created →jason grace

twenty-one

{Lina}

LINA WOKE UP COLD AND PISSED OFF.

She couldn't really remember much except for diving in front of Jason, it was almost a reflex.

"Oh, god." Her teeth chattered. "That old fart turned me to gold."

"You're okay now." Jason leaned over and tucked a warm blanket around her, but she still felt as cold as a Boread.

She blinked, trying to figure out where they were. Next to her, a campfire blazed, turning the air sharp with smoke. Firelight flickered against rock walls. They were in a shallow cave, but it didn't offer much protection. Outside, the wind howled. Snow blew sideways. It might've been day or night. The storm made it too dark to tell.

"L-L-Leo? P-Pi-Piper?" Lina managed.

"Present and un-gold-ified." Leo was also wrapped in blankets. He didn't look great, but better than Lina felt and Piper looked. "We got the precious metal treatment too," he said. "But I came out of it faster. Dunno why. We had to dunk you two in the river to get you back completely. Lina did come out of it before Piper. Tried to dry you guys off but . . . it's really really cold."

"You both got hypothermia," Jason said. "We risked as much nectar as we could. Coach Hedge did a little nature magic—"

"Sports medicine." The coach's ugly face loomed over her. "Kind of a hobby of mine. Your breath might smell like wild mushrooms and Gatorade for a few days, but it'll pass. You probably won't die. Probably."

"Thanks." Lina tried to sound snarky, but her voice came out weak.

"How did you beat Midas?" Piper asked directing the question at Jason.

Jason told them the story, putting most of it down to luck. He then turned to Lina.

"Thanks, by the way, for uh getting turned to gold because of me, you really saved me." Jason told her gratefully.

Lina only blinked owlishly at him for a few seconds, which felt like forever to her, before clearing her throat. Pink dusted her cheeks as she spoke, "Yeah, yeah no problem." She gave him a small smile once she finished.

The coach snorted. "Kid's being modest. You should've seen him. Hi-yah! Slice! Boom with the lightning!"

"Coach, you didn't even see it," Jason said. "You were outside eating the lawn."

But the satyr was just warming up. "Then I came in with my club, and we dominated that room. Afterward, I told him, 'Kid, I'm proud of you! If you could just work on your upper body strength—'"

"Coach," said Jason.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up, please."

"Sure." The coach sat down at the fire and started chewing his cudgel.

Jason put his hand on Piper's forehead and checked her temperature, he then turned to Lina putting his hand on her forehead gently as he looked at her with soft eyes. "Leo, can you stoke the fire?"

"On it." Leo summoned a baseball-sized clump of flames and lobbed it into the campfire.

"Do we look that bad?" Piper shivered.