X. REYNA

Reyna was standing on the shore of C.C.'s Spa and Resort, watching as the last lifeboat disappeared over the horizon. The white sail grew smaller and smaller until it was just a speck against the vast blue expanse, and then nothing at all. Gone. Just like everyone else.

Her sister's voice floated back to her on the breeze. "I'm sorry, Rey. We can't stay here anymore."

But Hylla had taken the last boat, leaving Reyna alone on the beach. The waves lapped at her feet, slowly rising until they reached her ankles, then her knees.

"They always leave," whispered a voice that sounded like her father. "Everyone leaves you in the end."

The water continued to rise, now to her waist. Reyna tried to move back toward the shore, but her feet were rooted in place, as if the sand had hardened around her ankles.

"Even Jason," the voice continued, and now it was her own voice speaking. "He promised to stay, but he left too."

The water reached her chest, then her chin. Reyna tilted her head back, desperately trying to keep her face above the rising tide. The sky above had darkened, storm clouds gathering with unnatural speed. In the distance, she could see a ship approaching—black sails, black flag.

Panic surged through her as the water covered her mouth, her nose. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. Couldn't—

"REYNA! GET UP HERE!"

Reyna bolted upright, gasping for air, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Another nightmare.

"REYNA! WEAPONS! NOW!"

Percy's voice cut through her disorientation. In an instant, Reyna was on her feet, grabbing her gladius from beside her bunk. She burst onto the deck, sword in hand. The first thing she noticed was Percy, standing at the bow, Riptide gleaming bronze in the moonlight. The second thing she noticed was the ship pursuing them—a massive vessel with black sails that were easily twenty times as big as their own. A black flag fluttered from its mainmast. Reyna's blood turned to ice. She recognized that flag.

"Pirates," she whispered, her voice still groggy. "Just like my dreams."
Percy glanced back at her. His eyes widened slightly. "Um, nice pajamas."
Reyna looked down, suddenly aware of her purple silk shorts and tank top with "SPQR" emblazoned across the chest. Heat crept up her neck. What would Percy be thinking—
Focus!

She shook her head. One problem at a time. "What's the situation? How did they find us?"
Percy's expression sobered. "No idea. I was keeping watch when they appeared on the horizon. They've been gaining on us for the past twenty minutes."
Reyna moved to stand beside him, eyeing the distance between their small boat and the pirate ship. "That's Blackbeard's vessel," she pointed out.

Percy's head snapped toward her. "Blackbeard? As in, the pirate Blackbeard?"

"Yes." She tightened her grip on her sword. "Child of Kymopoleia, goddess of violent storms."
"Great," Percy muttered. "Because it couldn't be the child of hotwheels or donuts or something."
"We can't outrun them in this," Reyna looked back worriedly. The Rowman Reigns was barely making any headway against the larger ship. "We may have to fight them."

"We don't need to fight them," Percy said, determination hardening his features.

Reyna raised an eyebrow. "What's the plan, then? In case you haven't noticed, Percy, we're in the middle of the ocean."

Percy gave her a I-can't-believe-you-just-said-that look.

"And?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"And what's your brilliant plan?"
"I'm going to give us a push." Percy moved toward the side of the boat. "You stay up here and deal with any unwelcome boarders while I work my magic down below."

"Percy, Blackbeard isn't just any pirate," Reyna argued, following Percy as he walked towards the gunwale. "He can control storms. Violent ones. I've seen what he can do."

As if to emphasize her point, dark clouds began gathering on the horizon. Thunder rumbled distantly, with flashes of lightning lighting up the sky ahead.

Percy looked unimpressed. "That's barely a storm. I've done worse in my sleep."
"This isn't a joke," Reyna hissed. "I've seen what he can do, Percy. Please—"
Percy's expression softened. "Hey, I've got this. Trust me."

The sincerity in his sea-green eyes made something twist in Reyna's chest. Trust wasn't something that came easily to her.

"If you drown," she finally said, "I'm going to be really annoyed."
Percy grinned. "I'll keep that in mind." Then he vaulted over the side of the boat.

Reyna ran to the railings, peering down into the waves, but there was no sign of Percy. She shook her head and quickly raced below deck, changing into her shirt, jeans and armor.

The first rumble of thunder pulled her attention back to the approaching ship. The storm was gathering strength with unnatural speed, dark clouds boiling across the sky, blotting out the stars. Lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the pirate vessel, now close enough that Reyna could make out dark figures moving on its deck.

"Come on, Jackson," she muttered. "Whatever you're planning, now would be a good time."

A distant boom echoed across the water. Reyna tensed, watching as several dark objects arced through the air toward their boat. There was nothing she could do but hope they missed.

The cannon balls raced through the night air— large, deadly, and aimed directly at her. Reyna could almost hear the crunch of wood against stone. She held her breath.

A massive wave rose from nowhere, intercepting the cannonballs mid-air and deflecting them harmlessly to the side. The wave fell back with a crash, and for a moment, the ocean was still. Reyna could hear distant curses from Blackbeard's ship, but the sounds were muted, like they were a thousand miles away.

Then, without warning, the boat lurched forward, as if caught in a powerful current. Reyna staggered, grabbing the railings to steady herself as the vessel picked up speed, cutting through the waves like the world's largest jet ski.

The boat continued to accelerate, the hull practically skimming across the surface now. Wind whipped at Reyna's hair, the force of it nearly knocking her off her feet. Behind them, the pirate ship was still giving chase, but the Rowman Reigns was moving faster than Reyna had ever seen a boat move. Some of the sails tore. The hull groaned. Wood strained and cracked. The figurehead split in two.

Another boom echoed across the water, but the distance between the ships was too much for the cannonballs to reach across. Reyna sighed in relief.

Then it began to rain.

First a few drops, then a deluge that reduced visibility to almost nothing. A particularly violent surge nearly swept Reyna off her feet. She lost her grip on the railings, stumbling backward across the slick deck. Her feet went out from under her, and suddenly she was sliding toward the opposite side of the boat, dangerously close to the churning waters below.

She clawed desperately for purchase on the deck, but there was nothing to grab onto. Her legs went over the side, then her hips, the momentum carrying her inexorably toward the ocean.

"PERCY!" Reyna screamed. She clawed at the deck, somehow pulling her stomach back out of the air. She couldn't stay like this for long.

Reyna wasn't a bad swimmer. Heck, she wasn't even an average swimmer. She was a great swimmer. But that didn't matter— she was far out, in the ocean, in the middle of a storm. No amount of swimming could save her.

"PERCY!"

Just as she was about to fall, a hand shot out of the water, seizing her wrist in an iron grip.

"I've got you!"

Percy's voice cut through the roar of the storm. He was somehow suspended in the water beside the boat, like he was standing on some sort of platform, his face just above the surface. His other hand was extended toward the hull, clearly controlling the current that propelled them forward.
"Don't let go!" Reyna shouted over the wind, her fingers closing around his wrist in return.
"Not a chance," Percy replied, his eyes intense with concentration. With a surge of strength, he pulled her back toward the boat, lifting her as if she weighed nothing until she could grab the railing again.

Their faces were close now, rain streaming down both their cheeks. For a moment, Reyna found herself staring into his eyes—sea-green and glowing with power. She felt a shiver cross her spine. Percy looked nothing like a demigod just then. He looked like the ocean incarnate.

"Get inside the cabin," Percy said quickly. "I've got this, but I can't keep fishing you out of the water. The sharks are already complaining about the speed of the current."

Reyna felt heat rise to her cheeks despite the chill of the rain. "I don't need to be rescued, Jackson."
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "My bad, praetor."
Before she could respond, the boat surged forward again, and Percy disappeared beneath the waves.

Reyna knew he was right—she was a liability on the deck in these conditions. Swallowing her pride, she made her way carefully to the cabin, never releasing her grip on the railing.

Once inside, she moved to the small window, peering out into the storm. The pirate ship was now just a distant shadow, barely visible through the sheets of rain. Their boat continued to slice through the water at an impossible speed, the hull vibrating with the sheer force of it.

Minutes stretched into what felt like hours. Gradually, the rain began to ease, the clouds thinning until finally, they burst through the edge of the tempest into clear night sky once more. The ocean returned to a peaceful lull, almost as if it wasn't raging just seconds before. Reyna returned to the deck, scanning the horizon behind. There was no sign of pursuit—they had escaped.

"Percy?" she called, moving to the railing. "We're clear!"
There was no response. The boat was slowing now. Reyna felt a flicker of concern.

"PERCY!" she called again, louder this time.

A moment later, a figure broke the surface of the water beside the boat—Percy, floating on his back, eyes closed. He wasn't moving.

Panic seized Reyna's chest. Without hesitation, she dove into the water, the shock of cold momentarily stealing her breath. She surfaced quickly, swimming the short distance to Percy with powerful strokes.

"Jackson!" She grabbed his shoulders, turning him to face her. His skin was pale, his breathing shallow. "Don't you dare be dead," she muttered, slipping an arm around his chest and beginning to swim back to the boat.

Getting him on board was a struggle, but Reyna had trained for years in the legion. Her muscles strained as she hauled Percy's limp form over the side, rolling him onto the deck before climbing up herself.

"Percy," she said, kneeling beside him and checking his pulse. It was steady, but weak. "Come on, wake up."
His eyelids fluttered, then opened halfway. "Did we… did we lose them?" he mumbled.
Relief flooded through Reyna. "Yes, you idiot. We lost them."
A faint smile crossed his lips. "Cool pajamas," he murmured before his eyes slid closed again.

"Idiot," Reyna muttered. She studied him for a moment. There was utter exhaustion written all over his face. With a sigh, she slipped her arms under his shoulders. He needed to rest.

Getting Percy to the cabin was an awkward process, made more difficult by the fact that he was almost completely deadweight. By the time Reyna managed to lower him onto one of the bunks, her own muscles were screaming in protest.

She rummaged through her pack until she found the small bag of ambrosia she always carried. Breaking off a piece, she knelt beside Percy and carefully placed it between his lips.

"Come on, Jackson. Eat."

His throat worked as he swallowed reflexively. Some color began to return to his face almost immediately, the divine food working its magic. Reyna allowed herself to relax slightly, sitting back on her heels as she watched him.

Percy's eyes fluttered open again, more alert this time. "Hey," he said, his voice still rough with exhaustion.
"Hey yourself," Reyna replied. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I ran a marathon." He tried to sit up, grimaced, and lay back down. "Did we escape Blackbeard?"
"We escaped." Reyna handed him another small piece of ambrosia. "Thanks to your little swimming exhibition."
Percy accepted the godly food, a hint of his usual humor returning to his eyes. "I don't remember you complaining when I pulled you up."

"I didn't complain," Reyna said quickly, looking down. Her ears were red.
Percy shrugged. "Alright. Sorry if I scared you."
"I wasn't scared," Reyna said automatically. "Just concerned about completing the quest without you."
Percy's laughed. He chewed a square of ambrosia thoughtfully. "How did Blackbeard find us, anyway? It's a pretty big ocean to just stumble across one tiny boat."

Reyna shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe he has some way of tracking demigods. Or maybe it was just bad luck."

"With our track record? Definitely not just bad luck."
"Fair point."

The boat had drifted to a stop now that Percy was no longer propelling it forward, floating peacefully in the calm seas. The waves tossed against it, banging against the hull with a soft lull.

"Thank you," Reyna finally said, the words feeling foreign on her tongue. "For saving us. For saving me when I almost went overboard."
Percy looked surprised, then grinned. "You're welcome. Thanks for the ambrosia. And for, you know, not leaving me to drown."
"You can't drown," Reyna pointed out.
"Figure of speech." Percy shifted, trying to sit up again. This time he managed it, though he winced with the effort. "So, are you going to tell me about the dreams?"

Reyna stiffened. "What dreams?"

"You mentioned dreams, before I went overboard. Something about Blackbeard?"

Reyna looked away, focusing on repacking the ambrosia. "It was nothing. Just bad memories."
Percy was quiet for a moment, studying her. "Look, I get it. We all have nightmares. But sometimes talking about them helps."
"I don't need help," Reyna said quickly.
Why should he help her? Reyna didn't need help. She was fine.

She had spent so long being strong for everyone else. For the entire legion. The vulnerability of admitting weakness, even to herself, was almost more frightening than facing Blackbeard himself. She was fine…wasn't she?

"Everyone needs help sometimes," Percy replied, his voice gentle but firm. "Even praetors. Stop trying to convince yourself that you're fine."

The words hit too close to home.

"Fine," She sighed. "I remembered when I used to work on Circe's island."
It wasn't easy to talk. To open up. All her life, Reyna was used to forming walls. Defenses. Not tearing them down. "When Blackbeard and his pirates came and destroyed everything. It made me afraid. Reminded me—" she choked.

"Reminded you of what?" Percy asked, after a few seconds.

Reyna quickly brushed away a stray tear. "Reminded me of every time people come into my life, wreck it, and disappear. Leaving me to pick up the pieces. Alone."

Percy didn't say anything for a while. Reyna took deep breaths.
"I don't know what to say, Reyna." he finally admitted. "But if he shows up again, we'll face him together. And next time, I won't pass out dramatically afterward. Promise."

Somehow, Percy's sarcasm meant more to her than sympathy. He knew what she was feeling. And he didn't ignore her feelings. He just promised to be there for her the next time. Reyna…could work with that.

She still had no idea if the dreams would return if the slept now. She wasn't eager to find out.
"Get some rest, Jackson," she said, rising to her feet. "I'll take watch for the rest of the night."
"You sure? I can—"
"You can barely sit up," she interrupted. "Besides, I've had enough sleep for now."

Percy seemed to read something in her expression.
"Wake me in a few hours, then. No heroic solo watches until dawn."

"Fine," Reyna agreed, knowing she had no intention of waking him until morning. "But if I see any more pirates, I'm dumping a bucket of seawater on your head."
"Wouldn't even feel it," Percy said with a yawn, his eyelids already drooping.

Reyna paused at the threshold, looking back at Percy. His eyes were closed now, his breathing already evening out. In sleep, the tension left his features, making him look younger and more vulnerable.

"Goodnight, Percy," Reyna whispered, so softly she barely heard herself.
She stepped out onto the deck, where the stars stretched endlessly above and the ocean extended in all directions, vast and unknowable. But somehow, Reyna felt a little less alone than she had before.