τρέξιμο

run

• • •

Running.

That had become her life. Nothing but running and escaping and killing and running. She was sick of it, but it was the safest means of survival. She was still alive, so she couldn't complain. Not yet, anyways.

They were close behind her; she could feel their breath on the back of her neck. But they hadn't caught her yet, so she wasn't worried. Not yet, anyways; worry came later. It always did.

It was only a little bit longer, only a little bit more of running. She could do it. She had to do it, no matter the consequences. And, she was unafraid; she refused to welcome fear into her heart. Not yet, anyways.

And they were gone. No longer chasing her, no longer only inches away from killing her. She was safe, she was alive. That's all that mattered.

Running.

Running, escaping, killing.

That was her life. And she wouldn't ever stop.

• • •

The air was thick with the scent of danger. It was an unwelcoming smell to wake up to, especially for Reyna Ramírez-Arellano. Her whole life, danger had followed her like an unwelcome shadow. It had been foolish for her to hope, even for a second, that the shadow had abandoned her.

Olympus was currently buzzing, every demigod awake and talking. So maybe Reyna wasn't the only one who noticed the strange atmosphere.

"What's happening?" murmured a low voice in Reyna's ear.

She jumped, a hand darting to the dagger on her belt. Somehow, Thalia Grace had managed to sneak up on her, standing close enough to be Reyna's shadow.

"Something's wrong," Reyna responded in a low voice, "news of something arrived this morning, but it has yet to reach me."

Thalia's disarming smirk was visible from the corner of Reyna's eye, and she had to fight the urge to smile back. Thalia was electric today, more so than usual. It was alluring.

"Well, allow me to be the first to tell you. You know Rowan Castellaño?"

"Your Hunter? Poseidon's daughter?" The girl was only sixteen in appearance, but like most Hunters, she was technically much older. "What does she have anything to do with anything?"

Thalia's grin widened, a youthful joy complimenting her young features. "She felt something familiar in the water."

Reyna rolled her eyes in faux frustration. "Stop being vague, Grace, and just tell me."

Thalia laughed loudly, a true laugh. The sound of it was enough to send a spark through Reyna's veins, and she smiled at the girl. There was something easy about talking to Thalia, something that didn't require constant mental guards. Thalia was honest and real, and so very dangerous. But, in all honesty, that only made her more appealing.

Thalia's eyes sparkled, reflecting the clear blue sky above. "There was a surge this morning in the waves, and Rowan swears that it belongs to Poseidon."

Reyna's heart skipped a beat, but there was a new world order: false until proven true. "Is that even possible?"

It shouldn't be. The gods had been silent for years; Poseidon wouldn't break that silence for any reason. Unless. . .

"Unless the gods are returning, then it shouldn't be," Thalia said, verbalizing Reyna's thought. "And I know Rowan; she's honest enough. She would never lie about something like this."

"I believe you," Reyna said, and she did. With Thalia, proof wasn't necessarily required.

But then, the smile disappeared from Thalia's face. "But if it's true, then that means war is coming again. We barely survived the last one," Thalia winced, "and many of us didn't make it."

And just like that, any shred of happiness disappeared. Reyna tore her gaze away from the beautiful Huntress, and stared at Olympus below. There were so many demigods milling around below and yet, there were so many that weren't there. Whether they had defected to Gaea's side or they had died, there was a notable absence of the demigods that used to occupy both Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood.

War had destroyed the gods, forcing them into hiding, and the demigods were left to flee for any chance at survival. Annabeth hadn't made it. Percy hadn't either. And there were so many others, warriors that Reyna didn't know by name, but even more that she did. Could she even ask the surviving demigods to fight again? What kind of a monster would that make her?

"To fight would be suicide," Thalia said, "but to flee would be death. It's an interesting situation, right?"

"What would you do?" asked Reyna, unable to refrain from doing so. "If there was another war, would you ask your Hunters to fight, or would you tell them to hide?"

Thalia straightened up, as if Artemis herself was judging her answer. "Hunters are warriors. We fight the battles that others cannot. We are immortal until our deaths, and because of that, we know the value of life. So many of our sisters have fallen in war, so many of us claimed by Thanatos. Yet, we still fight. Because we have to. Because if we don't, then who will? This world would go to shit, and that would be on us, on our conscience. So, I would ask the Hunters to fight because that is what we do. But it would be no small thing, and the weight of that decision would follow me to my grave."

"The last war destroyed us," agreed Reyna, taking notice of a boy, who couldn't be more than ten, running to catch up with a group of older demigods in the distance, "I couldn't force anyone to fight again. So many of us lost friends, family. But if we don't, then we're surrendering. Then, we'd be allowing the end of humanity to happen. There's no right answer to this, is there?"

Now, Thalia's smile was sad. It was a strange look for a girl who appeared to be only fifteen, but her true age was reflected in her electric eyes. "It's the price of leadership. You and I are the ones to make these decision, and the outcomes are never favorable. But we have no good choices left, only ones that have varying negative effects. But we aren't alone, remember? We have Jason and the others."

Reyna forced herself to tear her gaze off Thalia. "Speaking of, we should inform the others."

"Do you ever wish this wasn't your life?" Thalia asked, as if she hadn't heard Reyna. Reyna glanced back at her, and found that the daughter of Zeus wore an almost wistful expression. "That you lived a simple, mundane life?"

"Do you want the truth?"

The smile was back, and it was brighter than any bolt of lightning that Thalia had ever conjured. "Yes, always."

"No, I don't. I know I'm supposed to want it, supposed to crave the simplicity. But I can't live that way; I rely on my training too heavily to even imagine a life without it."

The silence told Reyna that Thalia agreed. And that felt nice in a way Reyna wasn't expecting, as if she needed Thalia's affirmation. And that was startling beyond belief.

"You know, part of me expected you to be dead when I got back," said Thalia.

Reyna whipped around to face her, unsure of what to say. And Thalia was staring right at her, capturing Reyna's expression. The other girl smirked, apparently satisfied.

"You never reached out to me," she explained, "and there had been so many scrambled reports of demigods disappearing. And I know you have never been one to turn down a mission. So, I came here expecting the worst."

"And did you get it?"

A new form of bravery. That's what this was; the talking, the flirting, the dangerous line that they were both walking. It was a new form of bravery, one that felt foreign to Reyna. But it also felt so painfully right.

Thalia was smiling, a true smile. Not a smirk, not forced, but real. And that was enough.

"No."

The air felt so warm all of a sudden, and the sound of other demigods was so distant. There was nothing in this moment, nothing except for Thalia. Her eyes were brighter than the sky, brighter than the Sun, even.  The freckles on her face rivaled the constellations. For all Reyna cared, the sky could fall on her right then, and she wouldn't dare move a muscle, not when Thalia was only inches away.

And suddenly, the distance closed. It was a mutual act, both girls unable to resist the gravity of the other. It had been too long and the future was too murky with uncertainty.

Thalia's lips were surprisingly soft, given the sharpness of her grin. And Reyna was leaning against the soft grass with one hand and running the other through Thalia's cropped hair. Jupiter himself could have thrown a lightning bolt at Reyna and she would have smiled.

But, she had to pull away. Breathless, Reyna stared at Thalia. "You're a Hunter," was all she said.

But Thalia was still grinning. "The pledge is very specific. The Hunters swear off men. And the world's going to shit, Reyna; I don't think Artemis particularly cares right now."

There was a lie laced in her words, and maybe it was selfish of Reyna not to care. But she kissed Thalia again, ignoring the looming threats and rumors and the ever-present possibility of doom.

• • •

"Run."

And she did.