Ok, first things first: I apologize profusely for getting this update out so late! I had some after-school stuff and lots of other plans, but I really wanted to get this out sooner! Please forgive me! I know that being busy isn't the best excuse, but I was seriously SO busy! I'm sorry! Anyways, we made it to chapter 30! Hooray! This story has over 26,000 views so far, and I couldn't be happier with my "fan base!" When I first started writing, I never imagined my story coming this far! (I know I've said this before, but it's true. Also, I tend to rant, so sue me for being an excited author.) Ok, so onto the shoutouts! The first one goes to... Kineticals! Thanks for the insight. I will be taking your advice for the next few chapters. You'll see what I mean. The next one is for the guest Destroyer3886. Thanks for the sweet review! And yes, I did make it to the end of your review, haha! I do plan on continuing this story, and I'm glad that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! Oh, and thanks for your compliments on my grammar! That's so good to hear! Lastly, MarsUltor12. That was such a kind review! Anyways, let's get on with the story. Disclaimer: All rights to Uncle Rick. ;)

Percy's POV

Fortunately for Percy, he was not seriously injured after his... encounter with Terminus. The healers had thoroughly checked him out and confirmed that no bones had been broken. They had said that if the statue had hit any lower on his spine, he could've become paralyzed. Sure, he had earned a nasty bruise, but with enough Ambrosia, that had shrunk to the size of an average bruise. (Whatever the size of an average bruise was.) The only concern now, was why? Why had Terminus shown up by the Little Tiber of all places? Why had he knocked out Percy? And, why didn't he say anything? There was no lack of questions, but a definite lack of answers.

On the bright side, no one had seemingly thought twice about Percy and Reyna showing up together with Percy, well, shirtless. Not that there was anything to think twice about. Nothing had happened between the two. But, Percy wouldn't really know, because he was unconscious for most of the experience.

After he left the infirmary, he met with the other two praetors to discuss the obvious elephant in the room. Or more accurately, the statue god who was not in the room. They agreed to head to the Principia for a more private place to talk; legionnaires had started to gather around, trying to act nonchalant.

Once the three arrived at the Principia, they decided to stand rather than sit, for there were only two "thrones" and three praetors.

"Ok, first of all... why?" Jason asked once everyone had gotten settled. "This doesn't make any sense whatsoever."

"Understatement of the year," Percy mumbled.

Reyna nodded in agreement with Jason's declaration. "This is nothing like Terminus," she said. "Now, I'm not that he is the most level-headed god, but even this is overstepping his boundaries."

Percy started snickering unprecedently, though he tried to hide it. Reyna shot him a look that said, You're so adorable but so annoying. "What's so funny?" She asked out loud.

"You said that he's overstepping his boundaries-" Percy took a deep breath to calm himself, though whether it worked or not was questionable. "When he's the god of boundaries."

Jason visibly held back a snort. Reyna rolled her eyes, though she did crack a small smile.

"Anyways," Percy said, having fully composed himself. "You're right. This is weird. I barely know the guy, but it seems out of place for most any god. And I've met plenty. They do like to talk about themselves, and this guy was dead silent."

"So, what should we do?" Jason asked. "I mean, we don't need other people to get knocked out by this projectile Terminus."

"I agree," Reyna said. "We should have our sentries keep an extra eye out for him."

"And if they see him, they should attempt to talk to him," Percy added. "We need to figure out his motives."

"We should alert New Rome as well," Jason pointed out, gesturing in the direction of the city. "Just in case."

Just then Percy had a startling thought. It probably wasn't true, but anything was possible, right?

"What if this has something to do with Octavian and his anti-greek thing," he said. "I mean, he does hate me."

Reyna hesitated, staring in the opposite direction of her friends. "You're right, but this doesn't seem like something he would do. And would he really take it as far as to control a god in order to hurt you?"

Percy shrugged. "Just a thought."

"No, this is way bigger than Octavian," Reyna mumbled as if trying to convince herself that this was not Octavian's doing.

"Well, I don't think there's much more we can do about this," Jason supplied. "We're dealing with an immortal god here."

"You're right," Reyna said, turning back towards the boys. "We'll tell the legionnaires that are going onto sentry duty to watch out for Terminus. The rest of the campers too."

All three of the gathered praetors nodded in agreement. "Well, now that that's settled, are we still worried about the poison that killed Ezra?" Percy asked. It was a genuine question. He realized that it probably wasn't the other praetor's main concern at the moment, and it wasn't his either, but if they were going up against the giant army and they had possession of such a toxin, then it was still a threat. A threat that the legion needed a counter-attack against.

Reyna's brow dipped. "Yes, I nearly forgot about that. It's just, so much has happened in one day. Ezra's death, Terminus..." She sighed. "Yes, we will still have the healers look into it. We'll try to get as much information on this venom as possible."

Percy nodded, satisfied. The healers could do it. They would find a way to stop this. That was the hope, anyway.

"Alright, are there any more pressing matters we must attend to?" Reyna asked, looking at both her fellow praetors.

Percy and Jason met eyes and shook their heads. "Alright, the meeting is adjourned," Reyna said.

The three praetors headed toward the exit of the Principia. Reyna stopped and added, "Percy, can I speak to you?"

He stopped and turned to face Reyna, raising a questioning eyebrow. Jason seemed to understand that the two wished to be alone and left without question.

"Am I in trouble?" Percy asked teasingly. That seemed like a question that he would've asked a week and a half ago. But now, he thought himself close enough to Reyna and he suspected this didn't have anything to do with him getting in trouble. Most likely. You could never be sure with the daughters of Bellona.

Reyna shook her head. "No, I'm just worried," she said, gesturing to his back, which was currently covered with a praetor's cloak and T-shirt. "You were wincing through pretty much our whole meeting."

"I'm fine," Percy claimed. "It hurts, but..." he shrugged. "I'll live."

"You sure?" Reyna implied. "If you want, I'm sure I can arrange for you to get the rest of the day off."

"No, seriously," Percy said. "I'll be fine."

The two stared at each other for a bit, trying to silently argue over who was in the right. Suddenly, Percy smiled. "Ah, how the tables have turned," he said in a way that made Reyna step back. "I was the one encouraging you to rest when you were injured, and now you're doing the same for me. How sweet."

Reyna grinned. "Well sue me for caring about you."

"Aha!" Percy yelped, startling Reyna. "So you do care about me!" The truth was, he had been trying to hear this from Reyna for a while. He wanted to confirm that she did actually care for him and that Reyna wasn't just being pressured into kissing him and whatever. Maybe she did still feel that way, but at least this was a start.

Reyna's cheeks became pink. "Why is that such a big deal? I care about... a lot of people."

"It's a big deal because you've never made that clear to me. That you care about me," Percy's pointed out.

"And when have you made that clear to me?" Reyna asked.

"Well, there was this one time..." Percy said, trailing off. He shook his head. "Never mind. That's beside the point."

"You mean like the time you said that you loved me?" Reyna asked.

Percy was stunned. How did she know about that? Did she hear me? I'm screwed. Oh, gods.

"Yes, I heard you. When we were riding Scipio," Reyna admitted softly. She looked at her hands.

"It's... tricky," Percy said, rubbing his neck. "Though I wasn't completely lying. I was kind of just caught up in the moment."

Reyna's checks grew visibly pinker. "Well, yes, I care about you. Comrade or... more than a comrade."

"Same here," Percy said. He could feel his cheeks growing warm as well.

"Well, we mustn't give Jason the wrong idea," Reyna insisted after a short hesitation. "Let's head out. Just promise me that you'll take it easy, OK?"

Percy nodded, shooing her away. "Fine, fine."

Reyna's POV

As the two were exiting the Principia, a disconcerting thought popped into Reyna's brain. She thought about her encounter with Venus and the promise that Reyna had made to herself- that she would never fall in love again. Well, she pretty much just announced to the world that she cared for Percy. And who knew where that would go? She didn't yet know if she did love Percy or not. She could see things going that way, and she didn't know whether to look forward to that or not. No doubt Venus had heard her little proclamation and was planning her next move.

Not only that, but Venus's words echoed in her ears. You need to figure out on your own if Percy truly cares for you or not. I'm not an oracle, after all. You will discover how your love life will unfold, all by yourself.

What was that supposed to mean? Reyna had a feeling that she knew, but the idea unsettled her. It wasn't a bad feeling, per se, just... unsettling. On the other hand, Percy had just said that he cared about Reyna, so maybe that was what that meant. She had a feeling, though, that all of Venus's words had yet to come to pass. And then there was the thing about being a pawn to harm Percy and Annabeth's relationship...

She quickly snapped back to attention. All these thoughts about broken promises and love goddesses made her head spin. Reyna had to take things as they came, and worrying over this was not on her current agenda. She just needed to make it through the day. That long day. Someone had died, Terminus had shown up, and Percy had gotten hurt. Hopefully, that was the extent of the day's crazy events.

At dinner that evening, Reyna decided to sit by herself in order to clear her thoughts. She usually sat by herself anyways, but lately, she had been sitting next to Percy and the rest of the seven. Of course, however, someone just had to bother her while in her solace.

Piper strolled up to where Reyna was sitting. Reyna's only thought was, why Piper of all people?

"You gonna sit alone?" She asked Reyna, leaning forward on the table.

"Yeah, I've just got a lot on my mind," Reyna replied.

Piper arched an eyebrow. Her eyes switched from hazel to light green. "You sure?" She questioned.

Reyna nodded slowly. Why is this girl prodding so much?

"I don't mean to pry," Piper stated. "But I can't help but feel like something or someone is keeping you from sitting by us."

"What do you mean?" Reyna asked, stunned.

"This is just a guess, but maybe Percy?" Piper asked. "I mean, maybe you don't want to sit near us because of Percy."

"Uh, it's complicated," Reyna said, shifting uncomfortably. How was a daughter of Aphrodite making her uncomfortable? She felt... exposed. Of course, Piper would be catching on! She was the daughter of love after all. It only made sense. How could I be so stupid?

"Yeah," Piper nodded. She definitely looked unconvinced.

"A lot has happened today," Reyna stated. This for sure was not a lie.

Piper nodded, her expression softening. She stood up straight. "Your right," she said. "Sorry for getting all up in your personal business. But seriously. Are you sure that nothing is going on between you and Percy? If so, I can help-"

"It's fine, really," Reyna insisted. "Though I appreciate the concern."

Piper shrugged. "Yeah, OK. See ya."

The Cherokee beauty walked away, back to her table. Reyna shuddered. This wasn't good. Of course, any daughter of any love goddess within a 10-mile radius could feel the connection between Reyna and Percy. She wished she could stop the attraction, but... she couldn't. It was hard to explain, but Percy was attractive, and it wasn't just his good looks. (Though that definitely helped.) Stupid Venus. Stupid love.

As much as Reyna wanted to spend her evening cursing out every love god that she could think of, she had a legion to run, and that was a priority.

Piper's POV

Piper sat back down next to Jason after her talk with Reyna.

"What was that about?" Jason asked her, scooting over to give Piper some more room.

"I was just asking Reyna if she wanted to sit by us," Piper explained. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the full truth either.

Jason seemed satisfied, however, and continued to eat. Piper picked at her tofu burger. She simply wasn't convinced that there was nothing going on between Percy and Reyna. She could sense something stronger than friendship whenever the two talked. Of course, the looks Percy gave Reyna were also kind of dead giveaways.

Maybe there wasn't anything at all, and Piper's weird Aphrodite instincts were getting the best of her. She had a feeling that this wasn't the case, however. The bond was there, but subtle. It wasn't as strong in comparison to Percy's bond with Annabeth, but it was there.

Piper only wished that her mom would stop messing with Reyna. She had already had a hard time with Jason and the poor girl didn't need this too. It was bound to end in someone getting hurt. Percy was going to leave on the quest, whether he was in love with Reyna or not. This would result in Reyna being heartbroken once again, and she didn't deserve that. Piper wanted to go up to Olympus, storm into her mom's chambers, and tell her to stay out of it. Unfortunately, life didn't work that way. Also, unfortunately, love was a fickle thing and Reyna was caught right in between it. Not only that but this also concerned Annabeth, who would be crushed if Percy chose Reyna over her. Would he?

Yeah, love was far too complicated. And she could be wrong, so Piper decided not to do anything too drastic about this yet. Not until she was positive. Just to be safe, however, she would keep an eye on Percy and Reyna whenever they were near. Piper could read body language, especially when it came to romance.

Of course, Piper knew that this was none of her business, and she didn't want to get into anyone's personal doings, but she wanted to be sure that none of her friends for hurt.

Piper glanced across the table at Percy. His shirt was pulled up and Annabeth was reapplying an ointment from the healers onto his bruise. This got Piper thinking about why it took so long for Reyna to return with Percy after she had found him at the Little Tiber. The most likely situation was that it took Reyna a little while to get Percy awake again, and then some more time to ask him about what happened. It was the most likely, yes, but was it the truest?

Piper decided to brush away the matter for the time being. She would drive herself crazy trying to figure out who Percy truly loved. And, it wasn't her situation to meddle in. Just stay out of it, she told herself. Not all love is your business.

So, how was that chapter? Again, I apologize for getting this out late. It's almost been two weeks! I will try to get the next update out extra fast to make up for this one. Anyways, I did put a new point of view in this chapter- Piper. Kineticals was the amazing user that recommended I add in another character who has suspicions about Percy and Reyna, and I thought that Piper was a good candidate, her being a daughter of Aphrodite and all. She's sure to recognize a budding romance. If you want to see more of Piper, or any other character, let me know. Last but not least, Preyna does have another vote in my poll. Pertemis is second and so on. If you want a detailed description of how that is turning out, let me know. The poll will close at the end of March so make sure to vote while you have the chance! Anyways, review, review, REVIEW!