XXXIX

Reyna faces Orion standing on the water with an explosive arrow embedded in the deck and a timer counting down. She notes his wounds from the Hunters and confirms Blackjack is alive but struggling. When Reyna asks about Hylla, Orion boasts he will kill them both after burning the Athena Parthenos, heightening the stakes as dawn breaks.

Reyna reframes her prayer to Bellona, declaring that her mother grants opportunities and alliances, not easy victories. As the timer nears two minutes, she dedicates herself to peace through strength, commits to the mission, and hurls her knife into Orion’s chest. She then throws herself over the explosive to shield Blackjack, the pegasi, and the sleepers below.

The detonation makes only a small pop. Reyna rises to find her purple cloak transformed, glittering with threads of Imperial gold. Through the Athena Parthenos, Athena grants her aegis, acknowledging Reyna as a hero of Olympus. The statue’s glow fades as Orion, enraged, fires; Reyna blocks the arrow with the cloak.

Seizing the moment, Reyna leaps an impossible distance, empowered by Bellona’s strength. She lands on Orion’s back, loops her radiant cloak across his neck, and chokes him despite his struggles. She dedicates the kill to the victims he hunted, tightening until Orion collapses and dissolves into sea foam; his gear sinks, rejected as spoils.

With dawn fully breaking and the mission still viable, Reyna swims back to the yacht. Blackjack breathes, wounded but alive, and the Athena Parthenos stands ready to continue to Camp Half-Blood.