Annabeth stared at the ground in front of her. Hearing what Bellona had done to her mother disgusted her and made her sick to her stomach. The fact that Reyna not only heard about it but saw it also disturbed Annabeth. But, the worst part was when she looked Reyna in the eyes and asked if Reyna would do the same to her, and the daughter of Bellona didn't give her a straight answer.

A sigh left Annabeth. They have spent another hour at the hotel after their talk. Reyna had showered, and Annabeth tried to help her. Reyna wouldn't meet her eyes and just silently took the help. From there, she had helped Reyna changed into new clothes and let her eat the rest of her food. Hazel tried more healing under the instructions of Reyna, and they made a little more progress.

Their plan was to drive straight to Florida, with Annabeth and Reyna trading off. Reyna's left arm had been healed, so she was only driving with one hand. The other rested in her lap, but Annabeth saw her trying to move her broken fingers every so often. It usually ended with Reyna tensed and in pain.

It would have been easy to call for Pegasi or take a plane, but even if a Pegasus would agree to let Hazel ride, they couldn't exactly fly in the sky with Jupiter wanting Reyna's head. Reyna immediately shut down the idea of shadow travel. Driving was the safest thing for them to do, excluding just heading back to their camps and forgetting this ever happened.

With Nerio gone, would Jupiter send someone else after them? Would he just wait and see? And, what about Pluto? Would he send the Furies after them again or have faith that his daughter could handle her own? Not to mention Carmina. The mortal would be back, and she would be prepared next time.

Part of Annabeth regretted going on this quest. She just wished that she had never gone to the museum that day. The other part of her, the part that won out, told her that she just had to trust Reyna. They were friends, and Reyna would never hurt her. Hopefully.

"How do you feel?" Annabeth asked softly. She glanced behind her. Hazel was curled up in backseat and was asleep. Reyna glanced at her but remained silent, just like she had for the entire car ride. They were almost to Florida. "Reyna, will you just talk to me? I know you feel terrible because of what your mother did, but please just calm down. I don't blame you for any of it."

"I feel like shit," Reyna muttered. She stared out the window. "Hylla is hurt, because of me. She lost her finger because I'm a coward."

"You're not a coward," Annabeth said. Reyna shook her head and glanced down at her hand. "Reyna, Bellona is a psychopath. Whatever she does isn't your fault."

"I wouldn't call myself a psychopath," Bellona commented. Annabeth tensed and slowly looked behind her. Bellona was sitting in the backseat and staring down at Hazel. Ichor covered Bellona's face. Annabeth glanced at Reyna. The praetor was gripping the steering wheel tightly and had gone pale.

"This is taking forever," Bellona commented. She leaned forward and studied the two of them. Her eyes met Annabeth's. "Reyna, you're suppose to be coming home, but you keep wasting time. Do I have to cut off another of Hylla's limbs?"

"Don't," Reyna whispered, and she tensed completely. Her hand gripped the steering wheel. "We're coming to you now. Just please leave Hylla alone."

"Begging. From a Roman. Pathetic," Bellona whispered. She lazily moved her finger to the left, and Annabeth almost yelled as the steering wheel jerked to the left, and they just about spun out. Reyna grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and tried to keep the steering wheel straight. Annabeth reached over to help. "Don't."

"You're going to crash the car and set us back more," Annabeth snapped. She looked at Reyna and whispered under her breath. "Brakes."

"I can't," Reyna hissed. She continued to struggle to straighten the steering wheel. Bellona watched them. "Stop this, Bellona."

"Make me," Bellona said. She flicked her finger to the right. Reyna yelled in pain, and her right hand recoiled. Her left hand gripped the steering wheel, as she visibly struggled to keep it from moving anymore. Annabeth glanced to their right and saw that they were getting dangerously close to the guardrail. "Unleash that wrath."

Reyna slowly grabbed the steering wheel with her right hand and forced it back into a neutral position. Bellona smirked and lowered her finger. The car slowed, and Reyna pulled over. She gripped her wrist and cursed at her mother. Annabeth stared at Bellona. Why did the goddess continue to appear to them and taunt them?

"I never understood this Greek and Roman divide. The Romans conquered the Greeks and remade the gods in their own image. Instead of rolling over and allowing themselves to die, the Greeks held on. Just like your mother did," Bellona said with a cold grin. Annabeth shivered and looked away.

"Holding on meant that the world could not evolve. The Greeks are weak, and they allowed their weakness to permeate the world. Even when the Greeks were on top of the world, they were divided. City-states clashed with each other until they came together under a league, but even then, they were just dividing themselves into battle lines. The one time all of Greece came together was when Persia was knocking at the door. Three hundred men got the credit of nations. One fleet got the credit that belonged to many."

"The Greeks should have just embraced their weakness and faded like their gods. Instead, we're going to have to wipe them out," Bellona said. She grabbed Reyna's shoulder. "Isn't that right?"

"Just leave," Reyna muttered. She visibly tensed, and Bellona smiled. "What do you want from me?"

"For you to come home," Bellona whispered. Her eyes focused on Annabeth. "And, bring your friends. I am going to have fun with the centurion, and you, Annabeth Chase, oh you are going to be screaming worse than your mother did."

"Leave her alone," Reyna snapped. Annabeth stared in Bellona's eyes. The world around Annabeth started to change, and she found herself in a temple. She heard screams. Annabeth unwillingly looked at the scene, but as she started to, she blinked and found herself back in the car.

Bellona's head was facing the side, and her nose looked crooked. Reyna had turned around in her seat and was slowly retracting her hand. It occurred to Annabeth that Reyna had punched her mother in the face. Reyna tried to move away, but Bellona grabbed her shirt and pulled her close. Bellona grabbed Reyna's broken wrist and gripped it tightly.

"I told you to unlock your wrath, and you're starting to. Why do you keep hesitating?" Bellona asked. Reyna didn't answer. Annabeth heard a crack, and Reyna hissed in pain. Bellona visibly tightened her grip. Reyna buried her face against the seat and whimpered in pain. "Does a broken wrist really hurt that much? You mortals are pathetic."

"Leave Reyna alone," Annabeth said, finally finding her voice. She forced herself to meet Bellona's eyes. "We're already playing your game. What else could you want from us?"

"You just can't understand, Annabeth Chase. I am testing my daughter. She has proven her cowardice long ago," Bellona hissed. "Back in my day, a Roman didn't let a broken wrist stop them. They just switched the hand the held the sword and continued on. They didn't allow feelings to get in the way of the job being done. They did not turn their back on their family."

Bellona tightened her grip even more, and the cracks that Annabeth heard chilled her to the bone, almost as much as Reyna's yell. Then, a sword appeared in her vision, cutting into Bellona's arm. Bellona blinked a few times, and a sword was placed under her chin. Hazel spoke, "Let her go."

"Hazel. Don't," Reyna hissed.

"You should listen to your praetor," Bellona said. She smiled coldly. "You did just attack an immortal after all, and I will kill you for that."

"Bellona stop," Reyna said. Bellona sneered and shoved her away. Reyna suddenly threw herself into the backseat and stabbed her own sword into Bellona's shoulder. "Go! Now!"

Annabeth darted out of the car and moved to the backseat. She pulled Hazel out and started to drag her away. Hazel spoke, "We can't leave Reyna. We have to help her!"

"Bellona was just baiting you," Annabeth said. She tried to run with Hazel. "She wanted you to attack her, so she could hurt you without consequences.

"I am not leaving Reyna. I won't," Hazel protested.

"We have to," Annabeth said. She glanced back at the car and tried to look inside, but she didn't see anything. A cold feeling settled in Annabeth's gut. She stopped running and slowly turned back towards the car. Annabeth walked towards it and glanced inside. A sick feeling settled in Annabeth's gut; Bellona and Reyna were gone.