𝕱𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖑𝖞 𝖋𝖎𝖗𝖊 - a Leo Valdez slowburn

Chapter ten

[The asshole returns at last]

" "

Leah knew that he entered when the thrumming returned. 

The thrumming was a the thrum of a low dull harp string, but it was infinitely louder and mixed with white noise. Leah had loved the harp as a kid; her mother had taken her to an art museum where they had a harp player, and she really enjoyed the show. Now, she didn't like the harp anymore, because it reminded her of Porphyrion and his presence. 

She looked down at her hands, counting all her fingers. She knew she was in his mind, but she was checking. This is why it didn't surprise her when she counted nine fingers and the ring finger on her right hand was a bloody stump. Must've been because I read His dark materials a while back, she thought to herself. Will got a wound like that when he got the Bronze Knife. 

She blinked. The character's name made her think of Will Solace, the demigod from the Apollo cabin who had nursed her back to health after she collapsed at Camp. She wondered if Aiden knew to call him, or even knew how to call him. Wait, she'd explained how Iris Messaging worker, so he knew. 

Leah touched the base of her neck and felt the hairs rise, although it didn't feel real, like all her senses had dulled. Now that she thought of it, her hearing had worsened a lot since she'd entered her dream. Or her sleeping state. Whatever it was. 

Her Remedial Sleeping State hadn't started yet, but Leah knew it would soon. If she didn't get out of her mind soon, she'd shut down completely and anyone would be able to trap her in. Being trapped in her mind hadn't been the best experience the last time she'd gone through it. She wasn't looking forward to going through it again. But she wouldn't have to, she told herself. 

Her thoughts echoed through the eerily calm location she was at. It was her mind, so her whispers, her screams, even her thoughts were the same exact level of noise. 

But that didn't disturb her, or did it worry her. What did was that Porphyrion hadn't shown up yet. "This isn't right," she mumbled to herself. "I heard him enter. Why can't I see him?" She squinted and then realized something. The 'eerily calm location' wasn't just a grey room, it was filled with fog. And her hearing-

"Porphyrion, you absolute asshole!" she screamed, although it didn't make much of a difference. She was still talking at the same volume. "Are you going to keep me trapped in here? Try to make me go insane in my own mind?" she asked rhetorically. "Because that won't work! It hasn't worked before, and it won't work now." She stomped her foot and caught the slight crack of glass. Or ice. Her eyes brightened. 

"I'm on ice?" she said enthusiastically. Wait. "I'm on ice," she whispered. Her mood had changed like a flip of a switch. Ice was snow. Snow...

"I knew you'd realize some point or another, Leah petite."

Khione answered Leah's call, her long silk ballgown flowing behind her. Her hair was as ebony black as ever, but this time it was pulled back in a fish braid. She raised her arms, as if she was welcoming Leah for an embrace. "Did you do this?" she asked the snow goddess. "You- how did you even get in my dream? This is my Dream! You can't just ask for passage and get it. I've worked really well on my wall, there's not a damn soul on this planet that can break through." Khione just smiled icily and waved it away. 

"That does matters not, Leah," she answered cryptically, "I assume you know I'm not alone here." Leah squinted in confusion. "You've figured out how to enter Dreams with multiple people?" 

She wouldn't lie, she was really curious of this newfound power. She knew of people entering Dreams - hell, she'd done it before under Porphyrion's command with a certain person's help - but with more than one person? That sounded impossible. "It's not impossible, just improbable," she muttered.