"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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Jason was nervous.
Why wouldn't he be? He just lost his sister Thalia, who he had only just met an hour ago, his memory wasn't getting any better, and his best friend Leo almost fell into a chasm.
Jason grabbed Leo by the shirt before he could fall.
Jason, along with his friends Piper and Leo, were currently in Aeolus's palace in Colorado. The central section of Aeolus' fortress was as big as a cathedral, with a soaring domed roof covered in silver. Television equipment floated randomly through the air, camera, spotlights, set pieces, potted plants. And there was no floor.
An enormous circular pit plunged into the heart of the mountain. It was probably half a mile deep, honeycombed with caves. Some of the tunnels probably led straight outside. Others were sealed with a glistening material like wax or glass. For Jason, it may have been survivable, but for Leo and Piper, that was one long, fatal fall.
"Oh my," Mellie, their wind aura guide, gasped. "I'm so sorry." She unclipped a walkie-talkie from somewhere in her robes and spoke into it. "Hello, sets? Is that Nuggets? Hi, Nuggets. Could we get a floor in the main studio, please? Yes, a solid one. Thanks."
A few seconds later, an army of harpies rose from the pit, all carrying squares of various building materials. In no time there was a makeshift floor snaking out over the chasm.
"That can't be safe," Jason muttered.
"Oh, it is," Mellie assured him. "The harpies are very good."
Jason was the first to step on it, making it sure it was safe before signaling to his friends to join him.
Piper reached for Jason's hand. "If I fall, you're catching me."
Jason couldn't stop his blush from the physical contact. "Uh, sure." He let his fingers intertwine with the daughter of Aphrodite's as they walked.
Jason was kinda unsure about his relationship with Piper. He knew that her feelings towards him were unfair, for they had been a product of her fake Mist memories. But a part of him wished they were real. A part of him believed that they were supposed to be real—like he was supposed to have someone, like Piper, by his side. But without his memory, he was unsure if he should act on that feeling, or if he should wait.
One thing Jason did know was that he was starting to grow feelings for Piper. And although a part of him wanted to just let it happen, a bigger part was screaming at him to stop.
"You're catching me too," Leo said, taking very slow steps. "But I ain't holding your hand."
Mellie led them towards the middle of the chamber, where a loose sphere of flat-panel video screens floated around a kind of control center. A man hovered inside, checking monitors and reading paper airplane messages.
