The House of Hades

Chapter 25: Reyna

Surprisingly, it took me a much shorter time to write this chapter than usual!

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         Chapter 25: Reyna

         Reyna was confused. When the Romans and Greeks had charged at each other, it had been roughly a hundred and ten to seven, and the centaur and mortal hadn't even been armed.

        So why, then, was half the legion wounded, and the Greeks untouched except for a cut on the arm that the boy called Travis had sustained? 

       Thankfully, none were dead. It seemed as though the Greeks had gone out of their way to wound only, and not kill. In fact, after wounding half the legion, they had all simply laid down their weapons and let themselves be captured. At the moment, all seven, including the centaur, were bound and shoved into one of the spare bedrooms that was the 'prison' for the moment. Octavian was walking around, bellowing orders at everyone, revelling in his new praetorship. And there was nothing Reyna could do about it. 

      How did she feel about it all? Angry? Depressed? Anxious? No. She felt bitter. Bitter towards Octavian, bitter towards the Greeks, bitter towards Jason, Percy, and the rest of the seven, bitter towards the gods she had followed for  most of her life. It didn't seem like anything would ever go right for her ever again. 

        Hot anger welled up inside of Reyna, and she punched a nearby marble table. Pain shot through her fingers, which were now probably either badly bruised, or broken. Great. Just great. She resumed her pacing, when she suddenly realized that Octavian was standing nearby, watching her intently. 

         "Reyna!" he said cheerfully, when she glared back at him, "I just wanted to know how your shoulder was. I mean, that dracanae got you pretty bad. Again, you were pretty lucky I was there to save the day!" he grinned at her, but is eyes were cold as ice. Reyna knew what he was really saying. It was a warning. A reminder of what would happened if she crossed him.

          Fine, she thought coolly, beyond caring at this point, two can play at that game.

        "And congratulations on being promoted to Praetor! a position, I understand, you have been aspiring towards for a long time! But of course, if you need my advice, I'd be happy to offer it. The other Romans are of course more used to taking orders from me, so it would probably be good for you to have my support. They may not...follow you as surely otherwise," she replied, with her best fake smile. Translation: And don't you cross me, because if it comes to a fight, we both know the camp will side with me.

        Octavian's eyes flashed, but he manged a tight smile, and turned to go. Then, on sudden inspiration, Reyna pulled him back, and whispered in his ears, "I won't forget what happened. So watch your back, snake," quietly enough so no one would hear. Octavian's eyes widened, and he turned around, shouting, "How dare you!", and drew his sword. Reyna drew her dagger, and twirled it around in her hand casually. Octavian's eyes followed its movement.

      "Octavian, you know swords aren't allowed to be out indoors," she said, this time loudly enough for everyone to hear, wagging her finger like she was talking to a little kid. There were a lot of snickers from around them.

      And with that, she strode away.

      But getting one-up on Octavian didn't really improve Reyna's mood. She needed a way to prevent this war from happening. Then, for the first time, she considered the possibility of just giving up. Letting the Civil War happen. Leading the Romans in battle against the Greeks. Reyna was almost certain they would lose, after all, just five Greeks had managed to wound half the legion, but did she really care anymore?