*warning: a bit of profanity*
As the sun rose the next morning we would have to say goodbye to the three young demigods. That's where the five of us were now, Luke and I shared the idea of sending them off from Half Blood Hill where Thalias Pine stood. To be honest, I was surprised Luke had come, considering how he avoided this tree like the plague.
The kids carried a backpack each, while Percy also carried a brown box. I had no guesses regarding its contents. Either way, they seemed prepared to set off.
" Try not to kill anyone in the arena while we're gone." Percy joked, shaking hands with Luke.
" Don't worry. As Luke's girlfriend, it's my job to make sure he doesn't commit any crimes I can't cover up." I chimed in, snagging the opportunity. Luke turned away, a sour look in his face. Annabeth and Grover simply stood confused while Percy and I shared a mischievous little laugh.
I was really going to miss kid.
I handed Percy a bag full of blue chocolate chip cookies, as promised, to take on their journey.
" Speaking of, here's your payment, Blondie." I said as I watched a nostalgic but sad smile grace the boys face.
" Thank you, Nikita." He said genuinely, and surprised me a bit as he moved forward to give me a hug. My hands paused for a second before they wrapped around the kids shoulders. I ruffled his hair as he pulled away, smiling when he went to fix it.
" No problem, Percy. You kids stay safe out there."
" Have each others backs. The real world isn't pretty." Luke added from behind me, his gaze meeting the three demigods from over my shoulder. They nodded before setting off, Luke and I watching as they slipped into the horizon.
I thought about what Luke had said. About the real world. I could never actually remember my time outside this camp, as it was so brief. But the way Luke spoke of it made me believe there were hundreds of stories from his past embedded in that statement, none of them particularly pleasant.
The sound of thumping, uncoordinated steps and someone huffing for breath caused Luke and I to turn on heel simultaneously. I think I could speak for both of us when I say we were surprised to see Cassian, hands on his knees, catching his breath as if he ran all the way here from across camp.
" Hey Cassian, what's going on?" Luke asked for us as the Aphrodite boy straightened up before speaking.
" I was the first one Chiron saw and he said it was urgent so I came straight to you guys and-" his hands were flailing around as he attempted to explain the story.
" Hey, hey, relax. What did Chiron say?" I questioned, grounding him by placing a hand on his shoulder.
" He said that you guys have been given a quest-"
" What?!" We exclaimed in synch.
" By Ares." Cassian continued.
" My father?!" My brows knit together as my jaw dropped open in shock.
" And Aphrodite." The boy concluded, leaving Luke's jaw dropped as well. We sent each other a look before hightailing it to camp with Cassian.
Once we arrived at The Big House, Cassian broke off and wished us good-luck. I stepped onto the porch, Luke close behind me as we spotted Chiron and Mr. D at their usual table, cards in hand. The centaur turned to face us.
" Oh goodie. The special snowflakes have arrived. You get a quest! You get a quest! Every kid gets a quest these days." Mr. D quipped without looking up from his cards. Luke and I had been around long enough to know it was just better to ignore the Gods words, but that didn't mean we didn't find him incredibly annoying. Chiron cleared his throat before addressing us.
" Nikita, Luke. You have been given a quest by Ares and Aphrodite."
Hearing it directly from Chiron was a little surreal. I couldn't fathom why not one but two gods would pick us for a quest.
" With all due respect to Ms. Stormund here, why did they select the two of us? Do we not get to choose quest mates?" Luke questioned. I couldn't even be mad cause I was about to ask the same thing.
" Ares and Aphrodite simply said that it could be done by no other pair, in this life or the next." Chiron elaborated.
Well hell. That was heavy. I wasn't sure I was liking the trajectory of this quest, and I didn't even know what it was.
I turned to look at Luke who had already been looking at me. We had a sort of conversation through our eyes, sharing the same concerns and questions about our future. Chiron cleared his throat, snapping our gazes back to him.
"The Oracle awaits." He directed, looking between us with a glimmer in his eye. With that Luke and I proceeded up the rickety stairs and into the dusty attic.
We seriously needed to assign a cabin to clean this place. Hell, I'd even offer the idea up to Mr.D to use as punishment. This place desperately needed it. After weaving around towers of trinkets and brushing aside multiple spider webs, we reached the mummy of a woman that was The Oracle of Delphi.
" We're here to receive our prophecy." I spoke clearly, with an air of confidence. We watched as the mummy twitched to life, its bones creaking as it sat up and a green mist released from its mouth.
I was shocked to see the familiar, curly blonde hair of Percy appear to us as the messenger of our prophecy. I cast a look over my shoulder at Luke, who shared my surprised expression, before the boy began to speak.
"You will journey west, to The Underworld,
hidden identities, will be unfurled.
You will grace Olympus, tear it at heart,
deadly together, but deadly apart.
Love intervenes, when Hate hangs by thread,
only one demigod, can end up dead." Despite the boyish voice of the mock Percy Jackson, a chill ran down my spine as I stilled at his words.
The Underworld, Olympus, " only one demigod can end up dead". What in the Gods names did we do to deserve this kind of fate? Because it wasn't looking very bright.
The mist quickly seeped back into the mummy and she went rigid in her chair once again. The sunlight flooded back through the window, now unobstructed, leaving a relatively bright space for a relatively dark situation.
" Fuck you, father. You too, you meddlesome bitch." I cursed at the gods without hesitation, staring up at the ceiling as if the power of my glare could pierce all the way up to where they lounged on Olympus.
On cue, a sword that had been mounted on the wall behind us fell directly in between Luke and I, wobbling back and forth as it's lethal point pierced the floorboards. Luke and I shared a glance, happy to not have lost any toes.
I suppose I could glare at them in person soon enough.
We walked, well more of trudged, down the stairs and back out to Mr. D and Chiron, the latter adopting a concerned frown upon seeing our dejected state.
" So it's not looking good, I presume." He said solemnly as Luke and I offered nods. Luke took one for the team and repeated the haunting words to Chiron, who seemed more shocked than I had ever seen him.
Not a good sign.
" Well, you two are strong demigods, if anyone can do this, it's you." He offered us support and a reassuring smile, although anyone could hear the unsureness lacing his tone. He sent us off, telling us to prepare to leave with the sunset.
As Luke and I went to part ways, there was a part of me that didn't want to separate from him; like it was a bad idea; but the other part of me yearned to see my friends for what could be the last time.
We split apart, and I made my way into Ares Cabin as he headed to Hermes.
" Nikita, Cassian told us everything..." Clarisse rushed up to me, trailing off. I wanted to laugh, I should've known Cassian would spread the gossip like wildfire, but the look and hug my sister gave me pulled a tear down my cheek. I buried my head in her shoulder as she squeezed me tightly, relishing the contact as us Ares kids were never big on physical touch.
Before we could pull away, our other siblings piled on. On the outside, it might've looked like a dog pile, but it was the single most comforting act I had received in a long time. After talking and explaining our prophecy a bit more, I bid my siblings goodbye before heading to Aphrodite Cabin, promising I'd be back soon to pack my things.
I knocked once, but before my knuckles could hit the wood a second time, the door flung open and Maya tackled me into a crushing hug.
" Whoa whoa, Maya, I need to be breathing when I leave for this." I joked, despite emulating a tight grip on the girl. She slowly pulled away with a pout on her face.
" Ugh, I know. But if I accidentally killed you at least you wouldn't have to leave. Julian could probably revive you and you'd be all set." She suggested, half joking but half serious as I offered her a sad smile.
" I won't spare you the details." I told her, knowing she'd lose it if I told her the grim prophecy, especially the vague but inevitable 'one of us will die' part. I was surprised when she vigorously shook her head.
" No. I want to hear it. Maybe I'll understand something you can't." She insisted as I sighed but obliged. I repeated the prophecy and she sat with a deep thinking face for a minute.
" Ares and Aphrodite gave you this quest, right?" She asked.
" Yes." I confirmed, wondering where she was going with this.
" They're Olympians, I can't imagine they'd want Olympus' "heart to break" if they could help it. And it says hidden identities will be revealed. I think the two of them are hiding something from everyone." She proposed and I nodded along, turning her words over in my mind. It made sense.
" Thank you. I'll have to relay the idea to Luke." I told her. After that she gave me one last hug and I said my goodbyes to her and the rest of Aphrodite Cabin. I went back to Ares Cabin to pack my things for our looming quest.