The last month and a half of Reyna's life had been the worst stretch of time since she was with the pirates. Between everything that happened at the town and her fight with Nico, her nerves were frayed enough. Then, there was the whole situation with Nerva. Reyna didn't know what she had done to upset the Inquisitor, and she didn't know how to fix it. The one thing she did know was that breaking up with Arria was one of the biggest regrets of her life.

An angry sigh left Reyna, and she tried to think. It seemed like Nerva was at Camp Jupiter every other day. She would show up at random times and do everything she could to make Reyna's life a living hell. Nerva was more than succeeding.

A knock on the door broke Reyna from her thoughts. She slowly stood and opened the front door. Nico offered her a bag of fast food, and she slowly took it. Reyna stepped inside and sat down at her table. Nico closed the door behind him and sat across from her. They sat in silence for a few moments.

"I'm sorry," Reyna whispered. The two had made up a few hours ago, but that didn't make Reyna feel any better. She buried her face in her hands. "I really am, Nico."

"Reyna, please just calm down. I already told you I forgive you. Eat a Happy Meal," Nico ordered. A small smile came to Reyna's face, and she opened the bag. Reyna pulled out the Happy Meal and studied the contents. She didn't eat much at the restaurant, as guilt kept gnawing at her. "Tell me everything that happened, Reyna."

Reyna took a deep breath and tried to think about where to start. She closed her eyes and spoke, "After what happened at the town, I felt like everything was wrong about it. Why would mortals work with monsters, and even if they were, the monsters would have just eaten them."

"You remember the cop that helped get us out of jail when you, Will, Arria, and I all got arrested? I asked him to run a background check on the mortals, and they don't even live in the town. They are from across the states and have never gotten so much as a ticket. I even had a child of Venus show me how to navigate their social media. Apparently, they were invited to a family reunion but didn't show up. The family was posting everywhere trying to find them. I think they were taken and their memory altered," Reyna said. She looked down. "Or, they were under something like charmspeak."

"Let me get this straight," Nico interrupted. Reyna glanced at him. "You think the Inquisition went to a Roman town and poisoned everyone there. When a centurion was sent to investigate, they locked them away. When Leo, Piper, and I went to investigate, we were attacked. Why go through all of that, especially if you were going to investigate?"

"Nerva didn't want me to go with her," Reyna said. She looked down. "And, she was the one who suggested that someone like Hazel go to the town. What if it was all to get to me? Think about it. Hazel disappeared, which drew you out. You had this dream that caused us to not speak to each other for a month. Then, she blackmails me. I think I'm being paranoid, but I don't know."

"Reyna, we are going to figure this out," Nico promised. "We can talk about the Inquisition being involved in the town later. If I find out that Nerva was involved with Hazel being in danger, I will handle her. For now, tell me about her bribing you."

"I was doing paperwork late at night, and Nerva stepped into my office. I thought she was going to give me a report on the town. Instead, she asked me how I managed to win the favor of the gods when I murdered my father. Nerva told me that she knows I committed patricide," Reyna whispered.

Reyna felt her throat start to close up, and she tried to breath. She buried her face in her hands and felt Nico pulled her into a hug. Reyna spoke, "She told me that I was going to do exactly what she told me, or she would tell the Senate. The first thing she wanted me to do was break up with Arria."

"Arria was so upset," Reyna whispered. She wiped her tears and tried to keep from crying more. "She wanted to know why and what she had done, but I couldn't tell her anything. I just told her it wasn't working out. I felt like such an asshole, and everyone has been asking me why we broke up."

"Have you thought about telling Arria?" Nico asked. Reyna shook her head. There was no way she could tell Arria that and make Arria have to decide between her ex girlfriend or her sister. "How do we bring this up to the Senate? What do we do from here?"

Reyna wanted to scream that she didn't know, but she forced herself to try and calm down. Nico was just trying to help her. Reyna heard a knock on the front door, and she tensed. Nico looked at her and quickly gathered up the food. He hid it in the bag and then threw the bag behind the counter. As Nico stepped into the shadows, Reyna walked towards the front door.

Reyna opened the door and glared at Nerva. The Inquisitor smiled coldly at her. Reyna spoke, "It's midnight. What do you want?"

"So, you and Nico are back together?" Nerva asked. She pushed past Reyna and stepped into the house. Reyna clenched her fist and tried to calm down. Nerva looked at her with a cold grin. Her mask was hanging at her side, and her eyes was no longer a pale, lifeless color. "Did you tell him?"

"No," Reyna said through gritted teeth. Nerva watched her for a few moments. Reyna could feel the stress of the last month and all of the anger starting to boil over. "What did I even do to upset you?"

"You know exactly what you did," Nerva snapped. Her face twisted in anger. "Do not play dumb with me, praetor. You may be a fool, but I am not. You're nothing more than a spineless coward."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Reyna snapped. She dug her nails into her hands. "Instead of answering my question, you just insult me. Why do you hate me so much?"

"Don't play games, praetor. Do not play with me," Nerva warned, and she got right into Reyna's face. Reyna glared at the taller woman. If it wasn't for the fact that Nerva was blackmailing her, she would have already thrown the Inquisitor out. "You know what you did, and I am going to make you pay for it. You're a traitor!"

Reyna closed her eyes and felt her temper starting to boil out of control. She turned away from Nerva and started to pace. Reyna spoke, "What happens if I tell the Senate that you are blackmailing me?"

"I will tell them that I am blackmailing you. Then, I will tell them exactly what I am blackmailing you with," Nerva said. She smiled. "The Senate will know I am telling the truth, and if for some reason they doubt me, an investigation will reveal the truth."

"You will be questioned underneath Vertias' gaze," Nerva said. She walked back up to Reyna and blocked the path of her pacing. Nerva moved her lips to Reyna's ear. "And, we both know how that will turn out."

"Get. Out," Reyna said through gritted teeth. She was starting to see red. Her hands were shaking in rage, and she could almost hear a ringing in her ears. "Get out of my house. Now."

"I know you think that you are invincible, but you are not," Nerva said. Reyna closed her eyes. "Look at me when I am talking to you."

"Get out," Reyna repeated. She looked at Nerva. "Or else."

"Or what? You're going to take a swing at me? Yell? Hit a wall?" Nerva questioned. "Hit me. I dare you. Because if you lay a hand on me, the Senate will know about your father by tomorrow."

Reyna was so mad that she couldn't think straight, but she knew that she couldn't do anything to Nerva. She would just have to take the verbal abuse and pray to all of the gods that she could find a solution to her problem. Nerva laughed and spoke, "How does it feel to have the power taken from you? Is that why you were so focused on Arria, because she gave you all the power?"

"I love Arria," Reyna snapped. A fist slammed into her face, and Reyna fell backwards. Her shock outweighed her anger for a second, and she stared up at Nerva.

"You wouldn't do what you did if you loved Arria!" Nerva yelled. She grabbed Reyna by her shirt and pulled her to her feet. Reyna didn't fight as she was slammed into the wall. "Don't you dare look me in the eyes and tell me that you love Arria."

"I did not do whatever it is that you are accusing me of," Reyna said angrily. She could feel blood trickling from her nose. After a few moments, Nerva let go of her and stepped away. "What exactly did I do, Nerva? Why are you doing this?"

"You know what you did, praetor. Do not lie to me and act like you are remorseful. I just want you to know one thing. If I see him anywhere near her, I will skip going to the Senate. I will crucify you myself," Nerva warned.

"Him?" Reyna asked in confusion. "I don't know what you're-"

A punch knocked Reyna back into the wall, and a second punch to the gut caused her to collapse to her knees and wheeze for breath. Her eye burned in pain, and the breath had been knocked right out of her. Reyna heard a noise at the front door.

"What are you doing?" Nico demanded. Reyna slowly looked up to see that Nico was now standing at the door. His eyes were wide as he watched them. "Get away from her!"

"We were just sparring," Nerva said. She stepped away and smiled at Reyna. "Right, praetor?"

Reyna was too busy gasping for breath to reply. It took her a few moments to force a nod. Nerva looked at her and spoke in a whisper, "Not a word."

Nerva then turned and left the house. Nico watched her go and closed the door. He hurried towards Reyna and knelt by her. Reyna was still trying to catch her breath. She sat against the wall. Nico grabbed some ice and placed it to her eye.

"I'm sorry I didn't stop her sooner," Nico said. He placed his sleeve to her nose. "Are you doing okay?"

"No," Reyna wheezed. She groaned in pain. "She has a nasty right hook. I don't know what she was talking about. Who is he? Why does it matter if he gets close to someone?"

"We'll figure it out. You just calm down," Nico said. Reyna laid her head back. Her breathing slowly returned to normal. "She thinks that you did something to Arria. I know you would never hurt Arria, but did you do anything that could be considered hurting her?"

"Breaking up with her, which is what Nerva wanted," Reyna muttered. With Nico's help, she stood. "Unless she has a short term memory, she is accusing me of something that I didn't do."

"We'll figure it out," Nico promised. Reyna nodded and slowly sat back at the table. She kept the ice to her eye and tried to think. Reyna didn't know why Nerva was so upset at her, but the only thing she could do was try and find a way out of her situation. If she could discredit Nerva, it would help her cause, but Reyna didn't know how to do that. The only thing she could do was trust Nico to help her and hope that everything turned out fine.