Long after the tears dried, Reyna just stared ahead numbly. Giving up seemed easy now. All she had to do was close her eyes and fall asleep. And never open them again. That would make things easy. She wouldn't have to pretend to be strong or brave anymore. She could just give up.
Instead, she was laying in the dirt paralyzed by fear. She was scared when the Amazons tried to kill her. When the shield was stolen and she had to find it. When she fought Ouranos and then the Arimaspi.
That fear had been different back then. Nothing compared to how she felt now. Back then, she was able to take that fear and stuff it deep down inside, choking it with anger. Now, there was no way for her to do that. Reyna was so fucking terrified. How was she supposed to quell this terror beating in her heart?
Reyna allowed her tense muscles to relax as she sank further into the dirt. There was slight pain in her arms and legs, and she wasn't wearing armor. It had probably been stripped from her when she had been banished. There was no doubt her weapons were gone as well.
It felt as if the air was slowly scorching her skin, causing slight pain that she knew would only get worse in time. Before or after she went insane was her only question. Or, would some monster come by and put her out of her misery?
Her first time here was a garbled mess in her brain. Trying to think back to it was nearly impossible. The memories were jumbled up, and she couldn't tell what was real and what was imaginary. What she did know was that no monsters messed with her then. Probably because Atropos had just placed a claim on her, and no man or monster knew what to make of her.
There was also Kronos. Sharing half of a soul with him no doubt put some kind of protection on her. Those two factors combined meant nothing would mess with her. Reyna tried to think back further, but her mind hit a wall.
Reyna knew she had just pushed forward, not fully aware of what was happening. And, it wasn't like she had to worry about any immortal threats. Ouranos had been freshly destroyed, in no shape to remember his name, much less hunt her down. What about now, though? The immortal had time to reform, and what would he do if he was able to find her?
Ouranos wasn't the only immortal down here that hated her. There were plenty of them in this place that would love to tear her apart. Would it be easier just to find a monster and jump down their throat? Was this what the gods wanted for her? Not to just go insane but also to be tortured for eternity?
And what was Reyna supposed to do? Just keep marching forward like always? Where the fuck did that get her?
Reyna slowly rolled onto her back and labored into a sitting position. She stared at the ground and heard a clinking sound. Her eyes focused on her father's dog tags. She received those when she was last down here and dragged to Hades by two forgotten immortals. Reyna had even seen her father, unhindered by madness.
He told her to let being a Roman guide her.
Reyna stared down at those dog tags, barely able to see them in this suffocating darkness. Reyna had two choices in front of her. She could just lay down and accept whatever fate came her way, whether it be madness or death; or, she could follow her father's last words and be a Roman.
And Romans did not surrender.
Reyna dragged herself to her feet. She trudged a few steps forward. Her legs protested the labored movement. Her foot suddenly hit something, and she stumbled forward. Reyna hit the dirt with her knees, unable to keep her balance. She hissed as pain exploded in her legs.
Reyna slowly turned toward what she had tripped over. Moving closer, it began to look like some kind of sharp rock. An idea pinged in her mind. She turned her back towards the rock and hooked her restraints against it. Reyna flexed her arms up and down, trying to use the sharp edges to cut through the rope.
The traitorous Amazons could not kill her. They ambushed her and had her dead to rights, but they weren't able to finish the job.
Reyna hissed as she put more of her weight against the rock. It felt like the ropes were starting to break, and she put all of her strength into tearing it to ribbons. Pain ignited in her arm as a sharp edge cut into it. She paid no attention as she brought her arms forward and wiped away the blood.
Enyo and Circe framed her for stealing the shield. All to distract the world from Ouranos' rising. Those two couldn't stop her, and Ouranos couldn't kill her.
Reyna rubbed her wrists and then slowly wiped her eyes. The air still burned, and she swallowed painfully. She reached into her pockets and found nothing in them. What she did find was that she still wore the belt Bristol had made her, along with the pouch on her arm.
Which meant she had her medicine and a few pieces of ambrosia. It wasn't much, but it would work. Reyna slowly walked forward, making sure to not move too quickly.
Metis and Thoon couldn't kill her. Thoon threw his own champions at Reyna, and they were no match. Metis had Reyna defenseless, but she didn't complete the kill. Reyna knew that she hadn't been able to take on all of these immortals alone, but the same was true of the Olympians.
The Olympians needed her to destroy Ouranos, to destroy Thoon, and to destroy Metis. They could not do it themselves. And since the Olympians needed Reyna to destroy their enemies, she would not let the gods break her.
Reyna didn't have any allies down here. She had no weapons or means of defense. Reyna had no clue how she was going to get out of here. Her back was against the wall, but it had been like that for a year.
And Romans did not surrender.
Reyna didn't care what she had to do. She would escape Tartarus. She would escape from this hell.
Warm, comforting anger burned in her chest. That same fury used to scare her. She didn't know how to control it. That rage caused her to lash out at those she loved and to sometimes hurt them. But, that anger also helped her.
It drove her forward. It allowed her to push down all of the fear that she had. Harnessing her anger allowed her to survive and not stop no matter what. It was how she was going to get out of Tartarus.
And when she made it out of this hell, she would find Arcadia and then her legion. After that, Reyna would handle the Olympians once and for all. She would not allow this betrayal to stand. And if the gods decided to lay a hand on her sister, Reyna would make sure the whole fucking world burned.