The Heroes of Olympus, #1
The Lost Hero
by Rick Riordan
Contents
XVIII LEO
Overview
Jason, Piper, and Leo arrive in Quebec City and are intercepted by Boreas’s sons, Cal and Zethes. Piper persuades them to allow an emergency landing, but the Boreads detect fire on Leo and grow hostile. When Jason reveals he is a son of Zeus, Boreas’s daughter orders Jason and Piper to audience with Boreas, separating Leo due to his dangerous link to fire.
Summary
As dusk falls, Piper wakes Leo to find they have reached Quebec City, where a grand castle-like hotel dominates the skyline. Two winged Boreads—Cal and Zethes—intercept Festus, declaring the airspace restricted and threatening to destroy them. Piper charmspeaks that they have an emergency and must see Boreas, persuading the brothers to guide them inside.
The Boreads lead the group through a retracting roof into a penthouse suite flash-frozen in ice. To avoid open flame, Leo collapses Festus into a heavy suitcase, astonishing everyone. The Boreads then draw steel, claiming they still smell fire—not from the dragon but from Leo himself—escalating the threat against him.
Jason tries to defuse the situation by identifying their parentage: Leo of Hephaestus, Piper of Aphrodite, and himself of Zeus. Hearing “son of Zeus,” the Boreads recall their own past as immortalized Argonauts under the original Jason and decide this Jason might be the one they have awaited.
Boreas’s pale daughter appears, assesses the intruders, and commands that Jason be brought before Boreas, hinting fate depends on her father’s will. She forbids Leo, citing fire and ice as a dangerous mix, and orders Cal to guard him and hold the dragon-suitcase. Jason and Piper agree to go peacefully, leaving Leo detained but alive as Boreas’s judgment looms.
Who Appears
- Leo ValdezSon of Hephaestus; compacts Festus into a suitcase; suspected of bearing fire; detained by Cal.
- Jason GraceClaims Zeus as his father; his identity shifts the Boreads’ stance; summoned to meet Boreas.
- Piper McLeanCharmspeaks to secure an emergency landing; accompanies Jason to Boreas; resists Zethes’s advances.
- ZethesBoreas’s son; vain gatekeeper; threatens the trio, then escorts Jason and Piper to Boreas.
- Cal (Calais)Boreas’s son; brutish enforcer; eager to destroy; ordered to guard Leo and the dragon-suitcase.
- Boreas’s daughterPale, commanding figure; bars Leo from Boreas due to fire; summons Jason and Piper for judgment.
- FestusBronze dragon; prepares to defend the group; folded by Leo into a suitcase for safety.