BLOODSHOT . . . piper mclean

21.

FOR A MINUTE, Perfect Jason and Thalia faced each other, stunned. Then Thalia rushed forward and hugged him.

"My gods! She told me you were dead!" She gripped Perfect Jason's face and seemed to be examining everything about it. "Thank Artemis, it is you. That little scar on your lip — you tried to eat a stapler when you were two!"

Fire Boy laughed. "Seriously?"

Hedge nodded like he approved of Perfect Jason's taste. "Staplers — excellent source of iron."

"W-wait," Perfect Jason stammered. "Who told you I was dead? What happened?"

At the cave entrance, one of the white wolves barked. Thalia looked back at the wolf and nodded, but she kept her hands on Perfect Jason's face, like she was afraid he might vanish. "My wolf is telling me I don't have much time, and she's right. But we have to talk. Let's sit."

Kaleidoscope did better than that. She collapsed. She would've cracked her head on the cave floor if Eden hadn't caught her. "I still got em," she grinned.

Thalia rushed over. "What's wrong with her? Ah — never mind. I see. Hypothermia. Ankle." She frowned at the satyr. "Don't you know nature healing?"

Hedge scoffed. "Why do you think she looks this good? Can't you smell the Gatorade?"

"You and the satyr," Thalia ordered to Fire Boy, "take this girl to my friend at the entrance. Phoebe's an excellent healer."

"It's cold out there!" Hedge said. "I'll freeze my horns off."

"Come on, Hedge. These two need time to talk." Fire Boy tilted his head toward the outside of the cafe.

"Humph. Fine," the satyr muttered. "Didn't even get to brain anybody."

Hedge carried Kaleidoscope toward the entrance. Perfect Jason called, "Actually, man, could you, um, stick around?"

Fire Boy grinned. "Sticking around is my specialty."

Eden groaned. "Your specialty is being annoying."

The four of them sat at the fire. For a few minutes, nobody spoke. Perfect Jason studied his sister like she was a scary device—one that might explode if handled incorrectly. Thalia seemed more at ease, but still she regarded Perfect Jason in a kind of amazed trance, maybe remembering a little two-year-old who tried to eat a stapler. Fire Boy took a few pieces of copper wire out of his pockets and twisted them together. Eden sat between Thalia's legs, leaning back so her head was on her chest. She hummed and took out her precious sheet paper, writing down notes so she could experiment with them later.

"So . . . the Hunters of Artemis. This whole 'not dating' thing — is that like always, or more of a seasonal thing, or what?" Fire Boy broke the silence.

"Always," Eden answered. "We never tried that out, did we? We split before it happened."

Thalia shook her head above her, and Eden felt her head move on hers. The floor wasn't good for writing things, so she'd resigned to Thalia's thigh and she would fix it later.

"You two—" Fire Boy pointed at them. "Dated?"

Perfect Jason kicked him in the shin. "Don't mind Leo. He's just trying to break the ice. But, Thalia . . . what happened to our family? Who told you I was dead?"

Thalia tugged at a silver bracelet on her wrist. "Do you remember anything?" she asked.

Perfect Jason shook his head. "I woke up three days ago on a bus with Leo and Piper."

"Which wasn't our fault," Fire Boy added hastily. "Hera stole his memories."

Thalia tensed. "Hera? How do you know that?"