orenda [leo valdez]

lxxx. Leo takes Tristian McLean to Oklahoma

❝if there is one thing that i am sure of, i am sure that you always belonged with me.❞

⤷ akif kichloo

△△△

Kira didn't think her day could get any worse. Of course, she was wrong.

It started off well enough. Then, she had almost fallen off of Festus into incoming traffic because she got distracted. Then, they were attacked by more storm spirits, which Kira fought off after a little complaining.

But that wasn't anything compared to when they made it to Miami. Kira didn't think anything could have prepared herself for what was about to come.

Festus the bronze dragon came in for a landing in an airport, after circling the city for a little bit.

Kira waved to Apollo, Meg, and Piper.

The crew waved their orange flashlight cones, guiding Festus to a spot. None of the mortals seemed to find this at all unusual. One of the crew shouted up at Leo, asking if he needed any fuel.

Leo grinned. "Nah. But if you could give my boy a wash and wax, and maybe find him some Tabasco sauce, that would be great."

Festus roared in approval.

Leo climbed down. He offered a hand to Kira, and together, they jogged towards the group.

"The party can now start!" he announced, holding up Kira and his intertwined hands. "There's my peeps!"

They all just stood there, stunned, as Leo and Kira gave them hugs.

"What's wrong?" Kira asked carefully, not ready sure if she could handle the answer.

"Man, what's up with you guys?" he asked. "Somebody hit you with a flash grenade? So, I got good news and bad news from New Rome, but first ..." They scanned their faces. Both of their expressions began to crumble. "Where's Jason?"

Piper broke down. She fell against Leo and sobbed out the story.

When she finished, Kira froze. Her body went rigid until her body gave out. She would have collapsed onto the pavement if Leo hadn't caught her. He wrapped him in a tight embrace that kept her standing, and buried his face in her neck.

Kira let out a heart wrenching sob, something she wished she never had to let out again. Losing Jason was almost as bad as losing Leo. He was one of her best friends.

The ground crew gave them space. The Hedges retreated to the Pinto, where the coach clasped Mellie and their baby tight.

Meg and Apollo stood by, something still fluttering in my arms. Kira didn't care.

Festus raised his head, made a low, keening sound, then blasted fire into the sky. The ground crew looked a little nervous about that as they hosed down his wings.

The air around them seemed to crystallize, forming brittle shards of emotion.

Leo looked like he'd been struck repeatedly. He brushed the tears from his face. He stared at the cargo hold, then at the diorama in Apollo's hands.

"I didn't...I couldn't even say goodbye," he murmured.

Piper shook her head. "Me neither. It happened so fast. He just –"

"He did what Jason always did," Leo said. 'He saved the day."

Kira let out another broken sob, burying her face further in his neck.

Piper took a shaky breath. "What about you? Your news?"

"My news?" Leo choked back a sob. "After that, who cares about my news?"

"Hey." Piper punched his arm. "Apollo told me what you were up to. What happened at Camp Jupiter?"

Leo tapped his fingers on his thighs, which Kira recognized to be morse code. He glanced down at Kira, who was sitting latched onto him. "We – we stopped this attack. Sort of. There was a lot of damage. That's the bad news. A lot of good people..." He glanced again at the cargo hold. "Well, Frank is okay. Reyna, Hazel. That's the good news..." He shivered. "Gods. I can't even think right now. Is that normal? Like, just forgetting how to think?"

Apollo assured him it was.

The captain came down the steps of the plane. "Sorry, Miss McLean, but we are queued for departure. If we don't want to lose our window –"

"Yeah," Piper said. "Of course. Apollo and Meg, you guys go. I'll be fine with the coach and Mellie. Leo–"

"Oh, you're not getting rid of me," said Leo. "You just earned a bronze dragon escort to Oklahoma."

"Leo–"

"We're not arguing about this," he insisted. "Besides, it's more or less on the way back to Camp Half Blood." He looked down at Kira again, a ghost of a smile visible. "We've got some people to see."

Piper's smile was as faint as fog. "You're going back to Manhatten. Me, in Tahlequah. We're really going places, huh?"

Leo turned to Apollo and Meg. "Go on, you guys. Take...take Jason home. Do right by him. You'll find Camp Jupiter still there."

Apollo and Meg pulled Kira aside for one last hug. All three of them looked miserable with the news, but they managed to say goodbye.

"By the way, Kira," Apollo mused. "I should probably thank you."

"For what?" Kira asked.

"I was told you and Jason stood up for me after Zeus flew me to Olympus."

Kira looked at the ex-god. Not knowing what to say, she nodded. "Yeah, no problem. It was the least I could do."

Apollo said nothing more.

  From the window of the plane, Kira gave Apollo and Meg one last halfhearted wave.

They taxied down the runway in Piper's private jet. They rumbled into the sky – heading for Camp Jupiter and a rendezvous with Reyna, the daughter of Bellona.

On the ground, Kira had finally settled onto the pavement. Leo joined her, placing her head in his lap as they had done so many times.

Sobs racked her body. She hadn't felt this kind of loss since months ago, when she lost Leo.

When Leo had reacted to Frank apologized for not saying goodbye, Kira realized that he had no idea how she had coped. For one, she coped just as she was now.

Leo tried to comfort her, but he was going through the same loss she was.

They planned the trip to Oklahoma. Realistically, they couldn't fit their belongings. Workers could ship them to their house in Oklahoma, and Leo would take Kira, Piper, and Tristian McLean to Oklahoma on a flying dragon.

It was a simple even plan, and Kira zoned out on details. She didn't care enough to know what car their belongings would be transported in, so she just tried to stay focused on not choking on her own tears.

When Leo shook her, it was time to go.

The entire ride was quiet. Tristan tried to talk to all of them, very confused on what brand of helicopter Festus was, but they were too full of grief to answer. He gave up fairly quickly.

Kira placed her head on Leo's shoulder, a silent plead to comfort her. He kissed her forehead softly. "It's going to be okay."

She tried not to think how that was her last words to Kevin before he died in her arms.

E N D O F T H E B U R N I N G M A Z E