Prologue

"Reyna," a pale skinned boy with long, black hair called, "are you ready to go yet?"

"Almost," I furrowed my brow in frustration, "I just need to finish a bit more paperwork, then we can head on."

"Rey," He huffed, "can't Frank finish that up? You're working yourself to death."

"He's too busy training newcomers, Nico," I looked up at my friend's dark, piercing eyes, "I've been doing this for a few years now, I can handle it."

"Okay," Nico shrugged his shoulders, "I'll be outside when you're ready."

"Alright," I immediately immersed myself in my work again. As much as I would love to help train our newest legacies and demigods, this has to be done. I don't resent Frank for doing it, I just wish I was in his shoes.

I let out a deep sigh, throwing my head back and only stealing a small glance at the few pieces of paper left. Malice seeped out of my typical, cold presence, as if I was trying to tear them apart with my mind.

Just a few left, then off to the east coast. I get back to it immediately.

Since Scipio is going through rebirth, I have to rely on Nico's shadow-travelling. I had more than a fair share of that type of transportation, but I grow tired of staying stationary here, and there are some Roman offspring that need to be transported here to Camp Jupiter.

I eagerly sign off on the last paper, but still attempting to write my signature as neatly as possible, despite the severe cramp in my right hand. I take one last look at the piles of paperwork on my desk before deciding that this is a good day's work. I grab my weapons in case of trouble ahead, and head outside to meet Nico.

He nods to me, and we set out to a close tree with a good amount of shade. As we walk to the tree, I remember around this time during the Giant War. Concern envelopes me like a blanket on a cold day; utterly suffocating.

"If you want, we can call Leo and get him to pick us up."

"No need," He stopped in front of the tree, "I can handle it, besides, we'll have to use Festus to bring the offspring back, no point in giving Leo more work to do."

"If you're sure," I almost lost him last year, he shadow-travelled too much, and almost became one himself. I, among others, could not stand to lose him that way.

"Hey," he put his hand on my shoulder, "it's gonna be okay."

I nod, preparing for the darkness to take us to Camp Half-Blood. I was still concerned, not for me, but for my friend. If push comes to shove, I can always empower him, give him an extra breath of energy. He took my hand as he commanded the shadows to do his bidding, they seemed opposed to it, but gave into the prince's wishes.

Tendrils of black encircled us and took us into a realm with no light. Everything seemed to shift beneath our feet, yet nothing moved. It was a sense of freedom, like standing on top of a cliff; exciting, but terrifying.

Everything came to a halt, I had thought we were there already. Nico looked uneasy, however.

"Something's wrong," Nico looked around as his hair whipped around in this black hole.

His eyes widened in surprise as something reached for me, pulling me off of him. I couldn't see it, but Nico took his eyes off of the aggressor to cry out for me.

"Reyna!" He tried to reach for me, "No!"

I fell out of the tunnel of shadows, Nico's voice became more distant, like an echo from a valley.

"... find you!" That was all I could make out. I braced for the worst as I shut my eyes, I'm glad I did, because shortly after, a branch hit my face.

I woke up in a dense forest, complimented by the musty smell of dirt. I had no idea where I was or how I got there.

Oh.

That's right.

I groaned in frustration, and rubbed my temples to enunciate said frustration. I took deep, even breaths to gather my bearings. I saw no point in sighing all day about my situation, I just need to figure out where the hell I am and how to get back to either camp I'm closest to.

When I first arrived at Camp Jupiter, information on survival camping was drilled into our heads. Everyday, we would go through exercises and expeditions in the wilderness to hone our survival skills, it would last from as short as a week to three months. I picked up the trade quickly, happy to be somewhere free like a deserted island or a forest rather than that damned ship.

I felt for any equipment I could use to make a compass, just to figure out where I was. I knew I had a few needles tucked into studs on my armor, next I needed to find a small container to put some water into and find a bit of wool or any type of fabric to magnetize said needle.

I searched around the woods, and as I walked some more, I noticed litter decorated the forest. Shotgun shells scattered on stepped on soil, and beer cans were piled up everywhere. I thought nothing of it and grabbed one of the empty beer cans. I walked a bit more, attempting to find any source of water, even if it was a puddle of piss, thankfully, however, it didn't come to that, as the sound of running water soon came into being.

I settled on the ground near to water, and pulled out my trusty dagger. I cut the empty beer can into a miniature bowl and rinsed it out, the sharp smell of Bud Light violated my sense of smell, with a scoff, I dunked it into the small stream of water. I filled it up once more and set it to the side, I took one of my many needles and a small piece of cloth I keep tied around my wrist, and rubbed the needle at least a hundred times. Finally, it did the trick and I let the needle down gently into the small bowl of water.

The needle spun for a few full rotations, but settled into place, the tip of the needle pointing towards my top right.

"So that's north…" I said aloud, mainly to help me remember, I should head east. Shadow travelling could be random, but it still uses a type of trajectory, which means I would be closer to Camp Half-Blood than Camp Jupiter.

I pick my dagger up, and prepare myself for the worst.

I get the sense I am being followed.

Every now and then, I hear something shifting, it's far away, and I know it's not some wild animal. An animal would lose interest even after five minutes and run away, a bear would do a full-out sprint, it wouldn't be stalking me. Which means it's something else.

Something else.

I reach for my javelin, but before I can get into fighting stance, a blur rushes past me, knocking my Imperial Gold javelin out of my hands. I sprawl back ten or so feet and try to regain my composure.

I had never seen anything like it.

A lithe, pale bodied humanoid with claws as sharp as Apollo's wit stood before me. It was hunched over, but still stood well over six feet. Bones protruding out of its body like spikes, razor sharp teeth adorned its face like a vampire. Hazy eyes looked for something, yet nothing. Almost as though it couldn't see the opponent in front of it.

'Possibly blind,' I scanned carefully, not wanting to make a mistake, 'incredibly fast and impossibly agile, it could put Mercury to shame.'

It got down on all fours and took off towards the opposite way I came. I decided to remain there, just to be safe. It seemed to only react to the sound of my weapon.

The sound.

Sonar, that's how it sees.

The area surrounding me had running water all around, wind blowing in the dense trees, and small animals scattered throughout the forest, making noise, either for mating or scavenging. That must have thrown the monster's trail off.

I stick close to a small stream, but far enough to make it seem as though there are two trails, in case it comes back. I grab my weapon very slowly and carefully as I say a quick prayer to Fortuna so that I may be lucky enough to avoid another encounter, but in case I do, I grab a few rocks to throw as far as I can to throw it off yet again.

With the final task finished, I set out to the East Coast.
_

I had been walking for well over three hours now, daytime still shone brightly through the branches of the trees. Luckily, I had found more litter scattered around, which means there are people nearby.

Or there was.

I found a slightly worn trail I decided to follow, maybe it'll lead me to a camp or a road, or maybe it'll lead even deeper into this dense forest.

Sweat dripped from my face, the heat of summer and the humidity of the area was slowly wearing on me. However, I am the Daughter of Bellona, I won't let this stop me.

My mind went to Percy Jackson, who butchered my godly parent's name.

'Bologna?'

His stupidity is both enlightening and irritating.

Still, he had a good heart, fiercely loyal and caring to his friends. We were never romantically involved, too much was at stake and he was too confused about his past and who he was at the time. I am glad that we didn't become involved that way, as I had shortly found out he had a girlfriend back at his camp.

A small ache in my heart soon came, Venus' words still ringing in my mind.

'No mortal or demigod shall ever have your heart.'

I yearned for love, I craved it. Sure, I'm the Praetor of the Twelfth Legion, but I'm still human, and I can't keep this up much longer. I wanna go to college and actually have a life. I will never abandon my duties on a whim, but my heart isn't where it was during the war with the Giants.

I push these thoughts out of my mind, there's a trail to follow and monsters to avoid, I can't be distracted.

I continue to walk for a few more hours, until I find a camp; small tent, a smoking fire pit, and a canopy overhang where a cooler and small picnic table laid. I rush forward and call out for someone.

"Hello?" I projected my voice, "Is anyone here?"

No response. I walk towards the tent and find it torn to pieces in the back, like a bear had broken into it. I entered from the torn entrance, and the bloodbath that was the makeshift home turned it into a slaughterhouse.

Corpses of a young couple lay there, limbs missing and entrails hanging out. Faces had been torn off and blood stained their ripped clothing. I gagged at the sight of it, it was fresh, blood had soaked in, but didn't dry.

I heard rustling in the trees behind me, and broken growling. The beast from earlier had brought a friend, both of which crawled frantically on all fours to find the source of noise.

I stayed put, hoping I would be lucky like last time, but I pulled a rock around and got ready to throw it as far from me as possible.

The beast got closer, so close I could touch it if I pleased.

I passed on that opportunity.

It scampered away quickly, and when I got my arm out of the torn entrance, I threw the rock lightly to peak it's interest. It took the bait and leapt at the noise, it picked up the rock with it's bony, clawed hands, and slammed it on the ground with anger.

The other beast crawled a bit slowly to the angry one, as if to see what was going on, the angry one shoved the other back, and a small fight erupted between them. The sound of bodies being slammed on the ground allowed me to walk out of the tent slowly, and arm myself with yet another rock, only this time, I threw it with full-force. It hit a branch about fifteen feet away, and both monsters took off to investigate the noise.

I aimed another rock a bit lower, as to avoid hitting the same branch, and threw it with the same amount of force. The rock landed further than the other, and the beasts took off yet again. I took this opportunity to quietly, but quickly, sneak away.

As soon as I was out of the flat, once inhabited campgrounds, I sprinted as fast as I could. I don't think they heard me.

I heard a roar behind me, and it. Was. Pissed.

I continued running, and while I did so, I grabbed my javelin. If I went down, I wasn't going down without a fight. The sound of limbs and grunting got closer, and I readied myself for whatever was to come.

'Mom,' I begged internally, 'please help turn the tide of this battle.'

As I turned around to face the demons, a mass of brown fur rushed past me and leapt at the other beasts.