CHAPTER SEVEN:
HAPPY THE DRAGON

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ANNAIS HADN'T KNOWN WHAT to expect when Leo promised to find them transportation, but she certainly didn't think that he'd capture the dragon running loose in the woods and tame it. When she woke the next morning, it was to campers shouting in a strange cacophony of terror and intrigue. Annoyed but also curious, Annais changed out of the shorts and tank top she'd worn to bed and, once deemed suitable in her black jeans with rips on the knees, a cropped white tee and a simple pair of converse trainers, she made her way out of the cabin to hear what the fuss was about. Whatever it was, it better be good for waking her up at the ass crack of dawn.

In the distance, she managed to make out the giant hunk of bronze metal cascading through the air with a hyperactive boy sitting proudly on its back. Her eyes went wide in a not-so-carefully masked look of shock. Leo Valdez never failed to surprise Annais Min, but a fucking flying dragon? She stood back and smirked while others rushed out dressed in a combination of pyjamas and armour, weapons raised despite Leo holding his hands up and calling out, "it's cool! don't shoot!" over and over in an attempt to calm them down.

Eventually, the archers lowered their bows and the rest backed away, their spears and swords at the ready in case Leo happened to be wrong. No one knew what to make of the giant dragon. It towered over them with enough mass to shake the earth beneath their feet, a sixty-foot-long serpent with talons made of steel and ruby red eyes glowing vindictively in the rising sun. Somehow, Leo had found giant metallic wings to attach to its sides — their very own personal private jet, Annais decided with amusement.

"Whoa," she heard someone gasp as they appeared at her side. Some of Piper's new charm had faded overnight but her dark hair was still left in ringlets and faint makeup painted her lips a pretty shade of pink. She stared up at the dragon through long eyelashes, a grin curling at the corners of her mouth as she declared to everyone in hearing distance, "It's beautiful."

As if hearing her words, the dragon reared its head back and shot an impressive column of fire into the air. People screamed and rushed even further away, but Leo simply grinned and slid from its back like the dragon was nothing more than a kitten.

"People of Earth, I come in peace," he shouted with manic glee. Annais scoffed at him, earning a wave and a wink she later realised was aimed at Mel standing just behind her. Then he turned back to everyone else, determined to sway their opinions. "Festus is just saying hello."

"That thing is dangerous," an Ares daughter hissed at him. Like most of the Ares children, her dark brows were set in a stern frown, thin lips curled into a sneer. She glared at the boy covered head to toe in soot and grease. "Kill it now."

"Hey!" someone shouted as a few brave Ares boys began to reapproach Festus with their swords and spears. "Stand down!"

The voice was powerful, fitting right in with the order of Camp Half-Blood, almost like it belonged there all along. But Annais knew it didn't as Jason pushed to the front with Annabeth and Ezra on one side of him and Leo's sister, Nyssa, on the other. None of the four said anything as Annabeth explained the sight to Ezra and Jason exchanged a confused glance with Annais through the tight-knit cluster of bodies.

It almost scared her how easy he made it to find her in a crowd.

"Leo, what have you done?"

"Found a ride," he said, shrugging. "You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere."

"Only you, Leo Valdez, would name that beast Festus," Annais snorted as she, Piper and Mel approached the others.

"Oh, come on," he waved an oil-covered hand at her in greeting. "It suits him, don't you think?"

"It has wings," Nyssa stammered over their conversation, the first words she'd said so far. She couldn't fathom how calm the two were under the heated stare of the dragon, her jaw dropped in surprise and chest-tightening anxiety.

"Yeah," Leo shrugged, having failed to notice her nerves. "I found them and reattached them."

"But it never had wings before. Where did you find them?"

Leo hesitated and that was all it took. Annais' brows furrowed into deep lines. She attempted to catch the boy's gaze but he blatantly refused, staring at the dirt patch beneath them instead. Leo always made eye contact unless he was nervous or upset. It wasn't hard to tell then, that he was keeping something from them.

"In the woods," he said. "Repaired his circuits, too. Mostly. So no more problems with him going haywire."

"Mostly?" Nyssa picked up his poor word-choice immediately.

Before he could even begin to explain, the dragon's head twitched twice and a shower of oil rained down on him. He merely huffed, reaching into a tool belt Annais had never seen before and producing a rag to wipe the muck out of his eyes. "Just a few kinks to work out."

"But how did you survive?" she pressed. "I mean, the fire breath..."

"I'm quick. And lucky. Now, am I on this quest or what?"

Jason scratched his head, sparing an unsure glance at Annais and Ezra, almost like he was looking for guidance. "You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, Festus means happy? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?"

Ezra snorted. "Yeah, that's not happening."

But Leo waved her off, beaming excitedly at Jason while Happy the Dragon twitched and produced a puff of smoke. "That's a yes, bro. Now, I'd really suggest we get going, guys. I already picked up some supplies in the — um, in the woods. And all these people with weapons are making Festus nervous."

"What are you, the dragon whisperer?" Ezra scoffed.

"I think it's a good idea," Mel piped up in agreement, much to Ezra's annoyance. "The Solstice isn't going to wait for us so the sooner we leave, the better."

"But we haven't planned anything yet," Jason protested. "We can't just—"

"Go," Annabeth said suddenly. She was one of the only people apart from Annais and Ezra who seemed totally unbothered by the dragon. She'd been around a lot worse on her adventures with Percy and Ezra, as had the other girls. "Mel's right, Jason. You've only got three days until the Solstice now, and you should never keep a nervous dragon waiting. This is certainly a good omen, okay?"

Jason didn't respond, though he looked more convinced when he turned to face Piper and the Min girls. "Looks like we're going then. Are you guys ready?"

Piper nodded, not quite able to look him in the eye just yet, and made her way over to the dragon where Mel and Leo were waiting. Annais quickly ducked back to her cabin to grab her pack and lock things up. To escape her mind the night before, she'd spent some time before bed gathering things she thought she might need out on the road with a quest to guide — a spare change of clothes, a jacket for when the weather inevitably got too cold for her to tolerate, canned food, nectar and ambrosia for emergencies, a spare dagger in case she somehow lost her ring. Whatever Annais could think of as she fought off the memory of Penelope, she had packed. And so, it didn't take her long to head back to where everyone was waiting, her bag strapped between her shoulder blades and resolution in her veins.

Here goes nothing.

Ezra and Annabeth had just said their goodbyes when she returned to where they remained with Jason. Leo was sitting at the very front of the dragon with the reins in his hands. Mel was behind him which left space for Jason, Annais and Ezra between her and Piper. It was better if Ezra wasn't at the very end so she had someone on either side of her, and despite not knowing what was happening between the two girls, Piper knew it was best to keep Annais and Ezra apart. Jason, though, seemed oblivious as he took the metal clip of the velcro harness hooked around Ezra's stomach and attached it to the loop of his faded jeans.

"Who's attached to me?" she scowled at the sharp sound of the metal clicking into place. "Mel?"

"It's just Jason," Annabeth was quick to soothe her, though she sighed when Annais shoved past her in a huff and climbed up onto the dragon with ease. It didn't take a genius to see she was annoyed, but wisely no one chose to acknowledge it as Annabeth and Jason boosted Ezra up in front of an uncomfortable Piper.

"We ready, people?" Leo called out, knee bouncing excitedly against Festus' side.

"Get going, Valdez," Annais muttered as Jason's hands hesitantly came to rest on her sides. "Before Happy the Dragon decides to burn the camp down."

And with that, they soared into the air, leaving Camp Half-Blood behind just as soon as they'd come home.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

THEY'D BEEN FLYING FOR close to an hour and Annais was already losing her patience. Despite how large Happy the Dragon actually was, the six — or, at least, Annais — felt incredibly closed in. With Mel's back pressed to her knees and Jason's hands swapping between her sides and her hips, Annais felt like she had no air to breathe. Ironic, considering just how high up they were. The wind was freezing cold against her skin, forcing her to shrug on the thick green parka Annais had stolen from Hea a few years back. Granted, Festus did a good job at keeping their legs warm, the constant movement of his wings generated heat along the bronze grooves, but Winter was known to be that extra bit cold around the time of the Solstice.

Leo kept grinning back at them, wide awake for someone who'd clearly spent the whole night frolicking in the woods with his new pet. "Cool, right?"

"What if we get spotted?" Piper called from the back of the line.

Annais had noticed not too long into their journey that she didn't mind the spot, using it to allow her eyes to linger on where Jason sat comfortably behind Annais. It was clear she didn't know how to feel about him now that her 'memories' were proven false. Annais pitied the poor girl, though she knew Piper wouldn't appreciate hearing that.

"The Mist," Ezra muttered, prompting a frown from Piper, who didn't truly understand what that meant yet.

"It keeps mortals from seeing magic things," Jason explained. "If they spot us, they'll probably mistake us for a small plane or something."

"You sure about that?"

"Boy Wonder is right once again," Ezra confirmed. "Who would've thought?"

There was a tense moment of silence as Mel turned and muttered Ezra's name in warning. Annais looked behind her to see Jason with his head bowed, one of his hands loosening on her hip to pull a photograph out of his pocket. She frowned, gut twisting at the sight of Thalia Grace's smiling face on the fading piece of paper. Why did Jason have that picture with him? As if sensing her eyes on him, Jason looked up and blushed, putting the photo back in his pocket.

"We're making good time," he declared before she could quiz him as he knew she wanted to. "Probably get there by tonight."

"If we're lucky," Annais said.

"Which we won't be," Ezra added with a sadistic kind of chuckle.

Annais rolled her eyes but bit down on her lip to stay quiet. Not yet. They had three whole days ahead of them to argue. Annais refused to give in during the first hour. She just had to keep pushing forwards.

"So," Piper settled on a safer question to ask. "Where are we heading?"

"To find the God of the North Wind," Jason said, hand coming to rest on Annais' hip again. His skin was warm, a stark contrast against the breeze. "And chase some storm spirits."

"Oh, what fun," Ezra smirked.

They fell silent again. Annais wasn't sure how far they'd travelled, doing her best to focus on anything but the long drop down to the ground. She wasn't a fan of heights. No child of Poseidon or Hades really was with how temperamental Zeus could be when it came to his domain. But even if she didn't mind them, she would've felt uneasy. Open spaces tended to make her uncomfortable, there was so much unaccounted for around them. So, trying her best not to dwell in her anxiety, Annais leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Mel's shoulder, listening to the steady pattern of her breathing while she chatted to Leo.

Then, at some point, Leo blurted out, "Shut up, me!"

Mel paused, frowning at the boy who blushed a bright shade of red. "You alright?"

"Yes," he stammered, eyes narrowing when he spotted Annais smirking at him. "It's just been a long night. I think I'm hallucinating but it's cool."

"Well, that's reassuring," Ezra drawled.

"Heh, just joking," he chuckled when the rest only blinked unsurely at him. "So what's the plan, bro? You said something about catching wind, or breaking wind, or something?"

Jason spent the next ten minutes explaining his plan so far, occasionally looking back at Ezra or tapping Annais' hip for approval. When they said nothing in protest, he continued. First, they'd find Boreas and see what information they could provide them with, though Annais' hopes weren't very high. Boreas was a God, and Gods enjoyed confusing demigods.

"His name is Boreas?" Leo had snorted when Jason first said it. "What is he, the God of Boring?"

"Ha. Ha," Ezra deadpanned in response. "Very funny, Valdez, a real comedian."

Next, Jason figured they could find the venti that attacked them at the Grand Canyon. Usually, Annais wouldn't encourage actively looking for trouble on a quest, but the storm spirits had taken Gleeson, and it was pretty clear that everyone, even Ezra, wanted to get him back. Plus, the thought of planting a sword through Dylan's annoying face was just too tempting to pass up.

Then, all going to plan, they would find wherever Hera was being kept and free her from her cage. Annais liked the idea of leaving her there until the last second. Granted, it was risky, but the thought of her wondering if they were coming or not — much like the whole Dylan scenario, it amused Annais. Besides, she needed something else to think of. Whenever her mind wandered to Hera, it naturally raised questions about Ezra. Annais wasn't ready to confront them yet.

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

"Sounds like fun," Ezra remarked.

"And that's about it," said Jason, only sparing a disbelieving Leo a glance before he added, "Well, there may be a wolf involved too, but I think she's friendly. She probably won't eat us, unless we show weakness."

"Well, that doesn't sound good," Mel arched an eyebrow at him. "How do you know this?"

Jason told them about the dream he had the night before; the vicious mother wolf living in a burned-out house with stone spires growing out of the swimming pool. Annais didn't know what to make of this. She'd never heard anything like it before, nor had Ezra and Mel. Jason sighed when they simply shook their heads, biting down on his lower lip in deep thought.

"Okay," Leo said to fill the sudden silence. "But you don't know where this place is?"

"Nope."

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

"Whoa, hold on," Leo shook his head. "Giants, like more than one? Why can't it be just one giant who wants revenge?"

Annais laughed at him. "I'm afraid that's not how it works when it comes to the demigod life, Leo."

"Besides," Piper continued with a sigh. "I remember in some of the old Greek stories, there was something about an army of giants."

"Oh, great. 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, making Piper nod bashfully.

"Wow," Mel beamed at her in encouragement, sensing her discomfort and trying her best to change it. "What movies has he been in?"

Leo let out a laugh before Piper could respond. "I keep forgetting about your amnesia, Jason." Annais closed her eyes, just knowing what was coming. "Heh, forgetting about amnesia, that's funny."

"It's really not," Ezra rebutted.

"Anyway," Annais spoke over her as Leo faltered. "Her dad's Tristan McLean, Mel."

"Oh, I recognise that name," Mel grinned while Jason frowned in confusion.

"Sorry, what was he in?"

"It doesn't matter," Piper interrupted 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 and I think they were related to the Titans. They rose from the Earth after Kronos lost the war—"

Annais' breathing hitched before suddenly stopping, her whole body tensing until her muscles were rigid and screaming in protest. Flashes of red, swords clashing, shouts. There was so much blood. She was a war soldier at the age of sixteen.

No one noticed the way she shifted but Jason, who — unsure what to make of the tense muscles twitching beneath his hands — just squeezed her hip as if he was grounding her to the present. Annais blinked, shoulders slowly dropping. Piper hadn't stopped talking. She hadn't noticed the world pause.

"—I mean the first Titan war, thousands of years ago — and they tried to destroy Olympus. If we're talking about the same giants..."

"And I think you might be," Ezra said darkly.

"Chiron did say it was happening again," Jason pointed out, grip still tight on Annais. Any other time and she would've pushed him away in seconds, but up in the sky with Festus' unsteadiness and Kronos, Kronos, Kronos repeating in her head, she accepted the embrace as a tether to what was real. "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?" Mel asked.

But much to their luck, it wasn't. Leo quickly ran over the details of his recent discovery. Tía Callida — who was really Hera in one of her many forms — had appeared to him at camp followed by a strange sleeping woman who seemed to know whatever was coming for them. Annais didn't like it one bit. She knew about his mum and any mention of his background was an extremely touchy subject for him so she didn't want to push, but there was something about the way that he described this woman... it just didn't sit right with her. Not that a lot of things did nowadays.

"Well, that's disturbing," Piper said when nobody else wanted to speak. What were they supposed to say to that?

"'Bout sums it up," Leo agreed with a sigh. "Thing is, everybody says not to trust Hera, that she hates demigods—"

"She does," Ezra insisted, curling a dark strand of hair around her finger. She didn't seem to mind that her m — Hera had removed the blonde. Maybe she didn't even know, except surely Annabeth would've informed her. "And the demigods hate her."

"Can you not curse the Queen of the Heavens while we're flying hundreds of feet in the air?" Annais huffed. "I don't like her either but I'd rather not fall off this thing."

Ezra bit back her anger, letting out a 'just saying' before things went quiet.

"The prophecy said we'd cause death if we unleash her rage," Leo said, the thought clearly still playing on his mind. "So I'm wondering, why are we doing this?"

"She chose us," Jason said. "The Mins have their own prophecy to complete, and it involves us, all three of us. We're the first of the seven who have to gather for the Great Prophecy. This quest is the beginning of something much bigger."

"It always is," Mel sighed.

Blood coated grass, arrows hitting their mark, miserable cries for the dead. Annais in the middle of it all, watching as black shadows appeared around friend and foe alike. It was her job to set them free, a job she'd give up in a heartbeat if it meant that this pain would end.

Her hand reached for Jason's, another unfortunate moment of weakness, and she gripped his fingertips like they were her lifeline. It was hard moving on from a war that never seemed to end.

"Besides," he continued, looking down at Annais' hand on his for a second but doing his best not to draw attention to it. He could see on her face she didn't want anyone to see, to know that she wasn't okay. "Helping Hera is the only way I can get back my memory. 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 winced at just the thought. "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, right? And a war with the giants could be even more destructive than the Titan War."

"Chiron also talked about worse forces stirring on the Solstice, with it being a good time for dark magic and all," Mel pointed out. "Something that could awaken if Hera was sacrificed on that day. And this mistress who's controlling the storm spirits, the one who wants to kill all the demigods—"

"Might be the lady Leo mentioned," Annais concluded. "Not a good outcome either."

"Yeah, dirt woman fully awake?" Leo shuddered. "Not something I want to see."

"But who is she?" Jason persisted, grimacing like the answer was a bad taste on the tip of his tongue. He was still holding Annais' hand, fingers loosely intertwined like the tether holding him to Ezra. "And what does she have to do with the giants?"

Like most of their quest, none of them had an answer yet. And so they flew in silence. Annais kept on holding Jason's hand but refused to meet his eyes. Mel tried to convince Leo to sleep — it would be best for all of them if he wasn't exhausted. Piper sat behind a dazed Ezra, staring at Jason's hand and the way it seemed to fit so casually with Annais' own. Neither of them knew it yet, but she saw their potential and it hurt.

"Mel's right," she spoke up, forcing her eyes to where Leo was shaking his head at a frustrated Mel. "You should sleep, Leo. You were up all night."

"You won't let me fall off?"

"Trust us," Mel chuckled, opening her arms for him to lie back if he wanted to. She obviously wouldn't ask him, that wasn't in Mel's nature, but the offer was there and he seemed eager to take it.

Passing the reins to her, he leaned back and closed his eyes. The silence continued to expand. Eventually, Piper and Ezra sparked up an awkward conversation, with Piper doing her best to befriend the girl and Ezra unsure how to respond. Jason took the time to squeeze Annais' hand, making her eyes snap away from where Mel cradled Leo.

"Yes?" she cleared her throat, gaze lingering on their hands. She'd let him go, but she couldn't bring her muscles to move.

"You okay?" he whispered. His eyes were so soft and genuine. Annais hated it. Why did he have to seem so sincere?

"I'm okay," she nodded.

Still, she didn't let go, and neither did he.