𝐏𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐄𝐈𝐈. ( 𝘫𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 )

𝟎𝟎𝟖

( STEPHANIE PHẠM )

⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰˚☽˚⁀➷｡˚⸙͎۪۫⋆ ༄

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:𝐏𝐈𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌 "your Majesty." the daughter of aphrodite curtsied again with incredible poise, considering her life was on the line. she told boreas the whole story, from the grand canyon to the prophecy, much better and faster than jason or stephanie could have.

"all we ask for is guidance," she concluded. "these storm spirits attacked us, and they're working for some evil mistress. if we find them, maybe we can find hera."

the king stroked the icicles in his beard. out the windows, night had fallen, and the only light came from the aurora borealis overhead, washing everything in red and blue. "i know of these storm spirits," boreas said. "i know where they are kept, and of the prisoner they took."

"coach hedge?" stephanie asked. "what? he's alive?" the girl asked as she took a step forward, her shock being too much to contain at that moment.

boreas waved aside the question. "for now. but the one who controls these storm winds it would be madness to oppose her. you would be better staying here as frozen statues." stephanie couldn't argue, she had heard enough about hera.

"hera's in trouble," jason said. "in three days she's going to be-I don't know-consumed, destroyed, something. and a giant is going to rise."

"yes," boreas agreed. stephanie knew she wasn't imagining it when she saw boreas shoot khione a look of anger "many horrible things are waking. even my children do not tell me all the news they should. the great stirring of monsters that began with kronos-your father zeus foolishly believed it would end when the titans were defeated. but just as it was before, so it is now. the final battle is yet to come, and the one who will wake is more terrible than any titan. storm spirits-these are only beginning. the earth has many more horrors to yield up. when monsters no longer stay in tartarus, and souls are no longer confined to hades, olympus has good reason to fear."

stephanie's eyes stayed glued to the ice princess as she grinned through it all, the girl was obviously twisted in the head. no sane person would smile well being told of all the destruction to come.

"so you'll help us?" jason asked the king as he wrapped his hand around stephanie's wrist pulling her forward with him.

boreas scowled. "i did not say that."

"please, your Majesty," piper said not daring to join jason and stephanie.

everyone's eyes turned toward her. she had to be scared out of her mind, but she looked beautiful and confident-and it had nothing to do with the blessing of aphrodite. she looked herself again, in day-old traveling clothes with choppy hair and no makeup. "if you tell us where the storm spirits are, we can capture them and bring them to aeolus. you'd look good in front of your boss. aeolus might pardon us and the other demigods. we could even rescue gleeson hedge. everyone wins."