XIV. PERCY

The last time Percy was stuck in an island he couldn't locate, he didn't want to leave, but he didn't really have a choice. This time, he really wanted to leave, but didn't have a choice. Funny how that worked.

The blue glow of the fountain reflected off the entire room, like they were underwater. It was weird. Percy should have felt at home in that kind of lighting, but something about this place made his skin prickle. The water in the fountain wasn't normal—he could feel that much. It had power, old power. Power that came before even the gods.

He circled the fountain slowly, studying the statue of Juno—or Hera, or whoever she was supposed to be—standing in the center with her arms outstretched. Water flowed continuously from her palms, never running dry despite the centuries this place must have been abandoned.

His eyes drifted to the inscription carved around the rim. The letters seemed to shift between Ancient Greek and Latin as he looked at them, but the meaning was clear:

Blood of enemies, freely given, breaks chains the gods have woven.

"Blood?" he said aloud, frowning at the shallow stone bowls positioned on opposite sides of the fountain. One had Greek symbols etched into its surface, the other Latin. "Those look like…"

"Blood bowls," Reyna finished, looking at him thoughtfully.

Percy looked around the fountain a second time. It couldn't be that simple. There had to be a catch. A trap. Or some kind of riddle where the answer was something stupid, like 'friendship' or 'love' or something.

"Is it really that simple?"

Reyna shot him a look, like, 'don't jinx it again'. "The gods probably never expected demigods to find this island in the first place. Why bother with elaborate defenses for a place that's not supposed to exist?"

Percy considered that. It made sense, but still. "Then why are there monsters chasing us? Someone doesn't want us here, that's for sure."

Another distant crash sounded from above, followed by a muffled howl. Circe's diversion spell was weakening. They didn't have much time. The witch had disappeared somewhere into the background. Percy didn't really care— Circe had hurt him, tried to hurt Annabeth AND hurt Reyna. She wasn't really in his list of top 10 people of all time.

He moved around the fountain, taking in the murals on the walls—Greek figures on one side, Roman on the other. He could follow the images well enough. Gods and demigods, battles and alliances, all depicted in vibrant colors that hadn't faded at all.

"Why were the gods hiding this place?" he wondered aloud, tracing a finger over a scene that showed what might have been Apollo and his Roman counterpart standing back-to-back. "And if they've been hiding it for so long, why allow us to find it now?"

Reyna didn't answer. She was already moving toward the Roman side of the fountain.

"And who sent those monsters?" Percy continued, though he doubted Reyna was listening. "If Circe says they're not hers, then who—"

"Are you going to keep asking questions, or are you going to help break this curse?" Reyna interrupted.
Percy looked back at her. "Hey, I'm trying to figure things out."
"I'm turning into stone!" she snapped back.

The sharpness in her voice made Percy look at her again. His breath caught in his throat.

The stone patch on Reyna's arm had spread. While it had just been her wrist when they'd first arrived at the island, it now covered her entire forearm, creeping past her elbow. In the blue light of the fountain, the gray stone looked almost beautiful, like a polished marble sculpture. But it wasn't a sculpture. It was Reyna's arm, hardening into immovable rock. She could barely lift it now. The dead weight of it pulled at her shoulder, and she'd been compensating by holding it close to her body.

"Gods, Reyna,"Percy felt his previous sarcasm evaporate. "Why didn't you say something?"
A muscle in her jaw twitched. "Would it have made us get here any faster?"
"No," Percy admitted. He had to act fast. He didn't know the curse would spread that quickly.

Another crash from above, this one louder. The ceiling trembled, dust and small fragments of stone rained down on him.

"They're getting closer," Reyna said, glancing upward. "We need to hurry."

She had positioned herself at the Roman bowl, her dagger already drawn. Without hesitation, she drew the blade across her right palm. Blood welled immediately, bright red against her bronze skin.

Percy moved quickly to the Greek bowl on the opposite side. He uncapped Riptide, and as always, the sword expanded to its full length, glowing faintly in the dim chamber. It seemed overkill to use a sword for this, but he had nothing else.

"Wait," Reyna said, her voice suddenly uncertain.
Percy looked up at her, surprised. Wasn't she in a hurry?

For a moment, her carefully maintained composure had cracked, revealing something vulnerable in her eyes. "You're going to cut yourself. For me."

Percy frowned. "Well. Duh?"
"Are—" Reyna bit her cheek. "Are you sure?"

Percy felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. They'd literally almost died, like, three times on the beach, and Reyna was concerned about him making a small cut on his palm. "That's what friends do," he said simply.

Reyna smiled. Genuinely. It lit up her face, and suddenly Percy felt his heart rate speed up.

"Right," she said, straightening her shoulders. "As friends then."
Percy nodded, swallowing to steady himself. "One."
"Two," Reyna continued.
"Three," they said together.

Percy drew Riptide across his palm with a quick motion. The celestial bronze was so sharp he barely felt it at first, but then the sting hit him, and warm blood pooled in his cupped hand. He held it over the Greek bowl, letting the blood drip into it. Across the fountain, Reyna was doing the same, her blood flowing into the Roman bowl.

For a moment, nothing happened. The water continued to flow from the statue's hands, unchanged.
"Reyna, if this doesn't work—" Percy began.

Then the blood in both bowls began to shimmer, turning from dark red to…another shade of red (it was different; more peachy less creamy) that pulsed like a heartbeat. Golden engravings along the fountain's edge—symbols that had been invisible before—began to glow, like some weird tribal magic was going off.

The water in the fountain gradually shifted color, from clear blue to deep red, as if the entire pool was filling with blood. The statue of Juno/Hera at the center began to vibrate slightly, the water flowing from her palms turning to blood.

"It's working," Reyna breathed, her eyes wide as she watched the transformation.

Percy felt a familiar sensation beneath his feet—a subtle tremor in the earth that sent a warning tingle up his spine. Having caused a few earthquakes himself, he recognized the signs.

"Um, Reyna—"

The tremor intensified, a deep rumble that shook dust from the ceiling and made the columns around them creak ominously.
"Why is it always earthquakes?" he muttered, bracing himself against the fountain's edge. "Would it kill them to go with a strong breeze once?"

Reyna wasn't listening. She was staring at her left arm, where cracks had begun to appear in the stone surface. They spread like spiderwebs across the gray marble, pieces flaking away to reveal pink flesh underneath. The weightlessness must have been overwhelming—like having an anchor suddenly cut loose—because she swayed slightly, flexing her fingers like she couldn't believe she had a hand.

The last fragments of stone crumbled away from her elbow, falling like gray snow to the temple floor. Reyna just stood there, staring at her arm.

For a second, Percy thought she might cry—not that he'd ever seen Reyna cry, or even imagined what it might look like—but then something shifted in her expression. The vulnerability was replaced by something else entirely. Something he'd never expected to see directed at him.

Reyna looked at him with pure, unadulterated relief and gratitude.

Before he could register what was happening, Reyna crossed the space between them in three quick strides and threw her arms around him. It was a surprisingly delicate hug. The shock of it froze him momentarily; Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, praetor of New Rome, hugging him like he was a life preserver in a stormy sea.

When his brain started working again, Percy hugged her back. She was warm and solid against him, no trace of stone remaining.
"Now my shirt has your blood on it," he said teased. "Takes a while to wash out."

Reyna pulled back quickly, a flush spreading across her cheeks as she seemed to be surprised at what she'd done. She looked up at Percy, smiling.

"Thank you, Percy Jackson," she said formally, her voice regaining its usual steadiness despite the color in her cheeks. "I am in your debt."

"Thank me when we're off this island," Percy quickly replied as a chunk of ceiling crashed down nearby.

The rumbling grew louder. Another chunk crashed down just a few feet from where he stood, shattering on the stone floor.

"Run?"
Percy nodded. "Run."

They sprinted toward the stairs, dodging falling debris as the temple began to come apart around them. The vibrations were coming in waves now, each one stronger than the last, and Percy felt something else beneath them—a rising heat, pressure building like a pot about to boil over.

That was NOT good. In fact, that was VERY bad.

The stairs seemed longer going up than they had coming down. By the time they reached the main level of the temple, entire sections of the ceiling had collapsed. Neptune lost his head. Zeus didn't have any legs. Bellona's head had fallen onto her kneecap.

Circe was waiting by the entrance, looking surprisingly calm considering the whole temple-falling-to-shreds thing. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Reyna's arm. "I see you were successful," she said, raising her voice to be heard over the rumbling.

"Yes," Reyna replied curtly, not stopping her run as she reached the older woman.

A massive column crashed to the floor nearby, sending marble shards flying in all directions. Percy instinctively raised his arm to shield his face. They had to leave the island. Now.

"We need to get back to the boat," Reyna was talking fast, like she did when she was worried. "This whole place is coming down!"
"Mind if I join you?" Circe asked, eyebrows arched. "I'd rather not be here when this place goes under."
"Fine," Percy nodded. "But no turning anyone into guinea pigs."
"I make no promises," Circe replied with a slight smile. Percy didn't have time to argue. He just ran.

They raced out of the temple just as the front columns collapsed behind them, sending up a cloud of dust and debris. The air was filled with the sounds of destruction—stone grinding against stone, trees cracking and falling, the earth groaning in protest.

Percy stumbled to a halt halfway down the hill, a new sensation washing over him so strongly he gasped. Heat—incredible, unbearable heat—rising from deep beneath the island. He could feel it. The pressure was building, looking for escape. He felt like he'd drunk a million cans of soda, and now the gas had built up inside him. Only, instead of carbon dioxide, it was a thousand degree burning liquid.

"Percy?" Reyna asked, noticing his expression.
Percy looked at her. "It's not just an earthquake," he gasped. "There's something else."

"What is it?" Circe asked, actual concern in her voice for the first time.

"Volcano," Percy pointed back over the temple, where far off in the distance he could see a distant plume of smoke. "This whole island is about to blow. We need to get back to the boat right now."

They sprinted down the hill toward the shoreline, dodging falling trees and widening cracks in the earth.

Behind, the ancient temple collapsed entirely, sending a plume of dust into the night sky. The werewolves and the giants had vanished. Probably because whoever had sent them had realized the island was about to blow.

As they ran, Percy felt the familiar pull of the ocean ahead, calling to him, promising safety. He just hoped he could reach it in time.