The Truths Spoken In The Sea Of Lies

Truths shared

Truth's weight on her tongue,

Rhea unveils another realm,

The trio learns minds whirl.

***

Rhea looked at the tiny moon lace and sighed, then took another Kleenex to blow her nose again before throwing it in the small trash can beside her.

"Nice plant," a voice said.

Rhea turned to Nico who was standing on the fire escape right next to her. "Hi."

"...Were you crying ?" He asked.

She sniffed. "Yes."

"Oh..."

Rhea observed him, he'd grown about an inch taller over the last couple of months. His hair was a shaggy black mess. He wore a black T-shirt, black jeans, and a new silver ring shaped like a skull. His Stygian iron sword hung at his side.

"...Do you ... want to talk about it ?" Nico awkwardly asked.

He flinched when he heard a whimpering-like sound coming from Rhea's throat, he slowly passed her a Kleenex and waited for her to calm down.

"Maybe later." She sniffed. "You came here to tell me something right?"

"I've done some exploring," he said, a bit glad to change the direction of the conversation. "Thought you'd like to know, Daedalus got his punishment."

"How is he?"

Nico nodded. "Minos wanted to boil him in cheese fondue for an eternity, but my father had other ideas. Daedalus will be building overpasses and exit ramps in Asphodel for all time. It'll help ease the traffic congestion. Truthfully, I think the old guy is pretty happy with that. He's still building. Still creating. And he gets to see his son and Perdix on the weekends."

"Good for him."

Nico tapped at his silver ring. "But that's not the real reason I've come. I've found out some things. I want to make you an offer."

"Yes?"

"The way to beat Luke," he said. "If I'm right, it's the only way you'll stand a chance."

Great, going to the Styx did not sound fun, but oh well.

Nico glanced inside her room. His eyebrows furrowed. "Is that...is that blue birthday cake?" He sounded hungry, maybe a little wistful.

"Come inside for some cake and ice cream," Rhea said. "I can even prepare you something you'd like I don't mind." She put her hand on Nico's back. "We've got a lot to talk about ... and I have some confessions to make, I need to call Annabeth and Grover and see if they can visit."

He gave her a weird look.

***

Reaching out to Grover had been a simple task; he wasted no time when Iris-Messaged by Rhea, promptly making his way to her house. Meanwhile, Annabeth was a different story.

"What do you want?" Annabeth's arms were crossed, and her tone was anything but warm.

"Can we talk?" Rhea asked.

Annabeth's expression soured. "If you want to talk, the least you could do is look me in the face!"

Rhea sighed and raised her head. "Listen, Annabeth, can you please come to my house so we can have a conversation?"