orenda [leo valdez]

l. The Snake King Brings Cake

❝we've got to live

no matter how many skies have fallen❞

⤷ d.h. lawrence

△△△

Kira woke up with a crick in her neck, but her body was still wrapped around Leo's.

They had fallen asleep on the deck, so they were woken up at the crack of dawn.

They didn't say much, but they didn't have to.

Kira knew they had to talk at some point, but the deadline was looming over them.

They had to defeat Gaea first.

Kira was on complete edge, a bitter taste never left her mouth, taking first watch so she could whack some monsters to make her feel better, but none came.

They were smooth-sailing up until they docked at Piraeus, on the outskirts of Athens. Somewhere nearby – past those rows of cruise ships, past those hills crowded with buildings – they would find the Acropolis. Today, one way or another, their journey would end.

Piper was beside her, watching for any trouble as the crew geared up for war.

Kira checked her weapons, putting on a chest plate and adding a couple extra small weapons that were easily concealable.

"Um...Annabeth?" Piper called.

Annabeth, Kira, and Percy came to her side. Kira looked out, her eyes meeting three dudes with snake tails for legs.

"Oh, great," Percy said. "Dracaenae."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "I don't think so. At least not like any I've seen. Dracaenae have two serpent trunks for legs. These guys just have one."

"You're right," Percy said. "These look more human on top, too. Not all scaly and green and stuff. So do we talk or fight?"

The lead snake man held his head high. His face was chiselled and bronze, his eyes black as basalt, his curly dark hair glistening with oil. His upper body rippled with muscles, covered only by a Greek chlamys – a white wool cloak loosely wrapped and pinned at the shoulder. From the waist down, his body was one giant serpent trunk – about eight feet of green tail undulating behind him as he moved. In one hand he carried a staff topped with a glowing green jewel. In his other, he carried a platter covered with a silver dome, like a main course for a fancy dinner.

The two guys behind him appeared to be guards. They wore bronze breastplates and elaborate helmets topped with horsehair bristles. Their spears were tipped with green stone points. Their oval shields were emblazoned with a large Greek letter K – kappa.

They stopped a few yards from the Argo II. The leader looked up and studied the demigods. His expression was intense but inscrutable. He might have been angry or worried or terribly in need of a restroom.