"Reyna, keep your temper. I don't care what she says. You are going to keep your mouth shut and not let her goad you," Lupa ordered. Reyna glanced at her mentor and nodded. Her gaze moved to her healing knuckles. "Do you understand?"
"Lupa, I promise you that I will keep my temper," Reyna swore. Lupa nodded at her vow, and they heard the door open. Reyna moved her gaze to the receptionist that had first met them at the door. This was one of the few times that she had been at the headquarters for the Olympic League. It was a ten story building that seemed to have more windows than walls.
"Are you sure you're doing okay? You look pretty upset," Piper began. While Reyna would prefer for Octavian to be there, he had more family drama to deal with. That left Reyna with Piper.
"Just a shitty holiday," Reyna muttered while she rubbed her forehead. Reyna was still pissed about what Thalia said. She tried to reign in her rage and not ruin dinner, but she barely spoke to Thalia after coming back from walking her dogs.
"I heard what happened. I'm sorry," Piper began. Reyna just shrugged as she looked down at the ground. Her mind was on what they were about to do: signing a contract to make Reyna's next fight official. Fight contracts weren't normally done this way, but Lupa had kept her word when she said that she was going to make sure certain concessions were put into the fight contract. All that was left to do was sign it.
While Octavian wasn't there, he had already looked over the contract with Lupa. Reyna already knew everything that was in there, which was a good thing because she could never understand the fancy language used in the paperwork.
If Clarisse decided to break one of Reyna's limbs again, that would be the end of Clarisse's fighting career. She would be barred from the league, and there was an insane fine that she would have to pay. Reyna tried to share Lupa's confidence that Clarisse wouldn't try that stunt again.
"Do not let Clarisse get under your skin," Lupa warned with an icy tone for a final time as the receptionist led them into a conference room. Reyna scanned her surroundings and settled for focusing on the large table in the middle of the room. Twenty chairs lined the large piece of furniture, and four of them were already filled.
Reyna stopped walking to glare at Clarisse. The other woman watched her with an annoyingly smug smirk. A hand rested against Reyna's back and guided her to a chair on the opposite side of the table. It took her a moment to sit down, and Piper sat on one side. Lupa sat on the other.
"Gleeson, how are you today?" Lupa asked warmly as she looked around the table. Reyna turned her watchful eye to Gleeson Hedge. The man was a legendary fighter in his own right, but his career was ended by a gruesome leg injury that left him with a limp.
"I'm good, Lupa. How are you?" Hedge returned. He walked towards them and held his hand out. Lupa shook his hand before pulling the shorter man into a hug. "Mellie was telling me about your mother. I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you," Lupa said softly. Reyna took her attention off of the two and looked back at Clarisse. Just looking at the woman made Reyna's blood boil, but all she had to do was keep her cool until this was over. When they fought each other next, Reyna would knock that smug look off of Clarisse's face. Permanently.
The man on Clarisse's other side was her father and trainer. He was also an official for the Olympic League. Reyna hated how such favoritism was put on display, but at the same time, she couldn't deny that Clarisse let her skills carry her. She may have been given a higher profile fight here or there, and she was an incredibly hyped up fighter when she first joined. But, that damn woman proved that she deserved it.
A neutral party, one of the higher ups in the league, sat at the middle part of the table. He looked in between Reyna and Clarisse. Reyna wasn't sure of his name, but she had seen him when she signed her very first contract to join the Olympic League.
"Thank you all for coming today," the official began as he stood. Reyna shifted her attention to him. "This contract signing will not take long, but I want to make sure that we are clear on the terms. The two of you will fight in a rematch. The rules will be as they usually are, but we have added in the clause that Miss Clarisse La Rue will not repeat her previous actions."
"Specifically, the breaking of Miss Ramirez-Arellano's arm after the round time expired. If she were to do that again, she will be barred from the league, and she will be fined five hundred thousand dollars. Now, this does not include any bones in the face or any appendages. An exception is if Miss La Rue has Miss Ramirez-Arellano in a submission hold, and Miss Ramirez-Arellano refuses to submit. If the hold is still applied during the time of a fight and a limb is broken, it is legal. Are these terms understood?"
"Yeah," Clarisse spat. She grabbed a pen and signed her name on the contract. Clarisse tried to shove the contract across the table, but it didn't really work. That didn't stop the woman from throwing the pen right at Reyna.
"I understand," Reyna said, and she picked up the pen from where it had fallen on the ground. Reyna picked it up and signed her own name as well. She slowly handed it off to the official. Her gaze moved to Clarisse.
"I'm going to beat your ass all over that cage," Clarisse promised. "It's going to make our first fight look like a practice match."
"Either way, you'll end up on your back," Reyna retorted. Clarisse sneered at her. The official cleared his throat and stood.
"Now, the fight will take place in four months," the official stated. "It will be the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Olympic League, and we want to put the best card forward for our fans. That is why we have decided that based upon the anticipation around this rematch and the records that you both have, the winner of this match will be next in line for a championship match."
"I can't wait to make Chase eat dirt," Clarisse said. Reyna just glared at her opponent. All she had to do was beat Clarisse, and she would have a shot at Annabeth's title. Four long years of hard work would finally pay off. It seemed like something always came up whenever Reyna was close to a shot at the title: a minor injury, someone jumping the line, or choking in the fight that would have pushed her over the edge.
Not anymore. Reyna would win this fight against Clarisse. Then, she was coming directly for Annabeth.
Reyna sighed as she walked into her apartment. Nico was sitting on the couch and playing a game. He wasn't alone, though. Reyna placed her keys down and looked at her girlfriend, "Thalia?"
"Hey," Thalia said as she stood. "I didn't realize that you were out, but I brought you some food."
Reyna glanced at Nico. He had a container of food next to him and was eating out of it as he played. He looked at Reyna and waved. Reyna slowly looked back at her girlfriend. Thalia was wearing her jacket and had a small frown on her face, which was odd. She usually wore a grin.
"Thanks," Reyna began. She slowly took off her jacket. "I was making my next fight official. I didn't get a text from you."
"I wanted to surprise you," Thalia admitted with a shrug. "Before we eat, can we talk in private?"
Reyna nodded and led Thalia towards her room. She stepped inside and greeted her dogs as they ran to her side. They cuddled against her legs, and she patted them. Thalia closed the door behind them.
"I'm sorry," Thalia said. Reyna slowly looked at her. "About what I said."
"About my father?" Reyna muttered as she averted her gaze.
"Exactly that," Thalia confirmed. She sighed and sat on Reyna's bed. "Nico called me out on it. Hell, Annabeth did too after we got home. I know that I joke about things like that because that's how I get through it. I just have to laugh it off."
"What the hell gives you the right to tell me how much my father did or did not hit me?!" Reyna snapped. "It's not something that I can just joke about or brush aside! Yeah, I know your mother got drunk and hit you. But at least you weren't watching your back every hour of the fucking day because your father was insane."
Reyna took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She hated that her temper was slipping out once again. Reyna was trying to keep it inside, so she wouldn't let it out on others. Here she was, just letting the damn thing leak out.
"I'm sorry," Reyna said softly. She sat by Thalia and looked at the ground. "I'm trying to stop this. I'm trying not to snap on you or anyone else. I don't know why I can't."
"Maybe you should stop keeping things inside," Thalia said. She slowly placed a hand to Reyna's knee, but it wasn't in a flirtatious way. Thalia squeezed Reyna's knee gently. "I didn't know that your father was insane."
"He, um, heard things. Voices. He claimed it was our ancestors," Reyna began. Her words got stuck in her throat, and she swallowed painfully. Thalia slowly wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her back. Reyna leaned on her girlfriend and then slowly laid on the bed. She rested her head in Thalia's lap. A hand gently ran through her hair.
"Our ancestors were warriors. He always said that our mother's side could be traced back to legends of Rome. His family could be traced back to pirates, soldiers, and all kinds of vagrants. My father was a soldier," Reyna continued. Her voice died again, and she closed her eyes.
Thalia moved her hand to Reyna's back and rubbed it gently. Reyna rested her head against Thalia and tried to release the tension from her shoulders. Seeing Clarisse had gotten her all riled up. Plus the news that she was so close to earning a shot at Annabeth's title. The pinnacle of Reyna's career was right there, and she was inches away from the mountaintop.
"A roadside bomb. Shrapnel tore into his shoulder, and I don't think it was ever fully removed. It bothered him every day, and I think being in combat just made it worse. He never adjusted to civilian life, and something in him broke one day. I don't know if it was the stress of trying to raise two kids or something else," Reyna whispered.
"Hylla took a lot of hits for me," Reyna whispered. She felt tears come to her eyes, but she took a deep breath and blinked rapidly to shove it back down. "She couldn't take them all, though..."
"I'm sorry, Reyna. I didn't know it was that bad," Thalia began. Reyna shrugged. Thalia kissed her forehead. "Is that why you took up fighting?"
"No," Reyna answered, but she couldn't bring herself to elaborate. Instead, she sighed deeply and closed her eyes. "We spent a lot of nights up on the roof of our villa. It was the one place he couldn't find us. We always had to go back inside, but I know that Hylla just wanted us to run away."
"Sometimes, I wonder if my mother knew," Reyna continued. She felt that hand still rubbing her back, before moving to her tense shoulders. "If she did know, why didn't she interfere? Did she care? Was she scared of him? I have so many questions, and I don't know if I'll ever get any answers."
"Why don't you just look her up?" Thalia asked quietly. "Her name has to be on your birth certificate, and I'm sure that you can make a little progress just by looking the name up."
"I know," Reyna said. She slowly looked up at Thalia. "I'm just... I don't know."
Reyna sighed and looked down. She couldn't just admit that she was scared of meeting her mother. Of course, she wanted to, but what would happen? What would Reyna do if she saw her mother? There was so much that she wanted to know and say. But, she didn't know if she could.
"How about we eat something?" Thalia said. Reyna nodded and wiped her eyes to keep any tears from leaking out. She slowly stood. "I can stay the night if you want, but I'm sure you'll want to be alone."
"You can stay," Reyna said after a few moments. Thalia smiled at her, but Reyna couldn't find it in herself to smile back. She just focused on her dogs and carried them out of the room. "Or, do you want to go out somewhere? We can catch a movie."
"Like a date? You hate those," Thalia said. Reyna shrugged and felt Thalia's arm wrap around her. Thalia kissed her forehead. Reyna turned and rested her head against her girlfriend.
"I'm trying to be a better girlfriend," Reyna muttered. The words felt hollow as they left her mouth, not that her girlfriend seemed to notice. Thalia smiled and gently kissed her. Reyna kissed Thalia back, but as she did, the only thing she could think about was kissing Annabeth.