SWEET SORROWS│p. jackson

[ 22. ]

II xxii. hera the loose cannon... II

"JASON!"

Piper had been calling his name over and over, for at least two minutes straight, and Andromeda's face was seriously getting tired of showing the same concerned expression for that long. (Of course she was joking, she wanted Jason to be very much alive just as the rest of them did). His eyes only showed the whites and his blonde hair stuck up at all angles.

"It's no use, child." Hera stood over them in her simple black robes and shawl. "If it will make you feel better I was praying it would have been the Daughter of Hecate in his place."

"No it actually doesn't make me feel better," Piper frowned.

Andromeda scowled behind her. "Way to make light of a situation."

"Oh, as if you're an expert! A savior of all incidents, Andromeda Johnson!"

"As a matter of fact-"

"Silence! You are the cause of them. And you are the cause of the pain in my goddess-like-"

"Oh my gods! Both of you shut up!" Thalia snapped.

Every vestige of winter was gone from the valley. No signs of battle, either. The monsters had been vaporized. The ruins had been restored to what they were before-still ruins, but with no evidence that they'd been overrun by a horde of wolves, storm spirits, and six-armed ogres.

Even the Hunters had been revived. Most waited at a respectful distance in the meadow, but Thalia knelt by Piper's side, her hand on Jason's forehead and face directed at the angry goddess and girl. "This is your fault. Do something!"

"Do not address me that way, girl. I am the queen-"

"Oh, right. No one but Andie can address you that way and still live, apparently," Thalia snipped with an eye roll. "Fix him!"

Hera's eyes flickered with power. "I did warn him. I would never intentionally hurt the boy. He was to be my champion. I told them to close their eyes before I revealed my true form."

"Um ..." Leo frowned. "True form is bad, right? So why did you do it?"

"I unleashed my power to help you, fools!" Hera cried. "I became pure energy so I could disintegrate the monsters, restore this place, and even save these miserable Hunters from the ice."

"But mortals can't look upon you in that form!" Thalia shouted. "You've killed him!"

Leo shook his head in dismay. "That's what our prophecy meant. 'Death unleash, through Hera's rage'. Come on, lady. You're a goddess. Do something useful for once-"

"Excuse me-"

"He's breathing!"

The group's heads all snapped towards Piper, then down to Jason.

"Impossible," Hera said. "I wish it were true, child, but no mortal has ever-"

"Jason," Piper called, putting every bit of her willpower into his name. "Listen to me. You can do this. Come back. You're going to be fine." Nothing happened. Leo, Alabaster, Andromeda, and Thalia all held their breath.

"Healing is not a power of Aphrodite," Hera's annoying voice interrupted once more. "Even I cannot fix this, girl. His mortal spirit-"

"Jason," Piper said again. "Wake up."

He gasped, and his eyes flew open. For a moment they were full of light-glowing pure gold. Then the light faded and his eyes were normal again. "What-what happened?"