𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐒 - luke castellan.

xxv, the betrayal

t h e  b e t r a y a l
venus's pov.

━━━━━━━

The war had stopped. Percy was back. And I was right. As always. We were standing in the Hermes' cabin. Percy was confused which was understandable because so was I.

"Clarisse stole the master bolt," he said.

"It's complicated," Annabeth said.

"How is it complicated?" Percy asked.

"Everyone was ready to join the war here. To start fighting each other. An accusation against Clarisse-"

"Without proof," Annabeth completed. I looked at her and then back at Luke.

"Exactly," Luke said. "Without proof, it would have lit this whole place on fire."

I crossed my arms and looked up at him, "why are you so worried about her?" I asked, stupidly feeling jealous.

"I- they- no." Luke stammered. He looked away back at Percy and then said, "But now you're back. You've stopped the war. You've saved the world. Now, it's safe to tell Chiron and finish cleaning up this mess," he continued.

"I told him we needed to meet him away from the celebration so we could talk without any of Clarisse's supporters noticing,"

"Venus and I will keep an eye on Clarisse while you're gone," Annabeth said.

"We will?" I asked. I was planning on taking a nap.

"Yes," Annabeth said. "Make sure she isn't going anywhere."

"Great. And we'll meet back here," Luke said, resting a hand on Annabeth's shoulder, and then he exhaled. "Ready?"

Percy shared a look with Annabeth and then with Venus before nodding.

"Venus, get up," Annabeth whispered, holding my arm.

"Why?" I asked. "I thought we were supposed to keep an eye on Clarisse?" I asked, quietly.

"We have to follow Luke and Percy," Annabeth said.

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"We just do. You think you can survive without the hat?" Annabeth asked.

I stared at her before saying, "Yes. It's... whatever," I didn't understand. Why must we follow them? Was she worried about Percy? She didn't need to. Luke was with him.

Our steps were quiet and nonexistent as we followed after the two boys. I felt colors flashing in my eyes of the celebration.

This was the celebration we deserved. We worked for it. We missed our sleep for this. We couldn't eat for this victory.

And now, we were feeling it all.

"Come on, you've said, like, two words since we left the cabins," I heard Luke say as I quietly followed him, feeling Annabeth's breath around me.

"Just... thinking about what the Oracle said," Percy said. "That I'll fail to save what matters most in the end."

"You're thinking about your mom. I get that." Luke said as they stopped walking.