Jay stopped in her tracks. It was percy and Annabeth. Before anyone could do anything, Luke sent the fleece with a monster to safety.
Percy twirled his sword and stepped forward, his green eyes ablaze with ambition.
"Luke, give us the fleece."
Luke sneered, his sword Backbiter drawn and shining. He wasn't backing down anytime soon. Now Jay stood right by his side, ready to defend him. However, she was feeling hesitant. She didn't want to hurt her brother, Percy.
"Leave, you two. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if It comes down to it." warned Luke.
Annabeth held her dagger at her side, ready to pounce. Her grey eyes were stormy. Meanwhile, Percy was getting more impatient by the second.
"Jay, come back with us. He is using you! You can't side with him!" he pleaded.
Jay ignored him, holding Tidebreaker tightly in her grasp. Then, all of a sudden, Annabeth sprang at Luke, slashing her dagger angrily as tears fell from her eyes. Luke jumped and fought her off with his sword smoothly and with expertise.
"Family Luke, you promised!" She cried, her movements anger filled. Luke clenched his jaw and sparred with her. Percy then took this opportunity to run to Jay, his sword down. However, Jay saw this as a threat and raised hers, backing up. Percy looked at her, his eyes pleading.
"Jay, please."
The girl shook her head, frustrated with her mixed emotions. Meanwhile, Luke fought off Annabeth, trying his best not to seriously injure her. However, Annabeth's tactics were fueled by anger and sadness, and this clouded her judgement.
"How could you?! You poisoned Thalia! You were her friend! The camp has no protection now!" she yelled.
Jay heard this and looked over at Luke, a look of shock painted on her face. The demigod exhaled and his eyes showed guilt and frustration as he continued to spar Annabeth.
"See, Jay? He isn't who he says he is. He'll get you killed!" Yelled Percy.
Luke heard this and growled angrily to himself.
"Jay! They need to go! They are trying to ruin our quest!" he cried, "They are wrapped around the gods' fingers."
She felt her confusion bubble into frustration, which caused her to lash out at her brother. With her sword, she swung a wide arc in front of the boy, a warning swing.
"Percy, leave! leave and you won't get hurt!"
Luke then shoved Annabeth back near Percy, huffing from fighting.
"Get rid of them, Jay. Before they ruin us." Luke commanded, his face wet with perspiration. The girl hesitated, not wanting to hurt her friends. Plus, she didn't know how to get them off the boat.
"DO IT! MAKE A WAVE! SWEEP THEM OFF!" yelled luke, his voice changing to a gravelly tone, his eyes shimmering golden. She suddenly felt terror deep in her gut, and before Luke could do anything to her friends, she ran at them. Percy backed up, his arm around Annabeth.
"Jay.."
"Don't come back! I'm sorry!"
With a swipe of her hand and a tug in her gut, a wave rose and she looked away as it crashed over them, washing them over the railing of the yacht. Luke quickly brushed past her, his voice now normal and sounding tired, regretful.
"Set a course farther out to sea. Now." He ordered to a surviving monster.
Jay stood silently, panting as emotions and thoughts swept through her mind.
What happened to Luke?
Why did he posion Thalia's tree?
Are Percy and Annabeth okay?
How did I make that wave so easily?
She then felt his hand on her arm, and she pulled away, storming off towards her room. The girl ignored his footsteps behind her as she sat on her bed, hiding her face as tears ran down it. She felt the bed dip as the young man sat beside her, his rough hand gently rubbing up and down her back.
Jay felt anger rise in her as she turned to face him.
"Why did you poison Thalia? The camp is defenseless!"
She stood up, her fists clenched. Luke's face looked troubled as he began to explain.
"I know, it looks bad but.."
"but what?"
"I was going to give them the fleece back after we were done. I swear on my life. Plus Camp half blood can protect themselves. They are distracted now and can't bother us none."
Jay looked at him, studying his face. Luke sat there, his face showing authenticity in what he said. She sighed and looked down, tears still welling up in her eyes. Luke's hand once again found itself on her arm, rubbing it softly.
"They're okay. Percy and Annabeth are tough as nails."
"If you say so.." Jay replied, guilt lingering in her voice. She wanted to know what came over him on the deck. Why did he snap?
But she was soon taken back by his wounds that decorated his body. He had a bloodied arm and a few slash marks from Annabeth.
Luke noticed her concern and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah..I got a little messed up." he said.
Luke then ordered one of his guards to fetch a med kit. Once it arrived, Luke lead Jay to the balcony that connected to her room. Together, they sat in front of eachother as Jay tended to his wounds. Her small hands tenderly cleansed the wounds with alcohol and fed him ambrosia.
Jay would rather use the fleece to heal him, but Luke shook his head at the idea, saying something about wasting it's power. So, Luke sat patiently as Jay tended to his wounds. However, when it was time for her to tend the wounds on his torso, Jay became flustered.
"I uh..kinda need to see those." she said quietly.
Luke nodded, and with no hesitation he shed his shirt and tossed it to the side calmly. Jay on the other hand, found herself fumbling with the bandages. Luke's torso had the outline of abs that correlated to his muscular arms. To add onto this, Jay had never even been close to a shirtless boy before.
Luke found amusement in her shyness and he smirked.
"Having trouble?" he asked.
The girl huffed.
"No." she said with a blush.
When she finally finished dressing his wounds, she leaned back in her chair. The sun was slowly dipping behind the horizon, the sky morphing into different colors. Luke sighed deeply and gazed at the sight, smiling slightly to himself.
As the two sat there together, questions nagged at Jay. She needed some more answers from him.
"Luke?" she started.
"Yes?" he replied.
"You wouldn't lie to me, would you?"
"Of course not..why?"
Jay bit her lip before continuing.
"You aren't..using me for my water powers, are you?"
Luke looked at her, his blue eyes revealing something.
"No. You're my friend, I would never do that." he said calmly.
Jay nodded and gazed at the ground, thinking about his answer. She replayed the word "friend" over and over in her head. She still couldn't believe how she summoned that wave. She guessed that her fear powered it from within her.
"What happened to you on the deck back there?" she asked.
She saw Luke's demeanor change slightly, and he hesitated before answering.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Your voice changed..you're eyes looked different. You became angry."
"I don't remember that. Maybe your eyes were deceiving you, Jay. I'm fine." he explained.
Luke felt his heart race a bit. He knew that Kronos influenced him a bit back there. However, he didn't know how to explain it to Jay yet. He needed more time.
Jay was silent, thinking. She knew what she saw and heard. So either he was lying, or he didn't know what happened. Both results scared her.
"Okay." she simply said.
Luke gave her a small, soft smile. And as the final stages of the sunset went on behind them, Jay felt herself smiling back.
However, shreds of guilt hit Luke like shrapnel. He had lied to Jay's face repeatedly, and he still felt guilty about Thalia. But he knew that they were doing the right thing. He knew he was going to tell Jay the truth sooner or later about everything. But all he wanted was to enjoy this moment with her. And hope for many more to come.