Happy Friday, party people! Figured I'd post this because of reasons, one of which being that you guys broke 100 reviews last chapter! Whee! I'm really glad this is getting some love. The Leyna following is far too small, in my humble opinion.

Short chapter today, but by no means uneventful. Enjoy!

I've found, in one step / I'll get closer to heaven than you'll ever know
You may never know

The next day, Reyna and the others left for home.

Almost the entirety of Camp Half-Blood went down to the beach to see them off, making for quite a long goodbye. Octavian stayed by Reyna's side during most of it, which only served to aggravate her nerves. She found it difficult to remain civil around her fellow praetor after the conversation they'd had at the wedding reception, even though he, as usual, was perfectly polite under the public eye. The only respite she got from him was when Piper dragged her away to squeeze her in a tight hug and say excitedly that she'd cornered Leo early that morning and forced him to tell her everything, and that she was extremely happy for them and Reyna had better take care of Leo because he was her best friend and she knew how uncomfortable emotional connection made him and the last thing she wanted was for him to get hurt. A little overwhelmed, Reyna assured her that she had no intention of letting that happen, but Piper wasn't taking any chances. She actually tried to make Reyna swear an oath on the River Styx, but before that could be done Jason found them and the topic had to be changed.

After everything that had happened in New York during their short stay, Reyna was decidedly relieved to be going home, even if it meant another goodbye with Jason and her other long-distance friends. She was looking forward to some normalcy returning to her day-to-day life—so much so that she was actually able to rest during the long flight back to San Francisco, sleeping off days of stress in a cabin belowdecks. Well, most of it anyway, until she was woken by a nightmare in which Octavian discovered her secret and had her arrested before using the new air fleet to launch an attack on the half of Camp Jupiter that didn't support him. When she jerked awake and sat up in bed, it took her a moment to convince herself that it hadn't happened—because part of her knew, somewhere inside, that an outcome like that was entirely possible.

In the following days, life did return mostly to normal (as normal as Reyna's particular situation could get, at any rate), though she couldn't shake the lasting fear that one nightmare had brought her. She hoped it wasn't a premonition, like demigod dreams often were. She told Leo about it after a week or so of worrying and he'd seemed sure that it had been nothing but a silly dream, but that didn't altogether allay her fears. She'd recently learned how good of a liar he was, after all.

It certainly didn't help either that the two of them had a few rather close calls over the next few weeks. One evening Octavian stopped by Reyna's apartment unannounced and didn't leave until almost midnight, forcing Leo to stay locked in Reyna's closet for hours and then have to make up some wild excuse to give his building team the next morning to explain his long absence. Another time, they'd had to quickly turn a make-out session into a status meeting in her office when Octavian had paid a visit (Reyna had thanked the gods she'd remembered to lock the door; it was much easier to falsely explain why it was locked than the alternative).

Even despite the heightened danger, Reyna didn't want her visits with Leo to grow more infrequent—not with how little time they had until he'd be leaving. Even as nervous as her dream made her, she was willing to risk it; that was just how much she loved being with him.

Eventually, though, that time came and the project finished, bringing with it an end to the danger of her secret relationship. She spent most of the celebratory feast cordial and smiling, the picture of a leader gratefully sending off the team who'd helped her accomplish a long and difficult task. But near the end, when Octavian left her to chat up some friends, she took the opportunity to sneak unnoticed out of the mess hall for some time alone with her thoughts, away from the pressures of her volatile business relationship.

She thought of going back to the principia, but instead remained outside in the warm, summer evening air, wandering in aimless circles between the two buildings. Her gaze lifted absently toward the Field of Mars, on which the land docking for the fleet lay completed. She'd known for months that this day was coming, but still it had managed to catch her unawares. Still, though, she realized she was somehow ready—more so than she'd been a while ago, at least. She knew now that whatever existed between her and Leo was real, and that it wouldn't go away just because they were no longer together. And oddly, that helped.

"Hey," a voice behind her said suddenly, making her jump and whirl around. She relaxed when she saw Leo's face, having half-expected Octavian's.

"Hey," she replied in kind with a smile. She slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and observed, "So I guess this is goodbye."

He nodded and replied, "Hopefully not for too long, though. Sooner or later I'll find an excuse to come back."

"That'd be nice." She grinned at the thought. "I don't know how much longer I can juggle Octavian without a welcome distraction."

"You'll manage," he said confidently. Stepping forward to brush a few strands of loose hair from the side of her face, he added, "But for what it's worth, I'm glad I could be that distraction."

"It's worth a lot," she told him, trying to memorize how calm and comfortable his touch made her feel. "And so am I."

Barely a few more seconds passed before another voice called Reyna's name from nearby—a voice that had a particular way of sending paralyzing chills down her spine.

"Hide," she hissed, shoving Leo sideways into the shadow of the mess hall before stepping out onto the road to greet her boyfriend with a simple, "Hi."

"Oh, there you are," Octavian said as he turned to look at her. "I was wondering where you'd gotten to. Are… you alone?"

"Yeah," she lied with a shrug. "It was pretty loud in there and I just wanted some fresh air. I've got a bit of a headache. Lots of work lately with the project ending and everything." She waved a hand aimlessly as though gesturing to the general atmosphere.

"Oh," he replied shortly, and she felt a twinge of doubt when she couldn't tell if he believed her. He walked toward her and she took distinct notice of the way his eyes swept the nearby street. He found nothing of course and seemed to settle for her story as he reached her. "Well, just remember you haven't got to do everything alone. You and I are a team."

"I know," she agreed. "If I need your help with anything, I know where to find you."

Octavian smiled depreciatively and shook his head. "Not good enough," he said as he took firm hold of Reyna's forearm and guided her sideways so her back was to the outside wall of the mess hall. She glared up at him, unwilling as ever to let him visibly derail her. "I know what you're doing," he went on, leaning over her and lowering his voice.

For a second she felt a streak of panic—he couldn't really know, could he? He'd come close to finding out a few times, sure, but she'd been so careful. There was no way… She thought of Leo, likely still hiding just out of sight nearby, and hoped he stayed where he was. Maybe she could explain herself away if she remained alone.

But she relaxed a bit when he explained, "You think you can paint yourself as the do-gooder, the one of us who handles all the difficult work while the only thing I'm good at is keeping up appearances. Well, like it or not, the legion belongs to both of us—for now, anyway." A sideways smirk tilted his mouth and Reyna grimaced in annoyance, disliking his obvious implication. "And you need to treat it as such—or soon, you'll see what it's like to be the one no one can rely on."

"Are you threatening me?" Reyna asked coolly, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Octavian answered, eyes icy and hard. "Threats are things that aren't meant to be carried out. This is nothing but a business proposition. Remember, Reyna, what could and will happen if you and I don't see eye to eye."

Reyna yanked her arm from his grip, using her free hand to push him sideways and stalk past him away from the wall. She needed to get his face out of her line of sight, otherwise she was likely to lose it and start swinging. He didn't seem to get that memo, though, because she felt his hand grab her shoulder and pull her around. Reflexively she smacked his arm away—harder than she'd meant to—and he immediately struck back by grabbing a fistful of her T-shirt and tugging her toward him (making her really wish she was wearing armor, which she'd been foregoing more and more often lately). He raised a hand and Reyna tensed when she realized he was actually about to hit her, which would open the door to an all-out fight. In the split second before anything could happen, though, Leo seemed to decide he was done hiding in the shadows and yelled, "Hey, dickbag!"

Octavian froze and turned to look as though that had been his name since childhood. His scowl immediately deepened as Leo stormed forward and grabbed his shoulder roughly, yanking him away from Reyna. Without the slightest hesitation, he drew back an arm and slugged Octavian across the jaw, driving the praetor very ungracefully to the ground.

"Back off," the mechanic said warningly. He was shorter than Octavian by about four or five inches, but the look on his face (and possibly the obvious advantage he had in strength) still caused the former augur to tense in apprehension as he staggered back to his feet.

"You…" Octavian muttered, holding the side of his face and taking a shaky step backward. "How dare…?"

"Save it," Leo cut him off angrily. "I've seen what you've been doing to her. She might be too smart to fight back, but I'm sure as hell not." He paused and tilted his head thoughtfully. "Wait…" he said, and Reyna gave a tiny, exasperated laugh at his seemingly unnatural ability to find a joke—intentional or otherwise—even in a situation like this.

Octavian straightened his back, probably trying to look impressive, but the swelling by his mouth lessened the effect. "I don't know what you're talking about," he snapped. "You haven't seen anything. Not unless…" His voice trailed off as his expression slackened, eyes shifting between Leo and Reyna in dawning understanding. Reyna stepped forward and grabbed Leo's arm bracingly, expecting another outburst—she could see her fellow praetor's thought process: the only way Leo could have seen evidence of their dispute was for him to see her skin up close, particularly areas usually hidden by her hair or clothes. And if that was the case…

"No…" Octavian muttered in realization. "So that's what this is!" He turned and shot Reyna possibly the most furious, hateful look she'd ever seen on his face, simultaneously flinging an arm out and pointing an accusing finger at Leo. "You little—You've been sleeping with him behind my back?"

Reyna stayed silent, staring at Octavian until he gave a short, hysterical laugh and said, "And you don't even have the decency to deny it? He's Greek, Reyna! I thought it was bad when Jason abandoned us for them, but you? I'd always expected better of you. Where's your pride?"

Good question, Reyna thought with rueful sarcasm. If I had it, I'd have confronted you a long time ago.

"No, don't answer that," Octavian went on dryly, not giving her a chance to answer in the first place. "Pride is for Romans. What good is that when you go about cavorting with Greek scum?"

Leo grumbled something and took a jerky step forward, but Reyna tightly gripped his arm and warned, "Don't."

He turned to glare at her. "Reyna, I've never seen anyone ask for anything more than he's begging me to hit him again."

"I know, but—"

"Go ahead!" Octavian shot back shrilly, his blue eyes wild. "Be the barbarian I've always said you are! Give me an excuse to have you put away, I dare you! Then the legion will finally be mine! Someone like you—either of you—could never win against someone like me!"

"He's got a point—" Reyna tried to say, flashing back to her nightmare. But the damage was already done.

"I don't care!" Leo growled, tearing his arm from her grasp with more force than she could counteract. He was on Octavian in an instant, snatching him by the front of the shirt and driving a fist into his face. Octavian flailed, but managed to regain his footing quickly enough to stagger back forward, throwing all his body weight—which, admittedly, wasn't all that much—shoulder-first into Leo, who stumbled back but kept his balance.

"No!" Reyna shouted harshly, rushing toward them as she saw angry flames flicker to life in Leo's hands. She pulled him back by the shoulder and threw herself between the two of them as Octavian tried to dodge around her. "Stop it!" she screamed, holding out her arms in an attempt to keep them from tackling each other. "Damn it, guys, this isn't getting anyone anywhere!"

It took a second, but they grew still and stood on either side of her. Leo shook his head and scowled at the ground, the fire in his hands dying and making Reyna breathe a short sigh of relief.

"You're right," Octavian said scathingly, glowering at Leo but remaining where he was. Reyna turned left toward Leo and was about to suggest that he make himself scarce while she talked to Octavian, but the second she opened her mouth she felt an intensely sharp and debilitating pain dig into her right side, overloading her brain and wiping whatever she'd been going to say from her mind.

A tight gasp constricted her lungs and Leo glanced up at her with sharp eyes that widened as they shifted over her shoulder toward Octavian. He yelled something that sounded like gibberish through the roaring in Reyna's ears before a pair of cold hands shoved her sideways, bowling her into Leo, who this time couldn't maintain his balance. As she hit the ground, Reyna let out a sharp yell and almost felt her heart stop when she saw the hilt of the dagger protruding from the lower right side of her waist.

That was when the pain and understanding seemed to bring some clarity back to her senses. She squinted up at Leo, who was leaning over her shouting, "Reyna! Can you hear me? Aw, man…"

"Help!" somebody—Octavian, it took Reyna a second to realize—was calling nearby. "Somebody—help!" The sounds of rushing feet and more shouting followed, before Octavian's voice said frantically, "H-He attacked us… out of nowhere, I don't know… He stole my knife and—Reyna, she's…"

"What?" Leo exclaimed, jumping to his feet and gesturing wildly toward people Reyna couldn't see. "Me? You son of a—!"

"Grab him!" Octavian shrieked. "Before he gets away!"

"I'm not—Hey!" Leo growled as three First Cohort legionnaires rushed into Reyna's dimming line of vision and jumped on him, wrestling him to the ground. He struggled against their grip, but, seeming to realize that he was in enough trouble, didn't rely on fire to free himself.

That's not what happened! Reyna wanted to scream, but most of the functions of her body had shut down as she struggled to listen around the pain and exhaustion that were creeping in. All she could manage was to stretch her fingers and turn her head, mentally yelling, It was Octavian! Don't believe him, you morons! Stop!

But no one could hear her. "Get Reyna to the hospital immediately," Octavian's voice, low with urgency, ordered, and she was helpless to interject.

"And the Greek?" one of the First Cohort legionnaires grunted, digging his knee into Leo's back.

Finally Octavian stepped forward, allowing Reyna to see his face. His bottom lip was bleeding and the skin around his left eye was darkened and bruised, and though his expression was appropriately grim she could clearly see the glint of excitement that brightened his irises and turned up the very edge of his lips.

"Take him to confinement," he said coldly, a note of triumph in his voice.

Reyna took a sharp breath and forced out a weak, "No…"

The single word swept away the last of her strength, and darkness closed in as Octavian said with finality, "I'll have his head for what he's done."

"And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
—John Donne

Heh heh. Yes, cliffhangers... Some of you know from my other stories how much I love them. That's also why I wanted to post this chapter. I don't have the next one done so I can't guarantee it'll be up next week, and I feel a cliffhanger is much more fun to leave off on before a break ;)

So as you may or may not remember, there will only be two more chapters in this story. The next one is gonna be quite long and eventful, wrapping up the main plot, so like I said it could be two weeks or so before I'm done with it. It's not like I'm gonna quit or anything though so it'll definitely be here before too long. Then the last chapter will be short so I should be able to whip it out.

So... reviews? Thanks, guys! Later days!

-oMM