Blade's Edge || Deception Book II ||

Chapter 5: Reunion

Luke sighed. "You know, Ri, that the transportation amulet is fully functional right? Please stop fiddling with it. You might end up taking it apart, and where would that leave us?"

I tossed him the amulet unceremoniously, the green stone in the center sparkling as it caught the pale light of the moon, which hung in the sky, the stars a backdrop against the deep blue night.

"I'd be able to put it back together faster than you could say 'I'll let you go,'" I retorted.

"Ri, I told you, I don't want you to see me do these things," Luke said, not meeting my gaze as he hoisted the bag over his shoulder. "I don't want you to see that part of me that is his, the part of me that has no regard for the past, the part of me that's not the me that you love. I don't want you to see me in that way, and I don't want you to see me poison-"

"Luke, enough," I said, stepping forward and reaching up to cup my hand around the side of his face. "Look at me."

He did, his eyes almost grey in the moonlight, worry and sorrow glistening behind. "I don't see you that way," I whispered. "I never could." My hand slid from his face and came to a stop over his chest, where I heard his heartbeat fluttering against my fingers. "This has never changed, and it never will."

I was keenly aware of my own heart beating as Luke clasped his free hand over mine, tying us together on the same deck that we'd stood this afternoon, fresh from picking up Ally from school where tonight had seemed so far away, like a distant blip in time. Yet, we could not have ignored it any more than we could have a drakon. I knew that what we were about to do had put a toll on Luke, forcing himself in an endless cycle of conflict, torn between duty to Kronos and the memories of his past.

Not for the first time, I found myself asking why it had to be this way, where the neglect of the gods had forced no option except betrayal and blood to the demigods who felt scorned, sucked into the sticky web of sweet lies that Kronos spun with his silver tongue.

Luke tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, snapping me out of my reverie. "I'll be back before you know it," he reassured. "Don't worry. I won't get caught."

"I'm not worried about that," I replied, dropping my hand. "But, as your lieutenant, I'll just have to accept the fact that you're not going to let me go and try not to strangle Alabaster in the few minutes you'll be gone."

"Good gods," Luke groaned. "Please stop with the formalities. And please refrain from killing your brother, Ri. Can't you two just try to get along? I'm not asking for much," he added, a small smirk curling at one side of his mouth.

"No promises," was all I said before stepping back. "Good luck."

"You make it sound like I'm going off to battle Mr. Lightning himself," Luke said, his flippant mask back in place. "I'm just going to poison a tree. What's with the worrying attitude?"

"Says the person who doesn't want to let me out of sight on a scouting mission for more than five minutes," I snarked back, falling into the role of his first lieutenant. "It's my job, sir, to be concerned for your well-being whatever you do."

Unsurprisingly, Luke ignored me. "I'll be back in max, 30."

I nodded. "Take your time."

Luke hesitated briefly, his eyes meeting mine across the deck before his hand closed around the amulet. The Greek letters engraved in the bronze flared up with golden light.

The gem in the centre flashed once, like green lightning, and, just like that, Luke was gone.

Silence surrounded me, and I was never so aware of my utter aloneness under the distant stars that twinkled against the backdrop of night.

I stood on the deck, the light from the moon in the sky casting everything in silvery steel, and wondered if Artemis, or any Olympian, was watching me. Ever since last July, which was the last time I'd seen any of the Olympians when I'd met Athena with Annabeth, I only had correspondence with the gods through letters via Avalanche, burning over altars, and animals.

It wasn't hard to feel utterly alone in this world when there was no one by your side.

Sighing, I leaned against the railing, the metal cold from the slight chill of the night air. Enough of this, I reprimanded myself. You knew what your mission would entail. Stop whining, and suck it up unless you want Hades to give you a day-long lecture about forgetting his lessons the next time you see him.

Focus, I thought, and wait for Luke to return. Kronos was finally putting his plans in motion, and there was work to be done. 

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