kaleidoscope gold ● jason grace

ask

Piper had been standing in her bathroom for nearly half an hour.

She turned the tap on and off so many times that she figured she was single-handedly contributing all the wasted water on board. But everytime she tried to say the words, "Oh, Iris, show me Reyna Ramirez-Arellano," nothing came out. She was scared of the praetor, wondered if she would be able to kill her from the other side of the globe.

Unfortunately, she knew the disappointment of her friends would feel significantly worse, and if she didn't do it now, she never would. "Iris, show me Reyna Ramirez-Arellano." The image shimmered and two figures came into light, neither of them looking at Piper.

"Um," she said in a small voice. "Hi."

Reyna and the other boy turned, both frowning. Romans were infinitely more terrifying than their Greek counterparts, and no matter what Annabath said, when it came to war, Piper was sure the Romans would win.

"Who-?" Reyna's eyebrow creased in confusion. From the angle, Piper could see detailed war plans on the table in front of them, although there were three golden chairs (Piper had no idea who the third chair was for), they were both standing. "You're Jason's friend, aren't you? Piper?"

The boy smirked at her, resting his arms on the table and leaning back. "Hey there, beautiful."

"She's your sister, Michael," Reyna said impatiently, and Michael immediately straightened up. "Where's Daria?"

Michael's eyes sparkled with something that told Piper she would have not just one, but two demigods angry with her today. Unfortunately, they had her name, meaning it was too late to hang up.

"That's what I wanted to talk about," Piper said nervously. She wrung her hands out in front of her, out of view. If Jason had grown up alongside people as powerful as this, Piper almost felt sorry for him.

"Well," Reyna glanced back at her things strewn upon the desk and crossed her arms. "I don't have long."

"Daria and Jason are in Tartarus," Piper blurted out. Michael's face grew pale, but Reyna's remained stoic; Piper wondered if there were signs she was missing, she searched for a locked jaw, maybe disbelief behind Reyna's eyes, but she found none. Either this call was going to be much easier than expected, or much harder.

"Tartarus," Michael's voice was tight, concerned. "Like the Tartarus?"

"Piper," Reyna sat on the edge of the table, her arms still crossed. "What exactly happened?"

"It's a long story, if you have to-"

"No," Reyna said sharply, and maybe this disregard for whatever schedule she had was her way of showing concern. "Michael, go tell the Senators to postpone the meeting, and tell Octavian whatever he needs to hear. You," Reyna looked directly into Piper's eyes. "Tell me everything."

Michael didn't protest, leaving in a dazed haze and muttering about how they always got themselves into these situations, that it would be fine. Piper wished he stayed, there was something about being in a room alone with Reyna that shot chills down her spine.

She told her everything. About their reactions to Daria's parentage, Reyna didn't look surprised which, once again, made Piper wonder if there was something human lingering under Reyna's surface that allowed Daria to trust her unequivocally. About the fall itself, at this, Piper saw something flicker in the other girl's deep brown eyes.

"But she has Jason with her?" Reyna asked after she finished. "They fell together?"

"Why is that important?"

Reyna looked at her like she was stupid. "You come to me with this when our camps are at war." She shook her head, "there's nothing I can do from here." She moved to end the call.