Decided not to bore you with meetings this chapter.
One thing led to another, and well, you'll see.
Any dialogue in italics is being spoken in Latin or Greek depending on the speaker.
Also, if it isn't clear, this story is un-beta'd.
Reyna
Aurum and Argentum raced through the door the second she opened it. With a small smile, Reyna watched as the two greyhounds raced each other to the barracks. She followed the dogs slowly, taking in the silent camp. Almost everyone was still asleep, even the Lares were nowhere to be seen. The braziers had just been extinguished; smoke curling up into the still dark sky. This was her favorite time of day, the brink of dawn. The dogs came bounding back to her and nipped at her heels playfully. Laughing, she gave in and ran the rest of the way to the barracks, Aurum and Argentum racing alongside her.
A sleepy eyed Jacob saluted her as she turned the corner. Reyna nodded and straightened the medals on her chest. Once she took her customary position at the head of the street the barracks were on, she gave Jacob a nod. The eagle bearer lifted the staff and brought it back down, hard. Whit hot lightning arced into the sky. It was a signal to the sentries on the Decamanian gate to sound the call to muster. A shrill horn blared, the ear piercing noise echoing throughout the camp.
"Up! Up!" The centurions appeared, fully dressed, at the doors of the barracks.
From each cohort, one centurion raced down to the road, prepared to get their legionnaires into position. The other centurion held the door open, and yelled at the campers to hurry up.
"On your feet!"
The horn blared again.
"Move! Move! Move!"
Percy
Percy groaned and pulled his pillow over his head. He had spent half the night in the principia, "debriefing" Annabeth, Leo, Piper and Jason. Not only had they discussed the prophecy, but the disappearance of Nico. Annabeth looked surprised, too surprised, when Percy told her that Nico was a senator, and he couldn't help but wonder if she knew more than she was letting on. Poor Hazel was devastated when Reyna told her that Camp Jupiter would not be contributing any supplies or assistance in the effort to rescue Nico, her reason being that Nico was a Greek, and thus Camp Half Blood's concern. Percy had tried to argue with her, but the daughter of Bellona had given him a glare that would have had Kronos cowering. The meeting had progressed in classic demigod fashion, with lots of questions and interruptions. By the time it was over, he was half awake and couldn't even manage to walk Annabeth to her hotel in New Rome.
The horn blared again and he swore. Why did the Romans insist on waking up at an ungodly hour? Suddenly the pillow was ripped from his grasp and he was spinning. He hit the floor hard and found himself looking up at a grinning Dakota.
"What the Hades, man?"
"Morning." Dakota took a sip from his flask. "You better get your podex moving, you're supposed to be outside with Reyna already."
He swore again and jumped to his feet, pulling on his armor hastily. By the time he was dressed, the legion was almost assembled. He jogged down the road, trying to ignore the taunts and looks. When he reached Reyna, he gave her a nod, but the daughter of Bellona didn't even glance at him. With a sigh, he tied his cape around his neck and turned to face the legion.
"Your armor is crooked." Reyna whispered.
Percy glanced down at his breastplate, which was indeed crooked. Shaking his head, he straightened it while Reyna stepped forward and addressed the legion.
Twenty minutes later, and he was still trying to straighten his armor. Roman armor was so much more complicated than Greek armor. There were a lot more pieces, and straps and buckles and laces, it was a wonder anyone could outfit themselves in it.
"Need some help?"
Startled, Percy glanced up and found Annabeth standing in front of him. It was so loud on the Via Praetoria, what with all the vendors and fawns begging for denari, that he hadn't heard her approach. Attempting one last time to fix it himself, and failing, he sighed and nodded his head.
She rolled her eyes and stepped closer, so close that he could smell her shampoo. "You know," with ease, she undid buckles and re-tied laces, "after spending so many years at camp, you think you would learn how to put your armor on."
"I've only been here for five days, three of which were spent in Alaska."
Annabeth tied the last knot and stepped back. He glanced down, and surveyed her work. Everything was in place, even his medals were pinned on in a perfect line. He couldn't help but think Reyna would be impressed with Annabeth's attention to detail. Satisfied with her work, Annabeth turned, but Percy stopped her. With a smirk, he tugged her closer. He hadn't gotten a chance to give her a proper hello last night. Just as he was about to brush his lips against hers, a voice called out.
"Percy!"
"Son of Medusa." He mumbled.
Annabeth flicked her eyes open. She was so close that he could see the small, almost blue flecks in her storm grey eyes.
"Percy!"
He turned and glanced over his shoulder. Reyna was jogging toward him, Argentum and Aurum on her heels. Reluctantly, he let go of Annabeth and turned toward Reyna.
"You have the worst timing."
Reyna didn't seem to notice his sarcasm, or maybe she did and he just couldn't tell.
"We received an interesting report this morning." Reyna handed him a piece of paper, but he didn't try to read it. His brain was hardwired for Greek, not Latin. "One of our business partners down at the pier has spotted mermen in the water."
"Mermen?" Annabeth stepped forward and took the report out of his hand. Reyna didn't look happy with the fact that she was reading the report.
"Yes," Reyna said hello to the coffee vender behind them, and while she was distracted, Percy slipped the report out of Annabeth's hand, promising to explain later. "Apparently, the mermen want to speak with us."
Percy frowned. "How do you know that?"
Reyna sighed and motioned to the report in his hand. "You really need to work on your Latin. The mermen carved your name and a crossed sword and torch into the hull of every boat in the marina."
"Well, I'd say they want to speak with us."
Reyna took the report back and turned, heading back toward the camp. Percy took that as his cue to follow, Annabeth keeping pace with him. As they headed back toward the camp, Reyna cast a sidelong glance at Annabeth.
"She has to stay here, Percy."
"She has a name," Annabeth glared at Reyna, and Percy tried not to laugh, "and can hear you."
They stopped at the top of the Vie Praetoria. Octavian and some kid Percy had never seen before were waiting for them. Octavian looked like his usual psychopathic self, complete with a scheming look that sent chills down Percy's spine.
"Percy," Reyna nodded to the boy standing next to Octavian, "this is Julian, son of Mercury and legacy of Vulcan."
Julian was tall and thin, but not skinny like Octavian. He had dark brown hair and bright green eyes. He was a lot like the Stoll brothers, same angular features and mischievous smirk.
"Praetor." Julian nodded, and Percy returned the acknowledgement.
"Julian will be accompanying us to the marina-"
"Annabeth!"
Everyone turned toward the voice. Jason, followed by Piper and Leo, emerged from the crowd on the Via Praetoria. Octavian shot Jason a glare, which the son of Jupiter returned.
"Hey," Jason gave Annabeth a smile and Percy tried to suppress the urge to wrap an arm around her shoulders protectively, "we woke up and found you had already left. We've been looking everywhere for you, I was worried that you had gotten lost in the city-"
"Legionnaire, why aren't you with your cohort?"
Jason looked at Reyna, confused. "What?"
Octavian shouldered his way to stand next to Reyna. "You're supposed to be in the stables with the rest of your sorry excuse for a cohort."
Jason clenched his fist and Percy waited for him to punch Octavian, but Reyna intervened.
"Grace," Jason didn't look too happy with the fact that Reyna was addressing him by his last name, "you were not present at muster, and thus earned the Fifth a week of stable duties."
"I didn't know I was supposed to be present at muster." Jason's voice was clam, but his blue eyes were hard.
"You are a member of this legion, are you not?"
If Jason didn't punch Octavian soon, he was going to. Percy would love nothing more than to wipe that sneer from the augur's face and remind him of his place.
"I'll go and find them immediately praetor." Jason pushed his way past Octavian and Julian, who both gave him glares and muttered something in Latin.
Percy glanced at Reyna, surprised that she didn't call Octavian out. The daughter of Bellona was watching Jason, a pained expression on her face. Sensing his stare, she turned, quickly replacing the emotionless mask she always wore.
"We should get going. Octavian, you and Gwen are in charge while Percy and I are gone."
Octavian nodded. You would have thought that the augur had just defeated Gaia, single handily, by the pleased look on his little rat face. Gods, how Percy wished he could just punch him, just once.
Reyna looked from Annabeth, who was at his side, to Leo and Piper who were speaking with a fawn. "Octavian," Percy felt his stomach drop, "before you head to the Coliseum, find Marcus and have him show the Greeks around."
The pleased expression slipped from Octavian's face. "Yes praetor."
With a dramatic sigh, Octavian left Reyna's side and started down the Via Praetoria. As the augur pushed past Percy, he called out for the Greeks to fall in. Annabeth cast him a look he couldn't decipher, before she grabbed Leo and Piper, and followed Octavian. Percy watched as Octavian led the way toward the city. People made way for him, like they did for Reyna, but the people also glared at his retreating figure and made comments under their breath. It was one thing to be feared, he mused, and another to be respected.
Reyna
"They spelled my name wrong."
Reyna opened the door to the van and jumped out. The smell of brine and fish hit her like a Cyclopes club. She hated the marina. It was too crowded, too organized and too calm. She liked hearing the waves crash against the rocks, or crawl up the sand, not lap against the hull of boats. She liked being able to see out to the horizon, to see the storms rolling in. On the marina, all one could see were masts, docks and the fish factory. On Acea, all one could see was the ocean, and at home, her real home, the water was so close to the house that her father…Reyna shook her head, and tried to suppress the memories.
She walked around the van and stood next to Percy. Every boat in the marina had either a crossed sword and torch carved into it, or Percy's name, which was spelled with an s instead of a c. Julian hoped out of the driver's seat and came to stand next to her, stuffing his hands in his back pockets while he surveyed the scene.
"What do you think?" Reyna hated the fact that her voice seemed to echo through the marina, bouncing off the hulls of the ships.
Julian glanced at her with a small smirk. "I think that Lord Neptune needs to hire a new grammar teacher."
Reyna gave him a warning look. Julian simply shrugged and turned his attention back to the quiet marina. It had never really occurred to her how tall Julian was. The son of Mercury had at least six inches on her, which was surprising, because she was pretty tall.
"There."
Reyna followed the line of Percy's arm. At the head of the floating dock, the water was churning. Percy started down the metal ramp, and she followed, Julian right behind her. The dock swayed under their weight, and Reyna kept to the very middle, not wanting to lose her footing and end up falling into the hull of a boat. The particular dock they were on was very long, perhaps the longest in the marina. It was a short ride or swim, from the end of it to open water.
A head popped up, and they froze. Brown scraggly hair, which looked like seaweed, floated on top of the water around the merman's head. Dark, fathomless eyes regarded them coldly. Instinctively, Reyna rested a hand on the hilt of her dagger. The water on either side of them was churning, and she could just make out the glint of scales beneath the water's surface.
She tapped Percy's foot with the end of her spear, but he didn't look away from the merman. "I don't like this," she glanced warily at the water again, "something feels off."
"It's fine, they won't do anything to us."
She risked a glance back at Julian. The son of Mercury shook his head, his green eyes scanning, jumping from one thing to the other, trying to keep an eye on everything all at once. When she looked back at the merman, she was horrified to see that it was smiling at them. Sharp, serrated teeth gleamed in the weak sunlight. Like something out of nightmare, the merman raised a grey, scaly, webbed hand and beckoned for them to come closer.
Percy started to walk forward, and reluctantly she followed. Behind her, Julian whispered a string of curses that would have had Lupa clawing her ears off. Once they got about twelve feet from the edge of the dock, Percy signaled for her and Julian to stop. Something was definitely off; the water was too still, the air too heavy. She tried to follow Percy as he kept walking, but he stopped her.
"Percy." She hissed.
"Just wait here Reyna; you won't be able to understand them." Was it here imagination, or did the merman at the end of the dock just narrow his eyes? "Relax," Percy gave her a crooked smile, "they won't hurt us, they serve my father."
Reyna kept her eyes glued to him as he covered the last couple of feet. She wasn't about to take her eyes off him, or the creepy sea creature he was so close to. The merman glanced at her, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Something isn't right, her senses whispered. Something's off. She tried to get ahold of her rising panic as Percy took a knee and leaned toward the merman. It's too quiet, she glanced to her right, at the boats and the calm water, the water is too still, the ocean is never still. In the corner of her vision, she saw Percy shift forward slightly. Horrified, she whipped her head toward him. The merman glanced at her again and she fought the urge to pull her dagger and throw it at the creature. Something's wrong…
She jumped when Julian grabbed her arm. Nervous and furious that the guy had almost made her jump nine feet in the air, she turned toward him slightly, but once she got a look at his face, her sharp words died in her throat. Julian, a boy who had served in the legion for seven years, one of the legionnaires who had been in the first wave to storm Mount Tam, looked absolutely petrified. Almost against her will, she followed his gaze. What she saw made her sick.
A man, who looked to be about sixty years old, was hanging from the supports of the fish factory by his hands. His arms were spread to either side, and lashed to beams. His bare feet were resting on the edge of a sign and his mouth was open in a frozen scream. The man, Camp Jupiter's contact at the marina, had been crucified. RUN, her senses screamed.
"Percy!" She turned just in time to see the merman at the end of the dock surge forward and wrap its scaly arms around the son of Neptune.
There was a splash, and then the water was churning. The other mermen, the one's she had seen swimming alongside the dock, were racing toward where Percy had been dragged under. No matter how powerful he was, Percy didn't stand a chance against all those mermen. She thrust her spear into Julian's hand and shouted instructions. While the son of Mercury fended off a few mermen who were trying to pull him in the water, Reyna did what her sense had been screaming at her to do, she ran. Run, she could hear Lupa's voice in her head, snarling at her to run. With practiced ease, she unsheathed her dagger and dropped to her knees. Her momentum and the wet wood caused her to slide forward, making her slash at the merman above her much more effective. She got to her feet and continued her sprint to the end of the dock. When she hit the edge, she held her dagger in between her hands, and dived into the water.
Jason
Jason wasn't prepared for the beating he received from the Fifth cohort. To say his friends were upset with him was an understatement. Every muscle in his body ached as he cleaned out one of the unicorn stalls.
"So," Jason looked through the bars of the stall, into the one next to him, were Gwen was, "good to be home?"
Jason tried not to breathe too deeply when he replied. "Of course, I can't tell you how much I've missed cleaning out the stables."
"Have no fear; I have a good feeling that we'll be doing this a lot this year."
Jason groaned. "Gods Gwen, I hope you're wrong."
Gwen didn't laugh, or respond. Worried, he stopped working and walked up to the bars separating them.
"Gwen?"
The daughter of Apollo kept working, a frown on her pretty face. After a few minutes she paused and looked at him. Her expression was serious, and he hoped he wasn't about to get a lecture.
"Are you really glad to be home, Jason?"
"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" He had a general idea were this conversation was about to go, and prayed to the gods that Gwen would just drop it and continue working.
"I don't know," Gwen shrugged and brushed a strand of hair from her face, "you just seem…different."
Jason turned away from her and got back to work. He didn't want to have this conversation right now.
"You seem to have gotten very close to the Greeks."
Jason kept shoveling and tried to block out her voice.
"Everyone was surprised." Though he had his back to her, Jason knew Gwen had walked up to the bars of the stall. "Especially Reyna."
Reyna
The water was icy cold. Reyna tried to suppress the urge to gasp as she sliced through the water. She could barely see anything in the dark, murky water of the marina. Ahead of her, tails and weapons flashed. Mermen were rushing past her, and she struck out after them.
She had thought Percy was a maniac on land, twisting, diving and slashing, but in the water he was something else. Though there were hundreds of them, the mermen were having a hard time getting ahold of the son of Neptune. Some of the mermen spotted her, and turned away from Percy. It was hard and awkward fighting under the water, but she eventually got the hang of it. Luckily, Percy had seen her, and had created an air bubble around her head so that she could breathe.
Reyna was handling herself well; three mermen had already sunk towards the bottom, while eight more had swum away. Just as she was about to swim to Percy's side to help him out, something wrapped around her ankle and pulled her down. As she went down, the air bubble around her head ruptured. She kicked at the merman that was dragging her to the bottom, trying to break its vice like grip on her ankle. Just as the bottom came into few, her foot connected with the side of the merman's head. Never in her life was she more thankful of her steal plated combat boots.
The merman's head bent at a strange angle, and Reyna didn't need to hear the crack to know that she had broken its neck. Her lungs were burning and she started to claw her way back to the surface. It would have been much easier to swim if she wasn't wearing thirty pounds worth of armor. As she fought her way to the surface, she caught a glimpse of Percy. He was still fighting, but it was clear that he was growing tired. As she watched, a merman swam in behind him and with the hilt of its mini trident, struck Percy in the temple.
The son of Neptune jerked, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. Blood bloomed in the water and she wanted nothing more than to swim over to him and kill the creature that had struck him, but black dots were beginning to form in front of her eyes and her lungs were about to burst. She broke the surface and gasped. Before she could submerge again, someone grabbed ahold of her armor and pulled her up. Julian was leaning over the side of a very expensive and fast looking speedboat. With the help of the son of Mercury, she pulled herself into the boat.
"Percy-"
"I know, the water went still and I saw the cloud of blood."
Julian put the boat into gear and turned it toward open water. The speedboat took off like a shot, and she had to grab ahold of the side to keep from sliding to the back. Through the spray, Reyna could just make out the glinting backs of mermen as they raced out of the marina. Hastily, she began to undo the clasps and ties of her armor.
"What are you doing?" Julian shouted above the wind.
Reyna didn't answer him, she kept unhooking buckles. Her breastplate clanged against the bottom of the boat. With that off, she stood and signaled for Julian to go left. As the boat took a sharp turn, she dived off of it and cut through the water toward the mermen dragging Percy. Without her breastplate and shin guards she was able to swim much faster. Her boots still dragged her down slightly, but she wasn't going to risk fighting the mermen without them.
The three mermen holding Percy let him go and raced toward her. Just as the first two were about to ram into her, a golden spear, her spear, sliced through the water and skewered them. Reyna thanked Mercury for Julian and kicked the third merman in the face as he approached her. Unfortunately, she didn't break its neck and had to get a few more blows in. As the merman began to sink, black blood pouring out of its wounds, she kicked to the surface and drew in a much needed breath.
Almost instantly, she went back under, swimming toward the place were Percy had been. The water was much deeper here, and she prayed to every god she knew that she would be able to get ahold of Percy before he sank to the bottom. Someone must have been listening, because just as she was about to start for the surface, she saw bubbles. Willing her exhausted and oxygen deprived body to keep going, she caught sight of Percy.
Somehow, someway, she reached him and grasped him under his arms. Unlike her, he was still in full armor and it was nearly impossible to swim while holding onto him. It would have been difficult to swim with Percy if he wasn't in full armor. She was strong, but Percy was deadweight.
By the grace of the gods, she reached the surface. Julian heaved her, and Percy aboard, and then turned the boat to shore. Once she got her bearings, Reyna crawled over to Percy, who was ominously still. She started to pump the water from his lungs, whispering the whole time, "Don't die on me you idiot, I didn't drag your podex from the bottom of the ocean for nothing."
Just when she was starting to panic, Percy came to life. He coughed, and water bubbled out of his mouth. With shaking hands, she rolled him onto his side. Percy kept coughing, trying to dispel the salt water from his lungs. After a few seconds, he drew in a ragged breath and relief washed over her. She leaned back against the side of the boat, the adrenaline that had been coursing through her veins was receding and exhaustion was creeping in.
Percy righted himself and sat next to her. She forced her eyes open and glanced sideways at him. His sea green eyes were full of sorrow and steal like determination. Blood stained one of his cheeks and ran down his neck, staining the collar of his soaked t-shirt. He reached up and brushed the hair plastered to his forehead back, wincing as he touched his temple.
"Thanks." It was just a breath, but she heard it above the roar of the speedboat's engine.
She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder, letting the black wave that had been threatening to take over engulf her.
Jason
A horn blared and everyone in the dining pavilion froze. Jason waited tensely for a second blast, which would indicate to the legion that they were being called to arms, but a second blast didn't sound, bells did. Octavian, who was sitting at the head of the First Cohort's table on the other side of the pavilion, was on his feet and down the stairs before the bells chimed a third time. Gwen and a few other legionnaires got to they're feet and followed Octavian out of the pavilion.
"Annabeth," Jason stood and motioned to the daughter of Athena, "follow me."
Dakota and none of the other centurions protested as he and Annabeth walked out of the pavilion. Once they were down the stairs and on the road, Annabeth stopped him.
"Jason, what's going on?"
Jason grabbed her arm and dragged her forward. He broke into a jog, trying to keep up with Octavian and Gwen. The four legionnaires who had followed Gwen out of the pavilion were already specks in the distance, sprinting toward the gates.
"Jason!"
Jason glanced at Annabeth. "The horn that you just heard is a signal from the sentries that Reyna's party is back."
The bells rang again, and ahead of them, Octavian and Gwen broke from a jog into a run. Annabeth didn't even glance at him as she chased after the two centurions.
"What do the bells mean?" The daughter of Athena shouted at him.
"Someone is hurt."
If it were even possible, Annabeth poured on more speed. Jason struggled to keep up with her. As they ran to the infirmary, he prayed to the gods that it was Julian who was hurt.
Octavian
Octavian burst through the doors of the infirmary and made his way straight to Reyna. She was sitting on a cot, a medic leaning over her with a mini flashlight. Besides the few shallow cuts on her upper arms and the fact that she was soaking wet, she looked fine. She irritably pushed the medic's hand away and ordered him to go take care of Percy.
The Greek was laying on a high table, two, and now three, medics hovering over him. Julian, who was the only one out of the party not dripping, stood near the table, debriefing Ethan, the head medic of Camp Jupiter about what happened. Octavian nodded at Julian and then walked over to Reyna. He pulled the cot next to her closer and sat down. The daughter of Bellona had her elbows on her knees, her head in her hands.
Gently, he reached out and laid a hand on her arm. "Hey, are you-"
"I'm fine," she raised her head and glanced at the doors. Octavian turned, but when he realized it was only Gwen, he returned his attention back to Reyna. "I'm fine," she repeated, "just a little dizzy…"
"Grace!" What the Pluto, why was he here? Octavian poured all the venom he could muster into his voice. "Get out."
Jason glared at him, the daughter of Minerva next to him, her eyes glued to Percy and the medics swarming around him.
He started to stand. "Get out Grace, now, before I-"
Reyna grabbed the front of his toga and he sat back down, what he was about to do to the Son of Jupiter forgotten.
"Octavian, I can't-" Reyna's hand was shaking and her dark eyes were wide.
"Reyna, what's-" He grasped her upper arms as her grip on his toga loosened. Octavian was aware of the fact that more people were walking into the infirmary, but he wasn't about to look away from the girl in front of him. Something was wrong, Reyna was pale and trembling.
"Spinning," she whispered before her dark eyes rolled into the back of her head and her body jerked.
"Reyna!"
Swearing, he pushed her back onto the cot as she seized, trying to keep her still so as to minimize injury. Someone, probably Jason, got ahold of her legs and pinned them down. He screamed for Ethan, all semblance of control gone. What the Pluto happened at the marina, he thought. Ethan, a fourteen year old son of Apollo, gave an order for everyone to get out with so much authority Reyna would have obeyed. The head medic felt Reyna's pulse and gave her a quick once over, then turned to the two people checking out Percy and called for them to start injecting him with nectar.
Octavian knew that injecting someone with nectar was something that was only done in dire situations. Reyna stopped seizing and he fought to get himself under control. Ethan motioned for him to get out of the way, and he did, reluctantly. Beside him, Gwen was telling Jason to go wait outside, to go calm everyone down. He should be doing that, he thought. With a last glance at Ethan, who was busy injecting Reyna with nectar and instructing his workers to strap her down in case she seized again, he left the infirmary.
"Octavian!" A beautiful strawberry blonde girl marched up to him, her face twisted in fury. "What the Tarturus is going on?"
He ignored the girl and pushed his way through the gathering crowd toward Julian. Once he reached him, he grasped the son of Mercury by his shirt collar and swung him around so that he could stare at him.
"What happened at the marina?" Julian just stared at him and he shook the boy angrily. "WHAT HAPPENED?"
"Octavian," Gwen un-fisted his hands from Julian's shirt and pushed him back, "let him be, he's in shook."
Swearing he stepped away and began to pace in front of the infirmary doors. People were shouting questions out to him and he wanted nothing more for them to just disappear. Someone grabbed ahold of his arm, and he jerked away. The girl who had yelled at him earlier crossed her arms and stared him down.
"What's going on?"
"I don't-"
The girl threw her hands up. "Well, did she say anything? Is she hurt? Is she going to be okay?"
He swore and gripped the back of his neck with his hand. "She was fine," people started to crowd around him, "she was talking to me and then, and then she just…"
Someone shoved him, hard. "What did she say to you?"
Octavian glared at Jason. The son of Jupiter looked absolutely furious, as if it was his fault Reyna was hurt. His blue eyes reflected the flames of the braziers in front of the infirmary doors, and the air seemed to crackle around him.
"Nothing!" He pointed at the closed infirmary doors aimlessly. "Nothing important, she said she was fine, and then," he glared at Jason, "you walked in and I turned away for a second-"
The strawberry blonde turned him to face her. "She must have said something Octavian, Gwen said you were talking with her-"
He clasped his hands behind his head. "She said she was fine." He ground out. "Then she grabbed my toga and whispered that she was spinning."
"Spinning?" Jason's voice was hard.
The girl asked him something in Latin, but he wasn't listening. He should have known, he shouldn't have let her go. It was too strange; the report didn't make any sense. Why would the mer-people want to speak with Percy and Reyna? It was a trap, he had a feeling, he knew that something was going to go wrong. A woman, one of the Amazons, was pushing her way through the crowd. It was Reyna's sister, and she was demanding to know who was in charge, who was responsible.
"This is all your fault." Jason hissed at him.
Reyna's sister was yelling at the campers to tell her who was in charge. The girl, Kelsey, his fellow centurion of the First, reached out for him again.
"Octavian-"
He couldn't take it anymore. He lashed out at the closest thing to him, which happened to be one of the braziers in front of the infirmary doors. The iron brazier toppled over, burning wood and embers scattering down the steps. People yelled in surprise, but he couldn't focus on anything but Jason's comment, It's all my fault.
So, nice long chapter, updated in a timely fashion, you're welcome.
Fun fact, mer-people freak me out. Whenever I think of a mermaid or merman, I think of the mer people from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. J.K. Rowling officially ruined the Little Mermaid for me, but I still love her work.
Oh Percy and Annabeth, will those two ever get to kiss? (The answer is yes, though I'm not telling you when.)
Do we like hearing from Octavian? Let me know in your review! In case you were wondering, his part was not a part of the infamous Octavian oneshot, that will come up later in the story, I'll let you know when.
So, I know I said there would be fluff in this chapter, but I decided to put it off until the next one. There will be much needed Percebeth fluff,and some Jeyna fluff.
I'd love to hear your thoughts about what is wrong with Reyna and Percy, and what you think will happen the next chapter. Do you think Percy will finally get to kiss Annabeth, the poor girl has only been waiting eight months.
Please review!