obsidian black ● jason grace

cannot.

Reyna should've been commanding her army, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from her best friend.

    Frank and Hazel seemed to have it covered; the new praetor commanded the army like it was his birthright, and Reyna was happy to let him. Though where they found the strength, Reyna didn't know. The last year had left her battered and bruised; the only thing she had the energy to do was watch Daria, and even then, she was holding her breath.

    For the first few minutes, Daria and Gaea were a whirlwind of destruction. The goddess was twenty feet tall, but she still moved with the speed of an immortal. They battled in a blur of color; Daria's swords were gold against Gaea's obsidian. In a brief moment of static, Reyna could see that the flecks in Gaea's irises echoed Daria's own.

    But goodwill and hope don't last forever. Daria began losing ground. She'd lost one sword in a lack of concentration and Gaea crumpled the weapon like it was aluminum foil. It was prideful to think that Daria could defeat Gaea on her own, Reyna knew, and she was ready to jump in. But as if reading her mind, Percy shook his head solemnly.

"Don't," he said. "The prophecy. It has to be her."

Reyna wanted to ask, "or what?", but for the first time since she came to Camp Jupiter, she found herself unable to speak. Her breath was coming out in uneven punctuations. Percy didn't look much better.

    Daria stood with her feet planted on the ground. There was blood streaking down her face, the aura she was radiating made Reyna feel surprised that she did not bleed gold. Her eyes were an unadulterated forest green and Reyna would never forget what they looked like.

    By contrast, Gaea's eyes were an obsidian black. Reyna didn't know how Daria managed to keep standing against something so evil. "Child," Gaea said shakily. "You do not have the strength."

    "I will kill you, Gaea," Daria spat at her. She was more furious than Reyna had ever seen, and she understood now. It was not Daria who should be afraid. "I will kill you and bury you so deep in the earth that you never return."

    "I know, dear," Daria flinched at the name and Reyna wanted to turn back time so that Daria never knew the meaning of pain, of fear. "But I had to try, didn't I?"

     Daria shook her head. "No," she told the goddess in a whisper. Still, the words radiated all the way to Reyna.  "You didn't. I could have been enough. I am the most powerful demigod on this world. I am your daughter. I should have been enough for you."

"Perhaps if I was mortal," Gaea said in an attempt to understand, to reconcile before Daria destroyed her. "Should I have curbed my ambitions for a child?"

"Yes," Her voice cracked, and Reyna knew she wasn't acting. But, if there was one thing Daria understood, it was that one could not change the past. She gritted her teeth, looked her mother straight in the eyes, and drove her sword into the ground.

Beams of light appeared from the cracks in the earth. Daria seemed unfazed. In the presence of the white glow, she looked almost godly.

"Look away!" Annabeth yelled, and somehow, Reyna forced herself to. There was a piercing whistling noise that made it impossible to hear anything else. She counted. 20 rapid heartbeats. When she opened her eyes again, Gaea was gone.

She didn't quite believe it at first, that this prophecy that had taken so many lives could cease to exist so quickly. But around her, people were celebrating. She kept Nathan Vargas in her thoughts, but the rest of her friends were safe. Daria Jackson had saved them once again.

Reyna audibly sighed in relief. Her camp was safe. She started planning for the help that Camp Half-Blood would need with their reconstruction. She wondered if the Senate would move to exile Octavian from the legion. Jason once told her that he wanted to marry Daria, Reyna wondered if after this, they would retire.