𝟬𝟮𝟳. it's all just chaos

JASON WAS HAVING A NIGHTMARE. Aera could hear his tossing and turning and excessively rapid heartbeat from the luxurious queen bed she occupied on the other side of the room. It was their first night at her favorite spa resort and Jason had insisted on taking the sofa. He said it was because Aera had covered all their expenses with her dad's credit card but she wasn't born yesterday. He was rejecting her.

More than once had Aera invited him into her bed and more than once had been brutally dismissed. Jason had totally humiliated her skills as the daughter of the love goddess. Now he was moaning incoherent things in his sleep and interfering with her beauty sleep. The nerve.

With an exasperated huff, Aera got out of her bed and stomped right over to that creaky old couch.

Aera held a pillow like a weapon of mass annoyance, ready to strike. "Jason!" she exclaimed, delivering a well-aimed pillow whack. No response. "Jason!"

Jason awoke with a gasp. He was covered in cold sweat. His hair was sticking up in two different directions. Aera put her hand on her hip.

"Why do you look like you were fist-fighting a tornado and lost?" she demanded.

"Bad dream." Jason sat up groggily, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry."

Aera sized up his disheveled appearance. Why did he reject her summons so adamantly if he was just going to have horrid nightmares on the couch by himself? For someone who was all about the rules, he sure was counterproductive...or maybe just playing hard to get? Aera could work with that.

"You were mumbling something in your sleep," she said pointedly. "Over and over. Like, a name."

Jason blinked. "My mom."

Aera's interest piqued. She hadn't pegged him as a momma's boy. "Were you dreaming about her?"

Jason stroked the back of his neck. He was embarrassed. That was cute.

Pull yourself together, Aera scolded herself. He's the reason your roses are dry and shriveled.

"Um, yeah," he finally admitted, glancing out the window.

Outside, the sparkling night sky was so bright, Aera could have mistaken it for daytime. The sky shimmered with an ethereal brilliance, as if a goddess had spilled a galaxy-sized bucket of glitter across the heavens.

The snowstorm had been pounding for the past three days with heavy rain and sleet. A couple hours ago while Jason was snoring away, Aera noticed that it had just...stopped. Like one of those whiny Olympians had finished their temper tantrum.

Aera was glad they were. The starlight made Jason's blue eyes look divine.

"Do you dream about her a lot?" Aera couldn't help but ask.

Jason ran his hand through his hair, his gaze faraway. "Sort of."

Aera waited. Still, he gave her no other explanation. Ugh.

Aera was about to just give up and go back to her warm bed when he tugged on her hand.

"The kids I grew up with in the barracks used to ask for their parents when they woke up from nightmares," Jason started, his voice tinged with a sad nostalgia. "We were expected to become soldiers. We couldn't have any attachments. No loyalties to anyone or anything but the legion. Our days were long and hard and training was intense. Some were lucky, though. Some legionnaires were from the city so they could go home if they ran into any trouble. They could cry to their parents if they wanted to. But most of us didn't have that. I—we had to find strength within ourselves to keep going, to push through the pain and the fear without any help..."

Jason's voice trailed off. Aera realized she probably hadn't done a good job masking her feelings across her face.

Aera swallowed thickly. All traces of her passion and frustration toward him seemed to vanish in that moment. Her heart felt like melted ice cream. She suddenly didn't want to do anything with him under the covers anymore. Not after he opened such a delicate door to her. She felt a pang of guilt for judging him so quickly. He always acted all righteous and noble. Turns out, he was just a half-blood like her after all.

"So," Aera concluded, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb, "you don't have any family either."

"It's just a habit I picked up." Jason sank back into the couch. "Don't mind it."

Aera could sense him pulling back and slowly shutting that door again. Jason closed his eyes and went back to sleep. In doing so, his hand slipped from hers. Aera stood there, hovering over him, feeling both unaccomplished and stupid. What was she thinking? Why had she been so butthurt?

Jason wasn't just a fling she could mess around with and then toss away like moldy chocolates. He had kept her warm in the freezing mountains and been a shield against those ice warriors. Most importantly, Jason had given her a choice. Whether she decided to leave or stay, he would support her. He promised. After Luke, Aera had been familiarized with how powerful that decision was and how little others were willing to give it to her. She had to commit arson and get stress wrinkles just to get out of Camp Half-Blood.

Aera's fingers traced the delicate necklace around her neck, the one that bore Jason's mother's maiden name. She had forgotten to remove it before going to bed. In that moment, Aera realized Jason meant more to her than she thought.

She sat down.

"Ae-ra," she whispered, pronouncing each syllable with emphasis. "Ae-ra," she said again, more firm. "Don't ask for someone who won't show up. Our moms have both abandoned us. Next time you're in trouble, call my name instead. I'm here."

At first, there was no response. Jason was silent and still. His heartbeat was that of someone in a deep sleep.

Then, in a soft voice, barely audible, he called out: "Aera." Again. "Aera."

"Mh-mm," she hummed affirmatively, pulling the blanket over his shoulders. "I'm here. I'm here. I'm not gonna leave."

"Aera," Jason murmured once more, his voice growing faint.

Instead of diving into the plush bed on the other side of the room, Aera curled up on the cold, hard floor next to the sofa. As the night wore on, Aera watched over Jason as he slept, calling out a new name: hers.

Jason's face was so peaceful when he slept. There was no tension in his jaw or that demanding look in his eye that commanded Aera to lay down her lipstick-stained weapons and tell him the good honest truth or do the right thing. The little white scar on his lip seemed to glow in the dark. Aera couldn't resist a small smile at it. That tiny imperfection made him perfect to her.

"You know, Jason," Aera murmured, resting her chin at the edge of the sofa, "if you wanted to cuddle so badly, you could have just asked. No need to go for the gold laurel in nocturnal disturbances." She playfully poked his arm.

As if in agreement, a soft breeze blew through the room, causing the curtains to flutter and creating an otherworldly ambiance. Aera couldn't help but smirk as she leaned in closer.

"If you don't say anything, it means we're dating now," she bargained, just to entertain herself. "And...I'm the most stunning demigoddess you've ever met, and you want to be by my side forever and ever, and you're never gonna leave me or sacrifice me or try to elope with an empousai when things get complicated."

Jason remained silent, sealing the unspoken agreement. Aera was satisfied with this bare minimum. He didn't have another nightmare again that night.

Speaking of avoiding nightmares, here's a sacred beauty tip from Aera Kim: do not attempt to apply mascara while your dad's secretary drives you and your friends up Mt. Diablo to save a movie star from a fire-breathing giant.

Secretary Cha was the most composed mortal man Aera knew, but he drove like a maniac. The car ride was bumpier than the ups and downs of Aphrodite's past relationships within the last millennia. The 7-seater Mercedes SUV made screeching, grinding sounds as it climbed the mountain road, bouncing Aera in her seat every couple of seconds and making it impossible to apply her makeup evenly.

"Don't you have a Class 1 driver's license?" Aera complained, gripping the mascara wand tightly. "How does Leo drive a a fifty-ton dragon better than you drive this car?"

Secretary Cha's forehead glistened with sweat as he maneuvered the vehicle along the narrow road. Aera might have felt bad for the poor mortal had her eye not been smeared in ultra waterproof mascara.

"My apologies, Miss Aera," Secretary Cha replied, clutching the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. "I'm doing my best to avoid the potholes."

"Avoid them harder then."

"He can't," Leo said at the very back of the car. He had his nose pressed into the window like a total weirdo. "The wheels are sinking into the road like quicksand. Gaea's messing with us."

Aera let out a frustrated sigh, mascara wand still poised in hand. "Can't she do that after I finish my eye makeup?"

"Maybe she's jealous of your blending skills," Piper remarked from behind.

Aera shook her head in disapproval. "Her skin is probably so dry."

Thank the Aera there were makeup wipes in this car. Ignoring everything else, Aera worked away at dabbing off the stray flecks of mascara. Her dad's good-for-nothing luxury car continued to make loud noises as it struggled up the mountain. Nobody spoke for several minutes.

Finally, Piper broke the silence.

"So, Aera," she said, clearing her throat. "Are you going to tell us who this man is or are we all going to sit here awkwardly in silence the whole trip?"

"Oh," Aera said. She had been so wrapped up in making sure her meddlesome mother hadn't gotten rid of her double eyelids that she'd forgotten all about pleasantries.

"Guys, this is Secretary Cha," she said, gesturing towards him. "Secretary Cha, the two behind us are Jason and Piper. Leo's in the back, and the furry one chewing on the faux leather seats is Coach Hedge, our occasionally homicidal satyr protector."

"'Sup."

"Nice to meet you."

"Sweet ride, cupcake," Hedge commented between chews. "Tasty seats."

Secretary Cha smiled politely, even at their hot mess of a team. "The pleasure is all mine. Any friends of Miss Aera are honored guests."

"I like this guy," Hedge uttered with a mouthful of car cushion.

"Secretary Cha works for my dad," Aera explained half-heartedly, moving onto nose contour. "Well, work is an understatement. He's the first person my dad calls when he's in trouble."

Aera paused ever so slightly. Without making it obvious, she peered at Jason through the side-view mirror. He was focused on the passing mountain road outside.

I want to be the first person you think of when you're in trouble, he had said to her.

How...cheesy. Where did he learn that line from? Was he getting pointers from Leo on how to pick up a girl? Tragic.

Aera patted on extra cushion foundation to cover her flushed cheeks.

"So, like, a lawyer?" Piper concluded, breaking Aera out of her gross, little mushy moment.

She studied her fingernails boredly. "More like his best friend since military service, slash corny bromance, slash longest surviving interpersonal relationship, slash the only person alive who can put up with his obsessively self-destructive antics."

"That's a lot of titles," Leo commented.

"He does a lot of things." Aera sniffed. "Has my dad given you a raise yet, Secretary Cha?"

"I am very satisfied with my salary, Miss Aera. Thank you for asking."

"Add lying through his teeth to the list."

"Remind me, Aera," Jason said. "What exactly does your dad do again?"

"Oh," Aera said again. The sound of his voice unleashed a fluttery feeling in her chest. She smacked her hand to her forehead, careful not to ruin the makeup she hadn't set yet. Why was she acting like such an amateur?

Aera opened the glove compartment and rummaged through a bunch of boring paperwork and envelopes until she found it. She turned around, handing Jason her father's business card.

"Wait a second," Leo said dubiously, reading over Jason's shoulder. "Your dad's a plastic surgeon?"

"Yeah, but he likes to pretend to be a businessman these days," Aera explained. "Like, three hundred years ago when he was young and Apple was still growing on a tree, he invested the money he earned from his practice in promising companies. Somehow, they all became successful. I don't know if he's smart or if the goddess of fortune just has a crush on him. Plastic surgery is more like his side gig now."

"But plastic surgery," Piper mused. "Isn't that, like, the ultimate insult to Aphrodite?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if she put him out of business," Aera remarked smugly. "And before you ask, no. I never got anything done. Apa never let me." Aera rolled her eyes. "Dad says I'm too young to get work done, but he's not the one with a flat nose and too much buccal fat in her cheeks."

"Miss Aera has always been a natural beauty," Secretary Cha pitched in.

"A natural cupcake," Hedge contributed, still eating the seat cushion.

"What's so wrong about getting plastic surgery anyway?" Aera huffed. "People who get it are insecure about their looks, but it's society that forces those expectations onto them in the first place. Then when they do something to fit in those standards, they get insulted for being plastic. Hypocrites, all of them."

Secretary Cha nodded. "Your father is worried you care too much about your looks."

"Um, he literally had a child with the goddess of beauty."

"I do not believe it was his appearance the goddess was attracted to. It was his craft. Your father seeks to help every client bring their dreams to life. He strives to make people feel beautiful, not look beautiful."

Aera snorted. "Yeah, by profiting off their insecurities."

"He is not perfect, but he tries."

"To what?" Aera scoffed. "Neglect his fabulous daughter? Oh, well, he's proved himself there."

"Your father is a busy man," Secretary Cha said. "He misses you when you are gone."

Aera snapped the sun visor shut. "Did he pay you to say that?"

"After the war, he bought a penthouse in New York City, in case you ever needed him. That's why he's out of town."

"You know about the war with the big Titan dudes?" Leo interjected, his eyes widening like a shocked cartoon character. "You don't happen to be..."

Aera realized it must have been awkward for the rest to them to have to listen to her and Secretary Cha's back and forth, especially when she was so right and fabulous and Secretary Cha was so fabulous but so not right.

"I am a human," Secretary Cha replied, his amusement evident in the glint of his glasses. "Fully human. I have worked with Aera's father for the past 25 years. Though I personally find some of it hard to believe, he has trusted me with the secrets of his most private affairs, including those affiliated with...heaven."

"A terrible decision, really," Aera said, leaning back into the headrest. "Then again his biggest flop was having me. What? I'm kidding."

"Don't be so harsh on yourself," Secretary Cha chided. "You may have your differences, but your father loves you very much."

Aera narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. "Why do you keep speaking for him?" she asked. "Are you two secretly dating or something?"

Leo choked on his saliva. Aera could see Piper's eyes widening in the rearview mirror.

"Using work as an excuse to hang out all the time." Aera scoffed. "My mother is the love goddess. Don't think I can't see through you."

"She's got a point," Piper supported.

"I cannot speak for your father," Secretary Choi said calmly, keeping one hand on the wheel and straightening his tie with the other, "but I am straight. Even if I wasn't, he isn't really my style."

"Ooh, your dad just got dissed by his own secretary," Leo said, pretending to eat popcorn.

Aera rolled her eyes. "Well, between you and Aphrodite, at least one of you has taste. I don't know what she saw in him. Doesn't he look like an archaeopteryx?"

"Hold up," Leo said. "Like, the dinosaur?"

Hedge let out a loud belch. He had finished eating the vinyl seat.

"Miss Aera certainly has a keen eye," Secretary Choi praised, blinking repeatedly like he just had a revolutionary revelation in perfume chemistry. "Now that I think about it, your father really does look like an archaeopteryx. The resemblance is uncanny."

"Right?" Aera said enthusiastically. "Like, his nose and everything..."

Piper leaned forward. "Wait, now I have to see a picture of your dad."

"In the console compartment," Secretary Cha instructed.

Aera pulled a photograph from there and cackled. Piper followed shortly after.

Even Jason leaned forward to catch a glimpse. "Oh, wow. I see it."

"Right?" Aera laughed.

"Yo, pass the photo back," Leo protested. "Hey, Coach, don't eat it! I wanna see!"

Eventually, everyone in the car agreed that Aera's father resembled the ancient dinosaur. Good. As rugged and unfashionable her team was, at least they weren't totally blind.

"It has been awhile since we spoke, Miss Aera," Secretary Cha said while Aera finished the final touches of her makeup (she had gone for a gorgeous natural glass skin look to go with the unpleasant school uniform Aphrodite forced her into).

"Is that camp treating you well? Are you still seeing that blonde boy? What was his name again? Logan? Louis?" Secretary Cha continued, genuine curiosity evident in his voice.

"Luke," Jason replied, with no emotion in his voice. "Luke Castellan."

For some reason, Aera started to feel nervous. "Um, no, actually, he di—"

"Ah, yes, Luke Castellan, thank you," Secretary Cha continued obliviously. "I assume your relationship with him is still going strong. I have never seen you so enamored by anyone. You last told me his eyes were so blue and beautiful you could dive right into them like a sparkling pool of—"

"Samchon!" Aera gasped, so shocked she addressed him as her uncle in formal Korean.

Piper was giggling at her expense, that traitor. Jason's gaze seemed to bore into the back of her head.

Aera felt obligated to force a laugh and play it cool. Her reputation was at stake here. And she preferred chicken. "Ha-ha. What are you talking about? I never said that."

"Oh, my mistake," Secretary Cha apologized. "It wasn't his eyes. You said you were most attracted to his—" He cleared his throat and shrilled in a high-pitched voice, "broad, sexy shoulders that you just wanted to—"

Aera punched Secretary Cha in the arm. He slammed hard on the brakes. Everyone in the car lurched forward violently. Stuffing from the vinyl seat Hedge was chewing on flew from the back to the front and rained over Aera's hair, making this little scene even more absurd than a prankster interrupting a fashion show.

"Did we just hit a wall?" Piper groaned, rubbing her forehead.

"Jeez, Samchon," Aera grumbled, fixing her hair. "Your license should really be revoked."

"Apologies, everyone," Secretary Cha said, repositioning his glasses and regaining his composure. "I was not expecting that."

Just straight up ahead, the ranger's station was closed. An iron chain fenced off the rest of the way to the top.

"Oh, look!" Aera exclaimed as she flung open the car door. "We're here! Thanks for the ride, Samchon! See you at Lunar New Year's. If not, I most likely died. Okay, thank you, saranghae, bye!"

Aera rushed to get out of the car and shut the door in record speed, but for whatever life-ruining, reputation-killing reason, Secretary Cha decided to get out too.

"It's still a long walk to the summit," Secretary Cha stated, scanning the blocked-off road as Aera's friends also exited the car. "Should I move the blockade and continue driving?"

"No," Aera hissed. "It's not safe for mortals. Your puny little human brain will explode if you go any further. Plus, you're embarrassing me." She tried pushing him back to the driver's side. "Go home."

"Miss Aera," Secretary Cha said sternly, resisting her attempt to pull him away.

"Samchon," she shot back.

Aera could see the conflict in Secretary Cha's eyes as he deliberated this.

Jason suddenly appeared at Aera's side.

"We'll take care of her," he said, his voice carrying an air of confidence. "Don't worry."

"See?" Aera said generously. "I'm being taken care of."

As a consolation, Leo offered him the thick roll of cash from Aphrodite's pack. Secretary Cha obviously refused. He wouldn't take money from children, least for a favor for his employer's daughter.

"Be careful," Secretary Cha told Aera, still skeptical. "If anything happens to you, your father will have my head if he finds out I delivered you to death's door."

Aera forced a weak smile. "Well, the entrance to the Underworld's in Los Angeles, so you're safe for now."

"It is?" Piper asked. "I always thought it'd be in Texas."

"Sick," Leo said giddily.

Worry lines etched themselves deeper into Secretary Cha's face. He gave Aera a big hug. Piper dragged their friends to the fenced off gate to give them some space. Aera was shrinking into her own body, trying to escape the clutches of her overly affectionate uncle figure.

"If I could have it my way, I would take you straight home to your father," Secretary Cha confessed. "It would please him if you visited him soon."

"That's why I don't."

Secretary Cha gently brushed back a strand of her hair, his touch offering a small comfort. "I may never be able to understand the myths and magic that are a reality in your world, but know that you will always have a home with us. You are family."

Family. Aera hadn't heard that one in a long time. Suddenly, he wanted to be family? Where was this sentiment four months ago when Aera had no one but a Titan possessing her boyfriend's body? Or even at her grandmother's funeral all those years back?

Despite that, Aera held her tongue. For once. It wasn't Secretary Cha's fault. He was just a mortal. There was nothing he could do for her.

"Challenges arise to remind us how far we've come," Secretary Cha stated. He took a moment to tidy her school uniform the way he used to when Aera was still going to that private school near West Hollywood. "Just from today, I can see that you're doing much better than before," he remarked, his voice filled with genuine pride. "Don't go back to the way you used to be. I hope you find what you've been looking for."

You have no idea, Aera thought as she tied another layer of reins around her heart.

On the surface, Aera humored him. "What was I looking for?"

Secretary Cha's warm smile, the one that had quelled even the most savage fights in the Kim household since she was a baby, graced his face. Aera wished she could stay in that moment forever, with her father's best friend who was like an uncle to her. She wished she could hide behind the shield of his compassion and kindness forever. Mostly, Aera wished she could be five years old again, perched atop the kitchen counter and listening to his embarrassing stories about his adventures with her father in the army.

"Your greatest love."

Saying goodbye wasn't the hard part. Aera was used to these moments—the empty promises of seeing each other again, the tearful hugs, the standard "take care of yourself" send-offs. Before long, the only thing left of her dad's SUV was the dust trail it left behind.

The hard part was moving forward. Not just because the dirt literally kept trying to swallow Aera's stylish kicks, but because the unexpected appearance of Secretary Cha had released a tidal wave in her heart.

Though she hid it well, Jason's prophecy had loomed ominously in Aera's mind from the moment it came tumbling out of Rachel's green mouth: "Closest family lost by one dove, the other shall lose their greatest love."

Aera ran away from her father's house when she was seven. Over the years, Secretary Cha made exhaustive efforts to reconcile the two, but Aera always refused. She had already done enough damage to the Kim family simply by existing. Being a demigod was already hazardous in its own right, let alone being a demigod who worked for the most evil Titan of all time. She couldn't put her father in danger like that. Even if she despised his guts.

It couldn't have been a coincidence that Secretary Cha happened to be dealing with business in the Bay Area at the same time they arrived in Walnut Creek. There was no such thing as coincidences in the demigod world. His appearance was a bad omen. Secretary Cha was just another painful reminder of Aera's failures as both a demigod and a daughter.

And especially in front of Jason, it was almost unbearable. He kept glancing at her with that concerned look. Aera could sense his internal struggle, his desire to understand and trust her conflicting with the caution ingrained in him.

Not far, Piper, Leo, and Coach Hedge trailed behind them, their voices hushed as they exchanged worried glances. Aera didn't want to disturb them. Piper was already teetering on the edge of nervousness. The heavy weight of what they were about to do pushed down on all of them like too many carbs.

At least the view from the mountain was alright. The whole inland valley around Mount Diablo was a patchwork of towns—grids of tree-lined streets and nice middle-class suburbs, shops, and schools. All these normal people living normal lives—the kind Aera had never known. It was just sad.

"You like the view?" Jason asked.

"I used to come here all the time as a kid to visit Silena," Aera explained. "I've seen this view at least a million times. It's really not that extraordinary."

"The people you spend your time with make it extraordinary," Jason pointed out.

Aera almost wanted to laugh at the change of mood. "Why are you suddenly getting all sentimental? Is this a coming-of-age movie?"

"From now on," Jason promised with a slight smile, "every sight you see will be different when you're with me."

Aera's trepidation swelled. When she thought back to what she said to Jason while he was asleep, the worst she felt. Aera felt like Luke. Someone who was all talk—a poser, a charlatan who spoke grand words but never lived up to them. She must have been playing with Jason. Aera must have done something to sabotage their relationship, or else why would they have woken up on that school bus with no memories? Things had been going great between them.

The thought of Jason pulling up their past like a pair of shrunken jeans clawed at Aera, suffocating her with accusations of deception and manipulation. She feared he would see right through her, see who she truly was—a betrayer, a traitorous sellout. She wished he would stay away, but unfortunately, he seemed to have no intentions on letting her out of his sight.

"That's Concord," Jason told her, pointing to the north. "Walnut Creek below us. To the south, Danville, past those hills. And that way..." He pointed west, where a ridge of golden hills held back a layer of fog, like the rim of a bowl. "That's the Berkeley Hills. The East Bay. Past that, San Francisco."

"Jason?" Piper crept up behind them. "You remember something? You've been here?"

"Yes...no." Anguish washed over his face. "It just seems important. Aera, do you remember anything?"

Memories of this place flashed through through Aera's mind, and not a single one of them wasn't about death. The broken body of Luke, lifeless at the base of Mount Tam. Luke's fateful descent into Kronos' golden sarcophagus. Silena's mortal funeral. Her grandmother's tombstone. To Aera, San Francisco was a city consumed by loss. Everyone that Aera loved ended up here, decaying. She wanted to burn it all down.

"I remember I hate this place," she confided, her voice laced with raw bitterness.

"Nice," Leo said.

"That's Titan land." Coach Hedge nodded toward the west. "Bad place. Trust me, this is as close to 'Frisco as we want to get. Can't blame glamour girl for not wanting to be here. Even if this is where her old master used to keep his base."

A flicker of unease passed over Leo's usually jesting expression. Aera could read him like a magazine. She knew exactly what he was thinking: why did Jason seem so connected with that place—full of bad magic and old enemies? Could he trust Aera or even Jason? What if Jason was also part of Aera's treacherous past? Everybody kept hinting Jason was an enemy, that his arrival at Camp Half-Blood was a dangerous mistake. Aera was already the enemy of Camp Half-Blood. Together, they were a recipe for disaster.

Aera wondered if Leo was going to say anything. He didn't. Which somehow made her apprehension increase. Aera would rather have it out. She would rather be called a liar and a traitor than be separated quietly from them. She wanted to fight. That was all she was good at. Fighting, running, and looking effortlessly attractive while doing so.

Instead, they walked in silence. The only comfort Aera had was that stupid pearl comb. She found herself unlacing it from her hair and twirling it between her fingers. Its smooth surface provided a relieving distraction.

When you thought the whole world was against you, I believed in you. That's how much you meant to me.

The previous owner of this pearl had said that to her. Aera believed in that unwavering faith back then, but she wasn't sure about now.

Aera's train of thought completely derailed when Jason's hand slipped into hers. It was such a smooth, seamless action, Aera didn't even have time to question the motive behind it. His touch seemed to melt away her tension immediately. Aera put the pearl comb back in her hair.

"Relax," he crooned. "You're too tense."

Aera slitted her eyes at him. "That's my line."

"We could switch," he suggested. "Lean on me for a change."

How could I? Aera thought to herself. That would make me even more despicable.

"You hate change," she pivoted, searching his gaze for reassurance. "You like the rules, your routines, and tradition."

"Forget tradition," Jason declared boldly, to Aera's utmost surprise. "To pull this off, we're gonna need something different."

"I could dress Leo up as a foxy female giant."

"Um, maybe not that different."

"Let's wing it," Aera suggested. "Plans never work out anyway. We agonize over a strategy, show up, and it's all just chaos. And not even the fun kind. Might as well feel it out when we get there."

Jason nodded. "That could work."

"It has to," Aera vowed. "An innocent life is at stake."

Jason appeared taken aback for a moment. What? Was there something in Aera's teeth? Then he interlocked his fingers between hers and flashed her a disarming smile. "I'm with you."

Ugh. How was Aera supposed to focus when he looked at her like that and did stuff like that? Aphrodite, even the playing field, please. This was so not fair.

Finally, after trudging on for what felt like forever, Jason crouched behind a wall of rock. He gestured for the others to do the same. Pretending not to find that simple action attractive, Aera leaned coolly against the rock and took out the cherry lollipop she stole from Secretary Cha (he was a highly disciplined man but sweets were his kryptonite). Leo crawled up next to them. Piper had to shove Coach's head down.

"I don't want to get my outfit dirty!" Hedge complained.

"It's already dirty!" Aera retorted.

"Shhh!" Piper said.

Reluctantly, the satyr knelt. Aera put the lollipop in her mouth and scouted out the area.

Just over the ridge where they were hiding, in the shadow of the mountain's final crest, was a forested depression, the size of one of those football fields Aera had went to to cheer for a cute boy (don't ask, there was too many of them). There, Enceladus had set up camp.

There was a towering purple bonfire. It was giving Midsommar. The trees around it had been cut down (the dryads were quaking). The outer rim of the clearing was littered with extra logs and construction equipment. Some of it looked like it could be from a horror movie. There was, like, some sort of sideways guillotine (were the giants from the French Revolution?).

The giant himself was obviously repulsive beyond words. Aera didn't even want to look at him; her eyes were already scarred enough but she forced herself to investigate. He loomed, towering over the trees, grotesque in every sense. He circled the creepy purple fire, muttering sinister incantations under his breath (okay, when had this turned into a horror movie?).

He was extremely muscular, but it wasn't the attractive kind of muscular. More like the I'm so muscular, I will crush you like an ant kind. His chest was clad in bronze armor, decorated with flame designs. His buff arms were scary. Each of his biceps was bigger than Aera. His bronze skin was tainted with soot. His eyes were white-out white and totally washed out his warm-toned complexion.

Worst of all was his hair. The shaggy dreadlocks style could have been stylish, but his hair was braided with bones. Imagine the bacteria and the dandruff. He probably had so much breakage. Then Enceladus had the typical monster bottom. His legs were scaly green, with claws instead of feet—like an overgrown lizard. In his hand, Enceladus held a spear the size of a flagpole. Every so often he dipped its tip in the fire, turning the metal molten red.

Aera balanced the lollipop stick between her teeth as she racked her brain for ideas. Did Kronos ever school her on the giants? What were their weaknesses besides being hideous stacks of mud? No wonder they got thrown into Tartarus. Gaea completely neglected their appearance when making them.

"Okay," Coach Hedge whispered. "Here's the plan—"

Aera rolled her eyes, moving the lollipop to one corner of her mouth. "You're not charging him by yourself, Coach. I actually have to wear this outfit for school, so I'd rather not ruin it dragging your dead goat body down this mountain."

"Aw, c'mon!"

Piper choked back a sob. "Look."

On the other side of the bonfire was a man tied to a post. His head slumped like he was unconscious, but Aera didn't have any doubts. She could recognize his fashionably scruffy beard anywhere.

So could Piper.

"Dad," she whimpered, her voice choked with emotion.

A new surge of anger coursed through Aera. Tristan McLean, half-dead and on the verge of becoming a giant's BBQ dinner. Even if the giants had a high heel to pick with Piper, how could they take it out on a mortal? That was just wrong.

"There's five of us," Hedge whispered urgently, still pumped up by his homicidal rage. "And only one of him."

"Did you miss the fact that he's thirty feet tall?" Leo interjected.

"We'll hold him off, like Aera suggested earlier," Jason decided, his fingers tapping against his thigh in a rhythmic pattern. "Piper, you sneak around and free your dad."

Handing Leo the empty stick of her lollipop to put in his tool belt (the satyrs would kill her for littering), Aera cracked her neck and her knuckles. "One super hot distraction coming right up. Follow my lead."

"Remember," Jason urged before she could get started with what she did best. "Whatever happens—"

"Don't engage," Piper, Leo, and Aera all chimed in simultaneously with him.

Leo reached into his tool belt. "Pfft, we got it, bro."

Piper sighed. "That wasn't meant for us."

They all looked at Hedge.

"Alright, alright," Hedge muttered begrudgingly, already sulking. "Fine. I won't kill anything without your signal. Take it away, cupcake."

AUTHOR'S NOTE ♡ yes, those were business proposal references. aera would be the heiress of a chaebol family if she were in a kdrama lol this chapter is kind of lame but we shall power through to more interesting things. lmk your predictions for this fight <333 as always, thank you all so so sososo so much for reading and see you in the next update!