𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 ! [jason grace]¹

C H A P T E R ⬩ E L E V E N

O C E A N U S

C H A P T E R   E L E V E N

( the truth is out )

⟶⬩⬥⬩⟵

          MALIA WOKE UP cold and shivering.

She'd had the worst dream about an old guy with donkey ears trying to play Marco Polo with her, which was a game she sucked at ironically. You'd think she would be good at it, what with being the daughter of the god of the sea, but she always ended up going the wrong way. She blamed it on being directionally challenged. She sucked at knowing her left from her right.

"Oh, gods." Her teeth chattered. "That son of a— uggh! He turned me to gold!"

"Is he still nearby? I want to smack the donkey ears off of him," Piper muttered, shivering next to Malia. The daughter of Aphrodite's lips were blue, her skin pale as she shook.

Malia's body was tense, her muscles trying to warm her up as she curled into herself to keep warm. She was soaking wet and cold as ice, but her side didn't hut as much as it had when she'd been turned to gold. Meaning either the water had healed her or the magical golden touch of King Douchebag had done it.

"You're okay now." Jason leaned over and tucked a warm blanket around her, the girl immediately relaxing as heat surged through her body. She mentally thanked her dad for giving her a tolerance to cold water.

Malia blinked, trying to figure out where they were. Next to her and Piper, a campfire blazed, turning the air sharp with smoke. Firelight flickered against rock walls. They were in a shallow cave, but it didn't offer much protection. Outside, the wind howled. Snow blew sideways. It might've been day or night. The snow made it too dark to tell.

"L-L-Leo?" Piper managed through chattering teeth.

"Present and un-gold-ified." Leo was also wrapped in blankets, but he stood and handed one off to Piper, giving her a smile. He didn't look great, but better than how Piper did. The poor girl was shaking like a chihuahua. "I got the precious metal treatment too," he said. "But I came out of it faster. Dunno why. We had to dunk you in the river to get you back completely. Tried to dry you off, but. . . it's really, really cold."

Piper glanced at Malia. "Why aren't you shaking?"

Malia shrugged. "Daughter of Poseidon. Maybe I'm immune to hypothermia? I don't know. Water heals me, so being drenched in it is probably healing both my previous injury and stopping me from getting sick?" She had no clue, really. This was her first time taking an ice bath in the middle of a blizzard.

"You've got hypothermia," Jason told Piper. "We risked as much nectar as we could. Coach Hedge did a little nature magic—"

"Sports medicine." The coach looked over Piper, getting in her face. "Kind of a hobby of mine. Your breath might smell like wild mushrooms and Gatorade for a few days, but it'll pass. You probably won't die. Probably."