CATHARSIS, jason grace¹

𝟬𝟭𝟯. pemdas

"COOL, RIGHT?" Leo asked the group, effortlessly using the reins to steer the dragon into the sky like he'd been doing it all his life. The metal wings worked perfectly, and soon the coast of Long Island was just a bunch of blurry lines behind them. They shot over Connecticut and climbed into the gray winter clouds, entering a whole new atmosphere. It was the most amazing experience ever for Piper until the intrusive thoughts came flooding in.

"What if we get spotted?" she asked.

"Who?" Leo responded from the front with a toothy grin. "The five-hundred-pound dragon? Or Aera flashing half the people of Earth?"

"The Mist," Jason reminded from behind her. "It keeps mortals from seeing magic things. If they spot us, they'll probably mistake us for a small plane or something. As for Aera, um..." He scratched his head. "...are you sure you're okay sitting like that?"

"This isn't my first rodeo, partner," Aera said mockingly. Even though Aera was sitting behind her, Piper could practically hear her rolling her eyes. "A couple of hours on a dragon in a ballgown never killed anybody."

Piper looked over her shoulder. "You sure about that?"

Sitting sideways like a princess on a saddle, Aera fluffed her hair, modest as ever. Her royal purple dress flowed freely through the gentle wind. There was a bruise starting to form around her eye and the corner of her lip was still bleeding a little. Piper wasn't too worried. Knowing Aera, she'd find a way to turn the worst injuries into a fashion accessory.

In fact, Piper was more concerned with what Ethan Nakamura had to say about her. He was totally creepy and super dramatic, but everything he said connected to Annabeth's story. Piper wasn't sure how to feel anymore, but she knew she couldn't really judge Aera for being selfish when she was on the road to betraying them all. If anything, maybe it would cancel out if she betrayed a traitor? PEMDAS?

But what about the others? The ones who weren't traitors?

Piper sneaked a peek past Aera and noticed Jason was clutching a photo in his hand—a picture of a girl with dark hair. Okay, that was suspicious...

Aera made eye contact with Piper. Her eyes were narrowed. She had seen it too. Piper thought it was better not to pry unless Jason volunteered the information himself but of course, Aera had other ideas.

"Why do you have that photograph?" Aera demanded. Oh, boy.

"What photograph?" Jason asked evasively, shoving it into his pocket.

Piper wanted to thwack him on the forehead. Could he be more obvious?

"I don't know," Aera snarked. "The one you're hiding in your pocket like a total perv?" She leaned back, clearly miffed. "It's Thalia, isn't it?"

Piper glanced at Leo, who just shrugged.

"Who's Thalia?" she asked.

Jason took a deep breath like he was uttering a silent final prayer. Then he answered, "She's my sister."

"She's your sister?" Piper couldn't help but blurt. Jason rubbed the back of his neck with a small blush. Whoa. Whoa. Piper's mind really went into the gutter for a second there. Maybe it was Aera's influence. Yeah, it was definitely Aera's influence.

"Half-sister," Aera corrected almost immediately. "Well, actually, the gods don't have DNA, so really, she's just some random girl who sleeps in the same cabin as you."

Piper couldn't believe what she was hearing. Some random girl who sleeps in the same cabin as you? Was that how Aera thought of Piper? Of all their siblings?