One More Chance // Thaluke

4. Jason Grace

Thalia's POV 

"What are you doing with that traitor?" Phoebe shouted.

Thalia turned towards her with her brows furrowed and her face contorted into a frown. "Phoebes..." She said.

"Wait a second- where's your...?" Said Phoebe, her best friend in the hunters, looking at her forehead and behind her body.

"Pheobe, I-" She stopped mid-sentence as the Gods came marching in looking proud, with their heads held high, probably expecting a second showdown with Kronos.

The gods then stopped in their tracks when they saw the crowd in front of the doors to the palace.

All the hunters, former hunters and Luke fell to their knees respectfully.

"Father." Lady Artemis greeted her father, bowing her head, with Lord Apollo doing the same by her side.

Some of them were ogling in their direction, probably at Luke. He didn't look up.

"What's going on here?" Asked Poseidon, also looking at Luke with furrowed eyebrows.

"We can explain." Said Artemis, gesturing for them to go inside.

***

Everything was explained to the Gods. After that, they began repairing their broken thrones and healing the ones who were wounded. They even fixed her throbbing ankle, which she had forgotten about because of eveeything that happened. The gods began their chitter-chattering and then Zeus started on his boring speech about bravery and whatnot. She noticed him thanking, with some difficulty, his two brothers. Percy and Annabeth were speaking in hushed tones, with Grover third-wheeling. Hera had a sour look and, all the while, Thalia could see Hermes looking at Luke with an indescribable emotion in his eyes. Luke, however, seemed particularly interested in his shoes. She squeezed his hand, trying to assure him that everything would be alright.

Lady Artemis was looking at her reproachfully. Her first instict was to rip her hand away from Luke's but, on second thought, she decided to hold on to it tighter, avoiding the watchful Goddess's eyes.

After the speech, they started honoring the demigods and, unsurprisingly, her father called her first. She knelt before him and he announced, "We shall be presenting all-" He glanced at Luke. "-ALMOST all of the demigods who were present in this very throne room during the defeat of Kronos with one gift. Thalia, my daughter, what do you ask for?"

Confusion arose in her heart. "I can ask for anything?"

Zeus seemed a little troubled at these words. "Almost anything." His eyes flashed dangerously towards Poseidon."I think that all of you, as heroes, deserve to choose whatever you want but my brother thinks a little differently. Thalia, you may ask for just about anything, with the exception of immortality."

That wasn't exactly what she had in mind but she gathered up all her courage and blurted it out, "I want Jason back." She spoke in a quiet voice but she knew that her father heard it from his expression. He looked flabbergasted, glancing at his wife with something similar to... contempt. He leaned over to Hera and whispered something in her ear. Hera's jaw clenched and she turned her glare from father to daughter.

"Fine..." She muttered.

Zeus nodded and turned his gaze to Thalia. Suddenly, she was pushed off her feet and pictures flashed across her mind.

Her mother with baby Jason. Jason, a little older, with a pack of wolves who seemed to be... training him. Some of those wolves escorting Jason, around 4 years old, somewhere. Another camp, not Camp Half-Blood, filled with demigods, young and old. Jason standing beside a dark haired girl, both of them wearing purple capes and white togas, talking to a crowd of people in some room.

A voice rang loud in her ears and she recognized it as her father's. 'This is what happened to your little brother. He had never actually died. He is in a safe place, the only other safe place for demigods. But you must never speak of this to anyone, ever. Do you swear on the river Styx that you will not?' She was pulled back onto her feet.

"I swear on the river Styx that I will not." Her eyes adjusted to the scene around her. It was the same as before. Her eyes were stinging with unshed tears. She bowed quickly to her father and returned to her place, standing beside Luke as her thoughts  started running wild.

Luke's POV

Thalia was trembling like a leaf. She was taking deep breaths and she seemed deep in thought. He put an arm around her and rubbed soothing circles on her back.

Luke knew about Jason Grace. Thalia had told him one night, when they were still runaways. She had opened up to him about her sadness at losing her brother and her resentment towards her mother for listening to Hera.

He didn't know exactly what happened but he assumed that Jason Grace was still dead and that there was nothing anyone could do to save him. It was about as much as he could guess from Thalia's reaction.

They proceeded with the honoring. He watched Annabeth's eyes light up with pride and excitement as she was given the honour of re-designing Mount Olympus. He watched Percy's eyes fill up with happiness when he saw Annabeth's face as he turned down immortality.

It continued on. Everyone was honoured and given the respect they deserve, even Nico and his father Hades.

And then, after everyone else, they called him, "Luke Castellan, son of Hermes, come up and we shall decide your fate."