Piper tried her best not to panic. For one, Leo was flying a helicopter, and she was sure that Leo had never flown a helicopter before. He was doing really well though.
Piper glanced behind her. Reyna was still asleep, but she was shifting a lot. It seemed like she was having a dream. Leo spoke, "Don't be worried."
"About what?" Piper questioned as she looked at her friend. He glanced at her as he flipped another switch.
"You think that Reyna will change when she gets her memories back," Leo replied. Piper looked away. "I had the same thought too, but we both need to realize something."
"Reyna's personality is not based on her memories," Leo said. "Reyna is herself, and the only thing that might change is her realizing that she needs to smile more."
Piper snorted and tried to not laugh. Then, the worry came back. There was a good chance they would die, and Gaea would rise. She didn't want the end of the world to be on her head.
"I don't like this whole Wolf House place." Leo said. Piper nodded her agreement.
"It just seems wrong," Piper commented. "Why would that be the place that Hera was captured at? What makes it so special?"
"Reyna said it's where her new life began. What is that suppose to mean?" Leo wondered. Piper frowned. She was getting a bad feeling in her stomach, but there was no way to tell what was causing it.
Piper looked down. She could not afford to lose Reyna. After giving her father the potion that caused him to lose his memory, she couldn't handle anything else.
"I'm sure we can trust her," Leo finally said. He glanced at Piper, "And, you can trust me."
As he said those words, the helicopter dipped forward. Piper grabbed onto the nearest object for dear life, and she took a deep breath. Leo righted the helicopter.
"So, about that trust thing," Piper joked with a nervous laugh.
"Shut up," Leo said with a smirk. Piper smiled as well, but she jumped as something slammed into the window. She turned her head and saw sleet gathering on the window. Frost quickly built up on the glass.
"Why is there an ice storm in Sonoma?" Piper questioned. Leo seemed as baffled as her. As they went further into the storm, Piper could have sworn that the storm was almost trying to attack them. That couldn't be possible though.
"What's going on?" Reyna questioned as she woke up. She was right behind Piper's ear in a second. "Why is it storming?"
Leo seemed too busy fighting with the helicopter's stick to reply. They were starting to lose altitude. Piper tried looking below them. All she saw through the fog was trees.
Piper stared as a small valley appeared. It was hard to make out many features, but there was a building in the middle. There was flashes of light everywhere along with explosions.
"It would be like Hylla to destroy a forest," Reyna muttered. It was hard to tell if she was trying to lighten the mood or being serious.
Leo managed to guide the helicopter to the ground. He killed the engine and took a deep breath. Leo spoke, "We didn't die. Point one for the Leonator!"
Piper rolled her eyes. Then, she saw something streak towards them. She didn't know if it was a rocket or another object.
"Get out!" Leo yelled. Piper was already tearing off her seat belt. She jumped out of the helicopter and dove away. There was an explosion a moment later that knocked Piper forward a few more feet.
Piper slowly looked around. Reyna was laying near her on her back. One hand was to her arm, and Reyna seemed like she was in pain. Piper forced herself to stand.
"Leo!" Piper yelled. All she could see was the flattened helicopter and a large ball of ice, snow, and dirt. Leo slowly got to his feet and waved.
"I'm alive," Leo promised. Other than being covered in mud, he seemed pretty safe. Reyna slowly walked towards them gripping her arm.
"There's fighting everywhere," Reyna reported. "We have to find Hylla and get to the Wolf House."
Piper turned and stared at their destination. It looked like a log cabin had been mixed with a castle then burned down. There was ruins made of red and gray stones alone with timber beams.
"Took you long enough," Hylla called. Piper turned and watched the Amazon step out of the mist. Hylla had dust covering her. One hand gripped a dagger. Her other arm was hanging loosely as if it had been knocked out of socket.
Hylla ran towards them but only made it a few steps before an Earthborn jumped out of the storm. Before the three could rush forward, Hylla turned and tensed up. She easily jumped over the Earthborn and landed behind it.
The Earthborn then disintegrated. Hylla wiped her knife off and finished the jog towards them. Hylla spoke, "Why are you standing around? Come on."
"The Amazons are holding the perimeter," Hylla reported as she started to walk. She didn't even acknowledge them. "We've got Earthborn, wolves, and storm spirits coming in."
"We gave the spirits to Aeolus," Piper interrupted.
"And, he tried to kill us," Leo countered. "He must be working with Gaea."
"Anyway," Hylla said giving them both a look. "The monsters come back as soon as we kill them. It wouldn't be so bad if wave after wave didn't keep coming. I should have know that this was a death trap after the initial guards were taken so quickly be surprise. We're surrounded."
"Where is Juno?" Reyna interrupted. She glared at her sister. Hylla met her eyes and raised an eyebrow. Reyna's jaw visibly clenched.
"Inside," Hylla finally answered. She seemed unaffected by the silent conversation she just had with her sister. "We can't break the cage, and there's only a few minutes till the sun goes down. Monsters get stronger at night, and Hera thinks that is when Porphyrion will be reborn."
Hylla tensed as she neared the mansion, but she stepped through without a problem. Reyna stepped inside and froze. It seemed like a million thoughts were running through her head.
"You've been here," Piper assumed. Reyna nodded and leaned on the wall taking deep breaths.
"We don't have time to waste," Hylla said looking back. "We have a job to do."
"This would be the first time you cared about duty," Reyna snapped. Hylla turned on her sister and snapped something in another language. It wasn't Latin though.
"Hey! No need for that," Leo said. "We need to calm down and get to Hera, right?"
Hylla didn't answer. She just stormed into the house. Reyna stayed there for a moment before following. Piper grabbed Leo's arm.
"What did Hylla say?" Piper questioned in concern.
"She said shut up but with a lot more vulgarity," Leo answered. "I didn't know Reyna spoke Spanish."
Piper looked down. There was a lot that they didn't know about Reyna. She spoke, "We should get going."
Leo nodded his agreement and hurried inside. After a moment, Piper followed. She then saw the pool that had the two spires of rock in it.
One of the spires almost looked like a stone body bag. It was twenty feet tall. Below that, there was tendrils. A head, chest, and arms were coming out of it.
The other spire held Hera in her cage. Piper stared at how small the tendril was. Hera looked up and met Piper's eyes.
For being a goddess, Hera didn't seem special. Her dark hair was covered by a shawl. She wore a black dress like a widow would. Her wrinkled face held glinting, scary eyes.
"Hola, Tia," Leo greeted as he knelt by the cage. "In some trouble?"
"I am not one of your machines to be inspected boy," Hera hissed. "Get me out of here. Now."
"Do as she says," Hylla ordered. "I need to check on my Amazons and hold the perimeter."
Hylla walked away without another word. Reyna shook her head and spoke, "Lady Juno, how can we free you?"
"If I knew that, would I be here?" Hera demanded. She pointed to the other spire. "That is Porphyrion. Gaea needed my power to raise him. For weeks, I have been drained of strength that has helped him get a new form."
"So, you're fertilizer?" Leo wondered. Hera's look almost seemed like it could kill him on the spot. If she was at full strength, it probably could have.
"You can waste your time joking or saving me," Hera answered angrily. "If I am not free by sundown, we are doomed. The giant will wake and offer me two choices: marriage or death. I cannot marry him. When I die, you three die, and Gaea rises."
"Well, let's just blow it up," Leo commented. Hera rolled her eyes. "Hey, I am trying to help. Why don't you bust out?"
"First, you do not have enough power to free me. Second, you must use your brain. When a god or goddess is trapped, their power becomes useless. I was tricked into a golden chair and forced to beg for my freedom," Hera explained.
"Leo Valdez, I have been watching you for a long time," Hera continued. "If anyone can destroy this cage, it is you."
"The forge and dove," Leo whispered after a moment. "Piper, I need your help. We need a little bit of time too."
Piper nodded and stepped forward. The air suddenly dropped about fifty degrees. Piper watched her breath turn to mist. Frost instantly covered the walls of the Wolf House.
To add to the fun, Venti rushed into the room in the shape of a horse. Wolves followed after that. It took another moment for Earthborn to appear. They were screwed.
Piper grabbed her dagger and held it in front of her. She glanced to her right. Leo, for some reason, was putting a tin of breath mints back into his belt. He grabbed his hammer. Reyna didn't grab any weapon, but she was glancing at every object like it could be a weapon.
One of the wolves came forward. It was dragging a human sized statue by its leg. Piper had a sinking feeling of who it was. Her fear was confirmed as the wolf stopped at the edge of the pool, and they all saw Hylla's surprised, frozen face.
"Hylla!" Reyna yelled. She tried to run forward. It took Leo and Piper grabbing her to stop her. Reyna pulled away from them and stepped forward. "Ignavus! Ostende te!"
A cruel laughter rang out from behind the monsters. The owner of the laugh stepped out of the mist. A silver crown was atop her black hair, and her brown eyes shined with cruelty.
"Bon soir, mes amis," Khione, the goddess of snow, said with an evil smirk. She looked at Leo. "Son of Hephaestus, I fear you do not have the time you are wishing for."
"What did you do to Hylla?" Reyna snapped as she moved forward. Piper grabbed Reyna and dragged her backwards. They were outnumbered and running out of time.
"I have done many things," Khione answered with a smirk. "As for your sister, she isn't dead, yet. We can keep the Amazons for our amusement, and we can thaw them out and hunt them down. One by one."
Reyna was literally shaking from anger. Piper grabbed her arm, but she was a little scared. Khione smirked and spoke, "I might keep the Amazons like slaves. See how they enjoy being on the other end of the leash."
"She's trying to waste our time," Piper whispered. "She wants to waste time till Porphyrion rises."
"Let her," Reyna hissed. She tried taking another step forward. Piper grabbed her again.
"Oh, let her go," Khione ordered. "She can't help the war in her veins. Like mother like daughter."
"Shut up," Reyna spat. "Right. Now."
"You still don't know who she is, do you?" Khione taunted. "That must hurt. She doesn't love you enough to give you a sign. No one cares enough to reveal the secret to you. Your own sister wouldn't say."
"Shut up!" Reyna repeated, but her voice wasn't as strong as before. It broke Piper's heart to hear. She grabbed Reyna's arm and tried to give her some kind of comfort.
"You're a traitor," Hera interrupted. She opened her mouth to say more, but Khione waved her hand. Ice appeared over the prison. Khione smirked.
"Now, where were we?" Khione wondered. Her eyes focused on Reyna. "Oh, we were talking about how no one loves you. Your mother gave you the ability to share your strength with others, but who is going to share their strength with you? No one. You are too bitter, betrayed, and alone. Like always."
"Stop talking," Piper snapped. Khione opened her mouth, but no words came out. The goddess angrily cleared her throat. "You tricked Hera into coming here."
"Of course," Khione said. "I convinced Zeus to close Olympus. I whispered an idea into Aeolus' ear of putting a kill order on you demigods. My words are like the snow: gentle and cold. It's easy for me to whisper to the other gods."
"You tried to have Boreas kill us in Quebec," Leo interrupted. "You probably couldn't have done anything when he said no. That's why you knocked our dragon out of the sky over Detroit. I bet all of that stupid snow was because of you!"
"You are not as stupid as you look," Khione commented. "My father is scared of the power that Zeus and Aeolus possess. Boreas will be disposed of soon though."
"You kept Enceladus informed of our position," Piper realized. Khione sneered at her.
"Once you three made it past Omaha, I needed to have you tracked. That was Lycaon's job. Now, that is where we get to the fun part," Khione said. "When your blood is spilled here Reyna, this sacred ground will be tainted for generations."
"Your comrades will think that the Greeks did this. When they find the two from Camp Half-Blood, it will only confirm that feeling. Demigod will turn against demigod," Khione bragged.
"What does she mean comrades?" Leo questioned. Reyna stared ahead and didn't respond.
"You can't do this," Piper said trying to muster as much charmspeak as she could. "Gaea will turn on you and punish you even though you did all of this."
Khione laughed. She spoke, "Your charmspeak can do nothing to me. Gaea will never turn on me because she will treat me right. You mortals do not. The Greeks never cared about me, and no one these days even remembers me."
"I will cover the Acropolis in snow as we retake the ancient places. I will help destroy the roots of the gods," Khione continued.
"Greece," Leo whispered.
"Join me," Khione said to him. "You would be very valuable. Fate claims to have your path laid out. Defy that heartbroken trail."
Leo snorted. He spoke, "You would turn me into a Leosicle in a second. You can't just mess with my dragon and get away with it. I can't believe I thought you were hot."
"I would have you know that I am very cold," Khione snapped. She shot a blast of sleet at them. Leo held up a hand. A wall of fire appeared, and the snow dissolved in a steamy cloud.
"Fire beats ice," Leo informed. "Especially in Texas."
"Enough," Reyna said. It was the first time she had spoken in awhile. "I have to thank you, Khione."
"Why is that?" Khione demanded. Reyna glanced at Piper before looking back at the goddess. There was a scary look in Reyna's eyes.
"You helped me remember some important things," Reyna answered. "First, I remember who my mother is, and after that, the other pieces just fell into place. Now, are you ready to get destroyed by a praetor of the twelfth legion?"
Piper exchanged looks with Leo, but he looked just as confused as her. Khione sneered and spoke, "Have it your way demigod. Attack!"