Chapter 1
As Reyna stared at the broad back of the demigod leaned against the ship's railing, she remembered her first conversation she had with Percy about him.
The room was dark, the only light came from the lone candle placed on the centre of the table. Reyna stared at Percy, his eyes seemed to glow, they might have reflected the small flame or it might have been natural, Reyna could not tell. Nor did she wish to, because they were full of shadows which spoke of a troubled story. A story that itched to be told.
They had received a message, the Greek demigods were coming to meet with them. Reyna's stress levels reached new heights when she saw how Percy's gaze had changed when that boy Leon or Leo or whatever had mentioned someone named 'Logan' was coming as well.
"If you want to understand Logan," Percy's voice drew her out of her thoughts, "Then I must start with the beginning."
" First time you met him?"
"Yes. It was the end of my second year at the camp, right after Thalia had been…"
"Who's Thalia?" Reyna's interruption had been involuntary, but there were so many Greeks she didn't know and Percy kept forgetting that.
"Never mind, that's a story for another time. Anyways, the end of my second year, Chiron wanted to introduce me to a new camper. Logan, two years older than me, he was a great guy, he was my best friend."
"Was?"
"We'll get there," sighed Percy, "He was the best fighter I ever seen. I could never beat him."
"Better than you?" Reyna asked doubtfully. She had seen Percy fight, and she doubted that there were many demigods who could best him.
"Believe me, he could take on an entire legion all by himself, Athena claimed him as her son, he always used to say he had inherited more from the war side of his mother," chuckled Percy. "But don't worry, he was a great guy, heart bigger than the sea."
"Why do you keep saying 'he was'?" Reyna inquired, "The guy's not dead is he?"
Percy's face darkened, his gaze once more drawn to the candle, "He, well, he has changed a lot. You know about Daedalus?"
"The one who made the Labyrinth, yes, I do know of him."
"We found entrances in that bloody thing, so we send scouts, to see how far it goes, what we can find. We knew it was dangerous, but we still did."
"Logan was a scout, right?" Reyna had already guessed the answer, so she was not surprised when Percy nodded.
"Yeah, he was. I haven't seen him at all until the end of the summer, right before Kronos attacked the camp. He fought the hardest out of all of us. He saved our lives."
"You said he went into the Labyrinth."
"It was the worst idea we ever had. We thought he was dead, then he appears out of nowhere. He was changed after that, there was something else in him, something dark," Percy chuckled humorlessly, Logan had been a good man, and even his trip in that damned placed hadn't changed that, yet his friend had turned into something he barely recognized. "He never told anyone where the Labyrinth had brought him, what it had shown him or what it had made him do, I reckon not even the Gods know."
When Percy had asked him about his journey, Logan had simply said, "There are other worlds other than this one, Percy, and the Labyrinth reaches them all.
Logan was staring at the sea below them, yet Reyna knew he could feel her presence, perhaps he had heard the creaking of wood under her slender legs, or he had felt her scent, after spending weeks with him, she had learned that his senses were sharper than a normal demigod's.
As she made a step towards him she glanced at the night sky, all above them stars. Another memory came to her. The first time she had met him.
The huge warship hovered above the Field of Mars. A rope had been lowered and the Greek demigods were climbing down.
They stood there, a line of armed Romans against a couple teenagers dressed in normal clothes. Percy had recognized his friends, yet he had yet to make a move towards them. The Greeks had made note of his presence, but their hesitance was evident, given their looks when they had seen the praetor robe he wore.
Reyna's gaze had swept over each one, trying to identify the biggest threat. A slim kid who looked to be Mexican, a beautiful girl next to Jason, Jason! Reyna's heart itched for a second, but she ignored it and continued to study the Greeks. A blonde girl with grey, calculating eyes, the leader most likely. She was the one who stepped forward, a frown plastered on her face.
Reyna opened her mouth to address her when the last demigod jumped off the rope. Her heart stopped beating for a moment. He was tall, a red shirt thrown on him in a rush, his hair was brown and it almost reached his shoulders, the beginning of a beard was starting to make itself known. He walked with nonchalance, and yet he looked ready to pounce at the nearest sign of danger.
Reyna had known then that he was the most dangerous demigod she had ever encountered, and she had been so right. When she had looked in his eyes, on the rocky ground of the Field of Mars, she had known fear. Her knees had buckled, her heart had clenched, and her hands had started to twitch uncontrollably. All for a second, before his dark green eyes had moved over. One by one, each Roman had been checked by him, he had dismissed all of them, none posed a threat big enough for him.
When his eyes had found hers again, the feeling of danger was still present, although it had been a lot less evident the second time.
He had started talking them, a throaty voice that was clearly heard by all present.
"Percy." then his eyes had moved to the city of New Rome, and Reyna had been sure that in his mind, he was thinking about ways to assault it.
He truly had inherited the war side of his mother.
Reyna took another step, more memories flowing through her tired mind. She needed to sleep, but she had woken to find her bed empty, so she had gone searching for him.
Most nights, she could find him on the deck, staring at the stars, and at the moon. She remembered the adventures they had been put through. The run from New Rome, her label as a traitor, the journey to Italy and Greece, the fall of the gods.
The fall of the gods, Reyna lingered on that thought, Gaea had lost, and yet the Romans and Greeks had destroyed each other in a civil war, and the titans had taken over the disaster.
Now, they were on the run, the few that had remained. In search for the statue of Athena, they found it once, but lost it as quickly when it fell into Tartarus after Percy and Annabeth.
As a praetor, she was used to people socially distancing from her, out of respect and maybe a little fear. She was lonely, having only Jason to talk to as a friend, and when he had disappeared, she had been truly alone.
Sometimes, all she wanted was someone to talk to, someone that would understand her, someone like her.
Sadly, none of her former demigods from the quest were people that she could connect with.
Percy had broke her heart, even if that wasn't his intention. And still, what hope could Reyna have if Annabeth was involved? Even stripped off of his memories, Percy had still remembered her.
Frank and Hazel, they were Romans, they were her soldiers, they saw her as their superior and that was that.
Jason…Reyna felt a tinge of jealousy, he had changed in his time with the Greeks. Piper was living proof.
Reyna sighed. These demigods were good people, and she knew she could rely on them, but she just didn't feel close enough to them, not close enough that she could let some of her problems go, let some of her worries dissipate.
And then, there was Logan.
Reyna knew that the tall man was not a good man. At least, not like Percy or Jason.
The man was a warrior. That was an undeniable truth. Saying that the sun set on the west and rose on the east had the same weight as saying that Logan was a soldier.
It was almost a universal truth.
Logan was a strange man.
Reyna could not yet fully decipher him. He was Percy's best friend, they were like brothers, and the son of Poseidon was among the few people who could tell when Logan was sarcastic or not.
But still, Logan was not a good man. The stories that Percy had told about him from the Second Titan War... the man was a cut-throat murderer, an assassin and at the same time a frontline fighter and a commander.
There was no denying his fighting skills, but something about his presence, the way he talked in his even, husky voice, the way he carried himself, the way he talked about some things unnerved Reyna.
Percy had told her not to judge him based on his actions, but Reyna doubted that someone who had spent months in the Labyrinth all by himself would ever be sane again, that is, if they were sane to begin with.
While Logan's intentions might have been good, the way he did some things scared Reyna.
She had confronted him once about that, and he simply said that sometimes, the world needed people like him.
She could see him there, at the front of the ship. She started to walk faster, but stopped when she heard a woman speak.
"It is possible, that you are not going to survive this war," her sweet voice was alluring, even filled with concern, Reyna could not deny that she had never heard something more beautiful in her entire life, Reyna figured it was a god.
And then she heard Logan's calm, husky voice.
"If I was concerned about that, I would have brought it up months ago."
Reyna frowned. 'What?'
The woman's voice again.
"But…why are you so eager to throw your life away? I thought you had people you wanted to protect."
"I do, but they are capable of doing it themselves."
She could see her now, a beautiful woman. A goddess. Some Gods of Olympus still existed, but they were hiding, rare were the moments when one would talk to the small group of demigods.
The woman studied Logan for a moment. "You want death, don't you?"
Logan said nothing and the woman chuckled.
"Death wants you to be terrified, and yet you wish for it."
"It is not something I'm looking forward to, but it's neither something I'm afraid of."
"Aren't you scared of judgment? Judgment for the things you have done?" the woman inquired.
"Someone told me once, that the horrors you commit do not define you."
The woman scolded, "That someone is dead, the old gods are dead."
Logan laughed, he laughed and laughed and laughed. "Aye, they are dead, because in the end, they were all made of flesh that can be cut, and bones that can be broken."
"And how many of those bones did you break? How many gods fell by your hands, of this world and others?" her tone was accusing and she pointed a finger at him.
"Oh, you mean to tell me that I am a monster? For killing your kind? Every time you come to me, you come with warmness and love, and yet you always bring this up. I am a monster, I admit it. But be careful, you should speak more carefully, after all, monsters are dangerous, and just now gods are dying like flies."
A tear fell down her cheek, she embraced him, but Logan did not move. "Look at you," she began, "They made you into a weapon and told you to find peace."
Logan sighed tiredly. "You should, go, they will find you if you stay any longer."
The woman evaporated into the air and Logan turned towards Reyna.
He smiled at her, and it filled her heart with joy.
His tall, broad-shouldered frame towered over hers. His t-shirt was old and weathered, the scars on his arms visible for Reyna to see, but she knew them all, she knew every scar on his body, he was littered with them, from old hunts, fights, travels, a living tapestry of someone who had spit in Death's face.
She stared into his eyes, deep green, beautiful. His beard was fully grown now, and it covered the cut on his jaw.
Reyna rushed forward and embraced him, but he dissolved into the night air the same way the mysterious goddess had done moments before.
She fell to her knees when she realized the illusion, desperation clawing into her, she punched the wooden deck in frustration.
The fall in Tartarus. Reyna remembered. She hated that place, even though she had never seen it. Logan had jumped after his friends, he had kissed her, muttered a goodbye and simply jumped in Hell.
When Percy and Annabeth had returned from that damned place, her heart had been pounding, eager to meet with Logan again. But all of her hopes had been blown away when Percy had told her that his friend had stayed behind to fight against Tartarus himself.
Ever since that rueful day, she had visions of him, sometimes, she saw him in her dreams, or nightmares, other times such as these, she had whole hallucinations of him.
"He still lives," the woman from before spoke.
She was next to her, staring absently into the horizon. Reyna knew that the goddess was the one who gave her the visions.
"That was the last time we spoke," the goddess continued, "Before he fell into the Pit."
"Who are you?" Reyna asked her but the woman ignored her again, she always did, never answering her questions, only having a one sided conversation.
"I can still see him sometimes, I try to protect him as best as I can, but I can't reach the place he finds himself in." For the first time, the deity looked at Reyna. "He has killed countless kings, faked countless deaths, conquered countless kingdoms and worlds, bided his time, survived countless challenges, all of these to reach you."
Reyna remained silent, the woman's words had made her think. She knew that Logan was alive, she knew. But he was not here, in his absence, and with Percy gone to Hades knows where, she was the leader of the last surviving demigods, she could not allow herself to be distracted by false hopes. They were at war, and who was dead stayed dead. Or at least, that was how it should be.
"Do not try to sell dreams," began Reyna, "to someone who lives in a nightmare."
The woman continued to stare, but the corner of her lips twitched, she disappeared for the second time that night, leaving Reyna alone with her dark thoughts, with the memories of her lover.
He might have been dead, the mysterious goddess might have lied, but in her heart, Reyna knew that Logan was alive, and she would freeze Tartarus ten times over if it meant that she could hold him again.