Chapter 32 coming right up! I think that I might have already said this, but the last chapter had a lot of info and new feelings packed into it, so this chapter might be a filler. It could also be a major chapter, but I'm not yet sure. IMPORTANT: I did decide that I was going to write Percy's POV for the last bit of the last update. You know, when they kiss and Reyna admits to being jealous. I thought it would be fun and interesting for you guys, but sorry if you are against it. (And yes, I write the first author's note before I write the rest of the chapter. Likewise with the second author's note. I write that at the end. Is this a bad idea? I'm not sure, but this is what I'm going to stick with.)

Reviews: iNeptune- Simple but sweet. Thanks! Guest- I appreciate your input! That was a great review, and I will look into those mess-ups.

Alright, let's get on with the chapter! (And we can't forget the disclaimer: All rights to the outstanding Rick Riordan!)

Percy's POV

Percy and Jason began to leave after the praetors' discussion of Terminus. Percy was almost out the door when he remembered what he was going to say to Reyna before he joined the meeting. He decided that now would be the best time to talk to her about it. He waited until Jason was fully out of the Principia and walking down the Via Praetoria before Percy slipped back inside, careful not to catch Jason's attention.

When Percy returned, he saw Reyna, her back facing him as she put the ancient scrolls on Eidolons away. He strolled up to her quietly and cleared his throat. Reyna jumped, surprised at the noise. She turned around, Her eyes focused on Percy's figure and she slightly blushed. He was pretty close to her, but since Reyna didn't say a word about it then he wouldn't move. He didn't want to.

"Are you going to tell me what you wanted to say earlier when you ran in yelling?" Reyna asked, a smile playing on her lips. She straightened up, moving even closer to Percy.

"Uh, yeah," Percy replied, stepping back a bit but still staring into her deep brown eyes. He noticed Reyna staring at his eyes too, and then at his lips. She blushed even deeper and gestured her hand for him to continue. "Well, I just wanted to apologize for kissing Annabeth so passionately in front of you," Percy said. Deep down he felt really bad because he knew that Reyna had seen it. Not only that, but the kiss had been right after Reyna had seen him looking at her. He just wanted to make sure that she didn't take this as an offense. He had simply wanted to show Annabeth that he still loved her. Even Percy, with his cluelessness about romance and girls, could tell that Annabeth was jealous. The way she had held his hand was clue enough.

Reyna gave Percy a curious look. "Are you apologizing for kissing your own girlfriend? Sorry, but that doesn't make any sense."

Percy finally broke eye contact with the daughter of Bellona which was a difficult task; he could stare into those charcoal orbs forever. He started to rub his neck, a habit that he used when he was nervous or self-conscious. Reyna smiled lightly as if she enjoyed it when he did this. "Well, it's just... It's you," Percy finally spoke.

"What about me?" Reyna asked, her smile growing. She was really enjoying his discomfort, wasn't she?

"You're making this difficult," Percy groaned. It wasn't just Reyna's words, it was her teasing look. Not only that, but she had a cute stance, her arms crossed and her hip popped out. "Well, I just feel bad kissing another girl in front of you when I've kissed you before."

"Oh, so you think I'm jealous?" Reyna asked, raising her eyebrows. She clearly couldn't stop smiling.

"I don't know, it just doesn't feel right..." Percy said, staring at the floor. His head snapped back up to the beautiful praetor in front of him. "Wait. Are you jealous?"

"Of course I am!" Reyna yelled exasperatedly, throwing her hands up. She instantly covered her mouth with her palm.

Percy smiled dryly but didn't know why this shocked him. It simply just didn't seem like Reyna to get jealous. However, this meant that she did like him a lot. You wouldn't feel jealous of a girl who was dating a guy you didn't like, right? This also meant that he was hurting Reyna. At least a little bit, anyways.

"This is unfair for you," he said. "I'm sorry."

"Percy, I..." Reyna's voice trailed off. "Look, I am jealous of Annabeth. It's hard to explain, so don't try getting anything else out of me. At least not right now. I'm still figuring out my romantic feelings, alright?"

Percy nodded knowingly. "I understand. I do. It's still unfair that you have to feel this way because of me. I'll stay away from you if you want." And he did understand. After having Jason lead her on for a while and then figuring out that he didn't actually have feelings for her had hurt Reyna. And now she had feelings for Percy, who had a girlfriend. All these emotions must've been complicated to deal with. Percy couldn't necessarily empathize with Reyna, but he could understand. He understood all too well that if he kept sharing romantic encounters with Reyna, it might hurt her even more. That was why he had suggested staying away from Reyna.

Reyna visibly hesitated, thinking about Percy's offer. Deep down inside, Percy felt regret for suggesting this. What if Reyna did want Percy to stay away from her? Percy didn't know what he would do without Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano.

However, Reyna turned to Percy and gave him a kiss on the lips. A nice deep one. Percy closed his eyes and reached for her slim waist, wanting to touch her. Feel her.

Percy was disappointed when Reyna pulled away before he could hold her. "There's your answer," Reyna said pointedly, stepping back. "Do I want you to stay away from me? No way. I couldn't bear it and neither could you."

Percy smiled. "That's for sure," he replied. Reyna was right. Percy would never be able to stay away from her and he couldn't bear it if she wanted to stay away from him. He was glad that she could see that.

Percy gazed at Reyna's fleeting form as she exited the Principia.

Piper's POV

Piper was in the arena, practicing her swordsmanship. She didn't have a sword, she had a dagger, but she had borrowed a sword from the camp armory, and Hazel and Annabeth had been giving her lessons. Not that she didn't want to use Katoptris, she just thought that a little skill with a sword wouldn't hurt, especially with the upcoming quest.

She was practicing her beginning stance when she felt someone tackle her to the ground. She flipped over and saw Jason hugging her, a large smirk on his face. She hit his arm, shaking him off. "What the heck?" She asked as he boyfriend got off her.

"Sorry, I just love it when you fight," Jason said, dusting off his pants. "It's so hot."

"That doesn't mean you have to attack me from behind!" Piper exclaimed, laughing. "You realize that I could've stabbed you," she gestured to her fallen borrowed sword.

"Yeah, I realized that as I tackled you," Jason said shrugging. "Thanks for not hurting me."

"My pleasure," Piper snorted sarcastically, picking up the weapon. "I thought you were studying scrolls, praetor?"

Jason shrugged. "Yeah, I was. Reyna came in and we started reading some more on Eidolons. Apparently, they can be coaxed out of their mortal vessel."

Piper knit her eyebrows. "Like charmspeak?"

"That's what we thought, too," Jason nodded.

"Which means that if another Eidolon shows up, I can get rid of it?"

Jason picked at a thread on his praetor's cloak. "That's what we concluded. I'm not 100% percent sure that charmspeak is the answer, but it's a start."

Piper nodded in agreement. "Hey, speaking of Reyna, where is she?"

"When I left the Principia, she was putting away the scrolls. Percy came with me. Wait, no he didn't. He followed me out, but now that I think about it, I didn't see him walk away," Jason said.

What did Jason mean by this? Percy had stayed behind with Reyna? What were they doing? There was a possibility that they were simply looking over the scrolls together and discussing whatever praetors did, but Piper thought otherwise. She didn't, however, speak her concerns out loud.

"Oh," Piper said, grabbing her sword with both hands. "That's weird." Yeah, it was weird. The only reasonable explanation was that Percy had stayed in the Principia. With Reyna. Doing gods' know what. Ok, I've got to stop obsessing over this. They're probably just really good friends, right? Anyways, it's not your place to snoop, Piper chastised herself.

Jason brought out his coin and flipped it, a sword appearing. "How about we duel for a bit? It'll help you practice with a real opponent."

Piper smiled. "You're on.

Reyna's POV

Reyna walked out of the Principia. She thought that regret would fill her up, becoming an endless void in her stomach, just like every time she kissed Percy. Surprisingly, she felt no remorse. She was unsure if this was a warning sign, telling her to stop before she took this too far, or something telling her that this was right. That she was supposed to be with Percy. No, the Fates weren't that kind to Reyna. It was probably the first of the two options. Would Reyna listen to that sign? No way.

She wondered if Percy was still in the Principia, or if he had left. Reyna hoped that Percy was still in the Principia, feeling stunned. If so, good. Reyna didn't usually think of herself as "full of surprises," but she found that when it came to romance, she shocked even herself. Though, with Jason, she thought that she was pretty predictable. She would always laugh at something Jason said that wasn't even funny, or she would find herself staring at him. Normal girly stuff like that. Not that she didn't do that with Percy, but she always surprised herself with what she did. It was a rollercoaster, and she was here for the ride.

As much as she liked to think about how she was growing in romance (and Percy for that matter), she had to focus on Terminus, first. Duty always came first. Sometimes Reyna liked that standard, and other times, she disliked it.

Her duty right now was to warn New Rome about the rogue Eiodolons, and Terminus in particular. Reyna thought that the best way to do this would be to tell the sentries on duty at Camp Jupiter's gates to momentarily leave their posts and alert the city. Not everyone, just the authorities, and major people.

She headed toward the main gates, down the Via Praetoria. When she arrived the legionnaires instantly opened the gates, and she walked through, turning to face them.

"Is something wrong, Praetor?" The boy on the right asked. Reyna knew him as a son of Vulcan.

"Yes, and no," Reyna explained. "You know of the incident with Terminus, correct?"

The two teenagers exchanged looks and nodded, worried expressions clouding their faces.

"Well, I think it's best that New Rome knew about this. Just in case he shows up there and knocks someone else out."

"Of course," said the girl with blue hair on the left. "We'll warn them right away. But who will guard the gates?"

"Terminus will suffice while you are gone," Reyna replied. "And, you don't have to warn everybody. Just the officials."

The two demigods nodded. "Yes, Praetor." And just like that, they jogged down the valley to New Rome, preparing to warn the momentarily clueless community of half-bloods and descendants.

Reyna turned around and retreated the way she had come, back into camp. She shut the gates on her way, careful to not have any intruders slip inside the boundaries. Now that that was being done, she didn't know what else she could do to protect the valley against the Eidolons and Gaea's army in general. The thing was, they still couldn't be sure that whatever was wrong with Terminus had to do with an Eidolon. It could be a whole other unknown entity. Or perhaps, the issue could be what Percy suggested: That Terminus is in a conspiracy with the giant army and that the whole camp could be doomed. No, Reyna had to think that it was an Eidolon. At least that was something she had control over. To a point, anyway.

As Reyna rounded the corner of the mess hall, she crashed into none other than Annabeth Chase. Reyna stumbled into the wall. "Hey, Annabeth," She said, standing up straight. "Sorry."

"No, that was my fault," Annabeth said, all feelings of resentment she'd had towards Reyna earlier seemingly gone. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Reyna spoke, not knowing what else to say. The daughter of Athena's presence felt odd, and Reyna feared that Annabeth might say something about Percy and Reyna's relationship.

Luckily for Reyna, Annabeth did not say anything about that. "How's the investigation with Terminus going?"

"Well, we think it's an Eidolon," Reyna explained. Annabeth nodded as if these were her same thoughts.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Annabeth voiced her opinion. "It's really the only thing that makes sense. But can Eidolons possess gods?"

Reyna shrugged. "I'm not sure, but for the time being, that is my guess."

"That's fair. I'm pretty sure that Eidolons can be coaxed away-"

"By charmspeak," Reyna finished. "Yeah, Jason and I figured that out."

"Which means that Piper could help if Terminus shows up again," Annabeth concluded.

"Yes," Reyna replied, adjusting her praetor's armor. She no longer felt uncomfortable with Annabeth. As long as they were talking about something other than Percy, she and her fellow daughter of a war goddess could get along just fine.

Unfortunately, the topic changed. "Did you see Percy's bruise today?" Annabeth asked, pushing a stray hair out of her eyes.

Reyna felt her cheeks going red, but she tried to hide it. "No, no I didn't."

Annabeth had a slightly smug look on her face as if to say, Ha. Percy showed me something that he didn't show you, so I must be better. Out loud she said, "It's doubled in size, and I'm a bit concerned for him."

Reyna's mouth opened a tad. His bruise had what? Reyna had thought that with enough Ambrosia and Nectar, the bruise would shrink, not grow! Would it continue to grow? Was Percy's back seriously injured? "That's terrible!" Reyna exclaimed. "Did he see the healers?"

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, this morning. They simply applied more ointment to his back. I'm no medic, but I doubt that will help."

"That's, uh, wow," Reyna stuttered. "Do you think Terminus tried to aim for his lower back, maybe in order to paralyze him?"

"That's what I'm thinking," Annabeth agreed. "Thank the gods he's not paralyzed though. I'm not sure what I would do."

Reyna bit her lip. "Yeah..." If anything, this made Terminus's case even more difficult. Why was Percy's bruise growing? Who knew if it was even a bruise? If it wasn't... No, it had to be. Right...?

"Anyway, I'd better head to the arena. I promised Piper that I would do a little one-on-one with her," Annabeth said, brushing past Reyna. "See ya."

"Yeah, see ya," Reyna replied, watching Annabeth walk away. Luckily Annabeth didn't suggest anything about Percy and Reyna. She didn't know how she would respond to such a comment. Oh, yeah, your boyfriend has been kind of sorta cheating on you with me. I hope that doesn't bother you! Also, please don't wage war on me...

Yeah, that was a topic Reyna hoped she would never have to talk about with Annabeth, though she knew it was inevitable. Annabeth wasn't dumb. In fact, she was far from it. She would figure it out, probably before she left on her quest. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, Reyna thought, shrugging off the matter. She knew that she would have to face it, and the results would not be pretty. Even worse, what if it came to that point and Percy chose Annabeth over her? Of course, he would. He couldn't be with Reyna while on his quest, or while back at Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth was the reasonable option for Percy, not to mention they had known each other longer, and been romantically involved longer.

But that didn't stop Reyna from thinking about the time when Percy admitted to loving her while on Scipio. Had he ever said that to Annabeth? Perhaps the statement was simply caused by Percy being caught up in the moment as he'd said, and spewing out some romantic line. Maybe he didn't mean it. But then there was the time when they discussed it. Percy didn't deny it, nor fully own up to it. That was only a day ago, after all. Reyna desperately wanted to believe that he loved her. She really, really did. She also wanted to believe that she kind of, sort of loved him too. But could she?

Well, yeah, this was kind of a filler chapter, and also on the shorter side. Most of my chapters recently have been up to 3,500 words, and sometimes even more, but I really wanted to get this out to you guys. Don't worry, the next chapter will have more good stuff. In this update, I really wanted to show you guys Percy's POV of that little exchange. I might only do this a couple more times, so don't think that I'll always put both POVs for a certain exchange. I also realize that I keep droning on and on about how Reyna knows that Percy will leave her, but I just want to make it clear that Reyna thinks about that often and that she really cares for him. Does that make sense? Anyways, I love you guys! Review, review, and REVIEW!