𝟬𝟮𝟵. the heavens and eternity

AERA WAS TOO PRETTY to be dealing with all that smoke. If it wasn't for Tristan McLean, she wouldn't have gone up that mountain in the first place. She took one look in the mirror and almost shrieked like a banshee. Not only was there a gigantic purple bruise staining the tender, porcelain skin around her neck, but she had lost one of her contact lenses and her double-eyelid tape was coming undone. There was an explosion of dirt, glitter, and smudged marker on her face. Her hair could not be messier. Her pores were stretched wide open. The day had just begun and there was much work to do. On her appearance, that is.

But as Aera rushed to freshen up on that rescue helicopter Piper sweet-talked the pilot to land, she noticed Piper struggling to get her dad to calm down.

"Piper." Her dad grasped her hand and held on like he was afraid he would fall out the side of the chopper. "It's you? They told me—they told me you would die. They said...horrible things would happen."

"It's me, Dad," Piper said and her usually soothing voice sounded really choked up. "Everything's going to be okay." She doesn't sound very okay, Aera thought dimly as she pressed on a fresh layer of eyelid tape with a pair of tweezers. Ah, much better.

Jason was holding up her handheld princess mirror so she could have both hands. Aera tried showing him her stellar eyelid work but he was distracted by Piper's dad. Aera couldn't even blame him. It was the Tristan McLean. A day ago, she would have given her favorite Birkin to see him in person.

Plus, Jason was cute when he was concentrating on something. His bright blue eyes would grow all wide and full of interest like a mesmerized child as he took in the information around him. One of these days Aera was going to see which constellation she could spot in his starry eyes.

"There were monsters," Tristan McLean croaked, breaking Aera out of her thoughts about Jason's dreamy eyes. "Real monsters. Earth spirits, right out of Grandpa Tom's stories—and the Earth Mother was angry with me. And the giant, Tsul'kälû, breathing fire—" He focused on Piper again, his eyes like broken glass, reflecting a crazy kind of light. "They said you were a demigod. Your mother was..."

Ugh. Aera's other eyelid was coming undone. She straightened Jason's hand into the right position and got back to work.

"...Aphrodite," Piper answered woefully. "Goddess of love."

"I—I—" Tristan McLean, the flashy movie star Aera admired on the TV screen, took a shaky breath, then seemed to forget how to exhale. Aera could barely hear anything else over the sound of his pulse. His heartrate was that of a Black Friday shopper stuck in the trenches of the Walmart electronics section. In other words, he was coming down from a panic attack.

No one seemed to be in the mood to chat. Piper was on the verge of tears. Leo fiddled with a lug nut from his tool belt. Jason diverted his gaze to the valley below, so Aera couldn't see any more stars. The roads started to back up as mortals stopped their cars and gawked at the burning mountain (why did these mountains seem vaguely familiar, though? Had Aera been here before with a lover?). Bush chewed on the stub of his carnation. For once their aggressive furry coach didn't yell or boast.

The air was totally awkward because Tristan McLean wasn't supposed to be seen like this. He was a legendary movie star—confident, stylish, suave, and always in control. That was the public image he projected. Now he was crying like a little boy...

Before moving onto her eyelashes, Aera pushed Jason's hand down and scooted closer to Tristan McLean, sweeping her hair over her shoulders to cover her bruised neck.

"Hey, it's okay," Aera said softly. "Your daughter's not in danger and neither are you. Except for maybe, well, all of her admirers."

Tristan McLean looked at her in shock. "Her admirers?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Aera asked innocently, ignoring the way her throat ached with every syllable. "Piper's, like, super popular! She has so many friends at school. Like, everywhere she goes, she turns heads. She probably got all that rizz from you, huh?"

"I...Piper? Is this true?" Mr. McLean glanced between Aera and Piper, who seemed as stunned as he was to hear this.

"M-hmm!" Aera nodded enthusiastically. "She's pretty and smart. The full package! Piper's perfect. You have nothing to worry about. You did a great job raising her! Between you and me, I'd pick you over my father any day. He's not even that handsome. He looks like an archaeopteryx."

Mr. McLean peered at her major uncertainty.

"Aera, it's okay," Piper said, looking worried. "Save your voice."

"Oh, I'm totally fine!" Aera chirped. "I just, uh, have a sore throat. Ahem-ahem." She cleared her throat and smiled away the pain. "Yeah, I get cold easily." For good effect, she rubbed her arms. Then she leaned in and cheesed at Mr. McLean with her best million drachma smile. "My name's Aera Kim, by the way. Can I have your autograph?"

Aera spent the rest of the helicopter ride carrying conversations with Mr. McLean. His responses were bewildered murmurs at best and he was still shaking but at least he didn't seem as unsettled anymore. Even though her throat burned every time she spoke, Aera knew casual conversation would be the only thing keeping Mr. McLean from spiraling. He had too many memories, too much trauma his mind just couldn't handle. If no one was there to remind him who he was and where he was, he would lose it.

Thankfully, when they approached Oakland airport, Piper got on the radio, and landing turned out to be no problem. They unloaded on the tarmac, where Coach Bush surprisingly offered to skip the rest of the quest and safely escort Mr. McLean home.

"I'm a protector," Gleeson explained. "That's my job, not fighting." He seemed a bit crestfallen at the prospect of not being able to smack more monsters. Then Hedge straightened, and set his jaw. "Of course, I'm good at fighting, too." He glared at them with his beady little eyes, daring them to argue.

"Yes," Jason said.

"Terrifying," Leo agreed.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, cupcake," Hedge reprimanded Aera.

"I wasn't rolling my eyes!" Aera defended, offended at his accusatory tone. "It's my contact lenses. They make my eyes dry. Besides, you're like one of the better barnyard animals, I guess."

The coach grunted in satisfaction. "I'm a protector. I can do this. Your dad's right, Piper. You need to carry on with the quest."

"But..." Piper blinked back more tears. "Dad..." He held out his arms, and she hugged him.

"Let's give them a minute," Jason suggested, and they led the pilot a few yards down the tarmac. He seemed to have regained a lot more of his usual composure now that they were off the mountain. Aera was glad. Back there in that ashen depression where Jason had hugged Aera in front of all their friends and told her he didn't want her to die, Jason seemed just as scared and shattered as Mr. McLean.

They tried to make small talk with the mortal pilot to keep her distracted, but somehow even with all the loud airport noises around them, Aera could still hear Piper's conversation with her dad. And their rapid heartbeats.

"I can't believe it," her dad said. "I failed you."

"No, Dad!"

"The things they did, Piper, the visions they showed me..."

"Dad, listen." She took out the vial from her pocket. "Aphrodite gave me this, for you. It takes away your recent memories. It'll make it like none of this ever happened."

A vial?

Aera could not believe what she was hearing. Aphrodite had spoken to Piper? Looked into the future and saw what her dad would go through and helped her? Piper didn't even like Aphrodite, or anything the goddess stood for. So what was up with the special treatment? What did Piper have that Aera didn't?

Though Aera kept a poker face, Jason seemed to sense her inner thoughts. In fact, he seemed to almost hear them.

"Mr. McLean needs all the help he can get," he tried consoling her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "His mind is coming undone."

Aera didn't want to talk about it. She was already angry, tired, and her lungs were full of smoke. Her vocal cords couldn't take any more strain. Still, the pleading way Jason was looking at her made her melt. Aera signaled for him to come closer. He leaned down to hear her.

"Thanks for having my back out there," she whispered in his ear.

Jason smiled shyly. "Always."

Eventually, after some heartfelt conversation, Piper's dad took the vial and drank it all in one go. His eyes rolled up into his head, and he slumped forward. Piper caught him, and Aera ran over to help (well, she didn't actually run, because running was unattractive, but her pace was brisker than normal).

By the time Piper explained to Coach Bush how to get her dad back to his mansion, Tristan McLean's sleek white Gulf-stream had taxied next to the helicopter. Aera's dad had a classier private jet, but obviously, this wasn't a competition (The Kims would win, obviously). Coach Bush and the flight attendant got Piper's dad on board. Bush said his final goodbye by threatening them with push-ups and then the plane took off.

While the plane was still heading down the runaway, Piper started to cry. Aera felt so bad, all her anger for Aphrodite dissolved. Aera was sorry she felt jealous. Piper had to watch her dad who was once her hero turn into someone she couldn't recognize. It wasn't her fault Aphrodite played favorites.

Their friends huddled around them, and Leo pulling a Kleenex out of his tool belt.

"Your dad's in good hands," Jason reassured Piper.

Aera stroked Piper's hair. "Yeah, Bush will totally karate-kick that Jane girl if she tries to give your dad any problems."

"Hi-yah!" Leo did a demonstration of how Coach Bush would karate kick that Jane girl.

Piper sobbed into Aera's shoulder, but for once, Aera didn't mind the tear stains on her clothing. Her cheerleading uniform was already covered in mud and smelled super smoke-y. Piper took six deep breaths. Seven. Then she pulled away from Aera.

"Back on the helicopter," she sniffled, "how did you know what to say?"

Aera could have easily lied. She could have explained she wanted Tristan McLean's autograph so bad, she would've said anything, even fibbed about how fabulous Piper's dead badger hair was. Instead, something about how her little sister was staring up at her with tear-stricken eyes made Aera's heart feel like a mushy toner pad.

Aera had cried like this once to Silena, right after Luke had given himself completely to the Titan Lord. She thought it was her fault Luke had chosen this path and that she should have stopped him. She was scared and remorseful and didn't know what to do next. Silena had hugged her and calmed her down. If it weren't for her older sister, Aera wouldn't have been able to go on. Aera was breaking and the only thing that kept her from falling apart was the sweet scent of Silena's Miss Dior perfume and her comforting words. Aera wanted to be a good older sister to Piper, too.

"I used to be close with my grandmother," she explained. "In the final years of her life, she had dementia. She raised me for most of my childhood but in the end, she couldn't recognize me."

"Oh, Aera," Piper crooned, quickly wiping her eyes, "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Aera said, rubbing Piper's arm affectionately. She took a deep breath so she wouldn't do something embarrassing like cry and make her pores even bigger. "It was a long time ago. Halmeoni heard and saw things she wasn't supposed to. Kind of like your dad. Monsters would come to her, mocking her, telling her riddles and prophecies about how her only granddaughter would someday cause the end of the world. They would come to her in nightmares and random hallucinations. At some point, it just...shattered her mind and she was never the same again."

Aera bit her lip but the words just kept coming. "My grandmother was the brightest, liveliest mortal I knew. Everyone in our hometown knew her for her kindness and generosity. And she had to spend the last year of her life in agony and confusion all because her son had a child with an immortal goddess. All because I was born."

"Hey, you can't blame yourself for that," Jason said next to her.

"Yeah, hot stuff," Leo agreed, "it's not like we can choose who our parents are. 'Cause believe me, if I had a choice, I wouldn't even consider my good ol' pops." Then Leo's eyes bugged out as he looked around. "He won't, like, make all my inventions malfunction and start doing the Gangnam Style for saying that, will he?"

Piper cracked a smile. "Aera disses Aphrodite, like, four times a day and she's fine."

Leo made a funny expression like, True that.

Aera rolled her eyes. "Gangnam Style is so old. You need to catch up on your K-Pop, Leo. Listen to some Girls' Generation and be enlightened." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, you did the right thing, Piper. Giving that vial to your dad. Life and death shouldn't be easy to you." Aera smiled sardonically at the empty vial still clutched in Piper's hand, though it left a bitter taste on her tongue.

Guilt washed over Piper's face. It looked like she was about to say something when the air next to Jason suddenly shimmered. An image appeared in the air—a dark-haired girl in silver winter camouflage, holding a bow.

"Thalia?" Aera shouted in disbelief, pushing Piper out of the way. "You're alive?!"

"Hello to you too, gorgeous," said the Hunter. The scene behind her was a bunch of blurry things, hard to make out, but Aera heard yelling, metal clashing on metal, and explosions—typical noises you'd hear at a fashion crime scene. "We've found her. Where are you guys?"

"Oakland," Jason replied, a nervous note in his voice. "Where are you?"

"The Wolf House! Oakland is good; you're not too far. We're holding off the giant's minions, but we can't hold them forever. Get here before sunset, or it's all over."

"Dang," Aera said, "here I was, hoping the giants would have made quick work out of Hera already."

"Aera, it's worse than I realized," Thalia warned. "Porphyrion is rising. Hurry!"

"Stop rushing us!" Aera snapped.

"Stop taking so long!"

"Where's the Wolf House?" Jason pleaded.

"Our last trip," Thalia said, her image starting to flicker. "The park. Jack London. Remember?"

This made no sense to Aera, who just wanted to get this whole Hera captive thing over with, but Jason looked like he'd just been shot. And not with an arrow of love, unfortunately. He tottered, his face pale, and the Iris message disappeared.

"What happened to you?" Aera demanded, grabbing his arm. "Do you know where she's talking about?"

"Yes," Jason said, holding onto her for dear life. "Sonoma Valley. Not far. Not by air."

Piper turned to the ranger pilot, but Aera was stuck on Jason, or more importantly, what he had said, not how buff his arms were (though they did feel nice and built).

The Wolf House. Jason was raised by wolves. Aera was starting to remember him telling her now. This giant wolf had taken Jason in when he was, like, in his terrible twos, and trained him into a soldier. And then...and then what? He just became one with the wild canines? Why didn't he make his way to Camp Half-Blood? Where did he go?

Unfortunately, Aera had, like, zero time to ponder this as Piper had already talked the pilot into handing over the helicopter and letting Leo, of all people, drive it. Aera couldn't complain, though. With Leo driving and Piper copiloting, that left her strapped in the back with Jason to finish reapplying her makeup.

Leo was a natural at flying the helicopter, his hands flying over random switches and sticks. As she finished her makeup, Aera partially listened to their conversation about some Jack London guy who was a writer and a demigod (son of Mercury?—no, Hermes—jeez, Jason's Roman jargon was rubbing off on her).

"So Jack London went to Camp Half-Blood," Leo concluded at the end of it.

"No," Jason said. "No, he didn't."

"Bro, you're freaking me out with the mysterious talk. Are you remembering your past or not?"

"Pieces," Jason answered swiftly and his voice caught again like dangling earrings on a mesh shirt. "Only pieces—none of it good." Aera ignored the way he glanced at her then. Whatever she had done to make Jason mad in the past, she hoped he never remembered it.

"The Wolf House is on sacred ground," he continued. "It's where London started his journey as a child—where he found out he was a demigod. That's why he returned there. He thought he could live there, claim that land, but it wasn't meant for him. The Wolf House was cursed. It burned in a fire a week before he and his wife were supposed to move in. A few years later, London died, and his ashes were buried on the site."

"So," Piper said, "how do you know all this?"

"Because he's a furry," Aera answered absentmindedly as she dusted a beautiful blue eyeshadow over eyelids (she was going for a silvery blue enchantress look with glittery strokes across the top of her lids).

Leo busted out laughing. "That explains the Wolf House."

"Leo, the stick," Piper reminded.

"Sorry."

"I'm not a furry," Jason insisted, giving Aera a withering look. "I started my journey there. It's a powerful place for demigods, a dangerous place. If Gaea can claim it, use its power to entomb Hera on the solstice and raise Porphyrion—that might be enough to awaken the earth goddess fully."

"Which is good," Aera put in, still not paying attention.

"Which is bad," Jason corrected.

"Which is bad," Aera amended. The helicopter shuddered and metal creaked. Aera almost stabbed herself in the eye with her eyeliner pen. "Ugh, Leo!"

"Sorry, sorry," Leo muttered. "We're thirty minutes out. Should be long enough for you to finish your makeup, Aera. But if you want to get some rest, now's also a good time."

"Yeah, no thanks!" Aera exclaimed. "If Thalia sees me without mascara on, she's gonna tell everyone and their godly patrons I've lost it." She squinted at Jason, Thalia's brother. "Do you even know how many times she's tried recruiting me to be a Hunter, claiming that I'm lonely and should just 'give up on boys'?" Aera made air quotes and threw her hands up in frustration. "Pah! What does she know? The only two boys she's ever liked, one was my ex-boyfriend and the other a con artist!"

"You should at least close your eyes," Jason said gently. "You can tell me all about how my sister has bad taste in boys later." He set his head back and got comfortable. "I'll rest with you. Enceladus took a lot out of us."

There was a large grey blanket under their seats that Jason took out and spread across their laps. He tucked her in again, like how he did at Midas' mansion.

"Why did you go after Enceladus anyway?" Aera asked after a moment, even though she had an inkling. "Being impulsive isn't like you."

"It just happened—"

"It just happened?" she demanded.

Jason sighed. "I wasn't planning on it, okay? But he was hurting you and saying all that stuff about you and the gods and...I don't know...I lost my cool."

"You lost your cool?" she repeated again, in more disbelief.

"Doesn't your throat hurt?" Jason chided, but his voice was neither stern nor impatient. "Don't be my echo. Close your eyes."

Aera kept her eyes open. "None of the stuff that talking mudpie blabbed about was fake though. No need to get mad about it. I only go to the gods when I want something."

Jason scowled. "You're supposed to ask the gods for help."

"Even after I tried to get them to fade out of existence like a pair of worn out jeans?" Aera shrugged and got cozy on the seat. "Honor is something I gave up on a long time ago. I'm the traitor of Olympus. I'll always be the sellout who switches sides for my own convenience."

"Don't say that about yourself," Jason snapped, and now he was really starting to sound irritated. "You're an extension of the gods and in a way, an extension of the heavens and eternity. Your honor is something that should be defended like a homeland. Nothing and no one should ever force you to question it. If they do, they'll have to answer to me."

With that uncharacteristically dom speech, Jason turned his head away and shut his eyes, signaling that this conversation was over. None of their friends said anything, but Aera just knew Leo and Piper were secretly grinning.

Aera stared at the side of Jason's face and scoffed. For someone who acted all tough and powerful, Jason was as soft and comforting as a teddy bear sometimes. Aera smiled and snuggled up on his shoulder.

Eventually, Jason put his arm around her and for a little while, Aera forgot everything going on. She focused on the steady heartbeat of her cuddly teddy bear and drifted off to sleep. Aera had no nightmares or dreams this time, which was extremely rare, so one could imagine the look on her face when she was unjustly ripped from her precious warm slumber.

It sounded like rocks were being pelted at the windshield, which Aera was used to (people throw rocks at things that shine), but the turbulence was enough to shake her alert.

"An ice storm?" Piper shouted over the racket of the creaking engine and the wind. "Is it supposed to be this cold in Sonoma?"

"Ugh!" Aera shouted, opening her eyes. "Couldn't they have waited until after I got my beauty sleep?"

Next to her, Jason jolted awake. She noticed that her hand was locked in his. Wait. When had they started holding hands? And why did that make her blush?

Sadly, Aera's good mood and romantic feelings didn't last long. The four of them had just barely descended the helicopter when a giant snowball barreled over and completely flattened the aircraft.

If that wasn't inconvenient enough, Thalia had to come over and show off her athletic prowess by somersaulting over an Earthborn and shooting it right in the eye, all cool and Hunter-like. Everything was happening so fast, even for a demigod with ADHD.

Then there was the whiny goddess in the earthen cage who had only half-baked excuses for sending intestinally challenged cows after Annabeth, dropping a statue on Thalia's legs...

"Wait, that was you?" Aera asked, stunned out of her Dior. "I thought Kronos did that to prevent Percy from getting any help from another child of the Big Three. Whose side are you even on, lady?"

"And you took my brother!" Thalia's voice cracked with emotion as both girls bared down on the trapped goddess. "Here—on this spot. You ruined our lives. We should leave you to Gaea!"

In that moment, Aera was so proud she could have saluted Thalia for telling the goddess off. But she didn't because she was still sour Thalia looked way better in silver than she did.

"Hey," Jason intervened. "Thalia—Sis—I know. But this isn't the time. You should help your Hunters."

Thalia clenched her jaw. It was not a pretty sight. There was no living thing on this earth that could tell Thalia Grace what to do. Aera was sipping metaphorical tea and expecting a bloody sibling feud. For whatever reason, Thalia just sighed. "Fine. For you, Jason. But if you ask me, she isn't worth it."

And so, Thalia turned, leaped out of the pool with her sparkling tiara, and stormed from the dull ruins of Jack London's version of a Barbie Dreamhouse. Not a very exciting sibling feud.

Leo turned to Hera with grudging respect. "Intestinally challenged cows?"

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

"Um, gross?" Aera commented. "Aren't you too old to be playing goddess-in-distress?"

"Ohh, Aera Kim," the goddess snarled. "You have no idea the lengths I have gone to preserve your wretched little life. When I get out of here, you shall be sorry you ever opened that mouth of yours!"

"Ahhh." Aera opened her mouth wide like she was at the dentist. Leo copied her and also 'ahhh'd.

"Okay, I'm not your champion," Jason interjected, prompting Aera and Leo to shut their mouths. "I'm only helping you because you stole our memories and you're better than the alternative. Speaking of which, what's going on with that?"

"That, Jason," Hera answered, "is the king of the giants being reborn."

Piper grimaced. "Gross."

"Indeed," the goddess agreed. "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."

Aera yawned. "So are you going to get to the part as to why this actually matters?"

The goddess glared at her, but Aera didn't care. Preserve her life? This old lady had voted to have her killed after Kronos was vanquished. Now Hera had taken her and Jason's memories and expected Aera to cooperate without a second thought? Yeah, no chance, no way.

"Ridicule all you wish," Hera said in a clipped tone. "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."

Fun stuff.

Stuff, Aera would have loved to indulge in if the air hadn't turned brittle with cold. The temperature dropped so fast, Aera's lips would have gotten gross and cracked had she not applied a generous amount of lip balm beforehand. Her breath changed to mist. Frost coated the walls of the Wolf House. Venti rushed in—but instead of winged men, these were shaped like horses, with dark storm-cloud bodies and manes that crackled with lightning. Some had silver arrows sticking out of their flanks. Behind them came red-eyed wolves and the six-armed Earthborn.

Aera tied her hair behind her shoulders with a ribbon. Piper drew her dagger. Jason grabbed an ice-covered plank off the pool floor. Leo reached into his tool belt and pulled out a tin of breath mints. Did he plan on making out with the Earthborn? If so, ew. None of them looked very kissable.

One of the wolves padded forward. It was dragging a human-size statue by the leg. At the edge of the pool, the wolf opened its maw and dropped the statue for them to see—an ice sculpture of a girl, an archer with short spiky hair and a surprised look on her face.

"Thalia!" Aera rushed forward, but Piper pulled her back. It took a second for her to understand why. The ground around Thalia's statue was already webbed with ice. If Aera touched her, she might have froze, too.

"Who did this?" Jason yelled as Leo held him back. His body crackled with electricity. "I'll kill you myself!"

From somewhere behind the monsters, Aera heard a girl's laughter, clear and cold. She stepped out of the mist in her snowy white dress, a silver crown atop her long black hair. She regarded them with all the pompousness of a spoiled princess.

"Bon soir, mes amis," said Khione, the goddess of snow. She smiled, her dark eyes glittering evilly. "I see you have finally made your way here, demigods."

It was her. The one who had given Aera such a miserable wardrobe malfunction.

"What have you done?" Jason demanded. Aera set her hand on his arm to keep him from charging her. She had to hold him back until she got her hands on that evil witch for making her almost involuntarily flash her friends.

"Oh, so many things," the snow goddess purred. "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 snarled appreciatively.

"Tread carefully, my champions," Hera warned Jason, but Aera got the feeling this was directed at her specifically. "She will do whatever it takes to freeze you in place."

Champions? Aera stopped short.

"Who are you talking to?" Aera snarled at the goddess. "I'm not one of your little toy soldiers."

"Just ignore her," Jason pleaded.

"Why should she?" Khione purred. The snow goddess was referring to Aera but had her eyes appraised on Jason, which Aera wasn't too happy about. "She almost died by Hera's rule last summer. Why should she not leave the queen of the gods in there to rot? Soon Porphyrion will arise, and we shall rule the world."

"Traitor!" Hera shouted. "You meddlesome, D-list goddess! You aren't worthy to pour my wine, much less rule the world."

Khione sighed. "Tiresome as ever, Queen Hera. I've been wanting to shut you up for millennia." Khione waved her hand, and ice encased the prison, sealing in the spaces between the earthen tendrils. The ice traveled all the way to Aera, wrapping around her wrist and stinging her skin. Aera hissed in pain.

"That's better," the snow goddess said. "Now, demigods, about your death—"

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

The wolves growled, and the storm spirits stirred restlessly, ready to attack. Khione raised a commanding hand and they halted. "Patience, my loves. If he wants to talk, let him. Time is on our side, after all. Yes, Jason Grace. Like snow, my voice is quiet, gentle, and very cold. It's easy for me to whisper to the other gods, just as it is to demigods. How do you think you two were able to cross paths in the first place?"

Jason's face turned pale, his eyes widening with realization.

"Yes, demigod," Khione said cruelly. "It was I who led her into your sight. It was my doing, all along."

"Seriously?" Aera asked, crossing her arms. She was so not impressed by this brunette Elsa wannabe. "Spreading fake rumors? They give out girl scout badges for that!"

Khione's gaze hardened, her voice dripping with icy determination. "You hate one another," she said, nodding toward Aera and Jason. "You've wanted to kill each other from the moment you laid eyes on each other."

Piper stepped forward, her voice tinged with nervousness. "Stop. You don't mean that."

Aera stared at Piper. Why was she speaking so weirdly? Why was Piper giving Jason this frantic look like she wanted him to go along with what she said? And why was Jason so silent and pale? Had they planned something without Aera knowing? Oh gods, was it because their plan involved Aera having to get her clothes dirty again?

Aera pretended not to notice. Thalia and her Hunters were all still here, frozen, but still here. She couldn't look gross in front of all those cute girls.

Khione hesitated, then laughed at Piper. "Your persuasive powers are improving, girl. But I am a goddess. You can't charm-speak me. This couple has left quite the impression on me. I very much enjoyed watching their downfall. Especially the moment when this one—" She waggled her fingers at Aera. "—discovered just how cunning and deceitful a Roman could be."

Roman? Was she talking about Jason?

"Jason's not like that at all!" Aera said adamantly, uncapping her lipstick and bringing out her sword. "How dare you call him a liar, you half-melted McFlurry!"

Khione's wickedly hideous smirk widened. "Still in the dark, are we? Very well. I shall show you the mercy you do not deserve. You were betrayed, Aera. Played like a fool. You placed your faith in someone who had all but one intention to have you eliminated. Someone who would rather save his own brethren than save you. Someone like Jason."

Aera's anger flared, her steps bringing her closer to Khione, her grip on the sword tightening. "You're embarrassing yourself. Do you really think I'll believe you over—"

"Aera," Jason interrupted. She turned and saw that his expression was racked with guilt. A sinking feeling fell on her chest. "Look, there's something I really need to tell you."

"Not now," Piper interjected as she physically stepped in between them. "Jason, this isn't the right time."

"I remember how we met," Jason said to Aera anyway, his voice tinged with vulnerability. He regarded her with the same careful tenderness you'd exhibit approaching a wounded stray animal or cleaning up the edges of your winged eyeliner with a q tip. "Where I come from, you were an anomaly. We didn't know how to handle you, so we resorted to force. I'm sorry."

Aera didn't understand a single thing he was saying. Where he came from? Did he come from outer space? Why was he being so dramatic? What Aera did understand, however, was that she hated this feeling that everyone else seemed to be in on a secret. A secret about her.

"So, you're not mad at me?" Aera asked Jason, hoping for a glimmer of reassurance.

Jason winced like he was in pain.

Khione cackled. "Silly girl. Has Hera wiped your brain clean? Not that there was much to spare to begin with. Jason lied to you. He earned your trust only to break it. Look at him, all ashamed. Doesn't he remind you of someone?"

The horrible part was that he did. Aera felt a flicker of recognition, a faint memory resurfacing. Jason's expression mirrored the same guilt she had seen in Luke's eyes before. The moment Aera pierced his heart with her sword.

"She is just as much of a threat as you are to her," Khione told Jason. "She attacked your brethren and destroyed your home. Greek fire, was it? A useful invention. One that would've eliminated every demigod in the area had Hera not intervened. Pity. She could have escaped this prison had she not used the last of her power to shield you both from the explosion. I'm afraid the same can't be said for your other friends."

Aera's mind reeled as the memories surged through her, their sudden onslaught hitting her like a thunderbolt. Everything that had happened on Mount Tam descended upon her with bone-chilling force, leaving her breathless and trembling. She could almost taste the acrid scent of burning embers, feel the scorching heat of the green flames on her skin as the realization washed over her like a frigid wave. That was why she had woken up with the taste of Greek fire on her lips.

It all came back to her. The reason she came to San Francisco. Why Aera and Jason had drawn blood and lightning in their first fight in the snow. His violent comrades. The Romans pursuing her. The threat of being locked up again. Being snowed in together. The graveyard. The spa resort. Jason's peace treaty. His mom's necklace. Everything.

Through the flurry of memories rushing back to her, Aera remembered the exact moment her heart stopped. They had been at a shopping mall together. Aera had spent the whole morning cycling Jason through the fitting rooms, trying on every piece of fashionable male clothing there was to try on.

Jason recalled the one brief moment Aera mentioned her Starbucks order while they were trapped in the snowy mountains and got her the exact drink. They had such a lovely morning together, Aera hadn't suspected a thing. The world was good and life was finally fun again. Hanging out with Jason, Aera could forget all about Luke, and Silena, and Percy, and everything that happened last summer. She finally felt like a normal person again.

Jason was so sweet to her. He listened, really listened, despite seeing her at her worst at the cemetery. Aera wanted to show Jason how much she appreciated him. She bought him all these expensive things: clothing, a watch, nice dress shoes...

He had gotten tired since it was his first time really shopping so they split up just before lunch. Aera did more browsing for him before they met up again on the first floor.

Bursting with excitement at the new clothes she got him, Aera had descended the escalator with her arms dangling with shopping bags, all filled with items to doll him up with. That was when she saw the Romans. They were impossible to miss, in their matching purple shirts and plumed helmets and gold armor. Everyone at the mall was staring. Subtly was so not in their vocabulary. There were five of them. The same five who had held Aera captive before.

At first, she thought there must have been a mistake. She was in denial. Maybe they were here by coincidence, also looking to do some fun Christmas shopping for their potential boyfriends. Then Jason stepped out from the crowd and pointed straight up at Aera.

Aera had no time to process this gesture. It felt as though he had just shot her point blank in the chest. The Romans were already rushing up the descending escalator as she came to the ground. They grabbed her by both her arms and yanked her down to the first floor. The shopping bags spilled everywhere and Aera's act of sincerity was trampled on by the Romans.

Jason didn't say a single word to her as they dragged her past. He didn't even look at her, his blue eyes trained in on the glass ceiling, which was covered in snow from outside.

Their happiest day turned into their last. Jason had never intended on letting her go. He waited until her guard was down so he could take her by surprise.

And now he had fooled her again.

Jason must have known the entire time. He had tried saying something to her when they were still in the city. Had he lied about the amnesia, too? Was anything he said to her true?

In her peripheral vision, she could see him trying to reach for her and stopping himself. Aera kept her eyes away from him. She couldn't look at Jason even though she wanted to reach over and yank out his heart, tendril by tendril.

Aera wasn't just angry and sad and heartbroken, she was also embarrassed. She had made the most desirable boy at Camp Half-Blood hers. She was the ravager of Olympus. The thorn of the gods. She had turned love and beauty into a weapon.

Aera shouldn't have been this affected by Jason's disloyalty. It made her a hypocrite, really. But no matter how many ghosts she left behind in the past, Aera just couldn't seem to get used to the disappointment that arose when someone who was supposed to be different turned out to be just like everybody else.

Worst of all, it seemed like Piper knew. Had she been in on it, too? No, Piper was too occupied by her father's kidnapping. She must have put the pieces together during their quest. Which was even more humiliating for Aera.

Did Leo get clued in, too? Was Aera really the one who didn't know?

Their silence told Aera she had made a grave mistake.

"A good Roman should know how to avenge their fallen." Khione thrust out her arm and, out of thin air, fashioned a sword made of pure ice. "Lupa may have trained you to shed all weakness but wolves are known for following one mate until the day they die."

She tossed the sword in Jason's direction and it landed in a bed of snow at his feet. A cold, wicked smile spread across her lips the way frost permeated glass.

"Which will it be, child of Rome? Your honor? Or your heart?"

Aera was frozen. Khione was making Jason choose between her or his legion. A girl who was destined to be his enemy or the home he grew up in. Jason gazed at the ice sword and then Aera. She hadn't even realized she was pointing her sword in Jason's direction.

His answer was painfully obvious. There was no world where Jason would give up everything he knew for someone he didn't.

But what really set Aera off was the fact that Khione expected Jason to take full control of Aera's fate. As if Aera didn't have a choice. As if Aera was just supposed to sit there pretty and let whatever came her way destroy the makeover she had been through the Underworld and back to work on for the past 16 years.

Hera knew this. That was why the goddess had taken her memories in the first place. Aera wouldn't have gotten dragged along in this odyssey if she wasn't missing this most crucial piece of information. She was tired of being a piece in their game.

Something in her broke and fluttered off then, like old hair follicles from a scalp. In that pure white terrain, Aera saw red. Her blood rushed. Her breathing quickened. She could hear voices—so many loud, grating voices running through her head, rubbing in her face everything she had done wrong and her flaws.

All you do is run. It's pathetic.

I should have killed you myself!

Take it easy, man. She's just a girl.

As much as you like to pretend you're strong now, you are still that weak, little girl.

You killed Silena! You let her die!

Aera saved Olympus. If it weren't for her, none of us would be alive.

You are nothing without the Titans.

Did you pray to the gods when your sister laid dying on the battlefield?

I didn't think it wise to interfere in your affairs. I believed you were capable enough to handle it on your own.

You're at 60 and those are only minor infractions.

Don't be so hard on yourself. You're doing the best you can.

I'm only pointing out that your efforts to dissemble Olympus were passable at best.

You did some shady work for Kronos. If Gaea were to give you the same opportunity again, would you take it?

A heart can only take so much, even one as strong as yours.

Why are life and death so easy to you?

Some of us are just not meant to be loved.

Once he has them, a man will never give up his ambitions, not even for the woman he loves. Why shouldn't you do the same?

Prove to me that you deserve the generous mercy of the gods.

What are you, if not a monster?

Aera shut those voices out. She laid her hand over her chest and steadied her pounding heart, wrapping yet again another weave of thorny vines around her heart, chains she knew could never be broken. She could never release her heart from its cage again. She knew what she had to do.

Aera picked up the ice sword and pierced it straight through Jason's heart.