Piper was jolted awake when Reyna wrapped an arm around her waist. She quickly looked around in confusion and tried to take in everything that she saw. Reyna's other hand was holding onto Leo's arm, and he seemed like he was trying to get away.
Festus was falling fast. They were rapidly approaching the ground. Piper caught a glimpse of a large, white mansion, and she also caught the feeling of wanting to vomit.
"Not again!" Leo yelled. He pulled away from Reyna and opened a panel on Festus' neck. As Leo fiddled with it, he glanced back at them. "Where is your Pegasus?"
"Not here," Reyna snapped. She was looking around and had completely lost her calm look. Everyone knew that they were running out of time. Piper grabbed Reyna's arm and tried to think.
"We need to lighten the load," Leo yelled which caught their attention. Piper looked around. Her senses caught onto everything. The white mansion was rapidly approaching. To the left of the mansion, there was a river.
"Can you take us to the river?" Piper yelled. Leo looked at them and stared in shock.
"If the water is frozen, we'll break something. If its not frozen, we'll break something if we're too high up," Reyna hissed. Leo looked at them before nodding. He guided Festus towards the river.
"Drop the cages at thirty feet. We jump at twenty. You pull up," Piper ordered Leo. She felt that she was right. Reyna gave her a look. Piper met her eyes. "Trust me."
For a moment, Reyna just stared into her eyes. She finally nodded. Piper grabbed her arm, and they waited. At thirty feet, the cages were released, and they seemed to be heading for a large snowbank right next to the fence that surrounded the mansion.
At twenty feet, Reyna tackled Piper off of Festus. Two hands wrapped around Piper's waist. The breath left her as they hit ice and slammed right through it.
It took Piper a few moments to open her eyes. The only light she saw was seeping in from above. Moonlight spilled into the water. Piper jumped as someone grabbed her arm.
Piper looked at Reyna who motioned upwards. They both swam to the surface and pulled themselves out of the ice. Reyna cried out in pain and took deep breaths. Her breath was visible, and blood was on her lips.
"Reyna, you'll be okay," Piper promised. She hurried to Reyna's side. "What happened?"
"I bit my lip," Reyna groaned. Piper couldn't help it; she started laughing. They had almost died jumping off of Festus, but there wasn't any injuries. Well, Reyna did bite her lip.
Piper's happiness was short lived. A loud explosion caught their attention. The daughter of Aphrodite looked up and saw Leo falling to the ground. Pieces of Festus fell as well.
"No," Piper whispered. She was on her feet and running a moment later. Nothing mattered at the moment. Piper didn't think about how freezing she was or the fact that her breath had not come back yet. The only thing that mattered was making sure that Leo was still alive.
Piper ran towards the mansion. A large fence surrounded it, but part of the fence had been destroyed by a piece of Festus. She jumped over the piece and ducked into the courtyard. Piper saw Leo and ran towards him.
Leo was laying on his side. The ground was marked from where he had hit and rolled. Piper hurried to his side and knelt by him. She examined him quickly.
Leo was covered in grease and mud. There was bruises all over him. As Piper placed a hand to Leo's shoulder, his eyes snapped open, and he quickly sat up.
"Festus!" Leo yelled. He stood and instantly collapsed to his knees. "You can't do this."
Piper's voice wouldn't work. All she could do was watch as Leo slowly forced himself to his feet and stumbled towards Festus' head. He knelt by the head and spoke, "You were the best thing that I every fixed. Please, don't go."
Festus made a clicking noise. It didn't have any meaning to Piper, but Leo nodded. He took a deep breath and spoke, "I promise Festus. I'll do it."
In response, the lights in Festus' eyes slowly faded away. Leo hugged the cold metal of Festus' neck and started to cry miserably. Piper slowly walked to his side and grabbed his shoulder.
"Leo, it will be okay," Piper promised, but her words sounded hollow to herself. Leo had lost his mother. He didn't have that many stable relationships in his life. Losing Festus had to be heart wrenching.
Even though she didn't get a response, Piper continued to talk. She wanted Leo to know that she was there for him. That was all that mattered. Reyna appeared by her side and grabbed Leo's other shoulder. She squeezed it tightly.
After a minute, Leo pulled away from Festus. He was still crying, but his breathing was calmer. Piper spoke, "What did you promise Festus?"
Leo shook his head like he couldn't talk. Piper couldn't blame him. She grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it tightly.
"There's a trick to grieving," Reyna said after a moment. Leo slowly met her eyes. "When someone tells you it's time to move on, you look them in the eyes, and you tell them that it's your choice. No one dictates how long or hard you grieve. That's your choice."
Leo nodded. He turned away and opened a panel on Festus' neck. He tensed like he was going to cry again. Piper reached her hand out to grab his shoulder in support. Leo suddenly worked on detaching Festus' head from his neck. When he finished detaching it, he slowly lifted the head.
"Everything can be reused. That's what my father wanted Athena to tell me," Leo said. He looked up at the sky. "Dad, if you can hear me, take Festus back to the bunker until I can use him. I swear I'll never ask for anything else."
The wind started to pick up. It took Festus' head from Leo's arms, and the head disappeared into the sky. Leo took a deep breath and faced them.
"Parents actually answer you?" Piper questioned. She tried to not sound rude. It just seemed that a god or goddess wouldn't take time out of their day to answer their children.
"Yeah," Leo whispered. He fell silent and took deep breaths. Reyna stepped forward.
"I managed to roll the cages inside the fence. Should we start moving?" Reyna asked. As she turned away, Leo grabbed her.
"There's lasers of some sort. A security system," Leo said. He grabbed a piece of Festus' body and threw it at the gate. Lasers shot out of nowhere and disintegrated it.
"How come we didn't get hit?" Piper questioned. She looked around nervously.
"Festus took most of the fire. He's so large that the lasers probably overheated themselves taking him down. They'll be back up to full strength soon if they aren't already," Leo answered in an emotionless tone. He started to walk forward. "I'll disable it."
Leo walked away without anymore words. He was obviously still hurting. Piper glanced at Reyna and spoke, "That was a really sweet thing that you said to him."
"It's what someone told me when I was still trying to process my father's death," Reyna replied. She looked down at the ground for a moment. "It is hard to lose someone you love."
Reyna gave Piper a knowing look. Piper quickly looked away. She was beyond grateful to see Leo walking back towards them.
"Well, I followed the wires. It seems that the security system can only be disabled from inside, so are we going in?" Leo questioned.
"Will the cages be safe outside?" Reyna asked. Leo looked around and nodded. After a moment, the three started walking towards the house.
Piper took the time to examine herself. The freezing cold was just starting to hit her. She wanted to take off her jacket, but it didn't seem like the safest idea. Reyna had kept her jacket on, and she even seemed to be examining it.
"Stop," Leo suddenly ordered. He avoided the sidewalk, pulled a screwdriver out of his belt, and walked towards grass. He opened a fake panel and messed with some wire and screws. He stood and kept walking.
They made it to the steps before Leo stop them again. He grabbed another tool, messed with another fake panel, turned towards the railing, followed it around, and came back a minute later sucking on his thumb. Leo hesitantly placed his foot on the steps and jumped on it.
Leo knelt by the welcome mat and messed with it as well. He dropped the screwdriver on the mat to test it, and nothing happened. Reyna spoke, "Is that it?"
"No," Leo said. He grabbed Reyna's hand as she went to press the doorbell. "I wouldn't do that. I think it can explode."
"Pretty cool," Piper commented as Leo disarmed the doorbell. It was pretty amazing to watch.
"Not cool enough to save Festus," Leo muttered. As Piper opened her mouth, Reyna looked at her and shook her head. "It's not even locked."
"What?" Piper demanded as she stared at the door. Leo pushed it open. "What is the point of the traps?"
"To keep intruder outs," Reyna responded. She stopped Piper before she could walk into the door. Leo had already left them behind. "I don't know what happened to your father, but we'll help you with whatever it is. Family is important."
Piper felt like a dagger was being stabbed into her heart. She looked down and took deep breaths. Piper spoke, "I don't want to talk about it. We should catch up to Leo and try to find some place warm."
Piper hurried ahead before Reyna could answer. At the moment, she didn't need any other stress. She was already thinking about her father again. There was a good chance he was already dead. If he wasn't, Piper was running out of time to help him.
The house was scary. It was dark, and the outside was the only light they had. The windows were twice the size of a normal human, and metal statues stood to the side of each window as if they were guards.
"I don't see any light switches," Leo said. His teeth were chattering, but he sounded normal. As Leo held out a hand, nothing happened. "Well, I'm pretty sure I saw a few horror movies like this. It was nice living."
"We should just rest and wait for sunlight," Reyna said. "Let's get the cages."
Piper followed Reyna back outside. Together, they managed to roll the cages back in. Leo was checking the room for traps. When he deemed it safe, they all found a couch to lay on.
A look around the room sent shivers down Piper's spine. There was a throne which they all stayed around from. The two cages to her right did nothing to lighten the mood. The venti swirled around in their cage. Hedge was still frozen in his.
Her gaze focused on her friends. Leo had pulled tofu out of his toolbelt. He studied it and frowned to himself. Leo slowly tasted it.
"Not terrible," Leo decided. He offered some to Piper. She took it and ate quietly. Her gaze turned towards Reyna who was struggling to keep her eyes open.
"You should eat and then rest," Piper said. Reyna glanced at her and looked ready to argue, but she finally just nodded. Reyna managed to sit up and grab a handful of tofu. The three of them quietly ate.
When they were done, Reyna grabbed her sword from her backpack. She glanced at them before slowly closing her eyes and falling asleep. Piper watched her for a few moments.
"Pipes, I don't know what's going on with your dad, but you can talk to us," Leo said. Sadness still lingered in his voice. "We're your friends. Nothing is going to change."
"Leo, I don't want to talk about it," Piper began. Leo held up a hand.
"I won't bother you about it," Leo promised. "Now, you need to get some rest. I have to work on making the cage smaller for the storm spirits. I also have to unlock the coach."
Piper nodded gratefully. She curled up on the couch and held a pillow close. Her mind was racing, and she felt like danger was all around. That didn't stop her from slowly falling asleep.