Taking a break from praetor duties was not something that Reyna enjoyed. She almost wanted to find Frank and throttle him for suggesting it, but that would make a bad example for the rest of the legion. For now, all she could do was sit back and enjoy the food that Nico smuggled in.
"You cannot chug that in under ten seconds," Nico said. Reyna glanced at him. Then, she looked down at the can of soda in her hands. Despite the conversation happening thirty seconds ago, she didn't remember it.
"I can do anything I want," Reyna finally countered. She looked at Nico. He was stretched out on the couch, and there was a plate of pizza on his chest. Nico looked pretty content. Reyna glanced down at her knee.
About a month ago, her knee had been injured. The initial injury came from a Laistrygonian giant slamming a club in her knee. After the Laistrygonian giants were defeated, Reyna was attacked by rogue Amazons.
Since her knee had been practically broken, the Senate assigned her to a week of bed rest. It had been the worst week of Reyna's career at Camp Jupiter. When Reyna returned to her duties three weeks ago, everyone kept bothering her about her knee. It didn't help that she still had a limp.
To get away from everyone's nagging, Reyna had gone to the movies with her sister, Hazel, Piper, and Annabeth. Before the Roman demigods could meet up with the Greek demigods, they were attacked by a drakon.
Reyna had never fought a drakon before that day, but they killed it pretty easily. Then, a second drakon had attacked. This one was the mother, and it was pissed off. The Romans had decided to split up and run, and the drakon chose to chase after Reyna.
It took assistance from a mysterious girl named Sarah, a building falling on the drakon, and a Titaness just to get the drakon to leave. The Titaness, Rhea, had given Reyna a vial, with the warning that it would be the most important thing that Reyna ever held. She still had no clue what was really in the vial.
Nico was the only one who had been told the truth about what really happened. For some reason, it didn't feel right to tell the story to her sister. Reyna had fabricated a story about finding the vial on the ground after the drakon disappeared.
Reyna's hand moved to the necklace that held the vial. The vial itself was tucked under her shirt, and no one at Camp Jupiter really paid attention to it. As Reyna reflected on the events of the past month, she laid her head back.
If Reyna had to pick the worst part of her month, it would be what had happened almost a week ago. In the middle of a senate meeting, Reyna had passed out, due to a case of appendicitis. She had been trapped in a mortal hospital for days.
Reyna wasn't eighteen, so she couldn't just have the surgery, unless her condition became life threatening. Even though she had passed out, her appendix wasn't about to burst, so they needed her guardian's permission. Reyna had been stupid enough to mention her sister. The hospital refused to commit to a surgery, until Hylla gave them permission, but it had been hard to get in contact with Hylla.
"Frank just wants you to relax," Nico said. Reyna must have been scowling. She glanced at her best friend but finally looked away.
"It's stupid," Reyna muttered. "I shouldn't be forced to sit on a couch unable to deal with issues that arise in my camp."
Her biggest problem was the growing tensions between the children of Mars and Venus. It was getting harder and harder to keep the children from fighting. Unlike Camp Half-Blood, there had yet to be a fight. There was only yelling matches.
Frank deserved a lot of the credit. He had done everything in his power to keep his siblings from fighting the children of Venus. Frank was also the first one to become aware of the problem. That was because Piper tried to club him with a glass bottle at Reyna's birthday party.
When he told Reyna about it, the two debated what to do. It didn't seem like much would come from the incident, but they took precautions anyway. The children of Mars and Venus were kept apart at all times. War games were suspended, but Frank, for some reason, brought them back for that night.
Reyna was going to chew him out for that decision. They couldn't chance an incident happening. Reyna glanced at Nico. They both jumped as there was a knock on the door.
Nico jumped to his feet and stepped towards the door. Reyna glared at him. After a moment, she stood and tried to hide a wince. Her knee, for reasons she didn't know, still ached. Reyna watched Nico open the door.
"Praetor," a camper said. They were slightly out of breath, as if they had just finished running. Reyna walked towards the camper and identified him as a child of Ceres from the fourth cohort. "You are needed at an emergency senate meeting."
"What happened during the war games?" Reyna asked. Even though she wasn't wearing her cloak or armor, the camper looked terrified. He swallowed painfully.
"Lord Mars interrupted," the camper began. Reyna's heart dropped. There was no way that something good was about to happen. An Olympian didn't just drop by for a friendly chat. "He demanded that we hold an emergency senate meeting."
Reyna grimaced. Emergency senate meeting was code for someone is in big trouble. She just hoped that it wasn't her. Reyna spoke, "Did he ask for anyone by name?"
"Yes," the camper replied. He gulped. "You."
"I had better go then," Reyna said. She did her best to hide the surprise and fear on her face. Why did Mars want to see her? She had not done anything.
"Don't get into too much trouble," Nico commented. He was standing by the table, and his fingers nervously tapped against his thigh. Reyna nodded and stepped out of her house. Her best friend followed behind her.
"Are you going to keep me from that trouble?" Reyna teased. On the inside, her heart was starting to pound. She took a deep breath to get it under control. Reyna glanced at the children of Ceres who was standing there in silence. "Dismissed."
The camper nodded and scurried away. Reyna walked towards the senate building She focused on calming her pulse and staring ahead. Nico stayed by her side, and they walked in silence.
"Why do you think Mars called for a meeting?" Reyna asked after a minute. Her only thought was that Mars wanted to talk about his children. He didn't like how they were handling things, so he was going to take matters into his own hands.
"It probably has something to do with his kids," Nico replied. Reyna nodded and sighed deeply. She rubbed her face and tried to think. Nico walked beside her.
"Stay in the shadows," Reyna said. She glanced at Nico. "I don't want Mars to focus on you."
Nico tried to protest, but Reyna shook her head. She gently shoved him towards the shadows as they neared the senate building. The praetor took a deep breath and opened the door. When Reyna stepped inside, all eyes turned towards her. The most important belonged to the Roman god of war.
Reyna walked towards Mars and bowed. As nervousness took over, her jaw clenched. She spoke, "Lord Mars, what do we owe the honor?"
"Thief," Mars hissed. While the room was quiet before, that single word caused all noise to cease. Reyna glanced at the shadows and saw Nico. He stared at her with wide eyes.
"Father," Frank began. He had been sitting by the rest of the senate, but he made his way to Reyna's side. Reyna glanced at him.
"Don't speak," Mars snapped. He looked at Reyna and took a step forward. "While I was away from Mount Olympus, you stole my shield. I want it back."
"My lord, I didn't steal anything," Reyna promised. She forced herself to stand her ground. Since Mars was an Olympian, he couldn't actually hurt her, unless she attacked him. That was not going to happen.
"I have been away checking on ancient monsters and the Titans. Things have been stirring ever since the war. For some reason, you decided this would be a good time to steal my shield," Mars said. He was the size of a human, but he looked terrifying in his full set of Roman armor.
"Reyna wouldn't do that," Frank interrupted. Members of the senate jumped to Reyna's defense. She could see their mouths moving, but her ears were ringing. It was hard to tell if the ringing was from anger or surprise. Why was she being accused?
"Silence!" Mars snapped. The room fell silent again. Mars looked back at Reyna. "I want my shield back, thief. You have one week to return what you stole. There will be dire consequences if you fail."
"I will wage against you, your mother, and everyone who has ever insulted me," Mars continued. "My children will turn against you. Is that what you want, praetor?"
"Lord Mars, I would not steal your shield," Reyna swore. She could see how horrible a war would be. There was no way that they could afford it. Reyna needed to try and talk some sense into Mars.
"Your mother and I had a large disagreement. It would make sense that she wants revenge. Even if that is not the case, my most trusted ally blames you. I have more reason to believe them than some puny demigod," Mars said.
"You have a week from today, thief. If you fail, I will not hesitate to wage war," Mars threatened. He looked around the senate and smiled cruelly. "My children will wage war as well, and it will be all your fault."
"You can't wage war on everyone," Nico interrupted. He stepped out of the shadows and clenched his fist. Mars turned on him.
"I can, and I will," Mars promised. He looked back at Reyna. "You have one week, starting now."
Reyna wanted to protest and convince Mars that he wasn't thinking right. Someone else had stolen the shield. Instead, she nodded and spoke, "I'll find your shield for you."
Mars growled. He started to glow. Reyna closed her eyes and turned her head away. When she looked back, everyone was staring at her. Then, they all started asking questions at the same time.
It was Frank who held up a hand. He gave Reyna a cautious glance and cleared his throat. Frank spoke, "I know we have a lot of questions, but we must calm down. My fellow praetor did not steal my father's shield. I know that; however, it sounds like Mars has issued a quest."
Reyna glanced at Frank and met his eyes. She gave him a small, approving nod. All she could think about was Mars' threat. Why had he been in an argument with her mother, and why was Reyna getting dragged into it?
"Is this a bad time?" a voice asked. Reyna blinked and realized an Iris message was right in front of her face. Annabeth and Chiron were both watching her closely. The rest of the senate was also staring at the Iris message.
"We are in the middle of a senate meeting," Reyna replied. Considering Chiron was there, Reyna figured that they wanted to discuss something important, but her brain was still focused on Mars. At the moment, she didn't need any other problems.
"This is really important," Annabeth said. She met Reyna's eyes, and there seemed to be fear there. Reyna frowned. That was not like Annabeth.
"What happened?" Frank questioned. He stepped closer to the Iris message.
"About twenty minutes ago, Piper and I were accused of stealing Ares' shield. We were discussing the possibility of a quest, and then, Rachel had a prophecy," Annabeth explained. Members of the senate started to whisper to each other.
"I thought Rachel's prophetic powers were broke," Frank said. "Are they back?"
"What does it have to do with us?" Reyna asked. A pit of nervousness was forming in her stomach. Annabeth's look didn't make her feel any better.
"It was a prophecy, but it wasn't the kind of prophecy that we normally have," Chiron explained. "Miss Dare's eyes turned black, and she spoke in the most ancient of languages. Praetor, we believe that the prophecy referred to you."
"So, where did the prophecy come from?" Reyna questioned. Annabeth and Chiron exchanged glances. Annabeth finally took a deep breath and looked back at Reyna.
"The Fates," Annabeth answered. Reyna stared at her for the longest time. She finally closed her eyes and decided that her luck was the absolute worst.
