Bloodlines: Ichor || [2]

CXX. Blood is Thicker Than Water

HE STARED AT HER AS IF HE'D NEVER SEEN HER BEFORE—which Ariana supposed he hadn't. She felt the mist burn off her, the pain in her leg. Her father was seeing her for the first time in over a decade.

As Ariana stared at him, colder memories rose of Kronos. Her father had come to the titan before he died, seeking revenge for his sister's murder. He promised to turn Ariana over to him instead of Hera. She could tell the titan wasn't lying. And here he was now, standing with Melody and his own killer. For what?

"Andromeda..." he breathed.

She stepped backward and bumped into Jason. She realized he was standing up straight—no longer an old man.

The burning sensation didn't stop. She felt as if layers of her life were being seared away – her tasks at Camp Half-Blood, her decade at Camp Jupiter, her training with Lupa the wolf goddess, her months with Luke. She was a scared and vulnerable six-year-old again. The scar across her face, a mirror of Luke's, stung like a fresh wound.

"Mom?" Jason managed.

"Yes, dearest." Her image flickered. "Come, embrace me."

"You're – you're not real."

"Of course she is real." Michael Varus's voice sounded far away. "Did you think Gaia would let such an important spirit languish in the Underworld? She is your mother, Beryl Grace, star of television, sweetheart to the king of Olympus, who rejected her not once but twice, in both his Greek and Roman aspects. She deserves justice as much as any of us."

"And you?" Ariana looked to her father. "You want revenge on Hera, is that right? For stealing your helpless little girl."

For a moment, he looked stunned. His laugh came out weakly. "I can't say you look helpless now." He stepped up onto the table, and Ariana hated how easily the Italian came to her now. "I heard the stories. I didn't think I'd get to see you for myself."

A clanging of glass and silverware cut through the buzzing in Ariana's head. "Hey, bro—shut the fuck up." Natasha had climbed onto a table and kicked a platter into a ghoul's face when he tried to stop her. "Ariana, I don't know what he's saying, but I know it doesn't matter. These people, these things—they don't have to matter to either of you anymore. They're just spirits or remnants—"

"A remnant!" Jason's mother's ghost sobbed. "Yes, look what I have been reduced to. It's Jupiter's fault. He abandoned us. He wouldn't help me! I didn't want to leave you in Sonoma, my dear, but Juno and Jupiter gave me no choice. They wouldn't allow us to stay together. Why fight for them now? Join these suitors. Lead them. We can be a family again!"

Ariana felt hundreds of eyes on her. She'd never really minded it before, but she hated it now.

Jason's back pressed against her's.

"You left me," he told his mother. "That wasn't Jupiter or Juno. That was you."

Beryl Grace stepped forward. The worry lines around her eyes, the pained tightness in her mouth reminded Ariana of his sister, Thalia.

"Dearest, I told you I would come back. Those were my last words to you. Don't you remember?"

Ariana felt Jason shiver. She'd glanced around him to see his mother, but now she turned back to her father. She hated that she didn't know what Jason was thinking.

Across the table, Antinous raised his goblet. "So pleased to meet you, daughter of Bellona, son of Jupiter. Listen to your parents. You have many grievances against the gods. Why not join us? I gather these three serving girls are your friends? We will spare them. You wish to have your parents by your sides? We can do that. You wish to be royalty—"