[1] 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 ― p.jackson ✓

018.

「018. theta 」

CADIE HAD never been to the council of gods before. and to be honest, she hadn't gone to mount olympus before either. she didn't know what to expect. sure, she knew the empire state building was olympus, but she didn't know what to think of when she actually entered the place. if you told her to imagine their journey there, she'd say that it was like a fairytale probably, with golden lights and regal dresses and music that played in the background (but the kind where you don't even know where it's playing from). that was cadie's idyllic version of olympus. but a few things blew the daydream out quickly.

for one, they were travelling with a son of poseidon in the domain of zeus. for another thing, they were travelling with a goddess. and for another... zoë had just died. and that didn't sit well in her stomach. the idea they got to celebrate the victory of the quest without their quest members... so many had been lost. bianca, zoë... cadie thought about how she was nearly lost too. she was lucky, insanely lucky. which was odd since she considered herself to be unlucky almost always.

they circled over midtown manhattan, making one complete orbit around mount olympus. traveling by elevator up to the secret six hundredth floor of the empire state building was quite literally the most amazing thing cadie had ever experienced. neither cadire nor lilly had ever been to mount olympus, so looking around and seeing it was like... that fairytale she had imagined (sort of).

in the early-morning darkness, torches and fires made the mountainside palaces glow twenty different colors, from bloodred to indigo. apparently no one ever slept on olympus. the twisting streets were full of demigods and nature spirits and minor godlings bustling about, riding chariots or sedan chairs carried by cyclopes. winter didn't seem to exist here.

she caught the scent of the gardens in full bloom, jasmine and roses and even sweeter things cadie couldn't name. music drifted up from many windows, the soft sounds of lyres and reed pipes. towering at the peak of the mountain was the greatest palace of all, the glowing white hall of the gods.

their pegasi set them ndown in the outer courtyard, in front of huge silver gates. before cadie could even think to knock, the gates opened by themselves.

for a minute they stood there regarding the palace, the way cadie remembered standing together in front of westover hall, what seemed like a million years ago. and now, they had lilly and a goddess with them.

and then, side by side, they walked into the throne room.

twelve enormous thrones made a u around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp. the ceiling above glittered with constellations—even the newest one, zoë the huntress, making her way across the heavens with her bow drawn. cadie would've started crying there if she wasn't already out of tears. to be honest, everything felt so surreal to her. she'd sang the death song... and survived.

all of the seats were occupied. each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall, and cadie's telling you, if you've ever had a dozen all-powerful super-huge beings turn their eyes on you at once...well, suddenly, facing monsters seemed like a picnic.

"welcome, heroes," artemis said.

"mooo!"

that's when cadie noticed bessie and grover. a sphere of water was hovering in the center of the room, next to the hearth fire. bessie was swimming happily around, swishing his serpent tail and poking his head out the sides and bottom of the sphere. he seemed to be enjoying the novelty of swimming in a magic bubble.