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The plan was simple. Or at least, Tessa hoped it was. If it wasn't...well, that just made one more thing to worry about as she and her friends meandered through the Labyrinth.

The pavement of the tunnel began to shift, turning dustier and darker and covered in cobwebs. It felt like they were walking through a maintenance tunnel, and with a quick glance at Lukas and Eli, whose faces were now etched with a sort of grave understanding, she knew.

They'd arrived.

Tessa tightened her grip on Tempest as they continued to walk, each footstep an echo of her racing heartbeat. Whether she was ready or not, it was time for action.

And so the plan was initiated.

According to Eli and Lukas, the Labyrinth entrance into the Regiment's base was guarded by four soldiers at all times; two on the outside and two on the inside. After a heated debacle over who would do what, Tessa and Sophia were able to deviate a plan. Kaden and Lukas, being two of the best swordsmen of the group, would disable the guards on the outside, and when the door was opened and the guards on the inside of the base looked over, Reese would fire at them.

Then that's where things got a little complicated. The team would break off into two groups of five: one to lead the central fight until they found Orion, and the other to go and rescue the hostages. Tessa, Kaden, Lukas, Reese, and Amelie would head off into the pulpit while Eli, having made his way through the base for reasons such as this, would lead Madi, Orpheus, Sophia, and Flynn on the rescue mission.

"We're here," Eli whispered, shaking Tessa out of her reverie. His piercing blue eyes scanned the hallway ahead of them, that made a single right turn that held the exit past the corner.

Tessa nodded and glanced back to Amelie, who had already begun to work. She flicked her hand and a ribbon of smoke materialized around it, before spreading through the air. Before Tessa knew it, she was shrouded in the Mist; their disguise until they were safely behind enemy lines. She turned back to the front of the group, where Kaden and Lukas were already awaiting her command.

With a single nod, the group continued on, and that's when all hell broke loose. Kaden and Lukas broke off from the group, swinging their swords towards the guards by the door. The Regiment soldiers were too stunned to even fight back, and they crumbled to the ground like discarded scraps of paper. The boys lowered their golden swords, and Lukas pressed his free hand to the glowing blue delta on the door. It hissed open, and as soon as the two other guards peered into the Labyrinth, they were knocked unconscious by Reese's arrows.

Part One: Done. But they still had an entire army to fight.

The demigods hurried through the doorway, and as soon as they had emerged into the Regiment's base, Tessa could see just how complicated things were about to get.

They were in a sort of entrance hall, with various abandoned stands dotting the dusty floors. Doorways into different rooms and sectors of the convention center lined the walls, and an escalator sat nearby, leading up and up, deeper into the base of their enemy.

"Where is everyone?" Madi sniffed, glancing around the abandoned entrance hall.

Eli stepped forward, looking around. "This part of the base is normally off-limits to Regiment soldiers. Only a few of the elite are able to have access, in case they're on sentry duty or assigned to missions." He explained. "The further we go into the center, the more soldiers we'll find."

"Fabulous," Tessa started, turning to face her team. "I'd say now's as good a time as any to split up. Eli, you take your team and lead them to where you think the hostages might be. Engage in any sort of conflict that you must, but get the hostages and get them out safely. Then, come find me and the others."

"How will we know where you guys'll be?" Flynn frowned.

Tessa flashed the son of Apollo a devilish smile. "Just follow the carnage."

Flynn's face fell, but he nodded.

Tessa gave her team one last glance as they divided into their groups. In a moment, their teams were ready, and Tessa shot Eli a final look before turning on her heel and marching off deeper into enemy territory.

~~

Tessa had been in her fair share of battles over the years. She knew the set-up of a battlefield, an ambush, just about every conflict a demigod could find herself in by the time she'd spent a year at camp. However, as she and her friends made their way through the halls of the Regiment's base, she couldn't help but feel that something was off.

Maybe it was the clash of battle strategies that came from Roman and Greek demigods converging. Maybe it was their immortal leader who had a knack for surprising those who normally knew what was to happen. Or maybe it was some odd combination of the two and something else that Tessa couldn't place, something she could only feel stirring in the air and hiding in the walls like a predator about to pounce.

"It's Orion's power," Amelie spoke, as if she'd read Tessa's mind. "That's what you're feeling."

"How can that be?" Reese glanced at her in confusion before returning his gaze to the hallway they were treading through.

"We must be pretty close to the deadline," Amelie reasoned. "Orion's constellation is strengthening his asterokinetic powers, and the magic that's already been cast over the base is responding to that. We've gotta move quickly or else who knows what'll happen?"

As if on cue, the lights along the ceiling sparked to life one by one, until the room they were in was fully illuminated. A squadron of Regiment soldiers stood in the circular vestibule, dressed in their gear and heavily armed.

Tessa cursed herself mentally. They'd walked straight into a trap. She whirled around quickly, but another group of soldiers was herding them towards the other from the only entrance. Tessa and her friends were forced into a small group, their backs to one another as they surveyed the situation.

"Tessa Brennan," The leader of the first group said, taking a step towards her. "We've been expecting you. Come with us, and no harm will come to your friends."

Tessa made a face at the leader, brandishing Tempest. "I think you're lying, and I don't like liars." She shrugged as if to say 'Oh, well!' and sprang into action.

The battle ignited like a wildfire, and Tessa was the central spark. She leapt towards the leader of the first Regiment group, bringing Tempest down like an arc of heavenly fire. Her sword hit his, and the two tried to force one another down.

Tessa stumbled back a bit, but rebounded. She swung Tempest at the man's feet, causing him to flip over. He didn't get back up, which Tessa didn't mind, but two more Regiment soldiers approached her, grinning wickedly.

"Sorry, did you both not just see that?" Tessa scoffed. She dared a quick look towards her friends, who were busy in battles of their own, before striking again.

The battle raged on, and Tessa became a demon. She struck and swiped and lunged, dotting her way around the dusty ballroom as if engaged in a sort of dance. Regiment soldiers approached her from every direction, and Tessa disabled them all.

As she fought, Tessa fought the darker part of her that normally took over completely during a battle against a monster. The part of her that wanted to make the killing blow, to end the threat permanently. Only she couldn't do that now, not to demigods and people just like her, who were only brainwashed into thinking they were achieving something greater than themselves. Tessa wasn't a murderer, but after all that she'd been through, after all that had been taken from her, the darker part of her was becoming more and more difficult to suppress.

Tessa whirled her way through another battle, and when she knocked them out, she turned to see the wreckage she'd left behind. About a dozen Regiment soldiers were strewn carelessly across the floor of the ballroom, either wounded or unconscious, all at her hand.

Tessa exhaled, catching her breath. She scanned the remaining battle, and one by one, her friends handled the soldiers that had attacked them. The battle dissipated, and silence filled the room. Tessa made her way over to her friends, who, like herself, were catching their breaths and retrieving their fallen gear.

"How'd they know we were here?" Kaden exhaled, the electric surge of adrenaline making his emerald eyes glow.

"Doesn't matter," Reese answered, retrieving his arrows and stuffing them into his quiver. "We've gotta move."

"Tessa," Amelie squeaked. "Look."

Tessa knit her eyebrows in confusion at the daughter of Hecate, but followed her gaze. There, standing outside the ballroom, was the leader of the Regiment, donning its signature black uniform. Orion smirked, as if he could see Tessa staring at him from across the room. He unfolded his muscular arms and sauntered down the hallway, disappearing from sight.

"Come on!" Tessa commanded. She sped off out of the room and down the hall, after the immortal hunter. The sounds of her friends' footsteps behind her only made Tessa increase her pace, fueling her with motivation.

"Tessa!" Madi's voice called, and Tessa risked a glance to see that her sister and her group were darting after them. However, no hostages were trailing them.

"What happened?" She asked. "Where are the hostages?"

"We found where they were being kept, but the cells were empty." Eli explained, panting lightly. "Which doesn't exactly bode well, if you know what I mean."

Tessa felt her heart twist, and as she kept running, she allowed that darker part of her to have some control over the reins. If Orion so much as laid a finger on them...

Tessa wove her way through the hallways of the Regiment's base, as if she were back in the Labyrinth. Maybe it was Orion's immortal skill, or simply his knowledge of the base, but he managed to move through the corridors and rooms with exceptional speed.

However, the hunter managed to stop at one point. Tessa and her friends barreled through the last of the doors, and skidded to a stop atop the polished cobblestones.

Orion had led them to a glowing pavilion that did not belong in New Orleans. They were somehow outside, with that same subtle breeze blowing through the fields of grass surrounding them. The night sky was flecked with stars that shimmered too brightly, and maybe it was Tessa's imagination, but she thought she could see the constellations themselves moving across the heavens. Polished columns lined the pavilion, and at the head of it stood the shimmering portals atop a platform from which Orion established his power. The hunter stood before them now, watching the demigods maliciously.

"What a pleasant surprise," Orion drawled. "And here I thought I'd have to capture you to bring you here."

"Give it up, Orion," Tessa called, her voice carrying over the entirety of the pavilion. "You won't win this."

Orion quirked an eyebrow. "Oh, is that so? Well, I suppose I should listen to a silly, little halfblood, should I?" He smiled sarcastically.

Tessa could feel the coil of darkness begin to swirl around her heart, a whirlpool gaining speed. Her vision sharpened, and she slowly began to take steps towards Orion's platform. Rumbles shook the ground as she walked, and she didn't need to look down to know that her power was cracking the pavement she tread upon.

"You wanna know something, Orion?" Tessa asked as she walked. "You've got it all wrong. In your eyes, I'm nothing but a little egotistical demigod who can make a few waves, right? A princess of an ocean kingdom? Well, I hate to break it to you, but that's all a lie. I'm not a little girl, I'm not a princess, I'm the bump in the night. I'm the tidal wave that destroys coastlines. I'm the current sweeping innocents out to sea. I'm the monster that'll drag you beneath the surface of the waves. And if you really think that I'm this innocent little demigod, I dare you to test that theory for yourself."

Orion's nostrils flared with anger. "I'm immortal, Tessa," He started.

"Then what're you so afraid of?" Tessa taunted.

Orion's lips curled into a devilish smile. "You should be the one that's afraid, my dear."

Tessa faltered for the slightest of moments before starting forward. However, she hit a solid wall of energy. She stumbled backwards in bewilderment and watched as that solid wall of energy materialized out of thin air; a wall of Regiment soldiers cutting off any entry point onto Orion's platform.

All around the pavilion, more and more soldiers formed out of nowhere. Tessa wondered if they had to rehearse this, but all thoughts were wiped away as she saw more smoke materialize on stage aside Orion. Vinny, his golden blade in hand; Mark, his obsidian katana drawn.

"Oh, but wait." Orion held up a finger. "There's more."

He spread his hands and more figures materialized at the edge of the platform. Bound figures with gags in their mouths, forming one by one. Tessa spotted Alexia's dark skin, her mother's sea-green eyes, and Dale's signature braid. However, there was a fourth hostage whose head was covered by a hood, and once it was removed, Tessa felt her blood run cold.

Charlie. They'd taken Charlie as well.

"I wouldn't make any sudden movements," Vinny spat from his place on stage. "Or like I said in the Labyrinth, your friends will die."

Tessa felt her heartbeat slow down. Her senses spread out around her, and she knew that her friends were preparing for battle. She glanced back onto the platform of portals, and caught the gazes of her friends, her family, that was at risk of slaughter. However, the four hostages' eyes glinted with a sort of defiance, and Tessa knew all too well what was about to happen.

Tessa brandished Tempest and turned back to Orion. "Do your worst." She spat.

"I was hoping you'd say that," Vinny grinned. He moved forward, and as fast as an adder, his sword went through Alexia.

Sophia screamed at the top of her lungs behind Tessa and the daughter of Poseidon whirled back. She hadn't thought they'd actually do that. She glanced back to her mother, Dale, and Charlie, but they weren't even fazed. Their eyes still glimmered defiantly.

Then Tessa remembered. Alexia was a daughter of Pluto, the god of the death. Surely, she was pulling some sort of wool over the eyes of the wolves who had 'killed' her.

"Ah, you shouldn't have done that," Tessa said, and with the force of a hurricane, she unleashed her rage.

Tessa fought her way through the wall of eight soldiers that blocked her from Orion. Normally, she might have thought that there was a slim chance that she could win against eight others, but with adrenaline pumping through her blood and her sword in her hand, she could have toppled an entire empire without breaking a sweat.

She struck and stabbed and dodged, knocking out the soldiers one by one. If one of them tried to get back up again, Tessa stamped her foot down and a tremor shook the ground, knocking them back down.

Tessa sprinted back into the central pulpit, where her friends were hacking away at their own battles. Kaden was engaged in a battle between Vinny, gold on gold clashing into the darkness of the night. Across the pavilion, Sophia and Orpheus were forging their way through a vanguard of Regiment soldiers, headed towards the hostages. Eli was duking it out against Mark, obsidian blades clanging against one another.

"Hey there, sis," Madi slung an arm around Tessa's shoulders. Lukas appeared from behind her, and Tessa felt an idea dawn into existence. "How about we show these guys how it's done?"

Tessa glanced from her sister to her newfound brother, and felt content at seeing the same look of determination on their faces that she recognized so frequently on her own.

"Let's do it." Tessa said.

The three children of Poseidon, armed with their swords, swaggered forward. They took down the few Regiment soldiers that had enough nerve to stop them, and when they reached the replacement guard before the pavilion, they broke off.

Tessa yelled in defiance, spreading her senses to the fields of grass surrounding the pavilion. She manipulated the water right out of the emerald blades, killing the grass as the tidal wave of her own making erupted into existence.

Madi took control of one half of the wave, riding it into battle as she brandished her sword. She swept enemies aside like they were rag dolls, before landing in the center of another battle and duking it out there on the ground. In a similar fashion, Lukas took control of his part of the wave and instead, managed to freeze it all into icicles. As if they were arrows, Lukas shot the icicles of his making at the enemies that flocked to him, engaging in a deadly battle of dodgeball.

Tessa, on the other hand, took that opportunity to saunter onto the stage. Now that the guard was gone, she only had one enemy to worry about.

Orion watched her carefully as Tessa approached onto the platform of portals. He was wielding an arrow like a magic wand, and even if Tessa was armed and practically radiating energy and power, he merely smiled his malevolent smile.

"Impressive," He noted.

"Thanks, I try to let my enemies go out with a bang." Tessa flashed him a grimace. "So will you."

Orion chuckled. "So confident," He glanced at Tessa before walking towards his portals. "Do you see how much power these radiate? All of this, Tessa, could belong to you. Just surrender."

"In your dreams," Tessa scoffed.

Orion smiled. He waved a hand and the portal he stood before shimmered transparently. Tessa could see into it from where she stood, and even as she saw what was on the other side, she didn't bring herself closer.

"These portals can bring you anywhere in the world, or in the dimensions, or throughout time. Pockets of the universe, much like the one we are in now, can be at your every whim to travel between." Orion explained. "Just take a look at what awaits you through this one."

Tessa eyed the hunter carefully, but she glimpsed through one of the portals. Her heart skipped a beat at seeing herself and her friends, happily making their way down city streets. They radiated happiness and calmness, but at the same time...Tessa could feel that something wasn't the same.

"In that universe," Orion noted. "You and your friends aren't demigods. You're simply mundane teenagers, enjoying whatever it is youths do."

Tessa scoffed, moving away. However, Orion cut her off. "There's another thing, though." He said, frowning. He waved his hand, and the image in the portal shifted. "In that timeline, another child of Poseidon reigns. He and his six infernal friends managed to save the world against myself and my mother. You all are quite alike, you children of that crusty seamonger."

Tessa knit her eyebrows, looking through the portal. She saw a boy with black hair and green eyes, dashing his way through a battlefield with a blonde girl and a satyr at his side. The image shifted, and she saw even more kids—demigods, this son of Poseidon's other friends—aboard a flying ship. Then just like that, the image was gone.

"Quit distracting me," Tessa snapped.

Orion spread his hands in mock innocence, grinning. "Oh, but it's so much fun. And face it, Tessa, don't you want to live in a world where your days aren't numbered? Where you and your friends could live in peace?"

She did. She wanted that more than anything. Part of her hesitated, but the din of the battle raging around her increased in her ears, shaking her back to reality. She wouldn't abandon her friends, her family, the very things she loved and valued in this life of hers. She didn't need another world or future. She already had her own.

And in this dimension? She would reign.

Tessa, ever the actress, pretended to think about it. She lowered her sword, staring back out over the battlefield with a blank expression. She spotted Flynn, Sophia, and Orpheus a few yards away, at the base of the platform. Tessa's mother and Alexia were currently being treated for their wounds by Flynn, while Sophia and Orpheus held the fort down. Across the battlefield, Eli and Dale were fighting Mark. Dale must have been working her magic, because the son of Iris' movements were slowing. On the opposite side of the pavilion, Reese and Kaden stood back to back, fighting a group of Regiment soldiers led by Vinny. And in the heart of the pulpit stood Amelie, radiating energy and magic as a portal of her own was opening.

Tessa turned back to Orion, fighting the beginnings of the spell he was placing on her to submit. "How much power do the portals have?"

"Enough that it's my very source of power," Orion said, stepping closer to Tessa. "And being a pretty face such as yourself, if you comply, I could share that power with you. We could rule, Tessa."

Tessa fought the urge to vomit right then and there. However, she forced herself to play along. She turned to face him, and tightened her grip on Tempest. "I'll take a rain check."

And with that, she swung into action. Orion was caught off-guard and unarmed, so Tessa slashed and swung her blade at the immortal hunter. His clothing ripped with each swipe, and golden ichor flowed from his wounds.

"You infernal half-blood," Orion's eyes began to glow, but before he could attack her, Tessa leapt off the platform and to the portal where the Romans were filing through.

"Tessa!" Kaya called.

"Hey! Glad you could join us." Tessa greeted. She glanced over at Amelie, who looked ever out of place on the battlefield. "I need you and Amelie to take care of the portals."

"What?" The daughters of the magic goddess said in unison.

"They're linked to Orion's source of power," Tessa explained hastily. "I need you both to try and disable them."

The girls met one another's gazes, then hurried off. The Romans continued to file through the portal, and Tessa did her best to divert them to where was needed. She urged some children of Apollo to help play battlefield medic; Mallory and Jett emerged from the light and Tessa quickly averted them to where Kaden and Reese were fighting Vinny; Imogen came through and Tessa sighed with relief.

"How's the battle going?" Imogen asked, stringing an arrow and firing it as she and Tessa stepped aside.

"Eh," Tessa responded, surveying the carnage. "It's going."

Imogen nodded. "What're my orders?"

Tessa racked her brain. "Find Reese, and sub yourself in for Kaden. Then send him over to me." She scanned the battlefield to where Mark, Dale, and Eli were fighting. "We have a friend to save."

~~

Thankfully, Imogen moved quickly. In a matter of a few minutes, Kaden was by Tessa's side, and the two of them fought their way through the battlefield now packed to the brim with Romans and Regiment soldiers.

"Remember," Tessa said. "Get his katana."

"On it." Kaden nodded, but before they moved any further, he grabbed Tessa's hand. "You're forgetting something, Tessa."

Tessa frowned, racking her brain for anything she'd missed. "What?"

Kaden smiled softly, despite the battle raging around him. "You can't just go off into battle like that without kissing me goodbye first."

Tessa felt her cheeks flush. "Kaden, we are in the middle of a very dangerous war right—"

Kaden cut her off with a kiss, pressing her right up against him. Tessa melted into it like she always did, but before she got carried away, he pulled away.

"Let's go save Mark," He smiled and shuffled through the battling crowd.

Tessa watched him go incredulously. "How in the world..." She muttered, but shook her head and followed.

Eli and Dale were doing a pretty good job of distracting Mark. They needed only to glance at Tessa and Kaden to understand what the plan was, and they kept fighting.

"Mark Akagi," Kaden announced, his voice laced with charmspeak. "Don't you want to stop fighting? We're your friends. We're here to help you."

Mark grit his teeth, his dark almond-shaped eyes glazing over with the effect of Kaden's words. "You aren't my friends," He managed.

"Yes, we are!" Dale exclaimed. For a girl who managed to make it through the Labyrinth, a kidnapping, and a battle, she looked pretty good. Her golden eyes blazed as she fought, and Tessa could feel her distress.

"No!" Mark yelled. He added more force to his swing, and as he struck, Tessa met Dale's glance. The daughter of Demeter had enough time to nod before getting knocked to the ground by her best friend.

Then something shifted.

"Dale!" Mark exclaimed, the darkness from his eyes fading a bit. He looked around wildly, but when he tightened his hand around his katana, the shadows returned.

Tessa met Kaden and Eli's gazes. However, the latter began to fiddle around in his pocket, digging something out. He threw it at Mark's feet, and Tessa realized with a pang that it was a Polaroid photo of herself, Dale, and Mark.

"That's yours," Eli spoke. "You aren't the Lieutenant of Orion, Mark. You're the son of Iris, a friend, a jokester."

Kaden nodded frantically. "You've been our best friend since we've met. Your favorite activity at camp is to make innuendoes about Tessa and I. You called Chiron 'mom' once."

Mark began to take heavy breaths. He tried to cut Kaden off, but Tessa jumped in. "You went as Tinker Bell for Halloween last year. You went on my quest with me. You won money at a casino. You saved us all." Her voice caught. "Please, Mark, come back to us."

With a subtle direction of her hand, Eli and Kaden moved. Mark's gaze was locked on hers, and Tessa could see the light and the dark raging on in his eyes, fighting for control. Tessa kept her eyes locked on his as Kaden and Eli moved behind him and with one swift movement, disarmed him. Mark's katana clattered to the ground and Tessa used her newfound earth-shattering abilities to open the ground beneath it and crush it between the earth's plates.

Mark collapsed, and Dale got up from her place on the ground and hurried to his side. "Is he okay? Did it work?" She asked frantically.

"It should have," Eli noted, crouching down beside him. He surveyed the battlefield, and before he could speak, Mark groaned.

"Why do I feel like I just got hit by a bus?" The son of Iris blinked, staggering up.

Tessa felt relief wash over her, and she couldn't fight the tears that began to spill. "What's your name?"

"Mark Akagi, and you're Tessa Brennan, and that's Kaden Gray, and Dale Alcander, and," Mark glanced at Eli and frowned. "Who are you?"

"Eli Allistairs, pleased to meet you." Eli said simply. "Well, again. Well...actually, don't worry about it."

Mark made a considerate face, but it seemed to dawn on him that they were in the middle of a battlefield. "What the hell's happening?"

Tessa took a shaky breath. Reunions could wait until the ultimate enemy was destroyed. "Dale," She looked at the daughter of Demeter. "Keep him company and fill him in, would you?"

The golden-eyed girl nodded, and alongside Eli and Kaden, Tessa marched back into battle. The good guys, it seemed were winning. The Regiment soldiers had almost all been defeated, and the Apollo kids from Camp Jupiter were tending to their comrades. For the most part, the battle had been won.

"Tessa!" A voice called, one that Tessa immediately recognized as Charlie's. She followed it and found the son of Vulcan staggering towards her.

"Charlie," Tessa breathed in relief. She embraced him quickly then pulled away. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Charlie confirmed. "Sprained my ankle when they took me but aside from that, I'll live."

Tessa glanced behind her at Kaden, who surprisingly didn't look like he wanted to kill the son of Vulcan anymore. Although, the hand that wrapped around Tessa's waist was as much of a statement as they were going to get at that moment.

"Where are the others?" Kaden asked.

Charlie looked around. "Some of the Apollo kids led the wounded back into the convention center for a safer place to be treated, like Alexia and Ms. Brennan. Others are regrouping." He waved a hand around at the emptying battlefield.

Tessa exhaled, but something still didn't feel right. And lo and behold, as if the cosmos just loved to confirm her worries, a blast like a nuclear explosion shook the pavilion. Tessa whirled around and saw the portals atop the platform glowing radioactively, as if they were about to burst. Plumes of pink and blue and green fire, the colors of the various portals, encroached upon the platform, surrounding the man standing in the blaze.

"You all think you've won?" Orion's voice shook the pavilion. "I still hold the last piece of the puzzle, half-bloods!"

Tessa surged forward, but was stopped by Kaya. "Tessa, don't! The platform's radioactive now, it'll incinerate anything that the fire touches!"

"But the portals—" Tessa started.

"Amelie's trying to destroy them, that's why they're reacting!" Kaya explained quickly.

A memory tickled Tessa's brain, and as the realization dawned on her, she looked to the edge of the platform, where Flynn was treating a wounded hero. He set his jaw as he worked, the light from the portals making his blond hair multi-colored. His back was turned to the glowing portals and the immortal hunter behind him.

Tessa felt her heart stop. "Flynn, watch out!"

The son of Apollo had enough time to look up before Orion grabbed him like he weighed absolutely nothing and threw him into the inferno of the portals.

Everyone screamed, although Amelie and Reese's screams and protests were louder than the rest. Tessa watched in a mix of absolute rage and sorrow as Reese flew forward, stringing arrow after arrow. He looked like the hero whose curse he had taken on as golden arrows swept forward, and all of them hit true.

The immortal hunter fell to his knees, trying to rip out the arrows that continued to puncture him like he had become a target. Reese neared with each arrow, and Tessa and all of their friends watched as the son of Apollo stood before Orion, his blue eyes blazing like flames.

Orion disintegrated in a flash of light, and silence fell over the room as in response, the portals disappeared, leaving behind crumbling pillars and the remains of a war-torn room.

But Tessa couldn't tear her gaze from the arches, where Flynn had dissolved as if he were nothing. He'd become a flash of light, a nuclear reaction, a sudden birth of a star in the mix. Such a bright hero with a bright personality, but just like all that Tessa knew, he'd gone up in flames.