Frank hated to see the look of betrayal in Percy's eyes. He couldn't blame Percy though. Finding out that your girlfriend had been tortured by someone that you thought could trust had to be harrowing. To learn that the other person you thought you could trust agreed to keep you under watch had to feel like a dagger in the heart.

Frank didn't even have to say a word either. When he walked into the infirmary flanked by two armored Romans that immediately stood guard at the door, Percy seemed to know exactly what was going on. His shoulder had deflated, and he just stared at Frank.

Now, all Frank could do was stare back. He tried to soften the blow by having Dakota or Hazel be one of the guards, but Reyna had shut him down. She ordered him to have two Romans that only knew how to take orders watch over the Greeks.

"Percy, the Senate has agreed for you two to kept under guard, before your trial," Frank said. Percy's eyes widened, and his hand slowly started to move to his pocket. "We will speak to Lady Diana first, as Reyna is going to explain her side of the story."

Frank stared at Percy, praying that he would get the hint. Frank still believed in them. He would do everything that he could to defend them, but at the same time, Frank could not go against the Senate. Not in a situation as delicate as this.

"I won't let anyone else hurt Annabeth," Percy warned. Frank nodded slightly and closed his eyes. He wanted to apologize, but he couldn't. If he showed any favoritism towards the Greeks, Reyna would have him placed under guard next. His gaze moved towards Annabeth.

Darriah was gently taking care of Annabeth's arms. Annabeth looked like she was in too much pain to really understand what was going on around her. It broke Frank's heart to see. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He needed to stay focused.

"Just stay here Percy. Everything will work out," Frank promised. He met Percy's eyes. After a few moments, Percy took his hand out of his pocket. He didn't seem relaxed, and his gaze was focused on the guards. Hopefully, he understood that Frank was on his side.

Frank turned and nodded towards the guards. He walked out of the infirmary and made his way towards Reyna. She was standing with her arms crossed, as a doctor gently cleaned the blood off of her face. There was a bandage over her temple. Two Senators were talking to her.

"Let me talk to Lady Diana," Reyna said. She winced in pain and glanced at the doctor. "I know she will take my side, but I must confirm it. A goddess on our side will help us defend our point. The Olympians will understand."

"If Diana does not agree with you, how do you know she will not punish us?" Halward demanded, as he walked up behind them. "You did not consult the Senate about this. You did not tell us what you were going to do."

"I only did that so the consequences would fall on my head and only my head," Reyna stated. She slowly turned towards him. "I know that you do not like to have things fall out of your control, Halward, but your complacence will be the end of New Rome."

"If you are wrong praetor, you will bring about the end of New Rome," Halward snapped. He shoved past Reyna and stormed into the infirmary. Reyna slowly turned her head and watched him go.

"Keep an eye on him," Reyna ordered. One of the Senators nodded and hurried away. The doctor wiped the remaining blood from Reyna's face and stepped away. "How bad is it?"

"You're clearly concussed, but the nectar should have you back to normal in a day or two. I recommend taking it easy for at least three days and try to avoid anymore blows to the head," the doctor said.

"I'll keep that in mind," Reyna muttered. She closed her eyes for a few moments. The doctor turned and walked back towards the infirmary. Frank glanced back as well. He didn't like the thought of so many Romans being near an agitated Percy and a hurt Annabeth. When Frank looked back ahead, Reyna was watching him.

"Thank you for doing what is right, Frank. I know it is hard, but we must take our feelings out of the equation and do what is best for New Rome," Reyna said. She made it sound so easy. How was Frank suppose to take his feelings and bottle them away?

"I'll talk to Lady Diana with you," Frank stated. Reyna gave him the slightest of nods. Then, she turned and walked towards the Senate House. After taking a deep breath, Frank followed behind. He didn't know how things were going to turn out. Diana had been hostile when she first dragged Reyna into the Senate meeting, so why was Reyna so sure that she could convince the goddess to not be mad about what had happened?

If it had just been a matter of Reyna poisoning the tree and only the tree, Frank could see where maybe Diana would take their side, especially if Reyna had adequate proof. With Thalia getting caught in the crossfire, there was no way Diana would side with them. Her lieutenant was on death's door, and it was all Reyna's fault.

They made it towards the Senate House in silence. Frank slowly followed Reyna inside. The rest of the Senate had disbursed, leaving the room empty and almost silent. The only sound Frank heard was heavy boots hitting the ground. Frank's heart dropped as he saw Diana waiting for them. The goddess slowly looked at them.

"Lady Diana, if you allow me to explain," Reyna began. She bowed, despite the pain that crossed her face for a brief moment. "I have proof that Annabeth Chase was planning an attack on Camp Jupiter. I can show you."

Diana studied Reyna for a few moments. She finally spoke, "Start from the beginning. How did you first learn that Annabeth Chase was going to attack Camp Jupiter?"

"When I went to the temple to talk down Junia, she warned me about Annabeth," Reyna began. She slowly walked towards her bag and pulled out the evidence once again. She walked towards a table and laid it all out. Diana walked by her side to look down at it. "Annabeth and I have exchanged battle plans for the war games and capture the flag, and I have studied how she creates her plans. This plan here is very similar to how she would attack, and it marked with her signature."

Reyna's hand moved down to the bottom left corner, where an owl was burned into the paper, like a stamp of approval. Reyna spoke, "It does not look like much on its own, but I found this in Annabeth's room. It was tucked into the front cover of one of her Latin books."

"And you just stole the war plans from her room?" Diana questioned. She was studying the map with a small frown.

"This is the copy that I made of the original battle plan," Reyna answered. She winced and leaned on the table. "Junia told me that she found the battle plan when she visited Camp Half-Blood and accidentally knocked Annabeth's books over. She saw the battle plan as she was picking it back up."

"Junia said that is why she went to the temple. She never wanted revenge on Blackbeard. She just didn't know how else to get in contact with me," Reyna stated. "At Camp Half-Blood, I found the dagger of Aristonicus under Annabeth's bed. It was locked away in a box. Then, I found the files that Jason and Annabeth have been passing back and forth."

"Inside, I expected to find blueprints for temples and plans on how to improve them. Instead, I found the blueprints for Camp Jupiter, with every single secret entrance and tunnel clearly marked," Reyna continued. Her voice was full of anger and betrayal. "There was patrol routes marked and a paper that held all of the Senators schedules on it."

"You're implying that Jason was helping Annabeth plan to attack his home. He wouldn't do that," Frank argued. Reyna looked at him.

"Is Camp Jupiter still Jason's home?" Reyna asked. She stood straighter. "Has he not been spending most of his time at Camp Half-Blood, despite the fact that he is suppose to be our Pontifex Maximus. Even if Jason did not maliciously give the information to Annabeth, she could have tricked him into giving it."

Frank bit back a frustrated sigh. Reyna was fixated on this entire thought that Annabeth planned to attack them. Looking at the evidence, he just didn't find himself convinced, because he knew Annabeth better. Annabeth would not attack them.

"I was unsure, until my mother gave me a sign," Reyna whispered. She closed her eyes. Diana studied Reyna silently. "I knew that I had to take action. The Pax Romana was drawing near, and I could not allow another home to be destroyed."

"Another home?" Frank interrupted. Reyna slowly looked at him. "You said earlier that you had seen Annabeth's destruction first hand. What happened?"

"After I left Puerto Rico, Hylla and I found Circe's island. We tried to make the best of our situation and make a home of it. One day, Annabeth and Percy stumbled upon our shores. Percy was turned into a guinea pig by Circe, and Annabeth freed him. However, she also freed that pirates that Circe held captive. Blackbeard exacted a price from us," Reyna answered.

"Annabeth only did those things to save Percy. Why would she attack Camp Jupiter?" Frank questioned.

"I thought you were going to support me," Reyna snapped. Frank remained silent. "I do not know, Frank. That is why I questioned her about it."

"Why poison the tree?" Diana interrupted. "Why steal the Golden Fleece?"

"I knew that Annabeth was going to attack us during the Pax Romana," Reyna stated. "I also know that the best defense is offense, so I took the initiative. I poisoned the tree with a mixture that I learned about from the college, and I took the Golden Fleece, so that it could not heal the tree."

"How did you get the Golden Fleece out of Camp Half-Blood?" Diana questioned. Frank frowned and tried to think back. His heart almost stopped as he realized the answer.

"I hid it in my duffel bag, and on the drive back, I let air out of the tire," Reyna replied. "While Frank changed the tire, I had everyone patrol the forest. I buried the fleece underneath an old, white tree and carved my mother's symbol into it. Once the Pax Romana was over, I planned on returning it."

"I never meant for Thalia to be caught up in this. I did not realize that she was still connected to the tree," Reyna said. She leaned on the table and buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. I truly did not mean for her to be harmed. Is she doing okay?"

"She has awakened," Diana replied. Her gaze moved to Frank. "From what I understand, Livia's blood was used by the professor to make the cure. If you poisoned the tree praetor, how did Livia's blood make the cure?"

"The professor made the cure with Livia's blood and dropped it off at my office. My dogs switched it out for the real cure," Reyna answered. Frank looked down and closed his eyes. "If Alfred's health worsened, I would have given him the cure early."

"You attacked the child of Vertias, so he could not tell that you had poisoned the tree?" Diana asked.

"Yes," Reyna answered. "I could not allow myself to be discovered, until the Pax Romana ended. That is why I crippled Camp Half-Blood, so they could not mount a force to attack us. When Annabeth insisted on coming to Camp Jupiter, I thought that I was wrong about her army, and I thought she was going to use former, disgruntled legionnaires or even monsters. That is why I poisoned the dinner."

"If you poisoned Percy's cup, why would you drink the poison?" Frank demanded. He also wanted to know why Reyna had poisoned him, but at the same time, he was scared to know the answer.

"To clear myself of suspicion," Reyna answered after a moment. She frowned and seemed to think. "It would give me time to draw a confession from Annabeth."

"If Percy had taken the poison, he would have been in a coma. Your fellow praetor was out of commission for a few hours. It would not have been hard to get Annabeth alone and question her or even frame her for the poisoning," Diana said. "Why chance taking yourself out of commission, when no one would suspect you from the start?"

Reyna looked like she was going to answer, but a look of confusion crossed her face. She finally spoke, "I knew the Greeks would give me nectar, and that would counteract the poison."

"What if they didn't have nectar on them?" Diana questioned. "You would have fallen into the same coma, and there would have been no cure. You would have died, which means Thalia, Alfred, and the tree would have died as well."

"No," Reyna muttered. She stared at the table and looked absolutely lost. Frank studied his fellow praetor. That was not a look that he was use to seeing on her face. "I knew that wouldn't happen."

"How?" Diana questioned. Reyna didn't answer. She shook her head slightly and seemed to be lost in thought. "Praetor, did you poison yourself willing?"

"My mother said to," Reyna began. She slowly looked around, as if she could find something in the Senate House that would give her an answer. Frank slowly moved next to Reyna. "It was like a voice in my ear."

"How many people were at the temple?" Diana questioned. She stood straighter, and her hand clenched slightly, as if she had a weapon in it. "Was it just you and the girl?"

"It was," Reyna replied. She frowned and seemed to think about it. "But, my mother spoke to me before I left. She even appeared to me."

"Has she ever appeared to you before?" Diana asked. Reyna slowly shook her head. "Are you sure it was your mother?"

"I don't know," Reyna said after a moment. Her eyes widened, and she slowly sat down. "I thought it was my mother."

"What did she look like?" Diana asked. Her hand gently grabbed Reyna's shoulder. Reyna was staring at the ground, and her mouth was open, maybe in shock. Frank stared at Reyna and slowly leaned on the table near him. His gut twisted.

"Just like the statue here in camp," Reyna whispered. "She sounded like an older version of Hylla."

"Your mother does not look like the statue," Diana replied. Reyna closed her eyes tightly. "She appeared according to what you think your mother looks like, but that was not your mother. It seems like you were tricked, praetor."

Reyna slowly opened her eyes and stared at Diana. There was a shocked look on her face. She slowly spoke, "Is that why Junia came to me and not to you?"

"I do not know why this Junia would come to me in the first place," Diana said. She crossed her arms and seemed to be thinking.

"Junia is one of your Hunters," Reyna said. Diana froze and slowly looked at her. "Brown, short hair. Green eyes. The left side of her face has a bad burn on it from the pirates. It's never really healed."

"Chelsea," Diana whispered. Reyna frowned. Diana grabbed onto the table, like she needed it to steady her. Frank stared at the two of them and felt his gut twist even more. "She joined a few months ago. Was always quiet and didn't say much about herself."

"So, Chelsea is actually Junia?" Frank asked. Reyna met his eyes. "She pretended to want revenge on Blackbeard, and you were asked to talk her down. Lady Diana, why didn't you talk her down yourself?"

"I did not know who was in the temple. Chelsea hid her face from me and also disguised her voice somehow. She said that if we did not handle Blackbeard, she would kill herself. I could not allow a maiden to die, and she told me that Blackbeard had tortured her and the other attendants from Circe's island. Upon going to Circe, I learned that the praetor knew Chelsea, but Circe also called her Junia. I did not know they were the same person."

"Lady Diana asked me to talk her down, and it wasn't hard," Reyna said. She frowned and seemed to be lost in thought. "After we talked, she hugged me, and that's when my mother started talking to me."

Diana suddenly grabbed Reyna's head and forced it back. Reyna winced in pain and tried to pull away from the goddess. Diana studied her eyes and spoke, "You said that your mother gave you signs, and she talked to you?"

"Yes," Reyna began. Frank glanced at Diana. The goddess slowly let go of Reyna's face. "But, that wasn't my mother talking to me."

"No. It wasn't," Diana confirmed. "But, someone or something posed as your mother and warned you that Annabeth Chase was going to attack Camp Jupiter."

"What if Junia didn't want revenge on Blackbeard?" Frank interrupted. Both Reyna and Diana looked at him. "Junia was an attendant at Circe's island, right? Her home would have been destroyed when Annabeth freed the pirates."

"Oh gods," Reyna said. "She had a younger sister: Penny. It was a month after the pirates took us captive that Penny died from disease. Blackbeard threw her body overboard, and Junia jumped after it. We were close to shore, so I was sure that she survived. Blackbeard didn't care enough to go back for her. One less mouth to feed."

"Because of the pirates, Junia lost her home and sister. Annabeth was the reason that the pirates were released in the first place," Frank said. He looked at Reyna. "Junia tricked you. She lied to you that Annabeth was going to attack Camp Jupiter. How did she know you would cripple Camp Half-Blood's barrier though? Did she tell you to try and destroy Annabeth's home?"

"I just thought of it," Reyna whispered. She closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands.

"Praxidike, " Diana said. The goddess let out a deep breath. "Themis told me that one of the goddesses who help her deliver justice, Praxidike, has been out of control lately. It seems as if she influenced Reyna and convinced Reyna that she needed to take drastic measure to defend her home."

"Then, this Praxidike told you or convinced you to drink the poison. It wasn't to clear yourself of any suspicion. She wanted you to die," Frank realized. His gaze was focused on Reyna. She still had her face buried in her hands and was not moving. "How could Praxidike do that though? Wouldn't Terminus sense them nearby and alert someone?"

"Praxidike and some of the others that are under Themis' command are more spirit than goddess," Diana said. Frank looked at her confused. "Praxidike has some powers on her own, but if she were to possess someone, she can influence their thoughts or actions."

"Does she control them?" Reyna asked quietly. It almost sounded like she was crying, and the regret in her voice was impossible to miss. Reyna didn't look up at them.

"No," Diana answered. "Your actions were the ones you decided on. She just nudged you along the way. I do not sense Praxidike anywhere."

"Maybe, she left Reyna, after Reyna poisoned herself," Frank began. Diana nodded her agreement. Frank looked down. If Praxidike had left Reyna and was no longer influencing her, it meant that Reyna torturing Annabeth was something she did all on her own. That thought made Frank's stomach twist. "But, the barrier has the cure. We just need the fleece, right?"

"You will show us where you buried it," Diana ordered. Reyna nodded and didn't look up. "Thalia is awake but still weak. It seems like the cure worked on the tree, but I will still check on Camp Half-Blood. Chelsea was with my other Hunters when I left, so I find her afterwards and bring her here for a trial. I will also find Praxidike and inform Lady Themis."

"What should we do?" Frank asked. Diana studied him for a few moments. Then, she looked at Reyna.

"Tell the Senate what happened," Diana ordered. "Then, explain to Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson what happened. Make sure they are taken care of."

Frank nodded and slowly looked down at Reyna. His fellow praetor was not looking up. Her head was still buried in her hands. Frank gently grabbed her shoulder. He wasn't sure how to feel. Reyna had been tricked, but the things that she did was almost all on her own.

"We'll figure this out," Frank promised. He gently rubbed Reyna's back. Diana was studying both of them in silence. Frank looked down. He didn't know how they were going to handle everything, and he didn't know what would happen in the aftermath. The one thing that he did know was that everything had changed, and the relationship between the two camps would probably never be the same again.