𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 ! [jason grace]¹

C H A P T E R ⬩ T H I R T E E N

O C E A N U S

C H A P T E R   T H I R T E E N

( meet the king of crazy )

⟶⬩⬥⬩⟵

          JASON HAD FOUND his sister and lost her in less than an hour. As they climbed the cliffs of the floating island, he kept looking back, but Thalia was gone.

Despite what she'd said about meeting him again, Jason wondered. She'd found a new family with the Hunters, and a new mother in Artemis. She seemed so confident and comfortable with her life, Jason wasn't sure if he'd ever be a part of it. And she seemed so set on finding her friend Percy. Had she ever searched for Jason that way? The way that Malia had been before she'd been sent on this quest?

Not fair, he told himself. She thought you were dead.

He could barely tolerate what she'd said about their mom. It was almost like Thalia had handed him a baby—a really loud, ugly baby—and said, Here, this is yours. Carry it. He didn't want to carry it. He didn't want to look at it or claim it. He didn't want to know that he had an unstable mother who'd gotten rid of him to appease a goddess. No wonder Thalia had run away.

Then he remembered the Zeus cabin at Camp Half-Blood—that tiny little alcove Thalia had used as a bunk, out of sight from the glowering statue of the sky god. Their dad wasn't much of a bargain, either. Jason understood why Thalia had renounced that part of her life too, but he was still resentful. He couldn't be so lucky. He was left holding the bag—literally.

The golden backpack of the winds was strapped over his shoulders. The closer they got to Aeolus's palace, the heavier the bag got. The winds struggled, rumbling and bumping around.

The only one who seemed in a good mood was Coach Hedge. He kept bounding up the slippery staircase and trotting back down. "Come on, cupcakes! Only a few thousand more steps!"

"I'm gonna turn his furry ass into a coat if he comments on the stairs again," Malia mumbled, glaring at the goat.

As they climbed, Leo, Piper, and Malia left Jason in his silence. Maybe they could sense his bad mood. Malia kept glancing back, worried, as if he were the one who'd almost died from a dragon bite rather than she. Her eyes swam with oceans of worry anytime she'd look back at him, lips tugged down in a frown. She of all people probably understood what he was going through right now, even if not fully.

Jason momentarily thought of Thalia's idea. They'd told the girls about what Thalia had said on the bridge—how they could save both Piper's dad and Hera—but Jason didn't really understand how they were going to do that, and he wasn't sure if the possibility had made Piper more hopeful or just more anxious.