SAFE . . . reyna ramirez-arellano

35 - revival

EVERYTHING WAS NOT "sort of alright".

Jason was unconscious, and he had been for two minutes now. His body was steaming, his eyes rolled back in his head. Briar couldn't tell if he was even breathing. Leo kept calling Jason's name as he held him. It broke her heart to see.

"It's no use, child." Juno — sorry, Hera stood over them in her simple black robes and shawl.

Briar hadn't seen the goddess go nuclear. She'd closed her eyes, because she wasn't a dumbass, but she could see the aftereffects. Every vestige of winter was gone from the valley. No signs of battle, either. The monsters had been vaporized. The ruins had been restored to what they were before — still ruins, but with no evidence that they'd been overrun by a horde of wolves, storm spirits, and six-armed ogres.

Even the Hunters had been revived. Most waited at a respectful distance in the meadow, but Thalia knelt by Leo's side, her hand on Jason's forehead.

Thalia glared up at the goddess. "This is your fault. Do something!"

"Do not address me that way, girl. I am the queen—"

"Fix him!"

Hera's eyes flickered with power. "I did warn him. I would never intentionally hurt the boy. He was to be my champion, just like you are, Lovelace. I told them to close their eyes before I revealed my true form."

"Um . . ." Briar bit her lip, her eyebrows furrowing at the thought of being Hera's champion. She felt that being only Hera's champion was wrong, though. "True form is bad, right? So why did you do it?"

"I unleashed my power to help you, fool!" Hera cried. "I became pure energy so I could disintegrate the monsters, restore this place, and even save these miserable Hunters from the ice."

"Fool?" Briar repeated. "You're the one who got yourself in this situation. Don't be calling me the fool now."

"Mortals can't look upon you in that form!" Thalia shouted at the same time. "You've killed him!"

Leo shook his head in dismay. "That's what our prophecy meant. Death unleash, through Hera's rage. Come on, lady. You're a goddess. Do some voodoo magic on him! Bring him back."

Briar focused on Jason's face. "He's breathing!" she announced.

"Impossible," Hera said. "I wish it were true, child, but no mortal has ever—"

"Jason," Briar called, putting every bit of her willpower into his name. She knelt down and rested her hand on his heart. "Listen to me. You can do this. Come back. You're going to be fine."

Nothing happened. Had she imagined his breath stirring?

"Healing is not a power of Venus," Hera said regretfully. "Even if the gods have chosen you, Lovelace, you aren't powerful enough for this. His mortal spirit—"

"Jason," Briar said again, more forcefully. Her mind felt like it'd forcefully waken up at the information that the goddess had just given her. The gods fucking chose her for a reason. Because she's powerful. She tapped into all of the anger that she felt, and the power humming in her veins. "Wake up."

He gasped, and his eyes flew open. For a moment they were full of light — glowing pure gold. Then the light faded and his eyes were normal again. "What — what happened?"

"Impossible!" Hera said.

Leo wrapped Jason in a hug until he groaned, "Crushing me."

"Sorry," Leo said, pulling away and wiping a tear from his eye quickly. He looked at Briar and said, "thanks. I owe you."