Thalia stared down at the fire in front of her. She was still processing the story that Artemis had told her. None of it seemed true. Why would Reyna poison the tree at Camp Half-Blood? Why would she attack her fellow Romans? How could she even be partially in control of her actions and do all of those things?
Thalia's eyes slowly moved to her right. The demigod in question was sitting on a log and staring at the ground as well. Reyna's hands weren't tied or handcuffed in front of her, but she still had her hands together with her fingers interlocked. The praetor stared at the fire as well, and her eyes were red.
The crunching of boots caught Thalia's attention. She looked up at Artemis. The goddess had appeared in the middle of the camp with Reyna. She had shoved Reyna towards the log and then stalked off towards the tents. Now, Artemis looked more upset than before.
"Where is Chelsea?" Artemis asked. The few Hunters of Artemis around the fire shrugged. They all seemed as confused as Thalia felt. "Has anyone seen her?"
"She left a few hours ago," Kim said. She slowly stood. "What is going on?"
"Chelsea is not who she says she is," Artemis answered. Kim stared. "She is actually a girl named Junia. She is the one who caused all of this chaos and wanted for Camp Half-Blood to fall. Praetor, come."
Reyna slowly stood. Thalia quickly stood as well, and her world started to spin. She forced herself to keep her footing and take a deep breath. Her gaze focused on Artemis. The goddess spoke, "You need to rest."
"I have to help," Thalia said. She glanced at Reyna. "If Camp Half-Blood and my tree are being threatened, I have to help."
Thalia knew she wasn't really in the shape to help. She had only recently woke from her coma, and she was still incredibly weak. Thalia couldn't just sit around though. If someone under her command was involved with this, it was her duty to hunt them down.
"Thalia, it was not a suggestion," Artemis said. Thalia looked down and remained silent. Her stomach felt like it was on fire, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up on the ground and go to sleep. She had to help with the Golden Fleece though.
"My Lady, please let me help," Thalia began. She looked down. "Camp Half-Blood is special to me, and I want to help them however I can."
Artemis let out a deep breath. After a moment, she grabbed Thalia's arm and gently helped her to her feet. Artemis spoke, "You can come, but you need to take it easy."
"I will," Thalia promised. She looked back at Reyna. The praetor was just staring at the ground and almost seemed ready to cry. Thalia looked away. She wasn't quite sure how to feel about what had happened.
Artemis nodded and walked towards Reyna. She grabbed the demigod's shoulder roughly and spoke, "Think of the place where you left the Golden Fleece."
Thalia walked towards them, and Artemis gently grabbed her arm. As there was a bright light, Thalia closed her eyes tightly. She felt the world tilt, like she was on some kind of roller coaster. Her stomach did a few flips, and her feet touched solid ground. The hand on her arm steadied her and kept her from falling on her face.
It took Thalia a few moments to look around. They were in the middle of a forest and standing on a thin strip of road. Reyna started to walk towards the forest, and Artemis followed right behind her. Thalia did her best to keep pace with them.
Their walk was in a tense silence. Even though Thalia wasn't the recipient of Artemis' glare, she could feel how piercing it was. Thalia looked away from the two. Reyna had made her choice, even if she was being influenced by a goddess. The praetor would have to live with her decision.
After a minute, Reyna stopped near a white tree. She knelt in front of it and started to dig. Thalia walked up behind her and examined the symbol of a sword crossed with a torch that was carved into the tree. After thirty second of digging, Reyna froze and spoke, "It's not here."
Artemis grabbed Reyna and shoved her to the side. The goddess dug deeper, but all she seemed to find was dirt and some worms. Thalia glanced to her right. Reyna was sitting on the ground and staring at the hole. Artemis took a deep breath and stood.
"Are you sure this is where you buried it?" Artemis demanded. Reyna slowly looked at the tree and stared at the symbol. Thalia did as well. The symbol belonged to a goddess of war, so was it a sign of the things to come? Reyna finally nodded. "Then, where is it? Did you tell anyone?"
"No, my lady. I didn't tell anyone," Reyna swore. She looked at the ground. "No one else knew. I worked by myself this entire time."
"Other than the goddess in your head," Artemis said. She grabbed Reyna's shoulder and pulled her to her feet. Artemis looked at the two of them. "It is time that we visit the goddess responsible for this: Praxidike."
Thalia felt a hand grab her arm, and she saw that Artemis was starting to glow. Thalia looked away and felt her world tilt again. When she opened her eyes, she was standing in a temple. It took her a few moments to look down at the marble floor and then look around the rest of the temple.
There was a large statue against one of the walls. The statue showed a goddess holding up scales in one hand, and her other hand rested on a sword. There was a blindfold over her eyes. Thalia had seen the goddess that the statue belonged to, and as she ran her eyes over the temple, she saw the goddess standing not far away.
It seemed like Themis was in the middle of talking to another goddess. This goddess was shorter than Themis and had a sneer on her face. Her hair was a light color, and her eyes were a shade of red almost like the color of dried blood. Artemis spoke, "Praxidike."
The red eyed goddess turned to look at them. Praxidike spoke, "Artemis. What do you want?"
Artemis crossed the distance between the two of them and grabbed Praxidike by her throat. Themis stepped forward, but Artemis slammed Praxidike into the wall and spoke, "Where is my Hunter?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Praxidike snapped. She tried to shove the Olympian away from her, but Artemis had an iron grasp. "I didn't touch any of your Hunters!"
"Artemis, that is enough," Themis said. After a few moments, Artemis lowered her hand and backed away. "What is going on?"
"Praxidike answered one of my Hunters calls for vengeance, and she set a trap for the praetor," Artemis snapped. Themis slowly looked at Reyna and Thalia. Out of the corner of her eye, Thalia could see that Reyna was staring at Praxidike. "She got into the praetor's head and convinced her to steal the Golden Fleece."
"I have been too busy following my most revered, esteemed, honorable lady around," Praxidike said. She looked at Artemis and crinkled her nose. "I do not have time to get into anyone's head."
"You lie," Artemis stated. "A girl came to Themis' temple and begged for revenge. We sought out the praetor to talk her down, but it was only a trap for you to get in the praetor's head. Why would you do all of this?"
"I really didn't," Praxidike said. She looked up and pointed at the two demigods. Thalia glanced over at Reyna, but the praetor was expressionless. "Which one is the one who I got in the head of?"
Praetor, come here," Artemis ordered. After a moment, Reyna slowly walked towards them. Praxidike sighed and popped her knuckles. She placed two fingers to Reyna's temple and hummed softly. She nodded slightly and closed her eyes.
"It's a little too empty for my liking," Praxidike commented. She hummed again and opened her eyes. "Ah. The temple. That was what you said, right Artemis? I remember that well. Themis asked me to see what the girl wanted, and when I reported back, I was told not to help the girl. So, I passed the job off to Astraea."
"Astraea?" Themis demanded. She stared at Praxidike. "I told you to leave this alone, and you gave the job to Astraea! Why?"
"Who is Astraea?" Thalia interrupted. The three goddesses turned to look at her. "Why is it so bad that she is the one who took the job?"
"Astraea is another goddess of justice, but she pushes the boundaries of justice," Themis answered. She started to pace back and forth. Praxidike lowered her hand and started to slink backwards, towards the shadows. Artemis grabbed her by the back of her neck and didn't let her move any further. "Astraea was once a goddess that walked this earth, but when humans were made and showed their wicked ways, she fled to the heavens. Astraea has been consumed with punishing the wicked ever since, but her ways are violent. I only call upon her for the worst of people."
"Edward Teach fits the bill," Praxidike muttered. She sighed and looked around. "But, Astraea definitely possessed that demigod over there. Probably made her do all kinds of terrible things. Real tragedy. Can I go now?"
"You can't go anywhere," Themis snapped. She paced back and forth and ran her hand through her hair. "Why did I promise Zeus that I would keep an eye on all of the justice gods and goddesses? It's like dealing with a bunch of children."
"Except children don't destroy entire families," Praxidike said. She smiled as Artemis tightened her grip. "I did exactly what was asked of me. I do not see why I am in trouble."
"You are in more than trouble," Themis said. She shook her head. "We will speak later. Get out of my sight."
"That means you have to let go of me," Praxidike whispered. Artemis looked like she wanted to do something much different, but she finally let go of Praxidike. The goddess backed away, gave them a mock bow, and disappeared in a golden light.
"Where would Astraea be?" Artemis questioned. "How do I find her?"
"The temple is not a safe place for demigods," Themis answered. She shook her head and started to pace. "We will take these two back to Camp Jupiter, and I will take you to Astraea. She will tell us where she took your Hunter and the Golden Fleece."
"Is she still in anyone's head?" Reyna slowly asked. Artemis turned on her and glared. Reyna swallowed painfully and looked down. "Can you confront her if she is?"
"Astraea was in your head, and now, she is not," Artemis said coldly. "It is obvious that her goal was achieved, and that is why she retreated. When we get back to Camp Jupiter, you will go straight to Frank Zhang and hand yourself over to him."
"I'll make sure that she does," Thalia said. Artemis studied her for a few moments and finally nodded. Thalia glanced back at Reyna. "Are Annabeth and Percy okay?"
Reyna looked away but gave the slightest of nods. Artemis had said that Reyna questioned Annabeth, but she didn't say how. There was just this look in Artemis' eyes though. Something else happened, but it wasn't good. Thalia looked down. She would get all of her answers at Camp Jupiter, hopefully.
