Where You Go ― Jason Grace

viii. to destroy or not destroy, that is the question

AS LEO AND PIPER slept, Ophelia and Jason stayed awake. Festus stayed on track, and by now it was a straight-shot to Boreas, the compass declaring that they were 109 mi away.

Jason was quiet behind her, a solid presence so close that she could feel his warmth. Part of her wanted to just lean back against his chest and soak up as much warmth as she could, but she refrained. 

"What did Lupa say to you in your dream?" she asked Jason softly, aware of Piper sleeping right in front of her. Ophelia wasn't too sure how restful a night in a cabin run by someone like Drew could be, so she didn't want to wake the poor girl up until she had to. 

"She told me I began my journey there, at the ruins—that I had to find my way back," he said quietly. "And she told me about Hera—how important it is for us to save her in time." He paused for a moment. "She said I was their 'saving grace,'" he added, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Ironic, since I figured out this morning my last name is Grace." 

He pulled the picture of the girl from his pocket, reaching his arm around Ophelia so she could see it in his hand. "This is my sister, Thalia. I don't really remember anything about her, but I know she's my sister." 

Ophelia studied the picture for a moment. The spiky-haired, tough girl didn't look a lot like Jason, but there was a hardness in her eyes that was familiar. Jason didn't have that look often, but she'd seen it when he faced off against the storm spirits, when he'd summoned the lightning bolt at the campfire the night before. "She looks badass," Ophelia observed.

Jason chuckled softly. "Yeah, she does. Annabeth said she's a Hunter of Artemis now." 

Ophelia nodded. After a moment, she said. "My last name's Imai. I found out in my dream." She paused, biting lightly on the inside of her bottom lip. "Was there anyone else in your dream besides Lupa?" 

"Other than Hera, no," Jason said. "Why?" 

"There were these... ghosts, in my dream," she told him. "At least... I think they were ghosts. One of them talked to me. He knew my name."

"That's... kind of creepy," Jason admitted quietly. 

"A little bit," Ophelia agreed. "And then Lupa said what we're going to face will make what I did before seem like child's play." She sighed. "Thing is, I don't even remember what I did before." 

The two were silent for a few minutes. Ophelia picked absently at the edge of her sweatshirt sleeve, then suddenly blurted out, "I think I stole your sweatshirt, by the way." 

Jason leaned over her shoulder to get a better look at her. "What?" 

She plucked at her—his—sweatshirt. "Piper said it's yours," she said. "And it's too big for me, so... it makes sense." Her voice tapered off, her cheeks warm with embarrassment.

Jason was quiet for a moment. "Oh," he said. He leaned back so she couldn't see his face, though she suspected his cheeks were flushed like hers. "That's... uh..." 

"We must have been close," Ophelia whispered. "It's like I know you without... knowing you? It doesn't make any sense, but I just—" 

"I get it," Jason said softly. "I... I feel it, too. Like we're connected somehow. I can't explain it, it's just... like instinct." 

"I wish I could remember," Ophelia whispered. "I wish I could remember all of it, but especially... you. Us. If there even was an us." 

"I think there was," Jason murmured. 

Ophelia sighed softly. She wasn't surprised when Jason wrapped an arm around her waist from behind, or when she leaned back against him like it was the most natural thing she'd ever done. It felt right, so right that she couldn't find it in herself to worry about overstepping boundaries or embarrassing herself.