This was it. After everything that they had gone through, it was all going to be worth it. They were almost at the island, and soon, they would be reunited with Leo. The quest would be over, and Nico would go back to Camp Half-Blood. Or, he would help Reyna.

Nico slowly looked around the ship. Isabella's crew wasn't that large, but they were well trained and knew what to do without being told. At a glance from Isabella, they rushed to do something. It was like they had been doing this their whole life, and from the looks of some of them, they had.

Arke was standing on the bowsprit. She didn't seem to mind that there was only a small rod between her feet and the water. Her hands were held up in front of her, and she was saying something in an old language. Piper and Jason stood nearby like they would be able to offer up help.

Nico stood behind most of Isabella's crew. Everyone was watching in anticipation to see if they really could find this fabled island, and Nico wished that they could If this all turned out to be wrong, what were they going to do? Their quest would be at an end, and Leo would be stuck.

"You have it?" Jason asked Piper. She nodded and looked up at him. Piper reached into her pocket and pull out a small square. Nico frowned. That was definitely not the list of tools that Leo gave Nico in his dream.

"What is that?" Isabella questioned as she made it to their side. Her eyes looked over the square, and she looked unimpressed.

"This is Leo's tools. When we flip the switch, it will expand into a crate that holds all of the items that Leo needs. It's a one time use though," Piper said. "Leo is going to use it to repair Festus."

"We're just dropping you off then?" Isabella questioned. She raised an eyebrow. "Nothing else?"

"Without the rod, I don't know," Jason admitted. Isabella scoffed and turned away. Her gaze focused on someone. Nico turned around as well and saw Reyna. She was by the wheel of the ship and leaning against the railing. Reyna's face was expressionless.

Nico wasn't sure how to feel about Reyna. He was delighted that Reyna was still alive, but he couldn't feel anything from her. Nico sensed that she was dead, but she was standing right in front of him. Her dogs acted like everything was normal. Why did it feel wrong then?

Reyna hadn't talked to the Greeks since they found her at the bar. She just went to a room with Isabella and only came out now. Nico knew that Reyna was grieving. He knew that she was hurting. Was the pain so bad that it burrowed down into her soul and killed it? Was that why he couldn't sense her.

Nico heard a yell and quickly turned around. He stared as he saw that there was ichor pouring from Arke's arms. She held her hands out over the ship, and her blood fell from her arms and into the sea. Nico slowly made his way towards the goddess. All of the pirates were watching entranced.

Arke shouted something else, and the ichor that fell into the water snaked across the sea and suddenly came to a stop. It started to rise from the water. Everyone watched in silence as more of Arke's blood hit the water, and continued to rise. The ichor didn't stop until it was a ten feet tall wall. Then, it fell away.

Nothing in front of them looked different. Arke looked back and spoke, "Let us go."

"Go where?" Isabella questioned. She looked incredulous and was staring at Arke. Piper and Jason were both staring at the goddess.

"Straight ahead," Reyna answered. Nico jumped and turned his head. Reyna stood right next to him, but he hadn't heard her move. "Now."

The rest of the crew rushed to raise the sail and move the ship forward. Reyna walked towards the railing and leaned on it. Isabella moved to her side and turned her back to the railing to lean on it. Her arms crossed, and she stared at Nico.

Nico stared back at her. He wanted to look away, but he felt like Isabella might actually stab him. She didn't seem to like him ever since he suggested that Reyna might be dead. Isabella finally looked at Reyna and said something. Reyna didn't react.

Nico watched the ship move forward. Nothing happened, and he felt disappointed. Was Arke just stringing them along the entire time? What were they going to do now? Nico opened his mouth, but the ship suddenly tilted forward. Nico fell and had nothing to catch himself on.

His face slammed into the deck, and a small groan left him. Pirates all around him fell. Isabella had managed to catch herself on the railing. The only ones who didn't move were Arke and Reyna, but it did look like Reyna was gripping the railing.

"What was that?" Isabella demanded as she made it back to a fully standing position. She turned towards her crew. "Status report. Any injuries?"

"We fell a little higher than I thought," Arke commented. She looked down at the water. Nico made it to his feet and rubbed his nose. As he looked up, a gasp left him. In front of him was the most beautiful island that Nico had ever seen.

His eyes focused on the absolute perfect beaches that surrounded hills of grass and numerous gardens. There were rows of trees on one side of the island. Another side had the large metal corpse of Festus. Leo sat on top of his dragon and was staring out in the distance.

"We made it," Jason said. He made it to his feet and had a huge grin on his face. "Leo!"

"Leo!" Piper called. Isabella turned towards her crew and rolled her eyes. She clenched her fist, and her crew rushed around to prepare them to land. Arke turned and walked towards them. Her hand ran over her arms and sealed the wounds. Then, she jumped back onto the deck.

"You could have warned me that you were going to drop my ship from the sky," Isabella snapped.

"Isabella, leave her alone," Reyna ordered. Isabella glared at Arke, but she turned and walked away. Reyna walked towards the goddess. "Let's talk."

The two of them walked away. Nico looked back at the island. It seemed like Leo had noticed them. He ran down Festus' back and towards the beach. Leo waved his arms rapidly. Jason and Piper looked at each other. Then, Jason grabbed Piper, and they jumped off of the ship.

Jason used the air to cushion their fall. They landed in the water but didn't seem to care. Piper made it to the shore a second before Jason, and she ran toward Leo's side. Leo's yelp was audible from the ship as Piper tackled him into a hug. Jason joined the hug knocking all three to the ground.

Nico watched the three of them and looked around at the pirates. All of them were busy preparing to bring the ship to dock, and none of them looked like they needed help. Nico leaned on the nearest railing and focused his gaze on the ground.

No one spoke to him as they docked the ship. Isabella told her pirates to wait, and she moved towards the gangplank that they had lowered. Nico followed behind her and looked at the Greeks. Jason, Piper, and Leo all stood in a circle and were talking. A woman that Nico recognized as Calypso stood off to the side.

"We need to move soon," Reyna stated. She made it to their side. Isabella took a step back to stand next to her captain. "How long will it take to repair your dragon, so we can leave."

"It should only take a few hours," Leo said. "Then, we can ride Festus out of here."

"All of you?" Isabella questioned. She glanced at Reyna. "It seems like the job is done then. We can get back to the base and plan our assault."

"Wait," Calypso said. She walked right up towards Reyna and Isabella. Her gaze moved between the two of them. "Where is the rod?"

"It was taken from me," Reyna muttered. She crossed her arms and looked away. A dark shadow passed over her face. "I don't have it."

"A rival pirate crew took it," Nico said. Calypso looked at him in surprise. Reyna shook her head and stared at the ground. "We don't know where they took it."

"We can't leave then," Calypso stated. "I cannot leave this island until it is destroyed. I will not allow anyone else to have the power here. The job isn't done until this island is gone."

"You don't call the shots here," Reyna said in a low voice. Nico looked at her and stared. Isabella's hand drifted to her sword, but Reyna didn't move an inch.

"Actually, this is Calypso's island. It belongs to her, so she does call the shots," Leo said. He studied Reyna for a moment, and his eyes widened. "You're the sky pirate! You tried to take our ship!"

"That was the flying ship you tried to take?" Isabella asked. Reyna nodded once. "Hylla was-"

Isabella's voice died on her, and she looked down at the ground. Reyna closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. Leo looked in between them. Then, he turned on Jason and Piper. Leo made odd motions, but both of them grabbed his shoulders.

"Reyna helped us. We wouldn't have made it to the island without her," Nico stated. Leo nodded and crossed his arms.

"That's cool and all, but we are not leaving this island until we have the rod back. This island is going to be destroyed before I even think about leaving it," Leo said. Calypso nodded her agreement. Reyna turned away and stared at the sea.

"How do we even get the rod back?" Piper asked. "We would have to attack the Mistveil."

"We can just wait for them to come here," Jason suggested.

"They don't know where the island is, or do they?" Leo asked.

"We are leaving," Reyna said softly. Everyone turned to look at her. "One of my captains respected Nico's request to go to this island. That is where their agreement ended. Now, the agreement that my sister made with you doesn't matter. We are all leaving this island. Now."

"We're not doing anything," Calypso said. "I told Nico that the rod had to be brought to the island. If we leave the island and someone else has the rod, they will be able to control it. Even if we had the rod and left without destroying the island, someone can use magic to control it."

"You don't want to leave this island, but the Mistveil doesn't know where it is," Reyna said softly. "What the fuck do you want then? Do you know what we went through to find your island? I lost my sister, and you're telling me that you don't even want to leave here."

"I'm sorry for your loss, but that doesn't change anything. I want to leave, but I will not leave until the island cannot be used by anyone else," Calypso stated. Reyna's fist clenched, and Nico's gut twisted as he saw the look in Reyna's eyes.

"How do you suggest we get the rod back?" Piper asked. She stepped in between the two of them.

"We could set a trap," Jason began.

"My ship does not have the numbers to take them on," Isabella said. She shook her head. "I'm not going to throw my men at a futile effort. We would need at least another ship or even the whole fleet."

"What about going after the rod. We can sneak past these Mistveil jerks and steal the rod from them," Leo said.

"None of this is going to work," Reyna snapped. The anger in her voice sent a chill down Nico's spine. "Why don't any of you understand that? It is time for us to go!"

"Captain," Isabella said softly. She placed a hand on Reyna's shoulder and whispered in her ear. Reyna nodded and turned away. She stormed back towards the ship. Isabella looked back at them. "I think we're all just tired and hungry from a long trip. We should all have some food and talk this over."

"I can have dinner made," Calypso said stiffly. She turned and walked away. Isabella studied them. After a moment, she pivoted and hurried to Reyna's side. Nico looked in between the two. He wasn't quite sure what to say.

"It's nice to see you guys," Leo said. He wrapped his arms around the shoulders of Piper and Jason. "Come on. Let's eat some foods, and if we have to, we're gonna kick pirate butt!"