𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 •| ⊱ Jason Grace¹

•| ⊱ ELEVEN

[ chapter eleven: hermia ]

° • ° • °

Hermia had gotten lost in her thoughts again when she heard Jason say, "All four of us. We're the first of the eight who have to gather for the Great Prophecy. This quest is the beginning of something much bigger."

That didn't make Hermia feel any better. She did feel like this was the start of something big and Hermia had a feeling she was right in the middle of the Great Prophecy. But she didn't know if she was part of the evil side or the good side. At least not yet anyway.

"Besides," Jason continued, "helping Hera is the only way I can get back my memory. And that dark spire in my dream seemed to be feeding on Hera's energy. If that thing unleashes a king of the giants by destroying Hera-"

"Not a good trade-off," Piper agreed. "At least Hera is on our side-mostly. Losing her would throw the gods into chaos. She's the main one who keeps peace in the family. And a war with the giants could be even more destructive than the Titan War."

Jason nodded. "Chiron also talked about worse forces stirring on the solstice, with it being a good time for dark magic, and all-something that could awaken if Hera were sacrificed on that day. And this mistress who's controlling the storm spirits, the one who wants to kill all the demigods-"

"Might be that weird sleeping lady," Leo finished. "Dirt Woman fully awake? Not something I want to see."

Hermia looked down at her hands as she listened to the group. She didn't bother saying anything because she knew she had no right to. Not when it had been Gaea who gave Mia back her freedom. Mia knew she was the dark magic the prophecy was talking about. Mia knew she was the one Gaea wanted to kill all demigods. But it terrified her to think about it. Hermia wasn't a killer, and yet just because Gaea woke Mia up she wanted to turn Hermia into a killer.

"But who is she?" Jason asked. "And what does she have to do with giants?"

Mia sat quietly and waited for someone to say something, but no one did. The only thing Jason couldn't stop doing was staring at Mia. He didn't know why Hermia hadn't said anything. He wanted to ask her what was going on, but he didn't. He noticed something was bothering her and it upset him to know she didn't trust them enough to say anything.

With the only sound being the air, Festus kept flying through the sky. The wind got colder, and below them snowy forests seemed to go on forever. Mia was fighting so hard to stay awake, but her eyes kept shutting close.

Jason noticed how tired she looked and whispered in her ear, "You should get some sleep." Mia didn't want to close her eyes because she feared she'd have another nightmare. But sleeping sounded so good to her she couldn't protest.

Mia only nodded in reply, but didn't make a move to sleep. How could she when she couldn't fall asleep sitting up. Jason noticed how uncomfortable she looked and said, "You can just use me as a pillow."