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Reyna had always seen Annabeth as something dangerous. Immediately when she first saw her. Their first conversation was like two barely containable atom bombs set in a room together; they tried to be polite and civil, but behind every look fire burned, every word dripped with venom, every smile was simply a baring of fangs. It would only take one wrong move to set the world aflame.
Reyna didn’t want them to. She wanted peace, but she couldn’t help it. They both wanted too much, had too little, were too scared. Too scared of something new. They didn’t want to end up like the ones that came before them. No rageful killing and bodies as trophies, no violence, no retaliation, no war. No contact.
It would be for the better. At least, that’s what they told themselves. No battle could be fought without soldiers. But the times had changed, and if they wanted those soldiers in the war against Gaea, they needed to work together. They needed to be as civil as possible, even though it felt like trying to stop the earth from spinning. They had so many differences, so much rage, so little time.
But they would have to try.
In the end, Reyna felt like, after all they had done, the earth had still continued to spin. And won. She did not dare look at the clash of battle beneath her, even as the sounds drowned out her thoughts. She yelled commands, leading in battle as natural to her as breathing. Afterwards, she couldn’t even remember what she had said. The only thing that guided her was her knowledge and instinct. And Annabeth led beside her. Their voices echoed over the battlefield together as waves and waves of monsters clashed with the army of demigods, the slashing of claws, teeth, weapons, and armour a blurry sea of violence. Even as Gaea rose, they kept fighting. They had to.
And they did. Even as the sky was dark and all hope seemed lost, Reyna and Annabeth’s voices were perfectly attuned to each other. What one failed to see, the other spotted. Where they used to do nothing but barely contain their urge to strangle each other, they were now calling in unison, their spirits and minds in perfect harmony. And slowly, bit by bit, the battle changed. The demigods had stopped sinking into the earth and were gaining the upper hand. However slowly, the monsters were diminishing.
That was when the sky turned gold, and it felt like the very air they breathed turned into ichor. Reyna almost faltered when she looked up at it. Annabeth lunged, her knife slashing behind her back. Reyna looked. A ventus had almost killed her from behind. Bewildered, she muttered a thank you, but in the noise of the fighting, she wasn’t sure Annabeth had even heard her.
They fought just as hard, but it all seemed so much easier now. The monsters had seemed to lose all their determination: they simply didn't care anymore—their cause was lost. Reyna fought with surprising ease as the remaining monsters warred on, but a great deal fled, not wanting to set themselves up for death. Finally, the last monsters ran for the hills.
Reyna wanted to collapse, but she felt if she did that, she might never get up again. She leant on her sword as she stared out over Camp Half-Blood, breathing heavily. They had done it; they had won. Survived.
“We’ve finally done it, huh?”
Reyna turned her head to find the source of the voice. Annabeth was standing beside her, panting, but grinning like a madman.
“Yes,” Reyna said, “finally done.”
“Finally fucking done,” Annabeth agreed.
Reyna turned to her, a twinkle in her eye. “And I have a feeling we’re not only done fighting against the giants, too.”
Annabeth looked at her pensively, then nodded. “Peace between our two camps. I believe that deserves a fucking finally too.”
Reyna laughed, harder than the situation called for. But she was mad. They both were. They were elated, hysterical, fucking delirious. And they knew it.
Annabeth laughed with her. They were so close, closer than they had used to be able to stand without blowing up. She could see the streak in Annabeth’s hair, subtle but never having gone away fully, like a faded scar. She could see the grey of her eyes, sometimes misty, but now they were clear as day, silver in the light of the morning sun. She could see the way she laughed, giddy with glee, the way she knew the both of them felt, all of them felt.
No fire, venom, or fangs this time. Only two girls who had just fought a battle side by side, slaying monsters as if it was just a part of their daily jobs. It was madness.
This was all madness, Reyna decided as she met Annabeth’s gaze. This was dangerous, she was dangerous—if this went wrong that could mean saying bye-bye to that alliance she had spent all that time forming. But right now, at this moment, she didn’t care. She didn’t care about the consequences. Took that danger and accepted it. She was out of her mind, but so was everyone. And she leant in.
Annabeth stiffened for a split second, but then melted into the kiss as if she’d been expecting it. Reyna’s heart beat in her chest, and Annabeth’s beat in unison with her. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. She was mad, and she loved it.
They were two daughters of war. And this war had just been won.
An alliance formed.