orenda [leo valdez]

ii. Can't We All Just Be Friends?

❝we cannot become what we want by remaining who we are.❞

⤷ max depree

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Kira stood in back of the chariot with Leo, Piper, and Jason, while Butch, handled the reins and Annabeth adjusted a bronze navigation device. They rose over the Grand Canyon and headed east, icy wind ripping straight through the three. Behind them, more storm clouds were gathering. The chariot lurched and bumped.

"This is so cool!" Leo spit a feather out of his mouth. "Where are we going?"

"A safe place," Annabeth said. "The only safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."

"Half-Blood?" Piper was immediately on guard. Kira knew she hated that word. "Is that some kind of bad joke?"

"She means we're demigods," Jason said. "Half god, half mortal."

Kira rubbed her face, exhausted, but she looked out at the horizon, despite feeling a pair of eyes on her. The information was absolutely draining.

"You seem to know a lot, Jason. But, yes, demigods. My mom is Athena, goddess of wisdom. Butch here is the son of Iris, the rainbow goddess."

Leo choked. "Your mom is a rainbow goddess?"

"Got a problem with that?" Butch said.

"No, no," Leo said. "Rainbows. Very macho." Kira cracked a smile at Leo's chatter. He always knew how to break the ice.

"Butch is our best equestrian," Annabeth said. "He gets along great with the pegasi."

"Rainbows, ponies," Leo muttered.

"I'm gonna toss you off this chariot," Butch warned. Kira sniffed back a laugh when Leo's eyes went wide and crept next to Kira and sat down. She smiled, putting her head on his shoulder. Even if they weren't actually together, and Leo didn't actually like her, she was still glad his memory was intact. They had been through a lot together.

"Demigods," Piper said. "You mean you think you're...you think we're—" Her words didn't come out, but Piper and Kira both couldn't bottle their anxiety of being so-called half-gods.

Lightning flashed. The chariot shuddered, and Jason yelled, "Left wheel's on fire!"

"Why are they—" Piper started, glancing back at the dark clouds. They were not having a good day.

"Anemoi come in different shapes," Annabeth explained. "Sometimes human, sometimes stallions, depending on how chaotic they are. Hold on. This is going to get rough."

Soon enough, the landscape changed, and directly below them was a green valley, like an island of springtime, rimmed with snowy hills on three sides and water to the north. They could see a cluster of buildings like ancient Greek temples, a big blue mansion, ball courts, a lake, and a climbing wall that seemed to be on fire. But before she could really process all she was seeing, their wheels came off and the chariot dropped out of the sky.