BORROWING THE HELICOPTER was easy. Getting Reyna on board was not.

Briar needed only a few words through Leo's improvised bullhorn to convince the pilot to land on the mountain. The Park Service copter was big enough for medical evacuations or search and rescue, and when Briar told the very nice ranger pilot lady that it would be a great idea to fly them to the nearest airport, she readily agreed.

"No," Reyna muttered, as they picked her up off the ground. "Briar, don't leave—"

"I'm not," Briar promised. "I swear."

She needed both Leo's and Jason's help to hold her, while Coach Hedge gathered their supplies. Fortunately Hedge had put his pants and shoes back on, so Briar didn't have to explain the goat legs to the mortals.

It broke Briar's heart to see Reyna like this — pushed to the breaking point, tears forming in her eyes. She didn't know what the giant had done to her exactly, how the monsters had shattered her spirit, but she didn't think she could stand to find out.

"It'll be okay, Rey," she said, making her voice as soothing as possible. She didn't want to charmspeak her own girlfriend, but it seemed the only way. She had a feeling that she'd done it before, and that made her feel worse. "We're going to help you. You know Jason, he's here right now. You're safe now."

Reyna blinked, and looked up at helicopter rotors. "He showed me visions. He showed me what happened back home . . ."

"I know," Briar kissed her forehead. She didn't know. She didn't remember what happened to Reyna, and it hurt almost as much as seeing her like this. "It's alright. I'm here now."

When they got her to the bay doors, the pilot came over to help. "What's wrong with her?" she asked.

"Smoke inhalation," Jason suggested. "Or heat exhaustion."

"We should get her to a hospital," the pilot said.

"It's okay," Briar said. "The airport is good."

"Yeah, the airport is good," the pilot agreed immediately. Then she frowned, as if uncertain why she'd changed her mind. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Briar said. "Forget all of your doubts. Take us."

The pilot blinked, confused. "I forgot what I was saying. Let's get going."

Leo and Jason raised their eyebrows at Briar, obviously impressed, but she didn't feel the same. She liked the rush of controlling people with her voice far too much for her own good, but how would it help Reyna? She couldn't convince her she would be okay, or that nothing had happened. Her trauma was just too deep.

Finally they got her on board, and the helicopter took off. The pilot kept getting questions over her radio, asking her where she was going, but she ignored them. They veered away from the burning mountain and headed toward the Berkeley Hills.

"Briar." Reyna grasped Briar's hand and held on like she was afraid she'd fall. "It's you? They told me — they told me you would die. They said . . . horrible things would happen."

"It's me, Rey." It took all Briar's willpower not to cry. She had to be strong for her girl. "Everything's going to be okay."

"They showed me things," Reyna said. "Father locking me in my room. Killing him. The ghosts following me." She focused on Briar again, her eyes like broken glass, reflecting a crazy kind of light. "They kept giving me visions of you dead. And I couldn't save you . . ."

"But I'm okay now," Briar insisted. "Thanks to you. You saved me, Reyna."

"I—" Reyna took a shaky breath, then seemed to forget how to exhale.

Briar's friends were careful not to watch. Leo fiddled with a lug nut from his tool belt, his arm around Jason's. Jason gazed at the valley below — the roads backing up as mortals stopped their cars and gawked at the burning mountain. Gleeson chewed on the stub of his carnation, and for once the satyr didn't look in the mood to yell or boast.

"I never gave up on you," Reyna told her. "I never stopped looking for you, and look at where it got me. Losing you destroyed me, Briar. And seeing you in those dreams, where I actually watched you die . . ."

"Rey, I'm not dead," Briar squeezed her hand. "I never was. I'm sorry for worrying you."

But Reyna stared off into the horizon as if she wasn't there.

Briar felt inside the pocket of her — Reyna's — jacket. The vial was still there, warm to the touch.

But how could Briar erase her memories? Briar had finally found the person she loved the most in the world. She didn't need to suffer through more headaches when trying to remember Reyna. She didn't need to feel the longing she felt the past three or four days when she looked at Jason and Leo flirting.

How could she go back to the way things were?

She held Reyna's hand, taking out the copy of Romeo and Juliet and reading quietly from a random act. Briar felt Reyna's hand loosen but her grip was still pretty tight.

As they passed over the hills into the East Bay, Jason tensed. He leaned so far out the doorway Briar was afraid he'd fall.

He pointed. "What is that?"

Briar looked down, and she saw something she recognized. A highway cut through a tunnel in the hills, connecting the East Bay with the inland towns.

"Where?" Leo asked.

"That road," Jason said. "The one that goes through the hills."

Briar had already picked up the com helmet the pilot had given her and relayed the question over the radio.

"She says it's Highway 24," Briar reported. "That's the Caldecott Tunnel."

It was familiar to Briar and Jason, and Reyna had perked up at the words. Then, clear as day, Briar knew what needed to be done.

"Land here," Briar commanded the pilot. "Now."

* * *

They landed right there, a few miles from the tunnel, and everyone looked at Briar.

"What now?" Jason asked her.

She felt uncomfortable. She didn't want to be in charge right now, but for Reyna's sake, she had to appear confident. She had no plan. She'd just remembered that this place was important — it was Reyna's home. It could be Briar's home, and Jason's as well. But today was the solstice. They had to save Hera. They had no idea where to go or if they were even too late. And how could she leave Reyna in this condition?

"First thing," she said. "I — I have to get Rey home. I'm sorry, guys."

Their faces fell.

"Oh," Leo said. "I mean, absolutely. She needs you right now. We can take it from here."

"Bri, no." Reyna had been sitting in the helicopter doorway, a blanket around her shoulders. But she stumbled to her feet. "You have a mission. A quest. I can't—"

"I'll take care of her," said Coach Hedge.

Briar stared at him. The satyr was the last person she'd expected to offer. "You?" she asked.

"I'm a protector," Gleeson said. "That's my job, not fighting."

He sounded a little crestfallen, and Briar remembered when he got knocked unconscious in the last battle.

Then Hedge straightened, and set his jaw. "Of course, I'm good at fighting, too." He glared at them all, daring them to argue.

"Yes," Jason said.

"Terrifying," Leo agreed.

The coach grunted. "But I'm a protector, and I can do this. Your girl's right, Briar. You need to carry on with the quest."

"But . . ." Briar's eyes stung, as if she were back in the forest fire. "Rey . . ."

Reyna held out her arms, and Briar fell into her embrace. She was shaking too badly for it to be normal, but Briar cherished it.

"Let's give them a minute," Jason said, and they took the pilot a few yards down the tarmac.

"I couldn't find you," Reyna said, her voice breaking. "But you found me."

"Rey . . ."

"The things they did, Bri, the nightmares they showed me . . ."

"I'm sorry I didn't find you sooner. I woke up a few days ago with no memories." Briar admitted.

Reyna stared at her. "What?"

"It doesn't matter right now." Briar took out the vial from her pocket. "My mom gave me this, for you. It takes away your recent memories. It'll make it like none of this ever happened."

Reyna frowned. "You're making me forget I saw you?"

"I'm sorry," Briar whispered. "I have to save the world now, and you can't be a part of it."

"But can't I leave even with the knowledge of seeing you?" Reyna pleaded.

"I'm sorry," Briar repeated. "But you can't . . . I need you to trust me. I promise you, I wouldn't do this if the stars allowed it. But the gods won't let me do this, and neither will the Fates."

Reyna leaned in to kiss her. "I understand. You need to save the world. But . . . I need something from you to give me hope. I can't . . . the past two months have been torture for me. I looked for you every single day, even when Piper wouldn't let me. I spent all of my days screaming for you because you were gone."

Piper. The name unlocked a flurry of memories in Briar, but she couldn't worry about that now. She took out the rolled up letter, and put Reyna's ring around the paper so it'd stay rolled up. Then she took out the copy of Romeo and Juliet.

"Take these," Briar said. "When you wake up, I want you to read the letter. It's basically what I've done over the past four days horribly explained. And you can have your ring back, so you can give it to me when I come back. Because I'm coming back to you, Reyna, I swear it on the River Styx."

Lightning struck somewhere in the distance, but Briar didn't care. She didn't even know what words were coming out of her mouth. "I'm coming back to you," she repeated. "Even if it's the last thing I'll do."

"Please keep your promises," Reyna took the vial.

"I always do," Briar smiled at her. "And also, I'm keeping this jacket." She motioned to the jacket tied around her neck as if she was a country club girl. "It keeps me warm and it reminds me of you, even though your smell's faded from it. And, Rey? I love you."

"I love you more." Reyna kissed her again. "Remember me, Briar Lovelace."

Reyna drank the pink liquid. Her eyes rolled up into her head, and she slumped forward. Briar caught her, and her friends ran up to help.

"Got her," Hedge said. The satyr stumbled, but he was strong enough to hold Reyna upright. "Where do I take her?"

"The tunnel," Briar said. She didn't know how she knew, but she'd figure that out later. "Drop her in front of the tunnel. Make sure you don't get seen. She'll get found, I promise."

Hedge nodded. He gave Briar a side hug and glared at Jason and Leo. "You cupcakes take care of this girl, you hear? Or I'm gonna make you do push-ups."

"You got it, Coach," Leo said, a smile tugging at his mouth.

"No push-ups," Jason promised.

Briar gave the old satyr one more hug. "Thank you, Gleeson. Take care of her, please."

"I got this, Lovelace," he assured her. Then he started walking toward the direction of the tunnel.

As he started to fade from view, Briar started to cry. She'd been holding it in too long and she just couldn't anymore. Before she knew it, Jason was hugging her, and Leo stood uncomfortably nearby, pulling Kleenex out of his tool belt.

"Reyna's in good hands," Jason said. "You did amazing."

Briar sobbed into his shirt. She allowed herself to be held for six deep breaths. Seven. Then she couldn't indulge herself anymore. They needed her. The helicopter pilot was already looking uncomfortable, like she was starting to wonder why she'd flown them here.

"Thank you, guys," Briar said. "I—"

She wanted to tell them how much they meant to her. They'd sacrificed everything, maybe even their quest, to help her. She couldn't repay them, couldn't even put her gratitude into words. But her friends' expressions told her they understood.

Then, right next to Jason, the air began to shimmer. At first Briar thought it was heat off the tarmac, or maybe gas fumes from the helicopter, but an image appeared in the air — a dark-haired girl in silver winter camouflage, holding a bow.

Jason stumbled back in surprise. "Thalia!"

"Thank the gods," said the Hunter. The scene behind her was hard to make out, but Briar heard yelling, metal clashing on metal, and explosions.

"We've found her," Thalia said. "Where are you?"

"The Caldecott Tunnel," Jason said. "Where are you?"

"The Wolf House! The tunnel is good; you're not that far. We're holding off the giant's minions, but we can't hold them forever. Get here before sunset, or it's all over."

"Then it's not too late?" Briar cried. Hope surged through her, but Thalia's expression quickly dampened it.

"Not yet," Thalia said. "But Jason — it's worse than I realized. Porphyrion is rising. Hurry."

"But where is the Wolf House?" he pleaded.

"Our last trip," Thalia said, her image starting to flicker. "The park. Jack London. Remember?"

Jason looked like he'd been shot. He tottered, his face pale, and the Iris message disappeared. A part of Briar knew something about Jack London, but she didn't know anything specifically.

"Bro, you all right?" Leo asked. "You know where she is?"

"Yes," Jason said. "Sonoma Valley. Not far. Not by air."

At that, Briar nodded. She realized now. She turned to the ranger pilot, who'd been watching all this with an increasingly puzzled expression.

"Ma'am," Briar said with her best smile. "You don't mind helping us one more time, do you?"

"I don't mind," the pilot agreed.

"We can't take a mortal into battle," Jason said. "It's too dangerous." He turned to Leo. "Do you think you could fly this thing?"

"Um . . ." Leo's expression didn't exactly reassure Briar. But then he put his hand on the side of the helicopter, concentrating hard, as if listening to the machine.

"Bell 412HP utility helicopter," Leo said. "Composite four-blade main rotor, cruising speed twenty-two knots, service ceiling twenty-thousand feet. The tank is near full. Sure, I can fly it."

Briar smiled at the ranger again. "You don't have a problem with an under-aged unlicensed kid borrowing your copter, do you? We'll return it."

"I—" The pilot nearly choked on the words, but she got them out: "I don't have a problem with that."

Leo grinned. "Hop in, kids. Uncle Leo's gonna take you for a ride."

y'all it's percy's birthday today thank him for being the standard

<3 maybel