The Battle for Olympus

Reyna

Reyna paced back and forth on the top of the wall. The entire legion stood loosely ready below her, some sitting on the ground and others passing out juice boxes.

She glared at the back of Jason's head as he and Octavian prepped an onager. Those are killing machines, we shouldn't be using them. Not a very war-godly thought. Maybe she was just mad Jason went behind her back. And threatened to expose her. That was probably it, but the onagers made Reyna uneasy. It seemed like cheating almost.

Reyna sighed and sat on the patrol bench. Camp Half-blood was due to attack any time, and the only hope for unifying was apparently waking Gaea. How was that a good idea? It could work, a little voice said, isn't it worth trying?
And risk the destruction of my camp? she told it. No way. Not without a guarantee.

The legion was ready, but they certainly weren't enthusiastic. They still wore the scars from the previous fight against the giants, in the way they slumped under the weight of their armor, or the dull spear held loosely at someone's side. They were ready, but exhausted. Kind of like Reyna.

Reyna sighed again. She was going to have to face Jason eventually, ideally before the Greek camp invaded. They were still co-praetors, co-rulers of the camp they helped build. But how could she look him the eye anymore?

The walls were well fortified, and the legionnaires were ready for an assault from any direction, so Reyna felt okay leaving them for a moment to get ready. She needed her armor and dogs.

She took the stone staircase down off the wall, and was strolling across the green when the alarm bells rang out. Reyna's head snapped up and she drew her dagger, but there were no enemy demigods, no breaches in the wall. Her fellow legionnaires were just as confused. Was this a prank?

Frank sprinted out of the senate building, his eyes wide and a rip in his shirt. "They're inside!"

Reyna caught his forearms. "Frank, what's happening?"

"They're inside," Frank gasped. "The Greeks!"

Reyna let go of him and stumbled back. How?

Jason jogged up to them, casting a sideways glance at Reyna. "What's going on?"

"The Greeks are inside," Frank repeated. "Somehow they're inside the city."

Reyna and Jason exchanged a look.

"If Percy's after Annabeth, he'll be there," Reyna said.

Jason nodded. "Then I'll go."

"Oh no. You're staying here. Organize the troops."

"What?" Jason frowned. "No offense, but if anyone is going to fight Percy it should be me."

Reyna stepped backward. "I'm not going to fight him, I'm going to get Annabeth out of there." If she escapes, Reyna thought, she's going to use her and Percy's blood to wake Gaea. "If Percy's looking for Annabeth he'll be distracted. You have to take our legionnaires and strike then!"

The understanding dawned in Jason's good eye. "That's brilliant. C'mon, Frank, let's rally the troops!" He looked like he might go for a high five, but the glare in Reyna's eyes must have stopped him. "Good luck."

"Just don't mess this up," Reyna said. She turned before she could see the look on his face and ran towards the senate building.

The streets were chaos. There weren't a lot of Greek demigods, but they were great at causing panic. Two brown-haired kids, Reyna offhandedly assumed they were brothers, sprinted out of a bakery with an armload of donuts. Maybe they were making pastry bombs?