Something in Porphyrion’s voice told Jason he wasn’t bluffing.
Jason and his friends had had a good run. The three of them had done amazing things. Yeah, even heroic things. But as the giant raised his spear, Jason knew there was no way he could deflect this strike.
This was the end.
“Got it!” Leo yelled.
“Sleep!” Piper said, so forcefully, the nearest wolves fell to the ground and began snoring.
The stone and wood cage crumbled. Leo had sawed through the base of the thickest tendril and apparently cut off the cage’s connection to Gaea. The tendrils turned to dust. The mud around Hera disintegrated. The goddess grew in size, glowing with power.
“Yes!” the goddess said. She threw off her black robes to reveal a white gown, her arms bedecked with golden jewelry. Her face was both terrible and beautiful, and a golden crown glowed in her long black hair. “Now I shall have my revenge!”
The giant Porphyrion backed away. He said nothing, but he gave Jason one last look of hatred. His message was clear: Another time. Then he slammed his spear against the earth, and the giant disappeared into the ground like he’d dropped down a chute.
Around the courtyard, monsters began to panic and retreat, but there was no escape for them.
Hera glowed brighter. She shouted, “Cover your eyes, my heroes!”
But Jason was too much in shock. He understood too late.
He watched as Hera turned into a supernova, exploding in a ring of force that vaporized every monster instantly. Jason fell, light searing into his mind, and his last thought was that his body was burning.
“JASON!”
Piper kept calling his name as she held him, though she’d almost lost hope. He’d been unconscious for two minutes now. His body was steaming, his eyes rolled back in his head. She couldn’t tell if he was even breathing.
“It’s no use, child. ” Hera stood over them in her simple black robes and shawl.
Piper hadn’t seen the goddess go nuclear. Thankfully she’d closed her eyes, but she could see the aftereffects. Every vestige of winter was gone from the valley. No signs of battle, either. The monsters had been vaporized. The ruins had been restored to what they were before—still ruins, but with no evidence that they’d been overrun by a horde of wolves, storm spirits, and six-armed ogres.
Even the Hunters had been revived. Most waited at a respectful distance in the meadow, but Thalia knelt by Piper’s side, her hand on Jason’s forehead.
Thalia glared up at the goddess. “This is your fault. Do something!”
“Do not address me that way, girl. I am the queen—”
“Fix him!”
Hera’s eyes flickered with power. “I did warn him. I would never intentionally hurt the boy. He was to be my champion. I told them to close their eyes before I revealed my true form. ”
“Um …” Leo frowned. “True form is bad, right? So why did you do it?”
“I unleashed my power to help you, fool!” Hera cried. “I became pure energy so I could disintegrate the monsters, restore this place, and even save these miserable Hunters from the ice. ”
“But mortals can’t look upon you in that form!” Thalia shouted. “You’ve killed him!”
Leo shook his head in dismay. “That’s what our prophecy meant. Death unleash, through Hera’s rage. Come on, lady. You’re a goddess. Do some voodoo magic on him! Bring him back. ”
Piper half heard their conversation, but mostly she was focused on Jason’s face. “He’s breathing!” she announced.
“Impossible,” Hera said. “I wish it were true, child, but no mortal has ever—”
“Jason,” Piper called, putting every bit of her willpower into his name. She could not lose him. “Listen to me. You can do this. Come back. You’re going to be fine. ”
Nothing happened. Had she imagined his breath stirring?
“Healing is not a power of Aphrodite,” Hera said regretfully. “Even I cannot fix this, girl. His mortal spirit—”
“Jason,” Piper said again, and she imagined her voice resonating through the earth, all the way down to the Underworld. “Wake up. ”
He gasped, and his eyes flew open. For a moment they were full of light—glowing pure gold. Then the light faded and his eyes were normal again. “What—what happened?”
“Impossible!” Hera said.
Piper wrapped him in a hug until he groaned, “Crushing me. ”
“Sorry,” she said, so relieved, she laughed while wiping a tear from her eye.
Thalia gripped her brother’s hand. “How do you feel?”
“Hot,” he muttered. “Mouth is dry. And I saw something… really terrible. ”