We had been in the air for what was way too long and my tight grip on Leo still hadn't loosened. Occasionally I would lull in and out of sleep, but then something would pull me out of my trance.

I closed my eyes tightly as my forehead rested on the latino boy's shoulder blades. My wavy hair blew around me as I tried to shield my face from it. When I searched my wrist for a hair tie I mentally cursed that I forgot one.

"Shut up, me," Leo said to the sky, causing my head to pop up.

"What?" Piper asked.

"Nothing," Leo quickly replied. "Long night. I think I'm hallucinating. It's cool."

"I swear to the gods Valdez, I'm going to kill you."

"You love me too much princesa."

"I hate you," I murmured, just quite enough so he could hear.

"Just joking." Leo changed the subject before I decided to kill him. "So what's the plan, bro? You said something about catching wind, or breaking wind, or something?"

"First we have to find Boreas and find out what he knows about our quest-" Jason was cut off by Leo.

"His name is Boreas?" Leo had to ask. "What is he, the God of Boring?"

"If you weren't flying this thing I would smack you so hard right now," I groaned.

"Second," Jason continued, "we have to go after the venti that confronted us at the canyon. Find out who sent them."

"Can we just call them storm spirits?" Leo asked. "Venti makes them sound like evil espresso drinks."

"So you want to look for Dylan, the nasty storm dude, on purpose," Leo said. "The guy who threw me off the skywalk and sucked Coach Hedge into the clouds."

"Well, I'm very close from throwing you off this dragon," I gave a sickingly sweet smile in his direction.

"That's about it," Jason said. "Well ... there may be a wolf involved, too. But I think she's friendly. She probably won't eat us, unless we show weakness."

"Wolf? Why does that sound so familiar?" I questioned as I got a headache while my brain desperately tried to cling to a memory.

"It's obvious that we used to know each other, but thanks for letting me know I'm not crazy," Jason lightly chuckled. "I was in the woods, one I don't remember ever seeing before. There was this old mansion, I'm honestly surprised it was still standing. It looked like I had seen it before. But I couldn't place it.

"I could read her body language as it was English and understood everything she was trying to say. Apparently it was a place for demigods to get claimed. She said that I had to find her. That that was where we would solve our quest. It was where Hera was trapped.

"She was caged and growing weaker by the second. She said whoever was orchestrating this was planning to raise a giant there. She said I was their saving grace."

"Uh-huh," Leo said. "But you don't know where this place is."

"Nope," Jason admitted.

"There's also giants," Piper added. "The prophecy said the giants‟ revenge."

"Hold on," Leo said. "Giants—like more than one? Why can't it be just one giant who wants revenge?"

"I don't think so," Piper said. "I remember in some of the old Greek stories, there was something about an army of giants."

"Great," Leo muttered. "Of course, with our luck, it's an army. So you know anything else about these giants? Didn't you do a bunch of myth research for that movie with your dad?"

"Your dad's an actor?" Jason asked.

Leo laughed. "I keep forgetting about your amnesia. Heh. Forgetting about amnesia. That's funny. But yeah, her dad's Tristan McLean."

"Uh—Sorry, what was he in?"

"It doesn't matter," Piper said quickly. "The giants—well, there were lots of giants in Greek mythology. But if I'm thinking of the right ones, they were bad news. Huge, almost impossible to kill. They could throw mountains and stuff. I think they were related to the Titans. They rose from the earth after Kronos lost the war—I mean the first Titan war, thousands of years ago—and they tried to destroy Olympus. If we're talking about the same giants—"

"Chiron said it was happening again," Jason remembered. "The last chapter. That's what he meant. No wonder he didn't want us to know all the details."

"Dia, I don't think I've gone so long without you giving a snarky remark," Piper questioned with concern and a hint of amusement, "what's up?"

"Something isn't adding up," I replied while looking at my hands. "Chiron is hiding something from us, something big. The way he looks at me and Jason- I don't trust it. He treats us like a powder keg about to explode.

"The wolf said the mansion was where demigods got claimed and yet Leo and Piper got claimed at camp. Something isn't adding up."

Leo whistled. "So ... giants who can throw mountains. Friendly wolves that will eat us if we show weakness. Evil espresso drinks. And to top it up a lying pony. Gotcha. Maybe this isn't the time to bring up my psycho babysitter."

"Is that another joke?" Piper asked.

"Tía?" I questioned only to get a nod in return.

Leo told the story he had recalled to me months ago, the night we had become really close. I had been sitting on the roof at the top of the Wilderness school staring a the stars when he joined me.

Maybe it was the late time, or maybe it was a mutual understanding, but that night two strangers confessed. Neither of us meant to vent but I guess we weren't used to being listened to. I told him everything. About my memory, or more lack of one.

And he told me everything. About his Aunt, Mom, but I guess he left out the fire control part.

As he spoke to the others he refused to look at anyone so took his hand. Though on the outside nothing seemed to change, he grabbed onto me like a life line. He seemed to think if he let go I would disappear.

"That's ... disturbing," Piper said.

"'Bout sums it up," Leo putting a smile on but clutching my hand just a bit tighter. "Thing is, everybody says don't trust Hera. She hates demigods. And the prophecy said we'd cause death if we unleash her rage. So I'm wondering ... why are we doing this?"

"She chose us," Jason said. "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."

"I get that but she's not exactly giving me the warm and fuzzies," I groaned.

'Besides," Jason continued, "helping Hera is the only way Dia and I can get back our 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."

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

"Most likely a goddess, or maybe a giant herself," I replied with a sigh.

A silence took over the group as we all seemed to think of other things. I hesitantly attempted to remove my hand from Leo's grip so he didn't feel forced into it. He gently took my hand back in his, giving time for me to draw back.

All Leo knew in that moment was that holding her hand was keeping him sane as he thought about the prophecy. He lightly shook, feeling odd after admitting his greatest secret to his closest friends. But then Dia pulled him closer and he practically melted into her hold along with his worries.

As the wind whistled next to me I wondered where Festus was taking us. I felt a light pressure on my chest and I saw Leo subconsciously leaning against me as he fought against sleep.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Piper said in his ear. "You were up all night."

"You won't let me fall off?" Leo questioned with his puppy-dog eyes looking up at me widely.

"Trust me, Valdez. Beautiful people never lie."

I let out a small chuckle at Piper's words as Leo rested against me again.

"Do you mind if I lay here?" he sleepily murmured. "You're warm."

"I got you," I whispered as he adjusted so that were both comftorable while exchanging body heat. I lightly moved a strand of hair from his face as he quietly slept.

"You're so whipped," Piper whispered in my ear.

"Shut up," I blushed at her words, and I wasn't even mad.

I was whipped.