𝙄𝙉𝙁𝙇𝘼𝙈𝙀𝘿; heroes of olympus

bandages

JASPER ELIANO
JASPER WOULD HAVE DIED IF NOT FOR REYNA. And then Reyna would have died if not for him.

His shoulder yanked abruptly backward. He swore. Nico's eyes rolled up into his head and he lolled backward, completely unconscious. Jasper let go of his arm to avoid breaking it.

Reyna, bless her heart, understood the situation. She swung up, using Jasper's body, which prompted a yelp of pain from him. Her shoe was on his shoulder, and then she was climbing to the top of a colonnade where the Athena Parthenos lay sideways.

The statue looked like a nightclub singer sprawled across a piano. Lengthwise, she fit almost perfectly, but with Nike in her extended hand she was a bit too wide. She looked like she might topple forward at any moment.

Jasper would have laughed had he not been in so much pain.

Reyna, body shaking, had managed to climb on top of Athena. Now she turned and held out her hand, breaths coming in short, pained gasps. "Coming?"

He took her hand in his good one and scrambled up with her, then let out a shaky breath. "Wow." He turned to look at Nico. "Is he okay?"

Reyna studied him for a few seconds. "He's breathing, and he's harnessed well. He'll be okay for now. Although we should probably get him some draught."

Jasper nodded. "In a moment." He surveyed her. "What hurts?"

Her eyes flared defiantly. "It's fine."

He shook his head. "You're shaking."

"So are you. Maybe we can attribute that to nearly falling to our deaths the second time in twenty-four hours?" Her lips quirked upwards, wry and unwilling.

Jasper shook his head, looking around. He didn't see any immediate threat. Just below was a lawn in the middle of a public square. Beds of orange marigolds bloomed all around the area. There was a nearby sidewalk cafe with patio umbrellas, but there was no activity anywhere, probably because of the fact the sky was nearly dark and the sun had just finished setting.

The square itself was cobblestone pavement, edged with white stucco buildings and lemon trees. In the center stood the well-preserved shell of a Roman temple. Its square base stretched maybe fifty feet wide and ten feet tall, with an intact fade of Corinthian columns rising another twenty-five feet. And at the top of the colonnade sat Reyna, Jasper, and their overlarge companion, with a hanging, unconscious boy to the side.

"Great," Jasper grumbled. "Just great. We should probably get down."

"Nico first," Reyna said tightly. "Then we'll check on injuries."

Jasper hesitated but relented. There was no arguing with Reyna. "Fine. But as soon as we get to the ground."

"And check on Nico."

"Fine."

"And check on you―"

"God damn it Reyna, no."

She sighed, blowing out a huff of air that caused her dark hair to flutter. "Fine."

Together, through careful movements and a lot of cursing, the two of them managed to safely remove Nico and use the ropes of the harness to get down with him. Once on the grass, Jasper dug through his pack and brought out the unicorn draught. He dribbled some in the son of Hades' lips. A bit of color returned to Nico's cheeks, and his breathing evened out.