~ { Shadow and Beauty } ~

Hera's Rescued. Yay

{Piper}

"Jason!"

   Piper kept calling his name as she held him, though she'd almost lost hope. He'd been unconscious for two minutes now. His body was steaming, his eyes rolled back in his head. She couldn't tell if he was even breathing. Kiara was crouched next to her, one hand on Piper's shoulder as she attempted to comfort the daughter of Aphrodite without much luck.

   "It's no use, child." Hera stood over them in her simple black robes and shawl.

   Piper hadn't seen the goddess go nuclear. Thankfully she'd closed her eyes, but she could see the aftereffects. Every vestige of winter was gone from the valley. No signs of battle, either. The monsters had been vaporized. The ruins had been restored to what they were before—still ruins, but with no evidence that they'd been overrun by a horde of wolves, storm spirits, and six-armed ogres.

   Even the Hunters had been revived. Most waited at a respectful distance in the meadow, but Thalia knelt by Piper's side, her hand on Jason's forehead.

   Thalia glared up at the goddess. "This is your fault. Do something!"

   "Do not address me that way, girl. I am the queen—"

   "Fix him!"

   Hera's eyes flickered with power. "I did warn him. I would never intentionally hurt the boy. He was to be my champion. I told them to close their eyes before I revealed my true form."

   "Um..." Leo frowned. "True form is bad, right? So why did you do it?"

   "She was helping us," Kiara said. "If she hadn't done that, we'd all be dead by now. Besides, the mortals would've started noticing that Jack Lodon's house was more trashed than ever."

   "But mortals can't look upon you in that form!" Thalia shouted. "You've killed him!"

   Leo shook his head in dismay. "That's what our prophecy meant. Death unleash, through Hera's rage. Come on, lady. You're a goddess. Do some voodoo magic on him! Bring him back."

   Kiara tensed next to Piper.

   Piper half heard their conversation, but mostly she was focused on Jason's face. "He's breathing!" she announced.

   "Impossible," Hera said. "I wish it were true, child, but no mortal has ever—"

   "Jason," Piper called, putting every bit of her willpower into his name. She could not lose him. "Listen to me. You can do this. Come back. You're going to be fine."

   Nothing happened. Had she imagined his breath stirring?

   "Healing is not a power of Aphrodite," Hera said regretfully. "Even I cannot fix this, girl. His mortal spirit—"

   "Jason," Piper said again, and she imagined her voice resonating through the earth, all the way down to the Underworld. "Wake up."

   He gasped, and his eyes flew open. For a moment they were full of light—glowing pure gold. Then the light faded and his eyes were normal again.

   "What—what happened?"

   "Impossible!" Hera said.

   "But..." Kiara trailed off.

   Piper wrapped him in a hug until he groaned, "Crushing me."

   "Sorry," she said, so relieved, she laughed while wiping a tear from her eye.

   Thalia gripped her brother's hand. "How do you feel?"

   "Hot," he muttered. "Mouth is dry. And I saw something... really terrible."