Persephone caught sight of sudden movement in her peripherals. Hazel had slid something red into the pocket of her denim shirt, but Persephone didn't have enough time to see what it was. 

"My brother, Nico, went looking for the doors." She said. 

Persephone froze. 

"Wait," Annabeth said, shooting a glance at Persephone. "Nico di Angelo? He's your brother?"

The girl nodded, as though Annabeth had asked the most obvious question in the world.

"I'm afraid... I'm not sure, but I think something's happened to him."

And that was the last straw for Persephone. The table grew silent as she stood, abruptly. Her eyes stared at the table, unseeing. Leo touched her fingers, gently, trying to ground her. She snapped out of her daze, clearing her throat.

"I'm sorry," She apologised. "I have to- I need to- please excuse me." Her voice shook, stalking away from the table.

She shot Leo a look, as he rose to his feet, warning him to stay put. He obliged, nodding at her, sitting back down, his right leg bouncing rapidly.

Her breaths shook as she leaned against a column away from the crowd of demigods. Distantly, she heard the sounds of Mrs O'Leary's excited barks. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the column, banging it gently a couple of times, to see if that would sort her scrambled mind out.

Bianca di Angelo had been a sister she never got to bond with, not properly, when she was alive. She didn't have long enough with her. After that, Nico had been on the run for a few years, and it wasn't until last year that they could finally spend time together and have that sibling relationship. And now Persephone was being told that not only said brother was apparently missing and potentially in danger, but she also had a new sister? Roman at that. And she didn't know.

She glared at the ground beneath her, wishing Hades could sense her burning gaze. Not that he'd feel any remorse. Perhaps Pluto favoured this daughter over Persephone once again-

"Sephy!" Leo called. She turned to see his impish grin, a scowling blonde followed after him.

"Leo?" She quizzed. "What's he doing here?" She almost sneered. 

"I thought it best if I check out your little war boat, make sure you aren't about to blast our city to pieces." Octavian looked her up and down, scowling. Persephone raised a brow, crossing her arms. 

"Well, I suppose I'll have to accompany you. Make sure you aren't about to blast our boat to pieces. Though, I'm not entirely sure you could do much damage, with those little teddy bears hanging from your belt." She growled. Leo bit his lip and placed his hand on the daughter of Hades' shoulder, a twinkle in his eye.

"This way, O' teddy bear whisperer." Leo grinned, bowing to Octavian, sarcastically, before leading the way to the rope ladder hanging from the ship.

Persephone took up the back, letting Octavian feel her death stare at the back of his neck. She almost stumbled over a stray rock as the familiar pinch at her gut came again, stronger this time. Her vision seemed to tunnel, edges going black, breathing constricted. 

"-phy? Sephy?" Leo's voice called. She stood up from where she'd hunched over in the middle of the street, staring into his worried eyes; Octavian stood behind Leo, eyeing her suspiciously. "What happened?"

"Nothing, I'm fine. Just think I ate too much." 

"Sephy, you hardly ate anything." Leo raised a brow at her lie. The pinch came again, making her wince. 

"I'm fine, Leo. Let's get this tour over with." She shoved his hand from her shoulder, stalking ahead of the two boys, climbing up the rope ladder. 

Once she stood on the deck, her knees nearly buckled. Leo touched a spot on her lower back, supporting her. Then, it vanished, and the atmosphere turned cold. She gasped out, falling to her knees, eyes snapping shut. She crouched over in a protective position, the pinch in her gut spreading throughout her body, numbing every other sense.

"Show me this ship of yours, then." Octavian rolled his eyes, as he finally climbed over the side. He faltered as the figures in front of him stayed frozen, the girl surprisingly on the ground. "Greeks..." He snarled. "Hey! Get on with it!"

Leo reared his head back and laughed, manically. He turned to Octavian, grinning, eyes crazed. 

"Die." He said simply. That snapped Persephone out of her head. 

Leo raised his hand, fingertips glowing, facing it towards Octavian. The blonde froze and stared at the boy. 

"Leo!" She knocked the boy to the ground, the two of them sent sprawling. He pushed her off of him, standing quickly and analysing his options. The pain ran through her body, but Persephone pushed herself from the ground. "Get down!" She yelled to Octavian, who ducked as soon as a burst of flame licked over his head, where he'd just been standing. 

Leo growled and ran to one of the ballistae, loading it and firing it into the city below. Persephone blood ran cold. She stared at the son of Hephaestus, not recognising who stood in his place. Octavian was shouting at the boy, patting his clothes down, as though fire was licking through his clothes. His face was covered in soot from the ballista's shot, and his clothes were steaming. Her eyes widened as Leo turned to him, once again.

"Leo, stop!" She yelled. He paid her no mind, only grinning, evilly.

Persephone knew her God-given powers were practically useless, being as high up from the ground as they were, so she did the next best option. She scrambled down the stairs, sprinting to her room, distantly hearing the sounds of Hedge's show. She grasped her ring and clenched it in her hand, the band of silver quickly springing into her sword. Wasting no time, she hurried up the stairs, seeing Octavian and Leo in a face off. She sucked in a deep breath, running to Octavian, showing him backwards, slightly.

"You!" She turned to Octavian. "Get down there and get the others! I need help!"

"Help!" He yelled. "You need help? You're nothing but a traitor! I knew it!" Persephone stared him down, her back to the son of Hephaestus. "You Greeks are all the same! Traitors, every last one of you-"

Persephone's scream cut him off. Leo had twisted her arm behind her back, painfully, making her drop her silver sword. With a quick slash across her back, from her left shoulder blade to her right hip, he stepped back, dropping the sword, eyes widening momentarily as his grip on her softened and fell, before they glazed over once again. She fell to the ground, breathing laboured. Faintly, she registered Leo advance on Octavian, the latter scrambling over the side of the ship, rushing down the rope ladder.

She gripped her sword and stood, shakily, to her feet.

"Leo." She wheezed, stopping the boy from sending another hit to the city below. "You have to stop-"

"This must happen!" He yelled at her. She panted as she raised her sword. Leo rolled his eyes and summoned his hammer from his tool belt. He smirked. "You're too weak."

Leo was, of course, describing her current state. However, to Persephone, she took this as a personal jab. Flashes from Medea's lair, her father's throne room, times throughout her life, everything crashed upon her at once from his words. She gripped her sword tighter, yelling defiantly, charging at him.

Leo lifted his hammer just in time to block her swipe, the metal clanging together. He growled as he pushed her sword backwards with his hammer, stepping towards her. Persephone had hit a dilemma; she wasn't aiming to seriously hurt Leo at all, yet he had an almost blood crazed look in his eyes.

"You're wasting my time!" He yelled.

"Why are you doing this?" She demanded. Swinging at him again, using the pommel of her sword to jab at the side of his head. He stumbled to the side, blinking rapidly. "Everything was going fine! What are you doing, Valdez! What do you think the others will say about this!"

Leo was about to retort when suddenly the Argo II tilted sideways, from an impact likely sent from the Romans in retaliation, and flames licked over the sides. She clutched onto the mast, steadying herself. Leo stumbled and hit the ground, hard. He groaned, looking up at the daughter of Hades.

"Sephy, what's-" He shuddered, form hunching over, eyes closed, before he lifted his head and glared at her, raising to his feet and swinging his hammer at her, full force. She blocked it and slashed at him, a small nick appearing on his left forearm. He hissed and grabbed his arm, causing Persephone to hesitate. He took that moment of weakness to lunge towards her, hammer swinging. She dropped her sword and ducked, but Leo was quicker. He sent a swift kick to her stomach, rendering her gasping for breath.

He sneered at her and ran back to the ballistae, readying another strike, laughing as it blew up something below.

Persephone growled and tacked him, his head smacking the deck, harshly. He cried out, before wrestling with her, flipping her over. He grabbed her nearby sword and held it at her neck. She went still, panting, adrenaline starting to wear off. Her back tingled with waves of pain, and her chest couldn't seem to take in enough air. The edge of the sword nicked her neck, a single drop of blood staining the metal.

A sound behind them broke Leo's uncertainty. He growled and sent the end of her own sword into her temple, light exploding behind her eyes, before all went dark. Silence followed.