A/N: Before anything, I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who had been reading this. It's never easy to write fanfiction, and sometimes, it gets harder than usual. The past month of July was absolutely insane for me, not because the story was hard to write, but just because I had so much going on in my life.
But you guys really motivated me to keep on writing, and for that, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who's been with me on this story. Also, I'd like to give a special shoutout to:
Valerie_018
Aniryth712
SummerBlisse
Hecatekid15
liamaysawford
Thank you guys so much for sticking with me from the beginning, or at least, somewhat beginning :) From the first chapter of First Lie to this one, you've reminded me why I keep writing every week. This story wouldn't be here without you guys, so thank you so much!
P.S. This chapter is very long, but I don't think you guys will mind ;)
***
"Oh my gods," Alex said, his mouth dropping open in awe as arrows of light shot up into the sky, creating crackling images of ancient Greek heroes and their adventures in the sky. Alabaster and I shared a grin as we watched our younger brother staring at the frames of animation, his eyes wide.
"Amazing, isn't it?" I asked, nudging him.
"Yeah," Alex replied, tearing his gaze away from the fireworks to look at me, a huge grin on his face. "I've never seen anything like it."
"Well, let's hope our magic can change your mind," Alabaster said playfully, ruffling his hair.
There was a beat of silence as the last firework exploded into a shower of sparks, the sky going dark once again.
"Wow," Alex finally said, breaking the silence. "That was amazing."
I glanced over to where the rest of the demigods under both mine and Alabaster's command were gathered, Nicole watching them. Ally was on patrol duty with Chris, and Luke was somewhere holed up in his suite or the command room doing gods knew what.
Steering, I supposed, as the ship started to move away from camp, heading out of the Sound.
"You go find Luke," Alabaster said after a few minutes over the sound of lapping waves. "Alex and I can handle the rest. I know you're going to be busy." He grinned at me knowingly.
I was grateful for the darkness that hid the bloom of pink across my cheek and glared at him. "Yeah? And what about you?"
"What do you mean, what about me?"
"Oh please, brother dear, did you think I wouldn't catch you glancing at Colie the entire time we've been out here?" With that, I spun on my heel and stalked off deck, nodding once to Nicole as I passed her.
"You can go join them," I added, stabbing my thumb over my shoulder at my brothers. "I'm going to go find Luke."
"Okay," Nicole shrugged, a confused expression on her face as she glanced between me and Alabaster, who was staring after me, his mouth agape like a fish.
I smiled at her and pushed open the glass door, heading into the ship. I had no clue where Luke was, though the best bet would be the stateroom. Or his cabin.
"It's one of those two," I sighed to myself. "I'll go to the stateroom first since it's closer."
I peeked inside through the oak doors and sighed. Nope. Not here. Just Kronos' creepy golden casket. I shoved down the shiver that ran down my spine and quickly closed the door, shoving the image of how the moonlight had reflected off the golden casket like some sort of magical halo.
Just then, someone clapped a hand over my eyes. "Gue--"
Already one edge from the glance at the sarcophagus, Pyrkagia lashed out.
I heard a grunt and then a sigh. "I should have known better."
"Yeah, you really should have," I said, spinning around to see Luke sprawled on the floor, my celestial bronze whip wrapped around him. "Sorry, but not sorry."
"Can you release me?" Luke asked in defeat, looking pointedly at the weapon. "I'm not your hostage."
I flicked my wrist and my whip silently slithered back into my hand, wrapping around my right forearm like a snake. Luke glanced warily at it, then at the silver whip curled around my left, and sighed again. "Was that seriously necessary?"
"No," I said, pushing down my nerves from the casket and smirking at him. "But you deserved it."
Luke coughed. "Well, anyway, I was looking for you."
"Oh, really," I deadpanned. A loud explosion sounded above us, and I looked at him in accusation. "Because the fireworks started over an hour ago."
"Aww, you missed me?" he asked, taking my hand in his and pulling me towards the stern.
"Where are you taking me?" I asked. Luke didn't answer, just glanced back and grinned. I sighed, shaking my head, a smile forming on my face.
"Close your eyes," Luke commanded five minutes later as we stopped in front of the double doors leading to the back of the boat.
"Aren't the lifeboats here?" I grumbled, closing my eyes. "What are you doing?"
"Just wait," Luke replied, pulling open the doors and gently guiding me through. "Careful."
"Can I open them now?" I asked as we stopped. From behind my eyelids, I could sense that whatever Luke had led me into was somewhat lit, not bright, but not dim either. From the way the wind carried across the deck, I could feel stuff around me and heard a light tinkle every time a breeze passed.
"Yeah."
I took a deep breath, feeling strangely nervous, and blinked.
And blinked again.
"Oh my gods, Luke, you didn't have to do this," I whispered in awe, stepping forward and reaching up to trail my fingers across the ribbons of light strung across the deck. "It's beautiful."
And beautiful it was. Luke had strung up fairy lights around the deck, gold and coral shining in the dark like a thousand crystals. He'd clearly enlisted Ally's help as well, seeing that delicate green vines curled around the railing, flowers and shrubbery transforming the little corner of the ship into a forest dream.
I pressed my hands to my mouth, feeling a strange emotion surge up in my chest, filling me with warmth. "Luke, you really didn't ha-"
"Nonsense," Luke replied, stepping closer to me and gently pulling my hands from my face. He cupped my cheek, then moved his fingers down to lift my chin, turning my head so his eyes met mine. "I wanted to do this."
My breath caught in my throat as I saw the burning intensity and affection that swam in his eyes, clear as the sky, and tried to look away but Luke's grip was firm. I was keenly aware of his touch on my face, the warmth of his body pressed against mine, the curl of his fingers as he brought up his other hand to cup my neck.
He leaned closer, his eyes never leaving mine, and then stopped, a flicker of amusement crossing his eyes.
"If you're going to kiss me, hurry up with it," I found myself mumbling, a wave of recklessness sweeping through me. It was a strange feeling, but, at that moment, I didn't have a care in the world.
Luke chuckled softly under his breath but obliged and closed the distance between us, bringing his mouth to mine. In that moment, I was closely aware of the feeling of his lips, hot against my own, and tasting slightly of the minty grape juice from the cafe on the ship. A curious spark blossomed in my chest, something new and completely foreign. Unlike the other kisses that we'd shared before, where I'd felt nothing but indifference as I knew it was simply my role to play, a budding ember was glowing.
Unconsciously, I reached up, curling my fingers through his soft hair and kissed him back, feeling completely at home in the moment, all my worries, troubles, and thoughts melting away like snow in the sunlight after six months of darkness. Here was light, warmth, home, and I wanted nothing more than time to stop so I could stay here forever.
Luke pulled back, his blue eyes shining, and gazed at me silently, the love in his eyes unmistakable. "Ri," he whispered, leaning forwards again to rest his forehead against mine. "I'm so, so, so, lucky to have you here with me."
"Me too," I whispered, my breath catching in my throat. "Me too."
We stood like that, wrapped up in each other, for a while, until Luke finally pulled back. He smiled at me softly, then tugged me along to lie down on the deck. "Come," he said, patting the spot next to him.
I lay down as well, my hand still entwined with his. "What are we doing?"
Luke didn't say anything, just took out a black device and clicked it. All of a sudden, the lights disappeared, plunging us into darkness.
"Look," I heard his voice say as he shifted next to me. "The sky."
I fixed my gaze on the night sky above me. At first, I didn't see anything. And then, a breeze flew by, carrying away the thin layer of smoke from the last of the fireworks, and the stars were revealed.
"It's beautiful," I breathed, watching the stars twinkling in the heavens. My eyes instantly landed on Polaris, the north star, and I traced the figure of the great bear, Hercules on his hunt, the bright star of Arcturus, and then the galloping figure of Sagittarius. Looking at the vast sky, enveloped in darkness, the only light from the pinpricks far above, made me feel so small, and yet, I felt at peace, Luke a comforting presence at my side.
"Do you remember that this night, last year, when we sneaked out from the fourth of July party to watch the stars?" Luke asked, breaking the silence. "You told me how much you loved them. I never forgot."
"Yeah," I said, suddenly choking up as the memories of last year flooded back. "I remember. Thank you," I added after a heartbeat. "This-This is more than anyone has ever done for me." I squeezed his hand tightly, conveying the emotions swirling through me at the moment.
I felt the smile Luke shot me through the darkness and he wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer to him. I nestled my head in the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent, feeling the strength and security around me.
"Are we sleeping out here, or what?" I muttered after a good ten minutes had passed. "Because if we are, I want a blanket."
"Do you want to?" Luke replied, shifting to face me. He reached behind him and pulled out a giant, fluffy blanket. "Because I have one."
"Oh. Sure," I said, staring at the blanket he was holding. "Do you by any chance have another one?"
Luke snorted in amusement and reached behind him again, pulling out another and handing it to me.
"Thanks," I muttered as I took it, freeing myself from his embrace and rolling away, embarrassed.
I could literally hear his smirk as he bid me goodnight, the rustling of the blankets a foot away from me giving me his position. I did the same, though sleep didn't come.
When the steady breathing coming from Luke gave away his descent into the subconscious, I was still lying there, staring at the stars above me in utter silence, the thoughts whirling around in my head preventing me from doing the same.
I could still feel the ghost of his lips as he'd kissed me. Today had been . . . something else. I knew I should stop, pull back, keep a wall even though I had to play the part, but . . . it was starting to become too late.
I felt like someone was ripping me in two, torn between my duty to the gods and the growing emotions that I had for Luke which refused to go away. I wished I could just ignore them, but after today, I wasn't sure if I could anymore.
But, I didn't want to think about this today. Rolling over, I buried my face in my blanket and let the darkness of sleep sweep over me.
***
Thank you for reading, and don't forget to vote and comment! I love you guys.
- Aeryndyl