ante bellum
Reyna had never said ‘I love you’ to Jason throughout the entire four years he had known the daughter of Bellona. What she did instead was take a sword meant for him to the heart and die twice in his arms until medics managed to get her stable enough for them to move her to the infirmary.
He had never been more scared than those moments, the war be damned.
At night, the scars feel like they are seared into his own skin, his fingers trace them to the edge of her breast, the white gracing her flesh like lightning. In the silence, Jason cannot help but believe that Reyna was Rome crowned in eternal glory.
Despite the guilt he had felt, the love in her eyes was unmistakable as she looks at him sleepily, her heart whispering softly to him that she would do it all over for him, that she would die for him. The thought alone is frightening, and Jason never knew that love could be so overwhelming.
‘Te amo, mi reina.’ His lips pressed against where her heart would be, feeling the shudder that went through her. Then Reyna was atop of him, burning with life and warmth. Their lips pressed against each other, the blood roaring in their veins.
Jason finally understood why the gods were afraid of her.