Julie's not pouting.
She's not. Dignified ladies don't pout. They brood.
So, she got her cry on, big deal. She's cried over her mommy issues plenty of times over the years. There is absolutely nothing that makes this time any different.
Nope. Nothing. Just good old fashioned childhood trauma.
Childhood trauma that is not going to make her try and take over the world (yeah, that's right, Luke Castellan - she's got standards).
Juliette groans and buries her face in her hands. She kicks her foot against a pebble and watches it tumble into the creek - the creek she's dubbed "Nico's Great Escape."
Ah. Nico. Yet another person she's recently pissed off.
How did life get so screwed up?
Maybe she should take comfort in the fact that she's no longer used to people disliking her. That doesn't make the looks Piper gave her during that meeting feel anything less like invitations for Juliette to pretty please set herself on fire, but maybe she should try for a positive outlook.
After all, Julie's leaving camp tomorrow to help a gorgeous amnesiac lead a quest to rescue her second-least-favorite goddess from the clutches of, probably, the big baddie of the next Great Prophecy (who recently offered Juliette a summer internship position). Oh, and it'll be super quick and easy! After all, they have the backup of two brand new demigods who haven't taken even a single camp lesson or successfully fought a single monster.
Is this how Percy felt these last five years?
A loud metallic clanking startles Julie out of her pout-brooding. She stands up and looks off in the direction it came from.
Hmm...They did say there's a killer metal dragon on the loose. She probably shouldn't be out here alone.
Grumbling, Julie trudges back to camp in the dark. Nothing stops her on the way back. She's almost disappointed. She could've used a chance to blow off some steam. She pauses when she gets to Cabin 10 for just long enough to glare at the pink shingled roof.
Stupid Mom. Stupid Piper. Stupid Julie. Stupid prophecy.
"Good to see you made it back safely."
Stupid Julie, stupid Julie, stupid Julie-
"Are you okay?"
A hand hesitantly brushes her shoulder, and she forces herself around. This is the worst day ever.
Jason's standing probably closer than he intended to be, looking down at her with a very forced expression of nonchalant concern. There is sheer awkwardness in his eyes. Heart pounding, Julie smiles at him nervously.
"Hi!" Her voice cracks. She clears her throat. "Yeah, I'm - uh - just...coming back from a walk, y'know?"
Someone please kill her.
"Oh," He nods and glances at the section of the woods she just came from. "Yeah, I figured."
Stupid Julie.
"That looked like it was rough for you. The campfire, I mean. The prophecy. And...Piper." rambles Jason. He winces a bit, and Julie decides she can at least take comfort in that he has no idea how to talk to her either.
"Yeah," She agrees. "Not fun. But, I mean, hey - demigods, right? Mother issues aren't anything unique around here."
Julie's going for lightening the mood, but her comment makes his face fall. He looks down at his shoes and shuffles.
"I guess I wouldn't know." He mumbles.
Oh, crap. Why are you being insensitive, Julie?
"You, um...You once said that she was in movies. I think you had vague memories of being on set sometimes." She recalls, fixing her eyes absolutely anywhere but on him. She hears him shift.
"I...Thank you. I don't remember. But, thank you." whispers Jason.
There's a pain in Julie's chest. "Mhm. You're welcome."
They fall into a tense silence. Julie is very tired. She would like to nope out of this conversation before she bursts into tears for no reason.
"Well, I should get to bed. You too. There's cleaning harpies out and about. If they catch you, they're a bitch to lose, so..." Julie bounces on the balls of her feet. She gestures back at Cabin 10. "I'm just gonna...goodnight."
She turns to head up the steps, but Jason catches her hand. "Wait!"
Cringing, Juliette turns back to face him. "Yeah?"
He looks distressed. His hair is a bit messy, and his t-shirt is wrinkled. Those observations really shouldn't hurt quite as much as they do.
"I just wanted to say..." Jason pauses and searches for words. There's a focused gleam in his eye that makes her smile a bit. She squeezes his hand and shakes her head.
"You don't have to say anything, Jason. I know this is all a lot for you right now."
He looks pained, eyes bouncing side to side across her face.
"I can be friends, if that's what you're worried about." She tells him softly, forcing on a grin. "I'm not going to make a habit of shoving my tongue down your throat. Not without asking first, of course."
He goes red and sputters a bit, but he doesn't let go of her hand, so she must not have crossed a line yet. She laughs at the flustered look on his face.
"Oh, calm down, Soldier Boy. Seriously, if that was too much for you, friends may not work out after all." Julie snarks.
He chuckles and releases her, running a hand through his hair sheepishly. "Sorry. Leo says I can be a bit stiff."
"Maybe sometimes, but you rock the killer knock-knock joke on occasion."
Jason relaxes and looks like he wants to ask her something, but a loud screech echoes in the distance, and Julie grimaces.
"Okay, that'll be the harpies. We really need to get inside."
Jason blinks. "Right. Yeah. Okay." He doesn't move, still studying Julie's face. She turns and heads up the stairs, briefly looking back before she opens the door.
"Goodnight, Jason. And," She smiles at him. "I'm glad you're safe."
Julie pushes the door open quietly so as to not wake her siblings (she may be in a hurry, but she's not suicidal) and tiptoes inside, leaving him standing at the base of the stairs by himself.
She shuts the door and heads for the bathroom. Julie passes a bunk that was previously empty on her way, and her eyes linger on the lump under the covers. Guilt and frustration eat at her.
She feels bad for snapping at Piper. After all, it makes sense the girl probably would not be Julie's biggest fan. She did sort of make out with her kinda-boyfriend right in front of her the first time they met. But, that doesn't make her feel any better about bringing such a green demigod on a quest like this. Juliette had been serious about that, whether Piper thinks she's just being jealous or not.
There is every possibility that some of them will die over the next four days.
Julie shakes the morbid thoughts away and heads to the bathroom to start her nighttime routine. This day has felt ten years long. There is nothing she craves more in this moment than the sweet, blissful oblivion of REM sleep.
"Do you have ambrosia?"
"Yes, Sally. I went and got a go-bag from the infirmary earlier."
"Don't be snippy. I just want you safe today."
Julie sighs, tucking her makeup bag into the striped backpack she's been putting together. "I know, I'm sorry. It's just been a weird couple of days."
Sally frowns sympathetically through the Iris message. "I know, sweetie."
The rainbow light seems to make the bags under the woman's eyes more pronounced. The sight makes Julie's chest twist. She locks her jaw.
"I'm gonna find him." She promises.
Sally's face softens. She shakes her head. "Julie, I need you to to just focus on coming back safely. Percy's...Percy's strong. He can take care of himself."
"He shouldn't always have to." Julie mumbles, playing with the zipper of her bag. Sally's eyes look glassy.
"No." She agrees.
The two of them look at each other softly for a moment. Then, the door to the bathroom creaks open, and Julie turns her head to see Piper shuffling in, rubbing at her eyes.
Aphrodite's blessing is still shimmering on her skin. Piper's makeup is perfect even after a full night's sleep, and her dark brown hair is sitting in silky waves down to her collar bones. Not even the white chiton the girl appears to have slept in is wrinkled. Piper looks up suddenly when she notices Julie standing at the sink and seems to have a panicked moment of indecision about whether to exit or not.
Julie tries to give her a smile. "It's okay, you can come in. I'm just packing."
Piper purses her lips. "Okay. Thanks." She replies tensely. She slinks the rest of the way into the bathroom and heads to another sink, pulling out one of the packs of generic toiletries from the Hermes cabin. Julie turns back to Sally with an awkward smile.
Her stepmother seems to find the interaction amusing. She shoots Juliette a wink when the demigod frowns at her irritably.
"Well, I'll let you get finished, then." The woman chuckles.
She looks behind her and nods at what Juliette can assume to be Paul in the room then turns back to the message and flashes Julie one more warm smile.
"Just, please be careful." Sally huffs a quiet laugh. "Remember, dead people can't shake pompoms."
Tears burn in Juliette's eyes. She swallows them back and nods. "Yeah. You got it Mrs. J."
As the Iris fades, Julie braces her palms against the counter and closes her eyes.
She can do this. Everyone is going to come home safe.
Piper sighs in frustration off to the side. Julie looks over and has to bite her lip to keep from smiling.
Her sister is bent with her face as close to the mirror as possible as she scrubs furiously at her eyeliner with a wet rag. It hasn't even smudged. She's scowling.
Julie shakes her head in amusement and opens the bottom drawer of the vanity to steal Drew's nectar-infused makeup remover. She checks over her shoulder to make sure said girl is still asleep so that she can leave this bathroom with all limbs firmly attached to her body, and then pours a bit on a cotton pad and clears her throat.
Piper glances her way in annoyance, but does a double take when she sees what Julie's holding out.
"Here," She offers with a sheepish smile. "Mom's magic stuff is hard to get off. Takes a little more than elbow grease."
Piper studies her hesitantly. Then, she seems to decide Julie probably isn't handing her a poisonous makeup wipe and accepts the cotton pad with a small nod. She touches it to the makeup and sighs in relief when the ink practically melts from her skin.
"Thanks." She mumbles.
Julie nods. "Yeah. No problem."
She wrings her hands nervously, fiddling with the charms on her bracelet. Gods, why is this so hard? Julie's usually much better at talking. Why are words just...not wording today?
"Do you have other clothes?" She asks Piper.
The girl looks over from where she's wiping the last of the makeup from her cheeks. She glances down at her white chiton and winces. "Um...No."
Julie opens and closes her mouth like a fish for a moment. "Do you...want to borrow something?"
Piper blinks at her and then rakes her eyes down Juliette's outfit. She's wearing a camp tee turned tank top over a pair of loose green shorts embroidered with daisies. Piper's eyes linger on her bedazzled green converse in very thinly veiled horror. A genuine laugh bubbles out of Julie's throat.
"I have stuff that's not so..." She gestures at herself and strikes a pin-up model pose.
This drags a smile out of Piper, who laughs softly and nods down at the floor. "Okay, then. Thank you."
"Yeah. No problem."
"-I put this together. It's just some rations and an extra jacket. The boots might be snug, but-"
"Lacy." Julie interrupts the rambling girl with a huge smile. "This is perfect. Thank you."
The blonde girl turns a bit red and thrusts the backpack into Piper's hands. "Good luck on your quest!" She squeaks before turning to skuttle out of the cabin.
Piper reaches out to her retreating form. "Wait! At least let me thank you!" She calls out. When Lacy just speeds up, she turns to Juliette with a frown. "Where is she rushing off to?"
Julie laughs. "Absolutely anywhere other than here. That's Lacy for you. She's shy. Didn't speak to me for the first like six months that she was at camp."
"To be fair that's mostly because I told her you were kicked out of the cabin for eating the new recruits." Drew snarks loudly from the bathroom.
Julie's jaw drops. "You did what?!"
Drew just snorts rudely and comes sauntering back into the bedroom. She eyes Piper up and down. "It's a shame you're leaving so soon. I'd have had fun setting you up with someone. Maybe one of those gross Hephaestus guys. Or Clovis. He's repulsive enough to match you well." She suggests with a smirk.
Piper scowls at her, and Julie tosses a pillow at their older sister. "Drew. Stop being an ass."
"She's the one who's so horrified to be one of us." Drew sighs dramatically, dropping the pillow onto Julie's bunk. "Oh, no, your mother is the goddess of love and beauty! How ever will you cope?"
"It's not Aphrodite I have a problem with. Maybe I'm just not a fan of spoiled, vain little princesses." snaps Piper.
Drew turns around dangerously slow. "Spoiled, am I?" She scoffs. "And what exactly are you? You think I can't recognize designer jeans when I see them? That was Prada denim you showed up in yesterday."
Piper flushes and opens her mouth to retort, but Julie steps in between them. "Okay, guys, stop. We really don't have time for you two to pull each other's hair out. Piper, we need to go."
The newest camper sighs and relents, the two of them turning to head out the door. As they go, Drew calls from behind them, "You know, I didn't think it was possible for Mom to have an ugly child. But, here you are."
"Just ignore her." Julie grumbles. If looks could kill, Piper would have set the front door alight by now.
"Who is your mortal parent, anyway? Some kind of mutant?" Drew mocks.
Piper stops in her tracks, and Julie groans, preparing to break up a fight. But then, the girl turns around sharply with a smirk, quips "Tristan McLean," and skips out the front door.
The cabin erupts into screams of surprise, and Juliette spends a minute scraping her jaw off the carpet.
"-Have you ever been on set?!"
"Yes."
"So, you've met more actors then! Who have you met? Oh, my gods, if you've met Scarlett Johanson, I'm going to literally die right here, right now."
"I haven't met Scarlett Johanson."
"Damn, okay. What about Ryan Gosling?"
"No, Julie."
"Well, what about-"
"Is that a dragon?!" Piper yelps, looking up at the sky.
"Oh, yeah, that's just Peleus. Anyway, have you-"
"No, look!" Piper grabs Julie's arm and spins her around to face the direction she's looking in. Julie frowns and shields her eyes from the sun.
Oh. Shit, yeah that's a dragon.
"What in Hades?" She mutters. A bronze hulking shape with wings is soaring down from the sky in their direction. When she squints, there's a smaller figure clinging to its back. "Is that...?"
"Leo?!" exclaims Piper in bewilderment.
Right on cue, the dragon swoops in for a landing, half the camp running onto the green brandishing weapons in their pajamas. Leo puts his hands up like he's being accosted by SWAT.
"It's cool!" He yells. "Don't shoot!"
The campers look at him like he's insane. Julie thinks he might be.
"People of Earth, I come in peace!" Leo announces. Juliette's eyes bug as she notices the state of him. He is absolutely 150% covered in soot from head to toe. His hair looks like he's been bobbing for apples in a vat of motor oil, and Julie wants to vomit on the spot when she notices what looks and smells to be dried hot sauce under his fingernails. Leo beams at the crowd, gesturing over to the enormous bronze monster like it's a cute little kitten. "Festus is just saying hi!"
An incredulous laugh escapes Julie as Clarisse brandishes her spear in Leo's direction.
"That thing is dangerous!" She shouts. "Kill it, now."
The group starts to move in with their weapons, and panic flashes across Leo's face. Before Julie can even consider moving to his defense, though, a commanding voice stops them all in their tracks.
"Stand down!"
Julie chokes on her own spit. Piper looks at her irritably out of the corner of her eye.
Jason comes pushing through the crowd until he's standing, in all his golden 6'+ tall glory, in front of Leo and Festus. He blinks up at the construct in awe. "Leo? What have you done?" He breathes out.
Leo's smile is absolutely devilish. "I found a ride!"
Oh, gods.
"You said I could go on the quest if I found you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!"
Oh, gods, he's serious.
Julie looks over at Piper with wide eyes, but the other girl seems entranced by the bronze dragon. Her brown eyes are sparkling like it's the most beautiful thing she's ever seen. Why has Julie been considered the weird one all this time? She's definitely the only sane person in this quest group.
"You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?" Jason asks bemusedly.
The dragon shakes out his wings and gives a little roar. Julie snorts.
Okay. It's kinda cute.
"That's a yes, bro!" Leo cheers. Then, he pauses, looking around at the still hostile crowd nervously. "Now, um, can we get going? I've got supplies already, and all these people with weapons are making Festus nervous."
The dragon doesn't look nervous to Julie. Leo sure does, though.
Jason also is starting to look concerned. "But, we haven't planned anything yet. We can't just-"
"Go." Interrupts Annabeth. She steps through the crowd, and Julie's heart aches at the nostalgic smile on her face. "Jason, you've only got three days until the solstice now, and you should never keep a nervous dragon waiting." She looks over to Julie at that comment and smirks.
Juliette rolls her eyes and trots up to the blonde for a tight hug.
"Be careful." Annabeth whispers into her hair.
Julie just squeezes her tighter before pulling back. She looks over at Clarisse. "Camp better be in one piece when we get back."
Clarisse snorts. "What, you think you and Prissy are our only lines of defense? Get lost, Aster."
With a grin, Juliette turns to Festus. Then, she freezes and looks at Jason and Piper. "Yeah, someone else is gonna need to sit behind him. I am not touching that." She gestures to Leo's soot covered form, and he grins innocently.
With a roll of her eyes and a huff of something that sounds suspiciously like "princess," Piper leaps up to sit behind Leo. Jason follows her quickly after and reaches down a hand to Juliette.
"You ready?" He asks with a small smile.
Julie's heart flutters as she takes his hand and lets him haul her onto the dragon behind him. "Oh, yeah."
Julie's ridden on pegasi before. That's always fine. Flying by herself is great.
This is terrible.
She cannot for the life of her figure out how the others are wedging their feet into the bronze plating to keep from sliding off. Everything is so slippery and uncomfortable that she's half tempted just to jump off and fly beside them instead. She probably shouldn't waste the energy, though, so she just grips the back of Jason's camp shirt for dear life and thinks happy thoughts.
She could probably be more comfortable if she held onto him, but after skipping "Hello, my name's Juliette, what's yours?" and going straight to macking face without asking permission, she figures personal space is a good boundary to keep at least for a while.
Most of the flight is spent discussing Jason's plan to bully some information out of Boreas the Northern Wind god. When Leo recounts his thrilling adventures with the "babysitter from Hell," Julie starts to get a vague idea of what all powerful deity the gods might have pissed off this time. She keeps her mouth shut, though. No point in scaring everyone until she knows what they're up against for sure. The big takeaways from the conversation end up being:
1. Something's awakening, and, if Julie's right about who it is, they're in deep shit.
2. Jason thinks they're the first four of the seven demigods from the Great Prophecy. Julie politely disagrees considering Hera's one and only conversation with her did not scream "Juliette Aster Fan Club President."
3. Helping Hera is the only way to get Jason's memory back. This one lights a fire under her. She can get behind this goal.
By the time they cross into Canada, Julie's fairly certain everyone (awake) on the dragon is ready to murder her.
"Why is it so cold up here?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe because it's December?" Piper calls back irritably. "I thought you were the 'seasoned quester' of the group. You didn't bother to wear, and stay with me here...sleeves?"
Julie pouts and rubs her palms up and down her arms to generate friction. "Hey! I've been on quests! I mean...I went underground once-twice."
Her defense falls a bit flat. Piper and Jason purse their lips at her as she turns red.
"Hey, I'm a war veteran, so...so there!" Okay, maybe the cold is affecting her brain.
Or maybe it's the pretty blonde boy two inches from her. Who can say?
Julie huffs and turns back to the landscape below them. They'll be landing soon. At least this ridiculously freezing section of what she can only assume to be the mini fridge of Satan himself has decent architecture. Annabeth would love it. The buildings are crowded together within a medieval looking stone wall, all circled around a small castle.
She figures they're probably aiming for the castle.
Piper shakes Leo awake and relays this information.
"Quebec City," Piper introduces with a sweeping gesture. "One of the oldest in North America. Founded around sixteen hundred or so?"
Julie gapes at her. As does Leo.
"Your dad make a movie about that too?" asks the boy incredulously.
Piper scowls at him. "I read sometimes, okay? Just because Aphrodite claimed me doesn't mean I have to be an airhead."
Oh.
The boys both look away with awkward expressions. Leo clears his throat loudly and pokes out his lips like a fish.
"Heh...right." He glances back at Julie's hurt frown hesitantly before pointing down at the city. "So...what's the castle?"
"A hotel, I think."
"No way!"
The chattering picks up again until Jason sits up abruptly and points down at one of the watch towers. "Heads up, guys. We've got company."
Julie leans over to see what the fuss is about, and a laugh bubbles out of her. Two teenage guys with angel wings are flapping their way up to intercept them in the air, their swords held in front of them like hockey sticks. Their mullets may be icy white and inhuman, and their expressions may be aggressive, but a smirk creeps across Juliette's face regardless.
A teenage boy is a teenage boy.
She turns to address Piper. "Well, boys love a good airhead sometimes, Pipes. Watch and learn."
Bracing a hand on Jason's back, Julie swings both legs over to one side of Festus. She pulls the ribbon from her hair and sends a wink to her companions.
"Don't catch me, okay?"
"What?!" "Huh?" "Julie!"
Before any of them can move to stop her, Juliette falls backwards off of the dragon and lets out a loud, girlish scream. It takes a bit of effort to keep her instincts from automatically transforming her at the feeling of falling, but the sensation doesn't last too long. She hears a few shouts of alarm from both above and below her and, within moments, she crashes down into a pair of pale blue outstretched arms.
With a delicate gasp, Julie looks up with wide eyes at her savior. He's as big as an ox and dressed for a hockey tailgate in a red jersey and baggy sweatpants. His face is black and blue with bruises, but what she can see of his eyes are widened in surprise and concern.
"You saved me!" breathes Julie. She flutters her lashes and watches the boy's face turn purple. He sputters for a moment and then rumbles a deep laugh.
"Pretty girl. Fall out of sky!" He marvels.
The other angel, who's dressed in designer silk that Julie can certainly respect, flies up to hover beside them. He sheathes his sword and reaches out to hold her hands. "Miss, are you alright?! Are you injured?"
Julie shakes her head and looks at them from under her eyelashes. "I'm okay now! All thanks to you."
The brothers look at each other suddenly, and the tension rises a smidge.
"Thanks to me. She means me." The one holding her grunts.
His companion glares dangerously at him. "Of course she means me, idiot. You would not have even seen her if I had not pointed her out!" Festus comes swooping down to their level then, and the second angel redraws his sword, flying in between Julie and the dragon. "Do not worry, beautiful girl, I will eliminate this threat for you."
"Hey, woah!" Leo puts his hands up. "We're friendlies!"
Julie looks her friends over, trying desperately not to laugh. Piper is glaring daggers at her. Jason looks like a small gust of wind might cause him to faint. She turns back to her rescuers.
"Oh, please don't hurt them!" She pleads, eyes glassy. They both look at her with flushed cheeks.
"Hurt us? Chica, what're you-"
"They're just my bodyguards. I'm trying to get somewhere, see. Are we in Alberta?" She asks innocently.
Both the angels exchange a look of confusion.
"Quebec." The big one states.
Julie gasps. "Oh, no! I'm so sorry to inconvenience you. I think I may be lost..."
Angel #2 sheathes his sword once again and reaches out to hold her hand delicately. "I am Zethes, beautiful girl. This is my moronic brother Cal, short for Calais. May we be of assistance to you?"
Julie can see Leo and Jason's bamboozled expressions out of the corner of her eye. It makes it really hard to keep up her act, so she ducks her head shyly towards her chest and tosses her hair. She shivers dramatically.
"Oh, I don't know..." She says timidly.
"You are cold?" Cal asks urgently.
Julie shivers again, and Zethes zooms up to her. He tears his silk shirt off, popping the buttons in his haste and letting them rain down from the sky. (Julie sure hopes those don't fall on anyone.) He probably weighs about 90 pounds soaking wet, but he flexes like he has biceps of steel and wraps the dress shirt around Julie's shoulders.
"Let us get you inside!" He offers. "We have places that are warm. And you can have a romantic dinner with us and explain to Cal you really are thankful to me."
Julie sees Jason and Leo's jaws drop. She blinks up at the angels hopefully. "Really? It wouldn't be a bother?
"Of course not, beautiful girl! We are a very romantic people, we Boreads." Zethes exclaims with a wink. He turns to Piper. "You are a pretty girl as well. You may also join in on our romance."
Piper makes horrified eye contact with Julie, who widens her eyes at her meaningfully. Piper seems to have an internal battle before slumping and sending Zethes a smile. "Wow. Thank you."
"It is no problem." He laughs pompously and shoots a smirk at Jason and Leo. "Now, come along. We will make the beautiful girl warm."
Julie looks over Cal's shoulder as the angels fly down at the front of the group towards the main castle. She grins at her companions, none of whom look particularly pleased aside from Leo. Leo gives her two thumbs up.
"You're Boreads?" She asks the angels. Cal grins down at her with the few teeth he still has.
"Boreas is father." He explains.
Zethes flies circles around them, flexing his nonexistent muscles. "You have heard of us?"
Julie giggles girlishly. "Of course! The sons of the Northern Wind God...What an honor." She marvels. They beam at her.
"Oh, yes, we are very cool."
"So cool."
"Do you think..." Julie places a hand against her lips and shakes her head like she's chastising herself. Both angels lean in closer.
"What is it, beautiful girl?" prompts Zethes.
Juliette looks up at them shyly. "Do you think I could meet him? Boreas? I'm just such a big fan of you all! It would be a very romantic gesture."
Both of their faces light up.
"Yes!" "Of course!"
They glare at each other.
As they come in for a landing through an open slat in the roof, Zethes and Cal are too busy squabbling over who will introduce Juliette to Boreas to pay Festus and the others much attention. Somehow it's even colder inside the castle. There's a fine layer of frost on everything in the room, including the carpet, which crunches under Julie's converse as she walks. Every piece of furniture is ornate and clearly expensive. It makes the mini interior designer who lives in Julie's head do a celebratory macarena.
"Guys," Breathes Leo. "Fix the thermostat in here, and I would totally move in."
Julie laughs quietly and runs a finger down a particularly beautiful tapestry. "No kidding."
The angels lead them to an ornate stairway and pause. They turn around to glare harshly at Leo and demand Festus be removed because "fire bad."
When Festus collapses down to a carry-on sized rolling suitcase, everyone's very impressed. Julie's honestly just thinking about asking Leo to make her an expandable makeup bag. She can never get everything she wants to fit.
However, when Cal and Zethes start smelling fire on Leo himself (she knew she should have made him bathe before they left), even Julie's fantastic Lash-Blast mascara enhanced flirtations aren't enough to get them out of that. So, she plays the card that would probably be the trump in most situations. The "do you even know who we are?" card.
"Excuse me, my heroes," She calls. They turn to look at her so fast they almost nick Leo with their blades. Julie points to Jason. "Don't you think Boreas would want to meet the son of Zeus?"
They whirl on Jason.
"You are the son of Zeus?!"
Jason freezes and looks at Juliette in horror. "Umm...yes? That's a good thing, right? My name is Jason-"
"Jason? Can't be Jason. Look different."
"No, he's not our Jason. Our Jason was more stylish. Not as much as me - but stylish. Our Jason died a millennia ago. A mortal death. You can't be him."
"Oh," Jason looks nervously between the two of them. "No, I'm not."
"So...destroy?" Cal asks his brother hopefully. Julie sees Jason's hand clench around his coin in his pocket.
Zethes sighs. "No. If he is a son of Zeus, he could be the one we've been watching for."
Julie tenses. Okay, she may have stumbled them into a trap. Oops.
"Watching for?" Leo laughs nervously. "Like, in a 'gonna give him fabulous prizes' way, or a 'he's in big big trouble' way?"
Julie would've laughed in another situation. Leo and her seem to be on similar wavelengths quite a bit. Maybe it's the demigod ADHD vigorously hula hooping around both of their brains.
She is not laughing now. Because a silky voice sounds from the top of the stairs in response, and Juliette's veins fill with icewater.
"That depends on my father's will."
The floor drops out from under Julie's heart, and she turns to meet the frigid gaze of Khione.