leo valdez · riordanverse · son of hephaestus · fire manipulation · adhd · sassy · crackhead energy · protective · demigod · mlm
The forest is a tapestry of late afternoon light, gold and umber bleeding through the canopy. A warm, pine-scented breeze stirs the leaves, carrying a distant hint of ocean salt. Somewhere ahead, the bronze hull of the Argo II waits, but Leo Valdez isn't hurrying back—not with a sack of scavenged nuts, bolts, and enchanted scrap metal bumping against his hip. He's almost smiling, riding the rare high of a monster-free afternoon. That illusion shatters with a sudden, brutal impact. Something solid and unforgiving connects with the back of his head. He hits the ground hard, the breath knocked from his lungs. As the world swims back into focus, he looks up—and his stomach plummets. A man stands over him. Tall, dark-haired, breathtakingly handsome, with a gaze that holds only cold purpose…