Of Greeks And Romans (Leo Valdez x Reader)

LVII

You

Kinzie wasn't reffing this time. Apparently, Otrera was inclined to believe that there may have been some bias at the last match and that Hylla broke some of the most important rules to win.

What rules she was implying, nobody knew. But now, Kinzie was standing next to me as we helped Hylla get ready for the match. She had her duel xiphos/spear with her. It would be enough for now, but me and Kinzie had made sure to hide any weapon possible around the warehouse. The game might not be fair tonight.

I looked up at the Amazon reffing for tonight's match. She was a daughter of Ares named Adira with broad shoulders and a choppy hair cut. Her exposed arms were covered in scars, and she seemed more like some seasoned war veteran than an amazon. I hadn't had a conversation with her, but her demeanor told me she was not one to play by the rules, nor someone to particularly care.

"Do you remember the plan?" Kinzie asked as she carefully positioned the armour over Hylla. The metal was simple, but the way Hylla wore it made it look like an artist's life work.

Hylla looked ahead, watching Otrera from the other side of the arena. This one actually resembled an arena compared to last night. The flooring had been removed (at request of Otrera) and now the whole thing was full of sloped curves and loose dirt.

I didn't even want to take a step on it. Otrera gave herself the biggest advantage. And that would be taking the fight to her domain, or in this case, Gaea's domain.

"Of course," Hylla replied calmly. "Distract Ortrera enought to utilize the environment to my advantage. But most importantly, get off the dirt."

I nodded. "It's possible Gaea might have enough presence here to influence the battle. I'll keep an eye on the dirt, and if I see any of it move, I'll put an end to it." I thought of the story about Percy's experience in the labyrinth and how he fought Gaea's son, Antaeus. If this went that way, the earth could heal Otrera, and then she'd be nearly impossible to kill.

"Thank you." Hylla looked relieved. "That conniving old hag won't win over me. Not unless fate deems it so."

"You are the better warrior," I proclaimed. I didn't know how much my encouragement would help, but she gave me a sharp look.

"Do not underestimate her. Otrera was the first queen of the amazons for a reason. She was an excellent warrior, and likely still is. I used to respect her... until," her gaze darkened, and I understood what she meant. Until she joined Gaea. A part of me thought the same, but another part of me wondered if Otrera would have joined Gaea even when she was alive. After all, the goddess Andromeda who I was supposedly descended from was on Gaea's side back in the first giant war.

Kinzie made quick work of finishing the rest of the armour. I picked up the shield that Hylla had selected for this battle and held it out. It was a beautiful shield of smooth polished metal with 2 triangular lines that made a point towards the middle of the shield. Nothing about the weight told me it was anything but a shield, but one couldn't be tol sure when it came to Hylla. She did, of course, train on Circe's island.

She took the shield from me as she walked up to the edge of the ring. "Remember what I said. If anything happens to me..."

I shook my head. "This is your battle to face, and your throne to protect. You will win."

Her eyes searched mine for a moment. "The prophecy must be fulfilled.  'Goddess reborn returns at last, to find the answers of her past. Returned to face the foes of history, to bring the daughters of war to victory.'"

My mouth hung slack as the words of prophecy rung out. "But I'm not-" she was already walking across the middle to the center of the arena. The dirt on the ground seemed to come alive in that moment, Gaea stirring as the events began.