Amoriel woke up in a tent, wrapped in blankets and layers and layers of clothes, and with a massive headache.

She groaned and held her head, sitting up. "I'm going to be an atheist when this things over." She mumbled to herself.

A soft chuckle was heard from beside her. Piper lay on the comfortable makeshift bed, apparently having have heard Amoriel's comment. "You're a literal daughter of a god. I don't think that's possible."

Amoriel realized that she didn't felt like she's about to freeze to death. "Yeah. I was hoping that if we pretend they don't exist then they'll leave us alone."

Piper let out a laugh and suddenly it was quiet again. Amoriel was smart enough to figure out that the Hunters helped them and that Jason is probably somewhere having a heartfelt long lost sibling moment with Thalia. Gods know where her boyfriend is but she's guessing he's fine too since nobody is panicking or crying. A hunter stood outside the tent, chatting with Coach Hedge so she knows that everything was fine- well, as fine as things can be when you're a demigod.

Piper faced Amoriel and looked into her mesmerizing mint green eyes, Piper's face was serious and her eyes seeming to have turned into a darker color. "Do you really like him?"

Amoriel looks at her with confusion. "Do I like who?"

"Leo, do you really like him?"

Amoriel looked down at her hands, her cheeks tinted with pink. "Yeah. I really do."

"But how do you know that? I mean you didn't even know him up until 3 days ago." Piper asked her black haired friend.

Amoriel gave her a warm smile, "I might not but I know what I feel and I know how he feels. We love each other. Life is short Piper, it's even shorter for us demigods. So why waste time?"

The daughter of Aphrodite nodded, Amoriel grinned at her. "And while we're talking about relationships, what about your very obvious crush on a certain blond superman?"

Piper's eyes widened and her face turned into a tomato, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh come on Pipes, it is so obvious even a blind person can see it."

Piper's face fell, "I don't want to talk about it, Amorie."

Amoriel smiled at her, a real genuine smile. It's the first time Piper saw her smile like that. It reached her ears and her eyes were light- it didn't have the usual flirty look that it carried. "Ok, I'll leave it be but just know that I'm here for you piper." She whispered. "You can talk to me or not talk to me, but I'm here for you."

Piper returned her smile, scooting closer to her to wrap the girl in a hug. "Thank you, Amorie."

Amoriel Fletcher was a friend that Piper would forever cherish, the same way that Piper is a friend that Amoriel would always fight for.

"Sure, anything for Pipsqueak." The female archer joked.

Piper let out an airy laugh at that. "Don't call me that."

A few seconds later, Pheobe- the hunter- came in, offering them more comfortable and appropriate clothes- a parka, gloves and camo pants- which both Amoriel and Piper accepted gratefully then she gave them the best hot chocolate Amoriel has ever had. They spent the next few minutes just chatting among each other before Leo, Thalia and Jason appeared from the cave.

"Oh, no way," Leo suddenly said. "We've been sitting in a cave and you get the luxury tent? Somebody give me hypothermia. I want hot chocolate and a parka!"

Phoebe sniffed. "Boys," she said like it was the worst insult she could think of.

"It's all right, Phoebe," Thalia said. "They'll need extra coats. And I think we can spare some chocolate. "

Phoebe grumbled, but soon Leo and Jason were also dressed in silvery winter clothes that were incredibly lightweight and warm the hot chocolate warming their hands.

"Cheers!" said Coach Hedge. He crunched down his plastic thermos cup.

"That cannot be good for your intestines," Leo said.

Thalia turned to Piper and Amoriel. "You guys up for moving?"

Piper nodded. "Thanks to Phoebe, yeah. You guys are really good at this wilderness survival thing. I feel like I could run ten miles. "

Thalia winked at Jason. "She's tough for a child of Aphrodite. I like this one. "

"Hey, I could run ten miles too," Leo volunteered. "Tough Hephaestus kid here. Let's hit it. "

It took Phoebe exactly six seconds to break camp, which Amoriel could not believe. The tent self-collapsed into a square the size of a pack of chewing gum. Leo looked like he wanted to ask her for the blueprints, but they didn't have time.

Thalia ran uphill through the snow, hugging a tiny little path on the side of the mountain, and soon I'm pretty sure Leo was regretting trying to look macho, because the Hunters left him in the dust. Amoriel could keep up with them without even breaking a sweat. And Leo had a suspicion that some of the hunters were looking at her butt. He even overhead a few of them discussing if their no dating policy involved girls too. He couldn't blame them but he couldn't help but be jealous either. Even Jason's sister thalia who was chatting with Amoriel and even flirting a little.

Coach Hedge leaped around like a happy mountain goat, coaxing them to run faster. "Come on, Valdez! Pick up the pace! Let's chant. I've got a girl in Kalamazoo—"

"Let's not," Thalia snapped.

So they ran in silence.

Leo fell in next to Jason at the back of the group. "How you doing, man?"

Jason's expression was enough of an answer: Not good.

"Thalia takes it so calmly," Jason said. "Like it's no big deal that I appeared. I didn't know what I was expecting, but … she's not like me. She seems so much more together. "

"Hey, she's not fighting amnesia, like you and Amorie do." He said. "Plus, she's had more time to get used to this whole demigod thing. You fight monsters and talk to gods for a while, you probably get used to surprises. "

"Maybe," Jason said. "I just wish I understood what happened when I was two, why my mom got rid of me. Thalia ran away because of me. "

"Hey, whatever's happened, it wasn't your fault. And Thalia's really great. Awesome. She's a lot like you. "

Jason took that in silence. Leo wondered if he'd said the right things. He just wanted to make Jason feel better, but this was way outside his comfort zone.

Any other time and Amoriel would have been very fascinated with her view. Below them, the world was blanketed in clouds. Night had set in, but a full moon shone and the stars were incredible. Stretching out to the north and south, peaks of other mountains rose from the clouds like islands.

But the real show was above them. Hovering in the sky, about a quarter-mile away, was a massive free-floating island of glowing purple stone. The sides were rugged cliffs, riddled with caves, and every once in a while a gust of wind burst out with a sound like a pipe organ blast. At the top of the rock, brass walls ringed some kind of a fortress.

The only thing connecting Pikes Peak to the floating island was a narrow bridge of ice that glistened in the moonlight.

"That," Leo choked, "is a really large rock. "

Then Amoriel realized the bridge wasn't exactly ice, because it wasn't solid. As the winds changed direction, the bridge snaked around—blurring and thinning, in some places even breaking into a dotted line like the vapor trail of a plane.

"We're not seriously crossing that," Leo said.

Thalia shrugged. "I'm not a big fan of heights, I'll admit. But if you want to get to Aeolus's fortress, this is the only way. "

"Is the fortress always hanging there?" Piper asked. "How can people not notice it sitting on top of Pikes Peak?"

"The Mist," Thalia said. "Still, mortals do notice it indirectly. Some days, Pikes Peak looks purple. People say it's a trick of the light, but actually it's the color of Aeolus's palace, reflecting off the mountain face. "

"It's enormous," Jason said.

Thalia laughed. "You should see Olympus, little brother. "

"You're serious? You've been there?"

Thalia grimaced as if It wasn't a good memory. "We should go across in two different groups. The bridge is fragile. "

"That's reassuring," Leo said. "Jason, can't you just fly us up there?"

Thalia laughed. Then she seemed to realize Leo's question wasn't a joke. "Wait … Jason, you can fly?"

Jason gazed up at the floating fortress. "Well, sort of. More like I can control the winds. But the winds up here are so strong, I'm not sure I'd want to try. Thalia, you mean … you can't fly?"

For a second, Thalia looked genuinely afraid. Then she got her expression under control. Amoriel realized she was a lot more scared of heights than she was letting on.

"Truthfully," she said, "I've never tried. It might be better if we stuck to the bridge. "

Coach Hedge tapped the ice vapor trail with his hoof, then jumped onto the bridge. Amazingly, it held his weight. "Easy! I'll go first. Piper, come on, girl. I'll give you a hand. "

"No, that's okay," Piper started to say, but the coach grabbed her hand and dragged her up the bridge.

When they were about halfway, the bridge still seemed to be holding them just fine.

Thalia turned to her Hunter friend. "Phoebe, I'll be back soon. Go find the others. Tell them I'm on my way. "

"You sure?" Phoebe narrowed her eyes at Leo, Jason like they might kidnap Thalia or something.

"It's fine," Thalia promised.

Phoebe nodded reluctantly, then raced down the mountain path, the white wolves at her heels.

"Jason, Leo, Amoriel, just be careful where you step," Thalia said. "It hardly ever breaks. "

"That's reassuring," Amoriel mumbled, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"It hasn't met me yet," Leo muttered, but he and Jason led the way up the bridge.

"I hope we don't die," Amoriel said following behind them.

Halfway up, things went wrong, and of course, it was their fault. Piper and Hedge had already made it safely to the top and were waving at them, encouraging them to keep climbing, but they got distracted. Amoriel and Leo were talking about bridges—how they would design something way more stable than this shifting ice vapor business if this were our palace. They were pondering braces and support columns. Then a sudden revelation stopped them in their tracks.

"Why do they have a bridge?" he asked.

Thalia frowned. "Leo, this isn't a good place to stop. What do you mean?"

"They're wind spirits," Leo said. "Can't they fly?"

"Yes, but sometimes they need a way to connect to the world below. "

"So the bridge isn't always here?" Leo asked.

Thalia shook her head. "The wind spirits don't like to anchor to the earth, but sometimes it's necessary. Like now. They know you're coming. "

And that's about the time when he started smoking, literally. His pants steamed in the cold air. His shoes were literally smoking, and the bridge didn't like it. The ice was thinning.

"Leo?" Jason said. "What are you thinking?"

"Oh, gods," Thalia said. "Keep moving. Look at your feet. "

"Leo, sweetie, calm down. Think about something else." Amoriel tried to calm her boyfriend.

"Leo, stop it," Jason warned. "You're going to melt it. "

"I'll try," Leo said. But his body was overheating on its own, running as fast as his thoughts. "Listen, Jason, what did Hera call you and Amoriel in that dream? She called you a bridge and Amorie a peacemaker. "

"Leo, seriously, cool down," Thalia said. "I don't know what you're talking about, but the bridge is—"

"Just listen," Leo insisted. "If Jason is a bridge, what's he connecting? Or who's Amoriel making peace with? Maybe two different places that normally don't get along—like the air palace and the ground. You guys had to be somewhere before this, right? And Hera said you two were an exchange. "

"An exchange. " Thalia's eyes widened. "Oh, gods. "

Jason frowned. "What are you two talking about?"

Thalia murmured something like a prayer. "I understand now why Artemis sent me here. Jason—she told me to hunt for Lycaon and I would find a clue about Percy. You are the clue. Artemis wanted us to meet so I could hear your story. "

"I don't understand," he protested. "We don't have a story. We don't remember anything. "

"But Leo's right," Thalia said. "It's all connected. If we just knew where—"

Leo snapped his fingers. "Jason, what did you call that place in your dream? That ruined house. The Wolf House?"

Thalia nearly choked. "The Wolf House? Jason, why didn't you tell me that! That's where they're keeping Hera?"

"Thalia, enough with the vagueness!" Amoriel snapped at her, but Thalia saw the panic in her eyes.

"You know where it is?" Jason asked.

Then the bridge dissolved. Leo would've fallen to his death, but Jason grabbed his coat and pulled him to safety. The two of them scrambled up the bridge, and when they turned, Thalia was on the other side of a thirty-foot chasm. The bridge was continuing to melt.

Then Amoriel slipped and she was sure that she's gone. This is how she dies. She screamed as her body fell, but Leo caught her arm and pulled her up.

He wrapped his arms on her small shaking frame. "You're fine, Snow White. I got you."

Amoriel held on to him for dear life as she tried to calm her heart from almost dying. "Thank you, Leo," she said, her voice shaky and panting, as she hugged him tighter. "Thank you."

Leo only smiled at her as he held her face in his hand. "Anytime, love."

"Hey guys," Jason said. "I really hate to break up the moment but now's not the time for kissing."

Red-faced, the two separated.

"Go!" Thalia shouted, backing down the bridge as it crumbled. "Find out where the giant is keeping Piper's dad. Save him! I'll take the Hunters to the Wolf House and hold it until you can get there. We can do both!"

"But where is the Wolf House?" Jason shouted.

"You know where it is, little brother!" She was so far away now that they could barely hear her voice over the wind. Leo was pretty sure she said: "I'll see you there. I promise. "

Then she turned and raced down the dissolving bridge.

Amoriel, Leo and Jason had no time to stand around. They climbed for their lives, the ice vapor thinning under their feet. Several times, Jason grabbed Leo and Amoriel and used the winds to keep them aloft, but it was more like bungee jumping than flying.

When they reached the floating island, Piper and Coach Hedge pulled them aboard just as the last of the vapor bridge vanished. They stood gasping for breath at the base of a stone stairway chiseled into the side of the cliff, leading up to the fortress.

Leo looked back down. The top of Pikes Peak floated below them in a sea of clouds, but there was no sign of Thalia. And Leo had just burned their only exit.

"What happened?" Piper demanded. "Leo, why are your clothes smoking?"

"I got a little heated," he gasped. "Sorry, guys. Honest. I didn't—"

"It's all right," Jason said, but his expression was grim. "We've got less than twenty-four hours to rescue a goddess and Piper's dad. Let's go see the king of the winds. "

"Hey, at least no one died." Amoriel tried to comfort her boyfriend, seeing the guilt in the boy's face.

"You almost did," Leo muttered.

"But I didn't." Amoriel insisted. "Now let's just focus on finishing this stupid quest."

Jason had found his sister and lost her in less than an hour. As they climbed the cliffs of the floating island, he kept looking back, but Thalia was gone.

Despite what she'd said about meeting him again, Jason wondered. She'd found a new family with the Hunters, and a new mother in Artemis. She seemed so confident and comfortable with her life, Jason wasn't sure if he'd ever be part of it. And she seemed so set on finding her friend Percy. Had she ever searched for Jason that way?

'Not fair,' he told himself. 'She thought you were dead.'

He could barely tolerate what she'd said about their mom. It was almost like Thalia had handed him a baby—a really loud, ugly baby—and said, Here, this is yours. Carry it. He didn't want to carry it. He didn't want to look at it or claim it. He didn't want to know that he had an unstable mother who'd gotten rid of him to appease a goddess. No wonder Thalia had run away.

Then he remembered the Zeus cabin at Camp Half-Blood—that tiny little alcove Thalia had used as a bunk, out of sight from the glowering statue of the sky god. Their dad wasn't much of a bargain, either. Jason understood why Thalia had renounced that part of her life too, but he was still resentful. He couldn't be so lucky. He was left holding the bag —literally.

The golden backpack of winds was strapped over his shoulders. The closer they got to Aeolus's palace, the heavier the bag got. The winds struggled, rumbling and bumping around.

The only one who seemed in a good mood was Coach Hedge. He kept bounding up the slippery staircase and trotting back down. "Come on, cupcakes! Only a few thousand more steps!"