Reunions

One would think, after everything we've done for the world, we'd at least be allowed to walk through the streets of New Rome without any issues. After all, despite our unconventional relationship status, my harem and I were sort of the reason why this city was still standing.

But that would make too much sense. Instead, we weren't even allowed in the city.

"I'll have none of it!"

Three guesses for who was giving us a hard time, and the first two don't count.

Terminus, despite his lack of limbs, made absolutely certain none of us were allowed in. Not on the grounds of us being traitors or even for the harem. But rather for who was with us.

"It's okay." Khione tugged on my sleeve. "We can find someone else to remove it."

"That's right!" Terminus scoffed. "What would possess you to think I'd let a Greek goddess inside the Pomerian Line? Especially if you're here to unleash her full power!"

"Can I vouch for her or something?" I pressed. "Besides, she can't use any powers without my permission anyways."

"That places too much power in your hands! We threw you out! Dubbed you traitors and enemies of the state! Who's to say you aren't seeking revenge? No. I will not allow it!"

"And what would it take if I vouched for them all?" Frank approached us from behind, quite at ease in his praetor's garbs, toga and all. "After all, their presence is today's hot topic in the senate meeting."

"Praetor." Terminus pursed his lips. "The risk is too great."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Frank crossed his arms. "Your task is to protect the city and uphold the laws within it. There aren't any laws prohibiting the entrance of Greek deities."

"Because this matter is unprecedented! There must be a senate meeting for—"

"Where do you think I'm going now?"

Terminus huffed. "Fine. I'll let them in on three conditions. First, their actions are your responsibility."

"Done."

He nodded. "Second, this shall remain a visit, not a stay of residence, unless the senate rules in favor of allowing them to stay."

Frank glanced at us and sighed. "That's reasonable enough. We'll be voting on that today anyways. Just don't kick them out instantly if the senate votes against them staying. They are allowed to at least complete this visit."

"Fine." Terminus huffed. "Lastly. You! Goddess!"

Khione took a step back and clasped my hand.

He grimaced. "That bush over there. There's a stray branch ruining its uniformity. Pluck it and properly dispose of it."

"Terminus…" Frank sighed.

"I have spoken!"

Khione cocked her head, bewildered. "What… Which bush?"

"The one I'm pointing at! Jupiter above, are all of you blind?!"

"Um… Right."

Khione stepped over to the nearest bush and began inspecting it, to which Terminus immediately corrected her, claiming it was another bush.

"Sorry about all this," Frank said, rubbing the back of his head. "Unfortunately, I don't have all the influence in New Rome. Just a bit of it."

"Don't worry about it. But are you sure you don't want Reyna or me in the meeting?"

"Yeah… A lot of the senators are still sore about you two. Better to not go pressing their buttons." He glanced at Annabeth and Piper, who joined the rest of us for this visit. "But you two will be perfect representatives. Piper because you've got a charisma that outclasses everyone in there. Annabeth for… obvious reasons."

Both of them looked rather pleased with themselves, but did their best to keep on their poker faces.

"Time to outwit a bunch of politicians," Annabeth said. "Oh, goodie."

"As long as you don't make me try to seduce any of them."

Frank snickered. "I don't think it will come to that."

"Also," Piper added. "Any chance I could get a couple more of these?" She lifted a portion of her toga. "These aren't really all that practical, but dammit if I don't look good in this."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Let's save the clothes shopping for after. In the meantime, we have a meeting to get to."

Piper stuck out her tongue. "Party pooper." She leaned in and whispered to Annabeth, who actually blanched at whatever she said. "Just something to think about."

I decided not to eavesdrop. "You two definitely got this, but good luck."

Both of them smiled in return.

"Have fun with Khione."

Speaking of whom, the goddess in question returned. Holding a sprig half the size of her pinky, she didn't look all that amused.

"Perfect," Terminus said. "I'll let you in, but you must immediately dispose of that in the proper receptacle. Now, weapons everyone! Pass them up!"

Out rushed Julia, a broad grin on her face, tray in hand. Looks like she was happy to have her teeth fully grown in.

Most of us had the foresight to not bring our weapons with us, but I obviously had to part with Riptide. And of course, Reyna had both Aurum and Argentum at her heels. No one would mess with us after seeing them.

"Alright, off you go. No breaking the rules. And remember, the proper receptacle."

Tempted as I was to just tell Khione to just toss the little twig on the grass around a corner, an inkling told me Terminus would show up and start berating us if she did. We threw it away in a communal trash bin.

Frank, Piper, and Annabeth broke off from the three of us to attend the senate meeting minutes after we stepped into the city. We could always tour the city later. In the meantime, we had a job to do.

"Follow me," Reyna said, turning onto a street approaching the coliseum. "If there's anyone who can take care of this, it's Warden."

"Warden?"

We followed her. Khione kept her hand clasped firmly in mine the entire time.

"Descendent of Portunus. Whereas much of his lineage really never amounted to much significance, he gained some notoriety for… well… breaking and entering." She turned down another road. "He never actually stole anything. Rather he considered it a personal challenge to beat any security out there."

"Right… So don't give him any ideas where we are living. Got it."

She snorted. "I doubt you'll have that issue anymore. He's not as spry as before. Thirty years does that to you."

"Wow… Hopefully, he still has skills."

She flashed a smirk back at me. "I wouldn't take you to him if he didn't."

The remainder of the trip passed in silence. Relatively. I still found myself taking in all of the scenery like some Hawaiian tourist. If not for Reyna literally dragging me to the side of the road, I'd have been trampled by a rushing merchant's cart.

"Here we are."

We stood in front of a red-roofed white marble building just like any other. Only the sign depicting a broken key gave any indication that we were in the right place.

"Fair warning," Reyna said. "He's a bit odd, but don't think his skills are any less for it."

She stepped up to the door and walked inside. Khione and I followed.

Overall, the inside of the shop was rather cramped. No more than the size of my bedroom in Manhattan. Honestly, it didn't smell too different either. Despite the blatant coverup of floral incense, the distinct smell of copper and iron sat heavy in the air.

A single counter stood pressed to one corner of the room while an array of locks and safes sat on display across multiple shelves. Along the back wall, padlocks, and even a whole doorknob, dangled from chains like some weird trophy display.

Warden was nowhere to be seen.

Reyna casually approached the counter and dinged a small "Ring for Service" bell, though it sounded more like a cat sharpening its claws on a chalkboard.

Not ten seconds later, a gruff man with a missing eyebrow limped into the room from the back.

"Wha' ya wan'?"

"A pleasure as always to see you, Warden." Reyna smiled. "We have a new challenge for you. One unlike any creation here in New Rome."

His dark eyes went wide. "Where? Lemme see!"

Reyna directed her hand over to Khione, who flushed under the gaze of the elderly man, but lifted the bottom of her dress to reveal the anklet.

He all but bombrushed Khione and dove onto the floor, which could not be good for his limp. Khione yelped when he grabbed the anklet. Fortunately, his attention was zeroed in on the metal ring and not on trying to peek up her dress. That didn't stop us from trying to tuck her skirt between her legs.

"Hmm. Magical." He sniffed it. "Aluminum alloy. Aqueon made. Cyclops? No. Olda' style." He dragged himself and hobbled to the back room. With a grunt, he gestured for us to follow him.

Reyna fought to keep a straight face, but her eyes were laughing a mile a minute as we trailed after him into the back room.

"Room" is a bit of an understatement. More like "warehouse." Maybe he had some sort of space dilation magic in play, but the monstrous workshop was stacked wall to wall with crates, safes, and even a whole vault shoved into a corner.

"Here." He pointed to a chair next to a worktable, precariously covered with several lockpicks, skeleton keys, and even a blowtorch.

Khione sat down, but dragged me along with her, squeezing all feeling out of my hand. Granted, that may have just been her cold body temperature at work.

Warden rummaged through his tools, completely ignoring his assortment of lockpicks. After a grunt of displeasure, he left us for a few minutes, then returned with a cooler in hand.

"Um. What's with the—?"

"Shh!"

He set the cooler down, opened it, and pulled out what looked like a skeleton key. The moment he had it in hand, he rushed over to Khione, knelt down, and gingerly lifted her foot. Whatever rushing he was doing paid off because the moment he inserted the key and twisted it, the key promptly snapped off.

"No!" I exclaimed. "That's the exact opposite of what we wanted!"

"Hush, boy." He held out his hand. What remained of the key melted in his palm. "Gallium key with destabilizing magic. Hope you didn' wanna keep the lock."

He closed his cooler, then carried it off to the back of the workshop.

"Wait fifteen minutes. Then squeeze the lock."

Five minutes later, some clanging echoed throughout the room.

"He's a charmer."

Reyna snorted. "Told you. But he's as good as they come. Though I'll be honest, I'm a bit disappointed at how easily he did this."

"Let's not celebrate yet. I want to see this work."

Khione kept her gaze firmly on her feet. However, her far off stare made me question if she was actually seeing them.

"Are you okay?"

Her grip on my hand tightened. She swallowed thickly.

"I don't know."

Reyna offered a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Just take things one step at a time. You'll soon be as free as the rest of us."

"What kind of freedom is that?" she retorted, though her heart wasn't in it.

Reyna had the perfect response. "As if you could just walk away from the man who made you scream for hours on end yesterday."

Khione flushed, but didn't press the matter.

For the next few minutes, we made some idle chatter, specifically about places Reyna wanted us to visit. By the ten minute mark, the clanging in the background came to an end. Warden approached us with a grunt.

"Did you squeeze the lock?"

"Huh? Oh. Right!"

I dropped down to Khione's feet, wrapped my hand around the front of the anklet, and crushed it under my grip. At least, that's what I'd like to say. In reality, nothing happened. It didn't budge.

"Hmm." Warden frowned and joined my side. He too squeezed the lock only to be met by the same result. "Too cold. Her body is slowin' the reaction."

He jumped up, pulled a rag from his table, then tucked it between Khione's ankle and the anklet.

"Hold the lock for anotha' fifteen minutes. Then squeeze."

Once again, he left. Only this time, I was stuck holding Khione's ankle. Now, it's not like I was suffering by any stretch of the imagination. But even Reyna joked at my expense, claiming Thalia would die of laughter if she saw me. The foot fetish jokes knew no bounds.

Fifteen minutes later, I didn't even need to squeeze. The lock crumbled in my grip, breaking apart into dozens of brittle pieces.

None of us even registered it at first. We all shared a mutual frown of confusion and glanced down at Khione's ankle. The goddess in question, flexed and rotated her foot, breaths elevating.

"We can consider this a job well do— Oof!"

"Thank you!"

Khione jumped out of her chair and tackled Reyna in a hug. For once, Reyna actually struggled to wiggle out, and stood no chance at stopping her from pressing a kiss to her cheek.

When she turned on me, she didn't settle for something so platonic. She all but devoured my mouth while pinning me to the ground, frosty tears steaming on my cheeks.

"You done?" Warden stood off to the side, casually sweeping up the debris while Reyna struggled to contain her laughter. "Good. Now git."

"How much do we owe you?"

"Already paid," Reyna said. "Unless you've got any denarii on hand. You were a little busy." A grin split her face.

"Busy makin' a mess o' muh floor," Warden grumbled. "Now git."

Khione and I scrambled to our feet, one of us blushing while the other matched Reyna's grin. Two guesses who was who.

"Thank you. Sincerely." I moved to shake his hand, but he brushed me off.

"Come on. Let's go." Reyna led us to the front. "We can head to the cafe and wait for the others to finish at the meeting."

"How long should they be?"

She shrugged and held open the door. "They could be fifteen minutes. Or they might take an hour. Who knows? Either way, it's plenty of time to get some hot chocolate."

"Okay, I'll admit it. This hot chocolate is really good."

A broad grin stretched across Reyna's lips. At least until she took another sip.

"Is there any chance I would be able to try?"

Khione pouted while the two of us indulged in our hot drinks. Of course, she certainly wasn't complaining when she slurped up her fruit smoothie in less than a minute.

"If you did, you'd most likely pass out," I admitted. "This is about the same temperature as the heated baths."

"Then surely I could make an attempt. I handled those quite well… for a time."

"Yeah, but there's a difference between having heat on you or around you and having it in you."

"Oh, I'm aware." She smiled coyly. "You certainly didn't mind putting something hot into my mouth."

Reyna snorted, and proceeded to spew out her drink.

"You know what? Just for that, I'm getting you another drink. Not a hot chocolate, but something a little bit more suited for you."

While she visited the counter, I did my best to relax with my drink. Easier said than done with the whirlwind in my head… or the lovely goddess rubbing my arm.

All of that came to a close when my vision went dark.

"Guess who."

I grinned. "Well, Annabeth always uses lemon scented soap. So I'll have to go with Piper."

"Congratulations! You win a new lap partner!"

Piper pulled her hand away and promptly placed herself on my lap. Annabeth rolled her eyes, smiling, and took a spare seat. That left Frank, who wasn't cut out for such public displays of affection. Poor guy could barely make eye contact while he stood off to the side.

"So, how'd it go?"

"It could have gone much worse," Annabeth said. "But it could have gone better as well."

"Good news, they aren't chasing us out of the city."

I rubbed Piper's knee. "That's a start. And the bad news?"

"They aren't going to let us take up residence here anytime soon."

"The senate is split," Annabeth explained. "There are a lot of doctrines they need to revise before they'd consider letting us stay here permanently. And that will take time. Some were talking about having us stay as ambassadors in the meantime."

"Then your specific… situation was brought up. Many of our older senate members were less than pleased at the idea."

"Ironic, given how debaucherous Rome was back in the day," Annabeth muttered. "They literally caused the extinction of a plant based contraceptive."

"I'm going to leave that one alone," Frank said. "Either way, we have some good news, but we wanted you to have a say in this."

"And what would tha—?"

"One mocha frappuccino with a double pump of chocolate and a dusting of ambrosia."

Reyna placed the drink in front of Khione and took a seat. The goddess took one look at the drink, then proceeded to slurp the whole thing down in seconds. Her eyes rolled up and the slightest of drunken smiles appeared on her lips.

She didn't even realize when her cup was empty. A momentary high kept her giddy and bubbly. But the moment passed and that happiness was washed away by her aghast expression.

"Can… can I have another?" She shyly held out her cup to Reyna.

We all held in our laughter, and Reyna even stretched out her hand to grab it. But she never got the chance before another hand swiped the cup from Khione.

"How about a free round for everyone? My treat."

Reyna jumped in her seat, then locked eyes with our newest visitor.

"Hylla?!"

"In the flesh." She flashed a grin and pulled Reyna out of her seat into a hug.

"By Jupiter, it's great to see you!" Reyna pulled away, misty-eyed. "Why are you in New Rome? Don't you have an empire to run?"

"We can talk about that in a bit." They parted from hugging. "I recall offering everyone a drink. What's everyone want?"

It didn't take long for us to get our orders. The barista rushed to get everyone's drink prepared to their liking. Meanwhile, our group began to draw attention from most of the other customers.

"And lastly, one sunset twist smoothie. Everyone good?"

We all nodded our agreement and sent off the barista with a hefty tip. Our attention focused on Hylla, while she merely leaned back in her chair and propped her legs up on the table.

"So… to business?"

"You could say that," Piper snickered, sipping from her tea.

"That potential good news I mentioned," Frank said. "Yeah, she kind of swooped in and saved the day. All we need to know is if you approve."

"Saved the… Okay, slow down. What exactly happened?"

Hylla smiled. "When I heard about you showing up in Camp Jupiter, I was already working on some treatises between here and the Amazons. We're… aggressively expanding our network. Seeking alliances that we wouldn't have considered before the war."

"Okay…"

"Initially, I was just going to pay a visit to my sweet little sister, but then I heard about why you were seeking refuge in New Rome."

Reyna went red in the face, but said nothing as Hylla continued.

"While the senate might not be open to accepting you into the city because of reasons outside of your control, as queen of the Amazons, I have absolutely no issues with sheltering heroes of war for as long as they need."

A few seconds passed for me to really understand what she said.

"So… you're giving us a place to stay?"

Annabeth facepalmed.

"Exactly." Hylla grinned. "Come up to Seattle with me, and we can get you all situated right in the heart of the Amazon empire."

Roughly half a minute ticked away as my brain tried to catch up. Of course, it only latched onto the most important details.

"You do realize that this is a harem, right? As much as I may not like it, I literally own a collection of women. Doesn't that run against pretty much all of the Amazons' beliefs?"

"We value strength and accomplishments," she said, crossing her arms. "Yes, there will be people who won't like you being there. But our information network is incredibly vast, and so far, most I've heard from pity your situation."

I pursed my lips and stared down at my hot chocolate. "You're not going to put me in an orange jumpsuit and an iron collar, are you?"

She snorted. "Not unless you ask for it. Though honestly, I'm pretty sure most would be disappointed if a man of your achievement reduced himself to that."

"What would all of this be in return for?" Reyna said. "As much as I'd love to believe you're doing this out of goodwill, you still have an empire to run. Bringing us in risks destabilizing it just like our presence destabilized the senate."

"There are definitely ways you can pay this back, but I'm not looking for any sort of money or work force. I already have plenty of both."

"So a favor then," Reyna pressed.

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

Reyna turned to me with a hard expression. She never said anything, but the warning was written in her eyes.

Unfortunately, when looking at the big picture, we really didn't have much of a choice. After all, what were the odds that someone would just stroll by and offer us a place to live a second time.

"We'll do it."

All around, almost everyone's shoulders relaxed. Only Reyna tensed up, but didn't press the matter.

"This is only temporary," I said. "We'll keep this up until we find somewhere more permanent to stay. If Hestia manages to secure us a spot with the goddess she's speaking to, then we'll move over there."

Hylla grinned. "By all means. You're not my prisoners. Though I doubt some will want to leave after experiencing Amazonian hospitality."

She threw back her head and downed the last of her drink.

"Well then, let's go let everyone kno—"

"Pardon my interruption," a familiar voice said. "But someone was looking for you."

Jason managed to startle every one of us. Admittedly, I didn't have any urge to punch him in the face beyond normal reflex. Though that may have been because of who was standing next to him.

"Hazel!"

Piper flew out from my lap and tackled her in a massive bear hug. Meanwhile, Annabeth took a more tactful approach, waiting her turn.

Reyna and Hylla shared a glance.

"Let's put some tables together."

Two minutes later, we sat in a large box around our tables. With Reyna, Hylla, and Khione to join us, the seven were finally reunited… save one.

"It's wonderful to see you all again," Hazel said. "Some taste of home is exactly what I needed."

"What was it like?" I said. "Seeing your dad again."

She darted her gaze away. "Awkward, honestly. Like he wanted to love us, but didn't know how. At least we weren't alone. Nico showed up sometime yesterday."

I winced. "He wasn't too mad, right?"

She snickered. "I've never seen him scream so much, especially when hugging someone. He and Bianca are… working through some things. They need time together, and I needed time away from the Underworld. Too many memories."

"I understand."

Genuine empathy shone in her eyes, and she held out her hand to rub mine.

Frank cleared his throat and stood, raising his cup.

"I propose a toast."

Everyone turned their attention to him.

"Less than a year ago, some of us never knew each other existed. We were destined to be enemies. Pawns and toys for higher powers."

The surrounding cafe patrons began tuning in.

"Gaia had us at each others' throats. Greek against Roman. Demigods against gods. But these people here, sitting at this table, showed her exactly what they were capable of. Now we know a peace greater than we could ever dare to hope for.

"And I know he may not be with us now, but if he knew what his sacrifice would accomplish, Leo would have gone into that inferno smiling." He scanned the table, locking eyes with each and every one of us. "To Leo. To peace. And to family!"

We all raised our cups in return, happily toasting the memory of our fallen friend. Even Khione, who looked more conflicted than anything else, joined us.

"Okay," Piper said. "I know I'm probably going to get some flack for this, but are you two getting back together?"

Both Hazel and Frank flushed, suddenly interested in either the floor or ceiling.

Annabeth laughed. "Don't tease them."

"I'm serious! You both have a second chance." She leaned forward, taking hold of Hazel's hand.

Frank's foot repeatedly tapped the ground. He let out a deep exhale, not meeting anyone's gaze.

Hazel saved him from being put on the spot.

"Honestly, as much as I think I'd like that, my time in the harem showed me that I'm not quite ready yet. There's still a lot I need to learn about this world. And Frank has enough on his plate without having to worry about me."

Piper nodded in understanding. Frank's shoulders relaxed, sharing a brief smile with Hazel.

"Will you rejoin the legion?" Reyna asked. "I can imagine they'd love the recruits. You may even get to centurion faster than ever."

She shook her head. "No, I don't think that would be fair for Frank. He's praetor now, so my accomplishments will only look like favoritism even if it isn't. And I don't want to put him through the hassle of trying to balance our friendship and his job."

"I'm right here, you know," Frank joked. "Seriously though, it wouldn't be a problem." He glanced at Jason. "I'm sure someone could use some competent scouting partners."

"Oh, don't even get me started," Jason groaned. "It's a miracle these new guys haven't stabbed themselves yet."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Having recruitment issues?"

His shoulders sagged. "It should pick up when Lupa's recruits start reaching us. Lately, we've been forming auxiliary units from legacies in the city. Most of them are from influential families that want to teach them some life lessons. Let's just say they probably never held a sword in their lives before a week ago."

Reyna clapped his shoulder. "You'll make soldiers of them yet."

"If you aren't going to rejoin the legion, what are your plans?" Annabeth asked, our attention once more directed towards Hazel. "Go to college? Just take it easy for a while?"

She smiled sheepishly. "You know me better than that. I couldn't sit still long enough. No, I want to see more of the world. Maybe take Arion across the country. Nico talked about joining me at some point."

"You'll be safer in a group," Hylla said. "Powerful as you are, it's better not to be alone."

Hazel nodded. "I know. It might take a bit, but I'm sure I'll find some people who would like to leave the valley."

"I'll do you one better." Hylla leaned forward. "My forces are still recovering from the war. Numbers are lower than ever. I'm already letting your friends take refuge with us. Why not join the Amazons?"

Hazel's eyes went wide, as did her mouth.

"Um… I'm… flattered."

Hylla smirked. "You single handedly battled your way through a dozen of Otrera's guards, broke your friends out of our headquarters, and tamed Arion of all beasts. I couldn't ask for a finer recruit."

She leaned back, resting her hands behind her head. "You'll have access to the single greatest information network on the planet, along with the ability to go wherever you'd like with your sisters in arms."

Hazel took a few moments to collect herself. Just like I had not much earlier, she had the offer of a lifetime dangling in front of her.

She glanced at me. "She said she was letting you guys stay. Is that true?"

I nodded.

"Right… Um… In that case…" She looked around at everyone, each trying to offer supportive expressions. Piper squeezed her hand. Frank joined in taking her other. "Okay. I'll join. But I want to start off wherever they go."

Hylla leaned forward, a broad smile on her lips. "You're in luck. We do most of our early training in Seattle anyways."

Hazel's shoulders relaxed. Frank offered a strained smile, but patted her on the back and sipped at his drink. Piper beamed at Hazel while Annabeh offered a curt nod.

"So… when do we leave?"

"Anxious, are we?" Hylla raised an eyebrow. "Well, the earliest I can do is tomorrow. There are still some dealings I need to work out with the Senate. That said…" She slipped a phone out of her pocket. "Is that the time? It seems my break is over."

She stood. "If you all still agree to come with me, I'll be waiting for you on the westernmost bridge crossing the Little Tiber at dawn. We can head to Seattle from there."

While she paid for our meals and left, our group devolved into a number of hushed conversations. Oddly enough, Khione was quite active in whatever was being said between Annabeth and Reyna. Piper walked around the table to speak with Hazel. Frank and Jason both wore grim expressions, and kept their voices to a whisper.

I leaned in to Hazel.

"Are you sure about this?"

She and Piper glanced my way.

"About what? Joining the Amazons? Tagging along with you guys?"

"All of it, really. This just seems to be moving really fast. Especially since… you know… you just got out."

She flushed. "Honestly, I think that's exactly why I agreed. I don't want to sit still and wonder how things might have gone. If things went even a bit differently, then we would have…"

"I'm sure you would have gotten through unscathed," Piper said. "Honestly, everyone has said the same thing. You should have seen Zoë the morning after. She was practically glowing!"

That didn't help with Hazel's red cheeks.

"I know. It's just… Look, if it really came to it, I would go along with it. Seriously, I don't think I'd hate it or anything. And I liked what we did before. It's just…" She shot a nervous glance at Frank, who was blissfully locked in his conversation with Jason. "There was too much going on all at once."

"Ooh. Someone liked that forbidden cave lip-locking a bit more than she let on," Piper teased.

Hazel began fanning her face. "Okay. Okay. Maybe a little. I know everyone is telling the truth. I probably would have felt better after we did everything. Even if I'm blowing this up to be bigger than it should be, that doesn't make things any easier."

Frank seemed to have finished his talk with Jason, and both turned to listen in.

"As far as the Amazons," Piper said, quickly catching on. "That's quite the jump. Don't you have… I don't know… a very fundamentally different outlook compared to them?"

She bowed her head. "I don't believe in the whole 'men should know their place' dogma they preach. People are people. We're all different and beautifully complicated. If you want to serve, then serve. If you want to lead, lead.

"Despite that, I still think there's a lot I can learn. I'll never put a collar on my boyfriend, but I can still learn and experience so much more than the valley can offer."

Frank offered her a kind smile. "Go for it! You might just show those Amazons a thing or two as well."

"And don't forget us here in New Rome," Jason added. "We'll always have our arms open to you."

If her bashful smile wasn't enough to sell her glee, then the ruby popping out at her feet managed the rest.

"Thanks, guys. Seriously. But honestly, I could really go with a good sandwich. Food in the Underworld just isn't the same."

I paled. "Wait… you didn't eat any pomegranates down there, did you?"

She beamed at me. "I'm Pluto's daughter. That comes with certain perks, such as not pledging my soul to the Underworld for every bit of food I eat."

"Noted."

"Well, I think we're all wrapped up here," Annabeth said, standing. "Terminus is still holding us under the obligation of this one visit, so we need to make the most of it. Is there anything we need to get while here?"

Khione leaned back and wiggled her feet. "I have everything I need."

"Weird as this may sound, I want to check out the dress stores." I stood. "Calypso is upset enough about not getting to see the city. So I'd like to find her a good one."

Reyna smirked. "They aren't quite to my tastes, but… Follow me. I know just the place."

"It's beautiful!"

Calypso inspected every inch of her new dress, fingers trailing over the silken garb and golden floral stitching. I'll admit I almost asked her to try it on, but there was no doubt in my mind that she'd strip right in front of everyone just to do so. Knowing my luck, some legionnaire would choose that moment to walk into the wrong barracks.

Instead, several others came along to check it out with her. Even Rachel, with whom Calypso was locked in conversation with when we arrived, couldn't help but admire the artistry of the gold laurel wreath sewn into its waist like the world's fanciest belt.

While I'd have loved to stick around and let Calypso shower me with affection for the gift, I instead took their distraction as an opportunity to visit Sierra.

Whereas most of my harem spent their time in the barracks' main room or outside, most nymphs found another way to occupy themselves. Namely, watching after their suffering fellow handmaiden. All of them, save Palírroia and Thŷella, occupied the small room.

Nimba and Rose sat on one bed while Ashe laid by Sierra's side. Soft whispers passed between them all, and trails of dried tears marked their cheeks.

"How is she?"

Sierra flinched at the sound of my voice. Ashe cooed, calming her with gentle words.

Nimba sniffled, her gray eyes dull. "Still the same."

I grimaced and approached Sierra's bedside. Her eyes were wary, but lost a great deal of their sharp bite from when we first met. She drew raspy breaths.

"Please," I said, kneeling by her side. "Let me help."

She shivered, but her eyes narrowed, as if challenging me to prove myself a rapist.

"Excuse me," Khione called from the doorway. "Um. Perhaps I can help."

Of all the people I expected to say something, Rose wasn't one of them.

"No!" She jumped from her bed and blocked Khione's entrance. "You've done enough."

Khione shied away and turned to leave.

"Wait," a voice called. It was Nimba's. "How?"

She hunched her shoulders and drew a shaky breath.

"I could give her a bed of snow to lie on. Perhaps the cold could numb her pain."

"Or make it worse," Rose retorted. "How do we know you won't just freeze her too?"

"Rose, please let her speak."

If ever the goddess could feel shame, Nimba jumping to her defense pulled it off.

"I don't know what will happen. Never before have I witnessed this curse. Perhaps it will make things worse. I have no way of knowing. But please believe my intention is nothing more than to help her, even if by a margin."

Nimba went quiet, her eyes unfocused. Then she turned to her sister. Lip quivering, she closed her eyes and nodded.

"We have to try."

Rose stared in disbelief at her girlfriend. Then she turned to Khione with more fury in her eyes than I'd thought possible for her.

"If you hurt her…"

Honestly, the thought of Rose successfully doing anything to Khione struck me as hilarious. Not that I said anything. At least not until the snow goddess turned to me, an unasked question on her lips.

"If Nimba says it's okay, then I won't stop you."

She bowed her head and approached the bed. Ashe eyed her, but said nothing as she climbed off and onto the floor. Khione pressed her hands to the bed, closed her eyes, and whispered.

A carpet of frost leaked from under her palms. Trailing like vines of ivory, the frost spread out, creeping towards Sierra's shivering body.

On contact, she gasped. Rose jumped to protect Sierra, but Nimba restrained her with surprising strength. As Sierra's gasp turned into a soft sigh of relief, the rest of us relaxed.

"Is it… working?" Nimba asked.

Sierra managed the strength to smile at her twin. "Better," she exhaled. She rolled from her side onto her back and glanced down at Khione. "More… please."

Khione turned to me. I simply nodded.

She resumed her work, building up the blanket of snow. Though Sierra's breathing picked up, she never once told Khione to stop.

With just a hint of satisfaction, I turned and left Khione to her work.

Given recent events, I half expected Thŷella to still keep hiding away in her room with Palírroia, much like she was during my first return trip with Ashe. Imagine my shock when I found the young oceanid idly chatting away with, wait for it… Phoebe.

The two of them couldn't be anymore different, whether in terms of physique or personality. Despite that, Phoebe, for the first time I'd seen her, looked relaxed.

"If you want to listen in on what people are saying, you need to press your right ear closer to them than your left. It's better for recognizing speech."

"Really?" Phoebe leaned back and swiped a hand through her disheveled hair. "I guess I never really noticed that. Though admittedly, I spent more time listening for rustling, breathing, and such. Less so for spying on people."

"Those sounds are better on the left."

My complete lack of knowledge in this subject left me unable to make any statements. At least nothing worthwhile. But Phoebe latched onto the conversation with great intensity for some reason. I don't know. People are weird.

Most of the girls had left the barracks, but a select few stuck around. Fewer still hung by Calypso, who was in the process of trying on her new dress. Rachel helped her out a bit, both giggling as Calypso stuck her head through where her arm should go.

Zoë kept a vigilant watch over the nymphs, both in and out of the main room. Though she tried to hide it, her darting glances and slight smiles gave away her thoughts about the budding acquaintanceship between Thŷella and Phoebe. Honestly, I was right there with her.

Reyna sat on her bunk, elbows on her knees, fingers laced, staring intently at the next bed over.

"You okay?" I approached and took a seat beside her.

She kept silent for a few seconds more before curling her lip.

"I'm trying to figure out her angle."

I quirked an eyebrow. Given she was staring at Khione's bed, I assumed she had the goddess in mind.

"I think she's just trying to heal any rifts we have left over. We may have cleared the air between us, but the nymphs are obviously still cautious around her."

She listened along for a bit, but blinked back her confusion at my last statement.

"What are you…? Oh. No, I meant Hylla."

The moment that name left her mouth, Kinzie flopped onto the bed, propped her chin up in her hands, and stared at us both.

"What's this about Hylla?"

Caught off guard, both Reyna and I shared a glance before giving a quick rundown of our meeting. Kinzie's eyes grew bigger as the story went on, and her excitement showed as she kicked her feet back and forth in the air.

"Yes!" she squealed. "I get to see the old place again! Maybe my bunk is still put together. Oh! Maybe I can get an expansion, in case someone wants to tag along…" She wiggled her eyebrows at me, her grin turning salacious.

"You can work out those details on your own time," Reyna said. "I'm more concerned about what her endgame is. Kinzie, you know her better than any of us. Do you have any idea what she'd try to gain from this?"

"Is it so wrong for her to just want to help?"

"Normally, I'd say no. But she didn't become queen so quickly if she wasn't willing to be ruthless. And now we owe her a favor?" She locked her eyes with mine, voice clear and low. "A favor for a queen is no small thing. Especially one with as much reach as she has. She played it off like the thought of a favor was just a bonus we could do if convenient, but that's her end goal. Whatever she wants from us, it was thought out long before we set foot in that cafe."

Eyebrows furrowed, I did my best to piece together some bigger picture. Frankly, I couldn't manage it. Not even Kinzie seemed too bothered.

"Are you forgetting she's your sister? She could just be helping the family."

"It's because she's my sister that I know better. She'd move mountains and empty oceans if it meant protecting me, but I'm not in any danger. For her to act so generously, she wants something. And I don't know if we'll be able to meet those expectations. After all, what could we honestly do that the queen of the Amazons can't?"

Even more than before, I found myself unsure of what to think. As much as I hated to admit it, Reyna had a point. All I could do was hope things worked out, and whatever Hylla asked in return, hopefully I'd be able to repay her in full.

A/N: My sincerest appreciation goes out to you all. Despite the delay, not a single person made any "so when is the next chapter" comments. Glad I've earned enough credit with you all that you know the next chapter will always come in due time. From freak schedule shifts and regime changes at work to having a nice little run-in with jury duty, things had taken a rather chaotic turn as of late. So once again, I sincerely appreciate your patience, and hope this chapter, and the developments within it, are to your liking.

On that note, quite the developments to be had. Khione is officially a full fledged harem member now, free from her literal shackle. New Rome looks to be just another stepping stone to everyone's final home. And even Hazel, who so many people have voiced their disdain over losing, is making an appearance once more. Oh, the wonders that will ensue.

Obviously, there are still matters everyone needs to address at the moment, such as a poor suffering nebulae, but at least now they seem to have a potentially brighter future lined up after the fact... Right?

Jokes aside, I do hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I look forward to seeing your thoughts. Do feel free to leave them wherever you choose. Here, Discord, P atreon; go wild! Either way, I'll read them! This is Ronin signing off.