Reyna took a deep breath as she leaned against the wall of the restaurant. Arcadia stood next to her silently. The others had already departed, heading back to the Amazon's temporary base. Reyna laid her head back against the wall and tried to relax. Her hand moved to her belt and rested on her sword. Arcadia had retrieved her weapon, and they were getting ready to head to Mount Olympus.
Atropos appeared out of thin air, and Arcadia jumped. The goddess swore under her breath, "I hate that."
"You do it all the time," Reyna countered. Arcadia rolled her eyes. Atropos turned towards them and seemed to be waiting. "We're ready."
Atropos held her hand out. Reyna slowly took her hand. Arcadia gripped Reyna's shoulder tightly. As Reyna blinked, she was in total darkness. She blinked once again and found herself standing on Mount Olympus. What the hell had just happened? It was much different than shadow travel, let alone when Arcadia took her places.
Reyna blinked a few more times and then slowly looked up. Her gaze slowly moved around to the rest of the Olympians. They were all human sized, and instead of sitting on their thrones, they were standing by them. Arcadia stood next to Reyna, while Atropos stepped away.
"Reaper," Zeus greeted dryly. He was holding onto his lightning bolt. Reyna moved her hand back to her belt, with her fingers hovering near her sword. "What did you do to your mother?"
Reyna couldn't bring herself to speak. Instead, she looked at the ground. Did they already know and were just trying to test her? Was there more to it? Reyna already regretted coming, but at the same time, she knew that this needed to be done. She needed to see where she stood with the Olympians. See if they could make peace with them.
"Why do you always accuse the imperator?" Arcadia questioned. "You could watch her sit in a room all day and still accuse her of the world falling apart outside."
"We've seen the security footage," Artemis stated. She held up a laptop and walked towards them. Artemis showed them the screen and played the video. Reyna looked away, unable to watch. Arcadia remained silent but moved in front of Reyna slightly. "You didn't want us to find out, so you did this."
Artemis threw the laptop to the ground. It exploded into pieces, and Reyna watched most of the pieces slide towards the scar in the ground. The same place where Ouranos had destroyed the ground and threw her from Olympus.
"You have always been a monster," Artemis stated. "The cracks have been there, ever since you killed my two Hunters. I warned everyone that you would only get worse."
"My mother left me with no choice," Reyna suddenly snapped. She glared at Artemis as her hands started to shake. Her fists clenched.
"Did you have a choice when you worked with Burza? The worst of Romans?" Ares accused. "I know the wars that woman tried to start."
Reyna stared at Ares and tried to think of what to say. How could she even defend herself? It wasn't like the Olympians would listen to her. They would just ignore her. It didn't matter what Reyna did; she was always at fault. Arcadia grabbed Reyna's shoulder.
"The imperator had no choice but to work with the peacekeepers just to get away from them. Eirene, goddess of peace, has been making plans to kill demigods and upset the balance of power," Arcadia began.
"You can stop with all of the excuses," Athena interrupted. "Eirene and Eris already came to us and told us what they did. They told us that Reyna is working with the peacekeepers because they have Hylla's string and Kronos' sword. Whether Reyna killed her mother under the threat of her sister being killed or not is a non-factor. The only thing that matters is she killed Bellona."
"I was saving all of you," Reyna finally snapped. "And all your fucking kids! Eirene wanted to kill all of these important demigods using her peacekeepers, and my legion stopped it!"
"Yet, you work with them. Just like you worked with Circe. With Kronos. You continue to work with our enemies and try to tell us that you don't have a choice. How do you keep getting put into a position where you don't have a choice?" Hermes demanded.
"I had to work with Kronos to fucking save you!" Reyna yelled. She felt all of her pent-up frustration slipping out. She did every fucking thing in her power to save the gods, and they didn't give a shit. They blamed her for everything. "I tried to destroy Ouranos in this very throne room! I stabbed him in the chest, and he didn't die! All because my fucking hand was useless because of Atropos!"
"I think you just wanted an excuse to allow Kronos to use you as a vessel," Artemis stated. "Your lust for power requires it."
"My lust for power?" Reyna demanded. She turned towards the goddess. "Are you fucking stupid!?"
"You went from a praetor to the dictator of your camp, and after you got your Romans kill-"
"You don't get to fucking talk about them!" Reyna yelled. Arcadia grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. "I was saving your oracle! And, I would have fought to the last man if I wasn't taken away. But no, I was taken away to Camp Jupiter, and when my camp, my home, was attacked, what the fuck did you do?!"
"We tried to help," Athena began.
"The peacekeepers showed me the video!" Reyna screamed. "I saw you and my mother talking! You told them that you pulled away help, just so I could die. You all wanted me to save you from Ouranos, but at the same time, you wanted me to die at Camp Jupiter. What the fuck do you want from me!?"
"You are insane. A loose cannon," Dionysus declared. Reyna felt Arcadia gently rub her shoulder, but all she could do was take deep breaths. Her outburst left her shaking. Reyna wasn't done, though. She was tired of being blamed.
"Reyna, we just want to understand what happened. What ran through your mind," Aphrodite tried to sooth. Reyna slowly looked at the goddess of love, but anger still clouded her mind. Her hand started to move, but Atropos suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"Do not let the influence of war cloud your judgment," Atropos warned softly. Reyna's eyes shot to the side, and she saw that Ares was watching her. Fire seemed to be dancing in his eyes. Reyna brought her hand back to her side and tried to calm down.
"I have spent these last few wars cleaning up the mess of the Olympians. I delivered your statue to Camp Half-Blood to stop the Greeks and Romans from fighting," Reyna reminded the Olympians as she looked at Athena. "I risked my position at my home on the words of your daughter. Then, I found Ares' shield and helped return it."
Reyna moved her gaze from Athena to Ares. Then, it went to Zeus as she continued, "I killed Ouranos, and yes, I had to work with Kronos. I interrupted the ritual that would have given Gaea control of Atropos, of Fate itself, and allowed Kronos to use me as a vessel. My soul was torn in half, and Kronos was in my head clouding my thoughts."
"That is one of the reasons I killed your Hunters," Reyna continued as she turned towards Artemis. Her gaze moved to Dionysus. "Phrike started my schizophrenia, but your son intensified it. If I didn't have that during these wars, where would I be now?"
"After saving all of you from Ouranos, I was forced to work with Circe to save my sister and keep the Amazons from falling apart. I also know that the Arimaspi would have turned on the camps next. I stopped them and Thoon. The only reason I worked with the peacekeepers is because my legion was attacked. I was led into a trap, and Eirene had Eris torture me. How the fuck am I the bad guy here?" Reyna demanded as she looked at Zeus.
"For every bit of good you have done, we can find a greater evil," Zeus stated.
"This is fucking useless," Reyna declared. She looked at Atropos. "I tried. I tried to work with them, but they will always find an excuse to label me the villain."
"They fear the imperator," Arcadia stated. "The imperator has done nothing but save them. Whether they agree with the methods or not, they cannot argue the results."
"A traitor would defend another traitor," Hera commented. Arcadia's hand tensed on Reyna's shoulder.
"No," Reyna practically snarled. "You can call me whatever you want, but you will not call Arcadia a traitor. You are the ones who cast her out of Olympus and forced her to follow the orders of the protector of Rome. How is she a traitor for following those orders?"
"We tried working with you, imperator. We have given you chance after chance," Zeus said.
"No, you haven't!" Reyna practically screeched. Zeus stepped forward and started to raise his lightning bolt. Artemis grabbed her bow, and Reyna saw Poseidon grab his trident. The rest of the Olympians looked tense.
"You made a vow," Atropos stated. Reyna glanced at Arcadia. There was strain on the goddess's face.
"Arcadia, can you get us out of here?" Reyna whispered.
"I can't," Arcadia hissed. She sounded stressed. "What the fuck is stopping me?"
"We did make a vow, and I apologize for breaking it," Zeus hissed. His gaze focused on Reyna, and his lightning bolt started to glow. As his hand moved forward, Reyna was shoved to the ground. She scrambled on her back and watched lightning hit Arcadia in the chest. It threw the goddess across the throne room, and she hit the ground hard.
"Arcadia!" Reyna yelled as she scrambled to her feet. A blur passed in front of her, and Reyna felt a shoulder slam into her gut. She was slammed to the ground, and Artemis pinned her. The goddess pulled her fist back.
"Stop," Atropos ordered. She didn't scream or yell. She didn't raise her voice. Everyone still froze. Artemis didn't bring her fist down. The rest of the Olympians seemed frozen in place. Reyna moved her head to look at Arcadia. Her second in command was clutching her chest and looked to be in agony.
"You all made a vow on the River Styx and a vow to me that my champion would not be harmed," Atropos stated. "Will all of you be complacent in breaking it?"
The only sound that broke the silence was Arcadia's breathy rasps and Reyna's terrified wheezing. Zeus stared at Reyna for a long moment. Then, his gaze moved toward Atropos. He gripped his lightning bolt but didn't say a word.
Zeus finally closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Upon opening his eyes, he turned and threw a bolt of lightning at Atropos. Reyna watched it slam into where the Fate was standing, and as it did, there was an incredibly bright light. Reyna was forced to look away. When she blinked the spots out of her eyes and looked back, the Fate was gone.
"...Atropos?" Reyna slowly asked. A hand grabbed her jaw tightly and forced her to look up. Reyna stared up at Artemis. Then, the goddess' fist slammed into her face. Reyna's head slammed into the ground as she felt her nose shatter. Tears of pain filled her eyes.
"You deserve so much worse," Artemis seethed. She raised her fist again and brought it down. Reyna's head snapped to the side from the brutal blow. Artemis stood and pulled Reyna to her feet. "And, show some respect for your gods."
Artemis' knee slammed into Reyna's gut with all the strength of a goddess. Reyna choked on a yell as her armor dented. Her legs gave out as she collapsed to her knees. Reyna gasped for breath. It felt like a freight train had hit her.
"You can no longer go unpunished," Zeus decreed. He walked towards Reyna and lifted her head using the tip of his lightning bolt. Reyna tried to jerk away as the red hot tip burned her skin, but Artemis held her in place. "We have discussed this earlier."
"We can't do this," Aphrodite argued. She tried to step forward, but Ares grabbed her. "Reyna does not deserve this!"
The lightning bolt was removed from Reyna's jaw, and she shot both hands to the burned skin. A brutal kick to the spine catapulted her face first into the ground. Reyna placed both hands to her face, still trying to recover from the knee to the gut.
"We decided on this earlier, Aphrodite. You agreed as well," Ares sneered.
"There has to be another way," Aphrodite argued. Zeus held up his hand. Reyna slowly steadied herself on her hands and knees. Her hand shot to her sword, but another hand grabbed hers. Artemis tore Reyna's sword and its sheathe from her belt. She threw it across the throne room.
Reyna hissed as Artemis held her up. Zeus stood over Reyna and spoke, "We have allowed you to go unpunished for too long. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Reyna stared up at Zeus. She had given everything she had and more for the Olympians and their kids. It didn't matter what she did. It didn't matter what she said. They just thought she was a monster. Reyna slowly spoke, "Fuck. You."
"For your crimes of being an enemy of Olympus; killing two Hunters of Artemis; declaring war on Camp Jupiter; working with our enemies, including Circe, Metis, and Kronos. And trying to kill my son, there is only one thing we can do. Death is not an option; therefore, we must sentence something you know well: exile," Zeus decreed. "That is why the council of Olympians sentences you, Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, reaper of Atropos and imperator of the Sixth Legion, to Tartarus."