orenda [leo valdez]

lxx. When in Doubt, Tater Tots

❝we were together. i forget the rest.❞

⤷ walt whitman

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After the bear traps and pressure-activated explosives, Kira doubted the afternoon could get any worse. Of course, it did.

Once they had told Emmie and Josephine what had happened with Britomartis, their hosts sank into despair. They didn't seem reassured that the griffin quest might lead to Georgina's rescue, or that their little girl would remain alive until the spectacular kill-fest the emperor had planned in three days.

Emmie and Jo were so resentful—not just of Britomartis but also of them—that they assigned them more chores. Kira didn't mind that she had to help out, it only seemed right because they were helping them and giving them somewhere to live, but that didn't stop Apollo from complaining the entire time.

By dinnertime, she was starving. Josephine waved listlessly toward the kitchen. "I think there's some leftover tofu enchiladas in the fridge. Agamethus will show you to your rooms."

She and Emmie left them to fend for themselves.

The glowing orange ghost escorted Calypso to her room first. Agamethus let it be known, via the Magic 8 Ball and lots of gesticulation, that girls and boys always slept in entirely different wings. Kira protested, saying how she was about to leave him for a unknown amount of time on a quest, but the ghost didn't back down.

"It'll be alright," Leo told her, kissing her goodnight. For Kira, she was terrified. She got nightmares whenever she didn't sleep beside him, just like last night.

But the ghost just led Leo and Apollo away.

Calypso didn't complain. Before leaving, she turned to the boys hesitantly and said, "See you in the morning," as if this was a huge concession. As if by talking to Leo and Apollo at all, she was going above and beyond the courtesy they deserved.

She and Kira weren't thrilled to share a room, but they made their way through the doorway. They didn't have a choice. Kira took the bed on the left, and Calypso pushed her bed all the way against the other wall. Kira didn't have the energy to argue, so she just sighed, turning over, and falling asleep.

She was standing in Tartarus. She looked around, trying to get any idea of what part, when she caught sight of herself. She was about a year younger, the time she had fallen into Tartarus. She was standing at the top of a cliff, a monster directly behind her. Kira held her breath when she realized what memory it was. She tried to yell out, but memory-her couldn't hear.

Younger her turned around just in time. To her left, fire billowed out of a lion, and she barely managed to dodge. She pulled her sword out by yanking off her necklace.

The lion had a head of a goat off its back and a snake for a tail. It was tall and threatening, which was always good. She was facing the Chimera.