The two Amazons led Reyna to her older sister, Hylla. Hylla looked much better than she had the last time Reyna had seen her, which made sense given their last interaction had been during a battle. The golden belt of Hippolyta shone on Hylla's waist against her black jumpsuit as she stared down at her little sister from her throne. "Reyna, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Hylla asked.

Out of habit, Reyna's thumb traced over her silver ring. Her older sister had the same ring on her right hand, each with the symbol of Bellona engraved on it. "I need your help, Hylla."

Hylla looked amused. "What do you need?"

"A way of transporting the legion and its supplies to Long Island, New York. And quick transportation as well."

Hylla nodded. "I can probably make that happen. Why?"

"Mother asked the legion to wage war on the Greeks. We're following her orders."

Hylla sighed. "Mother, huh?" she asked. "I guess that I have to listen to her then." She inspected her nails for a moment. "All right, we'll help you on one condition."

At that, Reyna frowned at her older sister. Even when the war was literally divinely requested or whatever, Hylla wouldn't just help her out of the goodness of her heart or some semblance of sisterly affection. "Which is?"

"You come back safely and tell me in person that you won."

"Is that it?" Reyna asked in disbelief. "That's all you want in return?"

Hylla laughed. "No, I want you to give us half of the weapons you take from the Greeks. Deal?"

Reyna nodded, even as she did mental calculations. If there were approximately 300 Greek demigods at Camp Half-Blood, then... "Make it one-third and you have a deal."

"Two-fifths."

Reyna nodded again, and a slow smile crept onto her face. "Deal. Thank you, Hylla."

Her sister smiled. "I would offer you my warriors, but I doubt that some of them would fight the Greeks. Some are Greek demigods themselves. I couldn't ask them to fight their kin. I'm sure that you understand."

"Of course. Thank you for the transportation."

"It'll be by train, since flying is far more expensive for that many people. I can easily get the legion its own train for the way there and back."

Reyna smiled. "Thanks again, Hylla."

The two sisters hugged and then Reyna left. She walked back up to the roof and climbed onto Scipio. "Come on, boy. Let's get home."

By the time Scipio landed on the Field of Mars, it was almost time for dinner. Reyna sprinted to the mess and made it just before the cohorts arrived. She took her place beside Jason and began to fix her hair. Jason stopped her and brushed some of the strands behind her ear and out of her face. "There, all done."

"Thank you, Jason." Before they could say anything else, the cohorts arrived. It was an impressive sight, Reyna had always thought, seeing almost 200 legionnaires line up beside their comrades. And now that Percy Jackson, Hazel Levesque, and Frank Zhang had returned the eagle, it was even more impressive.

Reyna and Jason began the meal, and the legionnaires relaxed. They separated into their cohorts and ate loudly with their friends. The two praetors sat at their usual table overlooking the legion. "So, how was it?"

"She's getting us train transportation for the legion and our supplies in exchange for two things."

"What two things?" Jason asked. He placed his right hand on her left thigh, and even through the cloth of her jeans, she felt the warmth of his hand. "Are they something hard to give up?"

Reyna shook her head. "Not at all, actually. She wants us to give her two-fifths of the weapons we take from the Greeks and for me to return to her after the war in-person to tell her that I'm alive and well."

"That's way less than I expected," Jason commented as he used his thumb to rub circles on the top of her thigh.

Reyna nodded in agreement. She'd thought much the same. While she wanted to be able to write it off as sisterly affection or duty to their mother on Hylla's account…Reyna hadn't lived so long as a demigod without a healthy dose of paranoia. She shifted a bit in her seat when Jason's hand moved a bit higher on her thigh, but didn't do anything to dissuade him. "Me too. It's worrying. I can't help but wonder what she's planning."

Jason smiled at her. "Don't worry about it now, reginā bellā meā." (1) He moved his hand higher on her thigh and inward so that his thumb rubbed circles on her inner thigh. "I'll be there with you. We'll do it together."

Reyna smiled at him. "Of course." She returned her attention to her meal, and Jason did the same. After the meal was over and as the two walked towards their villas, Jason filled Reyna in on all that had happened.

"So we're going to have a reserve force of veterans follow us just in case anything happens and we need the extra troops. Former Praetors James and Livia volunteered to lead the veteran army directly in the fight, and former Centurions Gwen and Cassius volunteered to lead the reserve force."

"Good. That's a good idea to have a reserve force," Reyna praised. "Will there be enough troops behind to defend New Rome?"

Jason nodded. "Forty soldiers from the Fourth Cohort, a hundred veterans living in New Rome, and Lupa and her wolves will all be defending New Rome and Camp Jupiter. Plus Terminus, and he's practically a one-god army."

They reached the villas and entered the bath. This time, they didn't look away as the other undressed and stepped into the water. They did maintain eye contact, though. Once in the water, the two were serious. They didn't splash each other or play-fight in the water. Instead, Jason stood just behind Reyna and washed her back as Reyna washed her hair. Then, they switched. When they were done, they changed back into their clothes.

Instead of separating to their own villas, Jason followed Reyna inside of hers. Unlike his own villa, Reyna's was extremely tidy. The atrium was practically sparkling, and so were the wooden stairs leading up to her bedroom. The two ascended the stairs and stepped into Reyna's bedroom.

The walls were made of the same stone as the rest of the villa, but the floor was made of wood (just as it was in Jason's villa). The windows offered very little light as the sun was setting, but it did cast a faint glow on the room. While the praetorian villas were one of the only buildings in Camp Jupiter with electricity, Reyna didn't turn on the light. Instead, she merely stared at Jason. "What are you here for, Grace?" she asked softly.

Jason didn't reply with words. Instead, he stepped closer to her and unpinned her cloak. The heavy purple fabric slipped from her shoulders and fell down her back onto the floor. Next, Jason's hands began to take off Reyna's golden armor. This he set on the ground and leaned against the wall. As he walked back towards Reyna, he took off his own cloak and armor.

The two stood facing each other, both wearing jeans and a Camp Jupiter T-shirt. "What are you here for, Jason?" Reyna asked again.

Jason looked down into her eyes. Harsh dark blue met cold obsidian. "I think that we both know, Reyna." Her hair was loose and wet, so Jason didn't have to let it out of its usual braid. Instead, he ran his hands through the silky strands. "Or am I mistaken?"

Reyna smirked slightly. "You're not."

It was as if those two words were the gunshot which started a race. Jason leaned down and kissed her firmly, while Reyna wrapped her arms around his neck. Jason's right hand held her hip while his other arm wrapped around her waist. In slow, deliberate movements, Jason walked them back onto Reyna's bed.

He stopped kissing her as he set her down on the bed. Instead, he leaned over her until Reyna's back hit the mattress. Once he was settled on his elbows so that he wouldn't fall on top of her, Jason kissed her again. The next time they broke apart, Reyna took advantage of his distraction to flip them over. The daughter of Rome straddled him and he reached up to kiss her yet again.

Jason held Reyna firmly by the hips as her hands roamed his chest. When she tugged at the hem of his T-shirt, Jason disconnected with her only long enough to get rid of the piece of fabric separating them. He kissed her again and pulled her shirt up until it resembled an odd-looking scarf. He pulled away once more to take the shirt fully off of her.

When their lips reconnected, it felt like fire. Not the burning kind of fire which threatened to destroy Jason's home, but a warm fire which sparked as new logs were added to the embers. Reyna tilted her hips against his, and he groaned.

Finally, as they kissed, Reyna's hands trailed down to the waistband of his jeans. Her nimble fingers toyed with the button for several long moments. To keep his guise of being calm and collected, Jason slipped his fingers between the waistband of Reyna's jeans and her warm skin. Again, she gasped at the feeling.

"Are you sure about this?" He breathed into her ear.

"Of course I am," she replied back in a breathy tone. "Are you?"

"Semper, bellā" (2).

Hello! Thank you so much for reading, please review and tell me your thoughts! I know I missed updating on Saturday...something was wonky with server for some reason. But all seems to be fixed now, thank goodness!

~Nerd

1. "My beautiful queen"

2. "Always, beautiful"