Tidal Wave (Luke Castellan)

The Favorite Boy

 "Cass, what are you doing here?" Luke asked, rushing to my side, "How did you get here? Are you okay?"

"I don't..." my head was still a bit mixed up from my talk with Kronos, "What is this thing? Why was it calling me here?"

"It was calling you?" Luke's face paled. He turned to the casket, "Leave her alone. I told you she was the only one that you can't have."

"That's Kronos?" I found it hard to breathe.

Luke put an arm around me, "Come on, let's get you somewhere less... creepy."

My brain was rushing around, trying to go over too much information at once. Luke saved me without even knowing it. By showing I wasn't a weakness, he kept Kronos from finding a way to get rid of me. Kronos, who was in a golden casket right in front of me this very minute. Was his cut up body pieces in there or was it just a skeleton? The thought of either option made me feel sick to my stomach. Luckily, Luke led me out of the room before I could dive even further into that thought rabbit hole.

There was still nobody to be seen as we walked across the boat. Luke kept his arm around my shoulders the whole time. I didn't mind, I liked both the body heat and being so close to him. It also gave me some desperately needed comfort after that whole situation. We didn't say anything but the silence was comfortable. Before too long, Luke opened a door and we both slipped inside. He flipped on a light and I could see we were in a big bedroom. His bedroom, I realized as I looked around. There were clothes on the floor and a sword leaning against the closet door. One lone picture taped to one of the walls. A picture of him and I, taken last summer before Percy had arrived. A picture from before everything started going downhill with us.

"Sorry it's so messy in here. I wasn't expecting company," Luke apologized, picking up some of the clothes off the floor.

I smiled a little, "No need to apologize. It's your space after all."

He smiled back. My heart did a flip. I did my best to ignore it but damn, he was looking more attractive than usual today. Maybe it was because I hadn't seen him in so long.

A knock on the door gathered our attention. Luke gestured for me to be quiet, "What?"

The tone of his voice struck me. It was a lot sharper than the tone he usually used when talking to me. I didn't like it at all, it sent shivers down my spine and not in a good way. Still, I stayed quiet like he asked.

"The others want to know when we're going to act," the voice on the other side of the door said.

"This couldn't wait until morning? You should all be sleeping!"

"They are growing restless with the lack of action being taken."

"And I've told you that it's only a matter of time before we make our move! Now leave me be until morning!" Luke snapped. There was the sound of retreating footsteps and Luke sighed, "I'm sorry you had to hear that. I have to talk like that around them or else they'll doubt who's in charge."

I didn't say anything. I just nodded my head. As much as I didn't like it, that answer made sense. He was the one who Kronos was manipulating. Of course he was the one who'd be in charge here. That thought made my heart ache.

"Enough about that though," Luke took a careful step towards me, "How are you doing? Has everything been okay since the last time we spoke?"

"I got attacked by metal death pigeons. Other than that, I've been fine. I'm still mad at you though," I crossed my arms defensively, "Have you been thinking about our last conversation?"

"I have been a lot actually. And I'm trying to figure out how to go about this plan without the people I care about getting hurt. Because you're right, it's not okay what has happened to you and Thalia during this."