Sorry for it taking so long - I've been REALLY busy!
Happy reading!
Jessica
When I woke up, every muscle in my body was aching. You know the feeling when you forget to stretch after a hard workout? I felt same kind of pain, though a hundred times worse. I opened my eyes, which was a mistake. A blindingly bright light hit me, making me let out a muffled groan. The light started to wane as I pressed my eyes shut, but there was something familiar in it... Memories started to flood into my mind. Cara. Meliza. My little light explosion...
"Jess?" A voice asked next to me. It was Will, and he sounded concerned.
"Mmm-hm", I managed. "Is it just me, or are we in the Sun?"
"Huh?"
I slowly opened my eyes for a tiny bit, now able to see Will above me through my lashes. Now the brightness didn't completely dazzle me, but Will's face still looked like a photoshopped picture with the brightness adapted to 100 percents. It was like I was still seeing the light I'd caused on the battlefield... When? How long had I been out? And was it just my eyes, or had the world really remained looking like the Sun's surface? I considered the first option more likely.
"Nothing." I blinked and the light started getting dimmer. I recognized the place I was in. It was the camp's infirmary room. "How long was I out?"
"Three days. The light-explosion you caused took a lot of power... Almost too much." He kept studying my face with that worried frown on his face, a frown that reminded me of...
"Kayden!" I breathed, sitting up so fast that black spots danced before my eyes. It was four days since him getting hurt... If he still wasn't better...
"He's fine", Will ensured me, placing a hand on my right forearm.
I leaned back on my pillow, closing my eyes. I hadn't been this relieved ever before. "And everybody else?" I asked, eyes still closed.
"Well, we won the battle. After you broke that invincibility spell-thing, we were able to beat the monsters."
"And Meliza herself?" I asked, praying the gods that beating her hadn't taken Cara's life. Her life had been tough enough even without an ending like that. Plus, she was Kayden's girlfriend, and even if the idea of Kayden having a girlfriend felt... strange, that was still a reason for me to hope she was alive.
"It seems she decided to scat."
I rolled my eyes. "Typical." And yes, I knew it maybe wasn't that simple - she was probably plotting our dooms at that very moment with her mistress, but sometimes you just have to think positive: Kayden was alive. Cara was alive. I was alive. The camp wasn't manned by monsters. If things were that well, then why would you bother to think such things as the Romans, Gaia, Mrs.. Invincible Nicoli and all the rest?
Will seemed to share my thoughts, since he just grinned and passed me a glass of Nectar from the bedside table. "Drink this. The lunch should be soon - everyone would love to see their hero conscious."
I grinned. "Oh, thanks for reminding!" Truly, I had completely forgotten that. But it was true: I had pretty much saved the whole camp, which meant that I was finally the hero I'd wanted to be since I was seven. And imagining how Clarisse's face must've looked after the battle... Oh, how awesome that was. I closed my eyes with relish and took a sip of my Nectar.
The drink of the gods tasted just like Starbucks's hot Java chip frappuccino; Angelica's favorite drink. I considered the glass in my hands, remembering all those stupid things Angelica had gotten me involved to. Taking some 'free examples' from the Starbucks on the 87th street during the Titan war when the mortals were all passed out by Morpheus. Causing Justin Bieber's Baby play in the Ares cabin non-stop long enough to almost make Clarisse go nuts. (And yeah, it didn't take long even from Clarisse to find out it was us, and when she did... Well, it got dirty). Those memories were precious, but I couldn't help but to feel a little (alright - a lot) wistful as I took another sip of my coffee/Nectar.
Hope it wasn't too bad!
And reviews would really cheer me up right now!