"In Latin my name, Aurelia, basically means 'the golden one.' My mother literally named me her golden light through the storm that was her life. That is my job. To be everyone's light at the end of the tunnel. And I got stuck worrying so much about...
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Aurelia has never hated birds before.
When she was a kid she used to watch the birds outside her window perch themselves on the surrounding trees, singing and chirping to each other and flying away. Birds to her were free animals. She envied their freedom—their ability to fly into the night sky and never look back.
Well, that was a load of bullshit, she was now realizing as the ground beneath her feet disappeared and pain seared her body.
Aurelia's vision blurred slightly amidst the chaos. Claws grabbed her arms and lifted her into the air. Below, the train wheels squealed and metal crashed. Glass shattered. Passengers screamed.
When her eyesight cleared, she saw the beast that was carrying aloft. It had the body of a panther—sleek, black and feline—with the wings and head of an eagle. Its eyes glowed blood red.
She didn't try squirming, instead calming her mind to try and think clearly. The monster's front talons were wrapped around her arms like steel hands. She couldn't free herself or reach her necklace. She rose higher and higher, the cold winds now slapping her in the face (and probably ruining her hair).
Aurelia didn't scream. She didn't yell. She didn't even wince from the pain in her arms. She just allowed her body to grow limp in the monster's grasp.
Aurelia wasn't suicidal. Not by any means. Most of the time she was just ... tired. Tired was definitely the best word to describe it. Death was inevitable. Aurelia never tried to deny it. She has fought her entire life for her family and friends. And she fights for herself.
But she always knew that whenever the time came, whenever she couldn't physically fight anymore, she would embrace Death.
Although it seemed Death didn't really feel like embracing her.
Something whistled by Aurelia's ear. An arrow sprouted from the monster's neck. The creature shrieked and let go.
Aurelia, her mind clear and body ready to work, twisted herself in the air, grabbing her necklace and sprouting her sword. She could see a large pine tree beneath her, ready to catch her. She slammed her sword into the trunk and her fall slowed, coming to a complete stop at the base of the tree. She landed on her feet with a deep breath, the cold air burning their way through her lungs into the pit of her stomach as she realized how close she was to dying.
"You okay?" Hazel asked. The daughter of Pluto had stood nearby, swinging her sword at any monster that came close, while Frank continued to shoot them down as fast as he could.
Aurelia was about to ask where Percy was, but the branches overhead began to snap as Percy crashed through pine tree's branches and landed on the snowbank, not nearly as graceful as Aurelia did.
