I don't want to leave Leo alone. As we ascend the stairs, I turn back and look at him, but he's staring at the other chick. That's fine.
I have to focus on the stairs. They're slippery. And the ice queen keeps turning and smiling at us in a super creepy way. It would be so embarassing to slip and fall in front of everyone here. And I'm nervous to meet Boreas. He is a god, and therefore, he gave me a gift. He knows who I am. Whether that will help us or not, I don't know. I'll have to play that card if we get desperate and hope it helps. Besides, if these are his kids, I really don't know if I want to meet daddy.
Ahead of me, Jason grips Piper's hand. Almost immediately, they let go, as if it hurt.
"Warmth is not a good idea here." The ice queen tells them. "Especially when I am your best chance of staying alive." We're at the top of the stairs now. "Please, this way."
Zethes pokes me in the back with his ice sword, and we follow the girl down a massive hallway decked in frozen tapestries. Frozen winds blow back and forth, chilling me to the bone. At the end of the hallway, there's a set of oak doors carved with a map of the world. In each corner there's one of those bearded men blowing wind.
The woman turns, her eyes gleaming with excitement. Not a reassuring thing in this situation. "This is the throne room. Be on your best behavior, demigods. 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."
I say nothing. She'll translate for us? Yeah, right. Also, something tells me her definition of fun is not the same as mine.
"Um, okay." Jason says. "But really, we're just here for a little talk. We'll be leaving right after."
The girl smiles. "I love heroes. So blissfully ignorant."
Piper immediately steps up, her hand on her dagger. "Well, how about you enlighten us? You say you're going to translate for us, and we don't even know who you are. What's your name?"
The girl sniffs with distaste, as if she'd forgotten Piper's existence. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you don't recognize me. Even in ancient times the Greeks did not know me well. Their island homes were too warm, too far from my domain. I was not even invited to give a gift to Hera's little pet project here." She glares at me. "I am Khione, daughter of Boreas, goddess of snow." She stirs the air with her finger, creating a mini blizzard. "Now, come." The doors blow open and a cold blue light spills from the room. "Hopefully you will survive your little talk."
We walk in, and suddenly, if possible, it's even colder. I'm tempted to start a small fire in the palm of my hand, just enough to warm my frozen fingers, but I am certain that it would be a bad idea. I hope Leo is doing okay with Cal. I hope Cal didn't decide his urge to destroy is greater than his fear of his sister.
The throne room is foggy, where we can't see the end, but above us, a gorgeous river of light shines. A miniature aurora borealis here in the throne room. Gorgeous. I'm distracted while we walk, and Jason has to catch me to avoid the two Greek spearmen- who I had thought were statues lining the wall- who had just crossed their spears, moving to action incredibly fast. A man's voice rings out. French. Having spent almost my entire life in Camp Half-Blood, I had a lot of free time. Aphrodite's kids have a natural ability with French, but I taught myself. I learned the romance languages: French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and demigods have an affinity for Greek. I was working on German before this whole quest fiasco started, but it wasn't coming to me as easily.
The voice commands the guards to uncross their spears and let us approach. Not to kill us.
"It's fine." Khione tells us. "My father has ordered them not to kill you just yet."
