking between my teeth. "I would miss it, but I won't." I take his hand and let him pull me up. I intertwine our fingers, and he smiles so warmly at me that I think my heart might burst.

Piper's eyes flicker between us. Whatever she sees makes her shake her head in amusement. "Alright, you two, let's go. We've got adventures to plan."

*

We follow Leo deep into the woods, crossing creeks and tripping over roots, stumbling over rocks, and trampling fallen leaves. I've never been this far into the forest. I've never had any reason to — not even during Capture the Flag. It feels like we're walking for hours. I was already sleepy from bawling my eyes out, but now I'm bone-tired. Jason's practically dragging me along. He hasn't let go of my hand once.

Not that I'm complaining. I love the feeling of his hand in mine. 

Our journey ends at a limestone cliff about a hundred feet tall. Leo stops before it and turns to face us, visibly nervous. "Here we go."

He sets his hand aflame and presses it against the cliffside. My eyes widen when the fire spreads in lines across the cliff. Leo's siblings are all shocked about his fire powers, gasping and exclaiming. Maybe it's just because I'm used to seeing Leo use his powers by now, but my attention is fully on the lines. I watch closely, eager to see what they'll do.  

The lines reveal a massive secret door that swings open without noise and my jaw drops.

"Welcome to Bunker Nine," Leo says. "C'mon in."

*

Bunker Nine is humongous. I spend the tour hanging onto Jason's arm, my eyes wide and starry, my lips curled into a megawatt smile. It's all so cool and awe-inspiring that I forget how tired I am. I have so many questions, comments, and concerns, but no one else is talking, so I figure I shouldn't either.

My heart breaks and my smile falters when I spot Festus's head sitting on a table. He definitely looks worse for the wear, all scratched and banged up and scorched. I know he was technically never even alive, but he was also my friend. I also can't help but feel like it's my fault. I'm the one who pointed out Midas's mansion to Leo as a landing spot. Maybe if I hadn't, our dragon buddy would still be intact.

Leo walks over to Festus's head and pets it. "I'm sorry, Festus. But I won't forget you."

Jason and I trail after him. I give the disembodied head a couple of pats. "I'm sorry too, pal. And I totally don't blame you for crushing my legs. I kind of deserved it for getting you killed."

"It wasn't your fault," Leo assures me. I think he's just lying to spare my feelings, but I smile sadly and nod.

Jason rests his free hand on Leo's shoulder. "Hephaestus brought it here for you?"

Leo nods.

"But you can't repair him," Jason says.

And now Leo shakes his head. "No way. But the head is going to be reused. Festus will be going with us."

Piper comes to stand on Leo's other side, frowning. "What do you mean?"

Nyssa cuts off whatever he was going to say with a loud, "Guys, look at this!"

We hurry over to see her standing at a work table. She's got a sketchbook in front of her full of designs for all kinds of machines and weapons. It'd be slightly cooler if I understood half of what I'm looking at.

"I've never seen anything like these," Nyssa gushes, eyes glittering. "There are more amazing ideas here than in Daedalus's workshop. It would take a century just to prototype them all."

"Who built this place?" Jake asks. "And why?"

"It's a wartime command center," Leo answers. I follow his gaze to an old-timey map of Camp Half-Blood. There are triremes all situated in a line in the Sound. On the hills are catapults, and there are clearly marked spots for things like trenches, traps, and ambush sites. It looks like something that should be in a camp museum if we ever get one of those started. "The camp was attacked once, wasn't it?"

Piper furrows her brow, leaning in and squinting to try and get a closer look. "In the Titan War?"

"No," Nyssa says, shaking her head. "Besides, that map looks really old. The date...does that say 1864?"

"1864..." I trail off, trying to think of what was happening in America at the time. Oh, Mr. Hartford would be so disappointed in me right now. Wait. "1864. We were attacked during the Civil War?"

Chiron's tail is swishing anxiously, but he manages a small smile at my basic knowledge of this country's history. "Correct, Cordelia. This camp has been attacked many times, but this map is from the last Civil War."

"Okay, I don't like the way you said 'last,'" I complain. "Last implies there's going to be another, which we don't want so let's not accidentally manifest it, 'kay?"

Everyone else still looks really confused.

"Civil War..." Piper tilts her head. "You mean the American Civil War, like a hundred and fifty years ago?"

"Yes and no," Chiron says oh-so-helpfully. Luckily, he actually explains himself this time. "The two conflicts — mortal and demigod — mirrored each other, as they usually do in Western history. Look at any civil war or revolution from the fall of Rome onward, and it marks a time when demigods also fought one another. But that Civil War was particularly horrible. For American mortals, it is still their bloodiest conflict of all time — worse than their casualties in the two World Wars. For demigods, it was equally devastating. Even back then, this valley was Camp Half-Blood. There was a horrible battle in these woods lasting for days, with terrible losses on both sides."

"Both sides," Leo echoes. "You mean the camp split apart?"

"No," Jason says, and my heart sinks. "He means two different groups. Camp Half-Blood was one side in the war."

Leo's frown deepens. "Who was the other?"

"The answer is dangerous," Chiron warns us, his eyes on the tattered banner hanging above. "It is something I swore upon the River Styx never to speak of. After the American Civil War, the gods were so horrified by the toll it took on their children, that they swore it would never happen again. The two groups were separated. The gods bent all their will, wove the Mist as tightly as they could, to make sure the enemies never remembered each other, never met on their quests, so that bloodshed could be avoided. This map is from the final dark days of 1864, the last time the two groups fought. We've had several close calls since then. The nineteen sixties were particularly dicey. But we've managed to avoid another civil war — at least so far. Just as Leo guessed, this bunker was a command center for the Hephaestus cabin. In the last century, it has been reopened a few times, usually as a hiding place in times of great unrest. But coming here is dangerous. It stirs old memories, awakens the old feuds. Even when the Titans threatened last year, I did not think it worth the risk to use this place."

"Hey, look," Leo says, gesturing with his hands, "this place found me. It was meant to happen. It's a good thing."

"I hope you're right," Chiron says gravely.

"I am!" Leo insists. He takes out the old drawing Aeolus had given him and flattens it on the table so everyone can take a look. "There. Aeolus returned that to me. I drew it when I was five. That's my destiny."

Nyssa says what we're all thinking. "Leo, it's a crayon drawing of a boat."

"Look." He jabs his finger at the big blueprint pinned on the bulletin board. I look between his drawing and the blueprint. Slowly but surely, I start to spot the similarities between the two. Holy shit. Okay, that's pretty fucking cool.

"That's impossible," Nyssa says. "That blueprint has to be a century old at least."

"Prophecy — Unclear — Flight," Jake reads from some notes on the blueprint. "It's a diagram for a flying ship. Look, that's the landing gear. And weaponry — Holy Hephaestus: rotating ballista, mounted crossbows, Celestial bronze plating. That thing would be one spankin' hot war machine. Was it ever made?"

"Not yet," Leo says. "Look at the masthead."

Well, hot damn.

"Festus," Piper says, her eyes widening. We all turn to look at him.

"He's meant to be our masthead," Leo declares. "Our good luck charm, our eyes at sea. I'm supposed to build this ship. I'm gonna call it the Argo II. And guys, I'll need your help."

I'm not going to lie — the idea of Festus being the masthead really warms my heart. It just feels so right. My little 50-ton feminist icon with razor-sharp teeth is going to be the masthead of a giant warship. Oh, they grow up so fast.

"The Argo II." Piper grins, turning to look at Jason. "After Jason's ship."

Jason shifts uncomfortably. He gives my hand a little squeeze, then nods. "Leo's right. That ship is just what we need for our journey."

Nyssa scoffs. "What journey? You just got back!"

Piper reaches over and runs her fingers over Leo's crayon drawing, the gentleness in her movements a sharp contrast to the steely look in her eyes. "We've got to confront Porphyrion, the giant king. He said he would destroy the gods at their roots."

"Indeed," Chiron agrees. "Much of Rachel's Great Prophecy is still a mystery to me, but one thing is clear. Jason, Piper, and Leo are among the seven demigods who must take on that quest. You must confront the giants in their homeland, where they are strongest. You must stop them before they can wake Gaea fully, before they destroy Mount Olympus."

"Um..." Nyssa trails off, shifting her weight from foot to foot. "You don't mean Manhattan, do you?"

"No," Leo says. "The original Mount Olympus. We have to sail to Greece."

*

happy valentine's day y'all❣️