Annabeth studied the map in front and took a sip of her drink. To her right, Jason, Hazel and Frank were planning an assault on Camp Jupiter. The plan was for the army to conquer Camp Jupiter and then turn its attention to Camp Half-Blood. With a lot of luck, they could get Reyna to work with them.
Annabeth didn't really want to work with Reyna, but they needed the manpower of the legion and demititans. There was no way they could get around their lack of manpower. Percy nudged her arm and spoke, "Do you think we can flex some muscle with the demititans? I would hate to threaten them, but it might work."
"I don't know," Annabeth admitted. "Red seems to hate our guts. Ulysses would probably work with us. Sarah would be the wild card, so we would have to try and convince her. What do you think about trying to get Hylla on board?"
"After what Boudica did, I don't think we can," Piper said. She was sitting at a table with Sally and looking over books. The books contained writings from the numerous Roman generals that had fought barbarians. Annabeth wanted to know how barbarians fought, so she could take them down.
It took her a few moments to stretch and pace. They had been planning for the past five hours, and she was starting to feel the effects of it. Annabeth spoke, "I'm going to get food for everyone. Does anyone want to help me carry it?"
"I will," Piper offered. She stood and followed Annabeth out of the room. Things had been tense, since Reyna and her legion had left. Some Greeks were disgusted by what Boudica had done. Annabeth didn't blame them.
While she didn't like Reyna, she wasn't going to condone what Boudica had done. No one deserved to have that happen to them. Annabeth glanced at Piper and spoke, "How are we going to handle the legion?"
"I don't know," Piper admitted. "Things are really complicated with Reyna. I don't know how it's going to end, but the Olympians might be the ones who decide it."
"If we're associated with Reyna, it could lead to trouble for us," Annabeth assumed. She sighed, but an Iris message appeared in front of her. It forced her to stop immediately, or she would have ran right through it.
Annabeth stared at Reyna. The daughter of Bellona slowly looked up at her. Sarah was standing by Reyna. They both looked pale and a little sick. Annabeth crossed her arms.
"What do you want?" Annabeth asked. She managed to keep the emotion out of her tone. Reyna slowly looked up at her. The daughter of Bellona slowly stepped to the side. Annabeth's heart dropped.
The first thing she saw was crucified demigods. Then, she saw the destroyed buildings of Camp Jupiter. She quickly looked away. Piper was staring at the scene in front of them.
"Metis did this," Reyna said. "I don't care what has happened between us. This is something that will not go unavenged. If you don't help me, I will take matters into my own hands, and no one is going to stop me."
"Are you threatening us?" Annabeth demanded. She glared at Reyna. The daughter of Bellona just watched her. There was no emotion on her face, but her eyes held sadness. Annabeth suddenly found it hard to swallow. She was use to seeing a stoic or angry Reyna that could take on the world.
"I don't want to hurt anyone but Boudica and her little group of cronies," Reyna said. "They are not on your side, Annabeth. They are barbarians."
"What are you talking about?" Annabeth asked. She crossed her arms. "We wouldn't work with barbarians. Are you even hearing yourself right now?"
"Annabeth, did you ever ask Boudica more about herself, or did you just let her have control of Camp Jupiter?" Reyna asked. "Lupa wouldn't send a Speculatores to take control. They are spies and would have just blended in with the others. Has anyone asked Lupa?"
"We couldn't get in contact with Lupa," Piper replied. She was watching Reyna closely. The daughter of Bellona crossed her arms and gave them a scathing look.
"Isn't that a little suspicious?" Reyna questioned. She looked away and took a deep breath. "Lupa is the only who can confirm whether she sent Boudica or not, but we can't find Lupa. How do you two not find that odd?"
"It is odd," Annabeth admitted. She studied Reyna for a long time. Truthfully, Annabeth didn't want anything to do with Reyna. All she wanted was the daughter of Bellona out of her life. "Hasn't Lupa always been a loner though?"
"Lupa wouldn't abandon her Romans; they're her pack," Sarah interrupted. She motioned to the chaos behind them. "Especially if she knew about this. Something happened to Lupa."
"Wouldn't another immortal have told us about Lupa missing?" Piper asked. "The Olympians have been quieter during this war, but I assumed they were just dealing with the fallout from Ouranos."
Reyna looked away for a few moments. She finally took a deep breath and looked Annabeth in the eyes. Reyna spoke, "Do you remember when we were all trying to stop Gaea. You were in Tartarus, but you sent a message asking me to risk everything, just to help the Greeks out?"
Annabeth nodded slightly. She didn't want to think about Tartarus. It was something that still haunted her nightmares. If she didn't think about it, she wouldn't have a panic attack, and there wouldn't be any pressure threatening to crush her chest.
"You wanted me to risk everything," Reyna said. "Camp Jupiter could have declared me an enemy. I could have just stayed with Camp Jupiter and wiped out Camp Half-Blood, but I didn't. You had faith in me that I would do the right thing. I'm just asking you to give me a little more faith. Please."
Annabeth looked down at the ground. There was no way she could trust Reyna. The daughter of Bellona was a loose cannon, but Reyna always tried to do what was right. Annabeth took a deep breath.
"Can you prove that Boudica is a barbarian?" Annabeth asked. She looked up. "I will not do anything to help you or hurt her, unless you can provide proof. I want proof of everything, before I help with anything."
"I don't know how I am suppose to prove that," Reyna said. She bit her lip and looked at Sarah. It took Sarah a few moments to look at the Iris message. The demititan slowly pulled back her hood. Her eyes focused in on Annabeth's.
"Unless you trust the word of that Hun leader, we can't give you proof that Boudica is a barbarian," Sarah said. "I can tell you that she is a child of Mnemosyne. Boudica can manipulate your memory by looking you in the eyes and telling you what she wants you to remember. Did Clarisse show you the video?"
"What do you mean?" Piper asked. "Clarisse is here. She stormed off, but she should still be here."
"She's not," Sarah said. "Clarisse is with us. She found a laptop that belong to Alex. It was connected to all of the cameras of the base you're at. That laptop has a video of Boudica killing the senators and perfectly blaming it on Reyna."
"Why wouldn't Clarisse show us the video?" Piper questioned. She glanced at Annabeth. At first, Annabeth wanted to think it was because the laptop didn't have any proof on it, but she forced herself to take a deep breath and think about it.
"Clarisse doesn't trust us," Annabeth realized. "We didn't tell her about Chris, so she is upset about that. Clarisse didn't think that we would believe her. She went straight to Sixth Legion and showed the video to people that she could trust."
Reyna watched them silently. She finally spoke, "I'm just asking that you don't let Boudica do anything to Camp Jupiter. It may not be my home anymore, but I need to protect them. We're going to take Camp Half-Blood. Your help would be appreciated, but I understand if you decline."
"Sarah, I found something," a demititan called. Annabeth watched another person enter the view of the Iris message. They were wearing a jacket that seemed like it would perfectly blend into nature. "This was by one of the crucifixion victims."
Sarah held her hand out and stared at the item. She handed it off to Reyna. The daughter of Bellona looked at it, and her jaw clenched. Reyna held up a black pin. It was the same one that the Romans Boudica brought with her wore.
"Boudica did this," Reyna said angrily. "She is going to die, Annabeth. The only question is will it be by my hand or yours?"
"That pin could have come from one of Boudica's Romans, as they were being crucified," Annabeth said. "You need absolute proof, Reyna."
"I'm sure that boy, Leo, can provide us with the information we need," Sarah said. Annabeth quickly exchanged looks with Piper. They knew Leo had been missing, but they just assumed he had been with Calypso.
"Is Leo hurt?" Piper asked. Reyna looked at them and nodded slightly. "How hurt is he? Can we talk to him?"
"I sent him back to the Sixth Legion for medical care," Reyna answered. "You can Iris message Nico and get an update on his condition. Annabeth, will you help me?"
"After I talk to Leo, we'll see," Annabeth answered. She ended the Iris message, without another word. Her mind was racing. Was the black pin on the ground just a coincidence, or was Boudica really ordered by Metis to commit the deed?
"Can we trust Reyna?" Piper asked. Her voice was extremely quiet, and she seemed afraid that someone would overhear her conversation. Annabeth took a long time to think of answer. Before she could respond, they saw Boudica turn the corner.
"Annabeth Chase, I was looking for you," Boudica said. A smile was plastered onto her face. "Come quickly. I need your help with a problem we have."
Annabeth glanced at Piper, but she didn't really have a choice. If she didn't follow Boudica, it would make it seem like something was wrong. Annabeth finally nodded. She followed Boudica away.
The two walked through the long halls in silence. Boudica was grinning about something. Annabeth's mind was racing too much to focus. She felt Boudica stop her, and they stepped into a room.
The first thing Annabeth saw was two men holding someone down. It took her a few moments to recognize Sparta. The Roman looked up at Boudica and glared. Boudica spoke, "They found her during a patrol. It was stupid of the exile to allow her Romans to roam free."
"Our business doesn't concern you," Sparta said. She looked up at Boudica. "If you do anything to me, my imperator will crush you."
"I'm terrified of a teenager," Boudica said. She started laughing. Boudica grabbed a dagger and looked at the men. "Hold her down."
The two men wrestled Sparta to the ground. She struggled with them the entire time. Sparta finally looked up at Boudica and spoke, "You are a coward. You can't even take me on by yourself."
"I told you that you would pay dearly for your disrespect," Boudica said. She stepped on Sparta's wrist and stabbed a dagger through her hand. Boudica twisted the dagger. "I wonder if I can destroy the bones in your hand. Annabeth, what do you think?"
"I think the Greeks should have a shot at her," Annabeth replied. Her mind was racing. "Sparta probably knows the techniques that you would use to get information out of her. She would know nothing of Greek techniques."
Boudica smiled cruelly. She continued to twist the dagger and hummed to herself. After a moment, Boudica nodded to the men. They pulled Sparta to her feet and dragged her towards Annabeth.
Annabeth unsheathed her sword and shoved it under Sparta's chin. A glare was all she received. It took Annabeth a moment to grab Sparta by her armor and drag her out of the room. She waited for them to leave the room behind.
"I want to help," Annabeth whispered. She heard Sparta growl, but the Roman didn't speak. "I know you don't trust me, but you need to."
Annabeth dragged Sparta towards the room that her friends were in. Piper was back in the room, and from the look on everyone's face, the daughter of Aphrodite had told them what happened. Annabeth let go of Sparta and closed the door.
After a moment, Sparta pulled the dagger out of her hand. She looked ready to kill them. Instead, she handed the dagger to Annabeth and spoke, "I was sent to find a cure for the poison that has crippled our centurion: Arcadia."
"Arcadia is poisoned?" Percy asked. He didn't seem like he trusted the Sixth Legion. Annabeth didn't know what to think of them. She was trying to figure out if she trusted Reyna or Boudica more.
"Yes," Sparta answered. "Boudica attacked her with a poisoned dagger. It had been draining her strength, and without Arcadia, we do not have a goddess to readily defeat Thoon."
"Sparta, can we give you another assignment?" Annabeth questioned. Sparta slowly looked at her and gave her a small nod. "Good. We only have one shot at this, and if it goes wrong, there is a good chance that Metis will win."
"What are we doing?" Percy interrupted. He walked towards Annabeth. "I have a feeling about what you want to do, and I don't like it."
"It has to be done," Annabeth said. She looked around the room. A shaky breath left her. "There are three things we must do. First, we gather up all those who have a black ribbon. Second, we get everyone ready to march to Camp Half-Blood. Third, we take down Boudica."
