By the time Reyna made it to the opposite end of the temple, she saw a door slamming shut. This door was smaller than the first set and looked as if an actual mortal could open it. Reyna crashed into the door, and she harshly repelled off of it. A groan left her as she hit the ground, and she quickly got back on her feet.
Reyna growled in anger as she slammed her shoulder into the door. It started to budge, and it seemed like Damon was holding it shut. Nico made it to the door and began helping Reyna bust it down. The door shot open, and Reyna stumbled forward.
Reyna barely caught her balance and saw they were standing on a small cliff. It only got more narrow as it went along, and the end of the cliff was barely the size of a diving board. Reyna could guess that if one were to jump off, it would be into the collection of shallow rocks expanding to the sea. The cliff itself was flanked by ridges and scarps that cut off any other routes.
The sun shined on the cliffside that Reyna stood upon, illuminating fresh blood. Reyna barely made it to her feet when she felt a heavy weight slam into her from the side, and she almost fell off the precipice. A gasp left her as she stared down at the cliff below her. There was a ten-foot drop that she had only been a few inches from experiencing.
Reyna tried to scramble to her feet, but a foot slammed directly into her gut, rattling her still injured ribs. She collapsed back to the ground and cried out in pain. A solid boot slammed into her gut again, and then again, and then a fourth time for good measure. Reyna was left gasping and wheezing.
Damon grabbed Reyna by her coat and dragged her up to stand before him. Reyna grabbed one of Hylla's knives that were strapped to her chest, and she slashed out with it. Damon blocked it with his arm, and he hissed as it left a long gash. Damon slammed his knee into her gut, and she doubled over collapsing against him.
The knife fell out of her hand, and she watched Damon kick it over the edge. Damon adjusted his grip on her coat and lowered his knee slightly. He slammed his knee back into her sternum, and she heard another rib audibly snap. Reyna choked on another cry of pain. Her legs went weak as she collapsed to a kneeling position.
The knee lowered again, but instead of slamming into her sternum, it slammed into her jaw. Reyna's head whipped backward as she fell onto her backside. A boot stomped on her face, slightly nudging her towards the edge that promised a devastating fall. Damon's annoying cackling over the distant cannon fire was all she could hear.
"I warned you that you and your sister would fall." He mocked, clearly pleased with himself.
Reyna hated this fucker. She hated that he had gotten the upper hand by being a coward. She hated that the injuries Kendall gave her were still impeding her now. She hated that she was humiliated by this bastard. Reyna looked up at Damon and started to stand. Damon suddenly turned and seemed to disappear into thin air. Nico barely scrambled to a stop before he could hit Reyna. The shadows twisted behind Nico.
Before Reyna could call out a warning, Damon appeared behind Nico and shoved into him, driving him directly into Reyna. Neither could catch a foot or handhold as they fell off of the cliffside. Reyna had no time to twist in the air to soften her landing.
Reyna remembered hitting the overhang. She remembered landing on her arm first and feeling it completely shatter as it took the brunt of the fall. Something in her shoulder snapped as the rest of her body hit the unforgiving rocky surface. Reyna's scream of pain was driven from her as Nico landed on top of her.
"Fuck," Reyna whimpered. She choked on her gasp of pain and felt Nico roll off of her. Reyna buried her face in the ground and spat out a small amount of blood. Her eyes started to drift close. Reyna growled and reached into her pocket. She grabbed her canteen and took a sip of nectar. Some of the pain dulled, but Reyna knew that it wasn't going to be good enough.
Reyna's eyes unwillingly closed, and she began to drift in and out of consciousness. Whether seconds or minutes passed, she wasn't sure. She was vaguely aware that someone grabbed her cutlasses from her belt, and her hand instinctively shot out.
"Stop fighting you stupid bitch," Damon growled. Reyna forced her eyes to stay open, and she saw Damon throw both of her cutlasses over the edge of the cliff and probably into the ocean. He reached into her coat pocket, and an attempt to grab his hand was met with her being slapped like a gnat.
Damon searched her leather coat, but he didn't seem to find what he wanted. He tore her coat off and checked the other pockets on the inside. When he didn't find what he wanted, he threw that over the edge as well. Damon growled and searched through Reyna's pants pockets. He produced Reyna's two coins and showed them to her. Then, he threw those into the ocean as well.
"No," Reyna wheezed, and she tried to reach her hand out. Damon stomped on her hand and twisted his boot, digging the treads into her flesh.
"You and your sister thought you were so fucking mighty," Damon growled. He sat on her stomach and grabbed her throat. Reyna didn't have the strength to fight back, despite the anger that filled her veins. "I've been waiting for so long to finally do this. To get my revenge on the two arrogant sluts that tortured me. And after what you did to Kendall, I'm going to take my time."
Damon suddenly turned and raised his arm in quick defense. He howled as a sword stabbed through his forearm and stopped an inch from his eyes. Nico tore his sword out, and Damon scrambled away. Nico attacked again, and Damon's sword appeared in his good hand just in time to parry it.
Reyna laid her head back and grabbed a small bag from her pocket. She pulled out a square of ambrosia and ate it. Then, she ate one more for good measure. Reyna rolled onto her stomach and tried to stand, but her body quaked from the effort. She tried to think of what she's been through these last few weeks. Her sister's execution, Kendall and Damon's mockery with Hylla's corpse, and being killed by them. But, it didn't send strength coursing through her veins like she had hoped.
Reyna collapsed back against the ground and just listened to the battle. She buried her face in the ground and tried to gather her strength. Her eyes started to close again, but she forced her eyes to stay open. Reyna rolled onto her back and lifted her head enough to watch the fight.
Her heart almost dropped as Damon disarmed Nico and punched him in the face. Damon vanished and reappeared behind Nico, locking him in a chokehold. Reyna didn't know how Damon had mastered magic so well, but it only served to piss her off.
Nico let out strangled gasps as he tried to pull away. Damon wrestled Nico to the ground and used his legs to trap his arms. Nico's legs and hand flailed as he tried to fight, but it didn't take long for his legs to drop in defeat. His hands went limp. Damon tightened his grip anyway.
Reyna could only watch Damon. He was going to kill Nico, and it was going to be all Reyna's fault. She was the one who allowed Nico to come with. Reyna wasn't going to let him die for her. She forced herself to stand and stumble to her feet. Then, Reyna limped towards them and kicked Damon hard in the temple.
Damon instantly let go and clutched his head. Reyna dragged Nico away from him. She checked his pulse to make sure that he was still alive and breathing well enough. She turned back to face Damon when she felt that Nico was stable.
"You bastard," Reyna snapped. She charged forward to kick Damon again, but he lunged, tackling her to the ground. Reyna yelled as she hit the solid rock, but she swung a punch at Damon's throat. He gasped and released his hold to massage his neck. Reyna shoved him away and scrambled backward.
Reyna barely made it to her feet in time to shift away from Damon's sloppy punch. She propelled her foot towards his crotch, and he squealed as Reyna felt it connect. Reyna followed up with a punch to Damon's face and then slamming him to the ground using his hair. She rained down a flurry of punches with her injured hand as he did his best to protect himself.
Reyna stood and stomped with all her weight on Damon's gut. She continued to do so until he was wheezing and coughing worse than she had been. She could feel his ribs cracking under her assault, and Reyna could swear she kicked a few organs directly.
"You think you can just kill my sister and get away with it, you fuck?! I'm going to fucking kill you!" Reyna yelled in primal rage. She raised her leg to stomp Damon again, but he caught her foot and threw her off balance. Reyna hit the ground face first and quickly recovered by rolling away. She made it to her feet and caught a fist fresh to the face. Reyna stumbled backward and sloppily threw her own punch.
Damon crashed into her, but instead of tackling her to the ground again, he picked her up and then slammed her with all of his might. Reyna choked on her spit trying to scream in pain, and Damon planted himself on her stomach again. He raised his fist and punched her across the face. Her head snapped to the side, and she was punched again.
Damon threw his own barrage of punches, but Reyna wasn't able to cover her head properly. She could only bring up her good arm to cover her face. Damon grabbed that arm and pinned it to continue bringing down hard punches directly into Reyna's mouth and nose.
When Damon finally stopped his assault, Reyna was barely conscious. She could feel blood pouring from her nose, and one of her eyes had swollen completely shut. There were loose teeth swirling around in the pool of blood she had in her mouth. She was almost choking on the ones she couldn't spit out.
"I saw what you did to Kendall. How you tortured her," Damon snapped. He pulled Reyna up by the collar of her shirt, reeling back another fist. She spat blood and a tooth or two into his eye. He shoved her back down and wiped away the spiteful red stain from his vision. Damon reached down and wrapped both hands around her throat. Reyna gasped as he squeezed. It wasn't enough to choke her, but he was clearly just making a point.
Reyna tried to use her free hand to reach for her knife, but she wasn't able to. She reached out for anything she could use, and her hand closed around a baseball-sized rock. Damon didn't seem to notice as he tightened his grip. He leaned forward and spoke, "Kendall and I weren't planning to kill you two at first. We were going to capture your crew and keep all of the survivors of the initial assault alive."
"Your crew would have been sold off. Your sister would have been passed around to each member of my crew like the whore that she was," Damon hissed. Reyna tensed and tightened her grip on the rock. Damon leaned in close and whispered in her ear. "You would have been spared from that though. Kendall and I would have shared you, but I guess I have you all to myself now."
Reyna slammed the rock hard into Damon's temple. He collapsed against her, and Reyna dropped the rock. She slowly rolled the bastard off of her, taking in the fresh air after freeing her windpipe from his grasp. She rolled herself onto her stomach and began crawling away from him. Her face ached in agony as she rested it on the ground.
"You're so close," a voice whispered in the wind. Reyna's eyes drifted open enough to see the founder of the Mistveil. He sat on the edge of the cliffside only a few feet away. Had he been watching this whole time? His current captain and the upstart that he wanted to take his captain's place had gone to war, and he only watched.
"How many?" Reyna gasped. She spat out blood and another tooth. Reyna tried to make it to her hands and knees, but her body protested the effort.
"Only Damon lives," the founder answered. "All you must do is sever his connection. Bring him back to my coffin, and we can do it."
"He told us to kill your sister," Damon wheezed. Reyna slowly looked at him. "We were going to keep you as our slaves until we broke your spirits and bodies, but he ordered for us to kill you."
"You're lying," Reyna growled. She glared at Damon and slowly made it to her knees. She cradled her destroyed arm against her sternum and placed her other hand to her mouth. Blood covered her face and was starting to stain her vision. "You're nothing more than a liar."
Reyna knew that Damon was only lying to save his own skin. That was all he did. Even when he was one of Hylla's captains, he was just a fucking liar. What was different now? Damon laughed painfully and spoke, "Ask him."
"Did you?" Reyna slowly asked as she looked at the founder of the Mistveil. She knew that she was playing right into Damon's hand, but at the same time, she had to know. Was there another person who deserved her vengeance? Reyna didn't receive an answer, and her heart jumped.
"He used you just like he uses me," Damon snarled. "He wanted to drive you to your lowest point. Then, he would come to you and make an offer that you can't refuse."
"Is that true?" Reyna demanded. She glared at the founder of the Mistveil, and after a few moments, he looked at her.
"Your older sister was just holding you back. You had no purpose with Hylla alive. No higher aspiration than to be an underling in her fleet. Now, you have everything you ever wanted. You're the captain of your own armada, and you are going to have all of the power that you could have ever wanted," the founder explained. Reyna stared at him and felt pure anger boil her veins.
The two of them had an agreement. Reyna would destroy the cult that disgraced the founder of the Mistveil. She would drag Damon to the temple and sever his connection to the founder. He would then restore Damon's connection to Nemesis, so Reyna wouldn't die when Damon did. Reyna would bind herself to the founder and try to bring Hylla back, but it seemed like the founder had wanted her so bad that he ordered for Hylla to be killed.
"You used me," Reyna hissed. She made it to her feet. "You ordered for my sister to be killed? And, you think I will work with you?! I'm going to fucking kill you!"
A weight slammed into Reyna from the side, crashing her into the ground. She yelled as she landed on her injures arm. Her face was pressed against the ground, and Damon dug his knees into her aching ribs. Her fierce anger wasn't giving her enough strength to throw this bastard off.
"Unlike you, I do not mind being used. I understand the gift I have been given," Damon whispered cockily in her ear. "My master will use you until he has had his fill. When you run out of usefulness, you are killed. He holds no loyalty to anyone and will change his allegiances on a whim. Don't you see that is what is happening now?"
"Master, I am sorry for my weakness," Damon said loudly as he looked up. Reyna tried to struggle, but she was completely pinned. "I have been weak, but I will prove that I am not anymore. I conquered my biggest rival, and now, I am going to conquer her sister. I will bring great glory to your name, and the world will fear the Mistveil."
"She never broke your connection to me," the founder finally said. "Prove your worth, Damon. Or else."
"Of course, master," Damon said. Reyna tried to fight but couldn't. The rage that filled her veins was at an all-time high. Reyna was going to kill the founder of the Mistveil for ruining her life and killing Hylla. And Damon. Oh, she was going to make Damon fucking suffer.
"In your words, captain," the founder said as he looked down at Reyna. "Make her suffer."
Reyna felt Damon stand slightly, only to drive his knee directly into her ribs using all of his weight. She screeched from the crushing pain, and Damon continued to drop all his weight into her side over and over again. Reyna felt her ribs crack and break with every compression, and it didn't take long for an explosion to rupture her lung.
Reyna choked on the new reserve of blood that came up her esophagus. She couldn't hope to spit it all out, and Damon drove all of his weight into her ribs for a final time. Her choked gasp was ripped from her as Damon turned her over on her back. One of his hands grabbed her shirt, and the other punched her across her nose.
Two hands wrapped around Reyna's throat, and she weakly scratched at his arms with one hand. Damon tightened his grip, and a cruel grin came to his face. Reyna knew that she was dying. Damon could walk away, and Reyna would just choke on blood as her destroyed lung would refuse to work. It would probably take a minute or two for her other lung to fail, and she would die suffering. Damon wanted her death to be by his own hands though.
"This is the end of the line," Damon sneered.
"The boy!" the founder suddenly snapped. Damon turned his head and then pulled Reyna to her feet. He wrapped his arm around her neck and kept her standing. His other hand moved to her jaw. Through blood, Reyna could see that Nico was standing a few feet away.
Nico was laboring to breathe, but he looked furious. Damon spoke, "I dare you to use your powers, son of Hades. I'll snap her neck."
"Let her go," Nico ordered. Damon smirked and tightened his stranglehold on the hostage he'd taken. Reyna felt her knees give out. Damon allowed her to crumble to her knees, and he knelt down by her. "Just leave her alone!"
"Why the hell would I?" Damon hissed. "Try and stop me."
Reyna couldn't think clearly enough to make a plan. All she could do was struggle to breathe through Damon's impossibly tight grip. Her hand moved to the knife strapped to her knee, and she stabbed backward. Damon yelled in pain but only tightened his grip. Reyna tried to pull the knife out, but her hand slipped away.
Reyna's head lolled forward, and she saw a sword near Damon's feet. It was Damon's sword. Reyna knew she wasn't going to be able to stab Damon in his chest or anywhere vital. Trying to stab his throat wasn't going to work. Nico wasn't able to do anything. If Nico wanted to stab Damon, he was going to have to stab through Reyna.
Despite the fact that she couldn't breathe and her head felt like it was going to explode, a wave of calm passed over Reyna. She slowly reached out for the sword and grabbed it with her hand. A new kind of strength ran through her. It was from anger. Maybe, it was from her last remaining bit of adrenaline, or maybe, it was because this was a new bit of conviction.
Reyna was going to die. She was maybe a minute from it, but Damon was going to die too. And, he would die first. Reyna grabbed the sword and didn't hesitate. She stabbed it upwards through her stomach. It tore through her body like butter and hit something solid. Damon gasped in pain and loosened his grip.
Reyna drove the sword further into her stomach until the handle was practically embedded in her. Damon yelled in pain, and Nico closed the distance in between them impossibly fast. He stabbed over Reyna's heard, and there was a noise that Reyna knew well: a death guttural. Nico tore his bloody swore away from Damon and swung once again.
Damon's head hit the ground near Reyna, and his body landed somewhere behind her. Reyna collapsed onto her face and stared blankly at the ground. She couldn't feel anything anymore. Her body was numb, and the world was fading away.
"I can help you," the founder eagerly proclaimed. Reyna slowly moved her eyes towards the founder. "Have the son of Hades take you to my temple. We can still bind the two of us!"
"Nico," Reyna choked. She could no longer breathe. Blood was filling the back of her throat, and she knew her lungs were probably filled as well. Her eyes focused on the founder for another moment. The founder didn't give a shit about what happened to her. He just needed someone to latch onto, and it wasn't going to be her. It was going to be anyone. The founder would once again wander the world with no one to worship him. His cult would die with Damon.
"Reyna," Nico whispered. He knelt by Reyna, and tears trickled out of his eyes. "What can I do?"
"Sunset," Reyna choked. Nico seemed to understand, and he gently dragged her towards the edge of the cliff. Her eyes stared at the setting sun that illuminated the water. Nico cradled her head. "Thank you."
"Just hold on," Nico began. Reyna met his eyes and smiled slightly. "I can get you help."
"Thank you," Reyna repeated. Her eyes closed completely, and her body went limp. A small, pained smile came to her face as she found herself about to die for the second time. "For being a friend."