Bonding brought to you by Andromeda and Jason

To tell the truth, I don't really understand how Jason recognises his mother. From what Annabeth told me, he never saw her after she abandoned him. And clearly, she had a horrible fashion sense. I don't understand how she wasn't embarrassed. I was getting second-hand embarrassment just by looking at this.

Her dress was a flowery green-and-red wraparound that clashed. She had colourful plastic bangles on her wrists. I don't get how she didn't find them bothersome. And her hair. Don't get me started on her hair. It was an over-teased corona of dyed blonde curls and her scent of lemons and aerosol.

Her eyes were blue like Jason's, but they gleamed with fractured light, like she'd just come out of a bunker after a nuclear war—hungrily searching for familiar details in a changed world.

… now that's just unfair how much her eyes reminded me of myself.

"Dearest." She held out her arms. If I could ignore just about everything else, it would look like Percy waiting for me to step into his embrace.

Despite the dire situation, it made me smile.

Jason's hands unconsciously reached up. And that was when everything went wrong. Jason's Mist disguise burned off. His posture straightened. The walking stick turned into a golden sword. Ah, goddammit.

His eyes seemed to bulge. "Mom?" He managed.

"Yes, dearest." Her image flickered, like a reflection in the water. Like seeing something that might not actually be what you perceive it to be. A deception. "Come, embrace me."

If a mother can be that demanding, I wasn't sure I wanted one. I don't take orders. Not anymore.

"You're- you're not real."

"Of course she is real." Varus said spitefully, as if he was sickened by how emotional Jason was becoming. I wanted to punch him. Right after I deal with Antinous. "Did you think Gaia would let such an important spirit languish in the Underworld? She is your mother, Beryl Grace, star of television, sweetheart to the king of Olympus, who rejected her not once but twice, in both his Greek and Roman aspects. She deserves justice as much as any of us."

"You lie!" I snarled, rising from where I sat. The Mist burned off me, sending everything in a mess. Antinous was blasted ten feet away. Some of the weaker ones simply disintegrated by the force I expelled. Oh, I've always wanted to do that.

Varus's eyes glittered in recognition. "Andromeda Jackson." To my disappointment, there was no horror or fear, just acknowledgement. Never mind, I will instil fear in him.

I always do eventually. They don't stay ignorant of my strength for long. They never do.

"Jason, they're lying. Your mother isn't here for justice, she's here for you. They know she's a liability to you, that's why Gaia brought her back." I unsheathed Prodido. "Step away. I'll kill her."

"Kill!" Jason's mother sobbed. "Such a young child, talking of such a sin. This is what the Gods have brought about, dearest. A young child, wanting to murder her own friend's mother. Oh, I didn't want to leave you in Sonoma, my dear, but Juno and Jupiter gave me no choice. They wouldn't allow us to stay together. Why fight for them now? Join these suitors. Lead them. We can be a family again!"

"I wasn't done, you psycho." I stalked forward. "Leave, Beryl Grace. What you did was much worse than anything I know. A mother, willing to abandon her child, only to come back and manipulate him? You aren't worthy of being his mother."

"What do you know? Your mother left you!" She snarled, dropping any pretence when talking to someone that wasn't her victim. Not that Jason seemed to be listening. He was lost in his own thoughts. I wanted to know what he was thinking, I wanted to understand him. Alas this wasn't the time.

"My mother left me to save my brother. You left Jason to save yourself. There's a difference, Beryl. You are never worth saving. Maybe they don't care about me enough to know about me, but I know enough. Jason is a much better man than you'll ever be. A better man than he'll ever be in your care. I think he did a great job raising himself."

Jason suddenly shot his hand out, blocking me before I could pass him. "This is between me and my mother, Andromeda." He looked me in the eye, something I realised he hasn't done until now. Surprised, I stopped. He smiled gratefully. His smile was nicer than his scowl. "I know you want to defend me. Thank you for that, but I need to do this myself."

I stepped back.

Jason turned to Beryl, his smile wiped clean when confronting a monster like her. "You left me." He pointed out accusingly. "That wasn't Jupiter or Juno, that was you."

Beryl stepped forward, acting worried again. "Dearest, I told you I would come back. Those were my last words to you. Don't you remember?"

He shook his head. "I remember that all right, but you didn't. You left me to the wolves, you didn't care what my fate was. Now you come back, not for me, but to make me a puppet. I won't do it."

Antinous snorted contemptuously, standing around lazily. Despite what I did, he was in no mood to fight. That aggravated me. "It's not too late for your mother to make up for it, son of Jupiter. Listen to her. You have many grievances against the gods. Why not join us? I gather these two serving girls are your friends? We will spare them. Not the daughter of Poseidon though, but I'm sure you won't miss her. Not if you hate her. You wish to have your mother remain in the world? We can do that. You wish to be a king—"

"No, no I don't. Maybe that is my father's wish, but it isn't mine." Jason said steadily. "I don't belong to you. And I don't hate Andromeda. It was my flaw talking to me. I thought she coerced my friends, manipulated them. I thought she was a spy from the Giants." The look he gave me spoke of apologies, sadness, and hope. The one I returned was of forgiveness. That I knew much. "But I know differently now. She is my friend, not an enemy. Thank you, Varus, for showing me that."

Varus regarded him with cold, dead eyes. "Are you so sure, my fellow praetor? Even if you defeat the giants and Gaia, would you return home like Odysseus did? Where is your home now? With the Greeks? With the Romans? No one will accept you. And, if you get back, who's to say you won't find ruins like this?"

"I never thought I would be accepted, but I am. Maybe it is slow, but it is progress." I gave him a scathing smile. "And I'm talking about me, Varus. They only knew me as the one responsible for what happened to Nico, yet they still accepted me. I have no doubt that they will definitely accept Jason after what he has done for them."

Jason nodded. "You were a legion officer." He told Varus, almost mourningly. Grieving for the hero he once knew and is no more. "A leader of Rome."

"So were you," Varus retorted. "Loyalties change."

"You think I belong with this crowd?" Jason asked. "A bunch of dead losers waiting for a free handout from Gaia, whining that the world owes them something?"

Around the courtyard, ghosts and ghouls rose to their feet and drew weapons. Annabeth and Piper met my eye with a silent request. I snapped my finger, and their disguises dissolved.

Piper immediately climbed up a table. "Beware!" She yelled at the crowd. "Every man in this palace is your enemy. Each one will stab you in the back at the first chance!"

Over the past three days, I have learned to be truly wary of Piper's charmspeak. So far, I have managed to withstand it, but it is like a little octopus, always squirming past my mental defences.

She spoke the truth, and the crowd believed her. They looked sideways at one another, hands clenching the hilts of their swords.

Jason's mother stepped towards him. "Dearest, be sensible. Give up your quest. Your Argo II could never make the trip to Athens. Even if it did, there's the matter of the Athena Parthenos."

"What happened?" I asked, partially ignoring Jason who asked, "what do you mean?"

"Don't feign ignorance, my dearest. Gaia knows about your friend Reyna and Nico, the son of Hades and the satyr Hedge. To kill them, the Earth Mother has sent her most dangerous son—the hunter who never rests. But you don't have to die."

My breath caught. "No. No, she can't!"

"Do not doubt her, Andromeda." Beryl cautioned. "You should know best of the lengths Gaia would go to to complete what must be done."

Jason stepped forward, pushing me back. I let myself be moved. He was right, it is his fight. But I couldn't help it.

"What do you want?" He asked. "What brought you here?"

"I want life!" Beryl cried. "Youth! Beauty! Your father could have made me immortal. He could have taken me to Olympus, but he abandoned me. You can set things right, Jason. You are my proud warrior!"

Her lemony scent turned acrid, as if she were starting to burn.

"You're a mania." Jason said, shocked. Like saying, how could I be related to you? "A spirit of insanity. That's what you've been reduced to."

"I am all that remains," she agreed, eyes insane and not fully hers. "Embrace me, son, I am all you have left."

Jason hesitated before lifting his head, looking straight at his mother. I also turned to Annabeth who was standing back to back with Piper, weapon drawn, ready to fight.

"No." Jason said hoarsely but steadily. He, too, turned to Annabeth and Piper. "My loyalties haven't changed. My family has just expanded. I'm a child of Greece and Rome." He looked back at his mother for the last time, saying sadly, 'I'm no child of yours."

He made the ancient sign of warding off evil—three fingers thrust out from the heart—and the ghost of Beryl Grace disappeared with a soft hiss, like a sigh of relief. I think, somewhere, anywhere, there is a part of Beryl Grace that cares for her son out of love. But that side had died so long ago. Jason did the right thing. I clapped his shoulder.

Antinous sighed, flicking invisible dust off him. He studied me with unmasked lust and I decided, right then and there, I would be the one to kill him. Annabeth will have to be satisfied with other suitors. "I suppose we'll have to kill you." He said. "You however, Andromeda, we might just keep. I always did like the more feisty ones."

"I have been waiting for this ever since I knew Jason needed help. He did well by himself, but we all fall somewhere." I took a few steps back. "For you, Antinous, I should say we all fail somewhere. Aka right now."

Around us, the ghosts closed in. I smiled. A challenge for me. The burn on my back disagreed, but I ignored it as I always have.

The fight was going great in my opinion. Until Jason broke the number one rule in the demigod rule book. Never assume anything.

Jason slashed his gladius in a wide arc, vaporising the nearest ghouls as I vaulted onto the table and jumped right over Antinous's head. Don't ask how when he's ten feet away. I just did, okay?

In midair, I aimed carefully, sending a steady blast of lava right at him.

He barely got the time to react. "How did you—"

"Tartarus may not be here for me to summon the fire straight from there, but you'll see that this fire is strong enough." I kicked him back for good measures. "I hope you enjoy the Fields of Punishment."

He started to melt. Sheen of sweat mixed with dirt dripped off him until he became ashes. Gross.

Any ghosts that came, I absorbed them all with Prodido. If you want to ask how I can use Stygian Steel… then you should've asked sooner.

Across the courtyard, Annabeth fought wilder than the worst of the monsters I know. Her dagger glinted in the light, scything down anyone stupid enough to face her. I'm not going by the sand fountain, Piper had also drawn her sword—the jagged bronze blade she'd taken from a Boread, if what Leo said was true. He was filling Percy in on what happened after they fell into Tartarus, and I couldn't help listening in. She stabbed and parried with her right hand, occasionally shooting tomatoes from the cornucopia in her left, while yelling at the suitors, "Save yourselves! I'm too dangerous!"

That must have been exactly what they wanted to hear, because her opponents kept running away, only to freeze in confusion a few yards downhill, then charge back into the fight.

I love chaos. Ah, small c. I'm not romantically involved, not when I still do not understand that word outside of family love.

The Greek tyrant Hippias lunged at Piper, his dagger raised, but Piper blasted him point-blank in the chest with a lovely pot roast. He tumbled backwards into the fountain and screamed as he disintegrated. That works? Awesome.

I deftly dodged two suitors who came at me from opposite sides, somersaulting over one and letting them kill each other before striking another with Prodido and sending another one trying to sneak up on me into the fountain with wind.

An arrow came flying at me. Since when were there archers? I melted it, before using the same fire to burn through another three suitors. There were barely any near me, having learnt their lessons. Instead, they focused on Jason, Annabeth and Piper.

Actually… now that I looked, there were almost none left. Those who were left, they disappeared on their own. Cowards.

And that was when Jason made his mistake. I saw a flash of gold. Before I could warn him, Michael Varus's sword plunged into Jason's body, just below his rib cage.

He leaned closer, but I couldn't hear him. Nor did I care. I saw red. Almost the same red I saw when Akhlys almost killed Percy. With mixed feelings, I waved my hand, stopping Piper from going close. She turned her head to me, but I didn't pay attention, advancing towards Michael Varus. If Piper were to reach before me, she would kill him. No, I want him to know what happens when you cross me. Like I said, he will learn to fear me.

Smiling ever so slightly as I reached him, I trailed my hand down his back, analysing my prey. So busy talking to Jason, he never saw me. Startled, he dropped Jason, pivoting around. Jason slumped down, but I deftly caught him with a blast of wind. With my right hand, I caught Varus's chin, smiling sardonically. "Surprise, bitch."

He roared in agony as I worked my way inside out. Every patch of exposed skin started to throb, turning brighter and brighter. His face started forming cracks. I didn't need a mirror to know my eyes were smouldering. I smiled. "A fitting end, don't you think so, Varus? I would ask you to go to Tartarus, but even that place is too less of a torture for you." I casted a shield around Jason as Varus reached his limit, bursting into a thousand flames.

I didn't know who screamed, but I think it was Piper. I slowly eased back my powers, putting Jason down, propping his head against a stone.

He groaned, smiling weakly at me. "Kinda stupid, huh?"

"Ya think?" I retorted. "What possessed you, you stupid boy?"

His eyelids fluttered. "Nice to see you care, Andromeda."

"You earned the privilege to call me Andy." I offered, moving a finger to his wound. Jason flinched, but kept still as I worked my 'magic'.

"Andy," he repeated, smiling through the pain. "It's a promise then."

I didn't continue our talk. My legs felt shaky as I rose to my feet. Jason made a sound of protest, but I needed to make sure…

"Oh Gods. Jason!" Piper rushed forward, pushing me aside. For once I didn't care. I stood up, searching for Annabeth, and there she was. She ran towards me, our bodies colliding almost painfully as she hugged me tightly. For a moment, I could pretend nothing was happening. No war. Just a calming warmth palpitating from her, a steady heartbeat, and her arms wrapped around me, holding me closer.

Pulling back, I found a nasty cut on the side of her neck. I lifted my hand, but she shook her head. "You were amazing, Romy." She kissed the top of my head. Why is she so tall? Okay, she was only a quarter head taller, but still. "You were so amazing. But Jason needs your help right now, not me."

"I- yeah." Reassured now, I moved back to Jason, and Piper shifted to make me room. I winced. His entire shirt was soaked red. The wound was smoking. Smoking wounds weren't good. I have experience. "That's not good. Annabeth? I need ambrosia."

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I got it." She ripped through her supply pouch and unwrapped a piece of godly food.

Piper took it, hand feeding Jason as I breathed out with my mouth, linking Jason and I. He was losing blood. Fast. My eyes snapped open. "Piper. Pass the ambrosia to Annabeth. I need you to stop the bleeding. We can't have him bleeding out before I finish."

"Of course." She said steadily, so steadily I thought she was agreeing to get a new card game for us to play instead of saving a life. Using her dagger, Piper cut fabric from the bottom of her dress, ripping them into bandages.

I breathed again, pulling even more from Jason. His breath hitched as I grimaced. Yep, I could definitely feel it now. Tartarus's mark throbbed like a million spikes pressed against my back, but I pushed further. It seemed that I was in pain every time I used this transfer of injury, but never this bad. Tartarus did something. I know it.

My ribcage burned the more I pulled. Another part of my brain had to separate, using water to pause the bleeding so they wouldn't be worried. With each pull, Jason's face recovered more colour before he finally came out of his haze.

Annabeth fed him another bite of ambrosia. As every second passed, her face only grew more worried, the adrenaline from the battle making way for her concern and fear for him. "Jason, I- I'm sorry. About your mom. But the way you handled it… that was so brave."

"It wasn't her." I heard him croak out. "At least, no part of her I could save. There was no other choice."

Annabeth took a shaky breath. "No other right choice, maybe, but… a friend of mine, Luke. His mom… similar problem. He didn't handle it as well."

Of course this would remind her of him. I opened my eyes. "Annabeth, there was nothing to be done. What Luke did is in the past." My voice came out hoarse, even for me. Annabeth reached over, only to hesitate and stuff another piece of ambrosia in Jason. "His mom… was insane. His childhood was lived in fear and solitude. That's the truth, and you can't change that. Just leave it. Luke wouldn't be happy to know you still dwell on him." I know he wouldn't. Not when he spoke of it with me.

Annabeth nodded, still pale. Piper sat back. "I've bandaged as much as I can." She said, "Andromeda?"

I pushed back. My hands were shaking, drenched in his blood. For a second, as dumb as it sounds, I was teleported back to Tartarus, where any light I could see would bask me in blood. I shook my head. Not the time. "Imperial gold is deadly to demigods." I said as gently as I could. "It's only a matter of time before—"

"He'll be alright." Piper insisted. "We can bring him back to the ship. We can get him to heal. Just because you can't do it doesn't mean they can't."

"Piper!" Annabeth exclaimed. Yeah, Piper has a tendency to blame things on me even though she says she has looked past the whole thing. That's why Annabeth included her when losing her temper with Hazel.

"That wasn't what I was going to say. What I was going to say was that it's only a matter of time before I have to do this again. I can handle this, Jason can't. I cannot heal him completely, you are still fatal to imperial gold, but I can buy us time for him to find his own cure."

"Own cure?" Piper repeated, baffled.

"Maybe you'll figure it out yourself." I pushed myself up to my feet. Oh wow, the room is spinning. I had to force myself not to sit down again. That would only arouse their suspicion. "For now, I think I can fly us back."

"No." Piper said, shaking her head. "We need to be careful of Jason."

"Romy, I hate to side with Piper, but I know firsthand how fierce your winds are. With Jason's condition… that's not really safe." Annabeth said, giving me an apologetic smile. I don't understand why she's saying sorry for telling the truth.

"Alright, then we need to send a message."

"We could use the emergency flares, but—"

"No," Jason said. "Leo would blast the top of the hill with Greek fire. Maybe, if you guys helped me, I could walk—"

"Absolutely not," Piper objected. 'That would take too long.' She rummaged in her belt pouch and pulled out a compact mirror. 'Annabeth, you know Morse code?'

"Of course."

"So does Leo." Piper handed her the mirror. "He'll be watching from the ship. Go to the ridge—"

"And flash him!" Annabeth's face reddened. "That came out wrong. But, yeah, good idea."

She ran to the edge of the ruins. Leaving me alone with Piper and Jason.

"What does she mean by it came out wrong?"

Piper pulled out a flask of nectar, giving Jason a sip. "Tell you later."

"Andromeda, are you okay?" Jason murmured. I groaned. Trust the half-dead demigod to notice that. "Totally."

"You're swaying. Maybe you should rest. You expended a lot of energy during the fight and to heal me." He suggested

"Or maybe you're the one who needs to check your eyes." I said, but with no bite in my words.

Piper sided with Jason. "Andy, I really think you should sit. Jason isn't the only one who sees that. Are you hurt?"

"From the ghosts who could barely make it close to me? No." I snorted. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Jason frowned. "No, you're not."

"Jason, you are in need of some serious medical attention." I grunted. I lifted my hand from my abdomen. Fresh blood was running down. Ah, shit.

"Andy…?" Piper asked slowly.

I grimaced. "Never mind me. The pain is fairly manageable. We need to get Jason out of here, or else my hard work will come undone."

"I didn't see you get hurt during the fight." Jason said, confused.

"No one said I was." I rolled my eyes impatiently. "Look, I'm tired, okay? I just want to sleep now. So if we could focus on the problem at—"

Piper suddenly gasped, interrupting me. Her head shot up, eyes meeting mine. "You don't have healing powers, do you?" She asked. How she figured that out so quickly is beyond me. "At least not to heal others."

"Pipes, what are you talking about?" Jason looked up at his girlfriend in concern. Worry about yourself, Jason. This was probably going to get ugly. I didn't want to ruin the fragile bond we had, but I could hardly control my tongue when it comes to that.

"She didn't get injured during our fight." Piper pointed accusingly at me. "She got injured from healing you." She forged on. "That's why you couldn't heal him completely. Although imperial gold isn't lethal to you, it still hurts worse than other injuries doesn't it? You're not healing Jason's wound, you're taking it for yourself. Transferring it to your own body."

I stayed silent. She continued, "you can heal yourself, but when it comes to others, there must be a price paid. But you're so good at hiding the fact that you are in pain, no one else notices."

"Except you." I glared down at the blood, waving a hand over it. "I admit, I got a bit sloppy, but you still would've figured it out, being a daughter of Aphrodite."

"Andy… why would you do that?" Jason asked, baffled and worried. "You shouldn't have to do that."

I couldn't help sneering. How easily they underestimate me. "Because, pretty boy, I can handle it. But if you bore the full weight of your stab wound, you can very easily die or take forever to heal. Which will distract everyone else, and the possibility of death is much higher. That makes you a liability whereas I can still fight."

"That can't be healthy." He objected, ignoring the insult. "How about Percy? What would your brother say?"

"He won't say anything if you two keep your mouths shut." I seethed. "Fine! What Piper says is true. Big deal. I survived full on stab wounds when I was five. This is nothing. I can take it."

"Andy- "

"No, I don't want to hear it." I shook my head. "Take care of yourself, Jason, I don't need your pity. Piper, just deal with your boyfriend. I can take care of myself." I spun away from them muttering, "I always do."

When Annabeth came back, she found Piper and Jason talking in a low tone while I stood far away from the couple. By now, I had cleared the blood and healed myself, so she saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Are you hurt?" Jason asked her as she limped closer.

Annabeth glanced at her ankle. "It's fine. Just the old break from the Roman caverns. Sometimes when I'm stressed… That's not important. I signalled Leo. Frank's going to change form, fly up here and carry you back to the ship. I need to make a litter to keep you stable."

"That… is a very terrifying mental image." I commented, making a face. They pretended not to hear me.

Annabeth set to work. She collected scraps left behind by the suitors—a leather belt, a torn tunic, sandal straps, a red blanket and a couple of broken spear shafts. Her hands flew across the materials—ripping, weaving, tying, braiding.

"How are you doing that?" Jason asked in amazement.

"Learned it during my quest under Rome." Annabeth kept her eyes on her work. "I'd never had a reason to try weaving before, but it's handy for certain things, like getting away from spiders…"

She carefully tied off one last bit of leather cord and voilà—a stretcher large enough for Jason, with spear shafts as carrying handles and safety straps across the middle.

Piper whistled appreciatively. "The next time I need a dress altered, I'm coming to you."

"We should've gotten you to do the bandages." I mutter.

"Shut up, McLean. You too, Romy." Annabeth straightened, eyes glinting with satisfaction. "Now, let's get him secured- "

"Wait," Jason interrupted her. His eyes were on the makeshift bed, face drawn and pale. "A- a bed." He muttered. "There was a special bed in this palace."

I frowned. Piper looked worried. "Jason, you've lost a lot of blood."

"I'm not hallucinating." Jason shook his head, but I agreed with Piper. "T- the marriage bed was sacred. If there was any place you could talk to Juno…" He took a deep breath and called, "Juno!"

"Why would we need Hera?" I turned to Annabeth. "Juno is Hera's Roman form right? I get confused over these things."

"Yes." Annabeth nodded, but it was clear her heart wasn't in the conversation. She frowned at Jason.

About sixty feet away from me, the stone floor cracked. Branches muscled through the earth, growing in fast motion until a full-sized olive tree shaded the courtyard. Under a canopy of grey-green leaves stood a dark-haired woman in a white dress, a leopard-skin cape draped over her shoulders. Her staff was topped with a white lotus flower. Her expression was cool and regal. My sword slid into my hand in a second.

"My heroes." She said neutrally.

"Hera," Piper murmured.

"Juno," Jason corrected.

"Queen of Olympus." I acknowledged.

"Whatever," Annabeth grumbled. "What are you doing here, Your Bovine Majesty?"

Juno's dark eyes glittered dangerously. I sidled over to Annabeth. "Annabeth Chase. As charming as ever."

"Yeah, well," Annabeth snarked, putting a hand on her hip, "I just got back from Tartarus, so my manners are a little rusty, especially towards goddesses who wiped my boyfriend's memory, made him disappear for months and then—"

"Honestly, child. Are we going to rehash this again?"

"Aren't you supposed to be suffering from split-personality disorder?" Annabeth asked. "I mean, more so than usual?"

"Wow. I have no idea how the Gods tolerate you." I praised.

"Whoa," Jason interceded, ruining my fun. "Juno, we need your help."

"Jason is hurt." Piper said. "Heal him!"

The goddess knitted her eyebrows. Her form shimmered unsteadily.

"Some things even the gods cannot heal," she said. "This wound touches your soul as well as your body. You must fight it, Jason Grace… you must survive. Only you can heal it, no one else."

"What do you mean, the wound touches his soul?" Piper demanded. "Why can't you-"

"My heroes, our time together is short," Juno announced. "I am grateful that you called upon me. I have spent weeks in a state of pain and confusion… my Greek and Roman natures are warring against each other. Worse, I've been forced to hide from Jupiter, who searches for me in his misguided wrath, believing that I caused this war with Gaia."

"Gee," Annabeth snorted. "Why would he think that?"

Juno flashed her an irritated glare. "Fortunately, this place is sacred to me. By clearing away those ghosts, you have purified it and given me a moment of clarity. I will be able to speak with you—if only briefly."

"Why is it sacred…?" Piper's eyes widened. "Oh. The marriage bed!"

"Marriage bed?" Annabeth asked. "I don't see any- "

"The bed of Penelope and Odysseus," Piper explained. "One of its bedposts was a living olive tree, so it could never be moved."

"Indeed." Juno ran her hand along the olive tree's trunk. "An immovable marriage bed. Such a beautiful symbol! Like Penelope, the most faithful wife, standing her ground, fending off a hundred arrogant suitors for years because she knew her husband would return. Odysseus and Penelope—the epitome of a perfect marriage!"

"Unlike yours." I mumbled under my breath. Unfortunately, Annabeth heard it, eliciting laughter.

"Can you advise us at least?" Jason asked, giving us warning looks. "Tell us what to do?"

"Sail around the Peloponnese," said the goddess. "As you suspect, that is the only possible route. On your way, seek out the goddess of victory in Olympia. She is out of control. Unless you can subdue her, the rift between Greek and Roman can never be healed."

"Nike." I nodded just as Annabeth asked, "how is she out of control?"

Thunder boomed overhead, shaking the hill.

"Explaining would take too long," Juno said. "I must flee before Jupiter finds me. Once I leave, I will not be able to help you again."

"What else should we know?" Jason asked.

"As you heard, the giants have gathered in Athens. Few gods will be able to help you on your journey, but I am not the only Olympian who is out of favour with Jupiter. The twins have also incurred his wrath."

"Artemis and Apollo?" Piper asked. "Why?"

"If you reach the island of Delos, they might be prepared to help you. They are desperate enough to try anything to make amends. Go now. Perhaps we will meet again in Athens, if you succeed. If you do not…"

She then turned to me. Surprise, surprise, I could see deep resentment in her eyes. "I do not know who you are, nor do I have the time to find out." Juno announced. "But your presence here is unwelcomed."

"She will always be welcomed with us." Annabeth snarled, stepping in front of me. "Unlike you."

"You are a threat to Olympus." Juno continued in a low tone. "I have done everything to ensure my family is safe and I will not allow you to ruin that. Power runs in your veins, power I have never been exposed to, but bear in mind, nothing is more powerful than a goddess."

Just as she disappeared, we heard a flopping sound and Piper shrieking. Jason had fallen unconscious. I hurriedly knelt next to him, checking. "Overexertion. Best to let him be."

"Frank is here anyway." Annabeth said, pointing to the sky. A giant eagle circled high above, diving head first towards us. I sighed. My first impression of a Goddess really wasn't good. My respect for them went from 1 to 0.7 on a scale of 10.