𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 (𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨'𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐬)

EIGHT ; the uncertainty of certain death

     Eileen wasn't the biggest fan in the world of being held at sword-point as she struggled up some ice-covered stairs. One wrong move and she would be turned into a very cold shish-kebab.

     Zethes followed close behind them as they trailed the ice girl to the top of the staircase. The threat of death and cardio. Not Eileen's ideal hotel stay-cation.

     Everyone now and then, the ice girl would turn and give them - more specifically Jason - a smile. But there was no warmth in her expression. She looked more like she was waiting for one of them to slip-up so she could have an excuse to kill them. Eileen took Piper's hand, half for some warmth, and half for some stability.

     Boreas's kids seemed dangerous enough - Eileen figured it was safe enough to assume that Boreas himself was just as deadly.

     Jason took Piper's hand on her other side. She looked at him and raised her eyebrow, but didn't let go. Their relationship - if it was even fair to call it that - was different now. Piper clearly didn't want to push anything onto Jason, no matter how much she seemed to wish they were together. Jason seemed confused as well, like he wanted to be more than a friend to Piper, but he was so preoccupied with his own problems that he wasn't sure what to do about it. All it resulted in was some awkward tension that reminded Eileen of the start of every rom-com ever.

     "This is going to end in our death, isn't it?" Eileen whispered.

     "It'll be fine," Piper promised. "Just a talk, right?"

     At the top of the stairs, the ice girl looked back and noticed them all holding hands. Her smile faded. Suddenly, Eileen's hand in Piper's turned so cold it burnt. When she let go, her fingers were smoking with frost and numb to the bone. So were Piper's and Jason's.

     "Warmth is not a good idea here," ice girl advised, "especially when I am your best chance of staying alive. Please, this way."

     Piper's eyebrows knitted together like, what was that about?

     Zethes poked them all in the back with his sword, and they continued to follow the ice girl down a massive hallway decked in frozen tapestries.

     Freezing winds whipped back and forth through the air faster than Eileen thought possible, battering their bodies left and right as they walked. It was getting harder to keep her balance, but at least the floor was more frost than ice, now. She wondered if Leo was Ok, far below them, and on his own with Cal. Maybe they were having a lovely conversation about Pizza - or maybe Cal had run Leo through with his sword. Eileen shuddered and tried not to think about it.

     "Hey." Piper touched Jason's arm. The cold seemed to be affecting her make-up, because Aphrodite's blessing was fading. She didn't look quite so fake anymore. Her hair had come undone from its braid, and was hanging down her back in its usually choppy style. "You still with us?"

     "Yeah... yeah, sorry." Jason said. He looked lost in his own thoughts, his fingers twitching around his pocket.

     At the end of the hallway, they found themselves in front of a set of oaken doors carved with a map of the world. The heads of four men were marked in each corner, blowing ice and snow across the globe.

     Ice girl turned, her eyes glittering with poorly concealed malice. "This is the throne room," she said. "Be on your best behaviour, Jason Grace. My father can be... chilly. I will translate for you, and try to encourage him to hear you out. I do hope he spares you. We could have such fun."