𝐎𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒༄ • Jᴀsᴏɴ Gʀᴀᴄᴇ

Chapter 17

They didn't talk much after that, and Freya found that silence was the best antinode for what she'd just figured out. So was sleep. She got a little bit of that before she woke up to Jason and Piper screaming. They spiraled through the dark in a free fall, still on the dragon's back, but Festus's hide was cold. His ruby eyes were dim.

"Not again!" Leo yelled. "You can't fall again!"

He fumbled and was doing something upfront, but Freya wasn't able too see. The wind whipped her eyes, and they watered. The cold bit at her skin, and the only bit of warmness came from behind her- Jason's hands enveloped around her, keeping her pressed to him.

"Jason!" Leo screamed. "Take the girls and fly out of here!"

"What?"

"We need to lighten the load! I might be able to reboot Festus, but he's carrying too much weight!"

"No, Leo!" Yelled Freya.

"What about you?" Piper cried. "If you can't reboot him—"

"I'll be fine," Leo yelled. "Just follow me to the ground. Go!"

"Grab Piper!" Said Jason to Freya.

Her hands immediately latched around Piper's waist, and then -somehow- Jason's arms came around both of them. The next second, they were in the air, flying. Jason held them afloat as they watched Leo and Festus crash into the ground of the mansion. Freya's heart beat with anxiety, and she hoped against hope that Leo was alright.

When they landed on the lawn, Piper jumped straight out of Jason's arm's and ran towards Leo with the two of them in tow. He was lying in the snow, covered in mud and grease. Piper kneeled next to him while Freya and Jason loomed over them, shotting anxious glances at each other.

"Hey- Leo?" Tried Piper, shaking him. At first, the boy didn't answer, and she could see Piper tense, but then he got up and heroically spit a clump of grass out of his mouth.

"Where—"

"Lie still. " Piper had tears in her eyes. "You rolled pretty hard when—when Festus—"

"Where is he?" Leo sat up suddenly, and Freya figured that couldn't be good for him.

"Woah, easy there tiger." Freya said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Seriously, Leo," Jason said. "You could be hurt. You shouldn't—"

Leo pushed himself to his feet. Then he saw the wreckage and his face fell. The dragon had disintegrated. His limbs were scattered across the lawn. His tail hung on the fence. The main section of his body had plowed a trench twenty feet wide and fifty feet long across the mansion's yard before breaking apart. What remained of his hide was a charred, smoking pile of scraps. Only his neck and head were somewhat intact, resting across a row of frozen rosebushes like a pillow.

"No," Leo sobbed. He ran to the dragon's head and stroked its snout. The dragon's eyes flickered weakly. Oil leaked out of his ear.

"You can't go," Leo pleaded. "You're the best thing I ever fixed. "

At that, Freya's heart ached even more. The dragon's head whirred its gears, as if it were purring. They all stood next to him, but Leo kept his eyes fixed on the dragon.

"It's not fair," Leo said.

The dragon clicked. Long creak. Two short clicks. Creak. Creak. Almost like a pattern. Freya recognized it as morse code, and was amazed to find that the dragon was actually communicating with Leo.

"Yeah," Leo said. "I understand. I will. I promise. "

The dragon's eyes went dark. Festus was gone, and Leo cried. Freya couldn't stand it, so she went and hugged him tightly out of impulse. She knew there was a possibility that Leo would push her back, but he didn't. He hugged her back tightly and sobbed on her shoulder. Piper and Jason we're there too, saying soothing things and rubbing his shoulders.