When Reyna came back to full consciousness, she wasn't quite sure where she was. It felt like her arms were wrapped around something solid and warm. Her right wrist burned in pain, and someone was holding on tightly to her left arm. Reyna's legs refused to work normally, so it felt like she was being held up and carried by two others.
Reyna tried to lift her head, but pain shot through her body. Every single breath caused horrible pain. All she wanted to do was pass back out, but her pulse was racing. It felt like she was about to go into battle. Was bloodlust kicking in? Did it even matter with how badly she was injured?
The ground beneath her changed from marble to concrete, and she felt sun beating down on her back. Someone let go of left arm, and a cry almost left her as pain exploded in her wrist. Her knees went weak, and she collapsed against the other person. Reyna felt the person struggle to hold her, and they both ended up hitting the ground.
Reyna blinked a few times and stared down at the concrete. Her eyes flickered over to the person near her. Hylla was on her knees and gripping her head with one hand. The other hand was clenched into a fist and pressed against the ground. It seemed like the bloodlust was hitting Hylla as well.
"I'm going to shadow travel both of you," Hazel said. Reyna's eyes moved up to her centurion. There was a determined look on her face. Hazel looked exhausted and shaky. How long had Reyna been out of it? Did they shadow travel there?
Reyna tried to shift and felt a spasm run through her body. Being electrocuted by the labrys was probably one of the worst things to happen to her, and her mother didn't stop. She just kept pressing it harder and harder into Reyna's broken ribs, laughing every time that Reyna screamed.
A hand gently grabbed Reyna's arm, snapping her out of the painful memory. Reyna's eyes met Hazel's. After a moment, Hazel spoke, "It's going to be okay. I'm going to get the two of you out of here."
Reyna managed a nod, but another spasm ran through her body. She whimpered in pain and rested her face on the ground. Hazel gently grabbed her arm and tried to help her stand. Someone spoke, "I told you that you and your mother would not be able to run from the consequence anymore."
It took a moment for Reyna to find the strength to lift her head. An armored figure was standing across the street from them. He wore a set of golden armor, but it had something that looked like black ink thrown all over it. One of his eyes was red, and the other was black.
"Who are you?" Hazel demanded. She stood in front of Reyna and held out her sword. Reyna felt a change in the air, and she sensed the fire before it could appear. Reyna grabbed Hazel and shoved her to the ground, collapsing next to her as she did. Fire flew over their heads.
"Why don't you three just step away from the building?" Carmina asked. Reyna rolled onto her back and tried to sit up, but the pain in her chest drove her back to the ground. She bit back a whimper and studied the mortal. Carmina watched her with hateful eyes. "I will not be stopped again, so get out of the way."
"Go back home, Carmina. This doesn't involve you," Hylla snapped. She tried to stand, but she only ended up gripping her head more. A loud curse left her. Carmina shook her head. There was a sad but determined look in her eyes. Reyna swallowed painfully. Even if she could use magic, she didn't have the strength to. And, Hylla hadn't practice magic too much either, hoping to keep it close to her chest in case someone challenged her as queen.
"I don't want to hurt you, Hylla. I didn't want to hurt Reyna either, but you two have forced my hand. You two have brought this upon yourselves," Carmina said. She looked at the man near her. "I still get Annabeth Chase?"
"My quarrel is not with her," the man answered. He leveled his sword at Reyna. "You stole my weapon, and you gave it to your mother."
Reyna wanted to protest that she didn't, but she felt a new wave of energy run through her. There was a ringing in her ears. Reyna hissed and felt the colors starting to run together into red, but she couldn't let the bloodlust take over. Not now.
Hylla growled and made it to her feet. She spoke, "Leave us alone. We had nothing to do with our mother's plot."
"Yet, you stand outside of her sacred place and are powered by her. I can feel her strength running through you," the man said. Reyna wracked her brain for a name, and she slowly looked up. He wanted his weapon back. Was this Pallas? He was suppose to have been destroyed during the war between the Olympians and Titans or locked away in Tartarus with the rest of the Titans. "I am going to make you two pay."
"Asshole, we're not with our mother!" Hylla snapped. "If we were with our mother, would they be dragging us out of here? Wouldn't we be helping her fight Athena? Would our mother have tortured us? You're an idiot!"
"I will break your neck first," Pallas decided. He stepped forward. Reyna tried to struggle to her feet, but she felt weak and lightheaded. Pain shot through her body, but it was quickly dulled by adrenaline. Her strength was rapidly coming back.
Reyna knew what her mother wanted. She was going to give them strength and then force their bloodlust to kick in. They would either kill or maim Hazel, and if there was anything left of Hazel, she would be brought back to Bellona. Then, they would help Bellona with Athena and Annabeth.
Reyna gritted her teeth and dug her fists into the ground. They couldn't afford this. If they did shadow travel, Annabeth and Athena would be alone against Bellona, Pallas, and Carmina. She didn't doubt that Bellona would exchange the labrys for a chance to torture Athena. And, Carmina would do terrible things to Annabeth.
Anger filled Reyna's veins. She knew it was the bloodlust, and that only caused her to panic. Reyna needed to stay focused. She slowly lifted her hand and tried to make fire. If she could make that fire, she could ignore the bloodlust and help her friends. A small flame appeared, but it disappeared just as quick.
A glance to her side showed that Hylla wasn't fairing much better. Carmina was firing off different spells at Hazel, who had no clue how to counter and was just trying to dodge. Pallas studied them and then walked towards Reyna. There was nothing Reyna could do as she was grabbed her by neck and pulled to her feet.
"Leave her alone," Hylla snarled, and she stood. Her pupil's were turning red, and the rest of her eye was turning black.
"Hylla, just fight the bloodlust. You can't lose control," Reyna hissed, even though she knew that she was rapidly losing her own battle. Her world was dissolving into red, but what would happen if they lost control? How many people would they hurt, and what kind of position would they be in when they woke again?
"Guess we'll have to even the odds," Pallas hissed, and he threw Reyna back into the building. Reyna yelled as her body hit the ground hard, and she slid across the room. Pained breaths left her, and she slowly tried to roll onto her stomach. A foot slammed directly into her side. Reyna let out a strangled gasp of pain. "Why don't you help your mother get rid of the pests? I'll be back for you after that."
Reyna hissed as she was pulled to her feet. Then, Pallas shoved her towards the stairs. Reyna tried to catch her balance, but a foot slammed into her chest, sending her tumbling down the stairs. When Reyna made it to the bottom, a moan escaped her.
Reyna's eyes began to drift close. She was going to pass out, and the bloodlust was going to take over. If she was lucky, she would wake up to a destroyed mother, but Reyna knew better. She wasn't lucky. When she woke, Athena was going to be destroyed. Hazel and Annabeth would be dead, and all it did was anger Reyna.
Why did Bellona insist on ruining the lives of her daughters? Why couldn't she just rot in Tartarus or just be content with being a goddess of war? The Romans already greatly revered her. Why did she need more power? More adrenaline ran through Reyna's body, and anger flooded her.
Reyna unwillingly made it to her feet. Her mother always said to let anger fuel her. Reyna wanted to let that anger fuel her into destroying Bellona. As she made it towards the door, her knees gave out on her. Reyna collapsed against the door frame and looked into the room.
Bellona was fighting a two front war between Athena and Annabeth, and she wasn't handling it well. Athena was forcing Bellona back on the defensive, and Annabeth was behind Bellona hitting her with small jabs and slashes that caused Bellona to repeatedly turn and attempt to block the blows, which allowed Athena to get hits in.
Bellona suddenly darted backwards and into a wall. She looked at Reyna and spoke, "Help me. Prove your strength."
"You shouldn't be here," Athena stated. Reyna slowly looked at the goddess of wisdom. She wanted to shout that she knew that, but it wasn't exactly her decision to be thrown down the stairs and end up only feet away from the fight. It wasn't her decision to be thrown into this stupid war her mother caused.
"Reyna, are you okay?" Annabeth asked. Reyna met Annabeth's eyes, but she felt the red taking over more of her vision. She could barely make out their faces now, but she did watch Athena pull Annabeth backwards protectively.
"You've been holding your emotions in for too long. It is time to let that wrath out," Bellona stated, and she snapped her fingers. Reyna hissed and felt a pressure in her head. The screams of war filled her head, and she collapsed to the ground. A whimper of pain left her, but it sounded more like a growl of anger. "Let. It. Out. Prove your strength!"
"Reyna, don't listen to her," Annabeth called. "You are strong! Anger isn't what makes you strong. It doesn't motivate you! What motivates you is your love for Camp Jupiter and New Rome, for your friends! That is why you crossed the world to help me based off of one note. That is why you helped Nico and Hedge deliver my mother's statue. That is why you brought peace."
"Your mother may be a destroyer of peace, but you don't have to be. You secured a peace between camps that will rival the Pax Romana! Anger didn't let you do that. If you gave into anger, we would be at war!" Annabeth continued.
"We would be stronger," Bellona snapped. "The strong would rise, and the weak would fall. Do not try and turn my daughter against me."
Reyna gripped her head with both hands and dug her nails in. She just needed the voices to stop. The bloodlust had to stop. Bellona spoke, "Don't listen to them. You are a Roman. You are meant to destroy!"
"In your archaic world, they may be destroyers, but I chose to bless Reyna with my aegis for a reason. She is a hero and does not deserve to be corrupted by you anymore," Athena stated/ Reyna felt herself getting more and more frustrated. She was trying to focus her thoughts on anything but the bloodlust. Fighting it was hard enough, and she just wanted to give in to the pain and anger.
But, Annabeth didn't deserve her anger. Annabeth stood by her, even when Reyna didn't tell her the whole story. Reyna lied to her and led her on, but Annabeth still traveled all the way to Puerto Rico. Annabeth knew what Bellona would do to her, but she was still facing off against the goddess.
Hazel was so sweet and innocent. She didn't deserve to have Reyna's anger turned on her. Hazel hadn't judged her for anything or even looked at her differently. Despite the fact that her father was Pluto, she was the perfect example of a Roman.
Reyna lowered her hands and stared down at them. She forced herself to focus on not only her anger but her gratitude for her friends, her shame of hiding things from them, her disgust at her mother, and her fear of failing. She took a shaky breath, and a small flame appeared in her hand. Reyna focused on trying to keep it going.
A hand suddenly grabbed her injured wrist, and Reyna hissed as Bellona pulled her to a standing position. Reyna focused the fire in her other hand, and she slammed it directly into Bellona's face. The goddess howled in pain, and she stumbled backwards, letting go of Reyna.
Reyna landed on her feet, but a fist slammed directly into the middle of her rib cage. She collapsed against her mother, and Bellona spoke, "I have gave you opportunity after opportunity, and you have failed. I'm going to kill you."
Something slammed into Bellona, driving the goddess to the side. Reyna collapsed to the ground and curled up on her side. She tried to calm her breathing down. At the same time, she moved her hand in front of her and focused on creating a flame in her hand. All she could do was focus on that and hope that she would skip over slipping into bloodlust and just pass out. Or die. Both of them sounded rather appealing at the moment. Reyna took a pained breath and focused on the flame. Hopefully, her friends could handle Bellona and Pallas.