THE HOUSE OF MEMORIES [J. GRACE]

SIXTEEN

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ THE HOUSE OF MEMORIES ༉‧₊˚.[THE HEROES OF OLYMPUS]

C H A N D L E R
chapter sixteen: the amount of trouble i've gotten into becomes know & has shaken piper & jason to their cores

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IF THE entry hall had been cold, the throne room was like antarctica.

mist hung in the air. chandler shivered, and her breath steamed. she was more prone to being cold as a fire-wielder to her degree. she'd always found it strange, and blamed it on low iron, but her older brother, charlie, didn't experience such limitations. in fact, he believed it was because she had a deeper connection to her gift, and could summon flames much hotter than he could. charlie believed all gifts had a drawback, and chandler's drawback was the cold affected her far more than any other person.

chandler was without a jacket, shaking like a leaf as they entered the throne room. along the walls, purple tapestries showed scenes of snowy forests, barren mountains, and glaciers. high above, ribbons of colored light; the aurora borealis pulsed along the ceiling. a layer of snow covered the floor, so chandler had to step carefully. all around the room stood life-size ice sculpture warriors, some in greek armor, some medieval, some in modern camouflage — all frozen in various attack positions, swords raised, guns locked and loaded.

at least, chandler thought they were sculptures. she tried to step between two greek spearmen, and they moved with surprising speed, their joints cracking, and spraying ice crystals as they crossed their javelins to block her path. jason reacted quickly, pulling her back towards him by her wrist. she shook so hard, she didn't know if it was from being caught off guard, or because of the temperature of the throne room.

chandler didn't know what to do. she didn't want to expose herself as a fire user, but she would surely freeze to death under their current conditions. what to do, what to do? trust juno to put her into a difficult position.

from the far end of the hall, a man's voice rang out in a language that sounded like french. the room was so long, and misty, she couldn't see the other end; but whatever the man said, the ice guards uncrossed their javelins. "it's fine," khione said. "my father has ordered them not to kill you just yet."

"super," chandler breathed, her warm breath fanning through the air visibly. she regretted not wearing warmer clothes for her quest. she rubbed at her arms, trying to smooth down the rows, and rows of goosebumps that ran up, and down her arms. she untied the knot of percy's forest green, and navy blue flannel around her waist. she slipped her arms through the fabric. she took a deep, soothing breath of the bit of his scent still lingering to calm herself down.

zethes prodded chandler in the back with his sword, as she'd paused to put on the warmer clothing. he sounded a bit impatient, but glad to have the excuse to touch her. "keep moving, hottie."

"don't call me that," chandler told him, her stare empty, and cold as she remembered exactly what she was doing in their territory. she turned a bit, so her even, emotionless expression met zethes. his eyes widened, and she found a bit of satisfaction in his reaction to her. "or i'll shove that sword so far up, you'll taste the metal." her voice was flat, but her eyes clearly showed the rage she was holding back for the nickname.

"my father is not a patient man," zethes warned her, though his voice wavered from the violent threat the hephaestus girl presented him with. he cleared his throat, trying to take back control of his voice, but it still cracked like a pubescent middle schooler. "and, the beautiful piper, sadly, is losing her magic hairdo very fast. later, perhaps, i can lend her something from my wide assortment of hair products."