Reyna stared out at the water in front of her. It should have been a peaceful, beautiful sight. The water barely rippled, and she didn't imagine many storms came to this island. The only storm here was the one brewing inside. Reyna couldn't believe that the idiot Calypso didn't want to leave her island.
It didn't matter what the Mistveil did because they didn't know where the island was. The only way to know was through Arke, and the goddess probably used the rest of her brainpower to get them here. Calypso just wanted to sit around, but what good was that going to do for them?
Part of Reyna just wanted to leave the island. Arke said they just had to sail away, and wherever the door was now would be where they appeared. Arke didn't have to be on the ship, so she could go wherever she wanted. They wouldn't have a way back to the island, but Reyna didn't care. The demigods could figure it out themselves.
They had the tools to leave. Calypso just had to get over herself and let go of this island. Instead, she was just wasting time. An angry sigh left Reyna, and she looked down. The others were eating, but Reyna didn't feel hungry. It wasn't like she could keep food down anyway. And sleep? That was plagued by nightmares.
Someone sat next to her. Reyna didn't look up. She just stayed focused on the sand. Her fingers dragged across the grains in senseless lines. Arke spoke, "You should eat. Mortals need to eat, don't they?"
"I'm not hungry," Reyna muttered. She glanced at the goddess. Arke was staring out at the sea. For once, she looked extremely focused. Her gaze seemed to be focused on something. "I just want to be alone."
"Even ghosts have to eat," Arke said. Reyna tensed and looked at the goddess. Arke grinned. "I can sense the change in you. I don't know what you are, but I can tell that you are different now. There is a strange smell to you."
Reyna didn't say a word. She looked at the sea but allowed her mind to wander. Her gaze was unfocused, and she just stared ahead. Arke nudged her and continued, "We can do it, you know. The two of us can fix this little problem."
"I just need to go to the Mistveil. I can tell them where the island is, and they will come here," Arke whispered. "It is perfect. No one will know it was me."
"We don't have the numbers to take the Mistveil on now, even if we ambush them. Forget about it," Reyna muttered. A hand grabbed her arm. "We're not doing it."
"Why not?" Arke asked. Reyna sighed and looked down. "They murdered your sister. Why don't you want to take revenge?"
"I do," Reyna muttered. She felt the sea of emotions boiling in her chest. The storm inside was about to break loose. "Just leave me alone."
"They embarrassed you and your sister. They murdered her and her crew. They-"
"I know!" Reyna yelled. She jumped to her feet and glared down at Arke. The goddess stood and met her eyes. There was a lopsided grin on her face, and it just made Reyna angrier. "I fucking know what they did! I was there! They killed her in front of me! Kicked me into her blood pooled corpse! Shoved her head into my lap! Do not fucking talk to me about revenge!"
"I can help you," Arke insisted.
"You can help by leaving me alone," Reyna yelled. She shoved Arke with enough force to knock her to the ground. "You're nothing more than a raving, demented lunatic! That's why no one cares about you! Do you know why no one ever helped you find your wings?"
"It is because you are crazy and completely useless! That is why you don't have any friends, and the only people who will speak to you are the ones who want to use you!" Reyna yelled. That anger inside was past the point of boiling over, but she didn't care.
"You are my friend," Arke said after a few moments. She stood. "Aren't you?"
"Why would I be your friend?" Reyna snapped. "I just needed to use you to find this fucking island! After this, I don't give a shit about what happens to you. You can go back to your crackden house or fuck off to the ends of the world. I don't care!"
A dark look crossed Arke's face. Reyna looked down and took a few shaky breaths. A hand suddenly grabbed her jaw, and she was forced to look up. Arke met her eyes and gave her a piercing glare.
"You will pay for that," Arke swore. She shoved Reyna backward. Reyna hit the ground hard and slid a few feet. She scrambled into a sitting position, but Arke was already gone. Reyna slowly laid back on the sand and let out an angry breath.
"Could never trust goddesses," a voice said. Reyna slowly looked over at the founder of the Mistveil "Or gods in general for that matter. Immortals, I guess. They think that they are owed everything but give nothing."
Reyna glared at him and clenched her fist. She heard someone sit on her other side, and she turned her head. Isabella spoke, "I saved you a plate."
"I'm not hungry," Reyna muttered. She sat up and glanced back toward the Mistveil founder, but he was gone. Reyna sighed angrily and glared down at the sand. A glance down at her arms showed that the sand had created a large number of cuts and scrapes. Isabella gave her a confused look. "Arke. Forget about her. We don't need her anymore."
"We kind of do, captain. We can't exactly leave the island and come back now, can we?" Isabella questioned. Reyna glared at her. "Sorry. I'm just trying to think ahead. We don't have the numbers, but if we leave, the Mistveil may be able to take the island."
Reyna didn't answer. She just stared at the ground and sighed tiredly. Isabella spoke, "I'm going to get you some food. I know you're not hungry, but you need to eat something. I need to take care of your arms as well. No fighting captain."
"Whatever," Reyna muttered. Isabella stood.
"That is the Reyna that I know. You just sit here and curse me out. I'll be back soon," Isabella said. She turned and walked away. Reyna stared ahead and focused out on the sea. A sigh next to her told her that the founder of the Mistveil was back again.
"Nemesis herself cannot kill Damon," the founder whispered. He moved closer to Reyna, and she just stared at the sea. "That is all because of me. I have the power to stop the plans of a goddess. Imagine what we could do together?"
"Leave me the fuck alone already," Reyna snapped. "What don't you get about leaving me alone! Just leave me alone!"
"That goddess, the crazy one, is going to betray you," the man whispered. He reached out for Reyna, but his hand just passed through her arm. "Do you understand that? You angered her, and she is going to make you pay for it. Is that your grand plan? Do you want to die at the hands of a deranged goddess?"
Reyna didn't answer. She brought her knees to her chest and buried her face in them. An angry sigh left her, and tears came to her eyes. Reyna didn't care what Arke did. The goddess couldn't harm them. It wasn't like Arke had any friends or allies. She had run out her use, and Reyna didn't care nor did she have time to appease the mumbling wretch.
"I severed Damon's connection to Nemesis, and I will do the same for you. All I ask is that you fulfill your vow. It is something that you are going to do anyway, so why can't you just help me? What is the harm?" the man whispered. "Besides, you are going to die without me."
"I"m not," Reyna snapped. She looked up. "I don't need your help! I have my own crew. I am going to kill the Mistveil and Damon my damn self!"
"And so you will die," the man stated. Reyna stood and clenched her fist. "Nemesis already warned you. She stated that you never know who your thread is connected to, but I do. When you kill Damon, it is going to kill you as well. Nemesis' hands will be wiped off one of her problems."
"How do you know that?" Reyna demanded. She turned towards the man.
"Damon and I are connected, but when you made that vow, it interfered. Nemesis forced a connection between the two of you. While I could sever the connection once again, it would only bind me further to Damon. It would give him more power, and he does not deserve that," the man warned. "With your help, I can make it that you will not die when he does."
Reyna wiped away her tears of frustration. She kicked at the sand and tried to calm down, but she knew it wouldn't work. It was never going to work. Reyna was damned to live with this anger in her life. The only way to calm herself would be to kill all of the Mistveil and bring back her sister. Until then, she wouldn't be able to calm down or rest. She was not going to let anything stand in her way.
"How?" Reyna muttered. She lifted her head and looked at him. "How do we do this?"
"You will have to restore Damon's connection to Nemesis. That will be complicated, but I can walk you through it. You will need to bring Damon to my temple," the man said. "There is another problem."
"Which is?" Reyna questioned.
"The Mistveil built their base around my temple," the man explained. Reyna swore under her breath. "They hardly head back to their base, so the hardest part will be subduing Damon and bringing him there. Once you do, I can walk you through everything. You will kill that walking excrement, and then, you will kill the rest of them."
"How do I find this base?" Reyna muttered. She rubbed her forehead. Reyna didn't know where to go, and she felt a huge headache coming.
"That book you took from the Mistveil. The ones that attacked you and the child of Aphrodite. I know you poured over it. If you cut out the inside cover, carefully, a map will be inside it," the man whispered. He stood and started to walk towards the water. "Be safe, daughter of Bellona. I can see that your fuse is burning short, and you don't have long to wait. You must hurry."
Reyna didn't say a word. She watched the founder of the Mistveil disappear into the water. Reyna slowly stood and looked at Calypso's hut. Then, she looked at her ship. Reyna didn't know what her plan was. For now, she would examine the map, maybe eat something, and maybe get some sleep. After that, a plan would be made.
