A/N: Ha! I lied. This is the second-to-last chapter. Or maybe I didn't, because the next one's an epilogue… it'll be a great epilogue, though, so stick around for it.
New Rome was amazing.
The city nestled in the valley was like something out of an old photograph. There were no asphalt-paved roads clogged with cars belching noxious fumes, no massively tall buildings, no Apple devices; the roofs were made from clay tiles (although they were probably sturdier than they looked from a distance) and the roads were paved with cobblestones. If the people living there hadn't been dressed in the same jeans and T-shirts as the rest of the modern world, Reyna would have said that the city was stuck in a period in time some several hundred years ago.
She attracted more than a few sideways glances and open stares. People clustered in groups, some teenagers, some adults, muttering and looking in her direction. The younger children were different. They yelled their opinions loudly to each other until their parents quieted them. Reyna knew that they were curious, but at the same time, she knew that she wasn't much of a mystery. The citizens of New Rome had received many a new demigod in their lifetimes. But they didn't know her name, or her lineage, or how she had gotten there, or what trials she'd had to face, and that, she reasoned, made them curious.
The scouting party had led her through the Caldecott Tunnel and into the valley, then across the Little Tiber and down the path to the city proper. People had begun to follow them. They were teenagers in armor, mostly, legionnaires who had abandoned or been excused from their training to come and gawk at her. She didn't appreciate it.
They came to a halt outside of a large marble building that looked a lot like the government buildings and monuments Reyna had seen during her incredibly brief visit to Washington D.C. The youngest of the group—Bobby— ran up to the massive front doors and heaved one open just enough for him to slip through. He reappeared seconds later, closely followed by a girl in full armor and a purple cloak, and behind her a boy, dressed in the same odd fashion. Heaving the doors open more, another boy followed, this one in a traditional white toga over a purple T-shirt, and behind him came the last person. A slim, blonde boy, with hair and eyes the same color as Jason's, weaseled his way in between the two who had exited in front of him. For someone with the same basic features as Jason, he could not have been more different. This boy was cold and aloof, despite being not only the shortest and the youngest but also the weakest of the four. The two in armor were clearly the leaders. They stood the straightest, held their heads up, and met everyone's eyes. Gwen approached them, but before she could speak, the boy in the toga beat her to it.
"This is the new recruit?"
Gwen nodded, and the eyes of the boy in the toga and the two in armor lit up. The thin boy at the back narrowed his gaze, frowning at Reyna. Reyna ignored him. He didn't look terribly important and therefore he currently wasn't worth her time.
"Ave," said the girl in armor, stepping forward. Reyna instinctively knew what the Latin meant; hail. Uncertain of what the proper response to this would be, she nodded, then realized she probably should have spoken when the blonde boy smirked. "I'm Caitlin," she continued. "Daughter of Mars. This is my co-praetor, Daniel."
"See?" Bobby muttered quietly. "Boss." Daniel frowned at him. He was more imposing than his female counterpart, standing with arms crossed and a frown on his face while Caitlin played Good Cop.
"I'm Reyna," Reyna replied. "Daughter of Bellona." It didn't feel weird, introducing herself as the daughter of someone else instead of as her own self. Lupa had always referred to Reyna that way, like she held no merit as a person without name-dropping her mother.
Caitlin, Daniel, and the two other boys, as well as most of the surrounding crowd, murmured in amazement. The boy in the toga turned to Daniel and said, "See? I told you it would be worth the extra effort."
"Shut up, Casey," Daniel said. Then, to Reyna, "Do you have any siblings?"
Reyna seriously considered telling them about Hylla. About the sister she had left so that she could start her own life. But she reconsidered. She remembered how the Amazons had nearly ignored her for Hylla because Hylla was older and more powerful. They hadn't even given Reyna a chance.
"None that are coming."
She could see the praetors turning over that information, clearly wanting to question her but also not wanting to drive her away or force her to talk about something painful. "Alright," Caitlin said. And no more questions were asked about Hylla. "Welcome to the Legion."