It's the end, you guys! We're finally at the end!

It feels so weird, doesn't it? Well, for me it does. All the time and effort that went into this story... Man. In retrospect it did take a long time. But it doesn't feel like it considering how often I worked on it, you know? I don't know, it's hard to explain, haha.

Anyway, yes, this is the LAST CHAPTER of this story. It's short, but it's only meant to be a main-plot wrap-up.

Thanks as always to everybody who reviewed last chapter! Told you I'd get this one done in a week ;)

So, without further ado... Enjoy!

The words came with a new kind of sadness / That meant everything
You mean everything to me

Already Reyna was tired of waking up in hospital beds.

It was easier this time than the last, physically speaking. Her body, she came to realize as her consciousness came back, held only a ghostly feeling of fatigue—an exhaustion that had faded to a dull whisper in the back of her mind and innermost tendons of her muscles. She could move her fingers without difficulty, breathe deeply without pain. She felt dizzy as she stared up at the white ceiling and a little nauseous, but overall the lack of major discomforts was satisfyingly heartening.

Even mentally, Reyna felt surprisingly stable and calm, all things considered. Fleeting visions of her confrontation with Octavian formed a disjointed screenplay in her mind's eye, grainy and flickering like an old filmstrip projection. And as she lay still in the stiff hospital bed, senses slowly but surely returning to full working order, she had little to do but think and remember. As she recalled everything that had happened, though, she didn't feel as anxious as she supposed she ought to. The whole thing still didn't seem entirely real. It was like watching a fantasy, something her subconscious had dreamed up—an eclectic mix of events both good and bad, scary and exhilarating. It was odd that in all the time she spent playing Octavian's game—tiptoeing through move after move, check after check, trying her hardest to anticipate his next move so that he wouldn't catch her completely blindsided—she never actually expected to win. She was a beginner, compared to him. Green. Inexperienced. But still, somehow, she'd come out on top.

Well, she supposed it wasn't exactly her own cleverness that had brought about the outcome. She didn't win—not really. But he did lose. He'd gotten cocky, obsessed—so positive that his victory was assured that, ironically, he inadvertently awarded Reyna an advantage. Her sanity and her level-headedness had brought her out of the ordeal on top, while his inability to cope with failure had sealed his fate.

Somehow, even after everything, part of Reyna felt sorry for Octavian. He was selfish and power-hungry, that much he'd proven, but she knew that somewhere inside he truly had cared about the legion. Camp Jupiter had been his home for even longer than it'd been hers. It was a shame that things had had to end the way they did.

Not that that small inkling of pity totally erased all the bad that Octavian had done. In his year as praetor, he'd caused Reyna almost constant stress and fear, not to mention the fact that he'd spent the past few days trying to kill her. Her conscience felt guilty for being undeniably glad that he was gone, but not enough to stop the relief entirely.

Reyna gave a slow, heavy sigh as the corners of her lips turned up and she recognized that that was precisely how she was feeling—relieved. It was like an impossible weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She didn't need to hide anymore, or lie to the few real friends she had. Her dangerous ruse with Octavian was over and done with. She never had to worry about his schemes ever again.

That realization gave Reyna a burst of energy, like a light inside her had been switched on. She sat up in her bed and stretched her arms and neck. She hunched her shoulders and curled her toes, testing to ensure that each part of her body was fully functional. Again she found a folded pile of clean clothes beside her bed which someone had retrieved from her apartment, so she dressed in silence, wondering how long it had been since Octavian's escape attempt. The clock on the wall told her it was just past two in the afternoon, but it was less informative in regard to the date.

Fully clothed and feeling almost good as new, Reyna strode across the empty hospital room and let herself into the hall. Now that she was awake, she certainly wasn't going to waste anymore time lying in bed. Her top priority was finding Leo—who better to celebrate with, after all?

The first person she came to seemed surprised to see her up and about. "Oh—Reyna!" Gina, a former legionnaire who'd retired almost six years ago now worked as a nurse at the hospital, said with raised eyebrows as she was stopped in her tracks. "Whoa, when did you wake up? Are you sure you should be out of bed?"

"I'm fine, Gina, don't worry," Reyna promised with a smile. "Really, I feel great." She lifted her arms and dropped them back against her sides as though that would prove her point.

Gina looked skeptical for barely a few seconds before she shrugged in submission. "I suppose you have had a whole week of rest. Shouldn't be shocking to see you doing so much better."

"A week?" Reyna repeated, shaking her head in annoyance. She must've somehow caused more damage to the (now almost-fully-healed) stab wound in her side in her haste the other day. It was the only way to explain her apparent brief comatose state.

"Yeah. Guess it's no surprise you want some fresh air, huh?"

"You can say that again," Reyna agreed. "Hey, where's Leo's room? I want to see how he's doing."

Gina's eyebrows drew together. "He's not in the hospital," she said.

Reyna felt a quick flash of uncertainty. "Why not?" she asked. He'd definitely been injured the last she'd seen him, when they'd split up just before the warship's engine had exploded. He couldn't have possibly…

"That guy's some kind of freak," Gina explained, interrupting Reyna's dangerous train of thought. "He had like, six broken bones and he walked out of here after three days. It's like nectar and ambrosia work double-time on him. I wish everybody was like that. Make my job a heck of a lot easier."

Reyna had to keep from audibly sighing in relief and immediately felt silly for jumping so quickly to conclusions. "Do you know where he is?"

Gina shook her head. "Sorry. I only got tabs on this building's occupants. Once they're healed, they're out of my hands. Hey, if you're heading out, take the east side entrance so nobody else stops you. Just take it easy for a bit, okay?"

"Sure thing," Reyna said with a grateful smile. She thanked Gina and bid her goodbye before following her advice and slipping quietly out the hospital's side entrance and into the sunny street beyond.

She didn't exactly have the easiest time getting from one place to another. Being as well-known as she was, Reyna was stopped on a number of occasions by passersby, most of whom only wanted a minute or two to ask how she was doing and tell her how sorry they were for everything Octavian had done. Many of them made a point to insist to her that they never would have voted for him at last year's Feast of Fortuna had they known the extent of the treachery he was capable of, as though they feared they had to prove to her that they were on her side. She didn't altogether care, to be completely honest, but, being the diplomat she'd always forced herself to be, she took these comments in stride and offered smiles and assurances all around that underestimating Octavian was a mistake she too had made many times in the past. She didn't plan on holding it against anyone—which was true enough, at any rate.

At an outdoor café in the forum, she caught a glimpse of Hazel and Frank, which gave her the perfect opportunity to extricate herself from the passing crowd and appear busy with something else. When they noticed her approaching, both of them immediately jumped out of their chairs and fixed her with wide eyes.

"Reyna! We didn't hear you were awake!" Hazel said, stepping around their table and surveying Reyna with her eyes. "How are you? Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine," Reyna assured her, a little tired of all the attention. "What's happened while I was out?"

"A lot of nothing," Frank answered, mercifully picking up on Reyna's attempt at a subject change. Reyna sat herself down at their table, prompting them both to do the same. "It was chaos for like, the first few hours. We had no idea what happened, you know? You and Leo were the only ones involved in that big explosion in the Field and you were both down for the count when we found you. But he was up again by midnight and explained everything—how Octavian had tried to escape and ended up destroying three ships and killing himself in the process."

"Three?" Reyna repeated with a frown.

Hazel sat forward and said, "The debris from the first one caught two of the others on fire. The damage was done before we managed to stop the fire from spreading."

"Nobody really knew what to do after that," Frank went on. "Both praetors were out of commission. And after what happened with Octavian, none of the Senate members were too keen on stepping up—especially the ones who'd supported him. I think they were afraid of what you'd do to them when you woke up."

Reyna rolled her eyes. She'd never realized how useless the Senate was until they suddenly had no one to answer to.

"Not the whole Senate," Hazel pointed out, poking her boyfriend on the shoulder. "Frank took charge when nobody else would. You should've seen him, Reyna. He was all 'Octavian went against the good of the legion. Let's not waste time mourning a traitor;' and 'We need to maintain order, not fall apart over one mishap. I don't want Reyna to have to pick up the pieces when she recovers.'" Frank shook his head at Hazel's slightly ridiculous impression of his voice and stiff stature, to which she shot him a pointed look and said, "Don't be modest, it was impressive!"

Reyna held back a laugh and raised her eyebrows. "I suppose I'd expect no less from a future praetor."

"Future praetor?" Frank repeated.

Reyna shrugged. "I think it's a safe assumption. We do have an opening, after all. And if I remember correctly, you came in second last year."

Hazel beamed proudly at Frank, who gave a sheepish sort of smile in return. Reyna chuckled inwardly, interested by how someone could be shy and kind most of the time but take action and responsibility so readily in a crisis situation. He would make an excellent praetor indeed—and a better and more welcome partner to Reyna than Octavian could ever be.

"So…" Reyna started again after a few seconds, "did the Greek team go back to New York?"

Hazel gave her a knowing smile. "You really think Leo would let them go before you were back on your feet? No, they're still here. He's inside, actually, getting our stuff." She gestured over her shoulder and Reyna's stomach swooped in a mix of relief and excitement. Hazel leaned toward her across the table and lowered her voice as she went on, "He may not show it when he gets here, but he's been really worried about you. You weren't lying when we stopped Octavian—whatever it is with you guys really is serious, isn't it?"

"Which is still so weird…" Frank added with a look of consternation. Then he glanced up at Reyna almost nervously and backtracked, "I mean… not weird, but just… uh, unexpected? I mean, you and him are really, uh… different."

"It's okay," Reyna stopped him with an amused smirk. "It's weird. I know."

Hazel giggled and nodded. "'Weird' is a good word."

"What's weird?" a voice interrupted as the café door behind them opened and Leo backed out, carrying a tray balancing cups and plates. "Hope you're not talking about me." When he turned around to let the glass door swing shut, his eyes landed immediately on Reyna and the familiar grin that never failed to make her smile appeared on his face. "Hey, look who's up and at 'em! Welcome back to the land of the living, Your Highness."

Reyna stood up as he set down the food he'd been carrying. "Don't be a dork," she said wryly, before stepping around the back of Frank's chair to pull Leo into a tight hug.

Suddenly—finally—the whole, staggering weight of everything the two of them had just been through seemed to crash into Reyna like a tidal wave. She hadn't had time to fully dwell on it, what with the urgent rush of activity during all of her recent waking hours. But those had been, she now realized, the worst hours of her life—possibly the worst hours of anyone's life. Octavian had tried to kill her, almost succeeded. Then he'd come even closer to killing Leo, whom she'd barely just recognized the extent of her feelings for. After a tense verbal battle, she'd thought for an instant that she'd actually won—that they were safe and that everything would be okay. But then she and Leo had been forced into one final standoff with Octavian and almost lost their lives yet again. And all of this came after almost a year of near-constant stress and fear, worry and nervous tension. A year of secrets and lies, of dangerous games and looming consequences. Her entire world had been turned upside down, jumbled about so that now what remained was a hardly recognizable copy of the life she used to have. And somehow, it was terrifying.

Reyna felt an unbidden choke constrict her throat as anxious tears stung at her eyes. Leo pulled back and studied her face, eyebrows drawing together and lips turning down in a frown. He reached up to brush her loose hair from her glassy eyes and asked, "You okay?"

She met his gaze and considered her answer. Her first instinct was to say 'no' because, after everything that had happened, how could she possibly be okay? How could she ever be okay again, when it had been so long that she wasn't even sure what 'okay' meant anymore? She didn't think she could ever just go back to normal, to the way that she was before all of this. No matter how much time it took.

But as she stared transfixed at the hidden fire inside Leo's dark eyes, she began to think that maybe that was okay. Maybe she would never be the same after all she'd been through, but maybe it was better that way. She'd never particularly disliked herself before, but she was struck by the realization that she liked the person she was with him so much more than the 'her' who was always alone.

His arrival had been the spark that set everything into flux. Before, she'd never needed anyone else—at least, not that she would readily admit to herself. She had friends, but her problems and responsibilities had always been hers and hers alone. She didn't want help from anyone. She relied only on herself and her own abilities. But with Leo, she experienced for the first time what it was like to need someone else—to want someone else. Physically at first, and then gradually deeper and more personal. It was completely unprecedented, stronger even than the bond she had with her sister, her last living family. She grew attached to someone, so much so that she hated the idea of once again being left alone.

And it wasn't only the sense of companionship. Being with Leo had other effects on Reyna as well. His touch relaxed her, his smile strengthened her, his laugh warmed her heart. When she was with him, she felt real—not like the toy soldier she'd always pretended to be. The layers of paint and plastic were stripped away and she was just herself, in the purest and most perfect form, with all the strength and security she'd dreamed for years that she could embody. It was because of his influence on her that she'd been able to triumph over Octavian in the end. She was sure she could have gone on playing the former augur's game, taking her turns and keeping him in check just as he did the same with her, but would it ever have moved past that? Would she ever have had the stability of mind and the confidence to confront him once and for all, to tear down his pedestal and force from him the truth he was so adept at hiding? Somehow Reyna knew that had she never gotten close to Leo, this freedom she'd earned would be nothing but a distant, unattainable dream.

And that thought alone made her realize that everything that had happened—all the fear and the danger and the tragedy—it was all worth it. Every last second.

So when Reyna considered again whether or not she was okay, her lips twitched up in a tiny smile and she answered, "Not yet… but I will be."

Leo's frown loosened to a grin and as he stepped back and let go of her, she shook herself off and asked him lightly, "What about you? I distinctly heard the phrase 'six broken bones' as I was leaving the hospital."

He shrugged and replied simply, "I heal fast." He rotated his left shoulder, which Reyna remembered had been speared by an arrow, as evidence of his claim, and she shook her head in wonderment.

"So how long are you sticking around?" Frank asked as he chose a basket of chicken tenders from the tray of food.

"Dunno," Leo said. He snatched a piece of chicken from Frank's basket and the centurion glared at him. "Probably not too long. Some of the guys are itching to get back home."

This didn't come as a surprise, but still Reyna felt a twinge of disappointment. Until an interesting thought crossed her mind and she said innocently, "So… I hear a total of three airships were destroyed in the explosion last week."

"Yeah," Leo confirmed with a scowl. "Don't remind me. If I'd been there, I could've stopped the fire a lot quicker. I mean, all that work—literally gone up in smoke." He shook his head ruefully as he finished the chicken he'd stolen from Frank.

"Yeah, it's a shame," Reyna agreed. "I thought twelve was a good, solid number. Nine is just… wrong. Who takes nine ships into battle?"

Leo chuckled. "What 'battles' are you planning on fighting?"

"That's not the point," Reyna said, shooting him a sideways glance. "It's the principle of the thing."

"The principle, right." Leo shook his head, but the next time he caught Reyna's eye his expression changed—like he finally picked up on her not-so-subtle hint. "You want three more," he said, pointing a finger at her.

Reyna shrugged, hiding a smile. "Twelve was a good, solid number," she repeated.

Leo gave an amused half-smile. "Well… I can't force everybody to stay. But I don't see why I have to force everybody to leave, either. I mean, we've still got work to do, don't we?"

"That you do," Reyna said in a would-be authoritative voice. Tapping her chin in apparent thought, she pondered, "Though, maybe I should try putting someone else in charge for a while."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Why would you want to do that? I'm the best there is, and you know it."

Reyna heard Frank scoff into his drink, but she was too busy trying not to chuckle to pay much attention. "I just don't want anyone to think I'm giving special treatment," she said jokingly.

Leo laughed, causing the grin to break free on Reyna's face. "I'll show you 'special treatment'," he threatened, before wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into him. She barely had time for a light laugh before it was forgotten in the familiar feeling of his mouth on hers.

He's staying, she thought with giddy satisfaction as the heat in his hands gently pushed the last dregs of weariness from her body. It wouldn't be forever, she knew, but it was okay. Knowing he would be there to help her start over, even for a little while, was enough. It was the one thing she'd never wanted before, but all she needed right now—the warmth and love another person.

Leo was the fire that had torn into Reyna's life, burning down everything she thought she knew in a blaze of heat and amber light. But the ashes left behind glowed dimly with the hope and promise of a future—a new world and a new life she could trace in the dying embers. The image of herself flickering in those passing flames was a reflection she never wanted to see again—stone-faced and cold, alone. But as that image faded, she could make out in the smoke a new picture—a picture of a 'her' that she could love. A 'her' that someone else loved.

And like a phoenix, she would rise from the ashes of her old life, and—with the help of that fire—become something new.

Something beautiful.

"The phoenix hope, can wing her way through the desert skies,
and still defying fortune's spite; revive from ashes and rise."
—Miguel de Cervantes

So for any of you who were still wondering why I called this "Amber Ashes", there you go. Yes, I had the phoenix theme planned from the beginning. No, I didn't want it to be clear until the very end. It's more fun that way ;)

Aaaaaand cut! Now that we've reached the end, I want to throw a huge, huge THANK YOU to all of you for reading this, and a huger, huger THANK YOU to my regular reviewers! I've loved hearing from you guys and reading your reactions, and just generally getting to know other Leyna fans (we've become a kind of small community, but by no means undevoted!). You've all made this story so much more fun for me! Which is really the goal of any author, I'd say - to communicate with their readers and to have their work appreciated. You guys've been awesome!

Before anyone asks, I have no immediate plans for a sequel or another similar story or anything like that. I wish I could take a break from writing for a little while since it's so time-consuming, but I really need to shift gears and spend some time focusing on the last book in my Bloodlust series. I think I've had it on hold for long enough. (Feel free to check it out if you want something else to read! Haha. It's mostly Percabeth, but there's some side-Leyna, naturally. It's kind of my thing.)

Once again, thank you to all of you for joining me on this long, difficult ride! Wanna drop one last review before we part ways? I'd be super excited if you did!

For the last time, guys - LATER DAYS!

-oMM