"Are we ready for this?" Reyna asked. She slowly put on her leather coat and checked all of her weapons. There was still a slight ache in her head, but it wasn't going to stop her from completing the last leg of the journey. A hand grabbed her arm.
"Of course we are," Hylla asked. She rubbed Reyna's shoulder and looked at her. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," Reyna answered. She slowly stuck her hands in her pocket and rubbed her coins. A soft sigh left her. Hylla led her out of the room, and they slowly made their way towards the ship. Everyone else was already on the ship and making their final checks.
"Good," Hylla said. She suddenly stopped walking and looked at Reyna. "I've been thinking for a while now. Ever since you were gone really. And, I'm sorry. I have been treating you like a child but also wanting you to act like an adult. I'm sorry about that, but it's going to be different now."
"Different how?" Reyna questioned. Hylla continued to walk towards the docks. Reyna was forced to follow, and they walked in silence. It wasn't until they made it to Hylla's ship that Hylla came to another stop. Her hand grabbed Reyna's shoulder, and she turned her towards one of their ships.
"It needs a captain," Hylla said. Reyna's eyes widened, and she slowly looked at Hylla. Her older sister smiled at her. "I'm not just going to hand you the ship of course. But, it's yours after you are done training."
"A captain," Reyna repeated. She looked at her sister. Hylla just smiled. "Why?"
"Because you're ready for it," Hylla answered. Reyna turned and hugged her sister tightly. Hylla hugged her back. "After we're done with the island, you're going to train with me to be a captain. Isabella will train you afterward and then will shadow you for your first few months as captain. You do have to find me a damn good replacement for your position. Who is going to replace you?"
"No one is going to be as good as me. Obviously," Reyna boasted as she pulled away. "I'm going to make you proud, Hylla. I promise."
"I'm already proud," Hylla said. Reyna hugged her sister again and buried her face in Hylla's chest. She tried to keep herself from crying. "I love you, Reyna "
"I love you too," Reyna whispered. She swallowed painfully and tried to blink away tears. Reyna cleared her throat. "Are we going to get moving, or are you going to keep wasting time?"
"Shut up," Hylla said. She gently kissed Reyna's forehead and then playfully shoved her away. Reyna grinned and followed her sister onto the ship. "I also messaged Kinzie recently."
"And?" Reyna asked. The answer hit her a moment later, and a blush came to her face. "It's not my fault. Isabella set me up. She told me that you messaged Kinzie. How was I supposed to know what I was walking into?"
"Did you enjoy looking?" Hylla asked. Reyna's face burned as a blush came to it, and she shoved her sister. Hylla grinned and made it to the middle of the ship. She started shouting out orders. Reyna went to help, but Hylla gave her a look. Reyna stopped in her tracks. She technically wasn't supposed to be doing any work for another day or two.
Reyna sighed and crossed her arms. A small smile was on her face as she looked over at the ship that would become her own. Reyna wanted to become captain for so long now, and she had finally earned it. The smile grew.
"Hey, Reyna. How are you feeling?" Nico asked. Reyna glanced at him and uncrossed her arms.
"I'm good. I feel a lot better," Reyna answered. "How are you guys? I don't think I checked in."
"We're fine," Nico said. He looked down. Reyna frowned and moved closer to him. "I feel terrible about attacking you while I was under Circe's charmspeak."
"It's cool," Reyna said with a small shrug. She started to walk towards the stairs. "I don't even remember anyway, so how can I be mad?"
"It's just the fact that I almost killed you. If Piper hadn't made it into the room, I would have stabbed you," Nico said. Reyna walked down the stairs and then looked at him.
"But, you didn't. And Circe won't bother us anymore. You have nothing to worry about," Reyna said. Nico looked down and nodded. Reyna placed a hand on his shoulder. "The only thing that matters is that we're on the way to rescue your friend. Stop feeling bad."
"I'll try," Nico began. Reyna looked at him and smirked. She walked towards her office with Nico in tow. "After this is all over, what are you going to do?"
"Just enjoy my time as a pirate," Reyna said, and the smile almost came back to her face. She forced herself to not smile, and she made it to her office. Reyna stopped walking and saw that Kendall was sitting inside the office. Upon hearing them, Kendall turned her head.
"Quartermaster, I just wanted to talk alone," Kendall began. Reyna nodded and glanced at Nico. The son of Hades gave her a nod and walked away. Reyna walked around her desk and sat down. She cursed as she saw all of the paperwork.
"What did you want to talk about?" Reyna asked. She shoved most of the paperwork aside and propped her legs up on her desk. After their conversation, Reyna hadn't been in any shape to chase after Kendall. She just ate the soup that Hylla gave her, and she passed out after that. Kendall also avoided her.
"I wanted to apologize," Kendall began. She met Reyna's eyes but quickly looked away. "Just kissing you like that not once but twice was immature of me. Storming away was worse. I don't regret admitting that I have a crush on you, but I regret how I went about it. I hope you can forgive me."
"I do forgive you, Kendall. Just know that I don't return your feelings," Reyna said. Kendall nodded and went to stand. "Wait."
Kendall turned back towards Reyna but didn't say anything. Reyna spoke, "I do still want to be your friend. If it's too hard, I understand."
"I'll just need some time," Kendall said. She looked at Reyna. "And for the record, I thought you made a great captain. It's a dream of yours, right?"
"It has been ever since I became a pirate," Reyna admitted. "As terrifying as it was to be under Blackbeard's thumb, I always thought about how cool it would be to become a pirate captain. Leading my own crew and making a name for myself is all I have wanted."
"I'm sure you'll be a captain sooner than you think," Kendall said. Reyna barely stopped herself from smirking. Kendall didn't know how right she was. "You'll need someone to have your back, even if it's just as a quartermaster or a trusted aide."
Reyna glanced at Kendall. She had always been so loyal to them, and who would be better to watch Reyna's back? Kendall still had a lot of training to be a quartermaster, but considering that Reyna would have to build her crew when she became captain, this would be a good start.
"Yeah. I would like that," Reyna said. She relaxed and studied Kendall. "We'll meet back here tomorrow for some quartermaster training."
"Here's to a bright future captain," Kendall said with a smile. She raised an imaginary glass. Reyna smiled back and raised her own imaginary glass. A small laugh left Kendall, and she sat back in the chair. Reyna sat back as well and relaxed.
The relaxing lasted about two seconds before someone knocked on the door. Reyna sighed and looked at the door. Arke looked back at her. There was a scowl on the goddess' face, and one of her hands was stroking the tip of her wing.
"Reyna, how are you feeling?" Arke asked. She turned her head and looked at her wings. Then, she made a shushing noise. "They are friends. Stop that."
"Who are you talking to?" Kendall slowly asked. Arke gave her a look.
"My wings, of course. Who else would I be talking to?" Arke questioned.
"Your wings talk to you?" Reyna questioned. Arke's wings seemed to flap, and an annoyed look came to Arke's face. She rubbed her wingtip again. "Is that normal?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Arke muttered. Reyna exchanged looks with Kendall. "You never answered my question. How are you feeling?"
"Better," Reyna replied. Arke nodded and focused on Reyna.
"Did Circe hurt you? Why would my friend hurt my other friend?" Arke wondered. Her eyes focused on her wings, and she stroked them once again.
"I think she wanted Nico to kill me. Hylla told me the story a few times, and Nico did as well. I still don't remember anything," Reyna said. Arke nodded. "But, I'm fine now. That's all that matters."
"Yes," Arke muttered. "To the island. And what becomes of us after that?"
"I figured that we would go our separate ways," Reyna said with a shrug. Arke nodded, and a dark look came to her eyes. "I'm sure we can visit each other though. You are a goddess after all."
"Yes," Arke said, and the dark look disappeared. She smiled and walked towards Reyna. Compared to when they had first met, Arke seemed saner now. She no longer bled golden ichor from her back, and her dress was clean. It was now a dark black, but it was the natural color and not from decades of built-up dirt.
"But, my wings do tell me that something evil is on the horizon," Arke said. She looked Reyna in the eyes. "Be wary, quartermaster. Death is coming."
