Nobody at Camp Jupiter knew Reyna's last name. Not Gwen, not her mentor, not Lupa, and not even her best friend, Jason Grace. It was an unspoken rule of the camp that nobody ask what her name was. Someone tried once and rumor was that they had to be hospitalized for a week.
Jason, though, didn't think those rules applied to him. He did at first. When he first became praetor along side the perfect Reyna, he was scared senseless of her. He didn't know how she was able to endure everything, how she beat everybody she dueled with, how she was able to deal with Octavian for so many years without killing him.
But as the two became closer, the curiosity of not knowing her last name ate away at him. She seemed so mysterious without it. She seemed like she was higher than everyone else, and she was, but her having a last name would bring her to a level of normality.
Tentatively, he mentioned it a few times, but was met with a stony silence and a glare that could kill a Minotaur, so he didn't pursue the topic further.
One day, exasperated, Jason flat out asked her. And asked her. And asked her.
"Rey, why don't you have a last name?" "Rey, can you tell me your last name?" "I know you have one, so why can't you tell anyone?" "Please, Reyna, can you tell me your last name?" "If you tell me, I promise I won't tell anyone!"
Suddenly, Reyna shot out of her chair and walked across the room, standing face-to-face with Jason. Before he knew it, she had him in an arm lock, pinned against the wall.
"Listen Grace. I've tolerated you constantly asking me because, for reasons I don't know, you're my friend and I have to work with you as your fellow praetor. But ask me one more time and I will absolutely not hesitate in hospitalizing you as well."
She released her hold. Jason swallowed nervously, scared because the rumor was true. Reyna sat back down at her desk, pleased with herself. Jason never asked her again.
Somehow, maybe the gods were helping them, Jason, Leo, Nico, Frank, Hazel, and Piper managed to safely retrieve Annabeth and Percy from Tartarus. Nico and Hazel were able to use their powers as children of Hades to enlist the help of undead soldiers to close the doors from the inside so Percy and Annabeth wouldn't need to stay down there for all eternity. Their only problem now was going back to the United States were both camps were undoubtedly in fierce combat with Gaea's forces.
Chiron had Iris-messaged the team and said that Reyna somehow succeeded in convincing the Roman demigods to cooperate with Camp Half-Blood. Chiron didn't go into specifics, but he mentioned an illegal visit from a certain Roman goddess that was able to knock Octavian off his high horse.
But Gaea was still awakening and because the Doors of Death had been closed, she was angrier than ever.
Leo and Annabeth worked in overtime, trying to calculate the quickest route for the Argo II to take that would land them in New York, where both camps were concentrated and were Gaea was aiming her forces.
They arrived amidst a sea of battling demigods, monsters, satyrs, and Chiron's party ponies. All around swords clanged. Purple mixed with orange as the two camps worked together to defeat the overwhelming number of monsters.
Percy and Annabeth immediately set out to find their friends and plunged into battle, fighting side-by-side as Jason had seen them so often do. So in unison, only coming from years of friendship and training together. Frank transformed into an elephant, stomping on all those within his reach. Hazel was working on controlling the enemies' armor to constrict them or bang their heads together, knocking them unconscious. Piper was charmspeaking the monsters into battling each other rather than the other demigods. Leo was rapidly building a sort of trap; Jason couldn't tell. He could see that Leo was shooting fireballs into monsters' faces when they got in his way of constructing, yelling some pretty lame, but Leo-typical insults each time he shot a fireball. Nico started to summon undead soldiers, unsheathing his Stygian Iron sword and sticking it into the ground, creating large fissures.
All of the action seemed dull to Jason. He was focused on finding one person and one person only. Reyna. He needed the reassurance of his best friend and dueling partner. The comfort of fighting with her that he had missed for so long was something he yearned for right now. It was something he needed.
"Reyna!" Jason screamed, "Reyna, where are you! Reyna!"
He made the air shoot him upwards so he could better survey the battlefield.
Then he saw her. He saw her purple cape, flapping in the wind. He saw her Imperial Gold dagger slicing through monsters. He saw Scipio flying above her, kicking monsters with his hooves. He saw Argentum and Aurum by her heels, snapping at monsters with their razor sharp teeth. More importantly he saw her. He saw how her braid was becoming undone as she parried and counter attacked. He saw the faint red glow around her, surrounded by a stronger purple one. Blessed by both Mars and Bellona, huh. What an overachiever, he thought, smiling to himself. He saw how her face was beaded with sweat, but was hard and determined despite the strain she must've been under, fighting battle after battle by herself, commanding all of the Roman troops single-handedly as well. He saw how he would not be the person he was without her guidance and her constant presence. He saw how she had always pushed him to do his best while they were training and how she trusted him whenever they had quests. He saw their friendship, but he saw that he wanted more than that now. And he saw that he would reach her and tell her how he really felt in that instant, because if he didn't have Reyna in his life, he saw that he would not be able to function properly and would not, could not, ever be happy again.
Jason shot himself towards her, striking any airborne creature that dared block his path towards Reyna. Reyna was in the middle of a circle, surrounded by monsters. Outnumbered at least twenty to one. And alone. All alone. She would not let anyone else come with her, Jason knew. He knew that Reyna would have rather she died taking on an impossible task than risking other lives.
"Reyna!" he called out. "Reyna!" She stopped swinging at the sound of her name. She was shocked. She told everybody not to follow her. She told them to stay away. She would not let any of her soldiers take on such a daunting task. She lowered her arm. But that's all the empousa needed to notch an arrow and release it straight into Reyna's back.
Her eyes widened, and she fell forward. Jason ran to her, catching her before she fell, tears streaming down his face. He held her body close to him, the blood seeping onto her clothes and armor increasing. He brought her with him towards the sky, finding a shaded area where they could stop without monsters threatening to end their lives.
Jason was in hysterics. "Medic!" he wailed, "I need a medic! Please! Someone from the Apollo cabin! Any of Camp Jupiter's medics! Please, Reyna is dying!"
Reyna's breaths were getting shallow. "Jason," she whispered, "Jason, there's no use. I'm done for. I knew my fatal flaw would be the death of me." She managed a dry chuckle, in spite of the tears on her face and the pain numbing her body.
Jason gripped her hand in his, trying his best not to render himself speechless with his tears. "I'll never forget the time we went to the lake with Gwen, Bobby, and Dakota, Rey. I'll never forget the hours we spent working together, figuring out plans for New Rome and Camp Jupiter. I'll never forget the way you glared at Octavian every time he said something stupid. I'll never forget the first time I saw you genuinely smile. I'll never forget all those times I annoyed you with talk of your last name. I'll never forget you, Rey, and I wish I could have realized that I loved you sooner. I wish I could take back what I must have done to you when I first set foot into New Rome again, asking you if I could take Piper around. I should have been walking with you, holding your hand, and telling you one very important thing." Jason choked. "I love you, Rey, and I hope you love me too."
"That's right," she smiled weakly, "you never did figure out what my last name was. All those times I threatened to kill you for asking. Look who's dying now, Grace." Reyna coughed up blood, and shuddered. She turned her head to look at him one last time. She wanted to memorize his unruly blonde hair, the little scar on his upper lip, his perfect, tear-filled blue eyes. "Jason, I know it might not have seemed like it, all those times we spent together with me hurting you, pushing you away. But, Jason, I lo…" Her eyes bulged, as she coughed up more blood. When she stopped, her hand was cold and slack, her eyes unseeing.
And Jason cried. He cried, cradling the head of the girl he loved most in the world. He cried, and he cried, and he cried until people came looking for him, finding his face buried in Reyna's pulseless neck. The girl that seemed so indestructible was now gone. Never to roll her chocolate brown eyes at him again. Never to brush her fingers through her obsidian hair. Never to curse in Spanish when something went wrong and she had to fix it. Never to finish her sentence. Never to reveal her last name.