"I dunno about you guys," Piper said, "but I'm bored out of my mind." She was flopped across the couch, her legs over the armrest.
"Because Leo ruined our deck of cards to impress a girl," Annabeth muttered, not glancing up from her piece of paper.
"Hey, did you see the way she was looking at me? Besides, we can only play so many games of rummy," Leo said. "Where are we with the plan?"
Annabeth sighed. "Nowhere. If I had a map of New Rome, I could figure something out. Leo, you could get us out of this room, right?"
"Of course, there's not even a deadbolt."
"And Piper, you could charmspeak any guards we come across?"
Piper grinned. "Of course."
"Then we just need a guide," Ananbeth said. "And unfortunately, we have no way to contact one."
"You're also forgetting we're in the most heavily guarded place in New Rome," Piper said. "How can we even pretend we have a chance?"
Annabeth smiled coldly. "Because we have me. And between my plan, Leo's skills, and your charmspeak, we have a real shot."
"And you trust Hazel and Frank?" Leo said.
"You heard Frank when Piper asked. And besides, we have no choice. Percy's out there somewhere, and I have to find him. I will find him. Getting out of here is the first step."
"If you're confident," Piper said, "then so am I. Besides, what's the worst that could happen? We get caught and come back here?"
Piper was right, their room wasn't so bad. Three meals a day, fresh legion clothing, they were comfortable but bored.
The doors above them banged open and Reyna descended, dressed in gold armor and flanked by three guards.
Annabeth instantly knew something was off, Reyna's eyes were red and her mouth was set in a hard line.
"There's been a new development," Reyna said, her voice scratchy like she's been crying. "Guards?"
Two of the guards advanced towards Annabeth and grabbed her arms, pinning her between them.
"What- hey!" Piper said. "What are you doing?"
Annabeth wriggled in their grasp. "Reyna! What-"
"It's time you started giving me what I want, Miss Chase," Reyna said, stepping closer.
"But- we had an agreement!"
"That," Reyna said, "was before your boyfriend killed one of my best friends."
Ananbeth's breath caught in her throat. "Percy? He-he couldn't have. He's not like that!"
But the pain in Reyna's eyes told Annabeth she wasn't lying. How could he have done that?
"My soldiers saw him. Which means the Greeks attacked first, and you three are now prisoners of war." Reyna stepped closer still and drew her gold knife with a shing! "You needed a knife to your throat to talk? Here it is. You're going to tell me everything I need to know about Camp Half-blood, or I'll kill you and hunt your boyfriend for sport."
Annabeth swallowed, Reyna's blade resting just next to her neck. Maybe Annabeth had underestimated the extent of Reyna's agreeableness. Or Reyna was just hurting and itching for revenge. Whatever the case, this was a very dangerous situation.
"I told you before, I would die for Percy," Annabeth said, fighting to keep her voice level. "And I would die for my home."
Reyna's eyes narrowed. "You're telling the truth. That's fine." Reyna took her knife from Annabeth's neck. "But I wonder, will you let your friend die too?" Faster than Annabeth could blink, Reyna grabbed Piper and spun her around, putting her some kind of a chokehold with her knife to Piper's neck. Piper froze.
.
Annabeth's breath caught in her throat. "Leave her alone, Reyna. She has nothing to do with this."
"But she's your friend, right?" Reyna smirked down at her hostage. "That makes her part of this. Do what I tell you to or she dies." Reyna turned to Leo. "And that goes for you too. I here you're quite the genius, Leo Valdez. I think the Roman defenses could use some new technology."
Leo's eyes widened. "I-you can't- Jason would never let you hurt us!"
"Jason," Reyna snarled, "isn't here. I am." She pressed the knife a little harder into Piper's neck, making her cry out. Annabeth struggled against the guards, but it was no use. She couldn't see a way out of this one. Reyna was hurting and angry, and Annabeth couldn't let Piper die.
"Please Reyna," Piper said, her voice reverberating throughout the room. "Let us go."
Reyna eyebrows furrowed and her grip slackened. Annabeth thought Piper might have actually pulled it off. Reyna licked her lips. "Maybe..." then her eyes cleared and grip tightened. "No. You can charmspeak, huh? Now that is interesting. Next time you speak I'll slit your throat."
Piper grit her teeth but said nothing. Ananbeth glanced over at Leo, who had a small flame dancing on his palm behind his back. She shook her head at him. They couldn't fight their way out of this one.
"Fine!" Annabeth said. "We'll do it. Just don't hurt Piper."
Reyna let Piper fall from her arms. "I'm glad we have an agreement. Take Annabeth and Leo upstairs," she said to her guards. "Keep Piper down here. If I give the word, kill her."
The guards nodded assent, one grabbing Leo's arm and hauling him after Annabeth up the stairs. Annabeth twisted in their grip to catch Piper's eye before the door closed behind them.
Annabeth and Leo were taken up to a large room, stone walls and stained glass windows with a large conference table in the center of the room. It took Annabeth a second to identify the map of New Rome spread out on it, she'd only really seen it from the air on the Argo II.
Reyna stood across the table from them, her hands on the back of a chair. A few other people stood around the table, if Annabeth had to guess they were probably her generals and advisors. Jason was nowhere to be seen.
"Take Leo to the armory," Reyna said. "He can meet his brothers and sisters and help them out. And Leo, please remember your friend is downstairs alone if you decide not to cooperate."
Leo glared at her. "Yeah, I got it."
"Great. Take him, and Annabeth and I will discuss business." Annabeth tried to shoot Leo an encouraging glance, but even she wouldn't believe it. "Jason's information about your camp was limited," Reyna continued, "unsurprising since he was only there in the winter and from what I know it's summer camp. What kind of numbers are we talking?" Reyna held up a hand. "And before you answer, keep in mind my dogs will know if you're lying."
Ananbeth swallowed. There went her last chance to get out of this. "Honestly? There's more every year. Ever since Percy-" Annabeth's voice caught- "ever since Percy made the gods recognize their kids they've come to camp in numbers we've never seen."
Reyna raised an eyebrow. "Again, what's your best estimate?"
Ananbeth let the air out of her nose. "My guess is around 300."
"Only 300? This might be easier than I think."
Ananwbth grit her teeth. "You shouldn't underestimate us."
"And why is that?"
"From what I can see, you train soldiers," Annabeth said. "You're an army, and a good one too. But these soldiers aren't thinkers or planners, they do what they're told, nothing more. You're strong but not smart."
Reyna squeezed her chair tighter. "You're arrogant. That's your downfall, you know that?"
"My downfall was trusting a Roman. Yours will be too."
Reyna's eyes narrowed. "I didn't come here for this. What other children of the big three do you have?"
The question surprised Annabeth, though she supposed it shouldn't have. "A son of Hades and..." would Thalia be on their side? Annabeth could only hope. "A daughter of Zeus," Annabeth continued. "Basically, there was this Greek prophecy about a child of the big three turning 16, so they didn't have a lot of children."
"A son of Hades," Reyna mused. "What's his name?"
"Nico? Why is that relevant?"
Reyna rubbed the side of her face. "Wonderful. I knew something was off with that kid."
Annabeth's head spun. "Wait, you know him?"
"He called himself the ambassador of Pluto or some shit. Doesn't matter. If you were in charge of the camp half-blood army, how would you attack?"
Ananbeth squinted at the map in front of her. "I obviously wouldn't try a frontal assault, that would be suicide. Even a diversion wouldn't work. Honestly? I'd use Percy to flood the Little Tiber and in the ensuing chaos unleash my army." Annabeth couldn't let herself think too hard, because as long as she didn't focus she wouldn't think of a good strategy. That way, she wasn't lying.
"Huh. Percy does pose a massive problem. All the more reason to find him," Reyna said, turning to her advisors. "Annabeth, you're going to go with my two military experts. I need exact numbers and abilities of your demigods."
Ananbeth shook her head. "Look, I told you I don't know exactly!"
"You've been there since you were seven," Reyna said. "I find that very hard to believe." She turned to her guards. "Take her and leave me alone. I have... things to attend to."
It was incredibly subtle, but Annabeth picked up a quiver in her voice. To the average listener there was nothing off. But Annabeth was trained to read people. She's barely keeping it together, Annabeth realized. Then the guards grabbed her arms and escorted her out of the room.