I removed the sling to my arm. I was in considerable pain, but I ignored it. Pretending that the pain was slowly fading away. I cried for an hour after my fight. Tears shed from a combination of physical pain and emotional anguish. Jason beat me. Sent me to losers. I stood no chance. No chance in hell.

There were many hunters in the practice range who helped me get the feeling of my arm back. I hid my injury from the medics. Those children of Apollo would have put me in the infirmary and maybe even disqualify me for my injuries. I could not let that happen. I was bandaging up my arm for a second time in the bathroom of the practice range. Looking towards a hazy mirror with stalls in the back. It was a hazy sight to behold with Leo being the prime suspect. I didn't know what happened in his match, but all I know is that he won, and I was happy for him. I would love to fight him in the tournament, but for that to happen; we would have to fight within the top 8. I would like to take this one step at a time at the very least.

I raised my head and looked at the mirror. I expected to see a beaten-down face and a scarred body, but I saw the same version of myself that I always see. The child of Aphrodite with immaculate skin. My previous wounds from my fight with Frank healed. My sprained arm was the only warrior quality that I had. That's what I saw, so imagine what everyone else saw in me.

I washed my face and made my way towards the arena. With armor and two blades on me, I made sure to focus this time. This was my last chance. One more loss and I was out of the tournament. I couldn't let that happen and losing to Kahale of all people was the worst outcome. It was time to prove who was the better child of Aphrodite. When I reached the stairwell, I saw several children of Apollo carry an unconscious Hazel out of the arena. Her wounds weren't bad, but Clarisse must've knocked her out quickly. I couldn't believe it. Clarisse was strong, but I had the utmost faith in Hazel. How did Clarisse win?

I couldn't focus on that. I reached the door to the arena and stopped myself. If I wanted to win, I had to let go of all previous thoughts. My fight against Jason, my win against Frank, and the breakage of my arm. I had to let it all go because my next opponent would not give me a split second to even think about it.

The door opened and I saw Kahale in the middle. With the heaviest set of armor, you'll see in the tournament. One gladius on his hip and nothing more. Chiron was watching both of us closely. Reyna and Frank weren't far behind as they watched from the balconies of the viewing area. If Kahale pulled anything like he did against Will, the match would be over. I couldn't let it happen. I couldn't allow myself to get a fluke win.

I met Kahale in the middle and he extended a hand. I stopped myself and developed a confused look.

Kahale let out a small humorless laugh. "I'm not a man without honor. I wish you the best in this bout."

I ignored the handshake and got myself ready for the fight. I didn't forget about what he did to Will. I had to apologize to Nico later, as I was going to be the one to put Kahale in his place.

"I hear that Jason trained with you. To prepare for this tournament."

"Yes, he did." Kahale said with pride. "I wonder, does he regret it now?"

Chiron blew the horn and the battle began.

Before Kahale could even pull out his sword, I rushed towards him with my Katoptis and trashed his armor. This was the perfect opportunity for me, as he was weaponless for a few moments as he focused on defense. I slashed his armor with considerable force. Enough to cause dents that I could use later, but that wasn't my main goal. My goal was to cut his armor straps, forcing him to expose himself.

"It's the best tactic against the huskier types in this tournament. Clarisse didn't see it coming."

Annabeth's words echoed through my mind. Her idea was solid, but her execution only worked for her. I couldn't sneak my way towards the straps. I had to push the envelope and cut them with full vigor.

Kahale didn't seem bothered as he blocked most of my strikes with his armor gauntlets. I had to use Katoptis because of my bad arm. It was my sword arm at the end of the day. I was much more flexible with a dagger as I could use the blade in either hand. I wasn't healed fully yet, and I would lose a swordfight to him any day. Good arm or not.

I went for a diagonal slash to his groin, and he sidestepped away from it. With a little distance, he was able to finally pull out his sword. Kahale didn't smile or sighed in relief. This was a pre-determined outcome for him. I didn't let it get to my head as he advanced forward. It was knife vs sword as Kahale focused on stabbing and defense. Taking his turn and waiting for mine like we were playing a board game. He was fair and honest in his fighting. Was this the same Kahale who took Will Solace to the brink of death?

This game of attack and defense wasn't working. The dents I made to his armor were shallow, his determination was unbroken, and his sword skills were getting the better of me. He stabbed towards me, and I stepped aside, only to be met with a slash right after. I blocked it with Katoptis but barely, as I held on. Kahale kept holding his strike, hoping that I would drop my block, but I didn't allow it. He finally let go as the pain in my arm surged. I used both hands for that block and didn't even notice.

My arm was burning and Kahale went for another stab that I backed away from. Thank the gods for his gladius. Romans use short swords for stabbing, and the short-range of the gladius allowed me to dodge it every time. Playing the distance game was my only hope.

Kahale backed up and lost his fighting stance. It was then when a small grin formed on Kahale's face.

Like an idiot, I took the bait.

"What's funny, Kahale?" I asked. "I didn't think you'd have a sense of humor."

Kahale didn't laugh but his smile remained.

"I never thought I'd meet a knife user who prefers to fight at a distance, rather than get a closer look at their opponent."

I didn't respond immediately, and I wasn't shocked by his words. I was shocked at my own stupidity. Here I was worrying about fighting up close and personal with Katoptris of all weapons. How stupid can I be? My only hope would be to play close quarters with Kahale. That's why all my hits were shallow before.

That last hope could lead to disaster. He could be saying this just to lure me in. I didn't want to use the nuclear option before I knew I had to, so I banked on another option.

"Drop the sword, Kahale." I muttered to him. My words were spoken through charmspeak.

Kahale flinched before pulling up his sword in a grand fashion. With his arm extended, he loosens the grip on his sword. I smiled at his actions. With no sword in hand, I would be able to fight him up close and personal without any drawbacks.

"That's perfect, Kahale. Now, uncurl your fingers and let the sword hit the floor."

Kahale started to straighten his fingers out. His index finger, and then the middle, and the ring finger next. The sword was losing balance as Kahale's head faced the floor. The sword barely hangs on as I positioned myself for an attack.

The sword was a split second from falling before Kahale grabbed it again. My softened eyes increased their intensity as Kahale raised his head and looked at me with bloodshot eyes. I was blown away from his defiance as he raised his sword and crashed into me with full vigor. We hit the floor running and I tried to create some distance as Kahale ran at full speed. He reached me with no effort and held me close. The sweat cascading over his scarred face was far too noticeable.

"Charmspeak doesn't work on me, sister." He said before picking me up and body slamming me on the floor. Thank the gods that I landed on my good arm, or this would've been over. I rolled away and pulled out my sword. Fighting close was no longer an option and was something he vehemently wanted. Bad arm or not, I had to try it.

How did he break out of my charmspeak? It seemed to be working at first, or was he playing a part? Like an actor. If that was true, then Kahale was the best actor I have ever seen. Better than my father at least.

Why doesn't it work on him? Is it because he's also a child of Aphrodite? I remember Drew Tanaka using charmspeak on the Aphrodite cabin before, so that isn't it.

"How did you beat it?" I asked. "My charmspeak."

Kahale got up. His face was dead serious. "Willpower. Something you lack."

Kahale walked slowly to me. My arm was aching, and I knew I couldn't beat him in this state. I had to stall for time.

"Kahale!" I screamed. That caught his attention and the attention of the crowd. He looked at me with a more confused look. Knowing that talking didn't work the first time.

"As I said, charmspeak doesn't work on me." Kahale muttered.

I was gasping for air, but I still tried to keep the conversation going. "No charmspeak. I just got a question."

This piqued the interest of the crowd. Kahale, however, didn't look so amused.

I raised my head towards him. Raising my voice. "I was wondering if you were planning to beat me down like Will Solace."

The crowd was confused and saw Kahale's face of guilt, which confirmed their suspicions. There had to be at least some campers who saw that fight and spread some rumors. I had to drum up some type of emotion within Kahale and the crowd, so I could focus on giving myself a break.

I went to say more but Kahale spoke first. His face looked pained, but he didn't flinch at my words. He knew this was going to come out sooner or later.

"You're right. I beat him within an inch of his life. He was running around the battlefield just like you. Avoiding a fight. I just gave him what he wanted."

"Which is?" I responded.

His eyes did not betray his thoughts. "An end to the match. He clearly didn't want to fight, he just wanted to win. I couldn't give him that, so I gave him the next best thing."

The Greek crowd booed him. Will was a leader to his cabin and was loved at camp. The Camp Jupiter crowd was conflicted at the very least.

Then something happened that shocked me. Kahale switched his focus from me towards the crowd.

"I admit to what I did, but I don't regret it. This is a tournament of strength, not petty runaway tactics, like the ones my opponent uses."

Kahale looked straight at me. "Forcing me to talk so you can catch your breath didn't work out for Reyna. I may be a warrior, but I'm still a child of Venus. I love to talk."

Kahale guided himself back to the crowd. "You can be angry at me but direct some of that hatred to your praetors. They have hidden truth that you all deserve to know."

The crowd was either confused or grabbing their seats in anticipation at Kahale's words. I didn't know what he was going to say until a second before he said it. At that moment I realized, but it was too late."

"There is a legion of monsters heading for the camp as we speak." Kahale yelled.

The Roman crowd gasped in shock and the Greeks weren't far behind. I ran in to attack Kahale now. I knew further talk from his mouth would only cause disaster.

With the flick of his wrist, he parried all of my hits. We exchanged blows while the crowd's cheers turned to hateful yelling. I could see from the corner of my eye that the crowd was not happy. Roman legionaries were leaving the stands, hoping to join a fight they knew nothing about. I spent too much time on the crowd as Kahale slashed my leg and I cried. He kicked me down to the floor and I was done. With a confident stride, he reached me and dropped his foot on my bad arm. I cried out in pain, but my yells couldn't match the cacophony of the crowd.

Kahale continued his speech while grinding his foot into my arm.

"I may have harmed another camper, but the praetors have endangered each and every one of you. They have sent a small force of campers to fight against these monsters instead of using the full might of the legion and they hid it from you!"

The crowd erupted as many of them yelled from their seats. Hatred was spewed from their mouths like venom towards the praetors. Frank and Reyna were no longer in the balconies and Chiron tried his best to calm down the crowd but to no avail.

It was chaos in every form. Those who didn't agree with Kahale's words clashed with those who did. The Greeks clashed with Romans as well, as they tried to leave the arena.

I used my good sword arm to slash at his legs, but I did no damage. His armored boots were strong enough to take that type of slash, and I had no force within my strikes as I laid on the floor.

"But all of that doesn't upset me." Kahale yelled. "What upsets me is that your praetors haven't ventured into the fight themselves. They instead chose to keep fighting within this tournament for reasons unknown!"

"That's rich coming from you." I said through gritted teeth. "You're still fighting in this tournament the same as them."

Kahale looked down towards me with no emotion. As if I was a cockroach off the side of the road.

"I'm just following my praetor's orders. They said to fight in the tournament, so I will."

He came in close and stomped on my arm three times. I shrieked as my body lost control and squirmed on the floor. I was close to passing out.

Kahale bent over and whispered something close. "It's called chain of command. Something you Greeks wouldn't know about."

He got off my arm and continued with his speech as my mind faded away. My eyes slowly closing as my body went rigid.

In those last moments, I saw the faces of the campers in the crowd. The legionaries had faces of pride. Pride for their legion as they ran away from the coliseum and towards the battlefield of monsters. The students of the New Rome university were those of anger and resentment. All of this was created by Kahale, and that is when I noticed it.

"Charmspeak…." I muttered to myself. "He can use…it."

Those were the last words before I fell asleep.

…

I woke up in the infirmary, a place I knew well. My arm was fully in a case now as I saw the inside of my tent. There were medical supplies on a counter near me and a carpet on the floor for visitors. On my side was a small folding chair that had seen better days and sitting on it was Leo. He didn't notice my awakening and was messing around with a video scroll. I remember he made one for Clarisse a day ago and thought that was sweet.

"Hey, repair boy." I said through parched lips.

Leo looked up with wide eyes and gave me a power hug.

"Piper!" He screamed as he latched on to me.

I couldn't even breathe before he got off. Leo was small, but Leo plus the blanket that was over me gave me a headache.

He sat back down with a grin on his face. "I'm glad you're awake now. How are you feeling? Here, take a sip of some water."

I chugged the water down and felt better instantly. I still felt like crap, but this was a start.

With a small cough, I asked Leo what happened after the match.

"Pure chaos" Leo added. "The Romans are cursing Frank and Reyna's name. Half of them left the arena and are heading to the monsters as we speak. Chiron issued another break of three hours before the next match."

"Wait, how long have I been out?"

Leo didn't want to answer the question before I gave him death stares.

"Two hours. We got one hour left before the next match starts. You've been out for awhile."

I sighed heavily. "Not surprised that you're here. I guess Jason's too busy."

Leo gave me a shocked look. "I don't blame you for not knowing, but Jason has been by your side the longest. He only left recently to handle some legionaries who wanted to enter the viewing area without permission."

I flinched at this. I didn't give Jason the credit he deserved. He was still my boyfriend.

Leo waited for my response before continuing. "Frank, Reyna, and Chiron are talking about Kahale right now. Since, you know, he started a whole Roman civil war out of nowhere."

"The verdict?" I asked.

Leo shrugged. "Frank says that banning him from the tournament is pointless now since the cats out of the bag, but Chiron wants him gone. Reyna, however, I got no idea of what goes on in her head."

I chuckled. Reyna would find the best answer out of all of us. I know it.

Leo's eyes soften as if he was going to talk about a certain elephant in the room.

"So, how do you feel about— you know." Leo asked awkwardly.

"How do I feel about losing? How do I feel about being eliminated? Is that what you're asking?"

Leo nodded uneasily.

"I don't know." I spoke. "I don't feel anything, at all."