Reyna's POV

Hylla was asleep when woke and part of me had thought that maybe everything had just been a dream. Even Luke but I was wrong. I was still in the cell with damp air choking me slowly but surely. My body still burned and my eyes could hardly focus on anything. I felt my wound gingerly and winced as pain flared in my neck. It wasn't healing that was bad. Hylla said it was infected which only made the healing process harder. Small amounts of nectar could only do so much when your wound was self destructive.

"Don't touch it," Hylla scolded, startling me. I hadn't noticed that she was awake. Meeting her worried gaze I noticed that her eyes were duller than usual and I was reminded of her situation. She'd been here longer than me. It was no Siri died that stress and poor conditions had gotten to her. She grasped my hand in hers staring blankly at the ceiling. "Ten seconds till breakfast."

"What?" I croaked swallowing back pain as I spoke.

"The schedule. They follow a routine." Sure enough there was a pounding on the door.

"Stay back and don't interfere!" A gruff voice ordered. The scraping of the lock sounded and the door creaked open revealing a man in a guards uniform only he wasn't holding food. Two more guards dragged another body in the cell tossing him on the floor his head cracking against the ground. The door was slammed shut leaving Hylla and I stunned. Hylla was the first to do anything. She approached the being and he stirred. Rolling onto his back he opened his eyes and gasped for air. A side of his face was swollen and bloody. In fact it looked like gold blood.

"Who are you?" Hylla demanded. The man simply groaned out a name. "Who's Fawn?"

"Hylla," I warned. She glanced at me seeing my soft expression. Swallowing tightly she backed away still watching him. The man stayed on the floor for a long time before he finally dragged himself to a wall where he struggled to his feet. His eyes were a familiar piercing blue despite his mangled appearance. I felt a twisting in my stomach but I wasn't sure what it was; disappointment, relief, comfort?

"You," he gasped gesturing to me. Hylla frowned stepping between me and the man.

"What about her?" Hylla grumbled. The man shook his head his knees wobbling as he collapsed back onto the floor. He hardly had the strength to remain upright on his knees. He gave me a look I wasn't quite certain about. It could have been pity, happiness, or relief. Sucking in a whale breath a small smile twisted his bruised features.

"Your friend..." He rested his back against the wall. "She's alive."

"What's he talking about?" Hylla asked looking at me quizzically.

"Thalia?" I mumbled my neck throbbing. The man nodded. "Sila?"

"That's my name." He laughed lightly. It was a deep sound filling the space with a sort of melancholy air.

"Im clearly missing something." Hylla frowned. Sila closed his eyes letting out a pained breath of air.

"My name is Sila. Your friend Thalia Grace is alive. She's with a young friend of mine. She's trying to find you but I was stupid and tried to fix the problem without endangering her life. I came for you but obviously it didn't work out." He gestured to his appearance. "I should have known he would react in such a poor manner."

"Who?" Hylla demanded.

"Food!" A voice interrupted slipping in a single tray with a small bit of bread and a cup of water. Hylla made a move for the door as the man retracted his arm. She kicked it hard catching his hand between the wall and the door. "Agh!"

"Thanks but we're having a discussion it's rude to interrupt." The guard slammed the door shut cursing and clutching his probably now broken hand. Hylla stooped down and picked up the tray making her way back to me. She offered me the bread but I shook my head. My stomach felt like a roiling pit of acid. I wouldn't be able to keep it down. "No, you don't get to refuse it. We're not playing this game like we did when we were younger."

"I can't." I choked out falling into a coughing fit. Hylla frowned throwing the hunk of bread at Sila and bending down to help me. "I'm fine."

"No you're not!" Hylla argued as I coughed even more unable to breath properly. When it finally stopped I pulled my hand away from my mouth and my heart sank. Blood. I dropped my hand into my lap before Hylla could see. Her expression made me sad, she looked so worried and well...helpless.

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Hylla asked looking over her shoulder at Sila who was picking at the bread.

"No. All I am aware of is what Thalia told me. Lycaon is capturing young demigods and he's managed to enlarge his pack and control a new species of monster," Sila stated, his appearance already looking slightly better. I clenched my fists as a sharp pain filled my head. My vision swam and I knew I wasn't going to stay here long. Luke was calling me back.

"There has to be a reason. You know something. You mentioned someone before the guard interrupted," Hylla pressed, continuing the interrogation. I clutched my head in my hands. It felt like a hot rod was pressing against my brain and I was startled when a drop of blood dripped onto the floor. I reached up and sure enough my nose was bleeding. Nausea hit me like a truck and I collapsed onto my side. "Reyna!"

I was aware that Hylla was gripping my shoulders and that Sila had limped his way over to where I lay but my head felt like mush. My eyes fluttered shut and the world dissolved around me. It felt like I was free falling, similar to when Thalia and I had leapt from the train. A dark reality formed around me and sure enough Luke was there.

"You need to hang on," He instructed, like I wasn't going to be staying in this state as long as I had last time. "There's been a change of plans. Sila messed things up. Just stay tough. Thalia's on her way."

"What's happening?" I demanded because unlike last time I felt pain. Pain in my arms like someone was gripping me too tightly.

"Reyna -" Luke was cut off as my senses were attacked violently by reality. There was yelling and my arms were in excruciating pain. I tilted my head up to see I was in a barren hall except for what was happening in front of me. Sila was unconscious yet again as two guards dragged him down the hall. Hylla was fighting with her captors. One had a bloodied nose, the other held his dislocated shoulder. Then there was Lycaon. He punched her hard causing her head to snap back at an odd angle and she too lost consciousness. There was a loud bang and I looked behind me to see them slam our cell door shut. Two guards grabbed my arms like I was going to escape but I had no energy. It was a struggle to even stay awake

I passed Lycaon who held my gaze with mirth. Up ahead, voices bounced around the halls but the noise faded out of focus like my hearing had dissapeared. Lycaon smiled broadly, his pointy teeth glinting. He threw his head back in a fit of laughter and it unnerved me that I couldn't hear him as we left the cell.

The hallway lights blinded me as I was dragged down multiple corridors. All I saw was a bare concrete floor. At some point my hearing returned and I was met with the sound of thunder. No that wasn't right. As I got closer to the source I noticed it was cheering. Loud animalistic, uncontrolled, yelling and shouting. I glanced uo to see two large doors open.

Sila was the first to enter the mayhem, Hylla second, and finally me. There were stands of people and monsters. They pressed tightly against one another like how I imagined old sporting events in the Colosseum looked. They hissed and spat, their words violent and aggressive. The guards dragged me tantalizing close to the railing that held them back. Claws and hands tugged and snatched at my clothes. A wet clot of spit landed on my cheek and under normal circumstances I would have been furious but I was too weak to care.

Glancing to the left I saw a large platform waiting with three wooden posts in the center. Lycaon had moved ahead and now waited with a grin on his face, his white teeth standing out prominently in the lack of light. But what really caught my attention were the four unoccupied thrones off to the right.

Sila was dragged down the center aisle and up the steps. Next was Hylla. A shiver passed through me as I understood what was happening. Sila's wrists were tied to the post so they rested above his head. Hylla was thrown on her knees in the same position. I was on the platform being dragged to the empty post awaiting for me. It felt unreal, like my brain was unable tk to what was going on. My head pounded as I was thrown on my knees. My legs cracked painfully with the floor.

Part of me was aware that they were tying me down but for the life of me I couldn't snap out of this phase where everything seemed to be a silent movie. It became to difficult to hold my head up and my hair dropped in front of me nothing but a matted curtain about my face. I watched as another drop of blood seemingly plummeted to the floor in slow motion. It smacked against the ground as a loud crack and scream sounded in my ears.

I threw my head back turning to see Lycaon wielding a whip his arm in mid swing. A red welt was wrapped around Sila's torso, his shirt ripped to tatters. The crowd cheered becoming a roiling mass of hate, anger, and bitterness. The sound exploded in my ears as the world sped back up to normal speed like I'd just resurfaced from being underwater. The whip landed again and again. Lycaon's face twisted into an evil sneer as he lashed out.

Hylla struggled against her bonds yelling and cursing because she knew she was next. But I did nothing. Instead I sat there terrifyingly mesmerized by the brutality. Blood exploded as Sila's skin opened causing Ichor to pour from the wound. Lycaon pointed at a monster from the crowd beckoning him forth and passing off the whip. His clawed hands grasped the handle and he became a whirlwind of motion. He struck Sila again and again, saliva dripping from his fangs and he eventually gave up on the ship and attacked Sila with his hands.

Lycaon grabbed Hylla by the hair taking a metal pipe to her torso. All at once my fascination vanished and I was aware of myself screaming until my throat burned. When she was hit again I wretched onto the floor sputtering as blood collected in a pool before me. Lycaon passed the weapon to another monster and I watched in horror and complete helplessness as he attacked my sister with an uncanny and cruel viciousness.

With a Devil's grin, Lycaon stocked in my direction. He swung a knitted whip with glass shards embedded in it. Fear gripped me and he must have seen it in my eyes as his smile grew . He stepped in front of me blocking my view of the crowd. He laughed raising his arm above his head. I watched in horror as his eyes shown with excitement. If the devil existed I imagined it would look very much like him in this moment.

He swung downwards the whip sailing through the air and I closed my eyes preparing for impact and the pain that would inevitably follow with his reign of torture.