"Jason didn't have a girlfriend," Thalia repeated for the fifth time in the last minute. All Piper did was give her a sympathetic look as she helped Thalia walk out of the motel. They had left Reyna behind with the promise that Piper would come back for her. Thalia had also made sure to grab the gun Reyna gave her and her other non-magical gun. The two guns were tucked into her waistband, and while Piper looked curious, she didn't say anything.
"He did," Piper assured. "He just didn't want to reveal me to the public, and well, we had to keep our relationship secret."
"Because of his dealings with criminals," Thalia assumed. She groaned as Piper led her towards a van and helped her into the passenger seat.
"That's one of the reasons. I'll be right back," Piper promised. She turned and hurried away. Thalia sighed as she rested her head against the window and looked out in the distance. Rain was starting to pour, and she was miserable. Between being soaked in water and being in pain, she didn't think the night could get worse.
Thalia cradled her side and allowed a weak groan to leave her. None of this made sense. First, there was the fact that the man who had beaten her ass all over the room was not a man. It was some kind of monster, or she had a weird near death vision. That split-second vision also didn't explain how the man had just exploded into dust when he died.
Then, some random woman saved them and claimed to be Jason's girlfriend when he was alive. That had to be a lie. Jason would have told Thalia and introduced them, so who the hell was this woman? Thalia heard the back of the van open and turned her head.
Piper gently laid Reyna into the back of the van and climbed inside. She closed the door and knelt by Reyna. Thalia spoke, "How long have you known Jason?"
"About three years now," Piper answered. She examined Reyna and frowned. "I wanted to meet you, but he said it wasn't a good idea."
"Yeah," Thalia muttered. She watched Piper trace her hand up and down Reyna's leg. Piper frowned and blocked Thalia's view. It was probably for the best as Reyna screamed in agony a moment later. Thalia closed her eyes as she heard another heartbreaking scream. It was followed by a soft cry a moment later.
"Stay with me," Piper whispered. Thalia opened her eyes and turned her head. Piper gently poured something into Reyna's mouth. Then, she climbed up towards the driver's seat and sat in it. "I've been keeping an eye on you, but I didn't want to make myself known."
"That's pretty convenient," Thalia muttered. She shook her head and looked out the window. Thalia watched the rain fall and tried to rein in her racing thoughts.
"I know better than to mess with Reyna's jurisdiction," Piper said. "Her and I worked together a few times before, so I know what happens if I cross her. She also doesn't like our group."
"Group?" Thalia repeated curiously. Instead of answering, Piper started the engine and began to drive. Thalia grunted in annoyance. She had so many questions, but at the same time, she didn't trust Piper. How was she going to trust someone who just appeared in her life? Then again, wasn't that what Reyna did? Thalia snarled at the window and settled for watching the rain fall.
The rest of their drive was in awkward silence. Thalia was nursing her wounds, and Piper was entirely focused on the road. For all Thalia knew, Piper was driving her right to Luke and his cronies. That turned out not to be the case as they drove into one of the shittier parts of town and stopped at a large, beat-down apartment complex.
Thalia knew this part of the city well. It had been under the rule of a gang almost a decade ago, but the gang was dedicated to keeping the peace and troublemakers off of their turf. It was a safe place for women to be out at night and not have to worry about what creatures await. Men? Not so much. Thalia heard reports of the brutal murder that happened to any man who crossed the gang.
While Thalia didn't remember the name of the gang, she knew that it was the first real gang that Luke and his buddies took out. It was the start of Luke's rise to power; and after he took out the gang, this place turned into an absolute shithole.
Piper parked the van next to the building and looked at Thalia, "Can you walk on your own?"
"I think so," Thalia answered. Piper nodded and moved towards the back of the van. Thalia gingerly turned and looked back. Reyna was laying on her side, but her face was buried into the floor of the van. Piper walked towards Reyna and gently scooped her up.
"Come on," Piper ordered. She climbed out of the van and walked towards the door. Thalia slowly opened the door and climbed out of the van. She winced as her feet touched the ground, and she leaned on the vehicle as she closed the door.
Thalia followed Piper into the apartment complex. Thalia was greeted with a hallway that was barely lit, and all kinds of stains covered the walls. Piper made her way towards the stairs and carefully tried to walk up them, but a small groan of pain escaped Reyna every few steps. Thalia stayed close behind the other woman.
They made it up to the fifth floor, and the two of them walked down the hall. Piper stopped at a door. "This is Reyna's place. Can you open the door?"
Thalia moved towards the door and tried to open it, but the door didn't budge. She glanced at Piper and shook her head. Piper frowned and looked around the hallway. Thalia could guess that Reyna used her magic trick to enter and leave her apartment if she even stayed there.
"Check her pockets for a key," Piper suggested. Thalia carefully reached into Reyna's pocket and shifted around to find a key, but she couldn't. Even checking the jacket pockets revealed nothing. Thalia looked at Piper and shook her head again.
Piper gently laid Reyna on the floor and then moved towards the door. Thalia leaned against the wall and tried to ignore the aches and pains that shot through her body. In less than a minute, Piper had the door open. She picked Reyna back up and carried her inside.
Thalia slowly used the wall to help her walk into the apartment. She closed the door behind her and locked it. Thalia took the time to examine the living space. It looked about the size of a garage that two cars could barely fit into. There was a fridge tucked against the wall next to a sink. There was no oven or stove to cook with, but there was a microwave.
Thalia was grateful for the small bathroom tucked into the corner. Her gaze moved to the table full of small knives, daggers, and even a sword. Half of them were steel, and the other half was shiny gold. Piper spoke, "Grab the duffel bag."
"Got it," Thalia said as she carefully scooped up a duffel bag near the table. She turned to watch Piper lay Reyna in a bed that actually looked comfortable. Thalia walked towards them. Piper gently pulled off Reyna's jacket and placed it to the side.
"Reyna is not going to be happy that I brought you here," Piper informed. She took the duffel bag from Thalia and opened it. Thalia slowly sat down against the wall and watched Piper run a rag under water before moving back to Reyna's side. She gently cleaned away all of the blood from Reyna's face.
"I didn't think Reyna had an apartment. Or slept. Or could feel pain," Thalia commented. "I don't even think she's human."
"She's a half-blood," Piper corrected. "I am too. My mother is Aphrodite, goddess of love. You won't see a lot of us demigods anymore. Any lone one is usually hunted down and killed. We all have to join groups to try and survive. Or be protected by someone we love and not told the truth about what we are. Knowing you're a demigod increases your scent to monsters."
"Monsters," Thalia repeated. "Like that man? I swear he was a bear for a split second. What the fuck was that?"
"Bodyguards for Luke Castellan," Piper muttered bitterly. Agrius and Oreius. They're called the Bear Twins, and they've killed a lot of good people."
"Bear Twins? Are they monsters?" Thalia asked. Piper nodded. "How did they find me? One of them said something about smelling demigod on me."
"Monsters can track half-bloods by their scent. The more powerful you are means you have a stronger scent. They probably smelled Reyna on you and just assumed that only a half-blood could kill Ethan. How did you manage to kill him?"
"With Reyna's help," Thalia answered after a few moments. She didn't trust Piper enough to give out any more information.
"Reyna isn't the helpful kind," Piper commented. She pulled off Reyna's belt and threw it to the ground. "Help me get her pants off."
Thalia hesitated but walked towards the two. She helped Piper gently pull off Reyna's pants. A strangled moan escaped Reyna as her pants brushed against her knee. Thalia stared at how blackened and bruised Reyna's entire leg was. Her knee was swollen and out of place.
Piper grabbed a canteen from the bag and unscrewed the lid. She poured more of the same golden liquid down Reyna's throat. Thalia spoke, "She's going to be out for months."
"No, Reyna will heal pretty fast. Probably faster than you," Piper said. "Between the ambrosia and nectar that you'll give her and sleep, she'll be back before you know it."
"You half-bloods heal faster?" Thalia questioned.
"Some more than others," Piper replied. She gently touched Reyna's knee and seemed to be moving her kneecap back in place. Another strangled noise escaped Reyna. Piper finished and did the same to the rest of Reyna's leg.
When Piper was done, she gently pulled off Reyna's bloodied shirt before placing a blanket over the woman. Piper turned towards Thalia, "How bad are you hurting?"
"I think I just need sleep," Thalia muttered. She shook her head and looked at Piper. "I don't suppose I can drink anything from that canteen."
"No. It's for half-bloods only," Piper answered. She smiled at Thalia. "I'll get you enough food and water to last until Reyna wakes up."
"Did you see Jason before he died?" Thalia asked suddenly. Piper looked at her, and tears slowly welled in the woman's eyes. She turned away and wiped her eyes.
"A few days before," Piper whispered. "I tried to convince him to leave this city with you. To just leave this all behind. Jason wouldn't do it, though. He said that there were too many good people here who couldn't defend themselves and had been abused and used by Luke and his goons. Jason wanted to do the right thing, and he died for it."
"He didn't just die," Thalia suddenly snapped. "He was tortured to death and mutilated. Why didn't you try harder? Why didn't you save him!"
"I tried," Piper began.
"You were supposed to be his girlfriend. You had the power to easily kill that monster, but you're telling me that you weren't able to stop Luke. Yet, Reyna expects me to use a fucking gun to do just that!" Thalia yelled at the top of her lungs. She stabbed her finger directly into Piper's chest. "I'm normal! I'm not some freak that can vanish and reappear at will or heal from a horrific injury in days!"
"If you were keeping an eye on me, you should have done the same for Jason!" Thalia wailed like a banshee. Piper stared her down for a long moment. Thalia felt herself shaking in rage. What the fuck was she able to do that all these crazy supposed demigod freaks couldn't? Why were they relying on her?
"I'll get you food and water," Piper finally said. She turned and left the apartment without saying anything else. Thalia let out angry breaths and turned, kicking the nearest solid object. She almost yelped as her foot hit the metal legs of the table.
Thalia stumbled into the table and exhaled angry breaths. It wasn't fair that these freaks expected her to do things that they couldn't do. It was probably their fault that Jason had been dragged into this mess. And if Reyna could protect Thalia, why couldn't Piper protect Jason? Those two were demigods after all. They had to have similar powers.
Thalia sat at the desk and felt tears of pain and frustration come to her eyes. She hung her head and wished this nightmare would be over. Thalia wanted to wake up in bed and realize that this was all just some kind of fucked up dream. She wanted to wake up and see that Jason was alive.
Jason wasn't alive, though. He was dead, and Thalia just wanted to avenge him. To do that, she had to work with the biggest asshole she had ever met. Reyna was nothing more than a vessel for hatred and misery. Yet she had saved Thalia's life.
Thalia carefully picked up one of the golden knives and examined it. Her eyes moved to the rest of the items on the table, and a picture caught her attention. Thalia picked up the frame and examined the picture that was inside.
Two women were standing in the picture. One was a younger version of Reyna. She looked to be a teenager in the picture, and there was a happy smile on her face. She was leaning against another woman who had an arm wrapped around her. The other woman was taller than Reyna but looked just like her: same black eyes and regal face. Her black hair hung loosely, and she wore a small smirk.
Other than that, Thalia noticed the leather jacket that the other woman in the picture wore. If she wasn't mistaken, it was the same one currently laying on Reyna's bed. Thalia placed the picture down and turned away from the table. She walked back towards the leather jacket and picked it up. Her gaze focused on the name stitched inside: Hylla Ramirez-Arellano
Hylla.
That was the same name that Reyna called her when she took that hit to the head. Thalia looked back at the picture. She knew that Luke did something to Hylla that turned Reyna bitter and hateful. Thalia could take the wild guess that Luke killed Hylla, but was it as brutal as Jason's death? Or worse?
Thalia sighed and laid on the bed next to Reyna. She stole the blanket from her and turned on her side. Anger filled her chest, but she didn't care if she had hurt Piper's feelings. She didn't care if Reyna had nearly died because of her.
A growl left Thalia, and she grabbed the pillow. She punched it for good measure and then buried her face in it. All Thalia could do now was wait. Trying to take out Bryce alone would be suicide. She had to wait for Reyna to wake up. Then, they could plan their next move.