XVII LEO

Leo pilots Festus from Camp Half-Blood, exhilarated yet hiding concerns about the dragon’s patched control disk and his sleepless state. Jason outlines their objectives: find Boreas, locate the storm spirits—especially Dylan—and learn who commands them to reach and free Hera before the solstice.

As they cross New England, they debate threats. Jason shares a dream of a powerful she-wolf and a burned-out house with dark spires, lacking a location. Piper recalls myths of an army of giants nearly impossible to kill, likely rising again, which reframes Chiron’s warnings about renewed giant activity.

Leo reveals his past: his babysitter Tía Callida was Hera, and on the night his mother died the machine shop collapsed. He also describes a mysterious woman in earthen robes who seemed asleep yet prophetic. The trio questions whether freeing Hera could unleash dangerous rage but agree her survival is crucial to prevent divine chaos and worse forces awakening on the solstice.

With no clear answers about the sleeping woman or the giants’ connection, Festus carries them north toward Boreas’s palace, the air growing colder and forests stretching below. Piper urges Leo to rest; reassured, Leo finally falls asleep against Festus’s neck as they continue toward Quebec and their first confrontation.