A/N: My buddy Nerds made a point about how my chapters have been shorter lately than they were for Immortalized. I apologize for that so from this point on I will try to make them longer, around 3000 words instead of 2000. Anyways hope you guys like this one.

Reyna groaned as she wiped her face with her hand. Why did she get stuck with this dope. "So let me get this straight," she began before glaring at the Iris Message. On the other side was her paramour, her patron god, getting stitched up by Will. She had messaged Will to see if he had seen Percy as he had ignored her prayers all day. She was going to get Percy back for that. Only when the image coalesced, she found Percy... having a dagger pulled out of his rib cage. "You left, alone, to meet with a known enemy. All because he asked nicely?" she asked in exasperation.

Percy winced at her tone, or at Will stitching him back together. Reyna decided it was her. "Well, when you put it that way-"

"I wasn't finished," Reyna interrupted the god before leaning back in her seat. The room rocked as the bus she was riding in hit a pothole. She sat in her personal office in the command bus of their convoy. A stack of papers sat to the side and more papers were scattered before her. "You then engaged three titans and two giants with just the two of you and managed to get yourself severely wounded because you let your guard down. Am I missing anything?"

"Uh...You look beautiful today?" he tried before wincing again as Will pulled a little too hard at the suture. Who shook his head with a grin. Reyna could see picture frames and shelving lining the walls of the room. He was in his personal room in the Big House. Percy leaned back against his headboard, much to Will's annoyance.

Reyna continued to glare at the image. "Do you understand how recklessly stupid that was of you? What if you had been captured again? What if you had been killed? What would I tell Zoe?" she ended by shouting and Percy had the decency to look guilty. Reyna sighed. "You need to be more careful."

Percy let out a deep breath. "You're right, I'm sorry," he said and winced. "I overstepped. I should have told you."

Will finished up with his stiches and began cleaning up his tools. "I'll leave you two alone. Going to let the wound breathe a little before wrapping it up. I'll go check on Pallas," he said before quickly leaving the room.

Reyna's eyes softened minutely as the son of Apollo left. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Percy answered as he adjusted himself in bed. "Nothing some stitches and nectar can't fix. Will says it slipped in the fifth and sixth rib. Nothing but empty cavity."

"You need to be more careful," she scolded the god. She rubbed her forehead with a sigh. "Has he at least told you their plans yet?"

Percy shook his head. "He doesn't know much, which isn't a surprise. Nyx typically keeps her cards close to her chest. I doubt even Annabeth knows everything. He did say that Zoe ruined their initial plans and so now they are waiting for more pieces to hit the board. Like what Kronos did pretty much every five minutes back then."

"Like father, like daughter then huh," Reyna grinned before frowning. "Doesn't really help us though."

"No," Percy agreed. "But I need a loyal soldier I can count on. Artemis is my friend, but I can't count on her loyalty. Same with most gods out of the seas. It's nice to have someone I know I can trust."

"Where will he go?" Reyna asked, car horns honked outside, and she felt the bus lurch. "He can't stay at either camp."

Percy nodded along. "Yeah, too much bad blood with Liam and Karina. He will leave after he is patched up. I was thinking of sending him to watch over Zoe. From afar, of course."

"Do you not trust Artemis?" Reyna leaned forward and rested her arms against the desk.

"I trust Artemis to protect Zoe if she can, but my fear is that Nyx will try something when she can't," Percy explained. A muffled shout of surprise filtered through the walls of the room. The sounds of shattering followed quickly after. Percy sighed. "I think Chiron just found out. I'll let you go to go deal with this."

"Alright. Go deal with that." Reyna's eyes relented their anger. "I love you."

"I love you too," Percy said back with a smile before waving his hand through the image and dissipating it.

Reyna sighed as she leaned back in her seat. Her paramour stressed her to no end. She was lucky her immortality prevented grey hairs, or she would have a silver mane. She lurched against her desk as the bus stopped suddenly. She could feel the back of the bus lift off the ground before crashing back down. Reyna stood quickly and moved to the door, adjusting her camp sweatshirt as she went. Entering the main compartment, Reyna saw several of her praetorians rising to their feet. Reyna grabbed the shoulder of a grumbling Bernard and stabilized him. "You okay?" she asked the centurion. All of them were dressed in their own casual wear.

Bernard shook his head. "I'm fine," he answered before turning to the front of the bus. "Mendez! Report!"

Mendez's response was cut off by massive claws tearing through the side of the bus. A thunderous roar reverberated through the air as a massive chunk of the wall was torn from the bus.

The golden maw of the Nemean Lion lunged into the opening. Reyna shoved Bernard aside, causing the lion to land directly on her. Before she could react, the lion sunk its teeth straight in her right thigh, blood oozing out of the open wound.

Reyna screamed in pain as the monster dragged her out of the bus by her leg. Thrusting her upper body forward, Reyna grasped onto the beast's snout, holding on for dear life as it tried to shake her like a ragdoll.

Ignoring the panicked shouting of her guards, Reyna locked eyes with the Nemeon. Gold orbs brimming with primal fury stared back at her. Rummaging in her pocket, she whipped out a golden coin. Before she could use it however, the lion thrashed her again, forcing her to drop the coin. Reyna gritted her teeth before glaring at the lion once more.

Arrows and pila struck the sides of the Nemean Lion to little effect. The lion squeezed on her leg. Reyna choked back a scream. Enough of this. Reyna punched the lion in the eye. The lion roared in pain and dropped the consul. Reyna hit the searing hot road with a thud. The desert sun bored down upon the convoy heating the roads and air. Reyna rolled away from the beast. The lion stomped where she had been. Reyna scrambled back before her praetorians formed a defensive line between them. She looked down at her leg. The lion had bit into her upper leg, her quad and hamstring a mess of shredded skin and muscle. Hands grabbed her shoulders and dragged her away from the Nemean Lion. The beast in question watched her go as it swatted aside her guards. Reyna looked up to find Harold, one of her oldest guards, pulling her behind the bus.

"Hold on, Ma'am," he told her as he rested her against the back of the bus. He turned his head away from her. "Medic!" He tore off his t-shirt and wrapped it around her leg above her wounds like a torniquet. Reyna looked over his shoulder. Groups of the fourth were fighting against waves of cyclopes and dracanea. Some legionaries wore armor and others didn't.

"What's the situation," Reyna asked. She grimaced as the legionary tightened his shirt above her wounds.

Harold tied the shirt as tight as he could. "Hellhounds crashed into all of the buses. Now we have cyclopes, dracanea and hellhounds harassing us, and, obviously, the Nemean Lion." The praetorian medic, Julee, slid up to her, her long blonde hair tied in a bun. The legionary began examining her wounds without another word, cutting what was left of her pant leg to get at her mangled leg. Harold stood and drew his gladius, standing watch. "The fourth has suffered casualties, but the centurions have rallied the legionaries, and they are pushing them back."

Reyna nodded as Julee wrapped bandages around her leg. "How are the praetorians?" she asked. The medic stuffed a cube of ambrosia into her mouth. The taste of childhood sweets filled her mouth. Reyna felt her wounds begin to slowly heal.

Harold looked around the corner of the bus. "The lion is batting them aside like ragdolls," he informed her. "Their weapons and tactics are proving ineffective."

"Their weapons can't penetrate its hide," Reyna said as Julee finished securing the bandages. "Help me up."

Julee gave her a questioning look. "Ma'am? I don't think-"

"It was not a request. My legionaries are dying," she shouted at them, her dark eyes glaring in annoyance. She held out her hands. "Help. Me. Now!"

Julee looked at her skeptically before putting Reyna's arm around her shoulder and helped her up. "Where to Consul?"

"Show me the lion," she ordered, pain shooting up her body at any movement. Reyna hobbled with the help of Julee until she could see past the bus, Harold following closely behind. The lion swatted a guard aside with a roar. Arrows pelted the face of the lion, the beasts closing its mouth and eyes to avoid injury.

"What do we do?" asked Harold as he watched for any threats.

Reyna's critical eyes roamed the battlefield. "Well, I don't think we have any astronaut snacks so we will have to improvise." She eyed her fallen coin near the monster's feet, then down to her leg. Even with her leg healing, she was next to useless in her condition.

Thoom.

The group turned and saw a massive, spiked wall of ice blast its way through a group of monsters. Reyna briefly marveled at Karina's power. As much as she could help, it would be impossible to get her in time to help them. They would have to deal with this themselves. Reyna observed their surroundings. There was nought but the Arizona desert for miles. She had a cohort under attack and her praetorians under assault by a beast they couldn't defeat. She was without help. She would have to do this herself. She looked over the guards before spotting Bernard, blocking a strike from the lion with a shield. "Bernard!" she shouted at the centurion.

Bernard rolled back out of the lion's reach before running to her with a grim look on his face. "We are throwing everything at it," he told Reyna, his shield arm baring a deep gash. "Nothing is making a dent."

Reyna ran through her mind for strategies. None of them good. She would just have to make it work. "I need my coin," she informed the centurion.

Bernard looked down at her bandaged leg and back up to her. "Ma'am, as your centurion I feel obligated to protest to you endangering yourself further."

Reyna gently pushed off of Julee, standing on her own with shaky legs. "Your concern is noted," Reyna responded with a wince, her leg barely supporting her weight. "But we are out of options."

Bernard wanted to argue, she could see it in his face, but the centurion relented. "Yes ma'am. I will return." He turned and left, running towards the great lion.

"So, what's the plan?" Julee asked as she watched the consul carefully.

Reyna observed the beast before looking around. "Come with me."

Bernard had faced a lot of monsters in his time as a praetorian; hellhounds, dracanea, even drakons. This was the first time he had faced a legendary beast like the Nemean Lion. So far it lived up to the legend. Their weapons bounced off its golden fur. He eyed the golden coin below the beast. What exactly the consul wax planning, he did not know, but she gave her orders.

"Edwards, Maria," he shouted at two legionaries wielding pila at the beast, trying to deter it from advancing. Two other guards took their place and the two ran to him. He pointed to the lion. "Flank it. Hit it in the rear and draw it away from the bus."

"Yes sir," they shouted in unison before moving as directed.

Bernard rushed the lion, blocking a swipe with his shield and saving a guard. His arm burned fiercely at the impact, the gash bleeding profusely. Several guards struck at the lion, diverting the beast's attention. Edwards and Maria settled behind the Nemean with two other guards wielding shields behind them. They thrusted their pila, jabbing them into the Nemean's rear.

The lion roared in anger and spun around. The guards behind Edwards and Maria stepped forward and blocked its paws. Bernard dashed forward, ducking beneath the lion's rear. The centurion stumbled as he tried to avoid the lion's massive legs. Reaching out, Bernard snatched the large, gold coin off the ground. A leg crashed into Bernard, knocking him to the ground. Bernard laid there as the Nemean Lion turned and roared.

Tensing its hind legs, the Nemean lunged, determined to finish the slippery centurion once and for all.

Despite his best efforts, Bernard was on his last legs. Whatever the Consul wanted to do, she'd better do it quickly. Seeing the infamous feline rushing towards him, there was only one thing to do.

Brandishing his sword, Bernard charged towards the lion. A roar of defiance tore from his face as faced it for the final time.

Reyna stood at the top of the bus. Harold and Julee had helped her up. The consul stood over the battle between her guards and the Nemean Lion. She watched as Bernard slipped under the Nemean. His plan bold and outrageous, as always. If her plan were to work, she would need her javelin. She tested her leg. Pain bolted up her body and she grunted through gritted teeth. This will not end well. She watched Bernard get knocked down and the lion roared over him. Now or never. She leaped off the roof of the bus and landed on the back of the lion.

Spots danced across Reyna's vision as pain flared across her leg. The Nemean yelped and jumped away from Bernard. The lion leapt and ran as it tried to dislodge her. Reyna held onto its fur for dear life as the beast plowed through lines of monsters. The lion snarled at her, turning its head to glare at her with a murderous gaze. Reyna grunted as she grabbed new fistfuls of fur and pulled herself up its back. She rested herself in the mane of the beast and spotted Bernard wielding her javelin. She pulled. The lion roared in anger but changed direction, rubbing towards the praetorians.

"Bernard!" Reyna shouted over the sounds of battle. She held out one hand. "Javelin!" Bernard looked at the javelin then back to her in disbelief. He hefted the weapon and launched it. The javelin flew straight and true, passing mere inches from Reyna's body. Reyna snatched the javelin out of the air and twirled it in hand. "This. Ends. Now!" she cried and looped the weapon around the lion's neck.

She locked her arms around it and pulled back. The Nemean Lion choked and reared back with a strangled roar. It leapt even farther, trying to dislodge the consul but she held on. The monster bucked and jumped all across the road. Its body convulsed as its lungs tried desperately to draw breath, shaking Reyna to her core. She nearly fainted as the pain in her leg became maddening. Hot blood flowed down her leg. The Nemean fell on its side and rolled. Reyna bit back a scream as what felt like her leg snapping. It's steps grew heavy as it ran out of breath. The Nemean stopped by a bus and slammed it's side against it. Reyna grunted as she impacted the bus. She squeezed her javelin tighter. The lion reared back, releasing a final death rattle, before collapsing on its back, crushing Reyna under its weight.

"Reyna!" Bernard screamed as he sprinted towards the body of the lion, the guards not helping the injured followed. He came to a stop next to the dissolving lion, looking for the consul's body. The golden dust spilled out onto the ground, revealing the consul's unmoving body. Bernard slid up to Reyna and threw the golden hide off her. "Julee!"

The medic fell to her knees on the other side of the consul and examined her. She pressed her fingers into Reyna's wrist. "She has a pulse," she informed Bernard before checking for injuries.

Bernard sighed in relief. He stood and observed the area. Most of the battle was finished, legionaries finishing off groups of monsters. "Harold," he called out to the man. "Find the centurions. Get a status report." Harold nodded before running away. "Nicole, get a count of our injured and dead." Said girl nodded and left.

Bernard turned back and watched Julee as she started replacing the bandages on Reyna's leg. Her leg was still shredded, it would take days before it healed. The fact she could even stand much less jump and hold onto the Nemean was astounding. Julee popped open a small tube before quickly placing it under Reyna's nose. Reyna's eyes shot open, and she rocketed upright. Her eyes darted over the battlefield before turning to Bernard. "Report," she ordered as if she hadn't just woken up.

Julee flinched back at the consul's abrupt movements. "Ma'am! Careful. You have at least one broken rib and probably more fractured," she told her, placing a hand on her shoulder to lay her back down.

Reyna shrugged off Julee's hand and winced. "I'm fine. I need to deal with this situation."

"Centurion Rebecca is dead," Harold relayed as he approached them. "They are trying to get a final count on casualties, but Centurion Mike said it's probably in the dozens."

Reyna's eyes hardened. "And the praetorians?"

"Four dead, two in critical condition and six injured," Nicole walked up to the group.

Reyna looked at Bernard. "Contact New Rome. We need immediate evac for the praetorians and legionaries," she ordered him. Bernard looked like he wanted to argue but relented and left.

"Ma'am, please, lie down and stay still before your rib punctures a lung," Julee pleaded with Reyna.

Reyna's hard eyes focused in on Julee. "I told you, I'm fine. Go take care of our critical. They need you more than I do."

"Consul, with all due respect-"

"Now! Praetorian!" Reyna shouted before recoiling in pain. Julee made to help her but was waved off by Reyna. "Go," her voice now a mere whisper. Julee left without another word. Reyna took in a shaky breath, biting down the pain in her chest and her leg. "Harold, go back to Mike and tell him our status and that Bernard is calling for help." He saluted her before departing. Reyna then looked around at her remaining guards. "Edwards, Nicole, help me back to my bus."

Reyna fell into her chair with a wince. "Thank you," she said to them as she tried to get comfortable. "Nicole," she gestured to a bookshelf that had remarkably stayed upright. "Ceaser bust on the fourth row."

The daughter of Ceres approached the bookshelf and grabbed the head of the bust. The head tilted back, revealing a bottle filled with golden liquid. "Nectar?" she asked as she grabbed the bottle and walked back to the desk. "Need something a little stronger than nectar, don't you?"

Reyna pulled out a glass and corkscrew from one of her drawers, gesturing to it. Nicole popped open the bottle with the corkscrew before pouring it. "It's a special brew, curtesy of Mercury." She took the cup and swirled it before taking a drink. Warmth filled her body as she felt her ribs and leg being stitched back together. She felt her femur reset. Apparently that was broke too. "Take the rest to Julee. My men could use it."

"Yes Ma'am," she said with a salute before leaving promptly.

The consul sighed. "Someone is targeting me, and I have a good idea who," she claimed with an undertone of anger.

Edwards was unsure of if she was actually talking to him or to the air. "What do you mean?" he asked as he decided to risk her wrath.

Reyna looked to the son of Mercury as if debating whether to tell him. "This is the first time they have ambushed a convoy. They didn't even attack with a force large enough to defeat us, ambush or not," she explained as she sipped the nectar. "And they sent one of the most powerful monsters who specifically went after me."

"So this was an assassination attempt?" Edwards asked with realization crossing his face.

Reyna sighed again and downed the nectar, the heat scorching within her. "I need to make a call."