Of Greeks And Romans (Leo Valdez x Reader)

LXII

You

The silver crown and silver bracelet seemed melded to my skin, and I couldn't take either of them off for the life of me. The two were clearly connected, and whatever had happened last night had triggered the actual manifestation of being queen with the crown.

Kinzie watched me struggle as I took Hylla's place in the throne room. I, as well as most of the Amazon's were waiting for some kind of disaster to happen. I was also committed to not let it happen.

"What's the fastest we can get to camp Jupiter?" I asked Kinzie, trying not to let my anxiety show. Today was the day of the feast of Fortuna, which meant the battle would be happening in just hours time.

Kinzie pulled out a clipboard, flipping through an array of pages. She was fairly lost in thought as she scanned the documents.

"Well, best I can say is that we can optimistically make it tomorrow evening and have enough energy to make it in a fight." I groaned, thinking of my stupidity in not leaving the moment I became queen with the entirety of the Amazon's.

"We need to get there by tonight, this evening," I said. The mix of seriousness and desperation in my voice startled Kinzie.

"If we didn't take breaks, then we may be able to make it there by midnight. It's about 13 hours if we take the chariots, but weaponry is going to slow us down a bit. We wouldn't be much faster than the cars mortals drive around."

I grimaced, trying to think of a solution as I mindlessly fumbled with the stone in my pocket. It had been becoming a but of a habit now. My eyes lit up in thought.

"What if I used my power to transport everyone. I made it all the way here using it, I could take the amazons at least part of the way..." I hoped. Even if it was just a few hundred miles, that could cut off the matching time significantly.

"I'm not sure that's the wisest idea. The day you arrived here, you also happened to pass out, if I remember myself. You're just a mortal."

I scowled lightly. "I admit that I may have exerted myself the first time, but I feel better now. Stronger." It wasn't a lie. For the past year, my abilities had seemed more out of reach than within them. It seemed like something changed in the past few days. I felt more of a tangible connection with this source of power. Almost as if when I called out to it, it answered me and recognized me. It sounded crazy just thinking about it.

"It would cut hours off of our trip. We could arrive only hours from now depending on how far you could take us. How many Amazons do you think you could handle?"

"As much as I can. Camp Jupiter will fall without us, and that just simply isn't an option."

Kinzie nodded. "And what if you can't? What if you over exert yourself."

I frowned. "Let's hope I don't. We all know the consequences should camp Jupiter fail. There will be nothing to stop Gaea's rise."

My mind flashed back to when I had been forced to leave Camp Jupiter after Octavian had read part The Son of Neptune. I hadn't thought about it much since then, but the scene came to mind now. My own actions. I didn't want to think if just being there would cause the battle to fail, but I had to try. I had to hope that what Octavian had read in the book was wrong and that I wasn't destined to cause the failure of the world.

"We're leaving within the hour. Notify the amazons to prepare for battle and a long trek." I did my best to sound commanding and sure of myself. I was surprised by the confidence in my voice.

Kenzie left to gather the rest of the amazons, while I went back to where I had been staying. I walked to the mirror, looking at the crown on my head. I still wasn't sure what it meant. There was a part of me that told me that I was more than I thought, that all this was happening for a reason. But another part of me you couldn't help but say I was making a mistake.

I sighed, pulling out the golden stone. " this better work," I whispered. And if it didn't, I would have a whole lot more to fix.

As I had told Kinzie, the rest of the Amazons were prepared and ready to go within the hour. I had already selected a few of them to stay back and handle business while the rest of us left. Mostly Otrera's followers that I couldn't say I could trust.

"Are we ready to go?" I asked, stepping up to the group. Kinzie nodded, taking a look at her chart to make sure.

"Everything's ready to go. But are you sure you can handle this many people. You're the Amazon queen now, you have expectations."

"I'm fine," I snapped. Kinzie looked a little bit taken aback, and I immediately felt guilty. Yet, there was nothing I could do about it now. She was right, I was the Amazon queen, and I had to look like it. I looked at her in the most apologetic way without coming across as not decisive.

I stood at the foot of the throne in the warehouse as the Amazons piled in. They had chariots, and more weapons than I could even count. The whole room seemed to be alive with the excitement of battle.

"Amazons!" I shouted, getting most of their attention. "Today we go to fight a battle against the forces of Mother earth. Camp Jupiter depends on us for their survival. But I can promise you that we can succeed if we make it there before the battle is over."

I looked at the hopeful faces looking back at me. "I can take us as far as I can. Prepare yourself." I gave a small grin, trying to take theirs - and my- mind off of things. Especially the fact that o had never done this before and I didn't know if anything would go wrong.

Kinzie gave me a nod as I pulled out the golden stone. The power seemed to pulse down my arm and into my soul as I drew it inward. I closed my eyes, focusing on the raw energy coursing through my system. My skin felt hot, clammy as I continued to draw more in. Something wet trickled from my nose as I reached that power away from me and around to every person in this room.

"You're going too far!" I swear I could hear Kinzie yelling in the back of my mind.

I just continued to think about the consequences, the determination keeping me from being overwhelmed. And then, it was like I snapped. Pressure was pushing me in every direction, as of I was being pulled through a small tube. And then, it stopped.

I dropped to my knees, barely having enough energy to look around me. Kinzie came rushing up, aswell as several of the other Amazons. "Are you okay?" Her mouth was moving, but I couldn't hear her words. I let out a grin as the sun hit my face. It had really worked. I had moved all of us.

"It worked," I whispered. And then, I passed out.