Anyone who knows Arya Jackson for more than five minutes knows her opinion of the world, and demigods not so fair place in it. Unfortunately, since the war Arya isn't that easy to get to know. To most she's little more than a legend.
Arya is fine w...
"Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain."
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23.
Coming to Terms
FOUR HOURS LATER, Reyna, Nico, and Hedge were packed and ready to go. Not that Reyna had unpacked exactly. It felt like she had been with them for less than a breath. Now she was leaving, doing her part to make sure that this war ends.
Ace and Arya had spent those hours talking on deck, sitting up by Festus' head shoulder to shoulder. Her brain had been insistent on keeping Percy and Annabeth within her line of sight, and they had wanted to spend every second out in fresh air. She tried not to let her mind wander over the anxiety about Nico carrying the giant statue across multiple countries and a vast ocean.
She welcomed Ace when he came. The wave of stillness that he gave her far outweighed the fear that was still bubbling up in her. Then he gave her the note that Cato had written and she became so engrossed in him that every other worry slipped away for a few moments.
He had to read the note for her. Cato's writing was atrocious. Then they talked it through together, anything about it he needed to. The turning point, what had caused it, if his other two friends were on the same page, is if Cato would be able to single-handedly keep back the assault.
Once Ace seemed like he had settled. His thoughts were racing at an insurmountable pace and his body seemed to relax, the exact same time Nico and Reyna came out on deck.
Arya said her goodbye to Nico, knowing better than to make him promise anything but hoping that he felt like he had a reason to fight until the very end. She hugged him despite his protests.
Then she made her way to Reyna who had just finished the Ace. The Son of Apollo heading over to Nico.
"I know we haven't talked much, but I want to thank you for this." Arya said in her diplomatic voice, "You will be the reason the camps unite for the first time in history."
"Let's all share that glory." Reyna said, holding her hand out.
Arya looked at it for a second before nodding and clasping Reyna's forearm.
"Deal."
"When all of this is over, I'd like to talk more. About you, your upbringing. I had a dream on the way over here, a genuine one. One where there was a bridge between camps, a real one, not one that the gods forced on us. We learned from each other, shared ideas and experiences. I have a feeling that I'd need to start with you to make that happen."
In classic Arya fashion, she hadn't thought about the future of the camps at all. Certainly the gods didn't intend to let them stay together, not with history being the way it was. Was there a way for the camps to be connected for good?
