"Do you really have to go?" Reyna questioned as she stared at Hylla through the mirror. Her sister met her gaze as she fixed her tuxedo for her. While Reyna was dressed to impress, Hylla wore sweatpants and a hoodie that was a size too large for her. A couple of stains were near the neckline.
"Yes," Hylla replied as she kissed the top of Reyna's forehead. "Your shampoo smells good."
"Which is why you've been stealing it," Reyna guessed with an accusation, which projected her sister to shrug. "I could just buy you your own."
"Or I could keep stealing yours," Hylla said as she fixed the tuxedo once again. "Are you sure you can actually be a normal person for three hours?"
"Not at all," Reyna answered. "But, the drink menu is limited, and Piper is going to be working beside me."
Hylla hummed as she rested her hands in her pocket. Reyna sighed sadly. Her sister was going out of state with Thalia and Zöe to identify members of Exterminata currently held in lockup. It would be one whole week without her sister.
"Promise me you'll stay out of trouble," Hylla said. Reyna grunted, and Hylla smirked. "Promise me."
"Fine. I promise to stay out of trouble," Reyna relented. Hylla grabbed her duffel bag and tossed it over her shoulder. She glanced down at her phone. "You have to go?"
"I do. I'll be back in a week," Hylla promised. It was an odd feeling; she had gotten so used to her sister being in the house that she wasn't sure how she would handle being by herself. At least there wouldn't be anyone to steal all her food.
"Have fun," Reyna said softly.
"I won't," Hylla returned as she looked at her phone again. "Alright, I need to go. Seriously, stay out of trouble."
"I guess I can try," Reyna huffed. She made a noise of surprise as Hylla pulled her into a tight hug. The embrace ended before she knew it, and Hylla was walking toward the door. "Um, bye."
"Bye!" Hylla called back as she walked out. Reyna let her shoulders droop as she sighed softly. Well, she was alone for the next week. Reyna fixed her tuxedo one last time. Then, she grabbed her wallet and keys. A sigh left her as she looked down. She already missed her sister.
"Wow," Reyna began as she looked around the bar. There was not a stray piece of garbage littered on the ground or a stain marred on any surface. It looked like Chiron had hired a company to deep clean the bar. The regular white plates and cups used for beer had been replaced with crystal glassware that was lined up neatly on the bar's shelves.
Reyna could hear talking from the kitchen, and it was followed by the shouting of Leo trying to sort everything. Stationed behind the bar was Piper. She was currently filling wine glasses with whatever vintage they had in stock for that night. Reyna walked toward her and helped with her task.
"Hey," Reyna greeted.
"Hey," Piper returned. She wore a tuxedo as well and somehow looked amazing in it. Reyna caught herself staring. Then, Piper cleared her throat.
"Hey," Reyna said again quickly. She awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. "You look amazing."
"You too," Piper complimented back. "Are you ready for this?"
"I hope," Reyna said. She walked around the bar. "Um, what are we doing exactly?"
"There's wine for everyone," Piper said as she moved her hands to show off the crystal glasses. "We'll also make any drinks that are requested."
Reyna nodded. She had been practicing mixing drinks in her free time and could actually make most of the popular drinks without having to look at a recipe. She checked over all of the ingredients multiple times. Piper continued, "Last year, not too many of them wanted anything that wasn't wine. They would have us refill their glasses, and as long as they're not drunk, Chiron tells us to top them off.
"They'll be served food, and it's amazing. There are plenty of leftovers, and Chiron lets us take all of them home," Piper continued. She opened her mouth to speak more, but whatever words she was going to speak were cut off by a sigh. Reyna moved her gaze to the front door to see Chiron walking in with a woman.
Her nose twitched a moment later. Reyna studied the woman that stood next to Chiron. Her black hair had tints of silver in it, and she had brown eyes hidden behind sunglasses. Piper spoke up, "That's the woman who mentored Jason in werewolf 101: Juno."
"She looks like a damn peacock," Reyna scoffed quietly. She watched Juno's ear twitch, and her attention snapped to her. Reyna just watched her. The woman did, in fact, look like a peacock; she wore a dress that swirled with a multitude of colors, even having feathers cutting off at the fringes.
Chiron and Juno walked toward them. As Juno made eye contact with Reyna, her nose crinkled. Her eyes narrowed slightly. Chiron spoke, "Juno, you know Piper. This is Reyna: the newest member of our bar."
Juno looked Reyna up and down, and she spoke, "I have not been around that scent in a very long time. I'm surprised Lupa allowed one of her pack to leave the forest."
"You know my grandmother?" Reyna slowly asked. Juno's eyes widened in surprise. "I mean, I don't really know her. I just..."
"Bellona's daughter…" Juno muttered to herself in realization. It was Reyna's turn to stare at her in surprise. Even Chiron had a twinge of shock on his face.
"Do you know my mother?" Reyna asked softly. Juno studied her silently before finally clearing her throat.
"We will have to discuss this later," Juno replied. Reyna opened her mouth to respond, and the woman held up her polished hand. "But, yes."
Reyna nodded slightly and just stared at the woman. She had never met her mother, and there were always questions in the back of her mind. Reyna always wondered who her mother was. And about her clan in general. She never thought she would get those answers.
Juno turned and grabbed a glass of wine. She walked away with Chiron, and Jason appeared out of the kitchen to greet her. Reyna stared at the space on the counter in front of her. Piper spoke, "You okay?"
"I don't know," Reyna admitted. She watched a few more people file into the bar. All of them were greeted by Chiron. Reyna looked down as the event started. Some patrons came to the counter to grab some wine, and others went straight for the food samples that the servers were patrolling around with.
Reyna kept herself busy behind the bar, cleaning an already spotless countertop and sorting ingredients. Anything to keep her busy. Piper studied her and then focused on greeting anyone who drifted by. As more people filed in, Reyna tried to keep from being too uncomfortable. Especially when classical music sailed along the airwaves throughout the bar.
At first, she thought it was a speaker. Then, she realized that it was a small band playing in the corner of the bar. It was quite a nice scene, and Reyna attempted to hide how uncomfortable she was. Her gaze stayed focused on Juno, who was at the center of a few conversations.
Since she wasn't paying attention, her hand bumped into a glass that she was cleaning, and she knocked it off of the counter. It nearly hit her foot, but she jerked her foot away as a curse left her. Piper's head shot to the side, "Are you hurt?"
"No," Reyna said quickly. She hated how a lot of people had turned to look at her. "Sorry."
Reyna ducked behind the counter to clean up the mess she had made, and to hide from the crowd. Her hands grabbed a small broom and dustpan. She threw the glass shards in the trash and used a small rag to clean up the rest of the mess she may have missed.
"While you're down there, do you mind handing me a few more wine bottles?" Piper asked. Reyna nodded as she finished cleaning up the mess. "Thanks."
Reyna grabbed two wine bottles and handed them to Piper one at a time. As she did, she heard the front door open once again. Her ears twitched as she heard high heels smashing onto the polished wood near the entrance, along with the clanging of too many bracelets on someone's wrist.
She started to pull a few more bottles to the front. Her nose twitched a moment later; a smell, of coconut and hazelnut combined, assaulted her nostrils. A strange feeling sank in her gut. Reyna felt her stomach twist, and she shook her head. She cleared her throat and wiped her nose on her sleeve to try and rid herself of the sickening stench.
"Reyna, I have someone I want to introduce you to," Chiron began.
"One second," Reyna said as she pulled the last bottle to the front and placed the small broom back. She stood and looked at Chiron and his guest. Reyna's eyes widened at the woman in front of her. Sea green eyes honed in directly on her like a missile, scanning her up and down.
The woman in front of her wore a regal white dress that looked like it belonged to the last century with tassels and beads adorning it. Her perfectly trimmed, deep red nails brushed a lock of dark hair behind her ear, causing the gold bangles on her wrist to clash together.
With her lungs frozen stiff along with the rest of her body, all Reyna could do was stare in horror at the woman in front of her.
The monster in front of her.
Reyna felt her throat closing up on her as it became impossible to breathe. Her hands started to shake, and she shoved them under the counter. Chiron didn't seem to notice the reaction as he spoke, "Reyna, this is Circe."
"Reyna," Circe repeated, almost purring the name like she used to do years ago. Reyna felt like she was being pulled into a vortex as she stared in the eyes of the Succubus that ruined her life. Circe just smiled sweetly. "It is a pleasure."
