"We have a problem," Jason said as he shoved open the door. Nico sighed and slowly opened his eyes. He was laying back on his bed and had been relaxing. Now, he was just stressed out. Neither Jason nor Nico were happy about not being allowed on the island. Why were Piper and Reyna going alone?

From all of the stories that Nico heard, Circe was a dangerous person. And while he didn't always trust stories, it didn't make him feel any better that most of the pirates stayed below deck. The few that had gone above made a gesture of warding off evil. Yet, Reyna and Piper were just walking into the belly of the beast.

"Problem?" Nico asked. He looked at Jason. The son of Jupiter watched him with wide eyes. "What is it?"

"It's Arke, she's gone," Jason answered. Nico stared at him. They had one, literally one, job. It was to watch Arke and make sure she didn't step foot onto the island. They didn't know if Circe would try to use her, and Nico still didn't think they could trust Arke. The goddess had a few screws loose.

"How did you lose her?" Nico demanded. He stood and glared down Jason. All he wanted to do was relax, but he never seemed to be able to do that around Jason.

"You were supposed to help me look after her," Jason began. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Nico stared at him.

"It was my turn to take a break," Nico interrupted. "It hasn't even been five minutes! How did you lose her in five minutes?"

"I walked into the room, and she was gone. All I did was step out to relieve myself," Jason claimed. Nico groaned and hurried out of the room. Jason followed behind him. The two made it above deck, and Nico ran towards the railing. His eyes widened as he saw that Arke was running away from the docks.

"Arke!" Jason yelled. The goddess did not indicate that she had heard. "Come back!"

"We have to chase her down," Nico said. He sighed tiredly and placed both hands to his face. Jason nodded his agreement, but he looked reluctant. The two rushed down the gangplank. The rest of the pirates were below deck, so hopefully, no one would see them.

The two of them made it onto the docks, and they started to run after Arke. Nico wished they could sneak off the ship and then sneak onto the island, but Arke ruined all of that by being a crazy woman. If a regular mortal saw this scene, they would think that Arke was a prisoner trying to escape captivity.

Arke disappeared behind a hut. Jason pushed ahead of Nico and went around to cut her off. Nico let out an angry breath. He wasn't a runner, and this was just pure torture. As he made it around the hut, he found Jason and Arke.

The goddess was in a crouched position and cradling her wings. Nico stopped by them and tried to breathe normally. He spoke, "What is your problem?"

"The wings told me to come to the island," Arke whispered. She cradled the wings close and cooed at them. Jason exchanged looks with Nico. While Nico knew that Arke was crazy, he didn't realize that she was legitimately insane.

"Why did the wings tell you to come here?" Jason asked. He heard footsteps and turned his head. Nico stared at the three females that stood in front of him. The one in the middle caught his attention.

"Circe!" Arke exclaimed. She jumped to her feet and hugged the middle woman tightly. "I haven't seen you in so long!"

"Arke. It is a pleasure," Circe said, but her nose crinkled. She had a look of disgust on her face. Arke was too busy hugging Circe to see how repulsed the witch was. "Did the pirates hurt you?"

"No. Reyna is my friend," Arke said. Nico moved his hand to his sword. Circe glanced at Nico and smiled coldly.

"Reyna? Is Hylla not here?" Circe asked. Arke pulled away and quickly shook her head. "Interesting. Why don't you have lunch with me?"

"Oh, I'm not supposed to leave the ship," Arke said. "Reyna will be very upset."

"I'm sure she will understand," Circe said, and she turned on Nico and Jason. "Bring your male friends with you. I believe we can all have a nice, long talk."


Piper glanced at Reyna, but she could tell that the pirate was still fuming. Reyna paced back and forth, dragging one of her cutlasses in the sand. It created a line, but she just kept pacing, never lifting the blade from the ground.

"Reyna, are you okay?" Piper asked quietly. Reyna finally stopped pacing and looked up at her. There was a scowl on her face and anger in her eyes. Reyna looked away and started to go back to pacing, but Piper grabbed her.

"I'm fine," Reyna muttered.

"You're a bad liar," Piper said softly. Reyna lifted her cutlass, and Piper quickly backed away. Reyna sighed and sheathed her weapon. "I can help you, Reyna. What's the plan?"

"There is no plan," Reyna muttered. She sat on the sand and brought her knees to her chest. Reyna wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her face in her knees. "I swore on the River Styx to attack Circe, and I'm going to destroy our trade relations with her."

"Have you ever made Marcus swear on the River Styx?" Piper asked. Reyna didn't answer. Piper sighed and leaned back in the sand. After a minute of silence, she laid back on the sand and tried to relax.

"No," Reyna finally answered. She laid next to Piper and stared at the sky. "What does it matter? He has me trapped. There is nothing I can do to get out of this."

"Marcus says that he knows how you like to swear on the River Styx," Piper began. She glanced at Reyna. "How would he know that if you never made him swear on the River Styx?"

"He probably heard it from one of our contacts," Reyna muttered. She placed both hands to her face and made a frustrated noise.

"Why did you call her Cici?" Piper asked. She had a theory forming, but she needed more information from Reyna. It was just a matter if the pirate would shut down or not.

"That's what she calls herself to the outside world. She can't advertise that she is some ancient evil witch," Reyna answered. She sighed and went to sit up, but Piper stopped her.

"Just relax," Piper said softly. Reyna looked at her and slowly laid back down. She rested her arms behind her head.

"I fucked up," Reyna said after a few moments. "I let Marcus completely walk over me. Now, I have to help him destroy Circe's spa, but I need her magic to reattach Arke's wings. What am I going to do?"

"They were ready for us," Piper said. "Circe said they have been a thorn in her side for a while, but she is now just dealing with them. How were they ready? How was Marcus right there?"

"What are you suggesting?" Reyna questioned. She rested her elbows against the sand and slowly sat up. Her eyes focused on Piper.

"I think he has a spy in Circe's spa," Piper began. She had been thinking over the theory ever since they left Marcus' side of the island. "It has to be part of the reason why no amount of money can convince those suppliers. The spy tells Marcus who Circe is trying to convince, and he pays more. How else would he know what slaves or supplies to steal?"

"It would make sense," Reyna muttered. "Marcus was a slave, and I am sure that he caused an attendant to fall for his charms. Not all of the attendants are happy with their lives. They don't have a choice other than to serve Circe."

"And, Marcus knew that you were trying to reattach Arke's wings. Have you told anyone else, or did one of your contacts tell him?" Piper asked. Reyna shook her head. "That means Marcus has to have a spy. How do we proceed?"

Reyna sighed and slowly stood. She offered a hand to Piper. After a moment, Piper grabbed onto Reyna's hand and was pulled to her feet. The two studied each other for a long, quiet moment.

"I don't have a choice. I have to help Marcus, or something terrible is going to happen," Reyna answered. She looked at Piper. "We have to get Circe alone and tell her of the spy. From there, I don't know what to do."

"We'll figure it out," Piper promised. She gently grabbed Reyna's arm.

"Gods, I wish you weren't dating Jason," Reyna muttered. Piper stared at her, and Reyna tensed. A blush quickly came to her face, and she seemed to realize that she had spoken out loud. "Come on. Let's go."

"Yeah," Piper said after a moment. Reyna turned and quickly started to walk. Piper stayed where she was for a few seconds. Then, she shook her head and followed after the pirate.