24. Shadow
Reyna's gotten accustomed to shadows. Traveling across countries with Nico di'Angelo will do that to a person. And even if she still isn't comfortable with it, she thinks she's at least gotten used to death, from being around the son of the Death God himself.
She hasn't.
Because when Leo Valdez disappears after the war with Gaea, when nobody can find him and he's presumed dead even though Nico swears on every god alive that he isn't…. Reyna knows she isn't used to death at all.
The stupid, most annoying thing of all is that she shouldn't care. This boy- this short, Latino elf who cracks jokes because he's uncomfortable- blew up her home with his warship. They've barely even spoken ten words to each other, and while Reyna knows there was something between them, it isn't enough to justify her feelings.
She had seen him when he looked at her the first time they met. She heard him cracking jokes to Jason and Piper that had made her hold back a smile.
Reyna had developed a bit of a crush.
And then Leo had gone and ruined it all by shooting cannons and causing absolute mayhem, and then taking every leader with a brain on his ship and leaving her to pick up the pieces with Octavian.
Reyna has never believed in love at first sight, or true love or destiny. She believes people make their own path and have to fight for what they want and love creeps up on you, slowly, slowly, until it wraps you and grips so tight you almost never break free.
So there is absolutely no way in Hades that Reyna is in love with Leo Valdez.
But she feels his death like a battle wound, and she sees his shadow just around the corner. She hears the whisper of his jokes that made her laugh on the wind and she sees his absence on Piper and Jason's faces.
There really is no logical reason Reyna should be this affected by the son of Hephaestus' absence. It's ridiculous.
But whoever said love was logical had obviously never been in love before.