You'll Learn to Love Me

Chapter 3: Snow Palace, and Laylana's Gay is Showing

"We're here," Laylana said, shaking Leo's shoulder to wake him up. Below them, a city sat on a cliff overlooking a river. The plains around it were dusted with snow, but the cityitself glowed warmly in the winter sunset. In the center was an actual castle with massive red brick walls and a square tower with a peaked, green gabled roof.

"Tell me that's Quebec and not Santa's workshop," Leo said, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, Quebec City," Piper confirmed. "One of the oldest cities in North America. Founded around sixteen hundred or so?"

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Your dad do a movie about that too?"

She made a face at him, which caused Laylana to snort as she just looked a bit odd making it with the makeup still on her face. "I read sometimes, okay? Just because Aphrodite claimed me, doesn't mean I have to be an airhead."

"Hey, not all children of Aphrodite are airheads." Laylana defended. "Just... some of them prefer not to show it."

"Seems accurate." Piper grumbled, probably thinking of her newfound half-sister, Drew.

"Feisty!" Leo said. "So you know so much, what's that castle?"

"A hotel, I think."

Leo laughed. "No way."

"No, she's right." Laylana pointed out the sleek black luxury cars idled in the drive. People in elegant suits and winter cloaks hurried to get out of the cold.

"The North Wind is staying in a hotel?" Leo said. "That can't be—"

"Heads up, guys," Jason interrupted. "We got company!"

Laylana looked below and saw what Jason meant. She drew one of her daggers as she watched the two winged figures fly towards them with jagged looking swords. Festus didn't like the angel guys. He swooped to a halt in midair, Laylana letting out a small scream as she unconsciously wrapped an arm around Leo, the dragon's wings beating and talons bared, and made a rumbling sound in his throat that made Laylana feel uneasy. She realized he was getting ready to blow fire, which she really did not want while she was on his back.

"Steady, boy," Leo muttered, his face burning slightly at Laylana's arm wrapped around his waist. He tried to ignore it as the figures grew closer.

"I don't like this," Jason said. "They look like storm spirits."

"They're not." Laylana bit her lip. "They're solid. Maybe guards?"

"You don't know?"

"Never seen them before."

The angels pulled up in front of the dragon and hovered there, swords at the ready. The hockey ox grunted. "No clearance."

"'Scuse me?" Leo said.

"You have no flight plan on file," explained the other one. Laylana had to resist the urge to laugh at the terrible French accent this one had. "This is restricted airspace."

"Destroy them?" The ox showed off his gap-toothed grin.

The dragon began to hiss steam, ready to defend them. Laylana tightened her grip on Leo and her dagger, Jason summoning his golden sword, but Leo interrupted them before they go could anything drastic. "Hold on! Let's have some manners here, boys. Can I at least find out who has the honor of destroying me?"

"But-" Laylana tried, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. 

"I am Cal!" Cal grunted. He looked very proud of himself, like he'd taken a long time to memorize that sentence.

"That's short for Calais," the other one said. "Sadly, my brother cannot say words with more than two syllables—"

"Pizza! Hockey! Destroy!" Cal offered.