Till Sunrise ┊Luke Castellan

10 .·:· Secrets Among the Sunbeams

Brent, Nicolas-Guy. 'Sleeping Endymion'. 1756⋆.ೃ࿔*:·

Words: 1,969

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seven days before the summer solstice

Phoebe's heart was beeted loudly in her ears, drowning out the world save for the hollow rasp of her breath.

She couldn't be around him. Not anymore.

She felt as if her world was crashing around her, as she hurried to her farther cabin. Trying to force oxygen down into the lungs to quieten her mind.

She reached the door of the cabin, stopping momentarily to close her eyes, and attempted to banish his image from her mind. And her heart. She had responsibilities that needed her attention, distractions weren't something she could indulge in right now. With a deep breath, she pushed open the door and stepped inside and the familiar calming scent of the cabin enveloped her.

Phoebe scanned the room, hoping to find someone whom she could rely on to help delegate tasks. But as her gaze swept over her siblings, unease filled her heart.

They were all just too young.

Compared to all the other camp counsellors, she had the most significant age difference with her siblings. And that age gap seemed wider than ever.

As Phoebe surveyed the youthful faces around her, a wave of isolation washed over her. They were all so innocent, so full of youthful exuberance and untainted optimism. All viewing the world through rose-tinted glasses. And as long as she could, she would keep it that way.

She wouldn't taint them. Burden them with the knowledge that weighed heavily on her shoulders. That weighed on all the shoulders of the remaining older demigods. They deserved to stay innocent.

Phoebe would let them stay kids for as long as she could.

Amidst the sea of youth, her gaze found Lee. Her saving grace.

As Phoebe watched him, a sense of reassurance washed over her. If the Moirai, the fates, decided to snip her thread, she knew that Lee would be the one called upon to step up, to shoulder the burden of leadership in her absence.

Her heart ached at the thought of him being suddenly thrust into responsibility, but he would have to learn to adapt and not drown under the pressure. Just like all the countless half-bloods who came before him did.

She walked over to him, pushing anything that wasn't the war to the back of her mind. Nothing was more important than her responsibilities to her father right now. Nothing.

As she made her way towards his bunk, Lee, who was sprawled out relaxing, looked up and greeted her with a playful smirk. He rolled his eyes and began to pretend he was annoyed by her presence, letting out a loud sigh of mock disgust. Trying to mimic an exaggerated posh accent, he asked, "What do you want, wench?" His tone was full of underlying teasing and playfulness, and he couldn't help but grin mischievously as he spoke.

Phoebe pursed her lips, she wrestled with the weight of ever-looming dread and tried to push down the anxiety of having to break the news of the impending war on him.

She attempted a smile to soften the blow.

"Dad needs us to prepare for the war."

His reaction was immediate, a curse slipping past his lips as the reality of their situation sank in. "Shit."