Piper couldn't get over her feelings of shock and disbelief. There was no way that Ouranos could have risen. He had been gone for a very long time, so there was no way he could just rise again without anyone knowing it. Was that why the shield had been stolen? Was it just to distract everyone from Ournaos rising?

"I would offer you mercy, but dying is a preferable option compared to what Ournaos has planned for you," Circe commented. Her eyes moved towards Reyna, and a cruel smirk came to her face. Reyna had one hand pressed against the ground and was using that hand to keep herself on her knees. Her other hand was pressed against her ribs.

"We failed," Reyna muttered. She looked down at the ground. Piper stared at her friend. She had never seen Reyna look so defeated. The praetor didn't even bother to wipe away the blood that was still trickling down her face. It hit the ground and seemed to disappear into it.

"We didn't fail," Annabeth whispered. She glanced at Piper. "Our job is to get the shield back, and that is what we are going to do. We will have to figure out this Ouranos situation later, after we get out of this."

"Daughter of Athena, your display of confidence is a wonderful thing to see. I knew you were headstrong, but I never knew that you were so blind," Circe commented. Her eyes flickered around the temple. "I wonder how much blood has been spilled outside these walls. The two armies are still waging their very own war. Which side will prevail? What do you think, demititan?"

Alex was sitting up and watching them. She had one hand to the back of her head, and her other arm was pressed against her stomach. The demititan looked more angry than anything else. Alex spoke, "It's still a three against three fight. Granted, the only thing you know is magic, so I would call it two against three."

"I don't want to fight," Circe said. Her eyes moved towards Piper. "I have an offer for you, dear. I want you to become one of my attendants. You will be able to cultivate your charmspeak into the most powerful weapon in the world, and you will be spared from Ouranos' wrath. All you must do is pledge yourself to me."

"The answer is no," Piper said. She stood by her friends and grabbed her dagger. "I will never work with you, Circe. We are going to take the shield and return it. Then, we are going to go to stop Ouranos."

"You will face the worst kind of betrayal," Circe said. Piper shook her head. Circe watched her and glared. "Fine. If you think I am evil, I can show you what evil is. Thalia and Hylla, I want you two to place your daggers to your necks and draw them across your throats."

Piper stared and couldn't believe the words that Circe had said. She watched Thalia and Hylla both grab their daggers. Annabeth was already running towards Thalia. Reyna was trying to get to her feet, but it was clear she couldn't stand.

"Stop!" Piper yelled, at the top of her lungs. Everyone instantly stopped what they were doing. Circe even seemed effected by it. Annabeth grabbed Thalia and slammed her to the ground. She kicked Thalia's weapons away. Annabeth quickly grabbed Hylla's dagger and shoved her down.

Circe shook her head and started to back away. She glanced at the shield but turned and fled from the temple. Piper turned towards Hylla and Thalia. She spoke, "You two are under Circe's control. You have to snap out of it. Now!"

Hylla slowly looked around confused. She sat up and looked at Reyna. After a few moments, Hylla quickly got to her feet and looked around. She stumbled and sat back down gripping her head. It looked like she remembered everything that had happened.

"What happened?" Thalia groaned. She was sitting by Annabeth and holding her head. The two looked like they had been talking quietly, but Thalia still looked confused and lost. Hylla looked the same.

"We need to end the battle," Alex interrupted. Everyone slowly looked at her. Alex was shaking in what was probably anger. "Thalia and Hylla need to tell their dogs to back off, and someone needs to tell the demititans to stop. I would do that, but they would kill me on sight."

Annabeth nodded and helped Thalia to her feet. After a moment, she walked towards Hylla and helped her stand as well. Annabeth led the two of them out, explaining what had happened. Piper looked back at Reyna, who had laid back on the ground.

Reyna had one hand on her ribs, and the other was pressed against her face. She slowly turned on the side and was trying to calm her breathing down. It was coming out as wheezing. Piper knelt by her and gently touched her shoulder.

"We did it," Piper said. She grabbed the shield and sat by Reyna. The daughter of Bellona looked at her and slowly nodded. Reyna closed her eyes and seemed to relax. Piper rubbed her friend's shoulder and looked around the temple.

Piper turned her attention towards Alex. The demititan was sitting against the pillar with her hand still pressed to her head. Blood was trickling down her hand and forearm. Piper stood and walked towards her. She spoke, "Let me look at it."

"I'm fine," Alex muttered. She glared up at Piper, but Piper simply knelt by the demititan. After a few moments, Alex lowered her hand and looked down at the ground. Her hand moved to arm, and she winced in pain. "Is Sarah okay?"

"I don't know," Piper answered. She gently grabbed Alex's head and looked at the back of it. There was a nasty wound on the back of her head. When Piper looked at the demititan's arm, she winced at the clear breakage. Alex looked up at her, and the two met eyes.

"Ouranos is back," Alex muttered. She winced and put her hand back to her head. Piper didn't try to help Alex again. It didn't look like the demititan would accept anymore help. "He has an army that will be led by a barbarian named Odovacer. That is what my father told me."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Piper asked. "Thorn kept saying that you were sending all of these secret messages. That's why he thought you were going to betray the demititans. It doesn't make sense."

"Don't pretend to care," Alex snapped. She shoved Piper away and tried to stand. Alex hissed and sat against the pillar again. "You do not know anything about me, demigod. I only trust one person in my life, but I couldn't get her involved in this, in case something happened."

"Were you working with Circe?" Piper asked. She stared at Alex and took a few steps back. The demititan looked up at her and glared. Alex finally looked back down and closed her eyes.

"No," Alex muttered. "I was sending those message to Artemis. She wanted an update on us every week, or she promised to take direct action. Do you know how much trouble I will get in when the others find out? I had to protect Sarah from that."

Piper heard footsteps and looked up. She smiled slightly as she saw Annabeth. Her friend walked towards her and nodded. Annabeth moved past Piper and knelt next to Reyna. Piper moved towards her friends and knelt by them.

"Reyna, you have to wake up," Annabeth whispered. She gently shook Reyna's shoulder and grabbed some nectar. It took a few moments for the praetor to open her eyes and accept the nectar. The exhaustion was clear in her eyes. "Are you still with us?"

"Yeah," Reyna mumbled. She tried to sit up, and Piper quickly helped her. Reyna winced and placed a hand to her ribs. She took a shaky breath and tried to stand. Pain quickly took over her face. "We have to deliver the shield."

"You can't walk," Piper argued. She knew how much Reyna wanted to deliver the shield, but she needed to rest. Annabeth watched the two of them before turning her head. Piper turned to see Hylla walk towards them.

"Reyna," Hylla began. She walked towards Reyna and stopped a few feet away. Reyna looked away and didn't respond. The pain in her eyes was replaced with anger "I'm sorry about what I did, sister."

"Don't call me that," Reyna snapped. She tried to stand again and cursed in pain. Her fist slammed into the ground. "Just leave me alone, Hylla. Leave. Go back to your Amazons and give me some space."

Hylla shook her head but turned away. She walked out of the temple. Reyna's eyes started to water, and she hid her face. Piper looked down and didn't know what to say. Reyna had been holding her emotions in, and there was no telling how she would react.

"We should go," Annabeth said. Piper helped her, and the two managed to get Reyna to her feet. Reyna almost collapsed against Annabeth but managed to lean on a pillar. She rested her head against it. "Can you walk?"

"I just need time," Reyna muttered. She sat back down against the pillar and curled up. "I need a few minutes. Someone needs to make sure the demititans are okay and get the Pegasi. Can you guys do that?"

Piper shared a glance with Annabeth, who nodded. The daughter of Aphrodite sighed and spoke, "Yeah. We'll be back to get you in a few minutes. Alex, are you sure that you don't need help?"

"I'm fine," Alex muttered. She stayed against her pillar and watched them. Her eyes focused on Reyna before looking back at the ground. Piper was worried about leaving the demititan alone with an injured Reyna, but she forced herself to walk out of the temple.

The first thing Piper saw was the Amazons and Hunters crowding around their leaders confused. Hylla and Thalia looked like they were trying to explain what had happened. The demititans had backed up a respectable amount and were sitting on the ground.

Thorn and Sarah walked towards them. Thorn was limping and had a few cuts on his face. Sarah was favoring her shoulder and had a hand to her chest. Thorn looked around and spoke, "Where is Oliver? Did he make it?"

"He was the traitor," Annabeth answered. "He framed Alex with that letter from Hylla, but he said she did send the other letters. Oliver tried to kill Piper and I, but Alex saved us. She tried to help us against Circe too."

"Alex said that she did send letters to Artemis, but that was because Artemis threatened to take direct action if she didn't," Piper added. "Alex was trying to protect Sarah from the fallout. She isn't the traitor, and she knew this would come back to haunt her."

"She wasn't the traitor," Thorn whispered. He glanced back at Sarah. After a moment, Sarah took off towards the temple. Thorn looked at Annabeth and Piper. "You two should get the shield back. I'll make sure that everyone here gets back safely."

"Will you be able to mend things with Alex?" Piper asked. Thorn looked at her and shook his head. "I know that Alex doesn't have the same emotions as the rest of us, and that's part of the reason you don't trust her. She cares for Sarah though, and she won't let anything happen to her. You have to trust Alex."

Thorn nodded slightly. He sighed and looked back at the temple. After a few moments, Thorn walked towards the temple. Piper heard footsteps and turned to see Hylla.

"What did I do to my sister?" Hylla asked. She swallowed painfully and rubbed her forehead. "I can remember bits and pieces, but it is all fuzzy. What did I do?"

"You attacked the two of us," Piper began. She looked away awkwardly. "You broke my arm and broke her ribs. She said that you tried to concuss her, so she wouldn't remember the fight. Reyna's been really shut down after you attacked us."

"I need to talk to her," Hylla began. Piper gently grabbed her arm. She knew that Hylla wanted to talk to her sister, but Reyna wasn't' in a talking mood. It would only make their relationship worse. Both of them needed time.

"Hylla, you have to tend to your Amazons and weed out the rest of Circe's attendants," Annabeth said. "You heard Reyna. She needs space. While we deliver the shield, she can calm down, and the two of you can talk after."

After a few moments, Hylla nodded. She finally turned and walked away. Annabeth looked at Piper and spoke, "I'll go ahead and call the Pegasi. Can you help Reyna walk out to the temple? We should get going as soon as we can. If we hurry, we should have a few hours to spare by the time we get there."

Piper nodded. She watched Annabeth walk away. Piper turned to look at the temple. They had to find out a way to stop Ouranos, but first, they needed to return the shield and stop the war before it could happen.