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The thrill of the flight was lost once they were back in the skies. Too vividly did she remember the way she fell and how her heart felt like a bird in a cage. The helplessness she felt burrowed under her skin. It gnawed at the back of her mind constantly. Maybe — next time — there won't be any soft winds to break her fall. Next time, it'll be too late. It was good to be cautious of things that will surely happen since fate had a way of testing the waters, pushing her so close to the edge only to pull her back before she slipped off.
Destiny made her a pawn, drenched in the suffering that all tragedies inevitably fall victim to. And Oriana carried it in her pocket like a lucky stone. As the thoughts sped past in her head like how the cities melted away below them, she could close her eyes and let the wind fall over her. They have been flying for a while now. Every now and then, Leo tries to strike a conversation but it eventually dies off and they slipped into a comfortable silence.
Oriana hissed as Jason writhed in his sleep. She had her arms around him in an effort to keep him from falling off but every time he moved, he scraped against her bruised wrists.
All of a sudden. Jason fell forward, eyes snapping forward. "Cyclops!"
"Shh, you're fine," she said soothingly, pulling him back. "You're alive. We're all alive."
"But Detroit," he stammered. "Didn't we crash land? I thought—"
"It's okay. We got away," Leo said. "But you got a nasty concussion. How are you feeling?"
"How did you — the cyclops—"
"Leo ripped them apart," Piper said excitedly. "You should've seen him. He can summon fire—"
"It was nothing," Leo said. "She exaggerates."
Piper laughed. "Shut up, Valdez. I'm going to tell him. Get over it."
"She's right. It was badass." Oriana jostled his shoulder. "You get to brag a little."
"He appeared out of nowhere and destroyed the things," Piper said. "Those metal cranes crushed the monsters and when one of them tried to explode him, he didn't even burn. Leo's certifiably fireproof. But... they didn't seem to stay dead though. We got out of there as soon as we could because they were rising again."
"They were reforming," Oriana said. "Which they aren't supposed to do. And there was something else. The monsters had mentioned an encounter with someone that was — well — like you. He spoke Latin and wore a purple shirt. They even called him a son of Mercury."
Jason's brows furrowed. "Not Hermes?"
She shook her head. "I don't think so."
"That means I'm not alone." He let out a breath. "There are others like me."
