Chapter 30

Damien gripped tightly onto the mane of Firefly, they were high above the ground now as they soared over South American countries, he had no idea what they were but the scenery from up here in the bright light glistening down was phenomenal. He glanced over to the other two pegai in their v formation, Annabeth was riding a black horse with Markos's arms wrapped around her, the blonde look happy in his arms. Damien then looked over to the leading Pegasus, it was white with a dark muzzle, upon the beautiful creature was an even more beautiful being, her plaited hair blowing in the wind, a smile on her face.

It struck him as a little odd that someone with such a fear of planes would love to be up so high on a flying horse with no seatbelts, but he thought that maybe it was being brought up in the world that she did, whereas Damien was brought up around mortals, with all of their machines and technology, Reyna was brought up in the world of magic, away from all of that, maybe she didn't trust it.

Hazel held onto the Praetor, sharing the Pegasus, she looked like she was enjoying it less. Damien had remembered that she once spoke of a horse she had a connection with, she said she didn't own him but that when she needed him he was there for her. Damien didn't realise just how much the mythical creatures connected with the Demigods, he had never introduced himself to any creature before but now as he soared on the back of Firefly he did feel a connection with the beast, a trust that he had that she wouldn't drop him.

Damien could see the ocean now, he would guess that they were now leaving South American airspace and further south towards the tip of Antarctica, Damien didn't know what to expect, all he knew was that he was going to rescue a Muse from an un-dead Thracian singer, but looking around at the others on this quest he knew that Reyna was expecting a fight, so he had to be ready, he was thankful he still had the sword Hazel had given him all that time ago, currently it was wrapped around his waist in the belt form it took.

The land was fading further and further away now, no going back, he didn't want to go back, not without Reyna, he would follow her to the ends of the earth, which was exactly what he felt he was doing right now. Her words from last night echoed in his mind tormenting him, choosing her duties over anything else, but she was right… it was her choice, her life to live and he would respect that, he would support her in every way he knew how.

And though his dormant heart screamed for more, he would do whatever she said and he didn't ever think he would feel this way again, not after Elena. He never thought he could, not with having a cold unbeating heart but he couldn't deny it, he was madly in love with Reyna.

He continued to watch her for a long time, he barely noticed when the air grew colder, it wasn't until his breath started to fog up, his bare skin on his face and hands so cold they felt sore, he rummaged in the pockets of the heavy jacket and pulled out the gloves that the Greeks had provided, he tugged them on and rubbed them together.

The cold wind continued to whip past him as he hugged closer to Firefly, thankful for her body heat, his teeth gritted as the cold air hurt his lungs, but he knew he would soon acclimatise.

"WE'RE CLOSE" called Reyna over to them, pointing towards the horizon

Damien's eyes strained to see the faint white mass running long the skyline, the midday sun glaring of the white snow that covered the island, at any other point in his life Damien would have found this a beautiful sight but he knew that danger was waiting there for them. Damien had been in a few fights in his life, but they were street kid scraps, yes he had trained with the legion for a while but he was nothing compared to Reyna and Hazel. Deep down he feared that maybe he wasn't good enough, he was good at running away, escaping from fights by using his parkour, he was the weak link in this chain.

He looked over at the others, both Reyna and Hazel, Annabeth and Markos, he didn't want any of them to get hurt because he wasn't good enough.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Firefly and the others started to descend towards the island of ice, he inhaled deeply and looked across at Reyna, she gave him the strength he needed, she radiated strength and it was infectious, no one could deny, that is what made her a great Praetor.

Firefly's hooved clacked against the ground as she skidded a little on the ice as she slowed to a trot, she huffed when she came to a standstill, her legs shaking in the cold. Damien dismounted immediately, a hand resting on her neck

"Thanks for not dropping me" he whispered leaning his head against hers, he couldn't deny the connection he felt with the Pegasus

"I miss California"

He turned to see Hazel shivering violently in the snow, her golden eyes a little duller than usual, frown on her face "Why couldn't Thamyris have a beach in the Bahamas or a café in Paris" she complained

Damien smiled and pulled his rucksack off of Firefly's back, feeding her the last of the sugar cubes, he didn't notice that the raven haired Praetor came to stand beside him until she spoke

"Are you ready for this?" she asked, a hand going to stroke Firefly's muzzle

Damien looked down at her "I'm with you till the end Praetor"

She looked up at the word 'Praetor' she didn't expect him to ever call her that, she nodded and turned away, not sure of what else to say to him, she got a compass from her pocket

"This way"