Blade's Edge || Deception Book II ||

Chapter 10: Meeting In the Stateroom Pt.2

I kept my face carefully passive, though I brought a dark glitter to my eyes and finally turned around to meet a pair of sea-green eyes that stared at me with shock.

Then confusion, dawning understanding, and, to my complete surprise, sadness.

I felt like my heart was being ripped in two.

Percy stumbled back, his face filled with pain and disbelief, as he met my gaze. "Rianna," he whispered. "Why are you here?"

I purposefully avoided looking at Annabeth, fervently hoping she was doing a good job at pretending to be horrified and smirked. "Why else would I be here, Percy?"

Percy had grown. His sea-green gaze was still the same, with the same wind-swept black hair, though he had gotten a bit taller, looked a bit more mature, and I knew that, despite everything, the past year had changed him.

The life of a demigod was never easy, and there was no doubt the events that had occurred in the last few weeks had forced him to adapt.

I finally allowed myself to glance at Annabeth, who was doing a remarkably good job of plastering on a mask of desperate denial like she was trying to ignore the truth that was staring in her face, and then glanced at the cyclops with brown hair who could only be Tyson.

"Rianna is only the first among many to have joined Kronos' army," Luke said, a note of satisfaction in his voice. "She's my first lieutenant. But, I'm sure you are already acquainted."

"How could you?" Percy whispered, his gaze never leaving mine. "I thought-"

"Whatever you thought, you were wrong," I replied coldly. "And I'm not the one you should be speaking to."

"That would be me," Luke said, settling himself on the sofa and turning back to Percy. "So, how was your year? I hope you appreciate the fact that we let you survive another one. How's your mom doing? How was school?"

I could see the struggle in Percy's mind as he wrenched his gaze from me to focus back on Luke, and said, his voice a low growl, "You poisoned Thalia's tree."

"You don't beat around the bush, do you?" Luke sighed. "Fine. I poisoned the tree. So what?"

"Thalia saved your life!" Annabeth cried out. "How could you? She saved you. She saved us! How could you dishonour her-"

Even though the words weren't directed at me, I felt them. Sure, I wasn't the one who poisoned the tree, but I was, in part, responsible. And though I was a spy whose loyalties lay with the two demigods standing before me, it hurt.

"I didn't dishonour her," Luke said coldly, his voice sharp. "The gods did, Annabeth. Both of us know that if she'd still been alive, she'd be standing by me, much like Rianna!"

"Liar!" Annabeth retorted, her fists clenched at her side. "Thalia would never!"

"Rianna's here," Luke pointed out. "You'd understand if you knew the things that are about to happen."

"No, I wouldn't," Annabeth snapped back. "All I know is that you want to destroy the camp and that you're a monster. And, Rianna," she continued, turning blazing grey eyes to me. "How could you stand with him? Did nothing in the past year mean something to you? Why are you with these . . . these . . . these monsters?"

I flinched, opening my mouth to reply, but was beaten by Luke. "Monsters? We're with monsters? What about the company that you're with right now?"

He pointed to Tyson. "I'm actually shocked. You of all people-"

Annabeth flinched like she'd been physically slapped. "Stop it!"