Leo couldn't do anything besides stand there in shock. It had been two minutes since Hera had destroyed all of the monsters and any trace of winter. At first, he had been exhilarated. Then, he saw that Reyna wasn't moving.
"Reyna, please," Piper whispered. She was kneeling by Reyna. Leo prayed that this was all a really sick prank. His friend couldn't be dead.
"What happened?" Leo demanded for the fifth time. Hera sighed annoyed, and she looked at him.
"For the third time, the blessing of a god or goddess can be broken. That is what happened to the daughter of Bellona. The sheer amount of lightning killed her," Hera explained.
"You're lying," Piper whispered. She was holding Reyna close and whispering to her. Leo looked down at a loss for words. He wasn't the only one.
Hylla was standing off to the side and watching the scene. There was no emotions on her face, but her posture seemed distressed. Her shoulder were drooping, and Leo realized that Hylla was barely keeping it all together in front of her Amazons.
"You have to help her," Leo said looking at Hera. "She saved you! We wouldn't have been able to free you without her."
"I cannot rewrite the rules of death boy," Hera said in a clipped tone. She glared at him
"She's breathing," Piper announced. Leo quickly turned. He hoped that Piper was telling the truth, but it seemed impossible. Hera snorted as if she shared the sentiment.
"No mortal can come back from death," Hera stated. The goddess crossed her arms. Piper shook her head looking convinced.
"Reyna, you are not dying on me today," Piper ordered. "You are going to come back, and you are going to be fine."
"You are wasting your time," Hera said. "A daughter of Aphrodite does not know how to heal."
"Reyna," Piper repeated. Her voice sounded a thousand times stronger. "Wake up!"
Leo thought that Piper was going slightly crazy. Then, Reyna's eyes snapped open. She coughed up blood and tried to breath. Leo was at their side in a moment. He poured some nectar down Reyna's throat.
"That is impossible," Hera began. Leo didn't listen. He was staring at Reyna in shock. Reyna stared back at them in a daze. She definitely wasn't at a hundred percent, but it had to be better than being dead.
"Was I imagining the lightning?" Reyna slowly asked. Piper laughed shakily. There was tears in her eyes.
"No," Piper whispered. She leaned in closer. "Can I kiss you now?"
"I would love that," Reyna answered. Piper laughed in what sounded like nervousness. She kissed Reyna gently. Piper pulled away after a few moments.
"Maybe, I should have died," Leo commented. He glanced at the Amazons that had gathered to watch. There was a chance that one of them would have kissed him.
Everyone promptly ignored him. Piper helped Reyna sit up. Reyna tried to stand, but her face turned extremely pale. She shook her head.
Leo glanced up as Hylla walked towards them. Somehow, her face was still emotionless. Hylla spoke, "How are you feeling?"
"I did feel like I had gotten cooked in a microwave," Reyna answered. She leaned on Piper and looked up at her. "I'm a little better now."
"Good," Hylla commented. "I told you that I had dibs on dying first."
Reyna looked up at her sister. They seemed to have a silent conversation, and Reyna finally nodded. With the help of Piper, Hylla helped her sister stand.
"You are even stronger than I realized," Hera said as she looked at Piper. "I wanted to see how you would act, and that was why I chose you and did not reveal your secret."
"So, did Porphyrion decide to just disappear and leave us alone?" Leo wondered.
"No," Hera answered. "He ran away when I appeared because of a fear of being destroyed by one of you and me. Porphyrion knew it was best to run and regroup until he regains his full power."
Leo exchanged glances with Piper. They both seemed to understand that Porphyrion had gone to Greece. It scared Leo a little.
"You three need to get back," Hylla interrupted after a moment. She gave Reyna a small hug. Reyna hugged her back and whispered something into her ear. "I won't be able to visit, but I'll send you a letter or Iris message. Promise."
Reyna nodded and pulled away. It seemed to worsen her mood. Hylla gave her a look that seemed to say trust me. After a moment, the Amazons walked out, and Hylla slowly followed.
"What is this place?" Leo questioned after a moment of silence. He looked at Reyna. "This is where you began your new life, but what new life? What does that mean?"
Reyna glanced at Hera who nodded. For a few moments, Reyna looked around at the empty pool. It was nice outside with the moon shining down on them.
"This is where Roman demigods get their start," Reyna whispered. Leo stared. Roman demigods? "Lupa trains us her. She was the one who nurtured Romulus and Remus. You conquer the training, or you die"
"I wasn't aware they had Roman demigods at Camp Half-Blood," Piper began.
"They don't," Reyna muttered. For a moment, she seemed to consider her words. "I don't remember where, but I guess that is part of this whole thing."
"It is," Hera promised. "When you find your way back, you are going to unite the two sides. That is how we are going to defeat Gaea and her giants."
"Could you just give us the answers?" Leo wondered. Hera looked at him as if he was a bug. "Pretty please."
"That is not the way of the Fates," Hera said. "You three must forge your own paths. This is only the beginning, so you must return to Camp Half-Blood. That is where we will begin the next phase."
Leo was about to ask how they were going to get back, but the world suddenly turned upside down. It took all of his willpower to not vomit. When he could see straight again, he noticed that everyone was watching them.
The three of them were standing in the middle of the dining pavilion on top of the Aphrodite table. A glance down showed that Piper's foot was in some of Drew's pizza. Leo placed his foot down over the other part of the pizza and tried to pass it off like he did nothing.
Sixty campers started at them, but they were also starting to stand. To Leo, he knew they must have been quite a sight. Leo, of course, was his same fly self. His hat had been lost somewhere, and there was multiple holes in his outfit. Other than that, he looked awesome.
Piper was covered in burns, scorch marks, and cuts. Her hair was all disheveled, and her dress was tattered and torn. There seemed to be a new confidence to Piper.
Reyna looked the worst out of all of them. She was covered in monster dust, blood, and golden ichor. It was also clear she was barely staying on her feet.
"What happened?" Chiron slowly asked. He was staring up at them as if they were the strangest thing he had seen in thousands of years.
"Hi," Piper said looking around. "We're back."
That's when the questions began. Every camper had their own thing they wanted to say. It was extremely overwhelming for a kid with ADHD, so Leo started combining questions together.
"Silence!" Chiron called. He stomped his hooves on the pavilion. It took a minute, but everyone fell quiet. "Will, can you take Reyna to the infirmary?"
Will stood from his table and walked towards them. Reyna jumped off of the table and met Chiron' eyes. Her gaze moved around at all of the campers. Reyna finally followed Will away.
"Now, can you two tell us your story?" Chiron questioned. Piper and Leo exchanged glances. They quickly told their story. The only part they left out was Reyna killing her father. Both remembered the oath they had made.
When they finished, the campers exploded with questions. No one seemed to notice how much Chiron aged. He looked back towards the infirmary like he was regretting letting Reyna go alone with Will.
The barrage of questions didn't stop. Most of them were asking about the whole Roman demigod thing, but there really wasn't a way to answer that. After minutes of responding to questions, Chiron slammed his hooves onto the pavilion again.
"These two need to go to bed. We will have a discussion about this tomorrow," Chiron called. He looked at them. "Go get some rest."
Leo jumped off of the table. Since he was such a gentleman, he helped Piper off the table as well. The two walked towards the cabins and parted ways. Piper went right to her cabin and presumably to sleep.
Leo stepped inside his cabin and fell onto his bed. He stared at the ceiling and slowly grabbed the crumpled up paper from his pocket. After unfolding it, his eyes studied the drawing. Leo decided that he would need to tell his cabin, friends, and Chiron about Bunker Nine and the drawing.
That would be tomorrow though. Now, Leo was exhausted. He closed his eyes and slowly fell into a long, peaceful sleep.